Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4)

by Olivia Jaymes

  Yep, that sounded like Knox's brother. His dad too.

  "I tried reasoning with Lori but she was in love. She kept talking about how wonderful he was in the beginning and I guess she kept thinking that he would go back to that. From what I could see from the outside, he never did though. He just became more petty and demanding as time went on. I was thrilled when she told me that she'd ended things with him. Finally, she was becoming her old self again and seeing him for who he truly was. She knew he wasn't going to magically change back."

  "Smart woman."

  "Lori was intelligent but oftentimes she let her heart make her decisions for her. Luckily, your brother hurt her one too many times and she'd had enough. Also, he hadn't succeeded in cutting her off from her friends and family. We were still there telling her that he wasn't any good for her. Eventually she believed us and not him."

  "What happened the last time you spoke with her? Or saw her?"

  Michelle took a deep breath, her hands visibly trembling. "I saw her about a week before she disappeared. All three of us had lunch in Douglas. It was a Saturday. She'd broken up with Cal and we were celebrating. Lori seemed really happy and we all had a great time. We were talking about taking a vacation somewhere warm and sunny. She didn't have a care in the world. Except for...I don't even know if I should mention this."

  "Mention what?"

  "There was a guy at her work. I don't even remember his name, but she complained about him that day. She said he was sort of creepy. That he seemed to have a crush on her. Jenna and I told her to ignore him."

  Knox would definitely be checking him out.

  "You didn't get his name?"

  "Bob, maybe? Bill? Brian? It started with a B."

  "I'll talk to her co-workers," Knox assured Michelle. "I'll find out about him. Now the last time you spoke to Lori?"

  "The last time I spoke to her was right before she was to meet Cal at the coffee shop. She and I spoke about the vacation again and then she said that she had to go. She was meeting Cal to have a cup of coffee and tell him that there was no chance of them getting back together. It was over. I told her to call me right after and she said she would. She said that it wouldn't take much time and I told her that he was probably going to cry or beg to get her back so don't weaken. She said she was determined and that she wasn't going to get into a debate with him. She'd tell him that the decision was made and get out of there. I waited for her call but it never came. That was the last time I ever spoke to her."

  "You received a text from her a few days later, I believe? May I see it?"

  "Sure." Michelle stood and walked over to the end table, picking up her phone and thumbing through it. "I've saved it, of course. Here it is."

  It was short and to the point. Lori wrote that she was going off on her own for a little while and she'd be in touch. She said not to worry, and that she just needed some time.

  "Lori's phone was never found?"

  "Her purse and phone were gone, but her car and all her belongings weren't touched."

  "You're sure?" Knox pressed. "Maybe she only packed a few changes of clothing."

  Although that didn't make any sense if Lori didn't know how long she would be gone. In Knox's experience, most of the women he knew would usually overpack, not underpack.

  "I'm sure. Lori had the cutest overnight bag that had all these little pockets and such. If she was going to pack light, she absolutely would have used it. But it was still in her townhouse. Both Jenna and I looked through her clothes and all of her favorite outfits were still there."

  It didn't make any sense for a woman to walk away with nothing. Jared was digging into Lori's credit card history right at this very moment so hopefully they could see any patterns.

  Tom and Jenna joined them in the living room again. Tom carried a tray of finger foods such as crackers, cheese, and smoked meat. Jenna had a tray of cold drinks.

  "We thought you might want a snack," Tom said. "We ordered dinner but it will be about an hour before it gets here."

  "Maybe we can also get some work done as well," Jenna suggested. "I've been trying to make up a list of everyone that Lori mentioned in her life like friends, neighbors, co-workers. That sort of thing. But there may have been people that you know of that I don't remember."

  "We need to talk to all of them if we can," Knox said. "It's usually one little piece of information that pushes a case along. It may not even seem all that important in the beginning."

  Tom nodded, his expression solemn. "We can do that."

  Time to get down to work. There was a case to be solved.

  Where was Lori Waters? What had happened to her?

  And did Callum have anything to do with it?

  "I can certainly see what you saw in him," Michelle declared, sitting cross-legged on Jenna's bed. Dinner was over and everyone had retired to their rooms to get some rest. The real work of the investigation started tomorrow. "He's gorgeous."

  The last thing Jenna needed to do was sit and think about how handsome her ex-boyfriend was, especially as he was just two doors down the hall.

  "He is nice looking, but there's more to him than that."

  "I wasn't saying that there wasn't but...yowza. I'm just saying that I can understand why you didn't tell him the truth that first night."

  Jenna wasn't sure she liked what Michelle was saying.

  "I never tried to deceive him. I tried telling him the truth several times but he kept changing the subject and trying to divert me. I know he's angry with me but I'm not all at fault here. When the chips were down, and I absolutely had to tell him the truth, I practically had to tape his mouth shut so he would let me talk. I would have told him a lot earlier if he hadn't been so stubborn."

  "I wasn't saying that you were trying to lie to him, but that was sort of the result of all of this, right? He's mad and you two broke up."

  Sighing, Jenna rubbed at her throbbing temples. She was exhausted and needed a good night's sleep. She didn't want to talk about Knox and their abbreviated relationship.

  It hurts too much.

  "Knox and I are going to Douglas tomorrow. Are you going with us?"

  "Unfortunately, I have to work. I wish I could though. You'll give a full report when you get back?"

  "I will. I'm not really sure where we're going to start, to be honest. With Lori's neighbors, I think? Then maybe her co-workers."

  "What about Cal? When are you going to talk to him? He's the one you should start with. He's the one that probably is responsible for Lori's disappearance."

  And death. But we don't say those words out loud.

  "I don't know," Jenna confessed. "Knox hasn't talked about that yet, but I imagine that he'll want to learn as much as he can about Lori's life and situation before he talks to his brother. So he’ll know the right questions to ask."

  "I guess there's no polite way to ask your own family if they're responsible for the disappearance of another human being."

  "I can't imagine having to do that. I'm sure that Knox wants to prepare for that."

  "And if his brother says that he's innocent? What then?"

  Jenna had always assumed that Callum would never admit anything and would tell Knox that he hadn't seen Lori that last day. He'd stick to his story. It had been working so far.

  "Then we find other evidence."

  "You make it sound so simple."

  It wouldn't be. It was going to be damn near impossible. The only thing they had going for them was Knox.

  Just for the case, not for her.

  He was a good man, but he wasn't her man. Not anymore.

  He never really was. She'd only been fooling herself.

  I'm done being a fool. Time to be realistic.

  10

  Knox woke up extra early the next morning. Showered and dressed before anyone else was up, he quietly left the house, leaving a note for Jenna behind. She wasn't going to be happy that he'd gone to see his family without her but some things he needed to do on his own
. This was one of them.

  He wasn't going to see Cal. Not yet. He needed to know much more about this case before he confronted his brother. Knox didn't believe his brother had anything to do with Lori's disappearance but he did have the feeling that Cal knew more about that last day than he was letting on. Confronting Cal without hard facts, however, was a waste of time.

  This morning he was going to see his brother Randy. Not just because he wanted to spend some time with his little brother but because Randy was closer to the rest of the family. There was a good chance that he'd met Lori at one point. Knox needed to talk to someone who didn't have a vested interest in covering his own ass like Cal did.

  They met at a twenty-four-hour coffee and donut shop a few blocks from his brother's home. Randy was already sitting there by the time Knox walked into the small shop. The smell of sugar and coffee hung heavy in the air and he realized that he hadn't yet had even one sip of caffeine this morning. The smiling woman at the counter took his order and said she'd bring it to him.

  "I still don't see why we couldn't just meet at the house," Randy said as soon as Knox sat down across from him in the booth. "The kids want to see their Uncle Knox."

  "I want to see them too, but this conversation isn't for little ears," Knox replied. His coffee and chocolate glazed donut were slid in front of him and he thanked the server before dumping sugar and creamer into the dark brew. He took a lot of shit from the guys about how sweet he drank it. "But I'll definitely be by to see them. Just not today."

  "You said you wanted to talk about Cal. What's so sensitive that we can't talk about it in front of the kids? Are you pissed off at him again? Just move on from it. You know how he is."

  You know how he is.

  Knox was sick and tired of hearing those words. He'd heard them all of his life and shockingly, they didn't make anything better. Apparently, he was supposed to excuse every shitty thing his father and brother did...

  Because that was just how they were.

  They were crappy people, and the Owens family gave them a get out of jail free card. Everyone else always had to be the bigger person. Cal and Ben? They didn't have to change at all.

  "Yes, I know how he is. We all do. But this is something a little more serious than Cal being an asshole for the millionth time."

  Randy's brows rose. "Really? So tell me about it."

  "First, let me ask you a few questions. Did you ever remember meeting one of Cal's girlfriends? Her name was Lori. Dark hair and eyes. She worked in marketing."

  Rubbing this chin, Randy nodded. "I do remember her. Pretty, smiled a lot. She seemed like a nice girl. Why do you ask?"

  Knox still had other questions before he was ready to answer anyone else's.

  "How were they together? Did they seem happy? Did they argue? Did Cal say anything to you about her?"

  "I'm not sure what you want me to say. I guess they seemed happy. They never argued as such in front of the family, at least not that I saw. Cal was bossy with her. You know his usual my-way-is-the best-way stuff that we grew up with. She didn't like it much more than we did, but she never yelled at him or anything. She seemed to just ignore him and do whatever her way and let him complain about it."

  That didn't sound like a healthy relationship to Knox. At least it wasn't what he wanted.

  "And Cal didn't say anything to you about her? Ever? What about when you saw him with someone new?"

  Randy grinned. "I do remember that. I asked him about her and he said that he'd traded up."

  "I swear I cannot be related to him," Knox muttered under his breath, completely disgusted. "Our family is a fucking mess."

  "Come on, we're not that bad. Every family has issues. We're not the only ones."

  "We have more issues than most."

  "Lighten up. We turned out okay. Our family couldn't be that bad."

  The great thing about Randy was that he was determined to see only the best in people. It was also his worst trait.

  "They are that bad."

  "Don't use them as an excuse not to come to Dylan's birthday party on Sunday. He'd love to have his favorite uncle there. Don't say no. Julia specifically told me to tell you that she wants you to come. They'll be food and the kids want to see you."

  "I'll try," Knox said. "But I'm here to work on a case."

  "Take a few hours and relax. Don't they give you time off?"

  "They do, but–"

  "No buts. Be there or Julia will call you and you'll have to say no to her."

  She wouldn't make it easy either.

  "So why are we talking about Cal and this woman? What's going on here?" Randy asked again. "Why couldn't we meet at the house?"

  Knox gave his younger brother the condensed version of the story without going into detail about how he'd met Jenna. That wasn't any else's business but his.

  "Wait, she thinks that Cal had something to do with her sister's disappearance? Cal? No way. That's crazy talk." Randy's eyes widened in surprise when Knox didn't immediately jump in and agree. "You don't actually think that she's right, do you? Because Cal has a quirky personality but Jesus Christ, he's not a killer. Or a kidnapper. Or whatever it is that you think he might have done."

  "Quirky? You're being easy on him."

  "And you're out of control," Randy sputtered, his cheeks red. "This is Cal. He's our brother. Our brother. He's not a goddamn killer. He wouldn't hurt a fly."

  Knox had anticipated this argument. "We both know that's not true. Cal has been in lots of fights. Hell, he's spent a few nights in the drunk tank for busting up a bar. He's not a pacifist."

  "Those were men, not women," Randy argued right back. "That's a completely different thing. He wouldn't hurt a female."

  "We've seen him verbally abuse his girlfriends," Knox pointed out. "He has little to no respect for others. He has no empathy. He doesn't care how other people feel."

  "That doesn't make him a kidnapper or a killer." Randy shook his head. "That's why you're doing this, isn't it? So you can prove, once and for all, that your brother is a piece of shit. I can't believe this, Knox. He's your brother. Where's your family loyalty?"

  Knox didn't have a chance to respond. His phone began to buzz, and he reached for it in his breast pocket, checking the screen to see who it was. He declined to take the call but Randy must have seen the screen as well.

  "Is that Dad? Aren't you going to answer it?"

  Shoving the phone back into his pocket, Knox shook his head. "No."

  "I know Dad has been calling you."

  Knox knew were this was going.

  "And?"

  "He's upset that you haven't been returning his calls or texts."

  "He's upset? Are you upset too? Because you're scowling at me."

  "He's changed. You should talk to him."

  It was all Knox could do not to throw back his head and laugh out loud.

  "He's changed? I doubt it."

  "People change, brother."

  "Sure they do. If they want to change. Dad's never wanted to change. He doesn't see that there's anything wrong with the way he lives his life. Christ, he's been out...how long? Nine months? He's already drove Patty away, and moved in with an even younger woman. How old is she, Randy? Is she even thirty? She's too young to see all the red flags that Dad is waving around but eventually she will. But by then he will have spent all her money and broken her damn heart by boozing and running around. And Cal isn't any better."

  "They're family. You can't turn your back on them."

  "Yes, I can. Happily, might I add. They're like a drowning man, Randy. If you try to save them, you'll get pulled under too. They don't care who they hurt."

  "Dad isn't like that anymore."

  Knox noticed that his brother couldn't say the same for Cal.

  "That's great then. Good for him. I'm glad that he saw the light."

  "But you're not going to call him back?"

  "Nope. I've given him lots of chances and he threw them all away. I'm done. No
w, if he really has changed, that's awesome. I'm happy for him, but I don't need him in my life. I'm far more content without Ben Owens."

  Randy stuck out his chin. "What about me? What about the rest of your family? Have you walked away from us too? Is that why you took this case? Is that why you've taken that woman's side?"

  "I didn't take her side," Knox shot back, his frustration building. "I'm looking into this case because they hired my firm. I'm keeping an open mind. If it points in his direction, that's where I'll go. If it doesn't, then it doesn't. Listen, this isn't a game. Someone might be dead here and I'm trying to get to the truth."

  "You're not being loyal."

  "I'd rather have the truth than be loyal to a lie."

  Pushing his empty plate away, Randy wiped his hands on a paper napkin. His lips were pressed together in a thin line and his color was high. "I don't think we're going to agree on this. Maybe I should go."

  "No, I should go. I have a lot of work to do."

  "Proving Cal is guilty? Or innocent?"

  Leaning down, Knox placed his hand on the table so they were face to face.

  "You know what I love about law enforcement? Catching the bad guys?"

  Randy shrugged. "I don't know. What?"

  "The truth doesn't care how we feel. It doesn't care about my feelings or your feelings or what we want or hope for. The truth just is. It's neutral. It's real. It's not based on emotions, but on facts. That's what I love about my job." Straightening, he dug into his pocket and dropped a twenty on the table. "It was nice to see you, little brother."

  With that, Knox turned and left the coffee shop. He'd known that the conversation wouldn't go well but he'd hoped for better. Ultimately, it didn't matter. Randy - and any of the rest of his family - wasn't going to stop him. If anything, he was more determined than ever.

  He had a job to do. Find Lori. Discover the truth.

  It was the only thing that mattered.