"You don't need to be for where we're going. It's casual."
He too was dressed almost identically, in jeans and a button-down cotton shirt. But somehow, he made the outfit look infinitely better. He was a man born to wear faded blue jeans and make them look...very good.
Her fingers pleated the hem of her blouse. She was still a bit nervous.
"So it's not a fancy place?"
"Not in the least. I thought it would be fun to go somewhere we wouldn't have to worry about manners or what we were wearing."
That did sound nice. But...where were they going?
He glanced over and then did a double take. There wasn't any traffic in sight, so he pulled over onto the side of the road.
"Is everything okay? You're acting strangely, babe."
Should she? They'd become so close since last night. It had all been like a fairy tale. She didn't want to ruin it by complaining. He hadn't done anything wrong. But if they were going to make this relationship work - and she hoped that they were - she couldn't keep secrets from him. Not again. She'd learned her lesson the first time. This one wasn't as big but it might be important to Knox.
"I'm not really all that fond of surprises," she confessed, her fingers clenching the armrest of the car. "I'm sorry. I really am. I just...I guess I'm not very fun that way. I'm not very spontaneous, either."
He frowned for a moment and then smiled. "Is that it? You don't like surprises? I get it. I really do. Okay, then I'll tell you where we're going. We're going to a lake nearby to have a picnic. That's it. Shit, I didn't mean to stress you out. I just wanted you to relax and have some fun."
"I like fun. I just like my fun to be...planned."
He nodded, seeming to actually understand. "It's okay, honey. To be honest, I don't really like surprises, either."
He'd been doing it because he thought she would like to be surprised. Talk about being at cross purposes.
"I promise to never throw you a surprise birthday party," she said, making an X over her heart with her finger. "But you need to know that I'm not spontaneous, either. I like to make lists, remember?."
"I do remember. I can live with that. Sounds like you're probably organized too. That's usually a good thing from what I've seen."
"What if you want to run off to Vegas at the last minute?"
Laughing, he shook his head. "Then I'll talk to you about it."
"But then it won't be last minute."
"We'll still get to go. That's the important thing."
"You're not mad at me about tonight?"
He cocked his head at her question. "Should I be? Did you want to turn around and go back to the house? That would kind of suck because I'd like to have an evening alone with you, but if you want to I will absolutely take you home."
She didn't want to go back.
"I want to be alone with you too."
"Then on we go." He handed her his phone. "If you want to see exactly where we're going the map’s pulled up."
He didn't care. He didn't think she was a pain in the ass.
"I love you," she blurted out, then slapped a hand over her mouth. She could feel the heat rush to her cheeks and she desperately hoped that the floor of the SUV would open up and swallow her.
What was she thinking? People don't say I love you in a car when pulled over to the side of the road. There was no romance. No candlelight. No...just no. She was an idiot. Was he already thinking of ways to run?
He simply sat there for the longest moment in her entire life. She could hear her heart pounding in her eyes and her words narrowed down to only the two of them, sitting in the car. The rest of the world dissolved as she waited for whatever his reaction was going to be.
Should I tell him I was joking? Should I just play it off?
His smile widened and those blue eyes...they softened as he reached out to pull her as close as the console between them allowed. His hands were strong and warm and she snuggled into his side, inhaling his heavenly scent. If they bottled it, they could make a fortune.
"I love you too, Jenna Waters. And that was pretty spontaneous, by the way."
"It was, wasn't it? Maybe you're having an effect on me."
"I hope so, but I don't care if you're spontaneous or if you plan everything down to the last minute. I love you either way."
They didn't need candlelight or flowers or champagne. They only needed each other.
They were in love. Officially.
And despite what had brought them together, it was glorious.
Knox had never been in love before.
Sure, he'd thought he was in the past, but clearly it hadn't been the real thing. There had been women - lots of them, to be truthful - and he'd cared about several of them. A few times he'd thought he was in love. Now he could see that he'd only been practicing for an actual, authentic love. Everything before Jenna seemed small and unimportant.
She'd been so cute and incredibly adorable when out of nowhere she'd told him she loved him. Her cheeks were all pink and her eyes had gone wide in fear as if she didn't know how he was going to reply. She should have known. She'd had him wrapped around her little finger since the first night they'd met. As he'd said before and he'd say many times in the future... There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for Jenna.
He was only beginning to comprehend how much he loved her, and how different this was to any relationship he'd had in the past.
She was currently asleep, her golden blonde hair fanned out on the pillow, her body curled around the covers. Knox carefully reached out and plucked at a curl, wrapping it around his finger before letting it softly fall on her silky shoulder.
He was glad that she could sleep, but he was wide awake. His mind was far too active, hopping from one idea to another about what might happen in the morning. There was hope that Hedgcock might be the one, but then if he wasn't, where did they go from here?
Slowly sliding out of bed so he wouldn't wake Jenna, he threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and headed for the kitchen. Maybe a shot of whiskey might help him sleep and settle his thoughts. The house should have been dark but the kitchen light was already on.
"Jesus, do you ever sleep?"
It was Eli, of course, munching on a sandwich and a glass of orange juice. He simply looked up from his snack, not seeming surprised that Knox was awake too.
"I do," Eli replied. "But my body clock is a little messed up. I slept a few hours but now I'm wide awake. Are you hungry?"
"I actually came out here to have a drink. I thought it might help me sleep."
"Couldn't hurt."
Knox reached for the whiskey bottle in the cabinet. "Want one?"
"Whiskey, roast beef, and orange juice doesn't sound like a good combination. I'll pass, but thanks. Why can't you sleep? Worried about tomorrow?"
"A little," Knox admitted. "If they don't find anything, I'm not sure where to go with this investigation."
"We start all over at the beginning," Eli said with a grin. "You know how this works. We've been here a million times. We start again and go over every piece of evidence and information with a fine-toothed comb. We'll find something. You already know that they're getting nervous. They'll show their hand again soon."
"What if they don't?"
"They will. Have some faith."
Knox poured a finger of whiskey and sipped at it, enjoying the burn in his belly. "You sound so calm. Do you meditate or something?"
That made Eli laugh. "Nope, I just don't let the little shit get to me. And as the saying goes...it's all little shit. As long as we keep Jenna and her family safe, we have time to investigate."
Knox emptied the glass. "But where do we go from here? I don't think my brother is guilty, and if Hedgcock isn't..."
"We expand the investigation. We look where we haven't looked before."
"Where is that?"
"You tell me. I just got here."
"I don't know."
And that frustrated the hell out of Knox.
"You will," Eli said, finishing off his sandwich and crumpling the paper napkin between his fingers. "Maybe not tonight, but eventually."
"In the meantime?"
"We place ourselves firmly between Jenna's family and the person that wants to hurt them. That will piss whomever it is off. I kind of like the idea of making a killer mad, don't you?"
"It's one of the better parts of this job."
Eli stood and placed his plate and glass in the sink. "How about we watch a movie? I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep any time soon. We've got about five hours to kill before they serve the warrant."
"Fine, but I get to pick the movie."
"I'll give you a choice. Die Hard or Die Hard II."
"The original. Is Die Hard your favorite movie?"
"No, but I thought we could use some inspiration right about now. What's more inspiring than John McClain taking back an entire skyscraper from terrorists single-handedly?"
"I can't argue the logic. We've got five hours. We could watch both of them."
It wasn't the worst way to pass the time. Did Brett Hedgcock kill Lori Waters? They just might get their answer tomorrow.
28
Knox and Jenna stood a few houses down from Hedgcock's home, watching the police coming and going. Every now and then one of the officers would exit with a brown paper bag but they couldn't see what had been removed from the house. They were on tenterhooks, waiting for the head detective to tell them what they'd found.
It was a warm morning and Knox had started it out by grabbing three coffees on the way along with a box of donuts. They might be sitting in the car for a long time. Executing the warrant could take hours.
He was shocked when he pulled up to find one of his three bosses, Jason Anderson, already there along with his brother West, who used to be a detective in Tremont but was now the mayor. West explained that he was good buddies with the chief of police in Rocky River where Hedgcock lived, and he had been invited to observe the activities. The chief of police was also open to them being a part of the investigation, as this would be the first murder case in their tiny town. They didn't have any experience with that sort of investigation and wanted to make sure that it was done right.
Inwardly, Knox was glad that Brett Hedgcock didn't live within the Douglas town limits because he sure as hell didn't want to deal with Mike Bauer. Twenty miles had made all the difference today.
"Are they checking the backyard?" Eli asked quietly. Jenna was chatting with West. "He could have hidden a body back there right under the flowerbed."
"They are. The house, the garage, the property, and right now they should be checking his desk at work."
"Is she going to be okay if they find a body?" Eli asked, glancing over at Jenna. "I hope you gave her a warning."
Knox had pulled Jenna aside this morning as they'd been getting ready to leave the house. He'd cautioned her about what could happen and what she might see. She'd said she was ready. He believed that she was. She knew that the truth might hurt but in the long run it was better than not ever knowing what had happened.
One of the local detectives strode over carrying three brown paper bags.
"I'm Detective Sheridan with the Rocky River Police," he introduced himself. "We have a few items and we'd like Ms. Waters to take a look at them. We need to know if they belong to her sister."
Jenna had already hurried to Knox's side. "I'm Jenna Waters. What do you have?"
"Some personal items that appear to be female," the detective replied. "We'll bring you whatever we find, but we ask that you not touch anything. It's all going to the state lab."
She nodded. "Of course."
Knox wrapped his arm around her waist, hoping to show support. This had to be incredibly difficult. Jenna turned to him and gave him brave smile.
"I'm ready. Let's do this."
"Okay, this first one has a woman's handbag. Can you tell us if it belonged to your sister?"
The rubber gloved officer opened the bag and lifted out a cream-colored purse. Jenna gasped, her body stiffening next to his, and for a moment she reached out before snatching her hand back. She'd remembered not to touch.
"Yes," her voice choked. "Yes, that's Lori's purse. I gave it to her for her birthday."
The detective nodded and closed the bag. "We had a feeling it was your sister's, Ms. Waters, because we did remove the items inside. Your sister's wallet with her driver's license and credit cards were found, but we needed you to confirm."
He opened the second bag and showed them the various items that Lori Waters had carried in her purse. There was a bright yellow leather wallet, two tubes of lipstick, a notebook, a brush, a small bottle of perfume, and some hair ties.
"Her phone?" Jenna asked. "Those definitely belong to Lori but she always carried her phone in her purse too."
"We're still looking for it," the detective replied. "But we do have a few pieces of clothing to show you."
The third bag was opened to display the sweater that had hung in Hedgcock's foyer and also a paisley print silk scarf.
"Yes, those are Lori's too. Michelle and I were with Lori when she bought that scarf. It was one of her favorites."
Jenna's fingers clutched at Knox's arm, her expression changing from one moment to the next. Happy, sad, angry, and a few more that he couldn't identify. Of course, she would be happy that they'd found some of her sister's belongings but there had to be sadness as well there too. Any hope of Lori being found alive had to be quickly draining away this last week.
"Why don't we go back to the car?" Knox suggested. "You can sit down and I'll get you a bottle of water."
Jenna's gaze never faltered, steady on the house the police were searching. "I'm fine. I need to see this through."
"You can see anything they bring you. I was just thinking that you might want to rest a little."
This time she did turn to him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "Thank you, but I'm okay. I'll fall apart later. Right now, I'm here for Lori."
He leaned down, brushing her temple with his lips. "And I'll be there for you when you do. You're a strong woman, Jenna Waters."
"I guess we'll see if that's true."
It certainly was true. For the next two hours, the detectives brought out about a dozen items for Jenna's perusal. About half of them she was able to easily identify. The other half Jenna wasn't sure about. They were all going to be processed at the state lab for blood and DNA.
It was after midday when Jason pulled Knox aside. "Looks like they're done. They found quite a bit, enough to take Brett Hedgcock in for questioning. The detective has invited us in. I told him that you should be the one to do it. You know the most about this case, and you've earned it. Looks like you might have found the person responsible."
"It's early yet. I don't want to count my chickens and all that shit."
Chuckling, Jason nodded. "I agree but it's looking good. Are you up for an interrogation? We need to find out where he dumped the body."
It made Knox queasy to even think about asking those sorts of questions in front of Jenna. She shouldn't be listening to the down and dirty details.
"I am, but..."
Jason quickly glanced at Jenna who was talking to Eli. "I get it. You're right. I can have Eli take her back to the safe house."
Knox explained to Jenna that they were going to question Hedgcock and that Eli was going to take her back to the house. He didn't expect her to object and she didn't. If anything, she seemed exhausted and pale. Eli had assured him that he'd take care of her, but Knox still didn't like not being with her. She needed him. But the investigation needed him too.
Knowing Jenna, she'd be pissed if he didn't put the case first. She was all about getting to the truth.
The Rocky River police station was like so many that Knox had seen through the years. Small, stuffed with desks in every corner, and smelling of burnt coffee. They were led to a back room with two-way glass. Hedgcock was already sitting on one side of the
table, looking absolutely terrified. The man was literally shaking in his chair and for a moment Knox felt sorry for him. He was getting a huge hit of reality and clearly unprepared for it.
Knox, Jason, and West had discussed the interrogation on the way to the police station. They had each given their own suggestions which Knox took as being a little more than a mere suggestion. Jason was his boss, after all, and West had been a successful cop before becoming the mayor. Knox's priority was to get Hedgcock to tell him where Lori was, which meant that he was going for a confession of sorts. He wasn't thinking he'd get that, though, so he was going to take a different approach. One that might appeal to someone that liked to live in their own world.
Jason handed Knox two bottles of water. "Go get 'em. Let us know if you want us to give you a break. We need to keep the pressure on Hedgcock, so if you get tired just tag one of us and we'll come in."
Knox entered the room, shutting the door behind him, and sat across from Hedgcock. The other man was fidgeting in his chair, looking like he might bolt from the room at any second.
"Are you sure you don't want an attorney present?" Knox asked. Hedgcock had already said that he didn't, but Knox wanted to give him another chance. They had already read his Miranda rights and he said that he understood them. "We can wait if you want to call one."
"I don't have anything to hide," Hedgcock said, his voice thready and weak. "I just want to answer your questions and go home."
Knox slid one of the bottles of water across the table. "You must be thirsty. Have a drink and we'll chat. How does that sound?"
"Okay, I guess."
Hedgcock twisted off the cap and took a large gulp.
"So, Brett...can I call you Brett? You can call me Knox if you want to."
The other man's head bobbed. "Sure, you can call me Brett."
"Okay, Brett. Let's talk about the items that were found in your home that belonged to Lori Waters. Her purse and clothes. How did you come to be in possession of them?"
"Lori gave them to me."
"She gave you her purse? Didn't she need it?"
Brett shook his head. "She said that I needed to keep it safe."
Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) Page 21
