Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“That wasn’t deleted?” Luke questioned Owen. “You’d think Wilson would have been all over erasing evidence.”
“Well, there’s deleting and then there’s deleting from the server, and if there’s a bread crumb anywhere, I will find it.”
Luke faced me. “You didn’t question that because you knew the answer already, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. It’s Owen. He can find anything, anywhere, at any time. Ask the DEA.”
As predicted, Owen’s deep green eyes met mine.
“Too soon?” I asked.
“That was years ago,” he said through clenched teeth.
I grinned at him, and he muttered the word ass under his breath. Jared told him to continue and bumped me gently.
“What? It was funny.”
“Not funny,” Jared mumbled.
“Anyway,” Owen went on, “I suspect Mullane was smart enough to know he was in trouble, so when Griff was passed out in the back seat of that police cruiser, I’m fairly certain he put his car key in Griff’s pocket.”
“A key?” Griff asked.
“Yeah. His gorgeous, tricked-out 1969 ZL1Chevy Camaro that was fortunately found abandoned on the highway just outside Eena proves that Mullane was here. That, along with Griff’s eyewitness account and the key, if it’s here, will bring a whole new level of scrutiny on ex-Chief Wilson.”
“Yeah, but all I have are my keys,” Griff said.
“May I see them?”
“Sure.” He went to retrieve them. After a quick examination, there was no key that didn’t belong on his ring. “See?”
“I do.” Owen smiled. “Let’s think now… When Nash brought you home from the police station, he drove the Jeep, yes?”
“Yeah.”
“Would you go check it for me?”
Griff took Darwin with him.
“I will never forgive myself for not being home,” Luke said softly.
“That’s useless,” Jared assured him. “You took on a big job to make certain your family was provided for. Nash was here to care for your family.”
“Yes, but if Nash hadn’t decided to come early, then—”
“Then Griffin would have spent a second night in custody. I read the hospital report, and the important part to remember here is that nothing was broken, and he wasn’t suffering from hypothermia or anything else. I’m not downplaying Nash’s part, as there might have been a small fire—literally—where Tatum was concerned.”
“You know about that?” she asked him.
“I know about everything.”
“Wow,” she murmured, staring at him.
He regarded Luke. “Live in the present. It’s all you can do.”
“Yes,” Luke said, leaning into me when I lifted my arm for him.
“What an excellent pair you are,” Viola said with a smile.
“Agreed,” Jared rumbled.
I saw John nod as well, and that was nice.
“Found it,” Griff declared, striding back into the room. “Well, technically, Dar found it, on the floor under the passenger seat.”
“It’s orange,” Dar announced, clearly surprised. “I’ve never seen an orange key.”
It was on a small ring, and when Griff passed it to Owen, he smiled. “Yep, there it is. Now all we need to do is deliver this to the FBI field office in Seattle, and they will take Wilson into custody and send a forensic team here to Eena to search the police station. If there is anything there to find, you can bet they will.”
“Do you think Mr. Mullane is dead?” Griff asked Owen. “Maybe he got away from Wilson and he’s just hiding somewhere.”
“I don’t believe he got away, and yes, I think he’s dead.”
“I feel bad that I almost lost his key.”
“You can’t feel bad about something you didn’t know anything about,” Owen reasoned. “The fact is, at the time, Wilson never suspected the key was given to you. His officers pulled out your keys, but obviously, didn’t turn your pockets inside out as they’re supposed to do. I think after the fact, Wilson grew suspicious when they were ready to move the car and couldn’t—and towing it was probably out of the question, as it would have meant involving others and risk being seen. And the only plausible answer was that somehow Mullane had given you the key, which is why Firmin was skulking around.”
“Will there be more people coming after my son?” Luke sounded scared.
“No,” I told him. “As soon as Owen and Jared visit the FBI field office this morning, they’ll send people out here to Eena to go through the police station piece by piece. You haven’t seen thorough until you’ve seen an FBI forensics team at work.”
“That’s good,” Luke said with a sigh.
“And then Newcastle PD will pick up Wilson on suspicion of murder.”
“Okay, good. So I shouldn’t worry.”
“The only one who should be worried is Wilson,” Owen disclosed. “James was Ryan Mullane’s youngest son, and my understanding is that Ryan is not a forgiving man.”
“How did you find out all this so fast?” Griff wanted to know.
“Nash caught Ward Firmin last night, and as Deputy Chief Sampson explained, he had worked and was still working for Wilson, who was paying him under the table. So once I knew that, I got into Firmin’s phone messages, and it’s all there—Wilson speculating that Griff had the key to the Camaro.”