“You think I’d come here if I was guilty?” Leonard Kane’s voice boomed, just short of a full-fledged shout, and Eden soon discovered he was talking to Wyatt, who didn’t look at all pleased with their visitor.
The moment Eden appeared in the doorway, Leonard turned toward her and smiled an oily smile that only he and a charlatan could have managed.
She hadn’t seen him in nearly three years, but he hadn’t changed despite his brain-tumor diagnosis. Iron-gray hair that somehow made him look stronger rather than a man in his mid-fifties. He was wearing starched jeans, a leather jacket, expensive snakeskin boots and a shiny rodeo buckle the size of a grapefruit. Leonard was the opposite of a wallflower and clearly not showing any signs of his terminal illness.
“Well, look-y what the cat dragged in,” Leonard greeted. Eden wasn’t sure if she was the cat or what’d been dragged in. “I was just telling Marshal McCabe here that I’m an innocent man. And a dying one at that. I don’t have time for false accusations from the marshals.”
“I heard about your brain tumor,” Eden said, but didn’t offer any sympathy. And wouldn’t. Unless she learned he had no part in this.
“Yeah. A kick in the teeth, right?” Leonard said. “The docs can’t do a damn thing to cut it out without killing me on the spot. But I guess we all gotta go sometime. My boy, Corey, didn’t get much of that time, though.”
So they were already on to Kirby killing his son. Eden had figured it wouldn’t take him long to bring that up, and maybe Leonard would say enough on the subject that it would give them a solid lead in this investigation.
“I gave the marshal my statement,” Leonard went on, “telling him that I was nowhere near your place yesterday and that I ain’t holding a grudge against anybody. Especially one of Kirby Granger’s boys.”
Declan looked past the man and met Wyatt’s gaze. “Where’s Jack?”
Wyatt hitched his thumb toward the hall. “First interrogation room. Best to keep these two apart. Leonard tried to take a swing at him.”
“Because Jack’s an idiot,” Leonard volunteered, his smile turning to a smirk. “Jack’s the one who got me involved with Zander Gray, and they’re the reason I lost a whole boatload of money.” The smirk was still in place when his attention came back to Eden. “When you cause a ruckus, you make it a Texas-size one, don’t you, girl?”
“I didn’t cause a ruckus.” She had to get her teeth unclenched so she could finish. “But Marshal O’Malley and I were nearly killed. I’d like to know why.”
“And you think I got the answers?” Leonard didn’t wait for her to confirm that. “No, Jack’s the one claiming to know something. Wish he’d claim to know how to get me back that money he and your daddy cost me. I’m just here to clear my name, give an official statement. And to find out where your daddy is. Because, you see, I figure he’s behind all of this and is trying to frame me. I got some old scores to settle, and he’s one I’m looking to settle with.”
So, it was true. Leonard was cleaning house, but with all the bad he’d done, the world wouldn’t miss him.
“Is Zander alive?” Declan asked the man.
Leonard lifted his shoulder. “You should be asking his daughter here, ’cause I don’t know. Haven’t heard a peep from him. But I’m thinking he’s gotta want revenge against you for arresting him.”
Declan went closer and got right in Leonard’s face. “Why involve Eden?”
“Maybe that wasn’t intentional.” And though Leonard’s voice dripped with sarcasm, Eden had to wonder if there was some truth behind what he’d said. Had her father tried to go after Declan and involved her instead? She didn’t want to believe that, but she hadn’t seen him in three years. If he was indeed alive, he could be a changed man hell-bent on getting revenge.
“That’s it?” Declan’s hands went on his hips. “That’s all you came here to tell us—that Zander might not have intentionally involved his daughter? Well, that’s not enough. Because as far as I’m concerned, you’re just as much of a suspect as Zander is.”
“Me?” Leonard howled. “I’m innocent. I already said, why would I be here if I was guilty?”
“You would if you didn’t want to look guilty. Besides, we had probable cause to haul you in here whether you volunteered or not.”
“Well, I didn’t have any part in the shooting yesterday out at your place.” His cocky look turned to a glare when it landed on the interrogation room where Jack was. “But I’m betting he’ll say different. He’ll try to pin this on me so it’ll get the blame off himself.”
Declan glanced at her to see if she knew what Leonard meant, but she had to shake her head. “Why would Jack want to kill Declan and me?” she came out and asked.
Leonard opened his mouth. Closed it. And the smile returned. “You really don’t know?”
Declan took a step closer to the man. “Know what?”
His smile got wider. “Oh, you really need to talk to your foster daddy about this.”
“I’d rather talk to you about it,” Declan argued.
The door to the interrogation room flew open and the man stepped out. Unlike Leonard, Eden had never met Jack Vinson. Also unlike Leonard, he looked like a polished businessman in his navy suit and dark red tie.
“Marshal O’Malley,” Jack greeted. “Declan.” He said it as if they were old friends. But judging from the way Declan was eyeing him, he’d never met Jack, either.
“Here it comes,” Leonard taunted. “He’s gonna accuse me of something again. That’s the real reason I came down here. This bozo called me and said he was coming in to rat me out. Hard to rat me out, though, when I done nothing wrong.”
“Yeah, you’re just a model citizen, aren’t you?” Wyatt mumbled. Obviously, he’d had his fill of the men before Declan and she had arrived. He looked at his brother. “Jack claims he has proof of Leonard’s involvement in the shooting.”
“He ain’t got squat,” Leonard said at the exact moment that Jack insisted, “I do have proof.”
Jack waited until all eyes were on him before he continued. “Word on the street is that a man named Lonnie Reddick was out at Declan’s place yesterday, and that he’s the hired gun on the run that you’ve been looking for.”
Declan glanced at Harlan, who was behind his desk. “Lonnie Reddick,” Harlan repeated. “I’ll see what I can find.”
“You’ll find that Reddick worked for Leonard,” Jack supplied. “Still does. Follow the money trail and you’ll have proof of the connection.”
The profanity that left Leonard’s mouth was fast and raw. He moved toward Jack, looking ready to punch him, but Declan stepped between them. “Is that true?” Declan asked Leonard.
“It’s true that Reddick worked for me a while back, but I damn sure didn’t hire him to kill you yesterday.”
Eden stepped closer, as well. “Yes, but did he kill a gunman who could have confirmed who hired all three assassins?”
“No!” Leonard snarled. “I got no reason to hire anyone to come after you.”
“No reason except a double motive—to get back at both Kirby and my father,” Eden supplied.
Leonard’s eyes narrowed to slits, but he aimed his glare at Jack. “You just had to put that in their heads, didn’t you? Well, why don’t you spill your motive, ’cause I know you got one.”
While Leonard was practically spewing venom at the man, Jack remained cool. He eased his hands into his pockets. “It’s not a motive. Just the opposite.” His gaze returned to Declan. “Stella and I are old friends—”
“Old lovers,” Leonard interrupted. “In fact, they were engaged, their wedding just days away when Stella called it off because of Kirby.”
“Kirby?” Declan questioned, and judging from his tone, it was the first he was hearing of this. “But Stella and Kirby aren’t involved like that
.”
“Probably because he’s too sick to do anything about it.” Leonard seemed happy to tell them, too. “But Kirby’s always had a hot, dirty thing for Stella. And despite this whole butter-won’t-melt-in-Jack’s-mouth routine, he’d like nothing more than to get back at Kirby for stealing Stella away from him all those years ago.”
“Water under the bridge,” Jack said.
Eden looked at both men. Then at Declan to see if he was understanding this. The gunman possibly worked for Leonard. If it was true, that was the connection they’d been looking for.
But she couldn’t see how Stella’s old flame would play into this.
“There’s more,” Leonard happily added. “Jack’s wife, Beatrice, isn’t too happy about the way Kirby and Stella treated her hubby all those years ago. Yeah, Jack wouldn’t have married Beatrice if Stella had stayed in his life. But Beatrice is dingbat crazy, so she could mean to get a little revenge of her own. Plus, I figure she’s a whole lotta jealous when it comes to Stella, since Jack is still carrying a torch for her.”
Jack’s jaw muscles stirred a little. “My wife has no part in this.” However, he didn’t deny his feelings for Stella. He looked at Declan. “Beatrice has spent some time in therapy, but she’s fine now.”
“She was in a glorified nuthouse.” Leonard laughed. “Right where a dingbat belongs.”
Eden shook her head. “Okay, I’ll bite. Why would Beatrice come after Declan and me because she was upset with Kirby and Stella?”
Leonard made a sound to indicate that the answer was obvious. “Dingbat logic ain’t gotta make sense. Some people just carry a grudge for a long time, and when Beatrice married Jack, she married his money. Millions of it. No prenup. And she had to get that money by marrying a hubby who’s in love with another woman. She probably figures if she’s miserable and locked away in her own loony head, then she should spread that misery around like fertilizer.”
“My wife has no part in this,” Jack insisted.
Declan obviously didn’t believe that. He looked at Harlan. “Do a background check on her.”
“Running it now.”
Jack mumbled something, shook his head. “I want Beatrice left out of this investigation. Stella, too. Whatever’s going on here has nothing to do with them.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Leonard continued. He was smiling again when he looked at Declan, and that smile put a knot in her stomach. “Good ol’ Jack here helped Stella rig the paperwork that got you out of that Rocky Creek hellhole.”
Declan’s attention slashed to Jack, and the man didn’t deny it. “You mean the paperwork that put me in Kirby’s foster care?”
Some of Jack’s cool exterior evaporated. “Yes. I admit it. I helped with the paperwork. That part’s true. But what Leonard’s going to claim is that I also helped murder Jonah Webb. I didn’t.”
Eden wasn’t sure she believed him. Or that this mattered, but judging from the glance that Wyatt and Declan exchanged, maybe it did.
“Yeah, you’re getting it now,” Leonard said, obviously noticing that glance, too. “Jack’s in the hot seat, maybe on the verge of being charged as an accessory to Webb’s murder. No statute of limitations on that. His butt could land in jail for life. Or worse. So how far do you think Jack or his dingbat wife would go to stop Kirby from ratting him out?”
“Not that far,” Jack insisted.
“Are you saying that Jack or Beatrice would try to kill Declan and me?” Eden pressed Leonard. “How would that keep him out of jail?”
“He’s not trying to kill you. What happened yesterday was a message to Kirby. Bite the bullet and confess to the Webb murder, or there’ll be hell to pay—with his all-grown-up foster kid.”
Jack stared at the man who’d just accused him of attempted murder. “That’s ridiculous. From what I heard, Declan and Eden were in grave danger. They could have been killed.”
“We could have been,” Eden verified.
But no one seemed to hear her.
“That’s what Lonnie Reddick was all about,” Leonard said. “The man hasn’t worked for me for months, but Jack or his wife knew he could hire him to take out the gunmen firing those shots at you two. He knew Kirby would understand what was going on.”
That created another shouting match between the two men, but Eden dropped back a step so she could take it all in.
Had Jack really set this up?
“If he did it, it’s a stupid way to send a message,” Declan said, as if reading her mind. “My brothers would have gone after him if I’d been killed. And if you’d been killed, I would have gone after him.”
She tried not to be flattered about that last part. Especially since in that particular scenario she’d be dead. But she was grateful that Declan would find the culprit if something did indeed happen to her.
And that probably didn’t have anything to do with the heat between them.
No. He was first and foremost a lawman.
“This meeting is over,” Jack announced. For a moment Eden thought he was going to storm out, but he stopped right in front of Declan.
“If I find out you’re behind this, I’m arresting you,” Declan warned him.
“If I were behind this, I’d let you arrest me,” Jack countered. There was no ripe anger in his voice, only the glare that he aimed at Leonard. “My advice? Don’t believe a word he says and find an excuse—any excuse—to put him behind bars.”
“I’ll be looking to do the same to you,” Declan assured him.
Jack stared at Declan a moment later, added something under his breath that Eden didn’t catch and walked out.
“You should be arresting him,” Leonard grumbled.
“No evidence. Yet. But I will be looking for some. Looking for something on you, too,” Declan told Leonard.
Leonard glanced around, maybe trying to decide where to go with this. Obviously he hadn’t gotten what he wanted. Jack hadn’t been arrested. He looked down at his hands, and Eden saw that he was shaking.
“Damn tumor,” Leonard grumbled. He shoved his hands in his pockets. “They say it’ll get worse. The headaches, too. And then I’ll just keel over.” He stared at Eden. “Let’s hope I can get my goodbyes finished before that happens.”
“Is that some kind of threat?” she asked. And she didn’t back down from him.
“The only people who should feel threatened are the ones with a reason to be. You got a reason to be threatened by me, Eden?”
Declan didn’t give her a chance to answer. He stepped between them. “Can you finish interviewing him?” Declan asked Wyatt. “I need to talk to Kirby.”
No doubt to ask him about Stella’s cryptic comments. But Kirby would have to be questioned about this, too. All of the danger was starting to lead right back to him and maybe what had happened at Rocky Creek all those years ago.
Judging from Leonard’s renewed scowl, he didn’t appreciate being handed off to Wyatt or putting an end to his little word games, but Eden hoped that Declan’s brother could get some usable information from the man.
“I’d like to go with you when you question Kirby,” she said to Declan once Leonard was out of earshot.
“I’m not questioning him. He’s too weak for that. I only want to talk to him for a few moments.”
Eden didn’t even try to stop herself from groaning. “You can’t let your personal feelings play into this. Besides, I’m sure Kirby wants you to be safe, and if he knows anything that can make that happen, then he’ll tell you.”
She hoped.
Though Kirby might not be willing to share that information with her.
Declan’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t argue. “Let’s go,” he snarled.
“Someone’s on the phone for you,” Harlan called out before they could leave.
&n
bsp; Declan and she turned back around, but it took her a moment to realize that Harlan was talking to her, not Declan.
Harlan had his hand over the receiver of the landline phone so that the caller wouldn’t be able to hear. “He says it’s important,” he added.
Eden shook her head. No one would know to be calling her here at the marshals’ office. Unless it was the bodyguard she’d hired to watch her sisters, and if he couldn’t have reached her with just a call, then he might have contacted law enforcement.
Oh, God.
Maybe something bad had happened to them.
She hurried across the room and nearly ripped the phone from Harlan’s hand. “Is everything all right?” And she couldn’t ask it fast enough.
“No. Far from it.”
Eden’s stomach went to her knees. Not the bodyguard. But it was a voice she recognized.
Her father’s.
He was alive.
The relief flooded through her. Quickly followed by the concern and the realization that she had both Harlan and Declan staring at her and waiting.
“Don’t say anything,” her father warned her. “And find out a way to ditch Marshal O’Malley. Because I need to see you now. And I need to see you alone.”
Chapter Nine
Eden didn’t say a word, and Declan couldn’t hear what the caller was telling her. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good, and they already had enough bad news to deal with.
“I understand,” she finally said and pressed the button to end the call. Eden eased the phone back onto Harlan’s desk. She didn’t look at him but instead kept her attention on the phone.
“What happened?” Declan asked, and he glanced at Harlan, who just shook his head.
“The caller was using a burner,” Harlan let him know after he checked the laptop next to the phone.
No way to trace it, which meant this call might have been from the gunman. Whoever it was and whatever he’d said, it had caused the color to drain from Eden’s face. She didn’t say anything, and that told him loads about the call. If it’d been a threat or warning about immediate danger to her sisters, she would have blurted it out so they could spring into action.
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