“I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “You better get moving. Our room is going to be cleaned next, and we need to get over there.”
He knew that she was right.
Climbing up onto the rail, he leapt across landing silently. When he turned around, she was already mimicking his position and making the leap.
His heart surged to his throat as he watched the woman he loved, pregnant with his child, clearing the distance. When she landed, he was finally able to breathe.
“You scare the hell out of me,” he muttered, pulling her into the room.
“I’m only pregnant, Kane. I’ve faced far more dangerous things in the FBI. There was this killer once who mutilated one of our lab techs.”
He cut her off before she could continue that tale. He couldn’t bear to hear about it. “I’ll pass on that story if you don’t mind.”
Christina was entertained by him. “Come on. We only have so much time before everyone returns to the house,” she said, knowing that once they heard the ambulance, it distracted everyone.
Kane dug through Julian’s suitcase for the knife that he stole earlier. Going to the door, he popped the mechanism and took the flashlight from Christina.
“You stay behind me.”
Entering the passage, Christina held onto his back pocket as he led them toward the destination. Like the one originating from their room, this one had a ladder too. Only, the direction felt different. Where their path led out, this one remained inside the house.
Winding through the darkness, Kane could see that there were a few passageways that were blocked off. Someone had closed them off, and it looked like a long time ago, too. At the end of the tiny corridor, Kane noticed that the door was much smaller. “I don’t think I can squeeze out that one,” he said softly.
She wiggled past him and placed her ear against the wall. When there was no sound, she freed the mechanism and the door opened silently. “It’s been oiled lately too,” she said, holding her hand under the flashlight’s beam.
“Be careful,” he whispered, as she dropped to her knees and peeked out. When she pulled her head back in and closed the door, he helped her up.
“It’s the kitchen pantry and someone’s cooking in there at the stove. I can hear movement and whistling,” she murmured, as she moved closer to his ear to share what she had found. When he pointed the flashlight down to lean in, Christina practically pulled it out of his hand.
“LOOK!” she hissed, pointing the beam at the floor. Shoved in a crack was something that appeared to be made out of denim.
Kane didn't get it. “So?”
She explained, “It’s not dusty and old, and that means it was just recently placed there.” Bending over, she tried to touch it with the least damage to anything that might be on it. When she pulled them out, she unrolled them. “These are Tori’s jeans and someone cut them to shreds!”
Kane couldn’t believe it.
The person who took them thought they would be safe in there. They were in luck.
“Someone’s got some anger issues. Look at them,” he said, whistling low.
Christina dropped to her knees again, moving the flashlight. She wanted to look in the crevasse that the jeans had been shoved into. When she glanced back up at him, she was smiling. “We need to get through here,” she said. “It’s another passageway, and I can see some things back there. This might be a way to track the person doing all this! What if he shoved these jeans back there for a reason?”
There was no way they could do it now. That would make too much noise. “When we try and get in there, we’re going to need a big distraction.”
Christina began planning it. “I think I can come up with a fairly decent one of those,” she said, grinning.
“Are you going to blow something up with chemicals?” he asked warily. “You know that freaks Julian out.”
She tried not to laugh at that. “He said not to blow up his building. He didn't say I couldn’t do it here.”
Kane closed his eyes and prayed she was kidding. “We better head back. They’re going to want to see this. It’s a pretty big find.”
“Yeah it is,” she whispered, offering him a fist bump. “First, we hear the housekeeper, then the stable manager, and now this. We’re awesome as a team.”
With that, he couldn’t argue.
“Yeah, we really are.”
* * *
Julian and Tori had finally made it back to their room. When all the excitement had died down, they rode to the stable on the horses and gave them a brush down. The entire time, they were quiet. Not because they were thinking, but because they were listening.
Beverly Curry was convinced that it was the spirit of Bethany. She was pissed that she was trapped there and needed to be set free.
Candy West and her husband were freaked out. They were talking about leaving ahead of the derby, just because they believed someone was playing some sick game, and they didn't want to get caught in the crosshairs.
Stephen and Katy Snyder had that look of predatory excitement in their eyes, like there might be a way to make some money from what was going on around them.
Then there was the staff. Jamie had met them outside, and she was taking over with planning the rest of the events for Lorelei. The woman looked freaked out and frazzled all at the same time, but who could blame her?
Two of the three people she called boss were in the hospital. It would frighten just about anyone.
Heading to their quarters, Julian looked in the room to see if Kane and Christina were there. When they saw no one, he headed right for the bed and dropped down onto it.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just perplexed.”
She completely understood. At the creak, Julian jumped up, and pushed Tori behind him. As soon as he saw that it was Kane and Christina leaving the passage, he relaxed.
Tori stared at her husband like he’d lost his damn mind. Then, something else had her attention. “What’s that?” she asked, motioning to the bundle in Christina’s hands.
The woman grinned and unrolled them without saying a word.
“Oh my God! Those are my jeans! Where did you find them?” She paused, staring incredulously. “What the hell happened to them? They’re cut into strips.”
Christina kept the triumphant grin on her face as she explained. “We followed the secret corridor, and they were at the end. Whoever took them had some anger issues.”
Neither liked the sound of that. Finally, Julian found his voice and spoke, since he was curious, “Where did this one lead?”
“To the kitchen pantry,” Kane answered.
Tori was more focused on the jeans. “We need to get the DNA tested on those pants, and fast. That could help us break this wide open!”
Christina knew it. “We’re heading out right now. I don’t want to put them down. I’ve only lost DNA evidence once before, and I’m not letting these out of my sight.”
“DNA,” she said, reminding herself of the little scrap of material that she tucked away in her pocket.
Pulling her sleeve down again, she pulled it out of her pocket. “You can get this tested, too.”
“What is it?” Christina asked, as Tori laid the swatch of ripped material on the pants.
Julian told them all about it.
When he was finished, Christina grabbed a pen off the nightstand and used it to move the material. “We should have them pull your DNA, Tori,” stated Christina. “Since you touched this and wore the jeans, then it will remove any of your genetic code from the mix.”
“Good idea,” she answered.
“I think there’s blood on this,” Christina stated, flipping the little material over. “There is. Whoever lost this had nicked their flesh and bled a little. They gave us their genetic fingerprint.”
Again, they were having good luck.
“We’re getting closer,” Julian stated. He told them about the sheriff running everyone there. “Once he does, we’ll have a
better idea of what we’re working against.”
Kane knew he needed to warn his boss. As much as he loved his fiancée, he knew that Julian would only tolerate so much. “We found that the passageway from here branches off. It’s been blocked off, and the jeans were shoved underneath one of the cracks.”
“We’ll have to unblock it,” stated Tori.
Christina rubbed her hands together eagerly. “I have a way to do it, so no one will hear the demolition.”
Julian didn't like how happy she looked, or how the woman had the ‘evil genius’ grin on her face. “Is it legal?”
When she actually paused to think about it, Tori began laughing.
“Are we talking about big law breaking, or possibly just a minor felony?”
He covered his ears. “I don’t want to hear about it now. We have other issues to worry about.”
“Like what?” she asked. In her mind, getting into that pathway was going to be fun, and at the forefront of her priorities.
“We had someone try and kill Jonathan Hesser, and now Lorelei. The man who was killed was researching the family, so who’s missing from that list?”
“Fredrick,” they all said at the same time.
“Either he’s behind it or next,” Tori said.
“Yeah, and that means that he needs a tail,” Julian added. “Someone has to keep him safe.”
Kane voiced his concerns. “I’m not letting my fiancée anywhere near him. He stares at women like they’re a snack. It’s not happening.”
Christina slapped him on the arm. “Hey, it’s not the stone ages, bub. Knock it off!”
Tori snorted. It was funny to watch the little woman school the giant.
“I’m with you, Kane,” Julian said. “So, that means the ladies are going to run the DNA into the FBI satellite lab, and we’re on babysitting duty.”
Kane sighed. “Let’s head to the hospital and see if we can find him. Maybe he’ll buy that we’re concerned about his family. The only good thing in all of this is that the women are heading to a secured facility. How much trouble could they possibly get into there?”
Tori and Christina headed to the door, laughing. “We’ll see you two later. Maybe by then, you’ll regain your sanity.”
“Don’t bet on it. I lost my sanity when I actually believed that you putting yourself in danger was going to be something I could handle for the rest of my life,” Julian stated.
Kane was with him on that, but opted to take the gentler path, since he didn't have Christina locked in as a wife, yet. “Please be careful,” he urged, hoping that she’d take it easy on him. He wasn’t sure his heart could handle it.
She popped a lemon drop in her mouth and grinned. “What could possibly happen?” she asked, tossing his words back at him. “Secure facility, remember?”
When the door closed, Julian stared at Kane. “I have a bad feeling.”
“Yeah, so do I. Tell me that the husband gig is a lot easier than the fiancé one.”
Julian patted him on the back and started laughing like a madman.
“Oh bloody hell!”
* * *
Sheriff’s Station
When he arrived back at his office, once more the mayor was there waiting for him. What Beckett really wanted was a cup of coffee before he began the tedious process of interviewing possible suspects.
Instead, he received another tongue lashing and took it without batting an eyelash. The more he thought about it, the more he got why the Littlemoons had opted out of law enforcement to be their own bosses.
If there was an epitome of shitty days, this was it.
When the man had finally had his fill of chewing him out, Beckett got down to work, having his deputies start the searches on every single person on Tori Littlemoon’s list.
Deputy Tadd Marston was more than happy to take care of it. In fact, he was pretty familiar with the Hesser family. Apparently, the young man liked doing his research. At least Tadd was giving it his all, and right now he could use an ally in this fight.
“I’ll dig through all this paperwork, Sheriff. You can trust me to handle it.”
Beckett was glad to have the help. When the man returned to his desk, he stared down at the papers in front of him. For now, he was going to jump into the deep end of the pool, going head to head with a man who had financial problems and was looking incredibly guilty.
Okay, it was time to get his interrogation on.
Carrying the saddle into the room, the hairs stood on his neck, and he was compelled to let it drop to the table with a loud ‘thunk’. As that tingling awareness dissipated, he tried to focus on the man sitting there.
“Why am I in here?” he asked, looking around nervously. “I didn't do anything.”
“Who said you did?” asked Beckett Rand, taking a seat.
He shrugged.
“I just have a few questions for you. The first one is if you’ve ever seen this saddle before.”
“Are you nuts?” the man asked. “Of course I have! That’s Miss Hesser’s gear. I just put it on King Solomon today. She uses it every day.”
“So, you admit to saddling up her horse before her ride.”
“Yeah, why?”
Beckett asked the man to flip the girth over and waited for him to figure it out on his own. If he was any kind of barn manager, he would know what was wrong with this picture.
“Oh my God! Someone screwed with her saddle!” Then, it hit him why he was in there. “You think it was me!”
Beckett took off his hat and ran his hands through his black hair. “Well, let’s look at the facts. You run the barn where Jonathan Hesser was hit in the head. He was found in the tack shed, where you spend a great deal of time. Then, you saddled up the horse that Lorelei Hesser rode out on, and she nearly dies. Why ever would I think it’s you? You’re right. This is a totally ridiculous witch hunt.”
The man clammed up. “I want an attorney.”
“Okay,” he said, picking up his hat. “You can explain to him why I’m booking you on attempted homicide.”
“WHAT!”
“Then, you can explain a call you received where you admitted that you would ‘take care’ of the situation. I’ll be pulling your cell records for the judge.”
Now, the man looked scared shitless. “How did you…?”
Beckett interrupted him and stood. “I’m not going to talk to you anymore. You’ve requested your lawyer. I’m going to go fill out the paperwork to send over to the district attorney for arraignment.”
“Wait! I didn't do anything! I swear!”
Beckett took a seat. “Then, you better start talking really fast and convince me that there’s a logical reason why you were overheard saying that you’d handle a situation, and the next day someone’s gear is sabotaged.”
He began, “I owe a bookie about three grand. I lost a ton of money on a game. He’s been putting the squeeze on me, trying to get me to help him out.”
“How?”
“He wants his cash, or he wants me to slip the Hesser horse a tranquilizer before the race. It won’t hurt him, but it’ll slow him down.”
“He wants you to fix it?”
“Yeah. The Hesser horse is picked to win the derby, and he wants to blow it all out of the water by playing the odds.”
“So, you planned on hurting the family by drugging their racehorse.”
“No.”
“But you just said you were.”
“No, what I said was he wanted his money or my help. I wouldn’t hurt the Hessers. They gave me a job and a life. I’ll admit that I don’t deserve it, but family sticks together. I won’t hurt them.”
“Okay, so you got the money then?”
“Yeah, I asked a friend.”
“Someone willingly handed you three grand and believes that you’ll pay it back?”
“Yeah.”
“Who?” he asked.
“Do I have to say?” Leroy asked.
“You’re going to go to
jail for attempted murder. You may want an alibi right about now, or you’re taking the bus over to prison.”
“Bruce Smithe.”
“Is that name supposed to sound familiar?” Beckett asked, making a note in the file.
“No, but he’s the one.”
“Who is he?”
“The Hesser’s butler.”
Of course he was, because why would Beckett think that this was going to be easy. “You borrowed three grand from a butler?”
“Yes.”
He picked up his hat and dropped it back on his head. “You’re not going anywhere,” he stated, reluctantly picking up the saddle. When he didn't feel that tingling feeling in his fingers, he relaxed.
“Okay.”
Beckett headed for the door. It looked like he was going back out to Hesser House. At this rate, he should just move the hell in.
It would save him time.
Chapter Twenty One
Trying to get out of the house alone hadn’t been easy. Yeah, their women had already left to go ‘shopping’, or that’s what they told the butler, but they had bigger issues. Their names were Lawson West, Stephen Snyder, and Richard Curry. As soon as the men heard that the two were headed out to find Fredrick, they insisted on coming.
No matter how hard they tried to shake them, there was no way it was happening. So, their party of two was going to more than double in size. They got why Stephen Snyder insisted, because he was supposed to be monitoring and watching Fredrick for his client, but the rest were just being clingy, pains in his ass.
The only good thing was that they had to take separate cars. It at least gave Julian and Kane time to plan everything out. Their main directive was to find Fredrick and bring him home.
Plain and simple.
Only now instead of corralling one man, they had to babysit four.
When they found the man at the hospital, he was leaning against the nurse’s station, hitting on anything with breasts. It wasn’t pretty to watch, especially when he had his eyes set on one of the youngest women. It was like watching some lion on the plains picking out the sweetest, most tender antelope for his snack.
Lost & Broken (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 2) Page 31
