When a Secret Kills Read online

  Colton sipped the coffee. Slowly the red faded from her cheeks and he could see her brain working.

  She snagged his gaze with hers. “The car wreck investigation for the governor. Can you get me the file from that?”

  “What for?”

  “They would have taken pictures, written a report. I want to see the pictures and read the report.”

  He didn’t answer her right away. Instead he looked at her, saw her absolute belief that she was right. It worried him. Made him start to doubt his uncle. “I can do that.”

  Relief flickered in her pretty brown eyes. “Good. When?”

  “Right after I make this bid.”

  “What bid?”

  “A bid for tickets for the World Series in October.”

  “Those things are super hard to get. How can you just hit a few buttons and have tickets?”

  “They’re up for bid on an online auction for charity.” He glanced at her. “I’m going to be the highest bidder.”

  “I didn’t realize you were such a big baseball fan.”

  “I’m not. I mean I like the game, but I need these for a bribe.”

  She blinked and he clicked.

  “Okay. Good luck.” She fell silent for a moment. “So?”

  “So what?”

  “The car wreck investigation files?”

  “Right.” Colton let out a sigh and pushed the mouse away. “If you really think the ME’s death is somehow connected to the death of the governor, then that might be a good enough reason for the judge to give a court order for an exhumation.”

  “Then get his file too. Everything.”

  “It’s a closed case. An accidental death.”

  “The file is still in storage.”

  Did he really want to do this? He didn’t see that he had a choice. He either had to prove his uncle innocent and Jillian wrong—or put the man in jail for murder. Actually, he’d have to recuse himself from this crazy investigation and watch a fellow officer arrest his uncle. Some choice. But as of now, nothing had been connected to his uncle other than Jillian’s say-so. And the man couldn’t be arrested on that.

  Jillian asked, “If we find evidence, would you go to the judge and get a court order?”

  He gave a slow nod. “Yeah. It might take some convincing, but,” he rubbed a hand across his eyes, “but I could probably do it.”

  She stilled. “And would you?”

  Colton felt tension run along his jawline. “If only to prove you wrong.”

  She grimaced. “I’m sorry, Colton, but I’m not wrong.”

  “Then let’s see if we can prove it.” He pulled his phone from his pocket, punched in a number and hit speaker. Serena answered on the third ring. “Hey, Serena, looks like I have a favor to ask of you too.”

  “Sure, Colton, what do you need?”

  He told her. Silence met his request. “Serena?”

  “You said the deaths were ruled accidental. But you don’t think they were. So, you think just like Jillian? The two deaths are related?” she asked.

  “Let’s just say we’re going to find out one way or the other and we need your help to do it.”

  “All right.” She paused. “These aren’t cold cases. They’re closed cases. They’re public record.”

  “The reports are. The pictures are a different matter. The police investigation files are no problem. But the pictures from the ME’s office might be a little hard to get ahold of. I’m going to get a court order from a judge. He’s a friend of mine, and while he won’t do anything unethical, he trusts me and will listen to me. If he thinks I have something worthwhile, he’ll be willing to give me a little more latitude than some of the other judges I know.”

  “I can send everything to my work email account and access it from a secure computer. You have one of those?”

  “I do.”

  “How soon can you get the court order to me?”

  “Give me thirty minutes.” He saw Jillian give him a satisfied nod.

  “All right. When do you want to start going over it?”

  “What time can you be at my house?”

  15

  Hunter stepped inside and clapped Colton on the shoulder. “Alexia sends her regrets. She’s working.”

  “No problem. Tell her we missed her.”

  “Where’s Jillian?”

  “Right here.”

  Hunter walked over to her and handed her a bag. “Alexia said you’d probably need this stuff. Some clothes, a toothbrush, and whatever she deemed necessary.”

  Jillian blinked back tears and accepted the gift with a watery thanks.

  Then Dominic entered, carrying a green bag by the handles, followed by Serena, Katie, and a nice-looking man Jillian had never seen before.

  “I brought pizza supplies,” Serena announced with a grin. She turned to Jillian. “And I went shopping. I brought you a couple of shirts. I would have volunteered my shorts, but they’d probably look like pants on you.”

  Jillian laughed as she eyed her friend’s five-foot-nine frame. “No doubt, but thanks for the T-shirts. I was afraid I’d have to go shopping too—and that might not be the safest thing to do right now.”

  Dominic took the bag into the kitchen, saying over his shoulder, “Anyone else experiencing a bit of déjà vu?”

  Jillian lifted a brow at Colton and he smiled. “Last month we got together to search through files, and Serena made us her homemade pizza. It’s been that long since we’ve all gotten together.” He frowned. “That’s a shame, if you ask me.”

  “Definitely,” Hunter agreed.

  Serena waved them toward the den. “Why don’t you get started while I put these pizzas together.”

  “Need some help?” Katie asked.

  Serena looked surprised. “Sure.”

  Katie said, “This is Grayson. He’s my brother’s best friend and a cop in Florida. When I told Grayson what we were doing, he insisted on coming along.”

  Grayson shot the group a sheepish smile. “Can’t resist a good investigation.”

  Colton laughed. “I don’t know a cop who can. This is a closed case, nothing confidential here, so welcome to the group.”

  Shoulders relaxing, Grayson made his way into the den and found a seat on one end of Colton’s brown leather L-shaped couch. Although a large piece of furniture, it fit the room and log cabin atmosphere. Wood beams graced the ceiling. Across from the couch, an oversized fireplace had the potential to heat the entire downstairs.

  “This reminds me of a hunting lodge,” Grayson said to Jillian.

  She laughed and agreed. “It appears rustic and yet it’s not.” She swept a hand around the room. “All the comforts you could ask for.”

  “Tasteful. Classy.”

  “Yeah.”

  Colton came into the room, head bent over his phone.

  Hunter followed. “You’re seriously going to spend that much money on tickets?”

  “It’s for a good cause.”

  “Which one?” Hunter snickered. “The real charity or the Colton charity case?”

  Colton looked up and lasered Hunter with a glare. “Just so you know, he’s added your name to the list.”

  Hunter paled. “He didn’t.”

  “He did.”

  Hunter gulped. “I’ll go halves.”

  “What list?” Jillian asked.

  Dominic looked confused. “What are you up to?”

  Hunter said, “Rick’s decided that we don’t respect crime solving technology like we should and has suggested to our captain that we attend one of his seminars on the subject.”

  Dominic winced. “One of those all-day things?”

  “One of those weekend things,” Colton said with a shudder. “He mentioned last year that he’d never been to the World Series and it was his dream to get there one day.” He waved the phone. “I’m bidding on tickets.”

  Jillian lifted a brow. “And you think bribing him is going to get you out of going?”

  Hunter
gave a vigorous nod. “Oh yeah.”

  Colton finally set his phone aside and picked up several files. “All right, let’s get busy. These are the police files. Serena’s going to pull up the ME reports in just a few minutes. So, everyone have a seat and let me tell you what’s going on.”

  Colton took a moment to settle his own thoughts, then said, “Just thought I’d fill you in on how Jonah’s doing. The hospital is keeping him for observation, but it looks like he’ll make a full recovery.”

  “How’d our killer get the drop on him?” Dominic asked.

  “Jonah said he thought he saw some movement down by the trees where Hunter found him. Said he started walking that way and that’s the last thing he remembers.”

  Hunter shook his head and Dominic blew out a breath. “He’s lucky it was a tranquilizer gun.”

  “Amen,” Colton said. He picked up a file. “All right. You already know some of it. Let me just rehash and we’ll go from there. Ten years ago, Jillian says she saw my uncle Frank shoot Governor Harrison Martin.” Nods greeted his sentence. “That’s what she really believes and there’s no question she saw something—and someone wants her dead for it.” More nods. “Martin’s death was reported as accidental. Three weeks later, the ME who issued the report also died.”

  Murmurs and raised eyebrows echoed around the room and Jillian twisted with impatience. She wanted to grab the files from Colton’s hands and dig in. She forced herself to still, to wait. Serena came in and sat at the computer. Katie followed and sat next to Grayson.

  Colton went on. “The ME’s death was also ruled accidental. He died from multiple bee stings. Anaphylactic shock. Probably would have only taken one or two stings to cause him some trouble, but he was stung over fifty times.”

  Hunter winced and Dominic grimaced. “That would have killed him pretty fast.”

  “Almost instantly,” Katie agreed.

  “Poor man.” Serena’s gaze softened with compassion.

  “Back to the governor. An autopsy was done because his wife demanded it. She said he hated Culver Park Road and wouldn’t have been on it; their nephew died on that road his senior year. She said that Martin went out of his way to avoid the road, and the fact that he was on it was a huge red flag for her.”

  “But no one listened to the grief-stricken wife, eh?” Grayson asked.

  Colton tapped the file folder. “Not really. It’s noted in the report, but that’s about it.”

  “But she got the autopsy,” Katie said.

  “She paid for it herself.”

  “And the ME didn’t find anything suspicious,” Hunter stated.

  Colton shook his head. “Not according to his report.”

  “We need to talk to Mrs. Martin.”

  Dominic nodded. “Put her on the list.”

  Jillian watched Serena’s fingers fly over the keyboard. Images flickered, then settled as she started to read.

  Grayson rubbed his hands together. “So, we’re looking for something off in the reports that indicates there was something more than fate at work?”

  Colton eyed the detective. “Something like that.”

  Jillian wondered why Katie had brought the man—then looked around and realized everyone was “coupled” off. Dominic and Serena, she and Colton, and Hunter and Alexia. Although Alexia hadn’t been able to make it, Katie probably hadn’t known that when she invited Grayson to come along.

  Interesting. She wouldn’t have thought the woman would have been bothered by that kind of thing. At least not the Katie she remembered from high school. She supposed everyone had their own insecurities whether they liked to admit it or not.

  She also thought it funny that she’d coupled herself with Colton almost without thinking about it. Definitely interesting. And a little scary.

  Colton shifted, his expression troubled. “Not that I expect it to happen, but just let me say now if any proof comes to light that shows my uncle guilty of any wrongdoing, I’ll recuse myself from the investigation. Right now, there’s no evidence of his involvement in anything other than what Jillian is saying. My captain was intrigued enough with the deaths of these two men and a possible connection—not to mention the attempts on Jillian’s life—that he’s given me the green light to see what I can find out. He’s also given me a deadline. We have seventy-two hours.” He spread the files on the table. “It’s not a lot. I thought we could take turns reading it, see if anything jumps out at you.” He looked at Serena whose gaze hadn’t left the computer screen. “Serena?”

  She jumped and turned, brow raised. “Yes?”

  “You found anything yet?”

  “I’m looking at the governor’s autopsy report. Nothing stands out to me yet. It’s pretty routine.”

  “Okay, sorry. I won’t bother you again. Just holler if you learn something.”

  Serena sniffed and lifted her nose. “When have you ever known me to ‘holler’?” She turned back to the computer.

  Her friend’s haughty pronouncement made Jillian grin. Dominic, too, had a smile on his face. Eyes filled with love, he simply stared at the back of Serena’s head. A pang of longing shot through Jillian as she dared let her gaze swing back to Colton. He used to have that look in his eyes when he looked at her. She allowed herself to wonder. What would it take to get it back?

  She sighed. She doubted proving his uncle guilty of murder would inspire the look. Or telling him he had a daughter, a secret she’d kept for the past ten years.

  Jillian hardened her resolve. She had to do this. And if she lost Colton forever in the process, then she would have to find a way to live with it.

  Ignoring the pain slicing through her, she closed her eyes and offered up a prayer for help and discernment.

  And a desperate plea for her daughter’s continued safety.

  7:45 PM

  Frank studied the note as dread welled up. It had been a couple of weeks since the last one, and he’d dared to hope he’d scared Jillian into silence.

  And now this.

  TELL WHAT YOU DID . . . OR I WILL.

  “Does that mean you haven’t?” he muttered as he tossed the letter into his desk drawer and picked up his phone. Colton had texted him. At the moment Frank wished he hadn’t given in to his daughter’s urging that he be technologically savvy. But she’d seemed so excited about actually teaching him something, he’d listened and enjoyed the rare moment of camaraderie with her.

  He read Colton’s message again. NEED 2 TALK TO U. CALL ME ASAP.

  The back door slammed and Frank sighed as he glanced at his watch. Carmen and Elizabeth. They’d been to some special mother/daughter dinner at the church Elizabeth had insisted Carmen go to. No one had been more surprised than he when his daughter had shown up on their doorstep saying she was home for the week. Something about a power failure on campus. Classes and dorms had been closed. Frank actually called the school to find out if her story was true. After being lied to for so many years, he couldn’t help his suspicious nature when it came to Carmen and her stories. Even more surprising was the fact that she actually went to the dinner with Elizabeth.

  Carmen’s voice reached him. Chattering on the phone with one of her college friends, it sounded like. At least going to college seemed to soften some of her hard edges. She wasn’t quite so sullen and angry. Maybe she was finally working through whatever it was that turned her from his sweet girl into a sullen creature he couldn’t relate to.

  Elizabeth’s footsteps sounded on the hardwoods, clicking her way toward him. Frank forced his facial muscles to relax. He’d left the door open as he always did lately. No sense in having her wonder if he was hiding something. She was always suspicious. His shoulders tensed as her steps slowed.

  “Frank? Are you here?”

  “Yes, Elizabeth, I’m here.”

  She appeared in the doorway, exasperation on her face. “Are you still working?”

  “No. Not really. Just . . . thinking.”

  “About what?” Exasperation turned t
o wariness.

  “Nothing much. Just the campaign and how I feel like I’m always walking on a tightrope.”

  “That’s politics, darling. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

  He sighed. Why did he even bother? “Yes.” He kept his tone neutral. “I’ve figured it out. I’m going to give Colton a call and see what he wants. He texted me.”

  Elizabeth hesitated, a small set of lines appearing on her forehead.

  “You’re frowning. What is it?”

  “Colton was here today.”

  “I know. I was supposed to meet him, but had to run out at the last minute. I forgot to call and tell him.”

  “He was acting rather strange.”

  It was Frank’s turn to pause for a split second. Then he asked, “Why do you say that?”

  “He asked if you were friends with Harrison Martin.”

  Frank felt his insides grow cold. He struggled to keep his face neutral. Forcing a lightness he didn’t feel, he said, “Harrison? Why on earth would he be asking about a man who’s been dead for ten years?”

  “I have no idea. He just did. You’re getting ready to call him, ask him.”

  “Yes, yes, I’ll do that.”

  She nodded, still studying him.

  He shifted. “Was there something else?”

  “Colton also asked if you were all right.”

  A chill slithered through him. “Meaning?”

  She shrugged. “Again, I don’t know, but I thought the whole visit very odd.”

  So did Frank. He held up the handset of the cordless phone. “I’ll call him.”

  “I’m going to read in the sunroom for a while.” And then she was gone.

  Frank wilted into the chair where he seemed to spend the majority of his time. What was he going to do?

  He punched in the first six numbers of Colton’s cell number, then stopped. What if Jillian had told him what she saw that night? His stomach twisted tighter. What was he going to say? What if Colton asked him outright if he killed the governor?

  He’d deny it of course. And Colton would believe him. Wouldn’t he?

  He looked at his hands, then the guns on the wall behind him.

  One way or another Jillian had to be silenced. If she went public with her accusations, it would kill his career. And if she died after she talked, he would definitely look guilty. If she died now, he could do damage control. Couldn’t he?