“How is he connected?” she asked.
“Your father arrested him. Judge Abrahms was presiding over the case, Lucian was the DA, and guess who was the defense attorney?”
“Dale Plunkett?”
“Yep.”
“What about Thorpe?”
“I’ll have to go through Lucian’s files to find out. We didn’t know he was taken, so we’ll have to backtrack to see.”
Speaking of which…
She pulled out her phone and put out a BOLO for Thorpe. She hoped no one asked her why she was looking for him, or she was going to have one hell of a time explaining that a team of secret Feds and two psychics told her.
She’d be going to the nuthouse for sure.
“I think Parker served eleven years,” she said, after hanging up the phone.
“He did.”
“I haven’t seen him since. Is he out?” Bishop asked.
“He got out two months ago. I think he should be on our suspect list, even if I can’t tie him to Thorpe yet. We might get lucky.”
Yeah, at the rate the day was going, she wouldn’t bet on that. When she heard footsteps, she glanced up. It was Luke and Maura.
No Lucian.
“Is he okay?” she asked, standing up.
“He’s better, and Avalon is helping him. He didn’t want us in there with him.”
She understood why.
He hated when anyone pitied him. That would be his breaking point, and she knew it.
“We at least have a starting point,” Nate offered. “You can focus on Nolan Parker.”
She actually had another focus.
Wendy.
“Today, when we were leaving my place, Wendy said something to me, and it was odd.”
“What?”
She told them about her asking about the judge’s chambers, Holly Zimmer, and the interview.”
“Okay, and?”
“No one knew I was in there but myself and a deputy. I had him call Holly to meet me at my office.”
They thought about it.
“Maybe someone saw you?”
“Yeah, I don’t think so. She asked specifically about Holly. Maybe she might have followed me and saw me go into his office, but the one person who was with the judge last?”
Yeah, it was odd.
“Maybe your deputy blabbed?” Maura asked. “It’s hard to keep people quiet.”
She was aware.
Gossiping sucked.
“I’m going to start there first. I’m going to head into my office, scare the shit out of my deputy, and see what he says. We need to have a talk, and Reno better pray he didn’t spill it, or I’m going to bust him down to meter maid—skirt and heels included.”
Maura laughed at the visual.
“I hate to ask this, Nate, but I need a favor.”
He was all ears.
“If I go near Nolan, Wendy Lockwood is going to have his name all over the media. She’s trying to piss me off. Can you and Luke handle the interview on the DL?”
He was more than happy to help. While the sheriff only wanted them there on an assisting capacity, they’d love doing more than research.
Nate and Luke loved working in the field.
“Sure thing.”
Luke agreed. “We can head to the address his parole officer has on file and dig around.”
“Bless you both. I’ll check in with you throughout the day, but I think I need to stay away from Lucian until he calms down.”
They didn’t disagree with that at all. The man was not in the right state of mind, especially since he was watching someone being murdered.
Before she could say anything, her phone began ringing. Bishop glanced down.
It was Silas.
Her heart began pounding in her chest.
What to do?
What to do?
Clearly, there was only one logical answer, and Bishop had to go with her gut.
So…
She sent it to voicemail.
He was going to kick her ass.
Immediately, a text came in from Roxy.
‘Silas is on the warpath. He’s looking for you. Watch your back. Wendy Lockwood has him stirred up.’
Great.
That bitch again.
She was worse than a bad penny and an STD. Wendy kept turning up no matter what.
Bishop swore the woman was trying to get her ass kicked.
‘Keep him busy. I have to do my damn job.’
She hoped Roxy had her back.
“Silas is looking for me, and I have to get creative,” Bishop stated. “Let me know what you find with Nolan Parker. I’m going into my office. That’s the last place Silas will look for me. He’ll assume I’ll be anywhere but there.”
“Good luck, Sheriff,” Nate said as she headed out.
When Bishop got to her truck, she felt him watching her. Glancing up, the curtain to the one window fluttered and she assumed it was his room.
What she wanted was to talk to him.
What she could do was get her ass moving.
Daylight was burning, and she needed to get some answers to the hard questions.
Like how Wendy knew about the interview with Holly?
Did she have a rat on her team?
One thing was for sure.
When she found out, the shit was definitely going to hit the fan.
Big time.
Chapter Thirteen
Lucian watched her leave.
He’d finally gotten Avalon to leave him alone. He wanted to be by himself to think. Wendy had him rattled.
Her words shook him to his core.
Why did it bother him so much?
Lucian needed to figure that out before Bishop came back for the night. He didn’t want to take his anger out on her, but he was worked up beyond control.
As Bishop hopped into her truck and pulled away, he felt bereft. The second the large gate closed, keeping the media, and the sheriff out, he wanted to weep.
This was a mess.
He’d made it this way.
Sitting in his chair, he’d watched a man lose his life. It sickened him. Earl Thorpe had been a good attorney. They’d worked side by side.
Now he was gone, and they didn’t know why.
He had to hope the FBI and Bishop would figure out what the hell was going on in Ravenswood.
Just thinking about her being out there, and in danger made him edgy.
Maybe some mindless stock market news would take his focus from her and the ex who made his life hell to that day.
As he flipped through the channels, he saw Wendy’s vicious smiling face.
Lucian knew it was going to be bad.
He could feel it to his gut.
Wendy Lockwood was reporting the morning’s incident at the sheriff’s house like the world had stopped spinning on its axis. She was making it sound like it was life or death news.
That’s how she always was.
Her shit was groundbreaking.
He turned up the volume despite his gut warning him not to do it. Nothing good would come from watching her. He could see the viciousness in her icy blue eyes.
She was out for blood.
His.
It’s how it always was with Wendy. Once she had her claws in someone, or something, they were dead in the water. She had no mercy, and here was the proof. Even though she’d dumped his ass when he’d been hurt, and of no further use to her, she’d be insulted that anyone found her cast off of value.
Bishop was going to bleed because of him.
He could feel it to his gut.
It was churning.
As he listened, his worst fears came to life. She wasn’t after him. Wendy was gunning for Bishop.
Shit!
‘Although Sheriff Bishop Killion denies it, we’ve seen the evidence first hand that she and the reclusive ex-district attorney are definitely hitting it hot and heavy. As you can see from the footage, there is more than meets the eye.’
His stomach dropped.
Footage?
Hot and heavy?
What the fuck…?
Then he watched it.
There was video of them making out. Her hands were in his hair, his hands were on her ass, and they were practically devouring each other in front of her window. Lucian recalled the kiss. It had been right before they’d headed upstairs to her bedroom.
It was forever burned into his brain.
In hindsight, he realized that he’s should have looked out the window. They were both embroiled in one hot mess, and this had stoked the media fires even more. He never realized they had reporters on the lawn of her brownstone.
He didn’t realize they had people watching them.
Lucian wanted to be sick.
Then it got worse.
‘It’s clear that beauty has finally caged her beast. The normally volatile Lucian Monroe was nothing more than a trained pet for the sheriff. Our question is…what’s the real deal? Lucian Monroe remains hidden for a decade, and the day after a body shows up on his doorstep and he loses two people he knew, he’s starts a romance. Coincidence? Or is this his way of padding his bets, making sure the law is on his side, and staying out of jail? Is the old playboy, now a disfigured beast, taming the beauty instead? Stay tuned while we find out.’
He wanted to be sick.
Picking up his tablet, he whipped it at Wendy’s snarky face. He wished he could defend Bishop.
He wanted to tell the world to lay off her. Lucian hated that she’d had to be his armor, standing between them. He didn’t want the world’s pity, and he certainly didn’t want hers.
He was a beast.
She was the beauty.
And the media was right. Something was going on between them.
And now it was dead.
He was ruining her life, and Lucian knew he couldn’t let that happen. The irony of it all was that they were right back to where they started ten years ago.
History was repeating itself.
Again.
* * * O R A C L E * * *
Sheriff’s Office
When she arrived, media was all over the place. From what she could see, her deputies were avoiding them at all costs, and that was probably a damn good thing.
Then she saw Reno Upton.
He was sitting at his desk working on a report. He was sipping coffee and ignoring everything around him.
“Reno! My office! Now!”
Everyone looked over, since it was rare for her to use that tone of voice with anyone. The sheriff didn’t get angry.
She just didn’t.
When she took a seat, she waited for him to arrive. “Sit.”
“Yes, Sheriff?” he asked, taking a seat.
“Yesterday, we had a very private conversation while we were at the judge’s office.”
“About what specifically?”
“Holly Zimmer.”
“Yeah, I recall. Then you asked me to call her to get her to meet with you here.”
“And you did.”
“Yeah, Sheriff, are you feeling okay? Did something happen to you today?”
“No. No, I’m not okay at all. It seems that when Wendy Lockwood found me, she threw that little piece of information at me. She asked about Holly being a suspect and the judge’s chamber.”
He stared at her.
“Any idea how she found out?”
“Wait! Do you think I told her? That woman is a total nut bag. I wouldn’t go near her.”
She stared at him.
“Okay, I’d go near her.”
Oh, geez.
What the hell now?
“What did you do, Reno? Please tell me it’s not going to make me want to kill you. Please. Please. Please.”
“Are you going to be mad?”
When one of her deputies said that, she knew that she was definitely going to be pissed. She could already feel it happening. Already, her blood pressure was going up, and she didn’t want to freak out—but it was coming.
She could feel it.
“What did you do, Reno?”
“A few weeks ago, I was out with some of the boys. I was having a few beers and shooting pool at ‘Jim’s Pub’. She came in for a few drinks.”
Bishop didn’t think Wendy would hang out in a dive like that, so she didn’t doubt there were ulterior motives.
“Okay, continue.”
“She bought me a few drinks, we shot some pool, and the next thing I knew, I was sleeping with her.”
Oh, Jesus.
Wendy Lockwood would only slum with a cop for one reason, and it was to get information. Lucian was her ideal man.
Powerful.
Could buy her the world.
Not a cop.
“I didn’t know what I was doing. It was pool and then it was…”
She didn’t want to hear more.
“Please stop before my ears bleed. I’m wearing my good shirt. What the hell were you thinking, Reno? She uses her girl parts to trap men in really bad situations.”
He swallowed.
“Yeah, be afraid.”
Bishop closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Did she approach you yesterday, Reno?”
“No, Ma’am! Even if she did, I’d never tell her anything. I don’t want to lose my job, and I certainly don’t want to screw you over.”
She relaxed a little.
Her deputy wasn’t one to lie.
He was too green to do that. If he wasn’t lying, that meant that Wendy had gotten the information another way.
At the source.
“I’m going to head over to the courthouse to look around the judge’s chambers.”
“Want me to come with you?” he asked.
Yeah, no.
That was the last thing she wanted.
She trusted him, but she wasn’t going to tote around a man who had been Wendy’s body pillow. It would make the woman too damn happy.
“No, I’ll take Alonzo.”
He looked disappointed.
When she stood, Bishop noticed something, and she was confused. “Reno, where’s the box that was on the floor?” she asked.
He looked around.
“You took it home.”
“No, I took two of them home. I didn’t take the third. I couldn’t carry it.”
He stared at her. “Are you sure?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m not losing my mind quite yet. I know the difference between two and three!”
“Maybe someone moved it.”
She started praying that was right. “Go ask around and see if you can find that box.”
Bishop sat back in her chair and stared at the wall of monitors in her office. In them, she could see Reno going from desk to desk, as he asked about the box.
Yeah, she was glad they had security in the building. If someone came into her room, she’d have them dead to rights.
Heading to the monitors, she rolled them back. Bishop was especially interested in who came and went into her domain. The issue was, her office wasn’t monitored. She’d had them disconnected because watching herself, watch herself, was creepy.
She stopped the recording.
There was her secretary delivering mail.
She counted the time.
It had taken her less than five seconds, and she’d left with nothing. It wasn’t her.
Bishop then fast-forwarded it to Reno walking in with papers and out later without them.
He’d stayed in there for ten seconds, but again, he left with nothing in his hands. It clearly wasn’t him.
Last, she watched as the time ticked by until it was much later at night. No one was around. There was one deputy at his desk, and then he got up to hit the head.
That’s when she saw the figure.
It was a man.
He headed right for her office, inside, and then nothing.
He never left.
Twenty, thirty, forty minutes went by.
Nothing.
She
couldn’t believe this. These cameras couldn’t be screwed with in her office, only viewed. The main access line was next door at the courthouse.
So what the hell?
Reno popped his head back into her office. “Ma’am, no one saw it. Are you sure you didn’t bring it home?”
She looked around her room.
That’s when she realized the window over her coffee station opened and closed.
She checked it out. The damn latch was unlocked.
Son of a bitch!
Someone had opened it.
“What the hell? Someone broke into my office?”
Heads were going to roll. Now she’d have to start locking the doors.
Before she could say anything, there was a commotion outside in the bullpen. Heading out, she found Gaylor Zimmer being detained by two deputies.
“Let me see her!” he yelled.
Bishop knew who ‘her’ was going to be. It was either going to be her for hiding his wife, or his wife, for allowing herself to be hidden.
The fun just kept on coming.
“Let him go,” she said, waiting for him to realize she was there.
“Where’s Holly? What did you do to her? She didn’t kill the judge! You’re imprisoning her for no reason!”
Yeah, she had bad news for the man.
Holly disappeared on her own recognizance. Now someone had to tell him.
“She’s in protective custody, Mr. Zimmer,” she offered. “Holly wanted to get away from an abusive spouse, so we put her somewhere safe.”
“Liar! This is a cover-up. I’ll make sure everyone in town knows about it.”
Great.
This was the exact last thing that she needed at this point. It was enough to make her insane. Silas was going to demote her to town babysitter once he heard about all of this.
Could this day get any worse?
Crap!
She was screwed.
“Head on out, Gaylor. Holly isn’t here, and I’m not giving you her whereabouts. She wants you to leave her alone.”
“Bitch! Where’s my damn wife? I need her! You can’t keep her from me!”
He tried to vault the desk, only there were three deputies there who blocked his attempt. Honestly, she wasn’t afraid of him. What really freaked her out was the media was in the building, and they were now filming it. Here was more bullshit for the citizenry of Ravenswood.
Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) Page 25