“Yes,” Dominic verified. He turned to Addison. “Rooney told me about it on the drive over. Quarles knew you’d hired a fake P.I., and I’m guessing he didn’t say a word to you about it.”
“He didn’t.” And Addison intended to find out why he didn’t. There was no logical reason for him to keep information like that to himself. If it was true, that is.
Addison had to keep reminding herself there were a lot of ifs in all this. Because the two people in front of her might not even be telling the truth.
“How did Quarles find out Cantor was a fake?” she asked Rooney.
Cooper’s phone rang, and he stepped away to answer it, but he motioned for Rooney to continue talking.
“Late yesterday, Judge Quarles called out of the blue,” Rooney explained. “He said I sounded funny, nothing like the man he’d spoken with here in Sweetwater Springs. I told him I hadn’t been in this town in years.”
So Quarles had likely known for hours. Withholding the information didn’t paint him in a good light. Of course, the judge would probably have a good explanation for what he’d done. Maybe that he hadn’t had time to tell them, but Addison’s theory went in a more sinister direction.
What if Quarles was behind Cissy’s murder and had hoped Cantor would kidnap or kill her because of something Cissy had told her? A man who hid his real identity didn’t usually do that unless he was up to no good, and Quarles might have hoped to capitalize on that.
“I called Quarles,” Dominic went on. “I figured you’d want to talk to him, so he’s on his way over.”
Addison groaned, and this time it wasn’t silent. Of course, she wanted to talk to Quarles, but after the day from Hades, she wasn’t sure she was up to another round with the judge right now. Plus, there were arrangements for the safe houses that needed to be finalized, and that couldn’t happen with any of their suspects around. Every minute they spent here was precious time her baby wasn’t in a more protected place.
Cooper finished his latest call, his attention going straight to Reed. Mercy. Something else was wrong. Addison could tell from Cooper’s expression.
“Reed and Addison, can I talk to you a minute, alone?” Cooper asked.
Definitely bad news, and Addison tried to brace herself when they stepped into Cooper’s office.
“Someone stole the DNA for Mellie’s baby,” Cooper said, keeping his voice low.
Addison had expected something much worse, like another attack. Still, it wasn’t good that someone had stolen the baby’s DNA.
Except it did mean that the DNA was likely important.
“Can they just get another sample?” she asked. It would delay them getting the information, but at least they would know eventually.
“Maybe, if we can find the adoptive mother. She seems to have disappeared.”
All right, so that was the much worse part. Addison prayed nothing bad had happened to the woman, but it was a strong possibility she’d been hurt or even killed. Someone definitely didn’t want the baby’s DNA to come to light, probably because it would implicate that someone in a whole boatload of serious crimes.
“I’ll get Rooney’s statement,” Cooper offered. “Quarles, too, when he gets here. You two look exhausted. As soon as the safe houses are ready, I suggest you get out of here.”
She could tell Reed wanted to argue with that. He no doubt wanted to stay and help with these new wrinkles in the investigation, but getting Emily to a safe house was their top priority right now. Besides, there were no guarantees they’d get anything helpful from Rooney, Dominic or Quarles. Their best bet right now seemed to be Cantor, and Pete had already agreed to question him.
Cooper went back into the squad room, and when Addison turned to follow him, Reed took hold of her arm. However, he didn’t say anything until Cooper was out of earshot.
“I need to apologize,” he whispered.
Addison didn’t need him to clarify that. He was sorry about that kiss. Well, so was she.
Okay, partly.
She was sorry it was causing Reed to twist and turn inside. And that was exactly what he was doing. He would see the kiss as a massive lapse in judgment, but Addison knew that judgment had nothing to do with it.
“The divorce ended our marriage,” she said, “not the heat that’s always been between us.”
With his gaze connected with hers, he made a sound of agreement, and for a moment Addison thought he was going to kiss her again. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part. Oh, yes, she wanted more kisses from Reed, but she knew they would come at a high price. Not just for Reed.
But for her, too.
Reed was still wrestling with being a father. Still wrestling with having feelings for her that he didn’t want to have. And he was doing all that while trying to keep Emily and her out of the path of a killer. However, when the danger was over, it was possible that Reed would embrace fatherhood but not her. He might never be able to forgive her for what she’d done.
That meant Addison could get her heart crushed again.
Yes, that kiss came at a very high price.
She heard the front door open. Heard the voices, too, and knew that Quarles had already arrived.
Oh, joy.
“I think you have your killer,” Quarles was saying to Cooper when Reed and she went back into the squad room. “I hope you’re about to arrest that imposter.”
“My deputy will question him,” Cooper explained. “And if there’s a reason to arrest him, then we will.”
While Cooper was still talking, the judge’s attention went to Addison. “You should do a better job of screening people you let into your life.”
She flinched, but before she could say anything, Reed stepped in front of her. “You have a reason to be here, Judge Quarles?”
And he sounded about as friendly as Addison felt. She’d been a fool to trust Cantor, but she didn’t need Quarles reminding her of that.
“Yes, I have a darn good reason,” Quarles insisted. “Someone’s trying to drag me into this baby farm mess, and I believe Addison started it all by hiring a fake P.I. I think Cantor’s behind everything—the murder and the attacks—and he wants to frame me for it.”
“And someone’s doing the same to me,” Dominic added.
“Please,” Quarles said, stretching the word out. “You’re a lawyer. If your reputation is sullied by these accusations, it’ll barely make a ripple in your career. I, on the other hand, will be ruined. That’s why the sheriff needs to make an arrest now so I can start putting all this behind me.”
If only they had enough evidence for an arrest. But they didn’t seem any closer now than when all this had begun.
“It won’t help to arrest Cantor if he’s only guilty of impersonating a P.I.,” Reed argued. “There’s a lot going on. Stuff that requires plenty of money and a strong motive. I’m not sure Cantor has either. Heck, I’m not even sure he’s connected to Dearborn, the baby farms or the kidnapping attempts. He could have just been looking for a friend who’s now been murdered.”
Clearly, neither Dominic nor Quarles cared much for Reed’s theory. Dominic belted out some profanity, and the anger flashed through the judge’s eyes. But there was anger in Reed’s eyes, too.
“You knew that Cantor was a fake, and you waited to tell us,” Reed said to Quarles. “Why?”
That didn’t help with the judge’s angry response. “Great. Now you’re back to accusing me of wrongdoing. You’re not the only one with a full plate right now, Deputy. I didn’t have time to tell you, but I’m telling you now—arrest Cantor, because he’s a killer.”
Reed and Cooper exchanged glances, and Addison could almost see what was going on in their heads. Cantor had been shot, maybe trying to catch the kidnappers. Maybe not.
Only Cantor would be able to tell them t
hat.
“I’ll have my deputy check on Cantor again,” Cooper agreed. “But if the doctors say Cantor’s not up to being questioned yet, then our little visit ends now so that Reed and I can get back to doing our jobs.”
However, when Cooper reached for his phone, it rang before he could make the call to Pete. With all the bad news they’d gotten lately, Addison braced herself for another round, but she prayed that the danger had stayed away from Emily, the other babies and the Sweetwater Ranch.
Cooper didn’t put the call on speaker. Nor did he say anything for several snail-crawling moments. “How bad?” he asked.
Addison’s heart dropped. “Please, not Emily.” And it took everything inside her to stay still and not run out to the ranch.
“You can’t,” Reed said, no doubt knowing what she was thinking. “It could be a trick to draw us out into the open again.”
He was right, of course, but it still took a huge effort and Reed’s grip to make her stay put.
“Secure the room and don’t let anyone leave the hotel. I’ll be right there,” Cooper told the person on the other end of the line.
Even though this was obviously still bad news, Addison blew out the breath she’d been holding. This wasn’t about Emily.
“You found Cantor’s hotel room?” Reed asked the moment Cooper finished the call.
“Yeah, he was staying at the Bluebonnet Inn,” Cooper verified. “And Mellie was there.” A muscle flickered in his jaw. “An ambulance is on the way to her now.”
Chapter Fourteen
Reed mentally repeated what Cooper had just told them, but there was one word that came through loud and clear.
Ambulance.
“Mellie’s hurt?” Addison asked. Without even looking at Reed, she leaned against him. Probably because her legs felt like rubber. Yeah, Reed was feeling that, too, along with being sick to his stomach.
Cooper nodded and generally looked as disgusted with himself as Reed felt. “She’s not conscious. The hotel clerk said it appears that she’s been shot.”
Good thing Addison was using him for support, because that did it. She didn’t just lean against Reed. She sagged against him, and he hooked his arm around her waist to keep her from falling.
“Oh, God,” Addison whispered. “This can’t happen again.”
But it apparently had happened again. This was yet another dose of bad news they didn’t need. Especially Mellie. The young woman had been afraid for her life, and they’d failed her. They’d let someone, a shooter, get to her.
But who?
The most obvious answer was Cantor. Sometimes, though, the most obvious wasn’t the truth, because their other suspects, Dominic and Quarles, could have been the ones behind this, as well.
“But Mellie’s alive?” Dominic asked.
Cooper nodded. “For now. The clerk said she’s lost a lot of blood. She appears to have a head injury, too.”
Hell. This just kept getting worse and worse.
“But she’s alive,” Dominic said. “That means she might be able to tell us who attacked her.”
Dominic’s breathing kicked up significantly, and he looked ready to bolt from the building. Maybe only because it was a reminder that the danger was so close. Just up the street.
Or maybe he looked that way because Mellie could implicate him in this.
“I told you Cantor was dangerous,” Quarles spat out. Unlike Dominic, he didn’t appear to be on the verge of panicking or running. He had an I told you so expression on his smug face. “He should be arrested now.”
“Or someone setting him up could want to make him look dangerous,” Reed argued. “Cantor hasn’t exactly spent a lot of time in his hotel room, so it’s not likely he was the one who shot Mellie.” Though it was possible that was exactly what he’d done.
Still, it would mean the man had either left the chase for the kidnapper or shot Mellie before he even drove out to the spot of the attack. But if Cantor had been the one to shoot her in order to silence her, then why had he done it in his own hotel room? And as chilling as it was to consider, why hadn’t Cantor made sure he’d succeeded? Even an amateur killer would have ensured that his intended victim was dead so she couldn’t identify him.
“Why was Mellie there in Cantor’s hotel room anyway?” Dominic asked no one in particular. “She was worried about her safety, so why did she go to him instead of the police?”
Reed didn’t know for sure, but it was possible Mellie didn’t trust the cops. After all, they hadn’t done such a good job of protecting her sister. But why had she thought she could trust Cantor? What kind of history did those two have that would make her go to his hotel room?
Or maybe he’d somehow lured her there?
“You said Cantor was looking for Cissy,” Reed reminded Rooney. “What specifically did he want you to do to help him?”
“He wanted files from Dearborn,” Rooney answered without hesitating. “He also wanted me to try to get surveillance feed from the traffic camera just outside Cissy’s apartment.”
Quarles froze. For just a split second. “Did you get it for him?”
“I couldn’t. The traffic camera wasn’t working for the time period he wanted.”
Too bad because that surveillance footage might have shown them who’d visited Cissy. That, in turn, could have given possible answers about her killer.
“Did Cantor say anything else about why he wanted to find Cissy?” Addison pressed.
Rooney shook his head. “I’m sorry, and I didn’t push him for more, either. Like I said, I thought maybe she was an old girlfriend or something.”
“I’ll go to the hospital to talk to Cantor,” Colt volunteered. But then he stopped and looked at Rooney. “Unless you think this is some kind of attempt to get us apart so the kidnappers can come after Addison again.”
That didn’t help the sick feeling in Reed’s stomach. Because it could be true. What he needed was to press to get those safe houses ready. However, he had no intention of doing that until he got rid of this trio.
“Have Pete talk to Cantor now,” Cooper instructed Colt. “And have him make sure Cantor is kept away from Mellie when the ambulance brings her in.” Cooper turned to Reed. “You can use my office to check on those plans being made. In the meantime, I’ll make sure our visitors find their way out.”
Reed didn’t wait for a second invitation. Since he wanted her away from Dominic and Quarles, he got Addison moving in the direction of Cooper’s office. Once they were in the hall, he checked over his shoulder to make sure the others had left. Dominic had. But Quarles and Rooney were at the door, talking. That probably wasn’t a good sign, but for now Reed had Addison sit down, and he took out his phone to call the marshal’s service about the safe houses.
Finally, he got some good news.
“The houses are ready,” Reed relayed to Addison as soon as he got off the phone. “And as requested the marshals beefed up the protection detail for Emily.” Reed would do the beefing up himself for Addison’s protection.
There was a glimmer of relief in her eyes. Quickly followed by fear and dread. Yes, Emily would be safe. Or at least safer. But it meant Addison was going to have to say goodbye to their little girl.
“She won’t be away from you for long,” Reed assured her. Maybe that wasn’t a lie. “Come on. Let’s go to the ranch and wait until the marshals arrive to pick her up.”
It wouldn’t take the marshals much time to make it there. Probably about an hour, and each minute of the hour would seem like an eternity to him, because during that time both Addison and Emily would still be in danger.
Reed led her back into the hall and was glad to see that both Rooney and Quarles had finally left. However, Cooper was on the phone, and he held up his finger in a wait a second gesture.
“I’ll get there as fast as I can,” Cooper said to the caller.
That stopped Reed in his tracks. “What’s wrong now?” he asked the moment Cooper finished the call.
“A gunman wearing a mask got into the hospital and forced Cantor to leave with him.”
“Is Pete okay?” Addison wanted to know.
“He’s fine. Just riled.” Cooper grabbed his Stetson and headed for the door. “Pete’s in pursuit, but you should probably wait here until I’m back so I can escort you to the ranch.”
Cooper hurried out before Reed could remind him that waiting around anywhere wasn’t a good idea. Of course, neither was going out there without backup.
“I wouldn’t get near the windows,” Colt reminded him, and he went to the front door and locked it.
Addison and Reed moved back into the hall, and the waiting began. Again. How the devil had this happened? The small country hospital didn’t have security. Didn’t usually need it. But Pete had been there to prevent anything bad from happening.
“How could the gunman have gotten past Pete?” he asked, knowing she wouldn’t have the answer. “He would have been watching the E.R. entrance to make sure no one came in that way.”
“Maybe the person got in through one of the clinics.” Addison rubbed her hand down his arm.
Her arm rub was no doubt an attempt to try to reassure him, but no gesture could do that. However, the clinic entrance theory did make sense, since they were offices attached to the hospital but with their own private entrances. At this time of day, anyone could have gone through one of those clinics and waltzed into the hospital. And into the room where Cantor was being examined.
“There’s only one reason a masked gunman would go after Cantor,” Reed said. “And that’s to silence him. Maybe because Cantor got a look at the kidnapper after all.”
Addison made a sound of agreement. “And maybe this gunman was the one who attacked Mellie.” That brought her fingers to her mouth. “Oh, God. Mellie could be dying.”
And probably was. In fact, the person who shot her had likely left her for dead or else had been interrupted while trying to kill her.
Reining in Justice Page 12