Yes, definitely not a good place.
The three of them turned their attention back to Thea once she began the interview. The deputy started with simple questions, asking Alma to state her full name and address. Rayna had been through enough interrogations to know what Thea was doing. She was establishing baseline responses of a potential suspect. Like many people, Alma’s eyes went to the right when she answered truthfully. Now Thea had created a body-cue lie detector she could use for the harder questions.
And Thea jumped right into that.
“Tell me about your relationship with Warren McCall,” Thea said.
“There is no relationship. Not any longer,” Alma insisted. “We ended things two months ago.”
“We?” Thea questioned. “Did you end it or did Warren?”
Alma glanced at Simon before she answered. “Warren. But it was time. All that sneaking around is fine when you’re as young as you are, but I was tired of it. I wanted something more out of life. Something that Warren couldn’t give me.”
Thea jumped right on that. “So, you weren’t upset when the breakup happened?”
Alma made another glance at her lawyer. “I suppose I was. At first. But then I got over it. I certainly wasn’t so enraged that I would plot to kill Warren.”
“And it’s ridiculous that you’d bring my client in for questioning about something like that,” Simon added.
Thea ignored him, and she opened a folder she’d brought into the interview room. She extracted a photo of Hallie. Obviously, the woman was dead, and it caused Alma to gasp. Raleigh didn’t have a verbal reaction to that, but Rayna could feel the tension practically flying right off him.
“Do you recognize her?” Thea asked.
“No.” Alma closed her eyes and shook her head. She also dropped her head on Simon’s shoulder.
“Showing her that wasn’t necessary,” Simon growled. “You could have just asked Alma if she knew the woman.”
Thea ignored that, too, and she took out a second photo. This one was of Janet. “How about her?”
Simon slipped his arm around Alma as if to turn her away from the grisly picture, but Alma not only opened her eyes, she leaned in to have a closer look. “I know her. That’s the woman who’s been following me.” Alma shifted her attention to Thea. “Who is she?”
“We’re trying to confirm that now. When did she follow you?”
Alma huffed. “She’s been doing it for the past couple of weeks. I got so worried that I took some firearms training.”
Court turned to Raleigh to see if he would verify that, and Raleigh nodded. “She told me about someone following her, but I never saw the woman. You really don’t know her identity?”
“Janet Bolin,” Court answered after a long pause. “She was a PI.”
Raleigh moved closer to the glass, staring at the picture. “Cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.” It wasn’t really a question, but Court made a sound of agreement.
Even though Court didn’t add anything about Warren possibly hiring the PI, it might make sense if Warren was concerned about how Alma might take the breakup.
Alma tapped Janet’s picture. “She was carrying a gun the last time I saw her. I guess she thought it was concealed, but I could see the outline of it in the back waist of her jeans.”
“Where and when did that happen?” Thea asked.
Alma’s brow furrowed. “About a week ago, maybe less than that. She was at the coffee shop in Durango Ridge.” She paused a heartbeat. “Helen McCall was with her.”
Court cursed and moved as if he might charge into the room, but Rayna took hold of his arm. She didn’t remind him that Thea would get the info they needed, but Court must have remembered that he wouldn’t be doing his mother or him any favors if he went in there and accused his father’s mistress of lying.
Alma tapped the photo again. “This woman and Helen were talking. I know it was Helen because I’ve seen a photo of her in Warren’s wallet. That’s why I got so worried. I mean, my ex-lover’s wife was chatting with an armed woman who’d been following me. And when I heard Warren had been shot, I figured these two had something to do with it. Specifically, I thought Helen had hired this woman to kill Warren.”
Court cursed again. Obviously, this was hard to hear, and it wasn’t making sense.
“I saw Helen minutes after she’d learned of the affair,” Rayna said, “and she was genuinely upset. If she’d known for a week, those emotions wouldn’t have been so raw.”
Thankfully, Raleigh didn’t argue with that, but he probably wasn’t as convinced of Helen’s innocence as Rayna and Court were.
“Any idea why Helen McCall was in your hometown?” Thea asked the woman.
“I just assumed Warren had confessed all to her and that she was there to confront me or something. She didn’t. And I never saw her again.”
“You knew Helen was there?” Court asked Raleigh.
“No,” he answered without hesitation. “But then if my mother had told me about Helen, she would have had to spill everything about Warren. It’s my guess she wasn’t ready to do that.”
No, and Raleigh didn’t seem happy about that, either. Alma’s secret affair was also his secret paternity.
“Did Helen or Janet see you when you spotted them at the coffee shop?” Thea asked Alma.
Alma quickly shook her head. “But I went in through the side entrance and sat at a table on the other side of the wall from them. I couldn’t hear much because it was noisy that day, but I did catch a word or two. They both mentioned Warren, of course. Oh, and a woman named Rayna.”
That put a heavy feeling in her stomach, and she exchanged glances with Court. Uneasy glances. Because why would his mother and a dead PI have been talking about her?
“What did the two women say about Rayna?” Thea pressed when she continued with the questioning.
“I didn’t hear that part,” Alma insisted, “only the mention of her name.”
Rayna wanted to believe they were talking about someone else. Or maybe that Alma had just misheard. Heck, all of this could be a lie.
But it didn’t feel like a lie.
Mercy, had Court’s mother been the one responsible for all this violence?
“I’ll call the ranch and talk to my mom,” Court insisted. He took out his phone and stepped into the hall. However, it rang before he could press the number.
Rayna was close enough to see Griff’s name on the screen, and that put some fresh alarm in Court’s eyes. He answered it on the first ring.
“Is something wrong?” Court immediately asked.
“Yeah,” Griff answered. “Someone just tried to kill Warren.”
Chapter Eight
Court’s first reaction was to jump into a cruiser and head straight to the hospital. Someone was trying to kill his father—again.
His dad was in danger.
But Court forced himself to stop and think. This could be some kind of trap. Not for his father but for Rayna and him.
“Is Dad okay, and who tried to kill him?” Court asked Griff.
“Warren’s fine. As for the intruder, I’m not sure who he is, yet, but we did stop him before he could actually get into the hospital room. I just cuffed him. But I can’t take him anywhere because I don’t want to leave Warren with only the security guard.”
Neither did Court. He glanced around to see if he could come up with a solution. There were only two deputies in the sheriff’s office, and Thea was still questioning Alma. The other deputies were out chasing down the shooter.
“We should go to the hospital,” Rayna insisted.
Considering they’d just been attacked there, it surprised him that she would be so accommodating, but maybe Rayna didn’t like the idea of staying behind with Alma. Court didn’t like that, either.
“I’ll be
there in a few minutes,” Court told Griff, and he ended the call.
Court turned to Raleigh, not sure of what he should say to the sheriff. Not sure what Raleigh would say, either. He’d likely heard what Griff had said and now knew that there’d been another attempt on Warren’s life. However, if Raleigh had any reaction to that, he didn’t show it.
“If you don’t question your mother about what you’ve just heard in the interview,” Raleigh said, “then I’ll request the Texas Rangers do it. Helen McCall needs to explain why she was talking with a now dead person of interest in this case.”
It bothered Court that Raleigh was dictating to him how to do his job, but at this point anything the man said or did would probably bother him. There wasn’t much about this situation that Court liked.
“I’ll question my mother,” Court assured him. Though it probably would be smart to have a Ranger do it. Not Griff, either. But someone who could be objective about all of this. Of course, his mother might not be in any shape to hold up to a full-blown interrogation.
Raleigh nodded, tipped his head to Alma. “I’m sure Thea will call you if there are any problems with the rest of the interview,” he added.
It was pretty much a blanket invitation for Court to leave, so that was what he did. He took Rayna by the hand, hurried her to a cruiser that was just outside the door, and he prayed they wouldn’t be shot at along the way.
Court’s phone rang again, and this time he saw Rachel’s name on the screen. He took the call on speaker, tossing his phone on the seat so his hand would be free. Court also kept watch around them, something that Rayna was doing, as well.
“Egan just told me about Dad,” Rachel said the moment she was on the line.
“Yeah. I don’t know anything yet, but I’ll be at the hospital soon.” Court debated if he should even bring this up now, but it was a conversation that needed to be started. “Once I’m sure Dad is okay, I’ll need to talk to Mom. Alma Lawton said some things about her during her interview.”
Rachel groaned. “I hope you don’t believe anything Dad’s mistress would have to say.”
In this case, he did believe her. Either that or it was a stupid lie on Alma’s part, since his mother’s meeting with Janet was something that could be easily verified. Well, easily if his mother wasn’t coming unglued.
“I just need to talk to Mom,” Court settled for saying. “I’ll call you when I have info on the intruder. All I know right now is that Griff was able to stop him, and he’s still with Dad right now.”
“Griff,” Rachel repeated like profanity. “Call me the minute you know anything.”
Court assured his sister that he would, ended the call and pulled to a stop in front of the hospital entrance. As close as he could, anyway. The CSIs were there, and so were several Texas Rangers. Obviously, that was Griff’s doing, and Court made a mental note to thank him.
He threaded Rayna through the crime scene tape and got her into the building as fast as possible. There was another Ranger posted just inside, and the waiting room had been cleared. Good. The fewer people, the better.
“No way would your mother have done something to put you in danger,” Rayna said as they walked.
Court believed that, too, but there might be another side to this. If Helen had found out about the affair sooner than she had let on, she could have wanted to harm Warren. Court hated to even consider it, but it was something he had to do. It sickened him though to think his mother might have had any part in this.
The moment they were in the patients’ hall, Court spotted Griff and the security guard, David Welker, someone who Court knew and trusted. He also saw the man they had on the floor. The guy was on his stomach, his hands cuffed behind his back.
“How’s Dad?” Court asked Griff first off the bat.
“Still unconscious.”
That was better than the alternative or his father being bedridden and aware that someone had come back to finish him off.
Court looked down at the intruder. So did Rayna, but she shook her head, indicating that she didn’t know him. Neither did Court, but he pulled the man to his feet so he could have a face-to-face talk with him. Except it wasn’t really a man. The guy looked to be a teenager, but he was also dressed like an orderly.
“Did he have any ID on him?” Court asked Griff.
“No. The only thing in his pocket was this.” He took out a small Smith & Wesson handgun. “He doesn’t work here. The badge he’s wearing is a fake.”
The badge looked real enough, but something must have alerted Griff. “What made you stop him from going into Dad’s room?”
“A bad gut feeling. That, and he looked too young to be an orderly.”
He did, and Court thanked Griff before he turned back to the kid. “Who are you?” Court demanded.
The kid lifted his head, making eye contact with Court, and the deputy cursed. “He’s high on drugs or something.”
“That was my guess, too,” Griff agreed.
The corner of the kid’s mouth lifted. “I only had a pill or two.” His words were slurred, as well.
“Who are you?” Court repeated, and this time he got right in the guy’s face. His scowl must have been mean-looking enough because it caused the kid’s smile to vanish.
The kid shook his head. “You don’t know me. My name won’t mean anything to you.” He glanced over Court’s shoulder at Rayna. “Might mean something to her though.”
Rayna went stiff. “I have no idea who he is.”
The kid shrugged. “Figured you would, since you’re the one who hired me to come here and all.”
“I didn’t,” Rayna snapped, and she repeated it, her gaze volleying between Court and Griff.
Court grabbed on to the guy’s shirt, and the last scowl was a drop in the bucket compared to the one he gave him now. “I want to know your name.”
“Bo Peterson,” he finally answered.
That meant nothing to Court, and judging from Rayna’s reaction, it meant nothing to her, either.
“When did I supposedly hire you?” Rayna demanded.
“Yesterday morning. You were wearing a red dress then.”
Rayna groaned. “Hallie hired him.”
“She said her name was Rayna.” Bo leaned in, blinking and trying to focus on her face. “But you don’t talk the way she did. And you don’t look the same.”
“Because she’s not that woman,” Court fired back. “In fact, that woman is dead. Someone murdered her and a second woman. Since you just tried to kill my father, you’re my number one suspect in those killings and several attacks. That means you could get the death penalty.”
Bo’s eyes widened, and he suddenly looked a lot more alert than he had just a few minutes ago. “I didn’t kill anyone. And I wasn’t supposed to kill the person in that room. I was to put the gun behind the toilet.”
Court’s stomach tightened. That meant someone planned to retrieve the gun later and use it. Probably on Warren. Of course, that would have happened only if Bo was telling the truth. Court wasn’t anywhere near convinced of that yet.
“I didn’t kill anyone,” Bo said when Court, Rayna, David and Griff just stared at him.
“Even if you didn’t, you’re still an accessory to murder and attempted murder. That carries the same penalties.”
“No,” Bo practically shouted. “I didn’t know anyone was going to get killed.” He snapped back toward Rayna. “That other woman is really dead?”
She nodded. “And that’s why you have to tell us everything you know about her.”
“I don’t know anything.” He shook his head and tears watered his eyes. “Several times she told me her name was Rayna.”
She’d done that no doubt so Bo would remember it. “What else did she say, and how did she pay you?”
“She paid me in drugs. Oxy and Ecstasy. B
ut I screwed up. I was supposed to put the gun in the room yesterday, but I took some of the pills and got a little messed up.”
“What time yesterday?” Court pressed.
Bo’s forehead bunched up, and he groaned. “Around nine or so. She didn’t know what room number. She said I was to find out what room number Warren McCall was in and plant it there.”
So, maybe Hallie had met with Bo shortly after the shooting. That would have meant he was perhaps the last person to see her alive. Of course, Bo could have also been the one to kill her.
“Who was going to use the gun you were supposed to hide behind the toilet?” Court continued.
“She didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.”
That last part didn’t surprise Court. Bo had likely been in a hurry to down those drugs he’d been given as payment.
“Can I go now?” Bo asked.
Court didn’t even bother to laugh and he looked at Griff. “Any chance one of your Ranger friends can drive this clown to the sheriff’s office so he can be locked up?”
“Locked up?” Bo howled. “But I didn’t do anything. I didn’t even make it into the old man’s room.”
Yeah, thanks to Griff and David. That was why Court had to continue to make sure whoever had hired Hallie and Bo wouldn’t send someone else to try to finish off Warren.
“I’ll wait in your dad’s room,” David said when Griff led Bo away.
Court thanked him and took out his phone to call Rachel and Egan, but first he looked at Rayna to make sure she was okay. She wasn’t. She was looking shaky again, so he had her lean against the wall.
“Who’s trying to set me up?” she muttered, but it didn’t seem as if she expected him to answer. Good thing, too, because Court still didn’t know.
Court pulled her into his arms, intending for it to be just a quick hug, but it didn’t stay that way. That was because Court realized Rayna wasn’t the only one who’d just felt as if the rug had been pulled out from beneath them.
Cowboy Above the Law Page 7
