Twisted Truth (Rogue Justice Novella Book 1) Read online

  Carly dried her hands on a paper towel. There was still blood under her nails. She glanced down. Her clothes were bloody. “I need to shower and change. Would you please check on the children? They’re in the den with my mother. I don’t want them to see me like this.” She gestured to her red-soaked clothes.

  “Are you sure you’re all right?” Dean asked.

  No.

  “Yes.” She turned toward the doorway. Her fingers trembled and tears pressured her eyes. She was going to lose it, and she’d rather do that alone.

  The front door stood open. Red lights swirled outside. Through the open door, she could see Seth, Bruce, and deputies crawling over the front yard.

  After starting the shower, she dropped her clothes on an old towel on the bathroom floor and stepped into the spray. She couldn’t get the water hot enough to stop shaking, but she didn’t cry. She felt almost numb.

  On autopilot, she stepped out of the shower, dressed in clean clothes, and went downstairs into the den.

  “Mama!” Brianna raced to Carly and wrapped her arms around her waist.

  Carly hugged her back. “Are you okay, pumpkin?”

  Brianna nodded into Carly’s stomach. “I am now.”

  “Is Liam okay?” Carly looked over her daughter’s head. The boy was cradled on Dean’s lap, sound asleep, his head resting on the doctor’s chest.

  “Dr. Dean is taking care of him,” Brianna said.

  “I see that.” Carly pressed her face into her daughter’s hair. She sat on the sofa. Brianna curled up next to her and promptly fell asleep.

  “She can sleep with me tonight,” Patsy said. She picked her up and carried her from the room.

  Carly pushed her guilt aside and let her mom take her daughter. She was liable to have the nightmare and wake Brianna.

  Bruce walked into the room and scooped up Liam. “I’ll put him in Carly and Stevie’s old room. I’ll sleep in the other twin bed so if he wakes up, he won’t be alone.”

  Seth appeared in the doorway. “I called the hospital. Gabe is headed into surgery. Barring complications, they expect him to make it.”

  “Thank God.” Carly pressed a hand to her chest, where her heart still beat too rapidly.

  Everyone is okay.

  Seth turned and went back outside, leaving Carly alone with Dean.

  “Thank you so much for coming out here tonight,” she said.

  “You’re welcome. I was glad to help.” He leaned forward, the Mickey Mouse on his shirt wrinkling. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” she lied.

  His gaze dropped to her trembling hands. “No normal person would be fine after what happened here tonight, but after that panic attack you had in my office this afternoon, I’m worried about you.”

  The story flowed out of her, her mouth flapping. “I went on a home visit last month, just a routine check on a single mom and her little boy.”

  A tear spilled from Carly’s eye as she told him the story. Her throat closed and breathing felt like she was trying to suck air in through a cocktail straw. “He died in my arms.”

  A fresh rush of shaky sickness flooded her.

  Dean’s hand was warm on hers. “I want to see you tomorrow. Either you come to my office or I’ll come out here.”

  She nodded. “The nightmares have been pretty bad. I don’t even want to go to sleep.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “I don’t know why I just told you all that.” Except that she was too tired to hold it all in.

  “Jedi mind trick.” Dean patted her hand. The gesture was comforting rather than condescending. “You’ll get through this.”

  “I hope so. I don’t feel much like myself,” she admitted.

  Dean nodded. “All right. We’ll run a few tests just to make sure there’s no thyroid issue or other medical problem.”

  But for the first time in Carly’s life, she doubted her ability to do her job. Her determination, her need to care for those who had no one else felt far away.

  She was out of steam.

  Maybe this was it. Maybe it was time she gave up her job.

  But the thought of quitting made her feel worse.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Seth rubbed his eyes as the doorbell rang. Three hours of sleep wasn’t nearly enough, but that was all he was going to get for now. Agent Vance had called an hour before, letting Seth know he was near Solitude.

  Seth opened the front door. Three men stood on the stoop. Seth examined Special Agent Vance’s ID then opened the door wide.

  In the early morning hours, a lull in the storm’s center had reached Solitude, and the rain had slowed to a drizzle.

  Agent Vance, a tall man with a runner’s build, returned his ID to his pocket. He gestured to a heavyset man in a gray suit. “This is my partner, Special Agent Morrison.” He pointed to the third man. “And Marcus Wilkins, Liam’s uncle.” All three men were travel worn, but the third man looked haggard in a way that suggested long-term exhaustion. His clothes hung on his frame as if he’d lost weight recently.

  “Uncle Marcus!” Liam raced down the hallway and launched himself at the man.

  Stunned, Seth watched Marcus catch Liam and hold him close.

  The boy could talk.

  Marcus’s eyes welled with tears. “Liam. My God, I am so happy to see you.”

  Liam wrapped his skinny limbs around his uncle.

  Marcus leaned back and smoothed the hair away from the boy’s face. “Are you all right?”

  Liam nodded. “I wanted you to find me.”

  “I know, buddy. I’ve been trying,” Marcus sniffed. The family resemblance showed in the shape and set of their eyes.

  Seth’s vision misted. There must be something in his eye.

  He led the way back to the kitchen.

  “Uncle Marcus, I want to show you Prince Eric. He’s a little goat.” Liam tugged his uncle toward the back door. Rain still drizzled from a slate-gray sky. “We’re gonna get wet though.”

  “That’s fine.” Marcus looked out the back door and then at Seth again. “Is it all right if we go down to the barn?”

  “It’s fine,” Seth said. Crouching down, he spoke to Liam. “Bruce and Brianna are feeding the animals.”

  Marcus helped the boy into a rain jacket and followed the child out into the rain. Liam held his uncle’s hand.

  The agents accepted coffee. Seth eased into a chair with his own cup. Paper, crayons, and childish drawings covered the kitchen table.

  “Drawing therapy for the children.” Seth moved the pictures aside. Then he summarized what had happened since his first phone call with Agent Vance.

  Vance nodded. “We’ve been reevaluating the case. Originally, we thought Wade killed his wife and kidnapped his son, but now it appears that Shawn Collins shot her and took the boy, most likely as leverage to get Wade to return the money. Shawn had the skills to get the job done.”

  “Why did Wade steal ten million dollars?” Seth asked. Terry Reece had refused to say anything other than asking for his lawyer.

  “We’re not sure, but we know that Knight Products was going to replace him as the CFO,” Agent Vance said. “And Wade had been increasingly unstable.”

  Seth drank coffee. “So Wade decided to take a piece of the company with him.”

  Agent Vance nodded. “We know that Terry traced the money to an offshore account. We’ve been watching him.”

  “He knows where the money is, but not how to get it.” Seth drained his cup. He was going to bleed caffeine at some point, but he’d sleep tomorrow.

  Agent Vance added sugar to his cup. “We’ve been trying to crack the account login information too. But we haven’t had any luck.”

  “Can you get the bank to put a hold on the money?” Seth asked. Surely, the FBI could achieve a legal solution faster than Terry.

  Vance shook his head. “Not with this particular country. We’d like to take control of the cash. Without money, Wade’s options diminish, and
he’ll be easier to catch.”

  “Makes sense.” Seth stacked pictures. Brianna had drawn twenty stormy pictures of her valiant Prince Eric saving Seth. Fair enough. The goat had earned extra carrots for life. But Liam’s drawings were still strange. Seth understood the pictures of the goat. The fact that he’d drawn Prince Eric eating his carrots in the clouds made no sense, but hey, the kid was only six. The flying saucers decorated with strings of numbers perplexed Seth.

  Wait. Liam was from Seattle.

  Seth picked up one of Liam’s pictures. The saucer had legs, and Seth suddenly knew exactly what it was. “We thought he was drawing flying saucers. But it’s the Space Needle.” Seth rotated the picture, reading the numbers. “Three point one four one five.” He stopped, counting the digits. “It’s the first twelve digits of pi, repeated over and over.”

  Agent Vance took the drawing. “You’re right.”

  And the truth hit Seth. “Liam is the key. That’s why Terry and Shawn wanted him so badly.”

  Agent Vance stood, whipped out his phone, and took pics of Liam’s drawings. Then he walked into the den. He returned fifteen minutes later. “You were right. It took our team a few tries, but they broke the passcode with Liam’s clues. The account login was “Space Needle” and the password was the first twelve digits of pi.”

  “So maybe you’ll catch Wade,” Seth said. “Any idea where he is?”

  “Not yet.” Vance stood. “If you need anything from us to tie up your murder case, just call.”

  “Thanks.” Seth pushed to his feet. “We’ve tied Shawn Collins to the murders of Kandi and Peter.”

  Earlier that morning, he’d sent a deputy to the homeowner in Hannon who had called in the prowler that Gabe and Bruce were investigating before they went to Mr. Jenkins’s home the night of the shootings. The homeowner had picked Shawn out of a photo lineup. With a suspect identified, forensics could work on linking Shawn to the crime with physical evidence. But Seth had no doubt that the i’s would be dotted and the t’s crossed.

  Seth’s phone rang. He picked it up. Zane.

  “What is it, Zane?” he asked.

  “A dead man washed up on the banks of the Rogue River last night,” Zane said. “We don’t know if it’s one of the missing Dodge brothers. The body is too banged up from the rocks and white water to identify him visually. I’ll let you know when the ME identifies him. The Dodge brothers’ fingerprints are on record, so hopefully, the ME can make a match if the body is one of them.”

  Where are the Dodge brothers, and why did they break out of the jail if they aren’t guilty?

  “Thanks, Zane.” Seth ended the call and relayed the information to Agent Vance. “It’s also possible the body is Wade’s. He’s still missing too.”

  And someone had been inside cabin 5 of the O’Rourke resort. Had it been Wade?

  Agent Vance rubbed a hand across his scalp. “We have Wade’s fingerprints.”

  “I’ll let the ME know,” Seth said.

  Where is Wade now? Does he know his son is safe?

  The entire case had left Seth with too many loose ends—and a giant headache. But today, the immediate crisis was over. His family was safe, but more bad weather was on the way. When the storm cleared, he’d deal with all the unanswered questions. For now, his family was his priority.

  Vance went to the window. “I hate to drag the boy out of here so abruptly, but we need to get on the road. The back side of this storm looks like it’s going to be just as bad as the first part, and we had to detour around two flooded bridges to get here.”

  Half of Solitude was already under water.

  “I’m headed into town for supplies this morning.” Seth opened the door and led the way out into the mist. “We’ll probably lose power at some point, and there’s always a chance we could get isolated out here.”

  “You’ll be all right, though?” Vance asked.

  “We’ll be fine.” The wet grass squished under Seth’s boots. “This farm has weathered worse.”

  And so had the family who lived on it.

  Except for restocking the medical supplies and picking up a bag of ice for the freezer, the supplies were more for comfort than necessity. But after the month his wife had had, she deserved every comfort Seth could give her.

  Seth debated waking Carly to say goodbye to Liam. But her nightmares had been rough, and she hadn’t fallen into a deep sleep until early this morning. He didn’t have the heart to wake her.

  The agents allowed the children a few minutes to say goodbye. Then Liam walked around and said goodbye to each of the animals. Maximus nickered. Seth opened the stall door and held Prince Eric so Liam could give the goat a hug. To Seth’s surprise, the goat cooperated. When Seth closed and latched the door, the ornery pygmy kicked his stall door.

  Seth fastened the second snap to keep the goat confined. But with Prince Eric one could never be sure of anything. The goat was the most resourceful animal Seth had ever encountered.

  Which made him a perfect fit for the Taylor family.

  Bruce got down on one knee and hugged Liam goodbye. “We’ll keep in touch, all right? I gave your uncle my cell phone number. You can call me anytime.”

  Liam hugged him back but seemed content to go with his uncle.

  Seth walked the FBI agents, Marcus, and Liam to their big, black SUV and watched them drive away. A jumble of relief and sadness welled in his chest. He’d grown attached to the little boy, but Liam clearly belonged with his Uncle Marcus.

  Another vehicle passed the black SUV and made its way toward the house. Dean got out of the driver’s seat, reached back inside the vehicle, and lifted out a paper bag.

  Seth stepped back and welcomed the doctor into the house. They walked back to the kitchen. Patsy was up and at the stove. Seth did a double take. Was that lipstick? Had he ever seen his mother-in-law wearing makeup? No, he hadn’t.

  He looked back at the doctor, who was blushing.

  Interesting.

  Dean opened the bag and lifted out a white bakery box. “I thought you all could use some cheering up this morning.” Apparently forgetting Seth was in the room, Dean handed the box to Patsy.

  A floorboard squeaked overhead. Carly must be awake. Seth took the opportunity to excuse himself.

  He went upstairs and into the bedroom they shared just as Carly exited the attached bathroom. She’d dressed in yoga pants and a sweatshirt. Her long, dark hair was combed back in a smooth ponytail. Her face was as pale as the white comforter on their bed.

  “I saw Liam leave from the window.” Carly’s eyes brightened with emotion as she crossed the room to stand in front of him.

  Was she upset that she’d missed saying goodbye to Liam?

  “I’m sorry. I should have woken you, but you were so exhausted last night.” Seth hated the dark circles under his wife’s eyes. She’d tossed and turned all night, just as she had for the past month.

  “It’s fine, as long as he was comfortable leaving with his uncle.”

  “He was.”

  “I’m so glad.” Carly swallowed.

  He brushed a stray hair off his wife’s cheek. Her smile was simultaneously sad and happy and something else he couldn’t identify.

  Worry stirred in his gut. “Is something wrong?”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Nothing is wrong.” Carly touched his face. “At least I hope not.”

  Would Seth be as happy as she was?

  “Dean said something to me last night that got me thinking.” She wondered why she hadn’t thought of it before.

  “I like him,” Seth said. “He’s downstairs, by the way.”

  “I like him too. In fact, I’m going to see him today. As a patient.” Though she’d resisted putting herself first, it was now a necessity.

  “I’m glad. This last month has been rough. I hate to see you so upset.”

  “Rough doesn’t quite cover it.” Carly’s smile stretched wide and pulled at her face. “Anyway . . .”

&n
bsp; Seth reached for her hand.

  She squeezed his fingers. “I’m pregnant.”

  Surprise widened his eyes. “What?”

  “I know. I was surprised too.”

  They hadn’t been trying.

  “I had a pregnancy test in the bathroom from last summer,” she said. “When we came back from Hawaii, for a few days I thought . . .”

  But her hopes had been dashed.

  Carly had wanted another child for years, but they’d agreed to get their marriage back on solid footing before adding a baby to their family. “Last night, Dean said he wanted to send me for blood work to make sure I didn’t have some medical issue exacerbating my anxiety symptoms. His comment made me think about my constant queasiness. The way I’ve been light-headed and tired. So this morning I took the pregnancy test. I don’t know why I didn’t recognize the symptoms.”

  She’d barely processed the discovery but already felt the buzz of excitement.

  A new baby . . .

  “Because you’ve been through hell, that’s why.” Seth folded her into his arms.

  The warmth of his embrace soaked into body and soul, and the joy in her heart filled the dark spaces inside her.

  As long as she had him, she would be all right. They were so much stronger together than apart. She closed her eyes and leaned on his solid chest for a minute. How could she have ever doubted their love?

  But was Seth as happy about another baby as she was?

  “Are you happy?” she asked, nerves dancing in her belly.

  Seth kissed her hard on the mouth. “God yes.” Leaning back, he splayed his hands on her belly. “I can’t wait.”

  Carly had only one regret. “I wish I could go see my father. I’d like to tell him first.”

  She knew the idea was ridiculous even as she said it. Her father had been gone for a year and a half. But she was pregnant, and for once she would indulge her emotional whim.

  Seth reached out and brushed a tear from her face. “We’ll go as soon as the storm clears.”

  “You don’t think the floodwater could reach the grave?”

  Her father’s grave overlooked the Rogue River.