Texas Kidnapping

by Barb Han

  It was probably safe to cross Paul off the suspect list. The sub on his moving crew, Jo-Jo, might be another story. Considering he was related to the owners of the company, he shouldn’t be too difficult to track down.

  Renee moved closer to Cash without taking her eyes off Paul. “Do you think he’s telling the truth?”

  “I do. And his story will be easy enough to verify,” Cash supplied. “I had hoped the lighter might lead us to the perp. Doesn’t look like that’s the case here. It must’ve slipped out of Paul’s pocket during the move, which would explain why we found it near the ladder next to the side of the house.”

  “Sounds like an important family heirloom. I’m sure he would’ve backtracked and contacted me sooner or later to see if I’d found it.” Her observation skills were dead on.

  “What do you think about Jo-Jo?” Her voice was practically a whisper.

  “If the story of him being a relative turns out to be true, I have my doubts that he’d be stupid enough to commit a crime on a job he can be linked to. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen worse, but it’s unlikely. We’ll follow the trail anyway and see where it leads.” Cash felt like he’d seen or heard it all when it came to crime and criminals, but he’d probably only scratched the surface in his decade-long career in law enforcement.

  In the interview room, Colton thanked Paul before instructing Sal to escort the witness out of the building.

  When it was clear, Colton opened the door and came into the room with Renee and Cash.

  “I’d like to hear your assessment,” Colton said to Cash. The two ran scenarios by each other from time to time when a fresh set of eyes was needed on a case. In his view, that might be overkill with this witness, but Colton was obviously dotting every i and crossing every t. Cash relayed the same thing he’d told Renee. Colton rocked his head the entire time, indicating his agreement.

  “What’s your take on Jo-Jo?” Colton asked when Cash was finished.

  “Probably the same as yours,” Cash said. “He’d be too stupid to commit the crime on his cousin’s dime.”

  “Agreed.” Before Colton could continue, Gert appeared in the doorway.

  “Okay if I interrupt, sir?” she asked Colton.

  He waved her in.

  “Mr. Miser’s story checks out with his fiancée. She confirmed that he was home on the morning in question at seven a.m. when she stopped by to see him before her shift. She said his bedroom is in the front of the house and his mother’s is in the back, so his mother wouldn’t know one way or the other if he had visitors. She offered her employer’s name and number to verify that she had to be at work at seven thirty, which I called and verified that she had been.”

  “Looks like his story checks out. Great work, Gert. Thank you.” Colton’s compliment elicited a satisfied smile from Gert. She took great pride in her investigative work and it showed. She was thorough, and Cash would have her on his team any day.

  “Let me know if you need anything else,” she said with a wink. She also had the ability to brighten any room with her spunky personality.

  Colton handed her the notepad with Jo-Jo’s name along with the name of the moving company on it. “Mind finding out who this guy is? His cousin is one of the owners. We need to track down his whereabouts from this morning.”

  “On it, sir.” Her eyes sparked at the new assignment. “I just got a call from Deputy Mark Ernest and there’s something you should know.” Her excitement was replaced by concern. “Would you mind stepping into the hallway and closing the door?”

  Cash’s interest peaked.

  “Certainly.” Colton glanced at Renee before shooting an apologetic look to his brother. “I’ll be back as soon as I know what this is about.”

  What was so important it needed to be discussed out of earshot and in the middle of an investigation? Cash would dismiss it as having nothing to do with Abby’s attempted abduction except the look on Gert’s face threw him for a loop.

  “Everything okay?” Renee seemed to pick up on the distress in Gert’s voice.

  “I guess we’ll both know in a few minutes.”

  Chapter Ten

  Renee gently bounced Abby. There was no way she was handing her daughter over to anyone else even though the child was as heavy as a bowling ball at this point and she could use a break.

  Colton knocked on the door before opening it. His facial muscles were tense and the worry lines on his forehead seemed deeper. He and his brother exchanged a worried look and the knot that had formed in Renee’s chest tightened.

  Abby started working up to fuss, interrupting the moment. “Maybe she’s bored.”

  In the short time Abby had been her daughter, Renee was starting to get a feel for her daughter’s needs. Granted, she had a long way to go before she would feel confident, but this was progress and she’d take any she could get when it came to motherhood.

  “Might want to take a walk. We’ll be more comfortable in my office where we can close the door and talk.” Colton’s tone of voice tightened the knot even more.

  She followed Colton, who took the lead.

  “Do you want to wait in my brother’s office while I grab a cup of coffee?” Cash asked in the hallway in front of his brother’s office.

  Renee didn’t want to be rude, but she’d rather stick with Cash. Being near him had a calming effect on her and she could use all the good vibes she could get. “Mind if I come with you?”

  “I have a phone call to make anyway.” Colton gave her an out and she’d take it.

  Cash nodded before continuing down the hall. He stepped into a small break room that had a kitchenette with dual coffeepots like the kind in a restaurant. They reminded her of the years she’d waited tables in college. Other than those, there were two high-top tables with three chairs tucked underneath each.

  He went to work grabbing a clean cup and filling it with fresh coffee. She watched as the cotton of his light blue button-down shirt stretched over his muscles with his every move. The guy was muscles and strength, and...sex appeal. Yeah. There it was. He was gorgeous and she knew this was the worst possible time to notice or care. But unfamiliar feelings were building inside her—feelings that should scare the hell out of her.

  Except that everything about Cash O’Connor was different. She was curious to see what that meant. With a new baby, new house and new town, she wasn’t looking to add any complications to her life. She almost laughed out loud. Life seemed to be doing just fine throwing complications at her without extra help.

  And, of course, she’d meet an honest, caring and intelligent man at this point. Because it made no sense in her life.

  Renee sighed sharply as Abby made her hunger known, now having worked up to a real cry. The baby tried stuffing her fist in her mouth and missed more than anything. She also started rooting. Her daughter’s tears were just about the most heartbreaking things Renee had ever seen.

  Cash asked a colleague to grab one of Abby’s formula bottles from his vehicle before he moved to the table and offered Renee a fresh cup of coffee.

  “Thank you. You’ve been really great with Abby and me.” Renee managed a genuine smile.

  “I already told you about Colton’s twins. To be honest, it’s been a minute since I fed either one of them, though.” He wiped a hand over his face and muttered a curse. “I gotta be a better uncle than that.”

  “They’re lucky to have you. It’s sad to say that I almost forgot about them considering everything that’s been going on.” She blew out a breath and figured she looked about as rough as she felt. A renegade strand of hair managed to get caught in her right eyelash. She blew at it to no avail. With both hands on Abby, she couldn’t manage to get the hair off her eyelash and it was bugging the heck out of her.

  “May I?” Cash locked gazes with her and her heart fluttered in her chest like a teenager on her first crush.
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  “Please.”

  He tucked the loose tendril behind her ear. His hand lingered there just long enough for more of that warmth she felt whenever he was near to circulate through her.

  “Better?” he asked.

  “Much.” She heard the huskiness in her own voice. Staring into his steel eyes, she saw something that stirred a place deep inside her, a place that had been long neglected. Forgotten? There was a primal need in his gaze that brought out the same in her. Again, she cursed the timing of meeting him. Life could be so frustrating.

  Yeah, her attraction to Cash was inconvenient. It was also a force unto itself that seemed impossible to set aside. There was also something hugely right about being this close to him, so close she could breathe in his masculine and spicy scent.

  A noise in the hallway broke into the moment. One corner of his mouth upturned in a small smile before he took a step back and crossed muscled arms over a broad chest. The cotton of his shirt did that stretchy thing again. She forced herself to look away.

  Renee expected someone to walk into the room but the person must’ve changed course or gone into one of the offices or small conference rooms. Renee reluctantly stood up. She wobbled and Cash’s strong hand held her steady.

  The deputy Cash had sent for the bottle returned. Renee prepared it then fed and changed her daughter, grateful for Cash’s spontaneous help. The man could tape a diaper. The three of them returned to Colton’s office. He’d been studying his computer screen until Cash interrupted him by knocking on his doorjamb.

  Colton glanced over at them before waving them in. The fact that he didn’t answer sent her pulse racing.

  He stood up and motioned toward the leather couch and chairs on the other side of his expansive and neatly ordered office. She also noticed that he closed the door before joining them.

  When he sat down after she and Cash took seats on the sofa and chair respectively, he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He clasped his hands together, and then he stared at the carpet for a long moment like he was searching for the right words.

  Renee’s heart was in her throat by the time he looked up again. Instead of focusing on her, his gaze was fixed on his brother.

  “Ruth Hubert was found murdered in her garden.” Colton’s voice was low as his gaze dipped to Abby and back.

  Cash stood up and started pacing. “She moved to the outskirts of town a few months before our sister was kidnapped. Years later, we reviewed the case files and found out that she’d been interviewed multiple times. The sheriff at the time seemed to believe she’d brought bad blood to town. It was also believed for a time that she was using her remote location to traffic people through the area.” Cash stopped long enough to rake his fingers through his hair and then rub the day-old stubble on his chin. He shifted his attention to his brother. “What happened?”

  “GSW to the back of the head.”

  Even she realized GSW meant gunshot wound, although she figured he was using the acronym to soften the news in front of her.

  Cash’s hands fisted at his sides. “Did I hear that right?”

  His brother nodded.

  “So, you’re telling me that she was killed execution-style in her garden?” Cash held his brother’s gaze, waiting for confirmation. She understood the need for repetition. Hearing the news made her sick to her stomach.

  “Afraid so.” Colton blew out a sharp breath. “Sal is the one who saw her on his nightly rounds. He always checks on the houses of Katy Gulch’s most remote residents. Even though Ms. Hubert lives on the outskirts of town, he makes a point to drive by her property at least once a week. She’s not the friendly type so he just makes sure different lights are on if he’s there in the evenings.”

  “Any relation to Renee’s case?” Those words were daggers to the heart and Renee realized she’d been holding her breath, waiting for the answer.

  Colton didn’t immediately speak. Then came, “Sal checked her phone, which had been kicked off the porch, to see if there was an ICE.” Renee knew that meant an in case of emergency contact. Colton delivered a bomb next. “Most of her contacts had no names. They were just phone numbers.”

  “Did he recognize any?” Cash made another lap around the room.

  “Yes, he did.” Colton shot an apologetic look toward Renee. “There was one. Kipp McGee.”

  Renee gasped. Hearing her lawyer’s name in the context of this conversation sent a mix of fear and anger swirling through her. Questions assaulted her. What if her lawyer was responsible for murder? What if her lawyer was the one who’d sent someone to snatch Abby back after the adoption? And then the question that nearly gutted her came... What if Abby’s adoption was illegal and she was taken away for good?

  Renee couldn’t possibly lose the little girl who’d been born in her heart so many years ago and was now very much alive in her arms. It didn’t matter that Abby had come into Renee’s life only recently because the moment she’d held that little girl in her arms, she’d given her heart away forever.

  * * *

  “HIS NAME SEEMS to be coming up a lot lately.” Cash moved next to Renee as she cradled her little girl. Based on her reaction and the look on her face that dared anyone to try to take her daughter away, he figured she was afraid she could lose Abby. Cash had four words for that scenario: over his dead body.

  “It sure does,” Colton agreed with a weary look.

  Cash would do anything and everything in his power to ensure Abby stayed with Renee where she belonged. A few what ifs haunted him. What if the baby had been stolen from the birth mother? What if the birth mother gave consent for the adoption and then changed her mind? The other what ifs were more cut-and-dried. What if the birth mother wanted nothing to do with her child and handed her over for an illegal adoption? What if a higher bidder came along? What if McGee got Renee involved in a sketchy adoption that could result in her losing Abby? One look at the mother-daughter duo said Renee had gone all in with the child.

  He hoped it wouldn’t come down to a situation where Abby could legally be removed from Renee’s home. He’d heard of a similar scenario happening and it was not only horrific but unfair to the adoptive parents.

  The coroner would have to determine Ms. Hubert’s time of death and they could start unpacking what the hell had happened. Colton buzzed Gert. “Can you get Kipp McGee here as soon as possible?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Gert buzzed back a few minutes later. “He’s on his way.”

  “Really?” Colton sounded shocked. “So fast?”

  “Let’s just say that I convinced him it would be in his best interest to talk to you of his own accord. I sided with him and told him that he just needed to have a quick conversation to help clear up a misunderstanding.”

  “Remind me how good you are at your job before your next performance appraisal,” Colton said. The joke lightened some of the heavy tension.

  “Oh, I plan to,” she quipped. “We might as well order lunch because it’s a couple hours’ drive for him.”

  * * *

  CASH HAD TAKEN a turn holding Abby so that Renee could get a break. He’d even convinced her to take another nap on the sofa in Colton’s office.

  Gert knocked on the door, waking her.

  “Kipp McGee is waiting to enter the interview room,” she said. “There’s a shortcut from my office across the courtyard. It’ll be faster than circling around and we can get you in place before McGee is walked back.” Colton was already at the door by the time Renee pushed up with her free arm.

  She reached for her daughter and Cash brought her over immediately. Cash remembered when his nephews were around that age. They didn’t seem heavy until he’d been carrying them for an hour. Then they became like lead weights in his arms. He’d offer to continue to carry Abby if it wasn’t for the fierce look of determination on Renee’s face. He understood
her need to keep her daughter close. Hell, he didn’t blame her one bit. The thought of having her little girl ripped out of her arms after she’d bonded with her was unimaginable.

  Cash was familiar with the shorter path his brother took them on.

  “I’ll close the door,” Colton said after stopping in the hallway to let them pass by to take position.

  After thanking his brother, Cash leaned against the wall. He studied Renee, who looked exhausted. “Can I get you a chair?”

  “That would be so nice.” Her demeanor had changed and he noticed her shoulders were starting to sag. There were also dark circles under her eyes and she bit back a yawn. They could get through this one interview and then he’d offer to take her back to the ranch to get a break from his brother’s office. Cash wanted to chew on the details of what they knew. Taking the rest of the night off would give Colton and his deputies a chance to dig deeper into the case.

  Investigations took time. He had no idea if the Hubert case was connected to Renee’s. Answers weren’t likely tonight and especially now that resources would have to be reallocated to Ms. Hubert’s place. And then there was all that was happening at home. Cash wanted to check on his mother and see how she was holding up.

  A quick run next door and he netted one of the chairs from a conference room. He placed it directly in front of the two-way mirror a few seconds before he heard noise coming from down the hallway. He made a quick move to close the door, guarding their identities from her lawyer.

  It was probably for the best that McGee didn’t know his former client would be watching. Although, he might suspect someone was. This wasn’t his first time in an interview room from the news Cash had read over the years. He’d heard the man’s name mentioned repeatedly, but the two had yet to meet and a charge had yet to stick.