by Desiree Holt
“As long as you don’t give him a hard time,” Hank pointed out and rose from the table, holding his hand out to Alex. “Thanks for this.”
“I’m going to pull up everything I can find online about this. I don’t want to call the sheriff in the county where this happened unless I have to. Right now, the fewer people who know I’m looking into this, the better off we are.”
Zoe managed a smile. “I really appreciate this, Alex. More than I can tell you.”
“We’ll dig it all up. Count on it. And Sean? When we get this put to bed, before you make any decisions about what comes next, I’d appreciate it if you’d come talk to me.”
As they were walking out to the front of the building, Alex touched Zoe’s shoulder.
She looked up at him. “What?”
“I know you’re smart and savvy,” he told her in a quiet tone, “but I have a gut feeling this is nastier and more dangerous than anything you’ve ever gotten yourself involved in before. I wish I’d been here when it happened. I could have been a lot of help on this. But I’m going to do it now. You just be careful. And stick close to Sean.”
She laughed. “I think he’ll be sticking close to me.”
“I’ll start digging into this right away. I’ll call you as soon as I have anything to tell you.”
“Thanks again.”
“You’re not going to the place where Justine was found,” Hank said as soon as she climbed into the truck.
“Hank.” Control yourself. He means well. “I know you want me to be safe, and I will be. I will have a big bad SEAL with me to protect me. You told me yourself how big and bad he was.”
“I should have just locked you in a room at the ranch until this was all over.”
Sean burst out laughing, a rusty sound and so unusual for him that Hank snapped his head snap sideways to look at him.
“Shit, Hank. I hardly know her, and even I know that’s impossible.” He blew out a breath. “Look. You trusted me to do this, so let me do it. I will not let her court danger. At least nothing really bad. Okay?”
Hank blew out a breath. “I guess it will have to be. Meanwhile, you’ve got quite a drive ahead of you, so I’m guessing we won’t see you for dinner. Just promise to keep in touch.”
“Guaranteed,” Sean said.
“Word of honor,” Zoe spoke at the same time.
Hank actually chuckled. “Well, that was cute.”
Hank glanced at the clock on the dash. “Okay. I’ve got to get back to the ranch. I have cattle business and Brotherhood business I need to check on.”
“Thanks. Hank, I really do appreciate everything.”
Still, Zoe swallowed her irritation. She hated being without her own wheels. Sure, Sean was going to be glued to her butt and probably driving her everyplace she went in his truck. But there was something reassuring about having her own wheels, even if they sat in front of the big garage.
”Thank you for involving Alex,” she told Hank when they arrived back at the ranch. “I appreciate it.”
“I was going to talk to you about bringing him in anyway. Listening to you earlier today, I realized how much of this story doesn’t pass the smell test.” He pulled her in for a brotherly type hug. “You know my preference is to lock you up here until whoever did that crap to you is caught and we find out who’s behind it all.”
“But you also know that’s not happening. Right?”
He nodded. “But please don’t give Sean a hard time. I teamed him with you for a reason.”
“I hear you.” She wanted to add loud and clear, but all she did was step back. “Okay. We need to get going. Helena’s not just around the corner. By the way, who has the keys to my car?”
Hank grimaced. “I do. Why? You don’t need it. Sean will take you any place you want to go. Besides, I told you I’d send a couple of the guys to fetch it.”
“We have to go right past Bozeman. We can stop and pick it up on the way back. And Sean will be right on my tail while I’m driving it.”
She could tell he didn’t want to do it, but he dug the keys out of his pocket and slapped them into her palm.
“And no trying to drive off by yourself.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“I’ll call you if I get any updates from Alex.”
“Thanks.” She frowned. “You think he’ll find anything?”
“If there’s anything to find, Alex can do it. Especially with stuff like this, he’s like a dog with a bone.”
“Okay. You have our numbers.”
Sean opened the driver’s door, looked from one to the other, then reached beneath the seat and pulled out a gun and holster.
Hank lifted an eyebrow. “Glock .45.”
“My best friend. Never leave home without it.”
Zoe waited to see if Hank said anything else, but after a moment he dipped his head in a sharp nod.
“Be careful,” he told them. “Just…take care.”
“We will,” she snapped. “I have a great bodyguard, remember?”
“Got it covered,” Sean told him in his rusty-sounding voice.
He cranked the engine, but before, he backed up, he took his cell from his pocket and plugged it in. Then he shifted into reverse.
Zoe was both anxious and relieved when they headed down the long driveway. She’d been expecting Hank to hustle after them, say he’d changed his mind, and she’d have to do all her digging around on her laptop. But they made it onto the two-lane highway, and she let out the breath she’d been holding.
“Do you have the address of where we’re going?” Sean asked.
“Of course. Here in my notes, but I’ve also got it memorized.”
“I’ll bet you do. Okay, plug it into the GPS, would you?”
“Sean?”
“Uh huh.”
“Thanks for not giving me a hard time about this, like Hank is doing.”
He was silent for a long moment.
“No problem. I know what it’s like to lose a friend that way.”
The sound of his voice told her loud and clear he didn’t want to answer any questions about that, so she sat back in her seat. But the air around them crackled with so many emotions, she wondered the truck didn’t explode.
Chapter 6
The drive from the ranch to Helena was about two and a half hours, give or take. For more than the first hour they rode in silence. Sean figured she had as much running through her mind as he did racing through his. Every so often, he’d slide a glance over at her. She’d left her laptop at the ranch, but she’d had a tablet stashed in her purse, and now she was poring over it, swiping from one screen to the other.
Her hair with its fascinating mixture of brown and blonde was pulled back into a neat ponytail that left the graceful line of her face exposed. She was one of the few women who actually looked good without makeup, her long chocolate-brown lashes casting a soft shadow on her cheeks as she looked down at the screen of her tablet. He knew they shielded eyes the color of melted chocolate that flared with heat during orgasm.
The soft sweater she wore draped lightly over breasts that had filled his hands and then some. Breasts he’d squeezed while he licked and sucked her delicious nipples. Shoulders that he’d rained kisses on and—
Stop that, damn it!
If he didn’t, his cock would bust out of his fly, breaking the zipper and causing him huge embarrassment. He needed to send his brain on a detour.
“Tell me more about your friend,” he told her. “You gave me all the details about that night and the crime itself, at least as much as you’ve been able to find out. Tell me about Justine herself.”
Zoe blew out a breath. “She was tough as well as very nice. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but she never gave an inch when she knew she was right about something. Warren Craig, her boss, said that was what made her a good paralegal.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but exactly what does a paralegal do?”
“No problem. He or she draft
s documents for an attorney. Often facilitates filing them. Does legal research. They had so many cases in the county prosecutor’s office where she worked that she was busy 100 percent of the time.”
“Just so I’m clear. She had information and did research on cases they filed against criminals.”
Zoe nodded. “She came across a lot of information that way, stuff that was very private and protected. Some of it they had to share with defense attorneys, but only whatever the law stated.”
“Okay. We’ll come back to that later. Go on.”
“Well.” Zoe blew out a breath. “When they had high-profile cases going on, sometimes she didn’t even get weekends off.”
“And did the prosecutor work those same hours?
“He did. But,” she added real fast, “if you’re thinking there was something going on between the two of them, there wasn’t. Warren was, and still is, a happily married man There’s never been a breath about extramarital activities. If there was, and Justine knew about it, she would have told me. We confided things to each other we couldn’t tell anyone else.”
“Unless it involved her,” he added.
“I’m telling you, no.” She almost shouted the word. “I know you can’t really know anyone as well as you think, but I’ve got great instincts. That’s what makes me so good at my job. So get off that track.”
“Okay. Whatever you say.”
But he didn’t think he was as trusting as Zoe. He’d make sure to ask Hank to check into it, although he wasn’t sure what could be found ten years after the fact.
“Yes,” she insisted. “Whatever I say.”
“So, who else did she come into contact with?”
“Okay.” He slid a glance at her. Saw her scrolling through her tablet. “Here are the people I checked into at the time and have been keeping an eye on since then. Some of them have kept the story going. Drake Temple is a reporter for the Helena paper, although he’s mostly on the digital side. We call him Mr. Instant News.”
Sean nodded. “Yeah that’s an area that’s really grown since it started. Not that I read the news much these days, but when I do, it’s easier just to punch it up on my phone.”
“Even in places like Helena, Montana,” she teased.
“You said he’s still following it, even after all this time?”
“Yes, he’s like me. A dog with a bone who never lets go.”
“We should make arrangements to talk to him.”
“I agree.” She tapped the tablet screen to bring up another document. “Cal Woodrow was in the local public defender’s office then. Now he runs it. He and Justine had a lot of clashes, mostly on the minor cases. But he respected her a lot and always felt we were missing something”
“That it?”
“No.” She shook her head. “John Garcia, a young attorney who was just starting on Warren Craig’s staff at the time. Justine did a lot of research for him and also drafting of documents. He thought the cops should dig into some of those cases. Both his and Warren’s. There were some pretty high-profile people under investigation then.”
“I’m guessing nothing came of that.” He was beginning to get a weird feeling about this whole thing.
“The police said they checked everything they needed to and none of those cases had any connection to her death. But, Sean, someone murdered her, and they had to leave a clue somewhere.”
“I agree. Okay, let’s take a look at where her body was found. Maybe take some pictures, even though it is ten years later. Then we can talk about it all while we have dinner.”
“Dinner?”
He allowed himself a rough chuckle. “We have to eat, Zoe. I’m not suggesting a formal meal or anything. Maybe just burgers and beer.”
Which had become his style over recent months, anyway. Zoe was the first women he’d even wanted more with, and he was holding on to that idea for when—if—they got through this. He was still astounded at her effect on him. It was as if he’d been dead and she breathed life-giving oxygen into him, both his body and his brain. It continued to shock the shit out of him.
“I’m sorry.” She touched his forearm. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I do realize the difficult position Hank put you in, not giving you a choice. I apologize for being so disagreeable about it. None of this is your fault.”
“Not to worry. I lived with a bunch of SEALs on missions for eight years. I’m used to disagreeable.”
“Here.” She pointed out the windshield. “Take this exit. I know it isn’t the one the GPS suggested, but this is a shortcut.”
She gave him directions once they were at the edge of Helena. They passed some stores and restaurants, then some unoccupied space with a fair amount of trees, and finally two wooden structures that looked like a good wind would blow them over.
“Turn in here,” she told him.
Sean frowned but did as she said. The ground was overgrown with weeds and some small scraggly trees. The rusted hulks of two ancient automobiles and an old truck hugged the side of one building.
“I’ll give you this,” he told her. “It sure looks like a place someone would leave a body.”
She nodded. “That’s what I thought, too. Warren said whoever did this obviously picked a place that didn’t get much attention and where the body would not be found for a while.”
He climbed out of the truck and waited while she did the same. Out of habit, he glanced around, taking in the stream of traffic passing by on the street bordering the lot. For a moment he thought one vehicle looked familiar, but they all passed by so quickly he was sure he was mistaken. He gave himself a mental shake and focused on what they were here for.
“Exactly where was the body found?”
“Right over here at the back of this building on the right. Next to a car in about the same condition as these here.”
“This a dumping ground for vehicles or something?”
She shrugged. “No one’s used these buildings in forever. I don’t even know who owns the land, but it’s been a dumping ground like this over the years.”
They walked over gravel and through weeds to get to a clump of bushes long dead but still clinging to the ground.
“She was in the middle of all this crap,” Zoe told him. “I doubt if anyone would have found her when they did except some kids decided to use the place to smoke some weed and drink beer. “
Sean made a snorting sound. “Bet they needed the high after that. Probably scared the shit out of them.”
“No doubt.”
Sean walked around the area, looked behind both buildings.
What do you think she was doing here?”
Zoe shrugged. “I certainly wish I knew. Warren said the prevailing theory was she had set up a meeting with someone who had information on a case she was researching for me. Someone who wanted to meet in an out-of-the-way place.”
“But you don’t think so.”
She shook her head. “That wasn’t part of what she did. Her research was mostly online. She drafted briefs and other documents. Interviewed some witnesses. Sometimes filed things at the courthouse for Warren. What she didn’t do was meet secret witnesses in out-of-the-way places.”
“So, it wasn’t that.”
“No. It doesn’t tell me what actually got her killed, but I’m damn sure going to find out.” She pulled out her phone. “I want to take some pictures. I took a bunch at the time, even though they’d already removed her body. I want to compare them in case I missed anything the first time. Details are important when I’m working on a book, although I have no idea what I’m looking for here. Especially after all this time.”
“So no photos.”
“No.” She shook her head. “By the time someone called me to tell me about it, her body had been moved and the scene cleaned up. I don’t know if they would have let me take pictures then anyway. I begged Warren to let me look at the crime scene photos he got from the police, but he said no. The pictures were part of the file. Especially, he said,
because I was a member of the press.”
Sean frowned. “Is there some sort of law against it?”
“Sort of. Warren explained that they don’t want the case to be thrown out in court as being prejudicial and some scumbag getting off on a technicality. Claiming he can’t get a fair trial.”
“Bummer.”
“No kidding.” She began snapping away with her phone.
Sean wandered around, his hand resting lightly on the gun at his hip. Not that anyone would show up, but who knew whether the jackass who sent her the warnings was keeping an eye on her.
When Zoe glanced over at him, she frowned. “Are you expecting trouble here? We seem to be the only ones in this place.”
“Yeah, well, I’m always expecting trouble. You never know who’s gonna show up, and I’d rather not be surprised. Come on, get your pictures done. I hate to tell you, but we didn’t accomplish much.”
“I know.” She huffed a breath. “I don’t know what I expected to find after ten years. Let’s go.”
She climbed into his truck and fastened her seat belt. Sean could tell she was doing her best to hold it together, but the scene where her friend’s body was found depressed her. Only natural, he thought. Okay. They’d head to her apartment, pick up her car, and then he’d take her someplace for dinner. She’d have to choose since he had no fucking idea where to go, but any place she liked was fine with him.
He still had her address in the GPS from earlier, so he brought it up and tapped the screen. Normally, silence didn’t bother him. He’d long ago stopped being any kind of conversationalist, but he thought the growing silence might make Zoe uncomfortable. Before he could ask her if she wanted music or anything, he glanced in his rearview mirror, something he had a habit of doing on a regular basis.
Damn!
A dark SUV one car length behind them triggered his brain. Had he seen it before? Was it one of the vehicles that had driven past the place where they’d stopped? Or was he being paranoid, something that had plagued him ever since the explosion in Afghanistan. Since that disaster, everything looked suspicious to him.