The side door finally opened, and Jodi felt herself go stiff when she spotted her father. The past eight years had obviously been hard on him, and he looked several decades older than he actually was. But his eyes seemed to be clearer than ever. Probably because he wasn’t drinking.
Her father glanced at Gabriel, and she didn’t see a trace of the bitterness that she’d expected. In fact, Travis nodded a friendly greeting to him, then to her as the guard ushered him to the chair behind the glass. He didn’t move fast because both his hands and feet were chained, and those chains rattled as he sank down across from them.
“Thank you for coming,” he said. His voice had aged, too. It cracked from the hoarseness. “It’s good to see you, finally.” He stopped, and it seemed as if he was trying to rein in his emotions. “God, I’ve missed you.”
“I miss you, too. And it’s good to see you, but it’s not a social visit,” Jodi clarified.
She hated that she had practically snapped it because it put some sadness in her father’s eyes. Since he was a convicted killer, he didn’t need anyone, especially her, to add sadness to the obvious miserable life he already had behind bars.
Travis nodded. “I suspected as much. Still, I’m glad you’re here. I think about you all the time.”
Jodi could say the same about him. In fact, she gave him too much thought, considering that remembering him only brought back the images of the night she’d nearly died.
Well, mostly that’s what it brought back.
There were other memories of those times when he hadn’t been so drunk that he had been a father to her. That didn’t make this visit easier. Because part of her—the girl who hadn’t been stabbed yet—wanted to hang on to those rare good times, and she couldn’t. She didn’t want that coming into play as she tried to get to the truth.
Travis shifted his attention to Gabriel. “This is about the attacks?”
“Yeah. How did you know about them?” Gabriel asked.
“August.” A weary sigh left his mouth. Maybe his brother was wearing on his nerves the way he was wearing on everyone else’s. “He visits me at least once a week. He thinks all this mess that’s going on will help clear my name, but the only thing I want is for them to stop.” He paused. “Were either of you hurt?”
Jodi shook her head. “But some gunmen were killed. Thugs. So was a teenage boy who got caught in the middle of this. Did August happen to mention that? Better yet, did he say anything about hiring them?”
Her father didn’t seem surprised by the questions, and he certainly didn’t jump to defend his brother. However, his mouth did tighten, the way it would when a person was going to have to talk about something unsettling.
“I told August that he’d better not do a single thing to harm you. Or you,” he added to Gabriel. “You’ve both been through enough hell.”
Yes, they had, but Jodi suspected the trip through Hades was far from being over. Until they had a name, the attacks would continue and wouldn’t stop until someone else was dead.
“Did August say anything to implicate himself in these attacks?” Gabriel asked.
“No. He’s too smart for that. Too loyal to me, as well.” Travis groaned, shook his head. “God knows I don’t deserve it.”
Her father had definitely changed. This wasn’t the defiant drunk who’d made so many people’s lives miserable. Including hers. He’d never been physically abusive, but he’d had a razor-sharp tongue and an awful temper when the booze was in him. And the booze was often in him.
“I’m sorry,” her father continued, still talking to Gabriel. “I’m scared for Jodi and you. Equally scared for your brother and sisters. For Theo. But I honestly don’t know who’s behind what’s going on. If it’s August, he hasn’t given me any hint of it. And he won’t. First, because he knows I absolutely wouldn’t approve. Plus, he also knows our conversations are being recorded.”
“What about Russell?” she asked. “He visited you. Did he mention anything about what’s been going on?”
Travis nodded. “He did, but he didn’t bring up the attacks. It’s the second time he’s come. He was here a few years back, not long after I was convicted.”
This was the first she was hearing of that original visit. But then she hadn’t exactly stayed in touch with either Russell or her father. Still, she had to wonder why Russell would have done that. It wasn’t as if Russell and she had ever had a real relationship.
“What did Russell want?” Gabriel pressed.
“The first time he came, it was because he was mad about being a suspect in the murders and in Jodi’s attack. He said it’d messed up his life, and he blamed me. Russell thought if I’d just confessed right off, that he wouldn’t have been brought into it. But I couldn’t confess to something I didn’t remember.”
Since Gabriel’s arm was touching hers, she felt him tense. Probably because this was bringing back the mother lode of memories for him.
“I still don’t remember,” Travis added, “but I’m not whining about being innocent. Because I’m probably not. There was enough evidence to convict me, and I’ll live with that. Die with it, too,” he said under his breath.
She wasn’t immune to hearing him spell everything out so clearly. No matter what he’d done, he was still her father, and she felt that biological connection tug at her. It was probably doing a lot more than just tugging at Gabriel, though. It was likely twisting him inside, and that’s why she slid her hand over his.
Gabriel glanced at her, their gazes connecting for just a second. Since his mouth tensed, he was probably questioning what she was doing, but it didn’t take long before he gripped her hand in his.
“Russell said you two were back together,” Travis commented.
That caused both Jodi and Gabriel to snap toward him. “We’re not,” she assured him. “In fact, Gabriel and I have never been together.”
Best not to mention that kiss and near-sex from the night before. Especially since there was something much more pressing to ask.
Jodi looked straight in her father’s eyes. “Why did Russell come to visit you this second time?”
“He said it was because of an email threat he got. He thought maybe I was behind it, and he was worried about his wife and baby. Can’t say I blame him, especially considering somebody murdered that cop and keeps trying to murder you.”
Those emails definitely hadn’t been empty threats, so Travis was right about Russell’s concern. Two people were dead, along with some gunmen, and Gabriel, Cameron and she had come close to dying. No way did Jodi want an innocent baby to be caught up in another round of gunfire.
“I told Russell I had no idea who was doing all of this,” her father went on. “I mean, I get fan letters, if you can call ’em that, but I don’t answer them. Those people who write those letters are sick. And none of them have ever said anything about copycatting the crimes to set me free. The guards can verify that because they read everything before it comes to me.” He paused again. “But I got the feeling Russell was here for more than just concerns about that email.”
“What do you mean?” Gabriel snapped, taking the question right out of Jodi’s mouth.
“Russell asked if I remember seeing anything that night. Specifically, he wanted to know if I remembered seeing Hector March around the Beckett ranch before or after the murders. I didn’t know Hector, so Russell showed me a picture of him.”
Maybe Russell was doing what Gabriel and she were—following the leads. But that wasn’t a safe thing to be doing if he truly wanted to keep his wife and baby out of this. If Gabriel and she had found out Russell had visited the prison, then Hector or August could have learned it, too.
“And had you seen Hector?” Jodi pressed when her father didn’t continue.
“He sort of looked familiar, but I couldn’t be sure. Remember, I was d
rinking a lot in those days, and it’s hard to sort it all out in my mind. It’s possible, though, that I saw him at my trial.”
Gabriel looked at her, no doubt wondering if that could have happened, and she had to nod. Hector had indeed come to the courthouse on the day she’d had to testify. He hadn’t come into the courtroom itself, but he’d been in the hall, so there was a chance that her father had gotten a glimpse of him.
“August said you might be remembering more of what happened to you ten years ago,” Travis said.
This was tricky territory. If she told the truth and admitted there were no new memories, it wouldn’t stop the danger because her attacker might think she was lying. Besides, she wasn’t sure she wanted to share any info like that with her father because he might just pass it along to August.
Plus, she was remembering.
When Gabriel had kissed her, her mind had slipped into a dreamy haze. Maybe it was because the kiss had caused her to relax, and she’d gotten some bit of the memories of him trying to revive her on that blood-spattered trail. If that had come back, maybe some of the other pieces would, too.
“I recalled the sound of his footsteps,” she said. It was the truth. But that was a memory she’d had right from the start. “And grabbing the knife.” That was a lie, but the prints proved she’d touched it.
“But you don’t remember seeing his face?” her father pressed.
She studied his eyes, looking for any sign that he was worried about her recovering that particular memory, and she did see some concern. However, she didn’t think it was for him but, rather, for her.
Jodi shook her head. “What about you? Have you remembered anything? Maybe dropping the knife? If you had done that, then someone else could have picked it up and used it on me.”
Now, it was her father’s turn to shake his head. “There are gaps in what went on that night, and some of that is just blank space. I remember arguing with Gabriel’s dad about our cows that were breaking through his fences. After that, I got drunk, and I recall seeing Cameron. He took my truck keys ’cause I was trying to drive off from the bar, and he had somebody take me home. I kept drinking when I got there.”
And she hadn’t been at the house to stop him because she’d been at the Becketts. Of course, Cameron blamed himself, too, since he hadn’t just arrested Travis and locked him up for the night. Jodi had given up on wondering “what might have been,” but it was as if the fates had worked to bring about the murders and her attack.
“Other than the memories of drinking once I got home,” her father went on, “there’s nothing after that until the deputies found me by the river. I don’t have a clue how I got there.”
It was the same story her father had told after he’d been taken into custody, and it hadn’t changed a bit over the years. She didn’t know if that meant it was the truth or if he had made sure there were no variations to prove he was lying. Too bad she might never know which it was.
“Tell me about Hattie Osmond,” Gabriel said, surprising her. Surprising her father, too, judging by the way his forehead bunched up. “Did you ever see her with August?”
“Probably. I mean, she lived not far from us. Why?”
Gabriel lifted his shoulder. “It might be nothing, but it’s possible someone was milking money from her.”
Travis stayed quiet a moment. “And you believe it could have been August?” He didn’t wait for Gabriel to confirm that. “If it was him, then that would give him motive for murdering your father?”
Bingo. But she could tell from her dad’s expression that it was a connection he wasn’t going to make. Or else he didn’t want to make.
Travis dragged in a weary breath. “August has been good to me, and I talk to him a lot. Never once has he hinted that I’m here because of something he did.”
That didn’t mean it wasn’t true. And it could explain why August was so hell-bent on clearing her father’s name. What was missing, though, was any kind of proof. However, if they could connect August to the recent attacks, they might be able to get him to confess to things that happened a decade ago.
“Visiting time’s up,” one of the guards said to them. Both guards then went to Travis and helped him stand.
Travis made eye contact with her. “Thanks for coming.” Then, he shifted his attention to Gabriel. “Don’t let this SOB get to her again.”
Gabriel nodded, but Jodi knew this was out of Gabriel’s hands. He had already tied up three of his deputies just so they could make this trip to the prison. But he couldn’t keep that kind of protection detail on her forever. That meant she either had to go into hiding or bring this monster out into the open.
She preferred doing the latter.
She’d lived enough of her life in the shadows, fearing another attack. Maybe it was time to face this head-on and, one way or another, bring it to an end.
Gabriel and she walked out after they ushered her father away. The moment they were back in the entry, Gabriel got back his weapon and phone, and he immediately called Cameron. Probably so the deputy could bring the cruiser to the front of the building.
“There’s a problem,” she heard Cameron say from the other end of the line.
Gabriel cursed and moved her to the side away from the door. “What happened?” he snapped.
“We found Billy’s lawyer. And it’s not good news.”
Chapter Thirteen
Dead.
Gabriel wondered just how high this body count was going to go before he could finally arrest someone and put a stop to it. The latest casualty was Mara Rayburn, Billy’s high-priced attorney, but in the end she hadn’t fared any better than her client. Because now both of them had been murdered.
The moment Gabriel had Jodi in the back seat of the police cruiser, Cameron handed him his phone so that Gabriel could see what the SAPD officer had sent him about Mara. While Gabriel did that, Cameron started driving away from the prison. Fast. He was following Gabriel’s orders since he didn’t want Jodi on the roads any longer than necessary.
There was another cruiser directly behind them with two deputies inside. Jace Morrelli and Edwin Clary. All of them were prepared for a possible attack, but Gabriel hadn’t braced himself nearly enough for the picture that was on Cameron’s phone. One obviously taken from the most recent crime scene at the lawyer’s condo.
The woman had been stabbed multiple times and had died in a pool of her own blood.
Jodi cursed, glanced away from the phone, and Gabriel cursed himself for not screening her from seeing the images. She already had enough nightmares without adding this.
“While you were inside talking to Travis, I’ve been getting a lot of updates,” Cameron went on after he mumbled an apology to Jodi. An apology that she waved off, and she probably would have gone back for a second look at Mara if Gabriel hadn’t handed Cameron the phone. “The ME doesn’t have an exact time of death yet, but it appears she died shortly after Billy was killed.”
So, if they went with their theory that Mara had murdered Billy, then someone had probably done this to make sure she stayed silent. That someone was no doubt the person behind the attacks.
“Mara’s coworkers believe she was having an affair,” Cameron went on, “and they said she seemed upset lately, like maybe the affair wasn’t going so well. Of course, she could have been upset because she was plotting to murder her teenage client. That means if we can find her alleged lover, then perhaps we find the person who really did this.”
“Her coworkers didn’t know who her lover is...was?” Jodi corrected.
“No. They said she kept it secret. Who knows if that was her choice, or her lover’s.”
Yes, because if the killer’s plan all along was to manipulate Billy and then have Mara off him, then no way would this snake want people to know who he was. It might not have starte
d out that way, though. The affair could have started first, and then both Mara and, therefore, Billy could have been roped into committing murder. Then again, Mara could have agreed to all of this to please the man she “loved,” and when the man was through with her, he killed her.
“There’s more,” Cameron continued. “Mara had a connection to our four dead thugs.”
“I’m listening,” Gabriel assured him. And so was Jodi. She’d moved to the edge of her seat.
“She once defended one of them, Walter Bronson, when she was doing pro bono work, and her coworkers said he recently showed up at her office. The thugs were friends, so it’s possible she only had to convince Bronson to go after us yesterday, and he brought his buddies along to help.”
That made sense, but Gabriel was betting that Mara hadn’t been pleased about the gunman going to her office. “Is there a money trail that leads to Mara?” Gabriel asked.
“She withdrew about three grand yesterday morning. That could have been a partial payment or payment in full. I’m guessing the thugs worked cheap.”
Jodi made a soft groan. “They were willing to kill us for what was probably pocket change to Mara.”
Gabriel heard the disgust in her voice. The pain, too. All of this had to be clawing away at her, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Not yet anyway.
“SAPD thinks Mara knew her killer,” Cameron explained. “There were no signs of forced entry into her condo, no signs of a struggle. Her attacker had simply gone in and started stabbing her. Her phone was in her pocket, and she hadn’t even taken it out.”
As she’d done to him, Gabriel slipped his hand over Jodi’s. Yeah, definitely clawing away at her.
“The CSIs are still going through her condo,” Cameron said a moment later. He, too, was checking Jodi’s response in the rearview mirror. “Maybe they’ll find something there to connect her to this secret lover. I told them to specifically look and see if there’s anything to indicate if that lover could be Hector, Russell or August.”
Always a Lawman Page 13