“If we have to, we will.”
Tori could hear the angst in his voice, but once Julian brought something up, whether he liked it or not, he was going to follow through. It was just his character.
“What did you dig up on our not so friendly neighbor, Paul Spencer?” Julian asked. “Did you find anything on him?”
There was more rustling of papers.
“Other than trying to buy the house you’re in, he’s clean. There’s not so much as a speeding ticket. He is a habitual nine-one-one dialer. We found the local police log, and there were multiple times that deputies were called out to his place.”
“For?” Tori asked.
“It appears to be regarding trespassing. He reported that he’d seen lights on his property coming from ‘The Killing House’.”
Was he covering his bases or did he genuinely see something? Julian had to ponder that. By calling the cops, that would give him the perfect alibi. It gave him something to make him look innocent.
It made their job harder.
Was he a genius or was all this pure coincidence?
They didn't know.
“Why does it feel like you’re saving the best for last?” Tori asked. She knew her team, and Christina always liked to end with the biggest bit of news.
Christina giggled. “Why don’t you tell them, sex bunny?”
Tori laughed at the sputtering at the other end. She knew Christina did it intentionally. She loved watching the big guy go red. Tori couldn’t blame her. She enjoyed riling her husband up at any given chance.
A girl had to have some fun.
“Anyway,” Kane stated hastily. “We did find something out. We were sneaky, so don’t ask for details. It wasn’t exactly legal.”
That was something Julian really didn't want to hear.
“Go on,” he stated.
“It seems that Chester Lamont took out a life insurance policy on his brother. I can’t give you an amount, but there was one purchased.”
That was very interesting.
It didn't make him guilty, but it did explain why they were hired. If they could find his body, the insurance company would pay out the money. If they couldn’t, it would be tied up for years until a judge declared him legally dead.
“That should bump him up the list,” stated Beckett. “He had motive and opportunity. Not only would he get the monetary payout on his brother, he’d also get to sell the house and recoup his original funds. The sister did mention that he was always hitting his brother up for cash. Maybe that got a little tiresome.”
They all had to agree.
“Now I’m glad that I opted to not tell the family that we had located their brother’s body.”
Kane spoke, “How long do you have there?”
“We have until Sunday. The family just told us that’s our cutoff date. After that, we’re booted. It’s going to be really awkward when we tell them we found him a few days prior.”
“Yeah, it will be. Do you think you can solve it by then?”
God, he hoped so. Julian really hated leaving things unfinished.
“How about the family history?” Tori asked. That was the other possibility they were mulling around. “We know this killer has spanned one hundred years, so that means that it has to be more than one person.”
“We’re checking the family route, but nothing is coming up yet. We’re still cross checking your first victim, Ralph Clarence with the current suspects. It’s a long shot, but it may pay off.”
They knew it would be.
“I won’t give up that angle, but until something pops, what do you want us to run next?”
Beckett thought about it. “I think we should look at the Carlsbad family. This is all about the gold, so why not assume that it started there.”
It was a really good idea.
“Run anything on Maurizio Carlsbad and his daughter Christabel.” He told them everything from the crypt to the letter that the daughter forged.
“I’m jealous! You get a treasure hunt and a murder mystery. I want in on the next one.”
Kane made a strangled sound. “Pass. She’s delusional. We absolutely want nothing of the sort.”
Hell would freeze over first. His pregnant woman needed to be as far from death as possible. How Julian was holding out astounded him.
“We’ll run them.”
“We’re hoping that there’s a link somewhere,” Tori offered. “When Christabel returned to murder her father, her mother wasn’t killed. You may want to start with her.”
“Do you have a name?”
“No, but I imagine it wouldn’t matter. A single woman back then would have remarried, don’t you think? She still had other children to care for.”
Julian didn't even think about that.
“Chase both those leads. We may have something brewing there.”
He leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek. He loved the way her mind worked, despite her believing he was more attracted to her body.
It was pretty much equal.
“Can do,” Christina offered. “If there’s nothing else, we’re going to get started.”
They signed off the call.
“Well?” Beckett asked. “We found a body and worked some leads. What’s on the agenda now?”
Julian hated that he was about to say this, but he went for it. “You and Claire are going to find those last two bodies. They have to be here somewhere. When you do, call us.”
Tori looked over at him.
“Where are we going?” she asked. Tori could see the trouble brewing in her husband’s eyes. He wasn’t happy--not in the least.
Julian really despised this part. Unfortunately, they didn't really have much of a choice. With everything starting to go down, he had an obligation to uphold the law.
“We’re going to visit the sheriff.”
She stared at him. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, we’re going to toss her a bone, and see what it gets us.”
~ Chapter Twenty-Four ~
Wednesday Noon
All things considering, Beckett knew that he and Claire got the easy route. Searching the house was going to be the easier of the two tasks. He wasn’t going to have to face down a condescending sheriff.
That was going to be ugly.
With the original map, Claire was ticking off the locations they’d checked. The kitchen was clean, as were all the remaining bathrooms. They’d even gone back down the corridor just to check, and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
That left only one place.
The attic.
Heading up the stairs, hand in hand, Beckett scanned his surroundings to ensure they were safe. The last thing he needed was for someone to jump out and catch them off guard.
Surprisingly, the dusty old attic was packed with tons of things.
There were trunks, clothing forms, and all the scary things you saw in horror films.
In all his time as a cop, Beckett never thought that he’d be living some twisted scary movie. This case was definitely one that he wouldn’t forget.
Then, he glanced down at the Native woman beside him. She was smiling wildly, and his heart flipped. On second thought, for her, Beckett would do it all over again.
“This is so exciting,” she muttered, using the flashlight to sweep the items in the attic.
Beckett loved her enthusiasm, even if he thought she was crazy.
He wished he could be excited about the room, but this was a minefield for him. With each item in there, a million visions could overwhelm him if he touched them. He could feel the energy radiating from them, almost begging him to reach out.
This was the last place he wanted to be.
“Feeling anything?” she asked, as they moved around the large space.
“Not yet.”
Claire went back to focusing.
“Hey, can we head to the reservation when this is all over?” he asked out of the blue.
She glanced over. “Why?”
“I’d like to meet the rest of your family.”
She was touched by that. Beckett was a really good, old fashioned kind of guy. She appreciated that.
“Really? That’s what you want to do? You have nothing better to do than be inundated by Littlemoons?”
He laughed. “Well, I was going to move you into my apartment.”
“Nope,” she stated.
He stopped moving and glanced over at her. “What?”
“I’m not moving in.”
Beckett didn't get it. “I thought I made it clear that I was going to spend the rest of my life with you, Claire.”
She laughed. “Beck, I want to see your place first. We may be moving you into my apartment. What if my place is better? Plus, I’m pretty close to work. We have to weigh a lot into that decision.”
He relaxed, a slow sexy grin covering his face. “We could definitely do that.”
“Besides, and don’t be offended, but bachelors have shitty furniture. All my stuff is new.”
That made him laugh. “You have a very valid point, Claire. Does your place allow dogs?”
“Yep.”
That worked for him. “I’m glad you’re not against moving in together.”
She went up on her toes to kiss him. “I’m definitely not.”
“How do you feel about kids?” He might as well knock the big ones out of the way while he had the chance.
Marriage was a yes.
Living together was good.
Now for the part he worried about.
Claire had to think about it. “I hope what I’m about to say won’t upset you,” she stated. “While I love kids, I don’t really see myself having any.”
He stared at her.
“Does that make me a bad person?” she asked.
Beckett relaxed. “No. It really doesn’t. I’ll be honest. I don’t think kids are in my future either.”
She added, “We can always wait and see. If fate wants us to have children, then we will. When I was younger, I thought that motherhood was the route I wanted to take. Now, I’m not so sure. I see how hard it is for my sister and Connor’s wife.”
He leaned down to kiss her. “I’m good with that.” Instead of setting her free, Beckett dove in. Falling into the mating of lips, he forgot what he was supposed to be doing.
Claire had that effect on him.
“Mmmm,” she murmured. “Maybe we can get the attic done and recheck our bedroom.”
He laughed. “We can do that.”
Regretfully, she pulled away. As they walked around the perimeter of the space, Beckett ran his glove-free hand over the wood walls.
Suddenly, the energy filled him.
Claire looked back at him. “Are you okay?”
“Something is here. I can feel it.” Lowering himself down, he ran his fingers over the wood floor. “Can you shine the light over here?”
Claire did as he asked.
That’s when they saw it.
“I think it’s a trap door,” Beckett admitted.
Pulling Julian’s knife from his pocket, he began working around the edges. When the wood began giving away, he glanced up. “Ready?”
She was.
Who knew what was under there.
With a loud creak, proof the hinges hadn’t been oiled in a while, Beckett opened the door. Beneath it stood a ladder.
Claire whistled. “It looks like it goes all the way down to the main floor.
“I’ll climb down.”
She stopped him. “You can’t. Who knows what you’ll feel or what’s lurking down there. I’ll go.”
“If that was a way to convince me to let you go, you’re really bad at it. I’m not letting you head in there by yourself.”
The look on his face was priceless.
“Just let me go look. I’ll call up to you.”
He thought about it. This was a bad situation all the way around.
“Okay, but don’t go far.”
He held the flashlight as she climbed down. When she was almost to the bottom, he peered into the dusty darkness. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, my feet are at the bottom,” she called up.
Thank God.
“Give me a few seconds to acclimate myself. I’ll use the light on my phone.”
Beckett watched her disappear. “Claire!” he called, knowing that wasn’t part of the plan. She wasn’t supposed to wander away. They were certainly going to be discussing this when she resurfaced.
‘If she did,’ the voice in his head stated.
His heart began pounding.
“CLAIRE!”
She scanned the area. It was another passage leading somewhere. While she knew that she shouldn’t go too far, Claire let curiosity get the best of her.
Rounding a small opening, she was forced to squeeze through. It was a good thing Beckett didn't come. He’d never make it through there.
She could hear him calling for her. “Give me a second!” she shouted back. There was no way she was abandoning this now. She was in the home stretch.
Slipping through the opening, she had to fight her way through the cobwebs. It was a good thing she wasn’t afraid of spiders.
Yuck!
This looked like every nasty little arachnid in the state had opted to come hang out there.
When she shifted her phone, she saw something white catch her eye. Moving closer, that’s when realization dawned. Claire took it all in before heading back toward Beckett. When she finally got there, he looked frantic.
“Jesus! You’re going to be the death of me.”
“I need you to do me a favor,” she stated.
He waited. “What?”
“I’m going to go back to where I was and start banging on a wall. You have to go downstairs to the main floor and find me from the other side.”
He didn't understand why.
“What’s going on, Claire?” Beckett asked.
“I just found something.”
“What?”
“Well, it may be our last two victims. We need to call Julian. Now.”
He didn't question her.
Beckett could tell by her voice she was serious.
Dead serious.
* * *
Sheriff’s Station
Town
They parked a little distance from their destination just to scope out the town. The inn keeper was out watering his flowers, and when he saw them, he waved.
Passing the psychic’s shop, they noticed it was closed.
It was probably a good thing.
As they walked down the sidewalk, coffee in hand, Julian felt off. It was like they had eyes tracking them everywhere. When he stopped to look in the window of a jewelry shop, he peered into the reflection of the glass.
Across the street, he saw him.
“We have company,” Julian stated, turning to walk.
“Yeah, we picked him up when we left the house. I saw him pull out of a side road.”
“Why didn't you tell me?” he asked, pulling his wife closer. “That’s something I probably should know about.”
She laughed. “I was trying to keep him behind us. You’d want to lose him. You know the sheriff is desperate if she still has a tail on us.”
“Do you want to scare him?” Julian asked.
“What would be the point? He’s not really trying to hide. This is just the sheriff trying to remind us that this is her town, and we’re interlopers.”
He headed toward the station.
“I hate that we have to do this.”
She did too. “We’ll get through it.”
Inside, they asked to see the sheriff. While they expected some hostility, there was none. After waiting a few minutes, they were escorted in.
Behind the desk sat the woman, and she didn't look happy to see them. There were ice daggers being aimed their way.
“Can I help you with something?”
Julian waited until his wife had taken a seat. “We h
ave some information for you.”
That perked her up. “Regarding?”
“We think we have a viable suspect in the killing.”
She leaned forward. “So, now you need me?”
Julian hated this. People like this were the reason he had to be his own boss. He could see the calculation in her eyes. Penny Weinboro wanted to make them do the dance.
“Yes.”
“Please, by all means, share.”
“We suspect Andy Dawkins has something to do with this,” he offered.
She steepled her fingers. “That’s funny, since the bones you found are older than him. We got the ID back, and they belong to Warren Luther.”
Yeah, they were well aware.
Way to go, spirits.
Score one for their team.
“We’re aware.”
Here was where the delicate tap dance began. They’d withheld information, and now they were going to have to do this cautiously.
“So, you want me to bring him in based on?”
Julian let his wife handle this.
“We have more information that we’re willing to share with you. You can have the credit for this case. We simply want to wrap it up for our client. Despite what you think of us, we don’t want to pick up anymore media attention.”
She looked at them skeptically.
“It makes it hard to do our job. You don’t need a reason for a BOLO. Just bring him in for questioning, and we’ll hand you all we have. If he’s the killer, you’re set.”
“Wait. Did you find more bodies?” she asked, standing.
“You bring him in, and you get the information. That’s how we work.”
She was outraged. “I’m the law here.”
“And you have nothing. You can’t go into a private house and investigate. We can. So, you can take our offer, or we blow this wide open and get all the credit.”
She sat.
In Penny’s mind, she began weighing all her options.
If she took this deal, she could be the sheriff until the day she retired. This was job security at its finest.
“Deal, but it better be good. Give me what you can on Andy Dawkins. I’ll get him in here.”
They shared it all. From the fact that he was desperate for money, to the part where he was conning Jeffery Lamont with the fake psychic thing. When they were done, the woman looked satisfied.
Unthinkable Games (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 3) Page 38