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

by Olivia Jaymes

  "You won't get anyone in trouble if they haven't done anything," he assured the young woman. "What's your name, by the way?"

  Her cheeks turned pink and she giggled. "Oops, sorry. I'm Sherry. Sherry Lytell."

  "Okay, Sherry. How long have you worked here? Did you work closely with Lori?"

  "I've been here three years and Lori and I shared an office for over a year before she went to remote work."

  Bingo. Sherry might have been privy to private conversation the Lori would have had on the phone. Knox's own co-workers knew a hell of a lot about his own personal life just because they sat a few feet away. It was inevitable.

  "So go ahead and tell your story," he urged. "I'll try not to interrupt you but I may have a few questions as we go along, okay?"

  She nodded and once again glanced at her teammates. "Okay, here goes. We all noticed it. We should have said something before now but we didn't want to get Brett in trouble or anything. He’s a nice person."

  "Brett works here?" Knox asked.

  "He used to," Sherry said. "He doesn't anymore."

  "He works at a local law firm now. He's an accountant," one of the men said. "He's still friends with Sam, though."

  "Sam works here?" Knox asked.

  "Yes," Sherry said. "He still works in accounting."

  They'd need to talk to Sam too. Knox quickly glanced over at Jenna to see her expression. Did the names ring any bells? Had Lori ever mentioned her former co-worker?

  "So tell me about Brett and Lori."

  Michelle had been correct. The co-worker's name did start with a B.

  "It was clear that he had a crush on Lori," Sherry replied. "He'd sort of follow her around and he'd get this really weird look on his face whenever she was in the same room. Whenever he would grab a coffee in the break room, he'd make one for her too. But he didn't for any of the rest of us. When he'd get lunch, he'd always bring something back for her. Like a slice of cake or donut or something. He'd hang around her desk and there were a few times that she'd find little gifts there. We're sure they were from Brett because he'd ask her all sorts of questions about them, but mostly he wanted to be sure that she liked them."

  One of the men who looked to be the oldest in the group leaned forward. "I actually pulled Brett aside once and told him that he should back off. Lori had a boyfriend. I told him that it was disrespectful, but he said I didn’t understand."

  "Did Lori realize that it was Brett?" Knox asked. "Did she ever talk to him about it?"

  Sherry nodded her head. "She knew, but she ignored it. She said it would all blow over and he'd find someone else."

  "Did he?"

  "We don't know," the other man said. "He quit a few weeks after Lori disappeared."

  "That's not suspicious at all," Jenna muttered under her breath.

  Knox was happy to see that she was open to other suspects than his brother Cal. Speaking of which...

  "Did you ever meet her boyfriend Cal?"

  They all nodded but Sherry appeared to be the spokesperson for the group.

  "We did. He was...okay."

  Normally, people adored Cal. At least until they really got to know him.

  "You don't seem all that enthused by him. Care to elaborate?"

  Sherry shrugged. "He was fine. Friendly. But we could hear her on the phone with him and they argued a lot. When we'd all go out for drinks after work, he'd find reasons to join us. He was sort of a know-it-all, and really possessive with Lori. It was kind of cringeworthy, to be honest."

  Knox couldn't stop himself from asking, "Did you meet Cal before or after you heard Lori arguing with him on the phone?"

  "After. I guess you could say we already had a bad impression of him before we met him. Maybe we weren't all that fair to him. To her credit, Lori never said anything bad about him even after they broke up, but we got that she was frustrated."

  That explained it. Cal never had the chance to turn on the charm machine.

  "Did he bother her after the break-up?"

  "He called all the time. Mostly, she'd just send the calls to voicemail."

  Knox was going to kick his brother's ass the next time he saw him. Cal was acting like a toddler and he needed someone to check his behavior. No one had ever even tried during their childhood, and clearly, he was out of hand and acting like a douchebag.

  "Listen," Sherry said urgently, leaning forward in her chair. "We all knew Lori. She never would have just bugged out in the middle of a big project. She was the team lead. She was far too responsible to chuck it all and head out to some destination without telling anyone. It wasn't who she was. And she was really happy those last few weeks. She'd ended things with Cal and she was back to her old self, smiling and laughing. It doesn't make any sense to us."

  "Did you tell the detective all of this?" Knox asked.

  "We didn't tell him about Brett," the other man said, his cheeks a ruddy shade. "We should have but we didn't want him to get in trouble. That was our mistake. We did tell him that Lori wasn't the type to run off like that. She wouldn't just disappear and not tell anyone."

  Knox turned to Jenna, his brows raised in question. If she had questions, this was her chance. She shook her head no.

  Now they needed to talk to Sam. Brett, too.

  They were finally making progress. This was the break that Knox had been hoping for.

  The meeting with Sam didn't turn out to be all that helpful. He said that Brett and Lori went on a few dates, which surprised the hell out of Jenna. Her sister had never mentioned Brett at all, let alone that she'd gone to a movie and dinner with him. When questioned, Sam admitted that he'd never actually seen them together but Brett had told him about the dates in question. They'd been careful in the office because they didn't want anyone to know.

  "It sounds like horseshit to me," Jenna said as they settled into a booth at a local cafe. They were both starving. "Lori never mentioned anyone named Brett and we knew about every guy she dated. And she definitely would have told us about him when we were encouraging her to dump Cal. There's no way they dated. Brett is full of it."

  Knox was studying the menu and stroking his chin. Was he contemplating what she'd said or his lunch order?

  She tapped on his plastic menu with her finger. "Are you listening to me?"

  "I am."

  "Do you have thoughts?"

  "All the time."

  Sighing, she picked up her own menu. He was going to be a shit until he ate. He was hungry all the time and, like herself, he could get a little testy when he was like that. He didn't answer until they'd both ordered and the waitress had disappeared into the kitchen.

  "I agree."

  "You agree? You think Brett was lying too?" she asked.

  "Yes. I think he told Sam that to either make himself feel better or he said it because he truly believed it. There's a small percentage of people out in the world who unfortunately don't deal with reality all that well. This Brett may be one of them. I suppose we'll figure out which one he is when we talk to him."

  "His friend Sam is going to get to him first," Jenna warned. "I bet he was on the phone with Brett before we hit the parking lot."

  "I think you're right but that's fine. If he's the delusional type then warning him won't help anyway."

  "And if he's just your garden variety liar?"

  Knox chuckled. "We'll find out that too."

  "You seem very confident."

  "I've been doing this a long time."

  She had to admit that she'd been impressed so far. He had a way of making people feel comfortable while talking. She wouldn't call it charm; that was way too superficial, but somehow he made people feel calm - as if everything was simply great.

  They were halfway through their lunch when Knox's phone buzzed. He checked it and sent the call to voicemail.

  "Not important?"

  "It's my dad. Again. He's not getting the hint that I'm not going to call back."

  "You could just block the number."

/>   Knox shrugged. "I just ignore him. My younger brother Randy is trying to convince me to give my father a second chance. He says he's changed."

  It didn't appear that Knox agreed with that sentiment.

  "And you don't think that he has?"

  "I can't even imagine how that would look. And as for giving him a second chance, fuck that. I've given him dozens of chances and he's blown every single one. He's a mess of a human being and I don't think he'll ever change. I don't honestly think that he wants to. What he really wants is for us to change. He wants us to forgive and forget whenever he gives us one of his lame ass apologies."

  With her own background, Jenna didn't blame Knox. A child - even as an adult - could only take so much. At some point they had to drop the rope if only for their own sanity.

  "I think you should do whatever it is you want to. Your brother can't make your decisions for you."

  Knox's brow quirked. "You don't think I should give my dad another chance? Everyone else thinks I should."

  "Only if you want to."

  "Would you give your father another chance?"

  "Doubtful. But to be fair, he's never proclaimed that he's changed. In fact, he's rather proud of being an asshole. He thinks he's just fine and everyone else around him is in the wrong." She hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should continue. But why not? She'd already told Knox deeply intimate things about herself. What was a few more? "I used to think that there was something wrong with me. After all, if my own dad couldn't love me then I must not be lovable, right? I just couldn't understand what I'd done wrong. Tom and Anita eventually sent me to a therapist who helped me understand that I hadn't done anything. It was him. I was lovable and loved. It was a huge revelation for me."

  He gave her a lopsided grin. "Are you worried that I don't think I'm lovable, Jenna? That I think that there's something wrong with me? Never fear, I don't. I've known for a very long time that my family is fucking dysfunctional and that my parents suck. And I didn't need to talk to a therapist to come to that conclusion."

  Whenever she got too close, he'd lash out. Even if he did it with a smile.

  "Are you saying that therapy is dumb? Because I think it can help a lot of people. It might help you."

  "How? What help do I need?"

  She sat back in the booth, her fingers idly playing with her fork. "For one thing, you seem to think that having a shitty family is an important part of your identity. It seems to define who you are and I also think that you don't like having to share that. You want only you to have had a crappy childhood. That's why you minimize my childhood."

  He was already shaking his head before she'd finished speaking. "I don't minimize it. You do. You admit that you were basically saved by Tom and Anita. You had an escape hatch to a better life. I didn't. I only had me to depend on."

  "So that makes you better?"

  "I'm not falling for that."

  She laughed and shook her head. "You're just not saying it out loud, but I'd bet that I'm right about what you're thinking about inside."

  "You don't know what I think about. All I'm saying is that I don't think you can truly understand my life."

  Gobsmacked. It was the only word that she could think of that summed up this situation as well as it did.

  "What an incredibly sad, lonely, and assholish thing to say," Jenna shot back. She wasn't angry with Knox. He hadn't hurt her by what he'd said. If anything, he was only hurting himself by not letting people in. "This is actually quite fascinating in a psychological way. For some people, having crappy parents makes them doubt themselves. In your case, it's made you an arrogant douchebag because you think you've survived something that no one else has. News flash. You're deluding yourself. But don't listen to me. After all, I could never understand."

  Knox threw up his hands in frustration. "What is it that you want from me? You want me to be sad and have shitty self-esteem? Because it sounds like it. I just don't let my craptastic family get to me. I see them as little as possible and live my life. End of story."

  "Fine. End of story. Let's drop the subject."

  He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't get that way, okay? We just look at the situation differently. That's it."

  Jenna stared down at the table, her appetite completely gone. "I just wanted you to know that you're not alone."

  "I don't mind being alone. I like it. I prefer it."

  She looked up at him then, tears burning the backs of her eyes. He appeared to be confident in what he was saying. He believed it. So she needed to as well.

  "I promise I won't intrude on that then. I'll leave you to it."

  "Listen, we're not a couple–"

  She held up her hand. "You're right. We're not, and it's probably for the best."

  "I think that it is."

  "Fine."

  "Good."

  But it was still sort of sad. She didn't like to think of Knox all alone. He said that he wanted it that way.

  Was he sure? She'd have to take his word for it.

  Stop reaching out. Stop letting him into her heart.

  He wasn't interested. And that wasn't going to change. She should feel glad that she'd figured it out before falling completely head over heels for him.

  Why do I feel so crappy then?

  14

  The rest of their lunch was awkward. Knox had changed the subject and was trying to pretend that their conversation had never happened. Jenna wasn't the type to sweep disagreements under the rug. She would have preferred to talk it out but he clearly didn't want to so instead she shut her mouth, only giving him the bare minimum of responses. He might be over it but it was going to take her a little longer.

  She was beginning to think that perhaps her feelings for Knox ran deeper than she'd originally believed. They hadn't known each other long. Not really. But there was something about him that drew her in, like a moth to a flame.

  It wasn't his dazzling looks, although that didn't hurt. It wasn't that he was a fantastic conversationalist or brilliant or amazingly funny. It wasn't that he was the best of the best at any of those things. He wasn't. He was sweet and kind, sharp-witted and he made her giggle. He made her want to spend more time with him, to ask him questions about what he liked and didn't like. She wanted to know his favorite ice cream and whether he liked classic rock. She was fascinated by how a man who dumped copious amounts of ketchup on his scrambled eggs could say there was too much gravy on his mashed potatoes.

  He was laid back but his mind was working every moment. She'd become one of those horrible women who wanted to know what their man was thinking all of time. Hoping, of course, that he was thinking about her. She wasn't delusional enough for that, though. She knew good and well he wasn't thinking about her.

  Knox pulled up in front of Lori's townhouse. "You said that you haven't changed anything? Everything is the same as when she left it?"

  "Everything," Jenna assured him. "Except we cleaned out the refrigerator. We didn't want to harbor spoiled food. Luckily, Lori wasn't much of a cook so there wasn't much there."

  It was stupid, keeping Lori's townhouse. But their hope had truly never died. Even now, knowing the odds were stacked mightily against them, they held onto it, keeping it just as she left it.

  Lori's home was in a newly constructed townhouse development on the edge of Douglas. All the exteriors were exactly alike, painted beige with white trim, up and down the street. Jenna remembered that she'd teased her sister that she needed to put up a colorful flag or paint the mailbox red otherwise she'd drive right past her own house. Michelle and Jenna had come over the next weekend and helped plant colorful flowers in decorative pots for the front porch.

  They approached the front door and if Jenna hadn't been paying attention she would have run right into Knox's back. He'd come to an abrupt halt.

  "What–"

  He placed his hand over her mouth, shaking his head. His head jerked toward the townhouse and then he pointed to his ear.

&n
bsp; It was when she was quiet that she heard it. Sounds coming from inside the house. There shouldn't be anyone in there. Her heart lurched and then accelerated, the adrenaline beginning to pump through her veins.

  Someone was in Lori's house.

  "Would your sister or brother be in the house?" he asked, his voice so low she almost didn't hear him.

  She held up the key. "No, we only have the one spare. If I have it, they don't."

  "Stay here."

  Before her brain could register his movements, he'd gone back to the SUV to retrieve something and was standing back on the front porch again.

  He was holding a gun. A gun.

  Now her heart was pounding even harder and faster. Real fear was crawling at her insides, pressing against her lungs and making it difficult to take a deep breath. Knox thought that whoever was inside the house was dangerous. Was that person armed too?

  Gently pushing her back, he plucked the key from her hand and slowly unlocked the front door.

  "Stay here," he said again, pushing his shoulder against the door and entering the house.

  Jenna didn't like staying behind but she didn't want to go inside either. She was frozen to her spot on the porch, her feet immovable objects. Her brain wasn't in charge at the moment.

  She heard a flurry of activity, some curse words, and then the sound of a door and footsteps. Hurrying to the edge of the house, she caught a glimpse of Knox running through the backyard, dodging lawn furniture and leaping over a flowerbed before disappearing between two houses.

  Now what?

  She didn't have to be a genius to realize that Knox was chasing someone. The "someone" who had been in Lori's house. Had he or she been alone? Was there anyone else still in there?

  Should I go check? Should I get in the car and try and help Knox?

  She then realized that she didn't have the keys to his vehicle. She was stuck here.

  Glancing back at the front door, she took a few tentative steps toward it but then stopped. He'd said to stay put. He was the former cop, after all. If she walked into the house and there was still someone in there it would be her own damn fault if she ended up hurt or dead. He'd warned her when they started this investigation that if she was going to follow him around, she had to do everything he told her to do. No exceptions. He wasn't going to take any chances with her safety.