by DiAnn Mills
“I think so.”
“Do you suspect they’re involved?”
“Not to my knowledge.” Brenda lifted her shoulders. “I might have to kill him myself if that’s the situation. My relationship with Willis has been strictly business and community involvement.”
“We believe he abused Billie and Zack.” April would let Brenda fill in the blanks.
“I asked him about Billie’s bruises, and he said she was clumsy and fell a lot. I should have done something about it. If she’s smart, she’ll never show up here again.”
Brenda’s demeanor suggested she was telling the truth, but the woman also feared for her daughter and possibly herself. Many times people in desperate situations refused to be transparent, much to April’s regret, and the need to dig deeper and count on physical evidence came into play.
The doorbell rang, and April stood from the table. “Jason, do we know who’s out there?”
“I’ll take a look,” he said. “Busy place tonight.”
Until April learned the reason for the near 11 p.m. house call, she was keeping her gun close.
54
JASON PULLED BACK the drapes and recognized a deputy’s car in the driveway. What now? “Two deputies are paying us a visit,” he said. “Brenda, is this your doing?”
“No one knows I’m here,” she said.
He refused to call her a liar when she appeared sincere, but she could have been followed. Kevin and Griff wound around the sidewalk to the front door. April kept her Glock tucked inside the back waistband of her jeans.
He responded to the doorbell. “Evenin’, Kevin, Griff. What brings you here?” His thoughts darted toward a potential trap.
Kevin gave a thin-lipped smile. “Cal Bunion got a text from Brenda Krew, said you two had her trapped here.”
“Brenda—” Jason kept his eyes on the deputies and his hands at his sides—“do we have a problem?”
“Of course not. I didn’t send Cal a text. Check my phone. I’m a guest in this home, not a prisoner.” Brenda moved beside him. “I came to see Jason about a boundary question on a tract of land.”
Kevin shifted. “It’s late to be doing business on a Sunday night. Dangerous too. Might be best to head home.”
Silence swirled around the room. Kevin played his part well. “April and I will make sure she has an escort,” Jason said.
Kevin waved his hand. “No need. We’ll handle it.” He peered at Brenda. “Ready?”
“I’m not quite finished here.” That was the Brenda Krew he knew, the one who could shut down a growling wildcat or tromp through a gator-infested pond.
“Tomorrow’s another day,” Kevin said. “I’d feel better if you’d let me escort you home. You might have company.”
“I’ve been at the office,” Brenda said.
“A light was on when I drove by. I’d have stopped if not for following up on Cal’s text.”
“Why isn’t he here?” she said.
“Not his shift. He asked Griff and me to handle it.”
“Are you thinking Joey’s at my home?” Brenda said with a slight gasp.
“If she is, we need to take her in.” Kevin paused as though thinking through his words. “Sure would be easier if you could talk to her. Having Joey give herself up sounds better than an arrest or resisting arrest.”
“Griff, did you see lights on at Brenda’s place?” Jason had no clue about Griff’s allegiance. The man never said much—but when he did, it meant something.
“Nah. Kevin took a run by the house and called me.”
“Are you questioning my word?” Kevin’s eyes narrowed at Jason. “Told you what I saw.”
“It’s late,” Brenda said. “If Joey is home, I want to talk to her.” She turned to Jason. “Thanks for seeing me tonight.”
“No problem. Call when you get there.”
“I will.”
Kevin turned to Jason. “We’ll take a walk through Brenda’s house to make sure everything’s fine. If Joey’s there, we’ll handle the arrest.”
Brenda left with Kevin and Griff close behind.
“Why do I think this isn’t going to end well?” he said.
Jason paced the kitchen. Brenda had left thirty minutes ago, plenty of time for her to get home. She could be talking to Kevin and Griff or Joey.
He pressed in Kevin’s burner number, and his old friend picked up. “Jason, we just left Brenda’s house. No one was there or any signs of anyone. Brenda must have left a light on and forgot. See you in the morning.”
“All right. Thanks.” He stared at the phone. “Ten more minutes and I’m calling Brenda.”
April massaged her neck muscles, then glanced at her watch. “Call her now. Use your parents’ landline.”
Jason waited while Brenda’s cell phone rang four times, then switched to a perky outgoing voice mail message about the housing market. He asked her to call, stating he had a question about his property. Dropping the phone back in the charger, he studied April, who looked like she needed to be in a hospital bed.
Thirty more minutes ticked by. He called again with no answer.
“I’d feel better if we checked on her,” he said. “I’ll drive. My left arm works just fine.”
He alarmed the house and locked up behind them. April struggled to keep pace with him to the truck. She no sooner slipped onto the seat than he sped in reverse to the street. The streetlights of Sweet Briar faded in the rearview mirror as his mind told him Brenda could be in trouble.
“Jason, you’re doing seventy-five.” She patted his cast. “Remember Kevin and Griff were with her an hour ago.”
Her actions were like a soothing balm. He lifted his foot from the gas and apologized. “About another mile.”
“Did you build her house?”
“Yep. Her design.”
“A two-story?”
“One. Twenty-eight hundred square feet of open living space. Commercial-type kitchen. Impressive.”
“She likes to cook?”
“Went to chef’s school before obtaining her real estate license. She has a cookbook at the Sweet Briar restaurant. Not fancy food. Down-to-earth home cooking. Sometimes she cooks for church dinners.”
“You don’t really despise her.”
“Only the greed and her relationship with Willis.”
He slowed and parked in her driveway. A motion-activated light illuminated the manicured grounds, but the house stood dark. He turned off the truck and stepped out. Brenda’s German shepherd barked from inside the house. Jason’s gaze traveled up the sidewalk to the arched stone front. The door stood open.
“Not a good sign.” Jason swung his words over his shoulder. “Watch out. Her dog’s aggressive. Check to see if her Mercedes is in the garage.” He hurried to the open door. “Brenda? Are you okay?”
The dog growled. Jason flipped on a light in the foyer, hoping the dog didn’t jump at him. He’d faced run-ins with the animal during construction when Brenda brought her dog for a visit.
The home’s alarm wasn’t set.
“Her car’s here.” April’s footsteps rushed closer.
The dog snarled behind a long, five-foot-tall gate, keeping the animal inside the breakfast area.
“He’s bigger than I am,” she said.
“We’re okay as long as he doesn’t knock down his barrier.” Jason snapped on lights while calling for Brenda. He knew this house. He tromped down the hallway to her office on the left, opposite the utility room and garage entrance.
Brenda was slumped over her glass-topped chrome desk facing the window. Blood coated her short, dark hair.
“I’m calling 911.” April requested an ambulance and the sheriff’s department.
Jason touched the left side of Brenda’s neck for a pulse. “She’s alive.”
“Good.” She looked at the source of blood from the back of her head. “I think someone hit her with a blunt object. She might not have seen him.” April studied the wound. “The cut doesn’t appear d
eep. But I can’t tell for sure.” She bent to Brenda’s ear. “This is April. Hang on. Jason’s here with me, and help is on the way.”
April’s compassion never ceased to amaze him. “I’m thinking we shouldn’t try to deal with the cut or move her.”
“Right. We could injure her further.”
His mind’s time machine returned to last week when Russell didn’t survive. Now Brenda was clinging to life. He took her hand, praying for her to pull through this.
“Don’t touch anything else,” April said. Papers littered the floor. “Whoever has done this wanted something bad enough to risk killing her.” She snapped pics with her phone. She aimed at the open closet, where the drawers of Brenda’s file cabinet had been yanked off their tracks, and files were tossed as though a twister had passed through.
“Where’s her computer?” he said. “She has a laptop. It’s like an appendage.”
She studied the home office. “Nothing here.”
Had it been taken because Brenda had incriminating evidence stored on it? He examined the area beneath Brenda’s desk and around her chair. A burnished metal candlestick with droplets of blood lay between the right desk leg and built-in bookshelves. “Looks like we have the weapon.”
She joined him. “Rather stupid to leave it behind.”
“Maybe we surprised him or her.”
“I’ll put it in your truck for analysis.”
“Isn’t that illegal?” he said.
“Russell’s murder scene was tampered with. I intend to preserve this. We need a break, and I’m ready to ID someone.” She stepped into the bathroom and returned with a towel to pick up the candlestick. She left the house with the evidence. A siren in the distance brought help for Brenda—medical assistance and law enforcement.
Would Kevin and Griff respond to the call? His thoughts soared into overdrive, and he raced to the alarm system. Using his jacket to cover his finger, he accessed the activity log. Not exactly legal either, but he wanted the information.
The sirens grew closer.
He snapped a pic of the data. Someone had entered Brenda’s home while she had been with him and April. He checked the camera programmed to image her office, the one area where she felt most vulnerable.
The device had been disabled.
55
THE PARAMEDICS STABILIZED Brenda and carried her on a stretcher to the ambulance. Destination: Tyler County Hospital. April saw a range of emotions on Jason’s face—from despair to regret.
“She’s a fighter,” April said.
“I hate what’s going on in our town. Too many tragedies.” Jason walked to where Brenda’s dog was growling and jerking against his leash. “The dog senses his master’s been hurt.”
“Is there anyone who can take care of the animal?”
“I’ll do it.”
Such a complex man—chivalrous, caring, and confounding in a six-foot frame. Before she could say a word, a deputy’s patrol car arrived with flashing lights and sirens. Two doors slammed, and Kevin and Griff approached as the ambulance driver roared the vehicle to life.
“You two sure have a way of attracting trouble.” Kevin strolled up to them, wearing a snarky attitude, one she’d seen in Willis. “Why are you here? More unfinished business with Brenda?”
“I tried to call her, and when she didn’t pick up, April and I drove out.”
“You didn’t see anyone?” Kevin took out a pad of paper and a pen. “We hadn’t left Brenda very long before this happened.”
“Strange,” Jason said. “Every time there’s a serious crime, you two are the first on the scene. Your timely attention to crime hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
Kevin’s face reddened. “You’re at the scene of crimes before Griff and I get there. Maybe you need to spend a night in jail.”
Griff stepped between the two. “The last few days have all of us on edge. Jason, why don’t you just tell us what happened.”
After Jason finished explaining what they’d found, April added the possibility of a missing laptop.
“Griff and I will take pics and sweep the crime scene,” Kevin said.
“Seems to be your specialty,” Jason said.
“I’m trained, and my record shows it.”
Jason’s jaw tightened. “Like the last time?”
April touched his casted arm. “Let’s go. I’ll notify the FBI of the assault.”
“Appreciate your attention to detail.” Griff had said more tonight than she’d heard since arriving in Sweet Briar.
“We’ll be in touch.”
She and Jason left the house for his truck. They were no sooner on the road than he told her about the disabled alarm system. “Brenda insisted upon installing a security camera in her office. Whoever awaited her knew the code and the camera location.”
“Joey would have the access codes to get inside.”
“Right. Or she could have given them to Willis.”
Jason despised hospitals. Being greeted by familiar faces when he was here to set his broken arm had been bad enough. The chill and antiseptic smell brought back memories of Lily’s many emergency trips. But Brenda’s condition came before his emotions, and he’d not let selfishness take over. Tyler County Hospital was a level IV trauma center, and they’d take excellent care of Brenda.
April introduced herself and flashed her ID to the ER receptionist. “I’m investigating Brenda Krew’s assault. Can you tell me how she’s doing?”
“Yes, ma’am. A doctor is with her now. I’ll check.” The round-faced nurse disappeared.
April placed her hand on his arm. “I’m sure Brenda’s in the best possible hands right now.”
The nurse returned. “The doctor reports Ms. Krew is in critical condition. He’s requested a Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital at the Texas Medical Center in Houston.”
“Is she conscious?” Jason said.
“No, sir.”
The urgency to find Joey or Willis hit another level.
56
MONDAY MORNING ARRIVED, and efforts to find Willis or Joey had been unsuccessful. While law enforcement continued to comb the area, the lack of viable leads left April and Jason free to attend Russell’s funeral. Maybe Willis would show up.
Jason gazed into the mass of familiar faces at Russell’s funeral service. Definitely a man well-loved and long remembered in the community. Residents of Sweet Briar young and old paid their respects to Carrie. Some bent to talk eye to eye with her sons—Russell’s sons—who were left without a father. Jason intended to be Uncle Jason for the years ahead, showing his honor for their father by remaining in their lives.
Before leaving in the caravan to the cemetery, Carrie stopped to talk to Jason. He hugged her and introduced her to April. While he drew the boys into his arms, April spoke her condolences.
Carrie’s tone to April hit him hard. “I don’t mind your being here as a representative of the FBI, but Lily’s barely been gone a year,” Carrie said. “Anything else, even friendship, is inappropriate. Please tell me you haven’t spent time with Isabella.”
He stood, not that April needed defending.
“Carrie,” April said, “Isabella was forced into my arms by the kidnapper. I’d have shown the same care and concern for any child.”
“All the same, I’m Isabella’s godmother.”
Jason steered April away from Carrie. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “She’s grieving.”
“I’m a big girl. I know Carrie is grieving, and I’m sure she can’t bear losing one more person in her life.”
Was April just making excuses for Carrie’s behavior?
April hooked her arm through his. He’d come to recognize her caring touch not only with him but with others. His thoughts moved from grief over losing his best friend to Willis, who’d tried to saddle Jason with the blame. Yet Willis and Joey escaped authorities, and Brenda’s assailant walked free.
The graveside service caused folks to huddle together beneath a tent in a spit of
rain and chilling winds. Not the way Jason wanted to celebrate Russell’s life. Maybe he’d feel better when justice brought the killer to light. But nothing would bring Russell back.
Afterward, Simon met Jason and April at his parents’ home. He shook Jason’s hand. “We have an update, a little good news.”
“You’ve arrested Willis?”
“I wish. April sent a recording of Joey Frederickson’s voice, and it matches the caller who claimed to be your mother and implicated you in your wife’s death.”
Jason breathed his thanks. “Will you let my folks know?”
“You can do it. Is this a good time to talk to your family?”
“Perfect time.”
They sat in the living room, and Simon pressed in numbers. He handed Jason his phone. “It’s your mom.”
At the sound of her voice, he relaxed. “How are you doing?”
Jason listened to Mom talk about Isabella’s antics. “She misses her daddy.”
He physically ached, he missed his daughter so much. “I’m nuts without her. Any new words?”
“Cup and book. I’ve told her she can’t take a step until she’s with you.”
“Right. Take lots of pics for me.”
“Any word on when we can come home?”
“No.”
“The news said Willis is wanted by the FBI for questioning.”
“True.” Giving additional information about Willis destroyed his chances of another call. He told her about Joey being identified as the woman who called the FBI and claimed to be Vicki Snyder.
“Wonderful news, Jason. I’m thanking God.”
“Me too. Dad doing all right?”
“He’s antsy. Having Isabella to care for helps us both. I’ll give her the phone.”
Jason closed his eyes and envisioned his daughter. “Hey, sweet girl. This is Daddy.” A string of unintelligible sounds met his ears. Solid reasons for him to see this nightmare through to the end. “Be good for Grandma and Grandpa. I’ll see you soon. Love you, Isabella.”
He returned the phone to Simon. “Thank you. Hearing my daughter’s babble is just what I needed today.” The tightness eased in his shoulders. “What else is new?”
