Burden of Proof

by DiAnn Mills

  She feared Willis might rough Ted up and claim he resisted questioning, similar to what he’d stated about Jason. She notified Simon and asked for guidance in how to proceed.

  “Willis will use him like a magnet to draw Jason out of hiding. I have an idea . . . ,” Simon said.

  She drove into the parking area of the county sheriff’s office in Sweet Briar and turned off the engine. Exasperation swirled like a swarm of bees. Hard to negotiate when she wanted to twist the head off Sheriff Willis Lennox and toss his remains to the wild pigs who’d been after Jason.

  Locking the truck, she strode inside the office. Kevin, Griff, and Willis stood with Ted. Kevin ignored her.

  Willis smirked and gloated, reminding her of Romeo the bull. “Agent Ramos—” Willis opened his palms—“the murder case implicating Jason Snyder is about to be tied up with a big red bow.”

  “By picking up a man who happens to have a registered gun that uses the same caliber of bullet as the murder weapon?”

  “No need to get your feathers all ruffled up. I had a tip and did my civil duty.”

  If she tore into Willis, she’d be pushed off the case for misconduct. “Where’s your search warrant?”

  “Protecting innocent people comes before procedure.”

  “Are you saying you violated Ted’s rights?”

  “We’ll see how the judge views it.”

  She started to ask if the judge was on his payroll but bit her tongue. “Is he a friend of yours?”

  “He’s an elected officer of the law. Ted’s taking up residence here until we have the ballistics report on the gun found in his possession.” Willis lifted a bag of peanuts from his shirt pocket and downed a few. “Same type of gun adds to him being a person of interest and my suspicions of him knowing details about Russell’s murder. Deputy Griff Wilcombe says the chamber’s dirty, so it’s been recently fired—”

  “Sheriff, I said I’d have to check the weapon,” Griff said.

  Willis ignored him. “We’ll have the report tomorrow. Funny thing about bullets—they always match up to a gun somewhere.” He tapped papers on the desk.

  “As I said before April arrived, I demand a lawyer.” Ted’s calm voice was a refreshing counterpoint to the high-voltage tension.

  “I’ve got this.” April plastered on a pleasant demeanor. “I’ll have you out of here shortly. Don’t say a word to any of these men.”

  “Really?” Willis snorted, reminding her again of Romeo. “You’ll have to contact a fancy criminal attorney from Houston or Dallas. Those around here don’t take felony cases.” He anchored his hand on his hip. “Same advice I gave Jason when I arrested him for murder. For now, Ted’s booked as an accomplice in the murder of Russell Edwards.”

  April had never heard such a violation of a citizen’s rights. She paused for a moment of power-thinking before turning to Willis. “You won’t like the way this ends.”

  “By the way, Agent Ramos, in your background search for all those involved in Russell’s murder, I’m sure you saw Ted here spent two years in Huntsville prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.”

  Poker face time.

  “It’s true,” Ted said.

  “That has nothing to do with now,” she said.

  “It’s a game changer.” Willis leaned on one foot. He was acting in such a stereotypical fashion, no one at the Houston office would believe her reporting of him.

  “When did this happen?” she said.

  Willis grinned. “Ted here was jailed about thirty-five years ago. Should have been in for life.”

  “Do you have documentation of the prior charges?”

  “The victim happened to be my uncle,” Willis said. “Do your research and you’ll discover I’m a man who knows the law.”

  “I’ll check into it.”

  “With my blessings, Agent Ramos. Make sure Jason is aware of his dad’s arrest. We can work this out.”

  “I’m taking Ted into FBI custody. You invited us into this case with the report of Jason Snyder on the loose for murder and kidnapping his daughter. As you’ve been previously reminded by the FBI, we have jurisdiction here. You are ordered to release Ted Snyder to me.”

  “I’ll release him to FBI agents who are not harboring a fugitive. They should be taking both of you to jail.”

  “Your phone will be ringing anytime now, Sheriff,” April said. As if on cue, Willis’s cell phone chimed. “Might want to take that.”

  Willis swore and snatched the phone. “Sheriff Willis Lennox.” The room quieted. Red crept up his neck and face. After a booming “Yes, sir,” he squinted at Kevin. “Release Ted into the custody of Special Agent Ramos.”

  April spoke up. “Return his personal belongings and all the items confiscated from his home.”

  Willis’s jaw tightened like a permanent case of TMJ. He glared at her, no doubt planning her demise.

  Kevin produced a small box of papers and Ted’s wallet, an S&W, and keys. Not a word to Ted or eye contact.

  Ted took the box. “Willis, keep my gun. I got nothing to hide.”

  “No way,” April said. “Not without a search warrant.” If the weapon had been recently discharged, fingerprints or trace DNA might be on it. She wanted to see for herself.

  Brenda’s daughter could have planted the gun while the Snyders were locked inside their garage.

  They left the sheriff’s office. She gave Ted the keys to his truck so he could drive while she explored his box of personal items.

  “April—”

  “Wait until we’re on the road.”

  The investigation hadn’t indicated anything incriminating about Ted, but the focus had been on Jason. Aggravated assault? Willis’s uncle? Sounded like she’d be up all night piecing this together. The case had one gray twist after another. The rift between Willis and Jason went back generations, before either one of them was born.

  Once Ted drove out of the sheriff’s parking area, she grabbed her phone and texted Jason.

  Ur Dad & I r heading back 2 the house.

  On the way to the Snyders’, she brought up online county records for Ted’s arrest and conviction. With an inward groan, she studied the trial and case.

  County deputies were sent to the Lennox residence, located outside of Sweet Briar, after receiving a call about an assault. At the residence, deputies found John Lennox with noticeable injuries. He told deputies he’d been assaulted by Ted Snyder. Theodore Andrew Snyder was immediately arrested and transported to the Sweet Briar jail, charged with multiple counts of injury with a deadly weapon.

  An ambulance took Lennox to Beaumont Hospital with head trauma, a busted rib, and a broken arm. Lennox testified Snyder threatened to kill him over a dispute regarding a woman. Snyder claimed Lennox displayed a knife and threatened him. Snyder went after him, broke Lennox’s right arm, and proceeded to slash him with the knife. Snyder was tried and convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to two years in Huntsville prison.

  April lifted her gaze from the report. “Okay, what’s the story about your arrest?”

  He blew out a sigh. Father and son shared the same method of venting frustration. “Nothing I’m proud of, but good came from it. I was twenty-three at the time and dating Vicki. John spread some nasty rumors about her, basically us, and I went after him at his parents’, the same place Willis lives now. When John pulled out a knife, I took it away from him. In the process, I cut him bad. My fault, and I own it.” He turned in to his driveway and raised the garage door. The light overhead came to life. The Chevy rental was parked in front of Vicki’s car, and now she was gone. She’d ask Ted to move it tomorrow.

  “Does Jason know what happened?”

  “Yes. When he and Willis were little boys, Willis brought up how Jason’s daddy was a jailbird. I’d planned to tell him but not at eight years old. I explained it to him as best I could.” Ted cut the engine and lowered the garage door.

  “You said good came from it.”

/>   “Right. Vicki came to see me soon after I started my time in Huntsville. She refused to put up with my bitterness and told me to get right with God or rot there.” He chuckled. “We were both young. I told her never to come back. She mailed me a Bible. I had a lot of extra time in a cell, hours to read Vicki’s Bible, as I called it. I became a Christian six months before my release. Wrote her a letter and told her so. We married less than a year later.”

  “Pretty amazing story,” she said.

  “But the best part belongs to John. He couldn’t believe the change in me and got real curious. Asked me about it. I told him about Jesus. He started going to church, and not long afterward, he stepped into the family of God. We were best friends for a lot of years, still are. John’s in a nursing home now. Dementia took over his mind. Every Tuesday, I go see him. For some reason, he still remembers me. His property is where Jason’s been hiding.”

  Despite the comfortable temps inside the truck, a chill swept up April’s arm. Where did she fit with God? Being with the Snyders and experiencing their faith seemed to restore hers.

  39

  APRIL SHIVERED TO DISSIPATE the strange sensation of God listening, being there in the truck.

  “Do you mind if I look at your S&W?” she said.

  “Go ahead. You’ll find it clean.”

  She examined the chamber. “It is. Griff spoke up on your behalf.”

  “Don’t know him very well, but I appreciated him stepping in tonight.” His shoulders slumped. “This is a nightmare.”

  “I’m really sorry. I’d like to tell you this won’t get worse before it’s resolved. But I can’t.”

  “The difference is we have truth on our side. Truth reigns. Always.”

  “Jason says much of the same.”

  “You aren’t a believer?”

  “I was brought up in the Catholic church. Every Sunday as a girl.”

  “Doesn’t matter to me what denomination or church. Do you have a relationship with Jesus?”

  April recalled a statue of the suffering Jesus in church, how His passion moved her to be a better person. “Yes.” But it wasn’t the same as his. “Why don’t we pick up our conversation inside? Can I get you anything?”

  “No thanks.”

  “Tell me everything about tonight’s arrest in detail.”

  “It’s been a long time since this old man pulled an all-nighter.” He exited the truck and walked through the kitchen to the living area, where he turned on a lamp and gestured for her to sit. The time registered 3:05. He eased into a recliner, his drawn features indicating he needed rest. “Bring on the questions, April.”

  “When was the last time you fired your gun?”

  “It’s been at least two months. Not sure what Willis meant about the chamber being dirty. Number one, I clean my gun after it’s used. Number two, I haven’t fired it.” He paused. “Do you suppose there’s a way to make it look like it was recently fired and date it to the night Russell was killed?”

  “Money and technology can take care of just about anything. Your gun’s always kept in the same place?”

  “In my nightstand.”

  “Tell me exactly how this went down tonight.”

  Ted folded his hands in his lap. “I was asleep when I heard a banging at the door. When I saw two patrol cars with their lights flashing in the driveway, I was afraid something had happened to you and Jason. I opened the door. Kevin Viner led the way with Griff Wilcombe and Cal Bunion. Told me they were there to search my house for proof I’d hidden evidence regarding Russell’s murder. I asked for a search warrant. Kevin claimed Willis had handled it. I told him to show me the document, then he could look through my house.”

  “And?”

  “He pushed me aside.”

  She wanted answers to the questions banging against the side of her mind. Was Kevin playing her and Jason and working for Willis? “How long were they here?”

  “About twenty minutes. Griff found my gun in the nightstand. If he’d asked, I’d have told him where I kept it. Kevin was on the phone.”

  “That must have been when he called me.”

  “He arrested and cuffed me. But they left my rifles and two shotguns in the locked gun cabinet. Never asked for the key to see them.”

  “They were on a mission.”

  “Apparently so.” Ted stretched his neck. Deep lines furrowed into his forehead.

  “Did they rough you up?” she said.

  “At the sheriff’s office, Willis shoved me around, but Griff stopped him. Told him a good attorney would nail him for mistreating a man in his custody. I’ll take care of Willis when arrests are made. Speaking of, did you and Jason make any progress on the lead Tessa Barker gave you?”

  She sketched their meeting with the Barkers. “The huge step forward is finding out who replaced the window in Jason’s office.”

  “Wonderful news. Makes sitting here early in the morning worth it.”

  “If you don’t mind, tell me about Brenda Krew.”

  “A piece of work. She was born and raised here. In and out of trouble in high school. Parents deceased. Married a guy from Colorado. They lived in Sweet Briar and had a child together. Brenda had a bad drinking problem. Her husband filed for divorce and used the drinking to gain custody of their daughter and move to Colorado. Brenda cleaned up after that and started the real estate business. Got active in church. She and Willis are friends—both alike. Appear all community-interested, especially when it benefits them. Neither of them have friends, so they fit. She can be kind of standoffish.”

  April gave him additional insight into her conversation with Brenda. “. . . I turned the photo over and recognized the young woman who’d handed me Isabella in Houston.”

  Ted gripped the side of the chair. “So now it appears Brenda and her daughter have joined forces with Willis.”

  “Shouldn’t you or Jason have recognized the young woman?”

  “Doubtful. She left with her dad as a child. I suppose she was six or seven.” He cocked his head. “Her name’s Joey. She’s about twenty-three now.”

  “Joey Krew?”

  “No. Brenda took her maiden name back after the divorce. Joey Frederickson.”

  “Her dad’s name?”

  “Karl Frederickson.”

  April typed the info for Simon. “She’s back in her mother’s life and facing kidnapping charges. Serious stuff.”

  “She was a sweet little girl.”

  April had more questions, especially about Brenda, who appeared to have unresolved issues. But Ted’s eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with dark circles. “You need your rest.”

  “Not until we finish talking this through. How else can I help?”

  “Willis is risking everything to find out where his wife and son are. Something has him scared into making reckless decisions, and any of them could give him lengthy jail time. No one in their right mind takes the law into his own hands unless the stakes are so high he feels he has no choice.”

  40

  BY THE TIME JASON REALIZED his phone battery had died and connected it to his truck’s charger, he saw he had a missed text from April. She and Dad were home. Too late for him to contact either of them. He should be asleep, but it was hard to settle down with so much happening.

  His phone rang . . . April.

  “Everything’s quiet,” she said. “Your dad’s in bed again.”

  “You should be headed there too.”

  “Nearly there.” She gave him an overview of the evening.

  “My guess is Willis has gotten rid of the real murder weapon—tossed it to the bottom of a swamp. But we’ve still found two huge pieces tonight with Hunter’s admission and the identity of the woman who kidnapped Isabella.”

  “Simon’s working on a BOLO so we can question her. That’s a be-on-the-lookout.”

  “Does she have a record? Hard to believe she began a life of crime by nabbing my daughter.”

  “Her criminal history reads like a who’s w
ho. First arrested at eighteen in Colorado Springs for shoplifting. Went downhill from there. Arrested and charged for selling cocaine. Moved to Houston, where she spent a court-mandated term in drug rehab. Three stints in jail. At age twenty-three, she’s behaved herself for seven months.”

  “Either Willis reached out to Joey or Brenda enlisted her, but we probably won’t know until she’s picked up. I’d like to see her locked away until she’s ninety.”

  “A judge will decide her fate. I have to wonder if she had previously arranged to pass off Isabella to another person, or did she panic and then take frantic measures? My FBI status might have alarmed her. And Isabella was very upset. Joey might have been hit with a dose of reality for what she’d done.”

  “Willis’s plan backfired because he had no clue about the tracker. He was betting on me giving him Billie’s whereabouts in exchange for Isabella.” How many times had he gone over this? “But when will it all end?”

  “Jason, we won’t know all the details and motivation factors until Joey’s brought in. Maybe not then. Don’t torture yourself with what didn’t happen to your daughter. Take comfort she’s in the best hands possible.”

  “You do a good job of talking people down off the ledge.”

  April was quiet for a long moment. He wanted to slap himself upside the head. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft. “Sometimes. Are you okay? Do you want me to drive out there? Keep you company? I seem to have a new zip of energy.”

  “Stay put,” he said.

  “The connection isn’t staticky. Have you left the woods?”

  “I have an errand.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Parked near my ranch.”

  Her voice rose. “What part of ‘stay low’ do you not understand?”

  “Willis has zero patience, which means his tactics for finding Billie and Zack will grow worse.”

  “But why are you at your ranch?”