by Liliana Hart
Adam seemed to snap out of it at the sound of his name. His face had lost all color and there was a sheen of sweat on his brow.
“I was in the military,” Jack said. “I know how things work. You bust your ass to follow orders and be a good soldier and move up the ranks. But there’s always someone ahead of you. And then you start to rise up and you realize it’s politics, just like everything else. It’s who can do for who instead of who’s the most qualified or deserving. What did they promise you? Money? Rank? A job? You kind of blew your cover when you and Leslie were feeling each other up a few minutes ago.”
“Wait a second,” Adam said, putting up his hands and scrubbing the sides of his face. “This is nuts. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t kill Brett. And I’m bi. That’s no secret. Leslie and I have had a thing a time or two. I’ve hooked up with several people in the group. That’s what everyone does. It’s no secret.
“And Vaughn is perfectly aware that I’m the way I am. I don’t want a serious relationship, and he doesn’t want to play the field. I’m cool with that. So we’re friends. I didn’t kill Brett, and I don’t know anything about amphetamines.”
“How’d your prints get on the water bottles?” Jack asked.
Adam started to shake his head and open his mouth, but he froze before he could speak. He closed his eyes and shook his head, as if he were trying to make sense of it all.
“What is it?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know,” he said, tapping his hand against his thigh. I’d noticed he’d become more jittery the longer we’d talked. “I…I don’t feel so good. I need to go.”
“I hope you’re going to get an attorney,” Jack said. “Because it looks like you’re going to need one. We’ll be in touch.”
We moved out of the way as Adam got into his Jeep and threw it into reverse. He fishtailed out of the parking lot and sped away.
“I wonder what that’s all about,” I said.
“I don’t know,” Jack said. “We’ll let him stew on it, and then bring him in for formal questioning tomorrow. He seems a little nervous.”
“I’m guessing he’s not going to do too well in the trial he’s taking part in to do away with his meds.”
“I hope he’s got some left,” Jack said. “Let’s go back home and see what else Carver has pieced together. And maybe you can figure out a way to explain to Vaughn that we think his friend is a murderer.”
“The fun never ends with this job,” I said.
17
Something about Adam Taylor bothered me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I was hoping to avoid Vaughn and Jack’s mother when we got back to the house, but they were still in the kitchen with notebooks and charts and graphs spread across all the counters. I froze in the entryway and Jack looked back at me when I didn’t follow him toward the chaos.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I kind of want snacks, but I don’t want to get caught up in whatever they’re doing in there for the next five hours. I want to go fill in the murder board and get some work done.”
Jack pursed his lips and said, “This is one of those ‘for better or worse’ moments, right? Go ahead and start with the board and give Carver a call. I’ll secure the snacks and hopefully get them to you sometime in the near future. If you don’t hear from me in twenty minutes, I’d go ahead and order a pizza.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said, kissing him quickly on the cheek and running down the hall to his office before he could change his mind.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to hang out with Vaughn and Mrs. Lawson, but I was an introvert by nature and I needed a break from people for a little while. I checked the time and decided to call into the funeral home and make sure everything was set for the viewing, but when I walked into the office and saw Brett’s picture on the wall along with fourteen people he called friends, I lost my train of thought and went to stand in front of it.
The spider’s web was more entangled than it had been the day before. Relationships made everything more complicated, and sexual relationships even more so. Adam Taylor was a military guy. He was used to taking orders. The question was, who was giving him the orders?
I turned on the laptop and downloaded the fingerprint match Morgenstern had pulled from the bottle and a copy of the Adderall prescription Carver had sent over. If Adam got an attorney worth his salt, he was going to want to know how we found out about the Adderall from a sealed military file.
Then there was the relationship between Adam and Leslie. And then Ginny and Benji. Ginny had lived in King George her whole life, and she was a doctor. She’d certainly know about amphetamines, but I couldn’t see how or why she’d want Adam to target Vaughn. She had no connections to Vaughn personally that I could see. No connections to Brett either for that matter, other than failing at adding him as a notch on her bedpost.
Carver had sent a lot of financial information, and I threw it all on the screen with the corresponding parties just because, but it only confused things, and Carver was right. Everyone in that bike club was doing more than okay in the financial department.
Jack came in a few minutes later, and I realized he’d barely overshot the twenty-minute mark. But he came in with a charcuterie board and a pitcher of tea, so I could forgive his tardiness.
“My mom sends her regards,” he said, holding up the food. “She said this is for you and I can only have some if you feel like sharing. Which you do.”
“I don’t know,” I said, smiling. “I’m an only child. I’m not really good with sharing. And your mom said she likes me best anyway. What are you going to give me if I share?” I moved in closer and put my fingers lightly on the waistband of his jeans.
“That’s a loaded question if I’ve ever heard one,” he said. “You know what the penalty is for bribing a peace officer?”
“I hope it’s life,” I said, moving in to kiss him. And then I snatched the board out of his hands and stuck a cube of cheese in my mouth. “I love you. Please have some charcuterie.”
He exhaled loudly and adjusted his jeans and said, “You drive me crazy.”
“That’s good, right?” I asked. “Think how bored you’d be if I didn’t. You drive me crazy too. That’s what makes this good.”
Jack grunted and looked at the work I’d done on the board. “Who’s giving the orders?” he asked, echoing my sentiment.
“He’s military,” I said. And then we both looked at each other.
“AvantGuard,” Jack said.
“You think this is about the privatized prisons?” I asked.
“I think this is about making sure I lose the election,” Jack said. “AvantGuard is a private security company, but it’s militarized and most of their employees are former military with special skills. Maybe Adam has special skills we don’t know about.
“There’s no way we can get anything out of AvantGuard. You can’t even walk in the front door without being fingerprinted and a background check run. If Carver really managed to get into their system, first of all, that’s probably the most impressive thing he’s ever done. And second of all, I’d have no idea where to start looking and how we could connect the dots.”
“Might as well call him,” I said. “I need to check in with the funeral home anyway.”
Jack grunted and took out his cell phone and I did the same. It took several rings before Emmy Lu picked up the phone.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “Things have been busy.”
“With the viewing?” I asked. “I know there was a lot of out-of-town family coming in.”
“No, with the reporters,” she said. “They’re camped out front again. Plus a man came by and asked if the funeral home was for sale and how he’d like to make you an offer you can’t refuse. I very politely told him to take a hike. And the grave-digging crew never showed up at the cemetery, but I called my dad and he got a couple of his friends together and they’re over a
t the graveyard taking care of it now. We’ll be all good for the burial tomorrow. Oh, and Lucinda Marks’ daughter called. She passed away a few minutes ago and Sheldon took the Suburban to go retrieve her from the hospital. We’ll put her in the cooler until you can come in for the autopsy.”
I looked at my watch and said, “I’ll either do it late tonight after everyone clears out or in the morning. They bought a burial plan so everything is ready to go.”
“Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that nothing else goes wrong or someone doesn’t accidentally open a fire hydrant on those reporters. My brother is a firefighter, you know. It’d be worth it to see them washing away down the street.”
“Just a few more days and they’ll be gone,” I said. “And I’m giving the staff the whole week of Thanksgiving paid vacation time. You guys have earned it.”
“I would’ve settled for the free booze at the victory party Tuesday night. I’m a cheap date. Gotta go.”
She hung up so fast I wondered what else had happened, but I knew whatever it was, they could handle it. The funeral home was in good hands.
“Everything okay?” Jack asked.
“Same old, same old,” I said. “And someone came by to make an offer on the funeral home.”
“You never know,” Jack said. “If we lose Tuesday maybe we could sell everything and buy a motorhome and travel around the country.”
“Yeah, you’d love that for about seventy-two hours,” I said.
“Is this one of those conversations where I should wait until you’re finished?” Carver asked.
“Hey, Carver,” I said. “I didn’t know you were on the line.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “Magnolia and I are always fascinated by your conversations. Don’t let us interrupt you.”
“Things are working out between you and Magnolia, huh?” I asked, giving Jack a teasing wink. “I think this is the longest you’ve been with one woman.”
“Hush, lady,” Carver said. “Are you trying to get me killed? Magnolia will kill me in my sleep.”
I looked at Jack and whispered, “He does know Magnolia is a computer, right?”
“I heard that,” Carver said. “Fortunately, I covered Magnolia’s ears, so she didn’t hear your treachery.”
“Computers have ears?” I mouthed to Jack and he shrugged.
“So here’s what we know,” Jack said. “We don’t have any reason to believe that Brett Jorgenson was the intended target. We can’t find motive. But we can find motive if Vaughn becomes the target. He has the same bike as Brett, same water bottles, and the stem was cut on his tire before his ride today. The pressure built up and caused him to have a blowout.”
I looked at Jack with raised eyebrows since this was the first I was hearing of this information.
“I took a detour while my mom was making snacks,” Jack said. “That’s why I was a few minutes late.”
“You guys have snacks?” Carver asked. “I love snacks.”
“You love anything you can put into your mouth,” Jack said.
“Which is why Michelle and I are coming to your victory party Tuesday night. Free food and drinks. Can’t beat that. And it’s a bonus if you win.”
“Thank you,” Jack said dryly. “Anyway, I thought the tire would be blown past the point of recognition, but there was a small cut in the rubber, just above where the stem was where you’d air the tire up. It was made by a sharp blade. There were no jagged edges or tears, so I know it didn’t occur after the blowout. A cut like that would make the pressure build up as you rode until it exploded.”
“Someone sabotaged my bike?” Vaughn asked from the doorway.
Jack and I froze and then turned to see Vaughn and Jeri staring at us with equal expressions of horror.
18
“We didn’t mean to pry,” Jeri said. “But I was going to see if you wanted more to eat, and Vaughn needed to ask a question about an ad airing tomorrow.”
“Y’all might as well come in and hear all of it then,” Jack said. “But nothing leaves this room until we have someone behind bars.”
Jeri pretended like she was zipping her lips and stepped into the room, and Vaughn followed behind her more hesitantly.
“Is that Mrs. Lawson?” Carver asked.
“Benjamin,” Jeri said, clapping her hands together. “It’s so good to hear your voice. You’re doing well? I missed you when you were in town. Someone didn’t tell me you were here until you’d already left.”
“Don’t worry,” Carver said. “You can fawn over me when we come to the victory party on Tuesday. I keep telling my wife that you’re the one that sets the bar on how to treat a man. Maybe you could give her some tips.”
Jeri’s grin lit up her face. “Darling, the fact she hasn’t killed you yet is a miracle. It sounds like she’s doing just fine to me.”
“Figures,” Carver said. “A man in a wheelchair can’t catch a break.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Vaughn said. “But could someone tell me what the hell is going on?” He was standing in front of the whiteboard and the familiar faces displayed there.
Jack blew out a breath. “You might need to sit down for this.”
“I think you might be right,” Vaughn said and moved to one of the chairs around the conference table.
Jack filled them in on Brett Jorgenson’s murder, Floyd muddying the works with the hit-and-run, and the drugs found in Brett’s tox screen.
“So what’s the deal?” Vaughn asked. “I heard you say I was the target. What does that mean?”
“Honestly,” Jack said. “I think everyone in this room is the target. I think as we keep peeling back layers, we’re going to find that AvantGuard is undermining the election in any way they can. They’re throwing money at it. They’re bribing who they need to bribe. And if that doesn’t work to sway the election, they’re trying to divert my attention. The best way to do that is to cause chaos in my life and in the lives of the people I love. By leaking information to Floyd for a newspaper article. Or getting my mom kicked out of the country club.”
“Or trying to kill me,” Vaughn said matter-of-factly.
“Yes,” Jack said. “Though I’m not convinced they wanted to kill you. Brett had a history of cocaine use that had weakened his heart, so the amphetamines worked him over pretty good. You probably would’ve just passed out while you were riding.”
“And the tire today?” he asked.
“Same thing,” Jack said. “Take you out of the election game for a little while. You’re in charge of the money.”
“AvantGuard,” Vaughn said, narrowing his eyes. “I knew that sounded familiar. They sent a rep out to me months ago. Maybe a year. They wanted to donate a hefty amount to your campaign in exchange for support for the prison contract.”
“How much money?” Jack asked.
“Twenty million dollars,” Vaughn said.
“They wanted to throw twenty mil at a local sheriff’s election?” I asked dumbfounded.
Vaughn shrugged. “It happens all the time, especially with the spread of social media and the news in our faces all the time. It’s not uncommon for big out-of-state donors to throw money at smaller elections in different states just to stack the deck the way they want it.”
“Well, it’s stupid,” I said. “Everyone should worry about their own state and mind their own business. Those guys at AvantGuard don’t know what it’s like to be a regular citizen here. What farm life is like or the needs of the people in a rural community. I can’t believe they’d try and throw that much money away.”
“A government contract for privatized prisons would bring them ten times that amount and then doubled again,” Jack said. “It’s a never-ending cash cow, and there are a lot of people who are angry we’ve thwarted their plans.”
“They were very persuasive,” Vaughn said. “But I never even entertained the idea or thought of bringing it to you. I knew how you felt, and anyone with half a brain can see what it would d
o to us.”
“Progress paves the way to hell,” Jeri said, making everyone laugh.
“So why is Adam’s picture highlighted on your board?” Vaughn asked.
“Because his fingerprints were found on Brett Jorgenson’s water bottles,” I said gently. “And he has a prescription for Adderall, which is more than likely the lethal dosage of amphetamine found in Brett’s system.”
“So you think it was Adam that was trying to do that to me?” he asked, shaking his head. “I can’t see it.” He held up his hand. “And don’t say I’m naïve or that I don’t want to see it. I read people well. It comes with the territory. Adam is reckless and selfish and he likes to play fast and hard. He likes to take things to the extreme, whether it’s his relationships or his athletic activities. His poker face is about as good as J.J’s. He wouldn’t be able to cover it up if his purpose was to take me down.”
“I think I resent that,” I said. “My poker face is much better than it used to be.”
“Mmm,” Jeri said, shaking her head. “We all have our strengths, dear.”
“How do you explain the fingerprints and the drugs?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know,” Vaughn said. “Any one of those people could have access to the drugs. Hell, several of them are doctors and one is a former addict. Everyone else is rich enough to buy whatever they want. As far as fingerprints, I just don’t see Adam knowingly putting poisoned bottles in Brett’s cages. Or my cages for that matter.”
“You think someone else told him to do it?” I asked.
“It’s very possible,” Vaughn said. “You’ve seen the rides. It’s total chaos and movement. How hard would it be for someone to walk up and say, ‘Hey, these are Vaughn’s. Go put them on his bike.’?”