by Mallory Kane
Cade turned to the lawyer. “Wendell Vance was a classmate of Ralph’s who was murdered on graduation night ten years ago. His science medal disappeared. Turns out your client here has it. He carries it around in a leather wallet, like it belongs to him.”
Cade felt a keen triumph when the red faded from Griffon’s face. “Didn’t your client tell you that one of the belongings he wants to pick up is that science medal?”
The lawyer literally put a finger to his shirt collar and swallowed visibly. “I’d like to speak to my client alone for a few minutes, Chief.”
“Be my guest. I suppose you’d like to step into our private offices?” Cade made a sweeping gesture that encompassed the burnt-out police station.
Just then, a truck turned onto the street. It was a FedEx truck. Cade grinned. “Here comes the rest of our evidence now.”
Langston sent a panicked look at the truck as he followed Griffon to a point a few yards away.
Cade couldn’t believe the evidence had been returned so quickly. When he was handed the package, he saw that it hadn’t. The delivery was a bulletin of missing children in the region. It came once a month.
He glanced over at Langston. They didn’t have to know that, though. Let them think he had solid evidence in his hands. Both of them eyed him and then moved further away.
Another vehicle turned onto the street. It was Laurel. Cade recognized her rental car. His stomach did a flip. Immediately, he convinced himself that it hadn’t—almost.
She got out of her car, limping slightly.
He couldn’t look her in the eye. He’d been too exposed the other day—too vulnerable. She didn’t look directly at him, either.
“Oh, Cade,” she said, eyeing the wreckage that had been the police station. “The whole building is destroyed.”
“Not quite. The evidence room is intact.”
She looked at him then. “I’m glad.” Her cheeks turned pink. “What’s Langston doing out of the hospital?”
“His big-city lawyer had Langston arraigned in the middle of the night. He posted bail.”
Cade bent his head to whisper in her ear—a mistake. He withdrew and told himself gardenias were way overrated. “Guess what turned up in his belongings,” he said.
Her eyes blazed with color. “Not the medal?”
“Yes, the medal. He had a leather wallet made special for it. He carried it around like a police badge.”
“Oh, my gosh. You mean he’s carried it with him all these years?”
“Yep. That confirms what Sheryl told me this morning.”
“She was trying to say Ralph was Wendell’s killer.”
Cade laid a hand on her arm. “Whoa. Slow down. It proves he was at the crime scene and took the medal. If Sheryl’s statement holds up and the evidence bears it out, then we can get him for Wendell’s murder.”
“What about her? Was it Kathy who shot her?”
“The bullet the hospital took out of her shoulder has an L on it.”
“I knew it! And get this. Mitch called. He’s sending first pass results of the fingerprint IDs by special courier. Kathy’s prints matched partials on Misty’s baseball bat and her TV remote, the inside doorknob of my room at the bed-and-breakfast and that slug I dug out of the tree. And on the key Debra was carrying. She was the one trying to steal the photos.”
“What else did Mitch say?”
“No other significant fingerprint matches. But the fibers under Debra’s nails matched the swatch of fabric from Ralph’s pants leg.”
Cade’s brows rose. “Good. That makes him the prime suspect for killing Debra, too. When I present that evidence to his lawyer, he’ll be begging for a plea agreement, rather than twenty-five years to life in a federal penitentiary. I hope you told your boss how much I appreciate it. That was damn fast work. And damn fine.”
“Mitch Decker can get the job done.”
And so can you. Cade silently acknowledged Laurel’s bravery and dedication. She’d nearly been killed twice. It had taken seven stitches on her palm and foot to repair the damage done by the glass shard, and yet she hadn’t faltered.
He remembered how much seeing her weapon tucked in the small of her back had turned him on. Now he realized it wasn’t the sight of the gun sitting above the curve of her bottom that had caused that reaction. It was what it represented.
Strength, competence, courage. Those were the qualities that turned him on and made him love her. Not that her sexy body and gorgeous eyes hurt.
He realized she was gazing at him quizzically, a tiny frown marring her forehead.
He cleared his throat and searched for something innocuous to say. “I got to tell you, Gillespie, arresting Langston is going to be a pleasure.”
His last word was drowned out by a loud roar. It was Kathy’s dark SUV. She screeched to a halt so close to them that Cade wrapped an arm around Laurel’s waist and pulled her clear.
As soon as the SUV stopped, Kathy shot out of it like her legs were spring-loaded. She stomped over to Cade, clutching her open purse in one hand and a nearly burned-down cigarette in the other.
“Cade, Shelton told me you needed to see me. I know I’m in big trouble, but I want to confess everything and ask for your protection. I’m the one who took Laurel’s gun.” Kathy’s voice was shrill, her eyes were too bright and her movements were jerky.
Cade couldn’t decide if she was drunk or on some sort of drug.
“See, Cade, I had to get those pictures. They proved we killed Wendell. Sheryl always said we didn’t, that he was alive when we left, but Ralph told us Wendell was dead. And ever since that night, he—” She stopped.
“Kathy, where’s Harrison?” Cade asked. “You need to get a lawyer. You realize I can arrest you for assaulting a federal officer, based on what you’ve just told me. And go after you for Wendell’s murder.”
“I know that. I only meant to scare Laurel off the case, so she wouldn’t find out what we’d done. I’m so tired…” She took a shaky breath. “Cade, I shot Sheryl. I was so sure she’d killed Debra. I saw her near the path to the swimming hole the night of the reunion, right before Debra was found. I’ve been following her ever since. I followed her to the creek bank—” She glanced past him and stopped cold.
“Oh, my God! What’s he doing—what are you doing here?” she yelled at Langston. “If you think you’re going to—” She tossed away the cigarette butt and dug into her voluminous purse.
Cade tensed and flexed his fingers. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Laurel move stealthily backward, positioning herself behind Kathy. The white bandage on her hand stood out in stark contrast to her green top and jeans.
“Kathy,” he said calmly. “Don’t get upset. Let’s talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. That man ruined my life.”
Langston and his lawyer were moving closer. They must not have heard Kathy’s outburst—or they were idiots and didn’t see how agitated she was.
Cade couldn’t even spare them a glance. He had to keep all his attention on Kathy.
“Kathy, take your hand out of your purse.” Cade reached toward her but she jerked away violently.
“No! I’m finishing this here and now.”
“Kathy—”
But Kathy wasn’t listening to him.
“You monster—” That was aimed at Langston. “You’ve held Wendell’s death over me for the past ten years! But not anymore!” She pulled a gun out of her purse and waved it wildly.
Langston grabbed his lawyer’s arm and tried to push him in front of him as Kathy leveled the gun at him and held it in both hands like a pro.
“I used up every bit of my inheritance paying you hush money for ten years. And Debra drained her parents and made them think she was a spendthrift. You made our lives hell.” She glanced at Cade. “Then when Laurel started nosing around, he threatened to tell you we killed Wendell unless I got the pictures and stopped her. It had been ten years. Everybody had accepted Wendell’
s death as suicide. But Ralph didn’t want to lose his gravy train. Greedy, heartless—!”
“Kathy,” Cade said quietly. “You didn’t kill Wendell.”
“What?” She turned her head toward Cade. “What are you talking about?”
Cade let his gaze drift behind her where Laurel had her backup weapon in her hand and was slowly creeping closer to Kathy.
He’d been taking a step every time Laurel did, but Langston’s lawyer had parked his car right in front of the burnt-out station house. It was in Cade’s way. He had to detour around it.
“Kathy,” he said. “Let’s talk about this. Why don’t you give me the gun so you don’t make things worse for yourself. I know you didn’t kill Wendell. He was unconscious but he wasn’t dead when you left him.”
“Didn’t kill—? But Ralph blackmailed us for ten years.” She shot a wild-eyed look at Cade. “And it was for nothing?”
He stopped and tried to look harmless. “I’ll tell you all about it if you’ll give me the gun.”
She took another step toward Langston. “You knew about this?”
Langston was white as a sheet. He took a step backward. “I swear, Kathy, I thought you killed him.”
“You are a liar! You told us you found Wendell dead. You said you’d hanged him to make it look like suicide—to protect us. Oh, my God, you killed him.” Kathy laughed. “And Sheryl knew, didn’t she? She was as greedy as you. Maybe I’m not sorry I shot her, after all.”
“No, I swear! I saw Wendell and Debra headed toward the swimming hole. I knew y’all had more cooked up for him than a sign on his back. Did I want to see Wendell humiliated? Yes. Did I kill him? No!”
Laurel moved toward Kathy, staying out of her line of sight. Cade saw her release the safety on her gun. Good. Keep closing in on her. Laurel was doing exactly the right things.
With stiff, jerky motions, Kathy moved away from Cade and toward the other side of the street. She hadn’t yet become aware of Laurel behind her.
Cade stayed in step with her, and within ten steps, he was closer to Langston and the lawyer than she was.
“Kathy, we’re going to take care of Langston,” Cade said, deliberately keeping his voice quiet and calm. “He’ll pay for everything he’s done. You don’t want to shoot him.”
“Kathy,” Langston choked out. “I swear to God I’m telling the truth. Maybe Sheryl killed Wendell herself—”
“You,” Kathy shrieked, “shut your lying mouth. I dealt with Sheryl and I’ll deal with you!”
Cade didn’t like the look in Kathy’s eyes or the hysterical tone in her voice. He aimed his weapon in her direction.
She saw him.
“He killed Wendell, Cade! He killed him and he blackmailed us!”
“Kathy,” Cade said. “Set the gun down and we’ll talk.”
“No! You tell me or I’ll shoot him, right here.”
“Come on, Kathy, you don’t want to shoot him. Sheryl’s going to be okay. You haven’t killed anyone.”
“You can’t stop me. I have to do this,” she cried. “I’ve lived in fear for ten years.”
As if in slow motion, Cade saw her finger squeeze the trigger. He had to make the right decision within microseconds now or someone would die.
He sent a quick glance in Laurel’s direction, then dove toward Langston and the lawyer, pushing them down.
Cade felt like he was moving in slow motion as several loud pops sounded in his ears. Something hit him with a wallop, and he slammed into the hot pavement and rolled.
Langston screamed. The lawyer whimpered. Laurel yelled at Kathy.
Cade rolled up into a crouch. Laurel had knocked Kathy to her knees and was cuffing her. The FBI issue Glock that Kathy had held lay on the ground beside her.
Cade sprang to his feet and ran to Ralph’s side. He knelt and felt for a pulse. Nothing. One of Kathy’s shots had hit him. Cade lifted his left arm to reach into his pocket for his cell phone, but to his surprise, it didn’t do what he wanted it to. He glanced down. Blood spread like an opening flower on his yellow pullover shirt.
He set his gun down, retrieved his phone and called the EMTs. Kathy was beginning to calm down somewhat, but she was still threatening to kill Langston. She didn’t realize he was already dead.
“Cade? Are you okay?” Laurel called out, her voice tight with concern.
He met her gaze and nodded.
In her eyes he read the same thing he was thinking. It was over, but not soon enough. Too many lives had been destroyed.
IT WAS TIME to leave. There was nothing else for Laurel to do. Cade had everything well in hand. The day before had been an odd mixture of terror and boredom. It had ended with Ralph Langston dead, Cade injured and Kathy Adler’s life in shambles.
Kathy’s confession had cleared up a lot of unanswered questions. Then, after Cade’s shoulder was bandaged and he was released from the hospital, he’d filled Laurel in on what Sheryl had told him.
The whole thing was so bizarre—such a tangled web. Sheryl had blackmailed Langston, because she’d seen him kill Wendell. She confessed that what Ralph did to Debra and Kathy didn’t concern her. But after Debra’s death, Sheryl only wanted justice. She didn’t want any more of Langston’s blood money.
She’d lured Laurel down to the swimming hole to tell her about Langston killing Wendell. But she’d panicked when Fred showed up.
Laurel took a deep breath. Finally, it was over. Wendell Vance had gotten justice. But Ralph Langston paid for his crime with his life, and at least three other lives were destroyed by the secrets that had been kept for ten years.
Laurel’s suitcase was already in the car. She took one last look around the room at the B&B to be sure she hadn’t left anything behind—other than her heart. She blinked against the stinging in her eyes. Nothing she could do about that.
Her cell phone rang. It was her boss, Mitch Decker.
“You got the rest of the evidence?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. Cade has it. It confirms almost everything. It was Debra Honeycutt’s hand in the photo. Sheryl Posey will testify that she saw Ralph choke Wendell in return for immunity on extortion charges for the years she blackmailed him. Kathy is pleading to three counts of assault, one of assault with intent and one of manslaughter.”
“What about Debra Honeycutt? Why did Langston kill her?”
“We never got to ask him. I guess he found out that she was planning to tell me everything. It’s all so tragic. I almost wish I’d never seen that photo.”
“You did the right thing,” Mitch said. “It sounds like things were coming to a head anyway.”
Laurel smiled sadly. “It was like a perfect storm. Kathy and Debra’s determination to stop Langston from blackmailing them, Sheryl’s efforts to keep the hold she had over him so she could keep his blackmail payments coming in, and his fear that the real truth would come out. So with the reunion as the trigger, and my snooping into the meaning of that picture, it all came together in a tragic climax.”
“Right. Don’t beat yourself up. You did your job. Now, about Cade Dupree.”
Laurel’s heart jumped. She’d asked Mitch for a favor, something she’d never done before.
“I had his Quantico file pulled. He was solid. In fact, in several areas he excelled. He got great reviews from his instructors and trainers. A couple of them wrote letters of commendation.”
That was Cade. Solid, brilliant, driven to excel. She held her breath.
“It wouldn’t be easy—might not even be possible. He was given his first choice of assignment when he graduated. Almost nobody gets their first choice. And he turned it down.”
Laurel wanted to blurt out that his brother had died and his father had suffered a stroke, but she bit her tongue. Mitch knew the circumstances.
“He could be assigned anywhere.”
Her heart leapt into her throat. Was Mitch saying there was a chance? “I—I don’t think he’d mind.”
“When would he be ready to m
ove—if he got in?”
She swallowed. “I haven’t exactly talked to him. I was just asking.”
“I see.” Mitch paused, and Laurel felt the criticism in his silence. “Well, if he is interested, have him contact me. Meanwhile, are you sure you don’t need a couple of days—”
“No! I mean, no thank you, sir. I’m ready to get back to work. I’ve had enough of Dusty Springs, Mississippi.” Even as she said it she knew it was a lie. She didn’t love the town she’d grown up in, but it was breaking her heart to leave Cade.
“Okay then. See you tomorrow.”
“Mitch? Thanks.” She hung up.
A quiet cough startled her.
“Had enough of Dusty Springs? I know what you mean.”
She turned around. Cade was standing in the open doorway of her room. His face under his tan was pale and his left arm was in a sling. But he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
Not that it mattered.
“How—what are you doing here?” she finally managed to ask.
He gestured with his head at the open door. “Wide open.”
“Oh, right. I was loading the car.” She nodded toward his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“It hurts, but yeah. I’m fine.” He pinned her with his blue eyes. “Who haven’t you exactly talked to?”
Her ears burned with embarrassment. “How long were you standing there listening to me?”
“That was the first thing I heard. So—is it me? Is there something you were going to talk to me about?”
“You think you’re the only person I could possibly have been talking about?”
He shrugged, then winced. “Want me to get that bag for you? Your hand—”
“No.” Thank goodness he was off the subject of who she hadn’t asked what. “Absolutely not. Gunshot trumps a cut on the hand. I’ll take it out. I need to get going.”
He looked at his watch. “Your plane doesn’t leave for four hours.”
“There’s the drive, and then the check-in…”
“All of which will take about an hour and a half.” Cade narrowed his gaze as he assessed Laurel. She was nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Was she that eager to leave? He knew she harbored no love for Dusty Springs, but he’d like to think she was reluctant to leave him.
