Lone Defender (Love Inspired Suspense) (12 page)

“More than one person was gunning for Skylar. That being the case, it seems to me, your town has a bigger problem than a deadbeat dad who’s gone missing. Who are Redmond’s connections? What did he spend his time doing? You told me that you were keeping an eye on him. You must have noticed those things.”

“Any information I have on that is part of the official investigation. For now all I can say is that we’re checking into those things, and we’re being thorough about it. The best thing either of you can do is go back to your lives, let us handle the investigation.” The sheriff’s face tightened, but other than that, he kept his irritation hidden.

“I can’t do that, Sheriff,” Skylar replied. “I came here
to track Redmond down. I’m not going to leave until I find him.”

“I’m not surprised. Like I told your friend, you get hold of something, and you don’t let it go. Keep this in mind, though.” He leaned in, spearing her with steel gray eyes. “We’ve got our share of trouble in this area. Nice as it is, up-scale as we keep it, we have drugs and illegal weapons and gangs and all manner of things that a person can fall into. Could be Redmond fell into that kind of trouble. If that’s the case, it could be the people coming after you aren’t the kind of people you want to be messin’ with.”

“I mess with all sorts of people, Sheriff. That’s part of the job. So, I think I’ll just stick around until Redmond shows up.”

“I really don’t recommend it. Just ask your friend if you don’t believe that things can go real bad real fast. His wife got caught in the cross fire of a gang war.”

“What happened to my wife has nothing to do with this case. There’s no need to pull it out and wave it around as an example.” Jonas leaned forward, his eyes blazing. Skylar put a hand on his shoulder, pressing him back before he could do what
she
wanted to and slam a fist into the sheriff’s nose.

“I apologize. I didn’t mean that to sound the way it did, and I didn’t mean to cause you more pain than you’ve already suffered. What happened to your wife was a tragedy. I would just hate to see the same happen to Skylar. I guess my concern got the best of me.” The sheriff smiled, but there was something hard in his gaze.

“Apology accepted but, just so you know, Skylar isn’t the only one who plans to see this investigation through.” Jonas stood. “I think we’re about at the end of your twenty minutes.”

“You’re right. I do have to get going. I’ll call you with updates, and you call me if you have any more trouble.”

“I will. Thanks.” Skylar stood, too, though she was reluctant to let things go so quickly. There was more she wanted to say. Plenty she wanted to ask. She’d worked as a police officer in New York, and she knew the way the system worked. Knew that the first forty-eight hours were the most important in any investigation.

No doubt Sheriff Smithson knew the same.

So, why wasn’t he out in the desert spearheading the investigation?

Why didn’t he have anything to share about Daniel Redmond?

Why was he sitting behind his desk allowing his men to work the case?

Why was going to a meeting more important than investigating an attempted murder?

She almost let the questions pop out, but Sheriff Smithson didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d appreciate being reminded of his priorities.

“All set?” Deputy Williams greeted them as they entered the reception area, a black suitcase sitting beside him.
Skylar’s
black suitcase. She nearly cried with joy.

Clean clothes that fit. Shoes that didn’t pinch blistered feet. And if they’d gotten her things from the Jeep, that meant she’d also have her wallet. Her laptop and cell phone. After nearly a week of being cut off from everyone and everything, she was finally getting her life back.

“Looks like you have my stuff.”

“It’s already too contaminated to yield any usable evidence, so you’re welcome to take it. I put your purse and cell phone inside the suitcase. They were found in the jeep.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. I’ll take it out to your car for you.”

“I’ll get it.” Jonas grabbed the case before the deputy could, his movements tight and short.

Still upset.

With the sheriff.

Maybe with Skylar.

She couldn’t say she blamed him. He’d gone out of his way to help a friend, and he’d gotten nothing more than trouble for his efforts.

She followed him to the door, walking through as Deputy Williams held it open.

To her surprise, the deputy stepped outside, following them to Jonas’s truck.

“Listen, the sheriff will have my head if he knows I let this leak, but there’s something going on at Redmond’s place, and I think you should know about it.” Williams’s quiet words made Skylar’s heart leap, and she glanced around, made sure they were alone in the parking lot.

“What?”

“The evidence team found blood splatter on the bedroom wall. Wasn’t visible to the naked eye. There’s blood smeared on the wood floor, too. A trail of it leading to the backyard and a brand new cement slab.”

“Are they pulling it up?” Jonas asked, his body seeming to hum with energy. The thrill of the chase, the exhilaration of gathering the clues and finding the answers, it didn’t go away. Not when it was what a person was meant to do.

And Jonas was.

The fact that she shouldn’t have said it, didn’t make it untrue. He had a gift for tracking people, and she hated to see him wasting it.

“We started doing that an hour ago. The sheriff likes to keep things close to the cuff until he has all the facts. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hesitated to mention it.”

“He keeps it close to the cuff, and you let the world know?” Jonas asked before Skylar could.

“You’re both former law-enforcement agents. Both of you
have backgrounds in investigation. I don’t see any reason to keep it from you. The fact is, Rodger and I are friends. We have cookouts together, golf together, hunt together. We get along just fine, but it’s an election year, and I think that’s influencing the way he’s conducting this investigation.”

“What do you mean?” Curious, Skylar studied the deputy. He seemed sincere, concerned, maybe even a little uncomfortable.

“Between what happened to you and what’s been found at Redmond’s place, it’s obvious something big is going on. In light of that, Rodger should be hip deep in the investigation, not hanging out with his campaign manager. It’s going to bite him in the butt if he’s not careful. If you two start talking down about him, complaining that he’s withholding information, that’ll be another nail in the coffin. I don’t want to see that happen.” He frowned, obviously troubled by the thought.

“I appreciate the information, Deputy, but I don’t make a habit of talking anyone down,” Skylar reassured him, but his comments had made her even more curious about the sheriff and his priorities.

“Good to know. Keep your nose clean and watch your back. If you’re murdered in Cave Creek after you made it through six days alone in the desert—”

“The sheriff will have a really bad election year?” she offered, and he smiled. Shook his head.

“That, too, but I’m more concerned about you. You’ve come too far and fought too hard to die on the street of our little town. So, be careful.” He offered a quick wave and walked away.

“Do you think he’s on the up and up?” Jonas asked, his gaze following the deputy’s retreat.

“Why would he lie?”

“Why would anyone?” He lifted the suitcase into the truck bed.

“I don’t know, but whatever his motivation, he’s given us some interesting information, and I think we should move on it.”

“I suppose you want to head over to Redmond’s.”

“I think we should.”

We?

She didn’t do
we.
Hadn’t done
we
since her days working as a police officer and the betrayal that had nearly taken her life. Matthew’s actions had only cemented her certainty that she was better off on her own. She’d made that clear to Kane when she’d accepted the job he’d offered.

Yet there she was, getting ready to check out a potential crime scene with Jonas.

She frowned, wishing she’d grabbed her cell phone from the suitcase. She could have charged the phone, made a call to Kane and let him know just how unhappy she was to have Jonas around.

Only she wasn’t unhappy.

That was the truth, and she always tried to tell it. Even to herself.

Having Jonas around was…comforting.

Or maybe not.

Comforting was a warm fire on a cold day, a faithful old dog pattering through the house at night, the first rays of sun after a storm.

Jonas wasn’t comforting.

He was excitement and anticipation and safety all rolled into one.

And that terrified her.

Everyone she’d ever loved had betrayed her in one way or another. Everyone she should have been able to count on
had failed her. She didn’t want to be disappointed or betrayed again. Not by anyone, but especially not by Jonas.

And that, she decided, was the most terrifying truth of all.

ELEVEN

J
onas pulled out of the parking lot, his body humming with anticipation. When he’d worked border patrol, the thrill of the hunt had driven him. The quick burst of adrenaline, the buzz of energy, he’d loved both, and he’d lived for them as much as he’d lived for almost anything. Looking back, he could see that that hadn’t been healthy. If he ever went back to it, he’d do things differently. Keep balanced. Find thrills in everyday life as much as he’d found them in his job. Appreciate the quiet times as much as he did the action.

If he went back?

That he was actually considering it surprised him. Three years ago, he wouldn’t have. One year ago, he wouldn’t have.

Now?

He wasn’t sure, but he was going to go with his instincts, follow them where they led. Instincts and God. Skylar had used those words to describe how she’d survived her partner’s betrayal, and Jonas didn’t doubt the truth of them. God existed. He had power to create and to save.

Could Jonas accept that God’s ability to save didn’t always mean that He would? Could he leave the fate of his loved ones to God’s will, trusting in God’s love even when His plan wasn’t clear?

Jonas had learned faith from his grandfather, but the
truths Pops had tried to impart had poured off him like water on an oil slick. A fatherless kid with a mother who’d barely cared didn’t spend much time thinking about eternity. At least, Jonas hadn’t. Even after Pops had died and Jonas had moved in with his father and Debby, gone to church with them every time the doors were open, Jonas hadn’t absorbed what he was being soaked in. Until he’d met Gabriella and watched the way she’d lived her convictions, he hadn’t understood what true faith meant or strived to achieve it. Once she was gone, he hadn’t cared enough to keep striving.

But maybe God hadn’t stopped striving for him.

“Turn left here.” Skylar broke into his thoughts, and he turned onto the street, parked a few houses away from Redmond’s place. No question about which one it was. Police cars filled the driveway and lined the curb in front of it, and two officers stood at the front door.

“Think they’ll be happy to see us?” she asked, as she got out of the truck.

“Not as happy as the sheriff was to see us go.”

“He did seem anxious to get rid of us. Of course, that might have been because you looked like you were about to put your fist through his face.”

“I thought about it.”

“So did I. Listen.” She grabbed his arm, soft curls tumbling past her collarbone, the neckline of her sweater revealing half an inch of purple scar. “I want to apologize again for what I said earlier. I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“Is that something you do often?”

“Keep my mouth shut? I’m afraid not.”

“Don’t start doing it on my account, then.”

“I really do regret hurting you. You know that, right?”

“You didn’t hurt me.”

“Don’t lie to make me feel better.” She touched his shoulder, warmth seeping through his jacket, heating his skin and
speeding his pulse. He’d be carried away by his feelings if he wasn’t careful. Start thinking about things that couldn’t be, or shouldn’t. Like risking it all again, like letting himself believe he could build something different than what he’d had with Gabriella, but something just as strong and wonderful.

“I’m not in the habit of lying to make anyone feel better. Come on. Let’s see if those officers will tell us what’s been found.” He walked to the house, catching his breath, refocusing his thoughts.

One of the officers stepped forward. “Sorry, folks, you’re going to have to leave.”

“I’m Skylar Grady. I’m a private investigator from New York, in town looking for Daniel Redmond.”

“I recognize you. Your face has been plastered on the front page of the local newspaper for almost a week. You’re also the reason we’ve spent half the day searching this property.”

“Then you understand why I’m interested in knowing what you’ve found.”

“I understand it, but it’s not my place to give out any information.” The deputy shoved up sunglasses onto her head, a frown line between her brows.

“But a male body
was
found, right?” Jonas took a stab in the dark, and the deputy cocked her head, studied him for a moment.

“I guess it can’t hurt to say. The news hounds have been sniffing around all morning, so I’m sure everyone in town will know by this afternoon. Someone
is
dead. We haven’t identified who, yet.”

“There’s no doubt the victim was a man?”

“None. No doubt about how he died, either. Guy was shot execution style. Arms tied behind his back, bullet to the back of the head. Slashed throat. Not pretty, even after the body’s been buried for weeks.”

“How many?”

“Weeks? That’s for the medical examiner to say, but I’d guess three or four based on the condition of the body.” The deputy tapped her fingers against her thigh, scanning the yard.

“That coincides with the time frame of Redmond’s disappearance,” Jonas said, wishing he had the right to cross the yard, look down into the open grave. See the victim for himself.