Justice Hunter

by Jennifer Morey

  He’d cast her aside that simply? Maybe he thought scaring her would get her to talk. Funny, how previously that tactic would have worked. But now she understood the reason she’d been scared before. And she understood she had nothing to fear.

  If ever there was a man who needed an intellectual slap in the face, it was this one. She waited for him to end his call.

  “I’m pregnant,” she blurted.

  His glance froze, and he just stared at her. Gaped.

  She let him stew awhile before saying, “I don’t know for sure, but all the signs are there.”

  To that, his face darkened. “You’re just saying that.”

  “No, I’m not.” Of course, his past would inch in to steal the moment.

  He didn’t falter. “Yes, you are. You know where I’m vulnerable, and you’re taking advantage of the opportunity.”

  “Nope. Wrong again.” She folded her arms, marveling at how far out of touch he’d become.

  He said nothing, his whole body exuding conflict. He had no evidence against her, only a pillowcase that could have been stolen from her easy-to-break-into, cheap apartment. “I didn’t kill anyone, nor did I have anything to do with this.” She pointed down to the pillowcase. “You’re reaching for a way to implicate me out of distrust.”

  With that, he blinked. “For all I know you haven’t been honest with me from the start. There could be more you haven’t told me.”

  As he spoke, she saw his own disbelief in what he said. With a long sigh, he said, “I was hoping you would turn out to be different.”

  Than what? His lying ex-wife? “I am different. You’re just too stubborn to admit it. You’re scared of what it meant when we made love. And now you’re even more scared.”

  “I’m not afraid of anything.” He started trudging back toward the front of the cabin.

  Typical macho thing to say. She trailed behind him. “What if I am pregnant?”

  He kept walking, not acknowledging her—probably what he wished he’d done with his ex-wife. Did he have daydreams about how he would have handled that differently?

  Screw you, I know you’re lying...

  Except that didn’t fit her impression of Lucas Curran. No, hero fit him much better. Hunter of justice.

  All of the fight drained from her. If he had to cling to the belief that she had something to do with his sister’s murder, she couldn’t change his mind. He had to decide what to think on his own.

  But really...what if she was pregnant? What would he do? Would he hold on to past disappointments...or would he be the hero she knew him to be?

  Chapter 14

  Two nights later, long after Lucas had gone to bed, Rachel still couldn’t sleep. She finished dressing in the hotel bathroom. Lucas had gotten them a two-bedroom suite. His aloofness suffocated and angered her. Just because he’d had a bad experience with another woman didn’t give him the right to treat her as though she was of the same ilk. Rachel might have withheld the truth to protect herself, but she didn’t lie. She resented him for assuming she did, labeling her, judging. That injustice had led to other thoughts, how off course she’d gotten.

  She finally relented to the calling in her heart. Fortunately, the calling had nothing to do with him and everything to do with her. Take back your life, it said. The setback her relationship with Jared had caused had diverted her path, but she saw a way to put herself back onto the straight road. Thanks to Lucas, she had a chance now. While she still debated the folly of leaving him, she also couldn’t stay. Her roots on the street may not equate to his as a SWAT cop, but she could defend herself. With Jared gone, she didn’t have to be afraid anymore. She shouldn’t have been afraid before.

  Lucas’s door was still closed. He’d shut it last night as though shutting her out. Well, he’d get his wish. Quietly, she left the hotel suite and took the elevator to the lobby.

  She took a taxi to her apartment.

  “Wait for me,” she told the driver. This wouldn’t take long.

  Careful that no one saw her, she entered the building. No one stirred at this hour. The elevator seemed loud in the silence. On her floor, she kept careful vigil down the hallway. Someone’s television played as she passed one door. Most of the lights had burned out in the hall. Shadows engulfed her door. She used her key, slowly and stealthily unlocking and pushing the door open.

  Peeking inside, she saw the mess. Someone had searched her apartment. She calmed her alarm, not seeing anyone inside. Most likely the apartment had been ransacked before she’d been shot. Stepping inside, she closed the door.

  Without turning on a light, she veered around an overturned chair and stepped over the covers that had been yanked off her daybed. At the head of the bed, which had been pulled away from the wall, she found her bedside caddy still hanging from the mattress. Whoever had broken in here had dug through the books and magazines, but the zippered pouch had been left undisturbed. She opened it and retrieved her pistol, flipping the safety off. Grabbing the extra clip, she turned. Her armoire doors hung open, and all her clothes lay on the floor, but her purse still hung from a nail on the inside. She went there, kicking clothes out of the way. The top gaped as though meaty hands had reached inside, looking for something revealing.

  She removed the purse and dropped the extra clip and gun inside. Strapping that to her waist, she jumped over clothes and headed for the door. Peering into the dark hallway, she left the apartment and made her way to the elevator. The neighbor’s television faded as she passed. She stepped inside the elevator. In the lobby, a man staggered through the front doors.

  Seeing her, his face took on a drunken leer. “Hey, I remember you.”

  “Have a good night,” she said and took a wide path to avoid him.

  “We could have a good night together.”

  Ignoring him, she went outside, glancing up and down the street. The same cars were parked on the road. One drove by, the driver oblivious to her.

  She got back into her waiting taxi and told the driver Jared’s address.

  Ten minutes later the driver pulled to a stop in front of the huge house. Only an outdoor light and possibly one interior light shined through the night. Crime-scene tape bordered the perimeter. The team had finished going through the house.

  “You sure this is the right address?” the driver asked.

  “Yes, this is it.” She dug into her jeans pocket for cash. Lucas had given her some when they’d left his ranch, in case they ever got separated. Handing him the fare plus a generous tip, she said, “Don’t wait for me.”

  The driver stared at her a long moment, but saw the thickness of the folded wad of cash and took it.

  Getting out, she looked at each neighboring house, spaced far apart. Not seeing anyone watching, or that the taxi’s arrival had drawn any attention, she faced Jared’s house.

  One thing she’d told no one: she still had a key to get in the back door. Keeping to the shadows, she made her way undetected to the back garage door. Using her key, she entered the garage and stepped inside Jared’s large, five-bedroom home.

  Being here again felt wrong, and not because she’d broken in. The last time she’d been here, she’d thought he lived alone. Luella, his wife, had lived here, too. It felt completely different. Not that she had any feelings left for Jared. She didn’t. She just wished she’d have known he was married when she met him.

  Going into his den, a room he’d often told her he favored, she went to the photos he prominently displayed on the bookshelf. One whole shelf showcased six. A chill spread through her. She remembered seeing these. They’d struck her as odd; six pictures on one shelf when the rest had nothing but books. Why had Jared put them here? Maybe he had no particular reason.

  Moving closer, she studied each one. Jared and Luella were in all of them, captured in varying moments at dif
ferent events. Rachel estimated the time frame must be two or three years before she’d met him, or before he’d taken her to his house and she’d seen them the first time.

  Something else snagged her attention. Eldon was in all of them, too. And in each one, the camera had caught Luella looking at him. Over her shoulder in one, to the side in another. Across the room. Facing each other, Eldon with a stunning brunette on his arm and Jared smiling and talking to her, unaware of the sultry way his wife regarded his partner in that moment. In the last photo, she actually stood right next to Eldon. Her head tilted beguilingly, Eldon grinning as though they shared some intimate secret.

  Eldon being in the photos wasn’t significant. The way Jared’s wife looked at him was.

  Rachel saw why police hadn’t thought much of these. A few family pictures, harmless by themselves. But piece it together with Eldon...

  If Luella had discovered Jared’s fraudulent policies, could she also have discovered Eldon’s? With Jared murdered, Eldon could have been the one to take action to protect their activities. Jared could have been innocent, or he may have gone along with Eldon’s plan up until he’d had a change of heart.

  Rachel needed proof. Evidence. If she would ever take her life back, she needed that one thing. Eldon wouldn’t know what she’d learned just now, and she could act as though she hadn’t. He wouldn’t know he was about to become a suspect of fraud and murder.

  Taking up all of the framed photos, she put them on the floor, spreading them out in a row so no one would miss them.

  Then, after a quick search of the rest of the house that turned up no other clues, she slipped out, as unseen as she had been when she arrived.

  * * *

  After walking all the way back to town with one stop at a supercenter store to buy a recorder, Rachel waited for HealthFirst to open. She’d hoped to intercept Eldon on his way into the building, but he hadn’t shown up. After ten, he probably wasn’t going to. She went into the lobby and asked the front desk receptionist if he’d be there today.

  “No. He’s on vacation.”

  He’d gone on vacation with his partner missing? “Where did he go?”

  The young woman smiled. “They don’t tell me that.”

  “May I speak with his assistant?”

  “Sure.” The woman picked up a phone and called an extension. “Rachel Delany is here to see you.” She listened and then hung up the phone. “She’ll come to the lobby.”

  “Thank you.” Rachel left the front desk, and the woman helped a man dressed in a suit who’d waited behind Rachel.

  She wandered over to a wall beneath the atrium high above, where wide-screen televisions silently displayed advertisements for quality health coverage. Silver. Gold. Diamond. Three plans for varying levels of income. The screen switched to Ruby and Sapphire plans. Sapphire sold to the lowest-income policy holders. Rachel recalled that Jared had sold a few of those, and she had facilitated sending them to clients. That must be the plan where he’d embedded the fraudulent policies.

  “Rachel?”

  She turned to see Eldon’s assistant approach.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I hope so. Do you know where Eldon is? I need to talk to him about Jared.”

  The woman’s friendly smile faded as she sobered. “He was devastated when he heard about Jared. Murdered?” She shook her head. “Everybody is so shocked.”

  “Yes, it is a shock.”

  “Were you seeing him again?”

  “No.” She forgave the woman for asking. “But there is something I really need to talk to Eldon about.”

  “He went to his lake house.” She explained where, and when Rachel asked for the address, she wrote it down for her. “He had me mail him some things there. He’s on vacation but working when he can. You know those executive types.”

  “Yes.”

  “They have no personal life.”

  Unless they had shady ones, like Jared. But of course, not all executives were like that.

  “Why do you need to talk to him?”

  “It’s personal.” She wished she could sneak into his office and hack into his computer, but she’d have to leave that to Lucas’s expertise.

  She turned to the patiently waiting assistant. “If Lucas comes looking for me, tell him to go to Jared’s house.” He’d know what to do from there.

  She left the building and started walking toward a bus stop. A few minutes later she realized someone was following her. Glancing back, she saw a woman, tall and thin with long, wavy blond hair and sunglasses. A bright, multicolored purse hung from her shoulder. She didn’t look like much of a threat.

  At the bus stop, Rachel stopped to wait. The woman stopped next to her, casual, nonchalant.

  The bus arrived and Rachel boarded, aware of the woman behind her. She chose a window seat.

  When the blonde woman took the seat next to her, she turned expectant eyes to her.

  The woman glanced at her and then all around the bus. Then she faced Rachel again.

  “You’re Rachel Delany, right?” the woman asked.

  Apprehension reared up as she tried to place the woman. “Who are you?”

  “You worked for Jared Palmer a few years ago.”

  “Who are you?” Rachel asked in a more demanding tone.

  “Oh.” She stuck her hand out. “Sorry. Chloe Chesterfield.”

  Rachel shook her hand, picking up on a spunky personality despite her second glance around the bus. What had her so skittish?

  “You’re working with that detective, right? The one who works for that famous one? Tandy?”

  “Well, I’m not really working with him. He’s looking for his sister’s killer.”

  “And now that Jared is dead, that means someone else probably killed her. I heard it on the news that he was missing, and I just found out he was killed.” Chloe did another survey through the bus, and this time included a sweep of the road behind them. Then she leaned closer to Rachel. “I was too afraid to come forward but there’s no other way.” She lowered her voice. “My mother bought one of those policies Jared sells.”

  “The Sapphire package?”

  “Yes. She went in for a routine checkup and had to pay eighty percent. Eighty percent! Her policy didn’t say what percentages it paid, just what it covered. Jared told her she’d pay twenty percent. When she confronted him, he said, no, he told her eighty percent. But of course that’s not what he said. I started doing my own investigation.” She put her hand on Rachel’s briefly. “I’m married, you see, so my name is different than my mother’s. I acted like I wanted a cheap policy. He sold me the same one as my mother’s.” She gave Rachel’s hand a pat. “Only I recorded the entire conversation.”

  As the woman paused, Rachel realized she expected some kind of accolade. “Wow. You’re a brave woman.”

  Chloe beamed, so proud of herself. “Yes, and then later, I told Jared if he didn’t refund my mother her expenses, I’d take what I had to police.” She did another look-around, again going to the rear of the bus. Rachel did the same, beginning to wonder if this woman had attracted attention she didn’t want, either.

  “Do you know, that very night my home was broken into? I put the recording in our safe, but it wasn’t a high-dollar safe. Someone broke into that, too, and took the recording. But that wasn’t all. Whoever did it was still in my house. I was attacked. Beaten. And then the man warned me if I ever threatened Jared Palmer again, I’d be killed.”

  Something similar had happened to Rachel. “You were afraid to go to the police?”

  The woman nodded emphatically. “The threats didn’t stop after I got out of the hospital. I found my cat dead on my front porch. I received scary phone calls. I was followed. And that man would talk to me in person. He’d wait until I left work or, once w
hen I went out with friends, he was waiting for me outside my door. I’d had a little to drink that night so I was completely vulnerable. He didn’t hurt me again, just warned me that he’d always be watching, that Jared employed him to take care of people like me. I believed him. I also think he enjoyed tormenting me more than he’d enjoy killing me. He was a real creep.”

  Rachel wholeheartedly agreed. “But now Jared is dead.”

  “Yes. And you have your detective.” Chloe leaned back after another check of their surroundings. Then she dug into her purse. “I kept a copy of my mother’s policy, and recently befriended Eldon’s secretary. She told me you came to see Eldon. That’s how I knew to come after you.” She pulled out a USB. “I’m too afraid to hang on to something like this. But you could give it to your detective friend.”

  “What is this?”

  “A copy of everything on Jared’s computer.”

  Rachel took the device, ecstatic she’d have another chance to go through Jared’s files. “Thanks.” Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough to implicate the real criminal. Eldon.

  “Eldon’s secretary never liked Jared.”

  “Did she have an affair with him?” Rachel didn’t really want to know the answer to that, she just couldn’t resist the sarcasm.

  “She didn’t say.”

  The bus came to Rachel’s stop. “This is me.”

  “I’m staying on until the bus turns around and heads back to town. This one does that.”

  “Thank you, Chloe. This will be a big help.”

  “I can’t wait to have my life back,” Chloe said, getting up to let Rachel out. “Not having to look over my shoulder will be deliverance from Hell to Heaven.”

  “Yes.” Rachel smiled at the woman. She’d feel the same. Taking her life back... That was what this was all about. “For me, too.” She said farewell and went to step off the bus. From there she had about a five-mile walk. The thought that maybe she should be doing this with Lucas nagged her. But if he’d never come into her life, she’d have had to face this sooner or later. She would have to take action in order to rid Eldon and Jared from her life once and for all. She’d faced bad men before. Men in the streets. She knew how to fight and she knew how to use a gun. All she needed was a confession. Then she’d get away and head for the nearest cop.