The Pregnant Colton Witness

by Geri Krotow

  “He wants to bail out Fenwick Colton. Harrington’s a corporate shark. He smells the blood of failing industry, and to him, it’s opportunity.”

  “Right. But why? What’s in it for him?”

  “Interest back on the money he lent.”

  “What else?” Nash knew there had to be more.

  “Power, I’d imagine. Men like Harrington love holding the keys to the kingdom, so to speak. Nowadays, if you’re in control of a population’s energy source, that’s the epitome of power, don’t you think?”

  “I suppose.” Nash pulled into the RRPD’s lot. “Here you go. Nice work this morning.”

  “We all work well together, that’s certain.” Juliette got out of the car and let her K9 out of the back.

  As he watched the two of them walk into the station, Nash’s phone rang. Patience. If he were a sentimental man he’d swear little cartoon hearts like the ones in the quirky cartoons the boys watched burst from the phone.

  “Hey, babe.”

  “Nash, this isn’t a personal call. I just spoke to Demi Colton.”

  Nash’s stomach twisted, no matter his thoughts on Demi’s innocence. The safety of Patience and the babies was everything to him. “Where? Are you okay?”

  “Of course I’m fine. I had just pulled into the clinic and she walked up to my car. You know I trust her. She’s my cousin, and besides, she’s not the Groom Killer, Nash. No way do I believe it. No matter what my father and the rest of Red Ridge think.”

  “What did she want?”

  “She wants me to tell my father to back off, for one.”

  “That’s fair, if she isn’t guilty.”

  “Then why do you sound so disappointed?” Patience knew him better than he knew himself. It should frighten him, the way their bond exponentially grew, but instead he liked the warmth it shot through his chest.

  “Because she needs to come in for questioning. It’d be best if I could get a statement from her, once and for all. Is she still there? On clinic property?”

  “No, she left after only a few minutes. To be honest, Nash, if I were her I’m not certain I’d trust the RRPD right now.”

  “Excuse me? You’re as much a part of the police force as I am, Patience.”

  “Sure, but you’re not understanding what I’m saying. If I were Demi and the entire town was convinced I’d killed someone, even though I’m innocent, I wouldn’t risk being taken into custody. Especially because...”

  “Because?”

  “She had a baby with her, Nash.”

  He immediately recalled the security footage from Harrington’s house. “Then why would she risk going to Harrington’s?” It didn’t make sense to him.

  “She’s trying to figure out who the Groom Killer is, too, Nash. Because it’s not her.”

  “I want to agree with you, Patience, but I have to follow this through to the end. We need all the facts.” He told her what he’d been assigned to do. “I’m on my way to interview Devlin Harrington now. Don’t worry, I’ll be back at the cabin with you tonight.”

  She laughed. “That’s the least of my worries. I can’t stay up all night like we’ve been doing—I’m useless at work this tired.”

  “There’s a big difference between ‘tired’ and ‘relaxed.’” His teasing drew another laugh from her and he enjoyed the ring of her giggles over the connection. A small moment in the midst of a large, grim case, but it made him smile, too. With a jolt he saw that this bond with Patience wasn’t just about the huge aspect of becoming parents together, or the danger of facing the Lake Killer, but more. As in he’d never felt like this about another woman.

  “Yes, well, you’ve got me feeling both today, Nash.”

  “I’ll see you later, babe.” He disconnected and allowed himself to daydream about Patience’s eyes as he drove downtown.

  * * *

  “Be a good dog, Greta, and have a nap.”

  Harrington, Inc. occupied an old bank building on Main Street that had been refurbished into office spaces. Nash decided to leave Greta in the back of the SUV, not wanting to be turned away by anyone at the swanky business.

  Devlin ran the IT branch of the company for his father, but from what Nash knew, the oily son of a billionaire pretty much did whatever the heck he wanted. Devlin had a reputation in town as too slick for his abilities, and Nash had come face-to-face with Devlin’s smarmy side personally when they’d played in a town softball tournament to raise funds for the K9 clinic. Devlin didn’t know a softball mitt from a gardener’s glove, yet he’d paraded all over the diamond as if he played in the major leagues. Nash wasn’t in the mood for more of the same this afternoon. Not with two killers loose in Red Ridge, one directly targeting the woman he—

  No, he wasn’t going there. The mother of his unborn children was at risk, and the Lake Killer case needed closure. This sidetrack to cover some of the investigative work for the Groom Killer case had to be done, and Nash had no problem doing it. As long as he held Patience in his arms tonight.

  “Good afternoon, Patti.” He flashed a wide smiled at the receptionist, a high school classmate he’d run alongside on the cross-country team.

  “Nash Maddox! I haven’t seen you in a while. I’ll bet you’re busy with the Groom Killer case, aren’t you?”

  “We all are. How’s your family?” He wasn’t afraid to use their personal connection and some good old-fashioned manners to get what he wanted.

  After they caught one another up on their lives, he leaned in for the kill. “I’m here to talk to Devlin. Is he in?”

  “He sure is.” Patti didn’t pretend her boss wasn’t available, to his relief. “Four doors down the hallway, on the right.”

  “Thanks a lot, Patti.”

  “Anytime.”

  Nash walked along the corridor and took in the cushy surroundings, the open office doors, their occupants appearing hard at work as they sat or stood at computer desks. It was eerily quiet with no piped-in music since the workers he saw wore earbuds or headphones. He supposed it made sense. Still, it was damned creepy to have so many people working in a set space with little or no ambient noise. Snap out of it.

  No matter how much he clung to police procedure, though, nothing could shake the sense of urgency he had to get to the bottom of both the Groom and Lake murders. Since the Lake Killer case came home to roost in his personal world, he’d been unable to shake a sense of foreboding.

  Devlin’s nameplate was on the wall next to his open door, and he stood with his back to the entrance. Nash took advantage of the opportunity to observe. Devlin looked at one of several computer monitors on his L-shaped desk. An open laptop displayed a familiar face that took Nash a mere heartbeat to recognize. Hayley Patton—the woman the first victim of the Groom Killer, Bo Gage, had been engaged to after Bo had dumped Demi Colton. Even if he didn’t know Hayley from her connection to the murder victim, Nash knew her well because she was an excellent K9 trainer and he frequently worked with her at the center. Why would Devlin have Hayley Patton’s picture on his laptop? Was it his screen saver? And again, why?

  Nash rapped his knuckles on the doorjamb. Devlin turned on a dime and visibly blanched when he recognized him.

  “Nash. What brings you into Harrington, Inc.?” Typical Devlin, invoking his billionaire family name by way of introduction. Very unlike Devlin, however, was how he jerkily slapped his laptop shut, making Hayley Patton’s face disappear.

  “I have some questions I need to ask you.” He stepped into the office and watched as Devlin smoothed his hand over his shaved head with shaking hands. Odd. Devlin usually was the epitome of polished, to the point of creepy and oily.

  “Have a seat.” Devlin sank into his chair before Nash sat down. He’d definitely spooked the man and it had something to do with Hayley Patton. He made a mental note to see if there was a connection between Devlin and H
ayley in Bo Gage’s murder file.

  “Thanks. I won’t take too much of your time, but as you probably know, your father had a break-in at his home. According to him, Demi Colton broke into the house and threatened to kill him.” He deliberately left out the part about Demi sliding open an unlocked door.

  “Yes, my father told me. Have you or any of your colleagues apprehended her yet?” Accusation blazed in Devlin’s beady eyes. The man’s recovery from being caught with the image of a murder victim’s fiancée on his laptop stunned even Nash. He’d witnessed plenty of human behavior over the years. Just because Devlin annoyed the heck out of him and most of Red Ridge, it didn’t mean the man was a criminal.

  It didn’t mean he wasn’t, either.

  “We’re exploring every aspect of the case at hand. To the best of your knowledge, does your dad have anything of interest to Demi Colton?”

  Devlin smirked with his signature lip curl. “What doesn’t he have is more like it. That b—woman’s from the other side of town. I don’t have to tell you that. And the entire Colton family seems to be after my father to bail them out. Some do legally, like Fenwick Colton. Others, not so much. Demi wanted drug money, I’d guess. When she didn’t find loose cash, she was going to steal a painting. My father has a lot of valuable artwork.”

  Nash stared at Devlin, hard. “What makes you think she was attempting to steal any of your father’s art?” Hamlin had said nothing marginally close to this, and the security footage only showed Demi rifling through Hamlin’s desk, his home office, attempting to get into his computer. She’d been looking for something, all right, but Nash’s law enforcement instinct told him it was information. Not cash or artwork. Red Ridge was a large enough town at thirty-five thousand, but not big enough for a drug addict to hope to turn around a valuable for cash quick enough to get a fix.

  Besides, Demi Colton had no record or history of drug use. And she had a baby to worry about. That could be enough motive for the money part, to feed her child. But why risk going to Harrington’s?

  “Please, Nash, spare me the interrogation technique. Demi Colton is at the very least a burglar, and at most...” He theatrically trailed off and Nash bit back his own snarl.

  “At most?”

  “Come on, Nash. I’m in IT and even I can see the trail. All you have to do is read the Red Ridge Reporter twice a week. Demi Colton is the one consistent thing, the common denominator, in all the Groom Killer murders. And she was dumped by Bo Gage—isn’t that motive enough?”

  “How do you know Hayley Patton, Devlin?”

  Devlin’s eyes narrowed, a remarkable feat considering how beady they were. “The detective sees a photo and thinks he’s onto something.”

  “I’m not a detective, Devlin. Just a cop closing the loop on an intruder report. Answer my question.”

  “Hayley and I went to school together. We were classmates, I’m sure you know. Two classes behind you. She sent me her photo to airbrush—she wanted her professional head shot freshened up. She said she was applying for a new job. We have a couple of experts in digital imaging and I’m going to have one of them do it. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet, which is why I have her photo downloaded on my laptop, as a constant reminder. I tend to get distracted with running our IT department.”

  Nice catch, liar. Devlin’s statement needed to be corroborated with Hayley, and Nash hoped it was another officer who’d have the honor. He wanted to get back to Patience, ASAP.

  Nash nodded. “Any other reason you can think of why Demi would break into your father’s home?”

  Devlin’s chest flattened. He’d obviously expected Nash to continue on the Hayley questioning. Nash wondered if Finn had anyone keeping tabs on Devlin. He would after Nash told him what he’d witnessed.

  “I told you what I think. She’s a druggie looking for a fix. If my father hadn’t caught her red-handed, she’d have searched the medicine cabinet for painkillers.”

  “You mean opioids?”

  “Yes, whatever. Does it matter? You know something, Nash? I resent that my father is the victim of what could have escalated to a heinous crime, and yet you’re sitting here all smug and official, giving me the third degree.”

  “I’m so sorry you feel like that, Devlin. This is a standard line of questioning used for similar situations. We’re trying to figure out why Demi Colton broke into your father’s home, as you said.”

  “‘As I said’? She broke in—it’s on the video!” Devlin’s tanning-salon skin color took on a ruddy hue.

  Nash stood. “Thanks for your time, Devlin. If you think of anything else, give me a call.” He placed his business card on the glass-topped desk.

  Devlin remained in his seat. “What I need, what Red Ridge needs, is for the police to get to the bottom of all of this and put it to rest. The sooner Demi Colton’s in custody, the sooner I know I’ll sleep better.”

  Nash mentally counted to five; Devlin wasn’t worth ten. He leaned over the desk, just far enough to make Devlin tip back in his chair.

  “It seems to me that your specialty is being your daddy’s lackey, and what did you say you do? IT. It’s wise to not accuse anyone unless you have the full facts of the case to back up your claims. In fact, it’s defamation of character.”

  Devlin snarled. “A loser like Demi Colton wouldn’t know what that means, much less would she ever come after me or anyone else in town for it. But okay, I get it. You want to do your job, show that our tax dollars are being put to work, go ahead.”

  Nash straightened, never breaking eye contact. Devlin’s gaze slid away, his faux in-control corporate mask back in place. But not before Nash saw the flash of naked terror in the man’s eyes. Devlin Harrington hid something behind his snarky exterior, and Nash couldn’t wait for the RRPD to figure out what it was.

  “Thanks for your time.” He left, feeling Devlin’s eyes drilling into the back of his skull. As if he hated him.

  Not something Nash would expect from just a slimy businessman.

  Chapter 19

  Later that day, Patience had finished with her routine vet checks. All the patients were doing well. A text from Nash indicated he wouldn’t be able to break away from the casework Finn had assigned him until well after dinner. He didn’t want her driving back to the cabin alone and she didn’t argue. They’d drive together when he got off work, and she’d stay at the clinic under extra security until then. Except she wanted to go out for dinner.

  Her stomach grumbled at the same time she felt a definite flutter in her belly. Patience laughed, unable to keep the joy from infusing her entire being. She called Layla from her office and was relieved to hear she could meet her for dinner at their favorite restaurant downtown. A couple hours with her sister would cure what ailed her—mental exhaustion from the case.

  “Downtown” for Red Ridge meant Main Street, where several eating establishments were clustered. She and Layla met at the Rodeo Table, where Tex-Mex and Southwestern cuisine dominated the menu.

  They each ordered fajitas—Patience, shrimp, and Layla, chicken—along with a side of guacamole to share.

  Once they had the restaurant’s signature pico de gallo salsa in front of them, Patience’s news burst out of her mouth.

  “I’m having twins.” She watched Layla’s face as she broke the news, and to her delight, sheer joy sparkled in her sister’s smile.

  “Patience, I’m so happy for you!” Layla leaned over the table and hugged her tightly, her sincerity evident.

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m so excited. Twins!” Layla sat back down in the booth. “Have you told Daddy yet?”

  “He knows I’m pregnant—he saw the pile of baby stuff Nash brought to the cabin. He wasn’t so thrilled, to be honest.”

  “Daddy’s a man who only has so much to give. And he’s got a lot on his mind lately.”

  “The business sti
ll in free fall?”

  Layla nodded. “Yes. But it’s okay.” She squared her shoulders. “Hamlin’s going to bail us out.” She didn’t seem as confident about her fiancé as she had weeks ago. Or when she and Patience had exchanged ugly words about her engagement. The day before the night Patience lost herself in Nash’s arms for the first time. When the twins were conceived.

  “Layla, I haven’t brought it up again because we got so mad at one another the last time we talked about your engagement. But really, honey, Hamlin Harrington? You’re young, beautiful and kind. He’s none of the above.”

  “But he has the means to save Colton Energy, which means your K9 clinic and training center will keep operating.”

  “You don’t have to remind me of that.”

  “You know there are plenty of other ways we can keep the center up and running. The RRPD already has three grants they’ve applied for, and a couple of other private donors.”

  “That defeats the original pledge Daddy made to the center, for your mother.” Layla spoke with a shadow of her usual feisty spirit. Maybe she’d finally begun to the see the light, and it wasn’t Hamlin Harrington.

  “The center is dedicated to my mother. That will never change.” And if her mom was still alive and able to see how Fenwick operated these days, all about his business, to the exclusion of his family, Patience knew she’d not give a fig where the money came from, as long as the donor was legit.

  Unlike Hamlin, who had his fingers in so many pots it was impossible to tell which of his business dealings were legit or not.

  “Daddy wants to be the one to always fund the K9 center.”

  “That’s a noble thought, but if the money’s from Hamlin, it’s not Daddy’s, is it?”

  Layla frowned. The expression crumpled her pretty face and for the first time Patience noticed tiny lines on her sister’s skin.

  “You okay, Layla? All of the financial stress has to be getting to you.”