by Barb Han
“Okay. We’ll file him in the backs of our minds as we dig a little further into Halpern,” Austin said.
The drive over to Round Rock PD took less than an hour. Chief Blair was tall, thin, with a sprinkling of gray hair at the temples. His skin was sun-worn and he had the physique of a runner. He resembled a middle-aged Richard Gere.
He remembered Maria and she introduced him to Austin before following him to his office.
“What can I do for you folks today?” Chief Blair asked, taking his seat behind his mahogany desk. The American flag stood on a pole behind his desk. He folded his hands and leaned forward. It was a courtesy question because she’d already had to inform his second-in-command of the reason for the meeting.
“Thank you for agreeing to see us, sir,” Maria said.
“How could I not? You’re my favorite FBI agent.” He winked. It came off as a little cheesy but Maria liked the guy in general and it was important to keep good relations with the police in her region.
“We spoke on the phone about the case we’d been working on with your department,” she started.
He nodded.
“I spoke to one of your officers. Actually, he’d recently left the department to take a security job with a tech company. His name is Garrett Halpern,” she said.
Chief Blair nodded again and a look passed behind his gray eyes.
“What can you tell me about his background?” she asked.
“Halpern had a difficult time fitting in at the department according to my officers. He’d only been on the job for two years when he left,” Chief Blair said.
“Didn’t his coworkers like him?”
“There were trust issues,” he confessed. “Without going into too much detail, it’s safe to say that they didn’t have confidence that they could count on him when they needed him.”
That was a huge issue, Maria thought. And one she’d had to overcome in order to work in law enforcement. “I appreciate that you can’t give away too much information on a former employee. I’m wondering if that’s the real reason he left.”
“I can tell you in confidence,” he paused long enough to receive her acknowledgment, “that we were trying to put together a case against him. You know how difficult it is to fire a civil servant. He was insubordinate with his superiors. Didn’t take criticism well when they reprimanded him. It was starting to get tense on his shift. And then he just up and quits. Problem solved. I don’t mind admitting that I felt like we dodged a bullet, especially when you came around asking about him a few weeks later.”
Maria went through the facts again in her mind. Halpern was a loner. He didn’t fit in with the officers on a job that was all about camaraderie. “Do you know offhand if he ever served in the military?”
“As a matter of fact, he did a stint,” Chief Blair said. “Most of our new hires served the country at one point in their lives.”
“Do you have a valid address on him?” she asked.
“I’ll have it ready before you walk out the door,” he said. “But I have no idea if it’s current.”
“Thank you for your time, Chief,” Maria said.
They collected the information and walked to the truck.
“His background matches up to the profile of someone who would use a surprise method of attack,” she said once inside and back on the road. She pinched the bridge of her nose to stem a raging headache.
“He’s also escalating his attacks, which makes me believe that he’s becoming more desperate,” Austin added. “He’s trained and adept, so we’ll have to be that much more cautious about dealing with him.”
“I’ll let Special Agent Wheeler know about the address,” she said. “And then I was thinking that we could go talk to his last employer.”
“You look too tired,” Austin said, his gaze scanning her face. “Doing more right now is not a good idea. We’ve already violated doctor’s orders and put your job in jeopardy. I think that’s enough for one day.”
Going home with Austin was a bigger threat.
Chapter Thirteen
Dallas stood on the porch of the log cabin, waiting, when they returned and Austin feared the worst about Denali. He parked outside instead of in the garage and made a beeline toward his brother. Movement came from behind Dallas’s boots and Austin recognized the little dog they’d saved on their walk.
“Is that who I think it is?” Maria’s voice called out from behind him. She must’ve bent down because the dog ran straight past Austin toward her.
Austin didn’t like his brother’s serious expression, so he held course.
“I wanted to stop by personally to deliver the news before you heard it somewhere else,” Dallas said before Austin had a chance to speak. He feared Denali was gone and was surprised at how choked up he got thinking about losing the Chocolate Lab that had always been his sidekick and especially during this past year.
“You want to come inside?” Austin asked, and he could hear the unsteadiness in his own voice.
Dallas nodded, so they entered the log cabin with Maria and the little pooch trailing behind.
“I’ll make coffee,” Maria said.
“Is it Denali?” Austin managed to choke out, trying his level best to steady his voice.
“It’s about the investigation into Mom’s and Dad’s deaths,” Dallas began, motioning toward the barstools around the granite island. “I spoke to Tommy first thing this morning.”
“In the hospital?”
Dallas shook his head. “No, he was released yesterday.”
Austin had no idea. He felt completely out of touch with family business since the incidents with Maria but it had been more than a week, so it made sense that Tommy would be going home about now especially with how well his recovery had been going. “That’s good news.”
“It is,” Dallas agreed. “Doc said everything’s ahead of schedule with his recovery and he’ll be good as new soon enough.”
“That’s a relief,” Austin said. “Thanks for the update.” He eyed his brother. “What else? Do you have news about our parents’ case?” His older brother’s life had been filled with a new wife and baby on top of inheriting the ranch with his five siblings. Katherine had adopted a little boy by the name of Jackson, and she and Dallas had fallen in love when he’d saved her son from an abduction attempt.
“You know Tommy,” Dallas continued. “He got bored so he had one of his deputies bring over the case file. There was something in an interview with Janis that caught his attention, and that was that Mom and Dad both had colds at the time of the murders,” he said.
“I honestly don’t remember, but why should that send up an alarm?” Austin asked. He hadn’t gone to the art event his parents had held before the murders and had been too busy with his own responsibilities around the ranch to be in the loop.
Maria placed cups of coffee on the counter and Austin ignored the feeling of how very right it felt to have her there with him and Dallas. He chalked it up to old feelings and spending too much time together. He reminded himself of what he’d been doing the night he’d received the call about her attack, cataloging calves for the stockyard. He needed to pick up the documents from his office and bring them home to work on them as she rested. Based on how wiped out she looked, he needed to do a better job at getting her to take care of herself.
Speaking of which, his parents had a habit of powering through sickness, too.
And then it clicked why Tommy would be concerned about them having a virus. A couple of cold tablets and they said they could get through anything. “He thinks they were poisoned in connection with their cold medication?”
Dallas was already nodding. “He went back through the crime scene photos and found a box of medicine sitting on the counter in their bathroom.”
“Was it ta
ken up as evidence?” he asked. The puppy wandered around, sniffing, and he was currently enthralled with the tip of Austin’s boot.
“Not at the time. He asked permission to look over their room again, though,” Dallas said. “Their room and bathroom have been cleaned regularly, so Tommy isn’t making any promises.”
Austin didn’t have to ask whether that permission was granted to know that it was. It also meant the killer had access to his parents’ bedroom. No one went in there without a key. They kept the hallway to their personal quarters locked since the main house had frequent out-of-town visitors.
“Janis already volunteered to go in for questioning,” Dallas said.
“We all know that she didn’t have anything to do with their murders,” Austin quickly added.
“It was someone who knew their personal habits. Someone close to them, which casts suspicion close to home again,” Dallas said, and Austin understood the implication.
“I’ll go in for questioning,” Austin said.
“I figured you’d say that. All six of us have now said the same thing,” Dallas said. “Our PR firm is working on releasing a statement as soon as the news breaks. Tommy will keep a lid on it for as long as he can but he can only do so much.”
“And the rest of the staff is cooperating, I’m sure,” Austin said.
Dallas nodded but a look passed behind his eyes.
“I’m guessing your reaction is about Aunt Bea and Uncle Ezra?” Austin asked.
“Neither decided it would be ‘necessary’ to submit to further questions. They argued that they have already cooperated and that it was time the sheriff looked for the actual criminal instead of constantly annoying family members,” Dallas stated.
“Seems they finally agree on something.” Austin fisted his hand and dropped it onto the cold granite. The move startled the dog at his feet. He picked up the spaniel and scratched behind his ear. “Anyone claim this guy yet?”
Dallas shook his head.
“Might be good to give him a name, at least temporarily.” Austin looked at Maria.
“I’ve always loved the name Bailey,” she said.
Austin held up the pup to face him. “Is your name Bailey?”
The little dog wagged his tail and tried to lick Austin’s cheek.
“Bailey it is,” he said, placing the little guy on the floor. Nose to the ground, he skimmed the floor and disappeared around the breakfast bar.
“I hate to say this about family, but Uncle Ezra has been under suspicion from day one,” Dallas said, getting the conversation back on track. “He’s been able to use Aunt Bea as an alibi for the night of the murders but this sheds a new light on things because he could’ve tampered with their medicine days before.”
“How long had they had the cold? Does anyone remember?” Austin asked.
“A few days, but Uncle Ezra might’ve only tampered with a couple of the pills figuring they’d take them sooner or later,” Dallas said.
“I’m wondering if it was Dad who was the target.” Austin drummed his fingers on the granite. “What would he have to gain, though?”
“I’ve been trying to figure that out for myself.” Dallas rubbed his chin. “Tommy found correspondence between Hollister McCabe and Uncle Ezra that basically said Ezra stood to make a lot of money if he could get us to sell McCabe the back forty acres.”
“McCabe always said that belonged to him. That’s the piece of the property that had caused the big rift between him and Dad,” Austin remembered.
“Sounds like motive to me,” Maria said with an apologetic look. No one wanted to believe family could be capable of such an act.
Dallas agreed. “I think Tommy’s going to have to haul him in again. Uncle Ezra has made it clear that he won’t cooperate.”
“Has he given any thought to the amount of bad press he could get as a result? It wouldn’t look right if he didn’t volunteer, as well,” Austin said, his mind spinning into damage-control mode. “Might be a good angle to get Uncle Ezra to submit to further questioning.”
“We’ll see what happens but I thought you should know the direction that the investigation has taken.” Dallas took a sip of coffee.
“Remind me where he was the night of our parents’ murders.” Austin folded his arms, searching his memory. So much had happened that he sure as hell didn’t try to keep up with Uncle Ezra’s comings and goings.
“With Aunt Bea,” Dallas said. “His alibi has been ironclad.”
“Can I add my two cents?” Maria asked.
“Be my guest,” Austin said to Maria, curious to get her take on the situation.
“In my experience I’ve found that the party acting the guiltiest usually is,” she said.
“That would be Uncle Ezra,” Austin said. “Now that I think about it, he’s been jockeying for more since Dad died.”
“More what?” she asked.
“More everything. Responsibility. Power. Percentage of the land,” Austin added.
“But Tommy hasn’t been able to crack his alibi,” Dallas said.
“Which has been strong until now considering how much he and Aunt Bea dislike each other,” Maria noted. “There’s another thing that strikes me as odd. Most poisonings are the MO of women.”
“It’s no secret that Uncle Ezra has been pointing the finger toward someone in the house all along,” Dallas said.
“Someone like Janis?” Maria balked. “You’re joking.”
“He seems pretty ready to deflect attention away from him every chance he gets,” Austin said.
“Janis was the only one with access to their private quarters,” Dallas stated.
“What does Joshua think about all this?” she asked.
“The same as we do. Something’s not right about Uncle Ezra but no one wants to believe that he could be involved in something like this. He’s a jerk and can be power hungry, but he is still family,” Dallas said.
“Was he in the house anytime near the week before the murders?” Maria asked.
“As a matter of fact, he was,” Dallas said. “Aunt Bea had lunch with Mom around the same time, too.”
“What about other options in the house?” Maria asked. “Did, for instance, the caterer have access?”
“It’s highly unlikely that they would’ve and the owner and her staff were accounted for all night,” Dallas said. “Plus, we’ve been using the same company for more years than I can count. And no one in the small company had anything to gain from their murders. Uncle Ezra, on the other hand did, but then he’d still have to convince the six of us to do what Dad wouldn’t. The caterers stood to lose one of their biggest customers without Mom and Dad.”
“Donors? Artists?” she continued.
Dallas shook his head. “Neither had access or a good reason. Mom and Dad did nothing but help the art community. Again, their deaths would hurt more than help. As far as donors go, nothing’s come up in anyone’s background so far. The only person in the world who would like to see Dad dead is Hollister McCabe and he’s in jail.”
Maria nodded that she was aware of the rift between the McCabes and O’Briens.
Until his brother Ryder got involved in a relationship with Faith McCabe, the O’Briens would’ve written all the family members off. She’d proved to be on their side and just as disgusted by her father who was no good, as evidenced by him turning his back on the half brother she had been sneaking around to help.
“What about other employees?” Maria asked.
“Cynthia Stoker, our event planner, was in the kitchen with Janis for most of the night,” Dallas said. “When she wasn’t with Janis, she was mingling with party guests, making sure everyone had a good time.”
“Cynthia helped plan our wedding,” Maria said with a small smile that fisted Austin’s heart.<
br />
“Stacy came on board after Mom and Dad were gone,” Austin said.
“Who’s she?” Was there a note of jealousy in Maria’s voice? She picked up Bailey and nuzzled him to her chest.
“Someone we hired a few months ago to work as Janis’s assistant,” Austin said. “Someone we can trust.”
“And that’s it?” she asked.
“The box of cold medicine might give Tommy a clue as to who did this,” Dallas offered.
“Think he can lift a set of prints off it?” Austin asked Maria.
“It’s possible. There might be a better chance of getting prints from the room, from metal or glass, but a good lab might be able to pick something up from the box even though a lot of time has passed,” Maria added. “How well do you know Stacy?”
“Her previous employer was killed on an assignment helping me.” Dallas pushed off his barstool and stood. He drained his mug before setting it down on the counter. “That’s all I have for now. We’ll know more once they talk to Uncle Ezra. Tommy wants to bring in someone from a different agency to interview him.”
“Makes sense to get someone with a fresh perspective,” Maria said. “I’m happy to watch the interview, if you’d like.”
“I’ll let Tommy know,” Dallas said. “I realize your plate is full right now, so we appreciate the offer.”
Maria nodded and smiled.
“In the meantime, I thought you should know about Denali,” Dallas said. “He’s comfortable but the vet doesn’t have high hopes right now. He said we should tell everyone to stop by and see him. His breathing is labored and his gums are a bright red color, which the vet says isn’t a good sign at this point. She’d hoped that he would have progressed by now but with his advanced age...”
“I’m sorry to hear it. He’s a good dog,” Maria said. Her voice was thick with emotion. “It’s a shame someone would do this to him.”
“Do you know who was on the property at the time he was poisoned?” Austin asked, fighting back the well of emotion threatening to bust through his walls.
“The usual. Staff. Family. No one out of the ordinary because we’ve kept security tight. Uncle Ezra had asked for another meeting,” Dallas supplied.