Delivering Justice Read online

  “That’s not all he does,” Tommy said on a heavy sigh. “The problem is figuring out what else he’s into before I have another dead body in my town.”

  And if Tyler could save Red in the process that would be even better.

  “It goes without saying that I’ll need to speak to his fiancée to find out if he had enemies,” Tommy added.

  Why did the sound of the word fiancée string Tyler’s neck muscles tight? He nodded, feeling the tendons cord and release.

  “Did the witness hear what the two were arguing about?” Tyler asked.

  “He said he was half-asleep but he thinks he remembers hearing him ask something about a necklace and where the girl was,” Tommy said.

  “They argued about Red?” Tyler did his best to act surprised. Damn, he hated withholding information from Tommy. But the surest way to lose Red’s trust would be to go behind her back by telling his friend everything he knew. Tyler feared she’d strike out on her own and end up getting herself hurt again or worse...dead. She was in so far over her head she couldn’t see right from wrong anymore, and Tyler was her best bet at finding the straight and narrow again. She seemed like a good person in a crazy situation, and Tyler of all people understood her need to protect her family.

  “I believe I will take you up on that cup of coffee,” Tommy said.

  “Help yourself,” Tyler said, draining his cup and pushing to his feet. “I’ll go wake her so you can talk to her.”

  He could take a few minutes to prep her for what was to come, he thought as he knocked on the door of the guest room. He hated the idea of waking her before she’d had solid sleep. There was no movement on the other side so he cracked the door. “Jessica.”

  No answer. She must be out cold. His ringtone sounded from down the hall as he pushed open the door to her room. The bed was empty and there were no clothes to be seen. The door to the adjoining bathroom was wide open but he checked inside anyway.

  Jessica was gone.

  Tyler darted into his own room and answered his phone before it rolled into voice mail. The call was from Dan in security and Tyler knew right away that Jessica had hit his radar.

  “What happened,” Tyler asked.

  “Sir, a white female is being detained in the guard shack. She was seen running across the south side of the land after exiting your house,” Dan said.

  Tyler needed to make a decision. Bring her in and let Tommy question her, or make an excuse and talk to her first? He opted for the second. “Take her to the main house for me and wait there with her.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Tyler ended the call, threw on a shirt and made his way downstairs where Tommy waited in the kitchen.

  “I’m afraid she’s gone,” he said, stuffing his cell in his pocket.

  “What do you mean gone? Do I have anything to worry about with her?” Tommy asked, setting his cup of coffee on the counter.

  “She’s afraid and she’s been traumatized. There’s no way she could’ve been involved with the stabbing because she was with me. I know you have to handle this like every other case, so I already told you that Dan at the guard shack can corroborate our story. The only reason I didn’t call you before is that she didn’t want me to involve law enforcement even though I told her it was the right thing to do.” Tyler hedged, hoping his excuse would hold water and Tommy would chalk her disappearance up to her being abused. “I’m sure one of the guards will see her. In the meantime, she’s been through a lot and I’d like to get out and search for her myself. She doesn’t exactly trust men right now.”

  “By all means,” Tommy said. “Bring her by the station for a statement when you find her. Or give me a call and I’ll come right over. Time is the enemy in a homicide investigation.”

  “I will,” Tyler said, hoping he could convince her that Tommy was on her side. Having help from someone in law enforcement could prove beneficial.

  “This mess could take a while to untangle. A man like Milton probably has a lot of enemies.” Tyler grabbed his keys from the counter.

  “I’d bet money on it.” Tommy was already walking toward the door. “I’m heading over to the motel now. Maybe we’ll know more once we process the scene.”

  “While I have you here, have you made any progress on your investigation into Mom and Pop?” He thought about Tommy’s comment about time being the enemy of a murder investigation. Were all the leads cold on the O’Brien case?

  “I’m sorry. I don’t have anything new yet. You’ll be the first to know when I do.” Tommy excused himself and walked out the door.

  Tyler grabbed a pair of socks from the downstairs laundry room and slipped into his boots. He was ready to head to the main house when someone knocked on the front door. He could see Red with Dan standing next to her.

  “What happened?” he asked as soon as he opened the door.

  “I’m not ready to talk to the sheriff. I decided to take a walk and this guy forced me to go with him,” Jessica said, chin up in defiance. Determination filled those sea-green eyes.

  “I’m sorry, sir. I tried to take her to the main house but she went ballistic,” Dan said, looking exasperated. “Given her condition, I thought it was safer to bring her back to you.”

  “Thank you. I can take it from here,” Tyler said to Dan.

  “Yes, sir.” Dan excused himself.

  “Are you okay?” Tyler asked Jessica as soon as he closed the door behind her. He couldn’t help but notice the red marks on her arms and wrists, still fresh from yesterday, as he ushered her into the kitchen. And she was shivering.

  “Me, yes. At least for now. My sister is the one who is in trouble,” she said, rubbing her arms to warm them.

  “Pull another stunt like that and I might not be able to help you,” Tyler warned, his anger raised from a place deep inside...a place that made him feel helpless and weak. He bit back a curse as he retrieved a blanket from the couch and handed it to her.

  “I can’t make any promises. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure my sister is safe.” Jessica draped it around her shoulders before folding her arms across her chest in a defensive position.

  “Come and sit down. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.” Tyler didn’t wait for her to make a move toward the kitchen before he walked over to his counter. He poured two fresh mugs. He needed to tell her the news about what had happened back at the motel and he needed to find a way to do it without scaring the hell out of her. “You like sugar or cream?”

  “Black is fine,” she said, accepting the mug and taking a sip.

  “You want to sit?” Tyler asked, motioning toward the bar stools at the granite island.

  Red seemed to catch on to the fact that he had news. She set the cup on the counter and turned to face him, hands fisted on her hips. “What is it? What’s happened?”

  There was no good way to put this, so he decided to come out with it straight. “A man was found dead in your motel room.”

  “Milton?” Red sank to her knees. Her skin paled. Tyler crossed the room and helped her onto the stool a few feet away from her.

  “No. Not him.” Anger tore through him again when he realized how badly she was shaking, this time from fear not cold.

  “How?” she asked, looking utterly stunned. “Who?”

  “Tommy doesn’t know the answer. The guy had a fake ID so they’ll start trying to identify him. As for how, he was stabbed to death after arguing with a man who we suspect was Milton,” Tyler said. “A witness says the two were fighting about a woman and a necklace. I’m guessing the woman is your sister and you by proxy. Any idea what the necklace is about?”

  * * *

  “THAT’S THE FIRST I’ve heard about it but maybe that’s what is in the box,” Jessica said. Hold on a second. Was it? A memory pricked, like a sudden burst, and then it dawned on
her as she brought her hand up to the bandage on her forehead. The bump to her head must’ve confused her and made her forget. “My sister wanted him out of town. She needed to get him out of the way as she investigated something... I can’t remember what. But she told me to go with him and agree to help him find the box. Once we got here, my sister told me she was getting close and to drag this out as long as I could.”

  “And that’s exactly what you did,” he said, and there was anger in his eyes.

  “Right before I got my head smashed with a rock after telling him I’d tricked him and had no idea what he was talking about.” She pulled the blanket from her shoulders and set it down.

  “Feeling like he’d been duped must’ve made a man like Milton angry,” Tyler said.

  “He’d rented the ATVs and we were on your property by the time I fessed up. I remember that much. I’d stalled as long as I could. He got so frustrated his face turned red and he started demanding to know where the box was.” She glanced at the bruises on her arms. “I expected him to be upset but I never thought he’d try to kill me.”

  Tyler’s grip on the coffee mug intensified.

  “He kept hinting at my neck when he talked about the box. I thought he was threatening me, you know, for show, because I never expected him to try to hurt my sister. Now I realize he must’ve been referring to a necklace.”

  Tyler’s eyes widened. “I wonder...”

  He retrieved his smartphone and pulled up a news story. She squinted at the screen to get a better look at the headline: Infinity Sapphire Stolen from Prominent Louisiana Family.

  She quickly scanned the story. “This is the most famous necklace in America that isn’t stored in a museum?”

  “Seventy-seven-point-seven carats total weight,” the handsome cowboy added. He stood so close that his scent filled her senses—a mix of woodsy aftershave and warmth, deep and musky—and it stirred up all kinds of inappropriate sensations.

  “You know about this necklace?” She took a step back, needing to put a little space between them, and tried not to memorize his unique aroma.

  “The couple that owns the necklace attended an art auction hosted by my family recently. I didn’t get a chance to talk to them. I prefer to be outside when all that’s going on.” He paused, turning the phone over and over in his hands. “Forgive the question, but I have to ask. Is there any chance your sister’s a jewel thief?”

  “None. Zero. I’d bet my life on it,” she said, and she pretty much already had. “Whatever’s going on can be cleared up as soon as I speak to her. She might not even know how much danger she’s in. I have to find her before Milton or anyone else does.”

  Jessica was already up, pacing, when the cowboy touched her shoulder. It was all she could do to ignore the frissons of heat zinging through her.

  “We will.” His honest dark eyes seemed like they could see right through her. He was gracious to help her as much as he had already, but this situation had detoured to a very bad place and she didn’t feel right putting anyone else at risk.

  “It’s too dangerous for you to be involved. Someone is dead because of this necklace. I can’t ask for your help anymore.”

  “Let me be the judge of that,” he said quickly. “Besides, I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re safe.”

  Looking into his eyes, she could see he meant it and she figured it was most likely some kind of cowboy code. But she couldn’t let anything happen to him, and especially not since he was being so generous helping her.

  She started to protest but he stopped her with that same look.

  “This is the situation as I see it. You have no transportation, no purse, and you have no idea who’s after you. To make matters worse, you won’t go to the law. So forgive me when I say that you don’t have a lot of options right now. I’m willing to help and I’m your best bet to keep you alive and find your sister.” He folded his arms and spread his feet in an athletic stance. “If those are your goals, and I believe I’m correct in saying they are, then I don’t see how you’re in a position to refuse my help.”

  He was right about all of it. There was no denying what he said was true. “I do want to live and you’re absolutely correct about how desperate my situation is. But I still think it’s a bad idea for you to get involved any further. Milton’s out there, somewhere, probably looking for me. He must think that I know more than I’m saying or that I’m getting the necklace for myself.”

  The cowboy’s slight nod said he agreed. He made a sound of disgust. “What exactly was his relationship to your sister?”

  “All I know is that they dated a year or so ago. I thought he was out of the picture but I guess they stayed in touch. She dated society men and I’m sure it’s a small circle.”

  “Did she mention anything specific about why she decided to leave him before?”

  “There were a lot of things. Like, for instance, if a hostess said their table would be ready in twenty minutes and it wasn’t, he would become and angry and didn’t care who knew.” She looked at Tyler whose dark eyes penetrated her poorly constructed armor. She wanted to lean on someone, on him, even temporarily. “I knew he was a creep, but Jenn didn’t mention anything about him being physical with her.”

  “Violence can escalate.” Tyler’s boots scuffed across the floor as he paced. “I’m sure Tommy will run a background check on him as part of his investigation.” Tyler stopped and held up his hand. “I know what you’re going to say, so don’t bother. But we will need to get Tommy more involved at some point.”

  She started to protest but he just shook his head. “I won’t go behind your back, so don’t worry. But we have to bring in the law. We’ll talk more about that later. Right now, I want to hear more about Milton.”

  “Jenn said he was upstanding but she might not’ve known him as well as she thought she did. He is...let’s see... I know she told me...oh, right. He’s a lawyer.”

  “He didn’t sound like one when Tommy interviewed him,” Tyler said.

  “Right. He’s a corporate guy, mergers, I think.”

  “That explains the shiny shoes and his lack of knowledge about criminal law,” Tyler quipped, walking past her and once again filling her senses with his scent.

  “I don’t know much else. I’m not even sure where he works but I’m guessing he’s with a corporation in or near Baton Rouge where she lives.” Jessica held up her coffee mug and breathed in the smell of dark-roasted beans.

  “She said he was a jerk but she didn’t give details?” He shot her a look of disbelief. “Sounds unusual for twins.”

  “I remember thinking she might’ve been too embarrassed to talk about him in detail, like he was seeing someone else while she thought they were exclusive or something along those lines.” Jessica braided her fingers. “The relationship didn’t last long. She didn’t call me in to break up with him, so they might’ve remained friends or run in the same circles. That’s about all I remember. I had no idea he was capable of actually hurting her. And now my memories are patchy about the past few days.”

  “Not surprising, after the hit you took to the head,” he said.

  “I think I’m awake enough for the day.” She set down her empty mug. “Mind if I get cleaned up in the bathroom?”

  He stopped pacing and stared at her for a minute. She knew exactly what he was thinking. “I’m not planning another escape, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  His cheeks dimpled when he smiled. “There’s a spare toothbrush in your bathroom. It’s still in the wrapper. I’ll have breakfast delivered.”

  She figured it would do no good arguing with a cowboy whose mind seemed made up, so she resigned herself to accepting his help.

  “Tell me one thing, though,” he said as she started to leave the room. “How’d you sneak out this morning? I mean, you were on the secon
d floor and I didn’t hear you leave.”

  “I couldn’t sleep, so I heard the sheriff when he pulled in. The alarm code was easy because I watched you enter it last night. You seemed like a nice person but after being with Milton I had no plans to take that chance. I slipped out the side door.”

  She kept to herself how relieved she was that she hadn’t gotten away for exactly the reasons he’d mentioned earlier. She was broke, alone, and had no means of communication. Not to mention the fact that she had no idea where she was and there would be all manner of wildlife outside that door. Plus, she was barefoot.

  She was also desperate and she had a bad feeling about her sister’s current situation. “Jenn might be trying to reach me on my cell. Can we go to the motel room and check if it’s still there or is there no way now that it’s a crime scene?”

  “We can do whatever you want. But first, we’re heading into the station so you can give a statement to one of the sheriff’s deputies,” he said matter-of-factly. “And if you want to stay above suspicion you’d better act like an unhappy fiancée.”

  Chapter Six

  “Do you think he believed me?” Giving her statement to the deputy had taken Jessica all of fifteen minutes, mostly because she didn’t know anything. She’d played the shocked fiancée as best she could, forcing tears that came only when she let herself think about her sister.

  “You didn’t give him a reason not to,” Tyler said.

  Jessica sank into the tan leather seat of the SUV as they drove to the motel room she’d shared with Milton. An involuntary shiver rocked her body at thinking about being in that place with him.

  She should’ve been able to see right through that fake smile of his. Milton had charm in spades when he wanted to turn it on, and she could see why her twin would’ve been attracted to him. He was good-looking and had a professional job with what Jennifer would see as plenty of earning potential.