“Either Grant’s mother or brother could have gotten that,” Caitlyn insisted. “For that matter, Melanie could have, too.”
Another sound of agreement. “They made it too obvious, though. I mean, why would you open an offshore account using your own name and Social Security number? Yes, it was buried under dummy corporation accounts, but it didn’t have nearly enough layers for someone who was genuinely trying to hide dirty money.”
Now it was Drury who was breathing easier. He’d known all along that she was innocent, but it was good to hear a fellow agent spell it out. That, however, led him to something else.
“Why did you want to bring Caitlyn in if you knew it was a setup?” Drury asked Seth.
“Because of this.” He passed another piece of paper their way. “I didn’t want to get into this over the phone, but this was in the memo section of the account. Most people with legit accounts just type in things like what the payment was for. What do you think it is?”
Drury and Caitlyn looked at the paper together. It was the letters N and A and the word Samuel.
“‘N, A,’” Drury read aloud. Since there wasn’t a slash between the letters, it probably didn’t mean not applicable. He went through all the info they’d collected during this investigation.
Bingo.
“Nicole Aston,” Drury and Caitlyn said in unison.
“She’s the woman we believe was the surrogate,” Drury added to Seth.
Seth nodded. “And who’s Samuel?”
Drury started to shake his head, and then he remembered something Caitlyn had told him. “You said if you had a son, you’d name him Samuel. Would Helen, Jeremy or Melanie have known that?”
She stayed quiet a moment, giving that some thought. “Maybe.” And she paused again. “But it could be a place. Helen owns an apartment complex, and it’s on Samuel Street in San Antonio. I remember because when I first told Grant about my name choice for a baby, he mentioned it.”
“Nicole could be there,” Drury quickly pointed out. “But if she is, the apartment’s not in her name.”
Seth was already taking out his phone, and he made a call to get someone to look for her. The moment he was done, he stood.
“You can watch through the observation mirror when I question Helen,” Seth said. “For now, I’d rather both of you stay back, but she’s clearly got a temper. If she doesn’t spill anything useful, I might try to spark that temper by bringing you in to confront her.”
Caitlyn and Drury nodded. He wanted Helen to spill all. However, he hated that once again, Caitlyn was going to have to be put through something like this, especially coming on the heels of being accused of having set all of this up.
Drury took her to the observation room and moved her away from the door just in case Helen came barreling out of the interview with plans to confront Caitlyn again. He doubted, though, that Seth would let that happen. Seth wasn’t the sort to let Helen ride roughshod over him.
“If the attackers end up killing me,” Caitlyn said, “please don’t let Helen get custody of the baby. I know it’s a lot to ask,” she quickly added. “But I don’t have anyone else to turn to.”
Yes, it was a lot to ask, but there was no way Drury would refuse. No way he’d let Helen get her hands on the baby.
“You wouldn’t have to raise her yourself,” Caitlyn went on. “Just make sure she has a good home.”
That was it. Drury stopped the gloom and doom with a kiss. All in all, it was a stupid way to stop it, but he didn’t want Caitlyn going on about being killed. Even if someone had already tried to do just that.
Drury had intended the kiss to be a quick peck, but it turned into something that fell more into the scalding-hot range. It left them both breathless, flustered and wanting more.
It also distracted them.
Seth’s interrogation could turn up something critical, and here he was complicating the hell out of things by kissing Caitlyn again.
Drury forced his attention back on Helen, and he both heard and saw her deny whatever Seth had just asked. Her shoulders were stiff. Eyes, narrowed. And she was volleying glares between Seth and the observation window where she no doubt knew Caitlyn and Drury were watching.
“I didn’t arrange to have my granddaughter born,” Helen snapped. She jumped up and got right in Seth’s face. “But I will be part of her life. A big part, without anyone interfering.” That was obviously aimed at Caitlyn. “You won’t stop that, and neither will my former daughter-in-law.”
Seth had his own version of a glare going on, but it had a dangerous edge to it. “You should restrain your client before I do,” Seth told her lawyer. His voice was edged with danger, as well.
And it worked. The lawyer took hold of Helen’s arm and put her back in the seat. He whispered something to her, probably a reminder that it wouldn’t help her case if she managed to get herself arrested.
“Tell me about your bank account in the Cayman Islands,” Seth threw out there while he glanced through the papers he was holding.
Of course, there was no proof that it was indeed Helen’s account, but the woman didn’t know that. Well, if she was guilty, she didn’t.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Helen insisted, but before she could continue, her lawyer leaned in and whispered something else to her. “I have accounts in many places, so you’ll have to be more specific.”
“The account you used to orchestrate the birth of your granddaughter and the attacks on Caitlyn. You know which attacks I mean. The ones meant to kill her so she wouldn’t be in your way.” Seth leaned in closer. “On a scale of one to ten, just how upset are you that Caitlyn inherited all your son’s money? I’m guessing a ten.”
Judging from the way Helen’s mouth tightened, she was about to deny the bank account and blast Seth for accusing her of attempted murder. However, Drury missed whatever she said because he heard the commotion in the squad room. Several people were shouting, and one of those people was Grayson.
“Put down the gun now,” Grayson ordered.
That got Drury’s heart pumping, and he automatically pushed Caitlyn behind him and drew his gun. “Wait here,” he told her.
With his gun ready, Drury leaned out from the door, not sure what he would see. After all, who was stupid enough to come into a sheriff’s office while brandishing a weapon? And the person did indeed have a gun.
Melanie.
She was in front of the reception desk. Not alone, either. She had a man directly in front of her.
Ronnie.
And Melanie had a gun pressed to his head.
* * *
“MELANIE,” DRURY CALLED OUT.
Caitlyn didn’t release the breath she’d been holding. Not yet anyway, but she’d braced herself for an attack. Of course, that would be exactly what this was, though it wasn’t Melanie’s style to do the dirty work herself.
“Gun down on the floor now,” Grayson demanded.
Caitlyn peered out the door for just a glimpse, and she saw a lot in those couple of seconds. It appeared that Melanie had taken Ronnie captive.
Appeared.
But maybe this was the start of an attack after all.
“Be careful,” Caitlyn warned Drury when he stepped farther into the hall. He had his gun pointed in the direction where she’d seen Melanie.
“I can’t,” Melanie insisted. “This is a dangerous snake, and I don’t want him to escape.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Drury assured her and went even closer.
Caitlyn had no choice but to stand there and wait. Pray, too. Because if Melanie started shooting, she might try to take out Drury first.
There was a shuffling sound, followed by some profanity from Ronnie.
“This crazy idiot tried to kill me,” Ronnie accused.<
br />
“Obviously Melanie didn’t succeed,” Drury answered, and judging from his footsteps, he went closer to assist Grayson in containing whatever the heck this was.
When Caitlyn glanced around the jamb again, she saw that Melanie had been disarmed and that Grayson was cuffing Ronnie. Good. But she still didn’t breathe any easier, not with Helen on one side of the building and now Melanie on the other. Plus, according to what Seth had told them, Jeremy was on his way to the station.
Soon, all their suspects would be under the same roof along with the thug Ronnie, whom one of them had no doubt hired.
“I did your job for you,” Melanie bragged. “I found Ronnie and brought him here.”
“I’ll want to hear a lot more to go along with that explanation,” Drury insisted.
“She sneaked up on me and clubbed me on the head,” Ronnie jumped to say. It was possible that had happened, but with Ronnie’s other injuries from the car accident, it was hard to tell.
“Yes, I clubbed him,” Melanie admitted. Her gaze shifted to Caitlyn when she stepped out of the interview room and into the hall. “Still think I’m behind this?” Melanie challenged.
Caitlyn shook her head. “I’m not sure what to think.” And she didn’t. This could all be some kind of ruse to make Melanie look innocent.
Or to distract them.
Obviously Drury felt the same way because he motioned for her to stay back.
“She had no right to club me like that,” Ronnie protested.
No one in the squad room gave him a look of even marginal sympathy. “You’re a fugitive,” Grayson pointed out, “and you tried to commit murder.”
“But I didn’t.” Ronnie didn’t shout exactly, but it was close. “I’ve been framed. I didn’t escape, either. I was dragged at gunpoint from the hospital.”
Caitlyn had had enough. “You were in the same vehicle with the person who tried to kill us.”
“Because he forced me to be there! Just like this bimbo.”
Melanie didn’t go after the man for the name-calling, but she shot him a glare that could have melted a glacier.
“I’m not saying another word until my lawyer gets here,” Ronnie added.
Gage stepped forward and handed Grayson a piece of paper, and he took over with Ronnie. “I’ll put him in a cell,” Gage offered.
Grayson nodded, his attention on whatever was on that paper. He didn’t turn back to Melanie until he’d finished it.
“Now, explain to me how you found Ronnie?” Grayson prompted the woman.
“I did your job,” she snapped.
Drury went to stand by Grayson’s side, and the pair just stared at her, waiting for her to continue.
“I had some PI friends looking for him,” Melanie went on. “When they spotted him, they called me.”
“And why didn’t you call the police?” Grayson asked, sounding very much like the lawman that he was.
“Because you let him get away once, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again. Make sure this time you keep him under lock and key. I don’t want Ronnie out on the streets where he’ll have a chance to kill me.”
Drury and Caitlyn exchanged glances. “Why would Ronnie want you dead?” Caitlyn pressed.
Melanie threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know. But someone’s been following me, spying on me,” she quickly added. “And what with the attacks, I figured Ronnie had his sights set on me next.”
Caitlyn had to shake her head. “That doesn’t make sense. There’s no reason for Ronnie to want you dead.”
“There is if Helen wants to silence me. She knows I’m not going to just let this drop. She stole from Conceptions Clinic to create a child Grant didn’t want. He’s not around to fight for what’s right, so I’ll do it for him.”
Caitlyn huffed. “Didn’t you try to do the same thing? Or else you claimed to do it.”
Melanie pulled back her shoulders. “What do you mean—claimed?”
“I got the DNA results. The child is mine and Grant’s. Not yours. Not Ronnie’s, either. And with only one viable embryo, there’s no way Conceptions could have used a surrogate to carry yours and Grant’s child.”
Melanie opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. She seemed genuinely stunned. “Those people at Conceptions duped me,” she finally managed to say. But then in a flash the fire returned to her eyes. “Or you’re lying. That’s it, isn’t it? You’re lying and so is Helen. She wants me dead.”
Caitlyn wasn’t sure if the woman was plain delusional or truly believed Helen had a motive to kill her. Either way, Caitlyn didn’t have time to press her on the issue because she saw a man making his way to the sheriff’s office.
Jeremy.
Drury obviously believed this could be the start of another attack because he stepped in front of her again. “Go back to the observation room,” he whispered to Caitlyn.
She hated that once again Drury might have to fight a battle for her, but Caitlyn didn’t think this was the time to stand her ground. Especially since it could be a distraction for Drury and Grayson. She hurried back to the room but stayed in the doorway so she could watch what was happening.
“Are you the one who hired Ronnie to come after me?” Melanie asked Jeremy before he’d fully gotten inside.
He drew in a long breath, huffed and shifted his attention to Drury. “Has Melanie been telling you lies about me?”
“I’m not sure,” Drury answered. “Did you hire Ronnie?”
Unlike his mother, he didn’t have a flash of temper. Not on the outside anyway, but Caitlyn knew the anger was simmering just below the surface.
“No,” Jeremy answered after several long moments. He reached into his pocket, prompting Grayson and Drury to go for their guns. “I’m just getting this.” He pulled out a USB drive and handed it to Drury. “You’ll want to go over what’s on there.”
“Why?” Drury asked. He passed it to one of the deputies.
“Because it’s got everything you need to convict her of these crimes.” Jeremy tipped his head to Melanie.
The woman howled out a protest, and she bolted forward as if she were about to rip the storage device from the deputy’s hand. Drury blocked her path and turned toward Jeremy. “What’s on there?”
“Lies,” Melanie insisted.
“Transcripts of conversations that I had with Melanie.”
This time Grayson had to physically restrain the woman. “You’re a pig!” she shouted, the insult aimed at Jeremy.
Jeremy certainly didn’t deny that. “Melanie and I had an affair. A short one,” he emphasized. “I recorded our conversations, and in several of them, she says outright that she wants Caitlyn dead.”
Melanie called him more names, punctuating it with plenty of ripe curse words. “You’ll pay for this, Jeremy. Just wait. You’ll pay.”
It was hard to hear over Melanie’s screeching, and Grayson must have gotten fed up with it because he handed Melanie off to the deputy. “Put her in a holding cell until she calms down.”
The deputy carried her away while Melanie shouted obscenities and threats.
“Do you always record conversations with your lovers?” Drury asked once the room was quiet again.
“Always.” He tipped his head to the USB drive that the deputy had put on the table. “Somewhere around page thirty, Melanie says she wants to steal the embryo from Conceptions so she could use the baby to get Grant’s money from Caitlyn.”
Caitlyn’s stomach twisted. Was that what this was really all about? A way for Grant’s mistress to get his money?
“You said it was transcripts,” Caitlyn said, going closer now. “Those can be easily faked. The only way we’d know if it was true would be to listen to what Melanie actually said.”
“The recordings
were accidentally erased.” Jeremy waited until after both Grayson and Drury had finished groaning. “But Melanie mentions a bank account. Offshore. There could be something to help you identify where the account is and if it’s the one used to pay off men like Ronnie.”
Maybe it was the same account that Seth had found. Of course, maybe Jeremy was just doing this to take suspicion off himself. If so, it wasn’t working. Jeremy would stay on her list of suspects.
“Go ahead.” Jeremy tipped his head to the storage device. “Read what’s on there.”
Grayson shook his head. “It could contain a virus to corrupt our files. I’d rather have the FBI check it out. Plus, it could be a waste of my time. And if it is, if you’re trying to manipulate this investigation, I can see if obstruction of justice charges apply here.”
Judging from the way Jeremy pulled back his shoulders, he didn’t like that one bit. Maybe this was an attempt to destroy some evidence by corrupting the computer system. If so, then Grayson would definitely have some charges to file against the man. Too bad those charges wouldn’t put Jeremy in jail for long, though.
“Why would you sleep with Melanie?” Caitlyn asked him. “You knew what she was.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I blame it on sibling rivalry. I never liked Grant having something I didn’t.”
It surprised her a little that he admitted it, but then Caitlyn remembered that Jeremy had once hit on her. She’d refused, and she had always thought that was one of the reasons he hated her so much. But maybe it was simply a case of him hating what he couldn’t have.
“How did the recordings get accidentally erased?” Grayson asked.
Jeremy huffed. “Obviously I’m wasting my time here when I was just trying to do you a favor.”
“A favor like Melanie bringing in Ronnie?” Drury didn’t wait for an answer. “The only favor we need from either of you is concrete proof to stop these attacks. You got that kind of proof?”
“No,” Jeremy said after a long pause and a glare. “But you have to consider that Caitlyn brought this on herself.”
Drury Page 10
