by Stella Bixby
How else would he have had the shoe?
But there was also the Elodie angle. Did she want to get rid of Selena so she could have Jacob all to herself?
The sight of Antonio opening the gate caught me by surprise. I hadn’t realized he was the one scheduled to open the reservoir today.
As if on cue, Jacob Marquez jogged into sight and flashed his annual pass at Antonio before he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the tent.
He turned to Antonio, probably to inquire about what was going on. Antonio shook his head.
If he had truly been responsible for killing Desmond, would he have shown up at the crime scene? Probably, if for nothing else but to keep up appearances.
But the way Jacob moved around the tent as he made his way to the trail, didn’t look like someone who knew what was going on. Like someone who had killed another human in cold blood.
I needed to talk to Antonio. See what Jacob had said to him.
But how would I do that without looking suspicious? I wasn’t supposed to be working the case. And if word got to Garrett that I’d shown up early when I wasn’t even on the schedule to see Antonio, he’d probably take the ring back.
Antonio disappeared into the ranger office, and I decided to take a chance.
I dialed the office number on my cell.
“Shadow Trail Reservoir Ranger Station, how can I help you?” His silky Italian voice made my breath catch.
“Antonio?” I managed to squeak out.
“Yes, who is this?”
I cleared my throat. “Sorry, it’s Rylie.”
“Rylie?” he said my name slowly as if he couldn’t quite believe I’d be calling.
“Uh, yeah, it’s me. Sorry to bother you. If you’re busy, I can call back later.”
“You are never a bother to me.” He paused. “What do you need?”
“This is going to sound crazy.” How could I ask him about Jacob? He would know I was spying on him.
“You want information about the dead body?”
“How did you—”
“I could ask the same of you. I know the news hasn’t picked up the story yet, but I don’t really want to know how you already knew someone had been killed here. Unlike a beautiful blonde shit magnet I know, I like to keep my nose out of police business.”
His flirting was a jolt to the system after he’d barely spoken to me since we’d kissed. “I, uh—”
“It’s Selena’s brother, Desmond.”
“Do you know how he died?” I asked.
“Gunshot. The police were already here when I got here to open, but I know one of the guys, and he gave me an overview.”
“Did Jacob show up to run the trail?”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “Why?”
“If anyone were going to kill Desmond, it would probably be the guy he has a restraining order against, don’t you think?” I was proud of myself for coming up with such a good explanation on the fly.
“You think Jacob killed this guy and then showed up to run at the murder scene the next day?”
“If he hadn’t shown up, it would have been weird. He’s there every single morning.”
“I don’t know. He seemed confused by the whole thing.”
“Did you tell him who died?” I asked.
“Of course not.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. But I should tell the police he’s here if you think he would be a prime suspect.”
“No,” I yelled into the phone. I glanced around to make sure no one heard my outburst, but I was still completely alone on the hill.
“Why not?”
“Because they’ll know you talked to me. It’s not widely known that Desmond has a restraining order against Jacob, but Detective Bryant,” I couldn’t help but say his name with disgust, “talked about the restraining order in front of me.”
“There could be a killer in the park as we speak, and you don’t want me to tell the police just because they might put together that you called and talked to me?”
“I don’t think you’re in any danger. If I did, I’d say go for it. But my job could be in jeopardy. I could go to jail if Bryant finds out I’m poking around.”
“What do you have against Harry?” Antonio asked.
“Who’s Harry?”
“Harry Bryant. He’s a good guy.”
“Don’t tell me you’re friends.”
“And what if we are?” His flirtatious voice had vanished.
“Never mind. Forget you ever heard from me this morning. And please, if you tell your buddy Bryant that Jacob’s in the park, don’t bring me into it.”
“I would never want to do anything to hurt you.” His voice softened. “But I do think I should tell Harry about Jacob. Just to be on the safe side. I won’t say anything about you, though.”
“Fine. I should go. Have a good day.”
“It was nice talking to you. I couldn’t say anything with Nikki around, but congratulations on your engagement.”
“He knows what happened Christmas Eve,” I blurted out.
“I wondered if you’d told him. I guess it’s good you were honest.”
“It kind of slipped out. And I may have ruined Christmas.”
“I’m sorry. It should have never happened in the first place.”
“Are you apologizing because you wished it wouldn’t have happened?” Why did I ask that? What did it matter if he regretted kissing me? Was my pride so easily damaged?
“I don’t regret it. I had wanted to kiss you since the moment I first saw you. But I knew you were involved with someone. It was wrong of me. I hope you will forgive me and we can go back to being friends.”
“Of course,” I said, though I didn’t feel like I needed to forgive him. The person I needed to forgive was myself. “Talk to you later.”
“Bye,” he said.
I hung up and stared at my phone. I needed to get my heart in check. Antonio wasn’t my fiancé. I didn’t love Antonio. I loved Garrett. I was going to marry Garrett. Antonio was just a handsome man who showed me attention. And I was just nervous about getting married. Who wouldn’t be? Marriage was a big commitment. But Garrett was the man I would marry. The man I wanted to marry. End of story.
And I wouldn’t even get started on Luke.
I peeked through the binoculars again to see Antonio talking to Detective Bryant.
It irked me to see them chatting like old friends. I needed to get home and spend some time with Fizzy. Take him on a walk and let the police handle this investigation.
They’d figure out eventually that Jacob killed Desmond, and Desmond killed Selena. They didn’t need my help.
I stood and turned only to run straight into a sweaty, angry-looking man.
Jacob.
15
Before I could scream, Jacob had one hand over my mouth and the other around my torso, holding my arms at my sides.
“Trust me,” he whispered. “You do not want to alert the police that I’m here.”
The tone of his voice was dangerous. I tried to get the pepper spray on my hip, but of course, it wasn’t there. I wasn’t in uniform.
“Stop fighting,” he said.
Yeah, right. I tried to wiggle free, but he was unusually strong for a man his size.
The only thing I could think to do was gross, but I had to try. I opened my mouth and licked his hand like my nephews did to each other.
The trick worked. He released me. “That’s disgusting. Why would you lick me?”
I didn’t answer his question.
I ran.
The last time I’d run so hard was my final high school track meet. I’d won first place in the four hundred.
But it was apparent I was no longer a runner.
Jacob caught me easily just before I reached Cherry Anne. This time, though, I could defend myself.
I turned and aimed a punch at his nose.
He ducked, but I still caught
him in the forehead.
“Rylie, stop,” he said, holding up his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You killed Desmond. How do I know you won’t kill me too?”
“I didn’t kill Desmond. Wait,” his eyes widened. “Desmond’s dead?”
I kept my fists raised, but my guard dropped slightly. “Don’t act like you don’t know. That’s why the police are at the reservoir.”
All the color drained from his face, and his eyes glazed over with tears.
He really hadn’t known about Desmond.
At that moment, a big black Escalade flew into the parking lot and stopped inches before hitting Cherry Anne.
Cedric burst from the driver door, aiming a gun at me.
I threw my arms in the air.
“What are you doing, Cedric?” Jacob said. “Put the damned gun away.”
Cedric hesitated. “She attacked you.”
“After I attacked her,” he said, then turned to me. “Unintentionally. I’m sorry I snuck up on you. I just didn’t want you to yell and draw the cops’ attention.”
I looked from Jacob to Cedric, who still had a gun pointed at me.
“Put. The. Gun. Down.” Jacob’s voice was furious.
Cedric did as he was told.
“Let’s get in the car, and we can talk,” Jacob said, motioning to his SUV.
“Uh, no thanks. We have nothing to talk about.” Even if he hadn’t killed Desmond, I still didn’t want to be in a car with him and his gun-waving lunatic of a security guard.
I unlocked Cherry Anne and slid into the driver’s seat. The car was hot from the sun, and I was sweating from running. I yanked my jacket off and threw it in the backseat.
“Fine,” Jacob said, “then I’ll come with you. Cedric won’t even follow us.”
Cedric looked like he wanted to object.
“It’ll be fine,” Jacob said to the both of us.
“Okay, get in,” I said. “But only one lap around the block.”
“Good.” As Jacob hurried around to the other side of the car, I pushed the record button on my phone and dropped it into the cupholder in the center console. “Now, tell me about Desmond,” he said when he closed the car door.
I put the car in reverse and came as close as I could to Cedric without making contact, then drove out of the parking lot. “First, I have a question for you.”
“Okay,” he said.
“Is that Escalade the same one Cedric always drives?”
Jacob looked behind us at the car. “Yes. It has his license plates.”
“Do you own any other vehicles like it?”
“I have a deal with the Cadillac dealership. I have about five of them on lease.”
“Do you know if any of them incurred any damage recently?” As in last night, I thought.
“Not that I’m aware of. Why?”
“No reason.”
He waited, then moved on. “Now can you tell me about Desmond?”
“There’s nothing else to tell. Desmond is dead.”
“And why do you think I killed him?”
I couldn’t tell him that Desmond called me right before he’d been shot. “He has a restraining order against you. I figured it was the most logical thing. Plus, what else would you do when you found out he killed Selena—the wife you are still in love with?”
Jacob stared out the windshield. He had a good poker face. It probably served him well in business.
Finally, he spoke. “I do still love Selena. That’s the truth. But Desmond didn’t kill her. And even if he had, I wouldn’t have killed him. I’ve changed a lot over the past few years.”
“How so?” I asked. “You stopped beating your wives?”
He clenched and unclenched his fists and took a deep breath. I was treading on thin ice, but I had to get him to talk.
“Among other things, yes.”
I couldn’t believe he admitted to beating his wife.
“Technically, Elodie is not my wife.”
“I heard,” I said.
“But I’ve never laid a hand on her in anger,” he said. “I don’t know what happened to Selena—I didn’t kill her—but I know ultimately it was my fault.”
“Why do you say that?”
He sucked in a breath. “The night she went missing, we had an argument.”
“At the gala?”
“Before. At home.”
“What about?”
“Extramarital affairs,” he said. He was holding his words close to his chest.
“Elodie?”
“Among others,” he said. “That’s not what’s important. What’s important is that I lost my temper. I slapped her across the face. If you look at the photographs from that night, you can see one cheek is redder than the other. She was already so frail after all those cancer treatments. It was the first time I hit her since she’d been diagnosed. Then, she was gone.”
“Do you think she left on her own accord?”
He shook his head. “I wish that was the case.”
“How can you be sure it’s not?”
“The police found blood—a lot of blood—Selena’s blood—in the car.”
“Was Cedric driving?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I wish he had been. But no. I forbade it. I kept him for myself.”
“Who was driving? Maybe they’re responsible.”
“When I wouldn’t allow Cedric to take her, Selena drove herself.” Tears were now making paths down his cheeks. “If I had just gone with her like we’d planned. Let Cedric drive us. She’d still be here—alive—probably not with me, but alive.”
I drove more slowly. “Where did you go that night?”
“I’m not proud of it, but I went to see Elodie.”
“Elodie was your alibi?”
He nodded. “And Cedric, and the hotel management where we stayed.”
“Where were you last night?” I asked.
“In bed. Elodie, Cedric, the housekeeping staff can all attest to that. I took a sleeping pill at seven o’clock and didn’t wake up until this morning when I went on my morning run.”
If Jacob hadn’t killed Desmond, who had?
My bets were on Cedric. He was the one wielding the pistol this morning and seemed only too happy to shoot me in the light of day. Plus, he’s the one who drove the SUVs.
“Do you think Cedric could have killed Desmond?”
Jacob shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t sound sure.”
“Cedric knows that if he steps out of line, he’ll be punished.”
“By you?” I asked. “I thought you were a changed man.”
“Not by me. Cedric has a duty to the family. The same as I do.”
“The family? Like the same family?”
“Why is that so surprising?”
“There’s just not much family resemblance.”
“Because we don’t have the same skin color?”
I shrugged.
“Did you decide to cash the check?” Jacob asked.
“No.”
“As in no, you’re not going to cash it, or no, you haven’t decided?”
“Both? Neither? I don’t know.”
“Just cash it,” he said. “You could probably use the money.”
Of course, I could. I could pay off Cherry Anne and my student loans and have some left over. I could go into my marriage debt-free. But at what cost? “I’ll think about it,” I said.
As we approached the parking lot, there was no sign of Cedric. Instead, there were four police cars.
“Did you call the police?” Jacob asked.
“You’ve been with me the entire time.”
“Then how did they find me?”
“It’s not like you were hiding. You ran right past them this morning.”
Detective Bryant shook his head when he saw Jacob with me. “Why can’t you stay out of things?” he asked when I stepped out of the car.
T
wo other officers met Jacob at the door. “Jacob Marquez, you’re under arrest for the murder of Desmond Pratt and Selena Marquez.”
“You can’t arrest me,” Jacob said. “Talk to Elodie. She knows. I was home.”
But he wasn’t directing his words at Detective Bryant.
He was directing them at me.
16
Jacob’s face was that of terror as they loaded him into the back of the police cruiser.
“He didn’t do it,” I said.
“You can tell us everything down at the station,” Detective Bryant said.
I looked at him for a moment. “I’m not going to the station with you.” I needed to talk to Elodie. To clear Jacob’s name and see if she had any idea who might have killed Desmond and Selena.
“You don’t have a choice,” Bryant said. “You’re under arrest.”
“For what?” I took a step back.
“Interfering with an investigation.” He stepped toward me. “I warned you. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
He pulled a pair of cuffs from his belt.
For a moment, I wanted to resist. Run. But he would have caught me. And I really didn’t want him messing up my favorite pair of jeans. I offered my wrists, and he snapped the cuffs on behind my back.
The cold metal of the cuffs rubbed on my wrist bones, making my temper flare.
I didn’t hear a word of the Miranda Warning Bryant was rattling off. My mind raced with thoughts of how disappointed Shayla would be and how Jacob was innocent and how I needed to talk to Elodie.
They put me in an interrogation room when we got to the station. It was better than a cell, but I still wasn’t free to go. At least I wasn’t wearing the handcuffs anymore.
When the door opened after what seemed like forever, Detective Bryant, Shayla, and her TO walked in.
Shayla’s eyes were slightly red. She had been crying but had done a good job of covering it up. Only someone who knew her well would be able to tell—a friend. Though, I wasn’t sure if she’d still consider me her friend after this.
“Would you like to explain why you don’t think Jacob is responsible for the two murders?” Detective Bryant said as he sat in the chair across from me. Shayla and her TO stood behind him.