Ainsley, Benson, and Chance might’ve played a part in what happened to Dorinda, but they didn’t kill her. There was a miserable feeling in the pit of his stomach because he was pretty sure he knew who did. “I’m not saying they did it, but I think they know who did.”
Daesha’s mouth dropped open. “You think they hired somebody to kill her?”
“I think there’s a very good possibility they did.”
She sat straight up and puffed up like a turkey. “Well, I’ve watched a lot of those true crime shows on TV, and they―”
“True crime shows?” A groan slipped through Amos’s lips. He tried to stop it, but he just couldn’t hold it in. “So you know all about criminal investigations?” God, for every time he’d heard that …
“No! But what I’m saying is that whoever it was, I know she fought them, but they strangled her, beat her with that glass block, and they fought violently. Hit men don’t do that. Hers is what’s generally called a crime of passion. Isn’t that right?” There was an authority in her voice that he found charming, but if he told her that he knew it would piss her off, so he fought the grin that was trying to pop out on his face.
Thing was, she was right. “That’s true. It’s indicative of someone who had a personal vendetta, not someone who picked up a stack of bills and got out his forty-five. Plus hit men tend to be a lot neater than that. That’s why I think it was one of them.”
“But what kind of vendetta, Amos? They were our friends.”
A singular thought kept coming back to Amos, and he didn’t want to voice it. It was an accusation that, if true, could very well have been the reason why Marshall Kelso might’ve had Dorinda killed. “I get that, honey, but I think there was more going on there than either of us knows about, and I have every intention of finding out what that was.”
Hanging her head in defeat, she sighed. “Okay. Chase your rabbits. Just don’t hurt the careers and reputations of four fine men doing it.”
His hand went up in a mock salute, and that made her smile. “You have my word I will not.”
“Good. I’ve got to get to rehearsal.”
He stood and offered her his hand, then pulled her upright. “And I’ve got to gather up my laundry and get it done. I’ll see you tomorrow evening when I get off work.” He didn’t get a chance to grab her before she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, her tongue playing along the seam of his lips. When she broke the kiss, she grinned. “Sure you don’t want to stay?”
“God, girl, you’re killin’ me!” he said with a laugh and slapped her ass.
“Had to try one last time. I’ll talk to you later tonight?”
“You can bet on it, beautiful.” He watched her grab her bag and open the garage door. She stopped there and gave him a little wave before she closed it behind her.
He gathered up all his dirty clothes and put them in the basket in the bedroom, then carried them to the back of the Jeep. It would be a long night without her, but they needed to test the waters. They’d be choppy without her, he was pretty sure.
Two hours later, the washer and dryer were humming along. As they worked, Amos worked too. He dug a little deeper into the Kelsos. A few years back, there had been an accusation of inappropriate behavior lodged against Mr. Kelso by a young intern, but an investigation turned up nothing. His business had been in trouble once when it was discovered they were hiring undocumented aliens. What business?
More digging, and up popped a website. Kelso Holdings, LLC. What was that? It appeared there were several companies under its umbrella, and when he finally found the list of them, he wasn’t surprised at all. Sure enough, listed there, with a few others, were Kelso Custom Percussion, K-Fabuleuse, and Kelso Performance. The sons hated their father. They believed he’d killed Dorinda. But they wouldn’t buck him because he actually owned their businesses. In a panic, Amos checked down the list. Thankfully, Cheeky Donuts didn’t appear there. That would’ve been a mess for sure. Still, he sent a quick text to Daesha: Please tell me Kelso doesn’t have any interest in your father’s business.
He got one back almost immediately: No. None.
Thx. Love you.
YW <3U2
That made him smile. He was in the clear on that one.
In another hour, all the clothes were finished and either folded or hung up, and Amos was still prowling around on the computer, although his prowling had deteriorated into watching videos of cute puppies and soft porn. Not together, of course. Just whatever happened to drift by. God, I’m so pathetic, he thought with a chuckle. He wondered if she was finished with rehearsal yet and checked his phone. Nothing.
There were a couple of coffee mugs in the sink, so he washed those. He was reaching for a towel to dry his hands when his phone rang, and it was Daesha’s ringtone, Nickelback’s “Here Without You.” That was pretty appropriate for a Thursday night too. “Hey, babe.”
Her panicked voice shot out of the phone. “Amos!”
“Babe, what’s wrong?” He’d never been one to be afraid, but fear coursed through his body in a flood.
“Somebody left a note on my windshield! I’m scared!”
“Are you alone?”
“No. Gary and Barry are standing here with me,” she answered, but it came out as more of a whimper.
“Call the police. I’m on my way. And get in the car and lock the doors, you hear me?”
“Yeah, okay.” She started to cry.
“Put Gary on the phone.”
There was a shuffling sound and a male voice said, “Hey, Amos. She’s okay. We won’t leave her.”
“Thank you, and please, don’t.”
“Barry’s calling the cops now. You coming?”
“You bet. I’ll be there as soon as I can get there. Tell me where I’m going.”
“We’re at the VFW lodge in Shepherdsville. They let us use it.”
“On my way. Please, don’t leave her.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, my friend. See you when you get here.”
Amos hung up and scurried around. He didn’t have time to pick up anything, just his wallet and keys, and that was fine. It would take him about thirty minutes to get there after he finally got on the road. It had been raining just a little, so he drove as fast as he dared.
The little VFW hall was kind of out in the middle of nowhere, and there were four cars there when he pulled up, one of them Daesha’s. The fourth was a Bullitt County Sheriff’s Department cruiser. As soon as he got out of the Jeep, he saw Daesha flying toward him. When she hit him, she almost knocked him down, but she was safe in his arms. That was all that mattered. “Baby, you okay?”
“Yeah, just scared. I told the deputy he’d want to talk to you about this.” When she finally turned loose of his neck, they walked hand in hand back to where the cruiser sat. “This is Amos Fletcher. He’s a KDCI agent.”
“Hey, man, haven’t seen you in a while!” The deputy was laughing as he shook hands with Amos.
“Yeah! You doin’ okay?”
“Sure am. Got that little one. He’s two now. Wanna see a―” Daesha cleared her throat―loudly. “Oh, um, in a minute. So the lady says you’re working on a case.”
Daesha stared at the two of them. “You two know each other?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the deputy answered. “Agent Fletcher helped us with a child porn ring a few years ago. Got the bastards and sent them down the river.”
Amos nodded. “We sure did. Deputy Braxton Hughes here is a damn fine actor. He plays a thirteen-year-old girl very well on social media!” They both laughed until Amos realized he was getting the stink eye from Daesha. “So, um, anyway, yes. I’m working on a case that this might be related to. What does the note say?”
Brax held up an evidence bag and squinted at it in the darkness. “It says, ‘Tell your boyfriend to back off and nothing will happen to you.’ If that’s not a threat, I don’t know what is.”
Jesus. That was a complication Amos hadn’t seen coming, but
he really wasn’t surprised. If they could intimidate Daesha and get him to drop the whole thing, it would be business as usual. Then something equally as scary rolled through his thoughts. “Do any of the persons involved in this investigation know where you rehearse?”
Daesha shook her head. “No. We just started using the hall about two months ago.”
Fuck. That meant someone had followed her. And if they followed her, that meant they were watching the house, or had someone else doing so. And in turn, that meant she wasn’t safe anywhere unless there was someone with her. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Brax asked.
“Yep.”
Daesha’s eyebrows hiked up. “What?”
Amos shook his head. “We’ll talk about it at home. Guys, thanks for waiting with her.”
Gary and Barry both waved, said goodbye, and their cars disappeared into the darkness. Brax’s eyes met his and the deputy asked, “How do you want me to handle this?”
Amos scratched his forehead with his thumb in frustration. “File a report just as you always do. Say she has no idea who left it or what it means, and that a KDCI agent showed up on the scene and took the case from you. That’s all you need to know. You do not want to get mixed up in this. It’s very, very complicated.”
Brax nodded. “I’ll take your word for it. She gonna be okay with you?”
“You’d better believe it. Hey, thanks, man,” Amos said and extended his hand. Brax took it and shook it heartily. “We need to get together for coffee sometime.”
“Yes we do. Get caught up. Ma’am, I’m sorry for your scare.”
“Thank you, Deputy Hughes. I appreciate your time.” Daesha’s words were hollow, and Amos knew she was terrified.
“Not a problem. That’s what I’m here for―to serve and protect. Y’all have a good night,” Brax called as he slipped behind the wheel of the fully-fitted Dodge Charger and rolled away.
As soon as he was out of sight, Daesha wheeled and stared at the man standing there with her. “Amos, what’s going on? I don’t understand.”
“Get in the car and let’s get going.”
“But you’re not coming to my house tonight.”
“The hell I’m not! All my clothes are at my place, but I don’t care. You can’t be alone.”
“I can’t have somebody with me all the time!” Amos’s brow furrowed. “What? I can’t.”
“You’ll have to until we get this straightened out.” Hand on her car door handle, he pulled it and pointed. “Get in. I’ll be right behind you.”
She looked … sad. Exhausted and sad. “Okay. Whatever you say.” He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. “Yeah, that makes it all better,” she groused as she dropped into the little car.
I wish it could, Amos told himself as he climbed back in the Jeep. He’d take her to work the next day, and then he’d go to the office and talk to Mack. They’d done the one thing that had sealed their fate, as far as Amos was concerned.
They’d messed with Daesha, and if he ever caught them, that was the thing they’d be the sorriest for.
Chapter 9
God, they had to leave early! He drove her to the VA clinic, then drove himself back to work. He’d have to leave that afternoon at about two o’clock to get there when she got off work, then drive her home, then back to the office. If he was lucky, Mack would take pity on him and tell him to work the rest of every day at home until the case was resolved. He hadn’t even seen Mack to tell him everything that was going on, so he was hoping they’d get a chance to talk later.
Instead, he stepped through the back door of the office and heard a voice yell, “Is that you, Fletcher?”
Uh-oh. It was Mack, and his tone didn’t sound too friendly. “Yeah.”
“In my office. Now.”
When he jetted down the hallway, he found Mack at his desk, a blank look on his face. Mack was the master of poker faces, and he was wearing his best one at that moment. “Yeah?”
“Close the door and sit down.” There was no doubt in his mind―he was getting his ass reamed. Once he was seated, Mack planted his elbows on the desk and leaned in. “Would you like to explain to me why I got a call from the AG this morning telling me to have you back off Senator Kelso?”
“I’ve wanted to talk to you about that. Speaking of which, how’s your mom?”
There was a weariness in Mack’s face that Amos had never seen before. “Not a broken hip. A cracked femur. She’s not supposed to be up more than four hours a day, so my sister’s having to take care of her.”
“Well, that’s good. At least it wasn’t a broken hip and there was no surgery, right?”
“True. But she’s still down for the count. Now, back to my question.”
“Okay. So I was looking at that picture, and―”
“Have you actually talked to Senator Kelso?”
Amos was surprised. “No. Did he say I had?”
“It was implied.”
“Uh-huh. Sounds about right. So, again, I was looking at that picture of the ring. We figured out―”
“We?”
“Jesse, Alex, and I. Remember, they were looking the files over?”
“Oh, yeah. Continue.”
“We figured out a ring had been taken off the vic’s body. I went to Daesha’s and we searched until we found a picture taken close to the time of the murder, and there was a ring on her finger. I kept looking at it until I figured it out, with Eric’s help. It was a ring that incorporated all three logos of the Kelso brothers’ businesses.”
“And had it been recovered in her personal effects?”
“No. That means whoever took it off kept it. So I went to talk to all three of the Kelso brothers about it at their places of business. Then I overheard a conversation each had on the phone with one of the others, and they all were panicking. And then I overheard a conversation between one of them and somebody else in person, and―”
“You overheard these conversations? Please tell me I’m not going to be rip-roarin’ pissed off by what that means.”
“Uh, let’s just say none of that would be admissible in court and leave it at that.” That was a pretty good way to put it, he thought.
“Uh-huh. I don’t want to know, do I?” Amos shook his head. “Continue.”
“Anyway, in the other convo the brother talking asked the person if they really wanted one of the boys to take the rap for what they’d done, and then said, ‘After all, we’re your sons.’ So―”
Mack held up a palm. “But you haven’t actually talked to the senator?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t see where he’s got a beef with us. But what’s the significance of this ring? Why would somebody kill her to take it?”
“I think it symbolizes a problem, one that would take down the senator.” Mack’s eyebrows dipped toward the bridge of his nose and he waited. “I think the brothers were having an affair with Dorinda. I think their dad knew if it came out, he’d lose the next election, so he wanted it hidden. I think he went over there to talk to her, reason with her, ask her to cut it out, and they got into an argument. It escalated, he killed her, and he took the ring to protect himself. He didn’t go over there to kill her, but after it happened, well, there had to be measures taken.”
“Yeah, I can see why … Wait. You said the ring incorporated all three logos from their businesses?” Amos nodded. “So each of them knew about her affair with the other?”
How to put it? There was no delicate way. “They knew about it because they were there.” The vacant look in Mack’s eyes told Amos he didn’t understand. “They were there. They were all there. Together. At the same time.”
Mack sat there motionless until he suddenly straightened and his mouth flew open. “Oh!”
That made Amos laugh. “Yeah! Now you get it!”
“Oh my god. Yeah. That’s definitely something the senator wouldn’t want his constituents to know about.”
“His three boys, successful businessmen wh
ose businesses he actually owns, sharing the same woman? At the same time? No. In this conservative state? He absolutely would not want his constituents to find out, or they’d be his former constituents. He’d lose the next election. No doubt about it.”
“Holy shit. I mean, holy shit. The four of them together? They …” Mack dropped back in his chair.
Amos chuckled. “Look, I did a few threesomes while I was in college, so I―”
“You and two women?” Mack asked, still looking like somebody had goosed him.
“Some, but most with a woman and another guy. One of my buddies would go with me to a party. We’d meet a girl and ask her if she wanted to go have a threesome. She almost always said yes.”
“And you and the guy?”
“No! No, nothing went on between us. It was about the woman. It was pretty awesome, as a novelty, but not something I’d care about all the time. But I will say, it’s almost an art form. You have to know how that works. I was lucky to have him as a friend because he’d been doing it for years, even when he was in high school.”
“So the three guys …”
Amos didn’t want to be blunt, but Mack seemed to be having a hard time coming to grips with the idea. “Yeah. Three guys, three orifices. It’s damn simple math, really. After that, it’s either you want to do the same thing each time, or you like to swap around.”
“Holy hell,” Mack whispered.
“It’s pretty damn awesome.”
Mack seemed to shake himself. “Okay, so we think the three sons were having an affair with the same woman. And daddy found out and wanted to put a stop to it.”
“That’s my theory. So,” Amos asked, fingers crossed, “do you want me to drop the investigation?”
Mack shook his head. “Not just no but hell no. This concerns an official elected by the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to a federal position. It most definitely falls under our jurisdiction, and I want you to pursue it with everything you’ve got. Just be careful, seeing as how you haven’t to this point, obviously,” he said in reference to the bugs. “You need to get one of the brothers to admit to the affair. Choose the one who seems most emotionally vulnerable.”
Justice for Daesha Page 16