Elusive Identities: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 1)

by Olivia Jaymes

  Chris's head jerked up. "A prostitute? She was a hooker?"

  "And a user. That poor girl lived a hard life and frankly, I'm not surprised she ended up young and dead. The odds weren't in her favor."

  "Fuck," Chris muttered under his breath. "No wonder you didn't want Ella to see this."

  Logan nodded. "If this is her mother...well...it's not a pretty parental picture. It does, however, shine new light on what might have motivated someone to kill her. She ran with a sketchy crowd from the looks of things. I've included the names of people she was arrested with."

  A crowd Chris was going to investigate.

  "I know what you're thinking and I'm afraid the news is bad there, too," Logan warned. "You want to talk to her friends but both Jared and I scoured every database we could find and we could only turn up one person that was still alive, and she's currently serving a stretch for manslaughter. I guess you can talk to her. She might have something to say."

  "Live fast, die young."

  Chris hadn't realized he'd said it out loud until Logan shook his head. "The last part of that is leave a pretty corpse. We know that didn't happen. From what our research turned up, Kelly Perkins lived on the edges of society. But I do have what might be good news."

  "I could use some," Chris replied, a cynical tone in his voice. "What is it?"

  Logan was smiling now. "It's Robert Trask. I pulled his background and guess what I found? Way back in the eighties he was busted for soliciting a prostitute. I don't know if it was Kelly, but I think that's a funny coincidence. And you know what your dad says about coincidences."

  The same thing all the guys did. That coincidences weren't as common as people thought they were.

  "Looks like I have two places to visit today."

  Ella would want to go along with him. How did he tell her about Kelly? Should he even tell her? Then again, there might not be any connection at all between them.

  What should I do?

  Chris dropped the file on his desk and headed straight for the coffee pot in the corner of the office. He didn't make it. Knox stepped into his path wearing one honked-off expression.

  "We need to talk."

  Sidestepping the other man, Chris reached for the carafe. He wasn't in the mood for Knox's shit today, not after the conversation he'd just had. "Why?"

  "We're supposed to be working together, but I haven't heard shit from you in two days."

  "You didn't ask so I haven't made it a point to tell you. We're both busy on our cases. You haven't given me an update on your case, either."

  The less they saw of each other the better as far as Chris was concerned.

  "Arrogant asshole."

  The words were muttered under Knox's breath but Chris could clearly hear them. He was sure that he was meant to. Slamming the empty cup down on the counter, he whirled around and was nose to nose with Knox. His frustration with this investigation had started him down this road but Knox was a jerk.

  "Do you have a problem?"

  "Yes, I do. With you. You're–"

  "Knox. Chris. Get in here."

  Logan's voice cut through the haze of their discord and made Chris realize that they were standing in the middle of the office.

  Fuck.

  With heads hanging, Chris and Knox entered Logan's office and didn't bother to sit down. They both knew why they were there and it wasn't for a friendly chat. They were going to get a new asshole chewed.

  And that was if they were lucky.

  "What the fuck are you two doing out there?" Logan demanded, his blue eyes icy. "I know you two aren't fond of each other but you need to understand that I don't care about that. I care that you two can work as a team."

  "He–"

  "You–"

  Chris and Knox both started speaking at the same time but Logan waved them off. "Don't bother. You think I don't know why you two are at each other's throats? Do you honestly believe that I didn't check out both of you completely before bringing you in? Shit, I know what you ate for dinner last night and what brand of socks you wear. So this is what's going to happen. I'm going to leave the office and you are going to stay here and talk this out until you come to some sort of understanding where you can work with one another. I fucking mean it, too. You stay here until you settle your shit. I don't want it oozing out onto this team. Am I understood?"

  Knox stepped forward. "If I could just say–"

  "No, you may not." Logan leaned down, his knuckles resting on his desk. "You know what you can do, though? You can decide whether you really want this job. Both of you. If you don't want it and you don't want to settle this bullshit argument between the two of you then you're welcome to pack your shit and go. Your choice."

  Chris and Knox stared stonily at one another, neither saying a word. Logan finally sat down and pointed to the chairs on the other side of his desk.

  "Sit the fuck down."

  They both sat and waited to be fired.

  Logan sat back and steepled his fingers. "Now let's talk about the elephant in the room. Who wants to start?"

  "I think–"

  "He can't–"

  "I'll start," Logan replied loudly over their voices. "Thanks to the current sheriff, who was a deputy at the time, I know a bit about this situation. You were working a string of robberies and Knox didn't listen to Chris when it came to who may have perpetrated the crime. Making a long tedious fucking story short, Chris was right about the suspect who was eventually arrested. Have I left anything out? Do enlighten me."

  "The robber was a friend of Knox's. That's why he got away with it so long."

  "That is not–"

  "Quiet," Logan bellowed. "No arguing. Knox, was the reason you didn't bring in the robber was because he was a friend?"

  "No," Knox snarled. "And I did bring him in. He had an alibi."

  "A lousy one," Chris shot back. "It sounded lame and it was."

  "It was still a corroborated alibi. Once it started to fall apart, I brought him in again. Friend or no friend. I arrested him and he went to jail. End of story."

  Logan's brow rose as he turned to Chris. "Is that the end of the story? It sounds like it all worked out in the end. So why are you still harboring a grudge against Knox?"

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Chris counted to five before he answered. He couldn't get to ten. He was too pissed off.

  "He put his friend before his deputy. If this had been a murder investigation, he might have gotten someone killed. How can I trust him to have my back?"

  Knox hopped to his feet, scraping his fingers through his hair. "I've got your back. I've always had your back."

  "You took Alvin's word over mine."

  "I've known him since we were in kindergarten."

  "I was your deputy and you didn't trust me."

  Knox started to answer and then shook his head, pacing back and forth in the small space before finally facing Chris.

  "You were my best deputy."

  "Didn't seem like it."

  "You were," Knox insisted. "Maybe I should have listened to you sooner. If you're upset about that, I'm sorry. I can't go back and change any of it."

  The words came tumbling out before Chris could stop them.

  "You didn't listen to me because I'm Tanner Marks' son. You constantly threw that up in my face. You wouldn't let it go."

  Silence. No one said a word. It stretched out until the tension was almost too much.

  "Is that true, Knox?" Logan asked at last, tapping a pencil on the oak desk. "Did you not want Chris to be right because he's Tanner's son?"

  Knox's head fell back and he muttered something under his breath that no one could hear.

  "I was just busting his balls about his dad. I didn't want Chris to be right because then Alvin would be a criminal. I didn't want him to be fucking guilty, Logan. Shit, he had a wife and two kids."

  Chris's teeth snapped together. "I'm so fucking sick of you talking about my dad."

  Rolling his eyes, Knox groaned. "At
least you had a dad. I would have given anything growing up to have had a dad like yours."

  More silence. This time, though, it was Chris that felt like shit.

  "I didn't know that."

  Knox shrugged, his gaze on his boots. "Because it wasn't all that important."

  Logan stood and came around his desk. "I think it's time for me to exit the room. Take as long as you need."

  He left the room, closing the door behind him. Chris and Knox simply stood there for a long time, not looking at each other or speaking. It was Knox that finally broke the silence.

  "You left after that case. Just quit and walked away."

  "I didn't feel respected."

  "I respected you so much I recommended you for the sheriff's job in Oak Springs."

  Chris's head jerked around, his eyes wide with surprise. "Oak Springs? I never knew that."

  "You didn't get the job but you should have. It was local politics that kept you out. They ended up hiring a cousin of the mayor. With that kind of bullshit, you probably had a lucky escape when you think about it." Knox gave a heavy sigh and slumped against the desk. "I've got your back, Chris. Always. Even if you are a pain in the ever-loving ass."

  "Back at you, asshole," Chris sniped, but the air didn't feel so tension-filled any longer. "What in the fuck do we do now?"

  Knox wagged his finger at Chris. "We walk out of here acting like we still hate each other. I don't know about you, but if Logan thinks he was right - again - he'll be fucking insufferable. Deal?"

  "Deal. But actually, I still kind of hate you."

  "I hate you too, and it works for us. Let's get some breakfast. I'm starved."

  "I'm driving."

  Knox pulled his keys from his jeans pocket. "Fuck you. I'm driving. We'll take my truck."

  "Fine. You can pick up the check, too."

  "Cheap bastard."

  It was a start. It wasn't going to go away in an instant but for the first time in a long time Chris was confident that Knox was on his side.

  Friends? That was taking things a little too far.

  When conflicted there was only one person that Chris wanted to talk it out with. His dad.

  They'd spent a good portion of Chris's young adult years at loggerheads but things were different now. The respect was mutual and when they did disagree they talked it out like adults.

  It was kind of funny that now Chris was an adult with a job, a kid, and more responsibilities than he cared to name how his father started looking and sounding like a genius.

  The office wasn't the most private of venues so Chris stepped outside, his jacket zipped against the cool breeze. A light rain was falling but then this was Seattle. His dad picked up on the second ring.

  "Morning, son. Is everything okay with Annie?"

  "She's fine," Chris assured his father. "That stomach bug was only a twenty-four hour virus. She went to school today and Stacey is going to pick her up in the afternoon. Actually, I was calling for a bit of advice. I don't suppose you've got any wisdom for me?"

  His dad chuckled on the other end of the line. "The older I get the less sure I am that I'm right about...well, just about anything. But I'll give it a shot. What's going on? Is it that case you're working on?"

  Chris had given his father the lowdown a few days ago without going into great detail.

  "Jared and Logan dug up some stuff about the possible victim."

  "I take it that the stuff you're referring to isn't positive?"

  "She wasn't citizen of the year, and that's the issue. This woman might be my Jane Doe but she also might be Ella's family. Perhaps even her own biological mother."

  "And you're wondering how to tell her?"

  "I'm wondering if I should tell her," Chris corrected. "Does she really need to know? The DNA test might come back as not a match. Then it doesn't really matter."

  But in a way it did. Both he and Ella were becoming personally attached to Jane. They wanted to see her identified and her killer found. She deserved to lie in peace.

  "You want to protect your friend? Make sure she doesn't have to deal with any hurt?"

  The minute his father asked the question, Chris knew what he had to do.

  "She's already been through so much."

  It sounded as lame as it truly was.

  "It's commendable that you don't want to hurt her, Chris. Is she the delicate type?"

  "No." The idea was laughable, actually. "She's pretty tough but she's vulnerable, too. I just...don't want to cause any more hurt than I already have."

  And that was the crux of it. Chris had inflicted a wound and he didn't want to do it again.

  "I think you know what you need to do, son, but I'll give you my opinion if it's important to you. I would always err on the side of honesty. Eventually the truth will come out and she may not thank you for trying to protect her. I know Maddie would have my ass in a sling."

  Maddie was about half the size of Chris's dad but she didn't take any shit. She'd worked in an emergency room in Chicago and she was tougher than she appeared.

  "I have to tell her the truth."

  "It's probably a good idea. You want to save her from hurting, and that's admirable, but you can't shield people from the truth. Now bullets...that's something you can shield people from, but let's hope this case doesn't come to that."

  "It's a thirty-year-old cold case, Dad. I doubt I'm going to have to worry about that. Thanks for the advice. Even if I didn't want to hear it."

  His dad laughed. "You didn't really need my advice. You simply needed to trust what you already knew. In fact, you haven't needed my advice in a long time."

  His throat growing tight, Chris had trouble replying. "I still need you, Dad."

  "It's always good to be needed. Now tell me when we're going to see you and Annie again."

  "We'll come visit. Just as soon as I close this case."

  18

  Chris had been uncharacteristically quiet during their drive to see Robert Trask. Normally, he liked to talk about the weather, the traffic, how hungry he was, and what he'd read in the paper that morning. Today? Not so much.

  When he'd picked Ella up he'd smiled and greeted her normally but then he'd completely shut up. This behavior had set off alarm bells in her head and fifteen minutes into the drive it hadn't improved.

  "You're awfully quiet this morning. Are you feeling okay?"

  Jerking his gaze from the road, Chris nodded.

  And still didn't say anything.

  "You're starting to freak me out here, Marks. What's going on? I usually can't shut you up but now your lips are buttoned tight. Something isn't right."

  To her surprise Chris didn't answer, instead pulling into the parking lot of a big box store. He parked at the back away from the other cars before turning off the engine.

  "I have to tell you something."

  Clearly, but he wasn't getting on with it. The tension had built between them and all she wanted to do was bust through it.

  "Are you pregnant? Is it mine?"

  Pinching his brows together, Chris looked confused. "Huh? What?"

  Maybe a joke at this particular moment wasn't the best idea, but that's what she did when it was tense.

  "It was a joke," she explained, twisting in the seat so she was facing him. "I was trying to make you laugh. I guess it wasn't all that damn funny. I have a peculiar sense of humor. Ignore me."

  A smile bloomed on his handsome face, growing wider until he threw back his head and laughed.

  "I think your sense of humor is just fine. And no, I'm not pregnant." His smile faded. "But I do need to talk to you."

  She didn't like the look on his face at all. This was bad news. She'd make another joke about only having a few months to live but she didn't want to get him off track again. Her heart beat loudly in her ears but she managed to look calm.

  "So far you've done a lousy job of it. Spit it out, cowboy. Whatever it is, I can take it. Did you get reassigned to another case or something?
"

  If so, she'd investigate on her own.

  Reaching behind the driver's seat, he pulled out a folder and handed it to her. "Logan called me into his office this morning. Jared dug up some information about Kelly."

  "And it's not good news."

  She didn't say it like a question because it wasn't one. She could easily see that whatever was in that folder sucked.

  "Tim Wagner is dead. He died from leukemia not long after Kelly. He was in the process of putting Krystle up for adoption."

  If she was Kelly's child, this might mean that she didn't have any remaining biological relatives. That was bad news but it didn't warrant the expression he was currently sporting.

  "There's more though, isn't there? There's something else you need to tell me."

  "Kelly had a police record."

  Ella replayed the words in her head over and over again to try and make heads or tails of them. She'd heard him clearly but she kept wanting his statement to mean something else. Because if he was bringing it up, Kelly hadn't been arrested for protesting global warming. Or whatever people were protesting in the late eighties. Nuclear power, perhaps?

  "So just say it." Her fingers tightened on the file. "What's in here?"

  "Drugs," he answered, his voice soft. "Prostitution."

  I should have known.

  "That's why we're going to see Robert Trask? He was arrested for soliciting a prostitute so we're going to see if he knew Kelly?"

  "Yes, that's why. We're also making a second stop. The man who filed Kelly's missing persons report said he was her husband."

  A husband, too. What else did Kelly Perkins have in store?

  "This is certainly the day for surprises."

  "I hesitated to tell you but I figured you'd want me to be honest."

  "I do want you to be honest. Lying to me..." She shook her head. "Not after how my parents lied to me. I just can't deal with that anymore. I'd rather have the honesty even if it's not good news. I'm not some dainty little flower that has to be protected."

  "That's what I told my dad."

  Chris had talked to Tanner Marks about her?

  "What did he say?"

  "That Maddie would have his hide if he lied to her even if he was trying to protect her. He was right."