Dead Center

by Susan Sleeman

  Mrs. Orr’s painted-on eyebrows shot up. “This is the first time I’m hearing about a suspect. Who are you looking at?”

  “It’s too early in the investigation to discuss that.”

  “Come on, Sheriff.” She slammed a fist on the table. “We’re Neil’s parents. We have a right to know.”

  “I’m sorry,” Matt said sounding sincere for the first time since they’d arrived in Texas. “I wish I could loop you in on this, but I just can’t. I promise though, when the results come in, if we have a match to this suspect and make an arrest, you will be the first to know.”

  Mrs. Orr frowned at him. “Thanks for nothing.”

  Matt cringed, and Ainslie almost felt sorry for him.

  Mrs. Orr shifted her focus to Ainslie. “And tell that brother of yours thanks for nothing from us, too. We could’ve had closure years ago if he would’ve only stepped up and reported what he saw.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ainslie said, making sure to infuse her tone with her deepest regret. “I know that Ethan is very sorry, too. It won’t make up for all of these years that you have suffered, but please know that he wishes he’d told you.”

  “That’s not good enough.” She glanced at Matt. “I want him to be punished.”

  “He was just a boy at the time,” Grady said.

  Ainslie appreciated his support, but at Mrs. Orr’s sharpening glare, it was obvious that she didn’t plan to cut Ethan any slack.

  “So?” She stared at Matt. “What are you gonna do about him?”

  “Unless evidence proves he had a part in Neil’s death, there’s nothing I can legally do.”

  “Then we might as well forget about that.” She glared at Matt and waved a hand to encompass the Veritas team. “It’s not like Ainslie’s buddies here are going to tell you if they find evidence on her loser of a brother.”

  Kelsey jutted out her chin. “We’re bound by ethics and the law to report all evidence we locate. We would never withhold a thing. Not for any reason.”

  “And before you mention it,” Grady said. “Ainslie hasn’t participated in recovering Neil’s remains, and she won’t have access to any of the evidence.”

  “Right.” Mrs. Orr suddenly pushed her chair back and looked at her husband. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”

  She stormed toward the door and looked back at Matt. “See that you call me the minute you know anything.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Matt said. “You can count on me.”

  “To be able to count on law enforcement in this town—that’ll be a first.” She marched through the doorway, her slight frame making the pointed stomping of her feet a meaningless gesture.

  Her husband gave them all an apologetic look and trailed her.

  “That didn’t go so well,” Grady stated.

  It went better than Ainslie had expected. “Her anger is understandable.”

  “She could have cut Ethan some slack due to his age,” Grady muttered.

  “I’m not sure I would if I were in her shoes.” Ainslie wished more than anything that she could travel back in time and make sure Ethan reported the murder when it happened.

  “Speaking of Ethan, I need to interview him,” Matt said. “In person. It would be helpful if I could fly back with y’all and take care of it right away.”

  After his lack of cooperation since they’d arrived in town, Ainslie had to work hard not to gape at his request.

  “Unless of course you want it to take longer for me to rule out his participating in Neil’s murder.” He flashed a cold smile in Ainslie’s direction.

  Here he was, playing them again, but she wanted Ethan cleared, so she looked at the others. “Is that okay with you all?”

  “Fine by me,” Grady said, but he didn’t sound like he liked it.

  Kelsey nodded.

  “Then it’s settled,” Matt said. “Y’all hang here while I run home to pack a bag and let my wife know I’m leaving.” He charged out of the room.

  Ainslie sighed.

  “Hey,” Grady said. “None of us wants him on the plane, but he’ll talk to Ethan, and that issue will be put to rest.”

  Ainslie nodded, but she was still unsettled. She prayed that her brother hadn’t lied about Neil’s death, that he’d had no part in it. Matt was a determined sheriff and would ferret out any lie.

  Grady could get used to flying in a private jet, even if the surly sheriff was along for the ride. The plush leather seats were so comfortable that Grady struggled to keep his eyes open after a nearly sleepless night. Shortly after they reached cruising altitude, Sierra and Kelsey moved to the back of the plane and climbed into the twin-sized beds so they’d be ready to begin work the minute they hit the lab. Murphy sat in a corner seat, and Grady and Ainslie took a seating group as far away from him as possible. Their chairs faced each other, and a small table was mounted in between.

  Ainslie was looking at her phone, and Grady couldn’t just sit and stare at her—enjoy the new golden tint to her skin and the flush of red on her high cheeks, a few new freckles joining it.

  Stop. Focus.

  He got out his computer and checked his email. The machine sounded an alert.

  “Video call from Blake,” he told Ainslie and answered.

  Blake’s face appeared on the screen. “Looks like you’re on the way back.”

  “We are,” Grady said, reminding himself not to say anything that might gain Murphy’s attention. “Kelsey located the remains, and she’s confident it’s Neil Orr. Sheriff Murphy is with us, coming back to interview Ethan.”

  Blake cocked his head and gave a nod. He was a sharp guy and also knew he needed to watch what he said. “I was hoping to update Ainslie on my conversation with Ethan, but that can wait.”

  “Just a second.” Grady motioned for Ainslie to join him, but then he got out his Bluetooth earbuds and gave a pointed look at Murphy, who was overtly watching them before offering one of the earbuds to Ainslie. He looked back at the screen.

  Ainslie slipped into the chair next to Grady and plugged the bud into her ear. “Please don’t tell me there’s a problem.”

  “You look tired,” Blake said.

  “Gee. Just what a girl wants to hear.” She chuckled and smoothed her hair back.

  “Sorry.” He winced. “Emory’s always telling me I’m too blunt.”

  “Little bit?” Grady laughed and cast a look at Murphy to see if he was still listening in and he was.

  “Ethan told me he helped Wade with a weapons purchase,” Blake said.

  “He what?” Ainslie’s voice rose. “Was it illegal?”

  “Borderline, I’d say. He carried cash from Wade to a supplier. But he didn’t handle the weapons or even see them so he’s not complicit in the gun sales. Though, he admits to knowing what he was doing.”

  “Why on earth did he do that?” Ainslie asked.

  “He said he needed the cash.”

  Ainslie’s shoulders slumped. “I would’ve given him money.”

  “He said he’s really trying to stand on his own two feet and can’t keep running to you when he needs help.”

  “Better to run to me than do something he might get into trouble for,” she grumbled.

  “Again, he didn’t actually break the law,” Blake said. “At least not if he’s telling the truth.”

  “Did you believe him?” she asked.

  “I did.”

  Grady looked at Ainslie. “Blake is a great judge of character, and you can trust his assessment.”

  She nodded and looked back at the screen. “Did Ethan say why he told you?”

  “He thinks the guy he met with might be the person who shot Wade and did it outside of Ethan’s place to try to set him up for the murder.”

  “And he didn’t mention this earlier because he thought he would get in trouble, is that it?” Grady asked.

  “Pretty much, but also he doesn’t know this guy’s name so he couldn't turn him in, and Ethan thought there was no point in getting in trouble
if it didn’t help.” Blake frowned. “I’m not sure why he confessed to me, because nothing has changed.”

  “Um, hello,” Grady said. “All you have to do is look at someone, and they’re going to spill their guts.”

  Blake rolled his eyes. “He gave me the location for the money handoff, and I’m looking for CCTV footage in the area. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

  “Thanks, Blake,” Ainslie said.

  He gave a perceptive nod. “Also, I interviewed the bar staff where Ethan got into the fight the night Wade was shot. None of the staff remembered anyone who was beaten up that night. Looks like the guy was on his way out when Ethan fought with him.”

  “You sound suspicious,” Ainslie said.

  “Just frustrated. The bar doesn’t have video cameras.” Blake shifted in his chair. “Ethan hit on one of the waitresses a few times, so she remembers him, but she didn’t notice when he left.”

  Ainslie tightly clutched her hands in her lap. “We really need to catch a break.”

  “Agreed. I talked to Detective Flores, and she wasn’t able to share anything we didn’t already know. She did say that Malone had gotten in contact with her about getting the gun to you, Grady, so you can test it. Malone pointed out that it would be good for the prosecution to have a second opinion. Flores agreed and referred Malone to her lieutenant.”

  “Sounds promising,” Grady said.

  “Yeah, keep your fingers crossed on that.” Blake flipped the pages in a small notebook. “Malone has also filed the necessary paperwork with the DA to get Wade’s phone and computer records. Flores said that it seems like Malone is well-connected and should be able to get everything we need. Flores also said Heidi and Jayla weren’t home when she canvassed the neighborhood. She had them on her follow up list. I encouraged her to make them a priority and to try to get the video.”

  “Let’s hope she does,” Grady said.

  “What about Bittner?” Ainslie asked. “Any news on him and how he fits in this?”

  “Oh, right.” Blake tilted his head. “I guess you haven’t heard. The marshals brought him in. They questioned him, and he claims to know nothing about the swat.”

  Ainslie sat forward. “But he really can’t be trusted, right?”

  “Right,” Blake said. “Still, we need to be thinking about who else might be behind the swatting incident. I talked to Ethan, and he has no idea.”

  “I guess we need to ask what the point of the swat might be,” Ainslie said. “Could the caller have been hoping that I would somehow have been killed in the incident? Might they think I know something that they're trying to stop me from revealing? Just trying to warn me off investigating Ethan’s part in the shooting?”

  “All good questions,” Blake said. “But we don’t know enough right now to form a hypothesis.”

  Grady faced Ainslie. “What about the recent photographs you’ve taken? Did you look back at those to see if you might’ve captured someone you shouldn’t have?”

  Blake’s eyes widened. “You think that happened?”

  She shook her head. “I reviewed them. There was nothing. At least I didn’t see anything.”

  “Maybe you should send them to me to review,” Blake suggested.

  “I can do that.”

  Blake looked down at his notebook. “Okay, two other things. The police did do a GSR swab for Ethan. As we expected, it came back positive. Malone can do her thing and call this test into question, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. And second, Wade didn’t suffer any broken bones from the beating, so there’s no way to determine if the assailant was right or left handed.”

  “Has Nick been able to trace the swat call yet?” Grady asked.

  “No, and let me tell you, he’s in a foul mood. It’s very rare when he fails, and he doesn’t like it. But he’ll keep after it.”

  Ainslie let out a long breath. “I am so incredibly blessed by all of your support, and I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  Grady gave her a pointed look. “You should never have to find out what it would be like.”

  She raised an eyebrow, and it was clear that she was catching his double meaning, something he was surprised at thinking much less saying out loud. She grew more and more important to him with every minute he spent with her. Shoot, he might be half in love with her already, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

  “One thing’s for sure,” she said. “I’m going to have a good long talk with Ethan and get him set on the right path of telling the truth at all times. I don’t like secrets. Don’t like that he’s withheld things. That’s not the kind of man I want my brother to be. Not at all.”

  Right. For a moment, Grady had forgotten about his past. He might have feelings for Ainslie even wondering what to do about them, but there was nothing to be done. Not when the minute his secret came out, she would turn the other way.

  16

  Nearing ten p.m., Ainslie wheeled the equipment cart toward the trace evidence lab, glad that Matt had gone straight to a hotel when she’d half expected him to ask for a tour of the Veritas Center. It had surprised her, since most law enforcement officers visiting the big city would likely have requested a tour. But he didn’t seem at all interested. Maybe his monster-sized ego wouldn’t let him admit that they might be good at what they did. Or maybe he just didn’t care about forensics. Either way, they wouldn’t have to tiptoe around him anymore.

  Grady opened the door, and she pushed the cart inside, fatigue dragging her shoulders down. She just wanted to crash, but that wouldn’t happen yet. She might not be able to help with the investigation, but she could at least take care of the equipment to free up Sierra to do the important work.

  Sierra was just closing an evidence locker and turned to join them. “I’m going to grab a shower and a quick bite and then get to work.”

  “I’ll clean up and put the equipment away,” Ainslie said.

  “I’ll help,” Grady said.

  Sierra smiled at them. “Thank you. Then you should both get some sleep.”

  “Sure,” Ainslie said. “But if you need anything let me know, okay? I want to help where I can.”

  “Of course.” Sierra started for the door, but it swung open before she got there, and Nick entered.

  “Hi, Nick. Bye, Nick.” Sierra laughed as she exited.

  Nick rolled his eyes. “Glad you guys finally got back.”

  Ainslie trained her gaze on him. “Sounds like you have something for us.”

  “I do.” He frowned and propped his shoulder against the wall. “We finally traced the swat call, but I’m not holding out hope that it’ll lead to anything actionable.”

  Grady narrowed his eyes. “How can that be?”

  “It was a VoIP call like we thought. The user configured the displayed number for the call.”

  “Meaning?” Grady asked before Ainslie could.

  “Meaning they chose to display your cell number, Ainslie.”

  “How can that be?” she asked.

  “Often these accounts don’t require proper identification, and users can do whatever they want. And that’s the problem. Since they’re so sketchy, they rarely lead anywhere.”

  “But it at least proves I didn’t make the call,” she said.

  “Actually, no,” Nick said. “It proves you didn’t do it via your cell, but not that you didn’t do it via the VoIP call.”

  Grady narrowed his eyes. “So it’s a dead end, then.”

  “Didn’t say that.” Nick grinned. “VoIP calls are made via computers or other internet access devices. So there’s a trail to where the call originated. We’re narrowing down the point of origin for this call, and if it doesn’t lead to a personal address, hopefully it’s a public location with security cameras.”

  “Then we can see the person who made the call,” Grady clarified.

  Nick shook his head. “Not necessarily. If it’s a public place, we can see all the people who were present when the call was made, but
we may not be able to tie it to a specific person. I’m not going to go into details here but just know it has to do with the wireless router and the device used to make the call.”

  “So what you’re saying is that we’re no closer to knowing who made the call.” Frustration traveled through Grady’s tone.

  “Not what I’m saying at all,” Nick said. “We’re lightyears ahead of where we were when we started. It just might take a few more of those years to bring it home. And FYI, Malone obtained Ethan’s phone and computer files for me. We’re starting to review those now, especially looking at his GPS. I’ll let you know if it produces a lead.”

  “Excellent,” Ainslie said.

  “Malone didn’t happen to mention the gun and CT scan, did she?” Grady asked.

  “Sort of. She said she was having a harder time obtaining the physical evidence than the electronics because they can’t make copies and hand them over.”

  Grady frowned. “Figured as much.”

  “Don’t get down.” Nick pushed off the wall. “She’s still optimistic.”

  “I have a question for you,” Grady said. “The family who lives across the street from Ethan has a video doorbell. The husband configured it then split, and they claim not to have access to the files. I’ve got a call in to the guy, but he’s not calling back.”

  Nick cocked an eyebrow. “And let me guess. You want me to get their video from the night of the shooting in case it recorded something.”

  Grady nodded. “Can you do it?”

  “Sure, but it’ll be on the down-low and won’t be admissible in court.”

  “Then don’t do it!” Ainslie took a step toward Nick. “That video, if it exists, could be one of the keys to freeing Ethan, and we can’t mess with that.”

  “Yeah, she’s right,” Grady said. “But what if I got the wife to give you permission to access the information.”

  “Sounds like a loophole that might work.” Nick scratched his bearded jaw. “I should run it past Malone first, though. Just to be sure. I’ll let you know if she gives me the okay.”

  Grady nodded. “Keep us updated on what you find in Ethan’s electronic files.”