Grace sat in the passenger’s seat of the sheriff’s SUV, looking at a diagram of different motorcycle body types. She’d already eliminated a couple but couldn’t be sure which kind it was. “I don’t know. That’s all I remember.”
“Okay, thanks.” Holden turned off the recorder he’d placed on the dash, so he could save time by taking her statement while they drove rather than doing it at the station.
“I wish I could be more useful.” She wasn’t able to identify the man, or the motorcycle he’d been riding. All she could say with certainty was that his helmet had covered most of his face and he’d been wearing gloves.
The motorcycle didn’t have a wide frame, which ruled out those with saddlebags. But she couldn’t tell if it was some kind of sport bike or cruiser. The diagram only showed a side profile of the motorcycles. It had come at her head-on, but she hadn’t even thought to get the license plate number.
“You have more information than you realize,” Holden said, driving to the far east side of town, where she hadn’t ventured before. “I think if you saw the same motorcycle again, it would help.”
Not only seeing it but hearing it. She’d never forget the sound of that engine as it had roared toward her. “You might be right.”
“Are you sure you can spare the time to ride along with me?” he asked.
She had already opened Delgado’s and Xavier had no problem handling things while she was out. He felt so bad about not being there last night when she got hurt that it seemed as if he’d agree to almost anything.
“I’m positive,” she said. “It’s the least I could do to help you catch whoever killed Emma.” It was strange saying her name. Somehow it only reinforced the connection she felt to the dead woman, strengthening her conviction to seek justice.
Holden pulled up in front of a run-down mobile trailer and swore.
“What’s wrong?” Grace asked.
“This is Jared Simpson’s place. His motorcycle isn’t here, which most likely means that he isn’t. I wanted you to take a look at his bike. Give me a sec.”
Holden got out and strode up to the front of the mobile home. He banged his fist on the door a couple of times, then waited. There was no answer. He peeked through one of the windows before coming back to the car.
Sitting behind the wheel, he looked around as if thinking about something.
“A penny for your thoughts,” she said.
“Jared lives way out here in the middle of nowhere. Probably so he can cook meth in that trailer. But it’s a good four miles from the Burks’ house. It would’ve taken Emma about an hour and a half to get here. So she would’ve arrived around ten thirty. Let’s say she only stayed for ten minutes, that’s ten forty. The hike to the B and B would’ve taken even longer.” It was clear on the opposite side of town. “I’d estimate two hours on foot.”
“But that would have her arriving at the B and B at half past midnight. Which is too late. She was already dead by then.”
“Exactly. That means if she did trek out here, she didn’t walk back to the B and B. She was given a ride.”
“By the guy on the motorcycle.”
Holden nodded.
“Jared?”
“Possibly. Do you know what else isn’t too far from Simpson’s place?”
She had no idea what he was thinking. “No, what?”
“The Iron Warriors. The motorcycle club has a clubhouse close by. A three-minute drive. And Emma’s brother Todd is a member.” Holden started the SUV and took off. Using the Bluetooth in the car, he placed a call. “Hey, Ashley, I need you to do something for me.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Track down Jared Simpson. I want him brought in for questioning as a suspect for the Burk case. I was just at his place over on Black Elk Trail. It was empty. Worst-case scenario, I’ll need you to sit out front of his trailer until he returns.”
Ashley sighed. “All right. One way or another, I’ll get him in here. When I do, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks.” He disconnected the call. “When we get to the club, all of their bikes will be parked outside. Lined up in a nice, neat row. While I’m inside questioning Todd, I want you to look at them. See if any strike you as familiar. But stay in the vehicle.”
“Okay. I can do that.” Sounded easy enough.
“Don’t expect me to be inside too long. Todd has a history of clamming up and then lawyering up. No one has ever been able to convict him on anything. Which is saying a lot considering he’s been in trouble since we were in high school.”
“You two went to school together?”
“Yeah. Same grade. But we ran in very different social circles. I always thought of him as a bully.”
Holden took a left off the road and drove up to a long, single-story building almost half the length of a city block. It must’ve been the backside, because there weren’t any motorcycles.
“That’s a clubhouse?” she asked. “Why is it so big?”
“Every member has his own bedroom. When they party and get drunk, they each have a private place to crash. Inside, they’ve got a bar, game room, armory, conference room, gym, dance area complete with stripper poles. Only goodness knows what else.”
“How do you know so much about them?”
“I’ve got someone who gives me information from time to time. Unfortunately, it’s never been anything that would help charges stick.”
“What kind of club dues pay for this?”
“It used to be a quarter of the size. Then some of the members, like Todd, got the Iron Warriors involved in drug dealing. Probably other stuff, too. But we’ve never been able to prove anything.”
Holden followed the path along the side of the building and turned in front of the clubhouse. “Hell,” he said under his breath. “My timing leaves much to be desired.”
A gaggle of men and some women were standing outside, forming a circle around two men having a fistfight. There must’ve been at least thirty people out there.
Pulling closer slowly, like it was too late to turn back, Holden swore again. “I didn’t want them to see you and now it’s unavoidable. I was planning to park where the security cameras wouldn’t be able to see you. I’m sorry. I don’t want any of them giving you a hard time in town.”
She caught a glimpse of the back of their black vests and jackets. A silver gauntlet forming a fist, surrounded by a ring of fire.
One by one, heads spun in their direction until everyone’s focus was on them, bringing the fight to a stop.
Holden parked a good one hundred feet from the crowd. But they all converged on the car, blocking her view of their motorcycles. “Stay here.”
He got out. One man approached Holden, but all the others were close behind.
Grace cracked her window for a little fresh air and to hear the conversation.
“Hey, Rip. I need to speak with Todd.”
The man Holden had addressed glanced over his shoulder.
Another guy stepped forward. “What do you want, Holden?” Todd asked, his eyes narrowing as he crossed his arms. A woman came up alongside him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Emma’s dead,” Holden said. “Someone killed her.”
Todd didn’t react. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Nothing from him. “So?” he asked, shrugging a shoulder.
“So, you don’t seem too broken up or surprised to hear that your sister is dead.”
“Neither is a crime and I’m not bothered because she means nothing to me. The second she became a Starlight, she stopped being my sister. The only family I care about are my brothers here and the blood I’ve got that goes by Burk. Now, them, I’d do anything for my family, including shed a tear.”
Glancing at the clubhouse, Holden said, “Let’s get the interview done. It can be here or at the station.”
“I’ll let you ask three questions, right here,” Todd said, pointing at the ground in front of him, “before I decide I no longer feel like cooperating.”
Holden drew in a deep breath. “Three isn’t very many.”
“You’re lucky I’m talking at all. I know my rights. I don’t have to answer any, but I’m in a charitable mood.”
“When was the last time you saw Emma?” Holden asked.
“I haven’t seen her since she turned into a Shining Light bootlicker.”
Holden folded his arms. “Where were you last night, between eleven and midnight?”
“Here. In bed. Doing things to my old lady—” Todd nodded to the woman at his side “—that would make you blush.”
Pinching her lips, the woman looked away at the car. At Grace. The expression on her face was hard and unyielding, but there was an air of sadness to her.
“Is that true, Nikki?” Holden asked.
“You heard the man,” she said.
“Yeah!” a guy in the crowd said. “Todd was here. We all saw him. He didn’t leave.”
A handful of others spoke up, echoing the same.
“That’s three,” Todd said. “If you have any further questions, you’ll have to ask them with my lawyer present.”
“You can try to hide behind your lawyer all you want, but if you killed Emma, no attorney on earth is going to save you. Give Mr. Friedman a heads-up that his services will soon be required.”
Todd smirked. “You’ve got a lot of nerve rolling up in here, wearing that uniform, carrying that badge, like some hero. We all know the truth. You’re nothing more than a fraud. Both the old sheriff and your fiancée were neck-deep in a sex trafficking ring right under your nose and you were none the wiser? Come on, man. You’re not squeaky-clean. You’re as dirty as they come. The real criminal here is you,” Todd said, and Grace’s gut clenched.
The gang of men standing behind Todd started clapping and whooping and hollering in support. Except for Rip, who stayed stoic and quiet.
“It’s about time he was put in his place,” someone called out.
“That’s what I’m here for, boys, to hold up a mirror in front of this hypocrite’s face,” Todd said, drawing many cheers and a lot of laughter. “Get out of here.” Todd shooed at Holden with his hand. “Charlatan chief deputy.”
The knot in Grace’s stomach tightened and twisted. Her whole body tensed. Poor Holden must have been mortified, shocked. Wounded.
Holden backed up, slid into the car and threw the gear in Reverse. Once they had enough room, he pulled a U-ey and sped away from the clubhouse.
Awkward silence settled between them.
Holden tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The blood drained from his knuckles until they grew white, his face reddening by the second.
She couldn’t stand the quiet any longer. “Holden—”
“Don’t.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Please, don’t try to make me feel better because you can’t.”
“But I—”
He jerked the steering wheel to the right, veering off the road onto the shoulder. Bringing the car to an abrupt stop, he threw open his door and jumped out. He paced in front of the car with his hands on his hips.
Grace gave him a moment to calm down. Then she got out, too. “You can’t let him get to you. He’s just a bully, like you said.” With a posse cheering him on, emboldening him.
Holden kept marching back and forth. For a minute, she wasn’t sure if he’d heard her through the haze of anger.
“If it was only Todd and the Iron Warriors, then I could let it roll off my back. But he only voiced what everyone in this town thinks every time that they look at me. You have no idea what it’s like to have everyone doubting you. Wagging their tongues behind your back. Thinking the worst. Looking at you with condemnation even though you did nothing wrong besides trust people who you thought cared about you.” He stopped and stared at her. The naked emotion in his unguarded eyes made her heart squeeze. “Damn Jim and Renee. You know she proposed to me, not the other way around. Did I ever tell you that?”
Grace shook her head. He’d never talked about his ex, Renee, or Jim, the previous sheriff. Not until now.
“She did it because Jim told her to. That’s how the relationship started. Under Jim’s coercion, ordering her to sidle up to me. From the very beginning it was a lie.” His voice hollowed. “Like the idiot I am, I said yes because she popped the question in a really public way, putting me on the spot. Not because I loved her, which I realized later that I didn’t. And I stayed engaged because it was easy. She never complained. We never argued. She only wanted to make me happy and was so easily satisfied herself. Or so I thought. After she was arrested, she told me she never even liked me as a person. The whole thing had been an assignment for her, a job, to make sure I stayed ignorant to what was really going on. So Jim didn’t have to kill me. They both lied and manipulated me. Made me a laughingstock. Robbed me of my dignity. But I guess I should at least be grateful they did it to keep me alive even if it showed everyone what a fool I really am.”
Grace stepped toward him, not stopping until she had to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes. “They didn’t do that to you as a favor. Jim probably didn’t want a murder drawing attention to what he was doing.” She put her palm on his chest. “No one can rob you of your dignity. It’s an inalienable right. And you’re not an idiot or a fool. You simply trusted the wrong people.” Grace had been there and done that herself. Her ex, Kevin, had turned out to be thirteen shades of wrong. A gambler with a lousy habit of losing. “You could’ve quit. Turned in your badge and gone to work on your family’s ranch full-time. But you didn’t run because you’re no coward. Every day you go to work with your head held high, despite the ugly gossip, regardless of the nasty rumors, and you get the job done.” Only a man of bone-deep fortitude and determination could do that. “Do you want to know what I see when I look at you?”
The anger dissipated from his face as he calmed, but the pain was still visible. “What?”
She moved her hand from his chest and caressed his cheek, wanting to erase the hurt from his eyes. “A good man with a deeply ingrained sense of honor. Someone trustworthy, funny, smart.” Not to mention hot. “And kind.”
Holden clutched her arms, leaned in and kissed her—a warm press of his lips against hers, lasting just a beat too long to be only friendly.
It was over before she could figure out what to do with her mouth or her hands or if this would ruin things between them.
“Thank you, Grace,” he said, his eyes warm, his voice soft as cotton. “You’re a good friend. The sweetest I could ask for.”
Her head spun. Her lips tingled. Confusion pulsed through her.
Did he like her? Romantically?
But that wasn’t what he had said. She had such limited experience with men, she wasn’t sure. Especially based on the way he was looking at her.
Really good friends could kiss on the lips she supposed. It had just been a peck, no tongue, but enough to send heat sliding through her.
The real question was, did she want that kiss to mean more?
Friends were hard to come by. She didn’t want to risk losing this one.
Clearing her throat, she averted her gaze. “You’re a good friend, too.”
They climbed back into the car. Just as Holden started the engine, his cell phone rang. He answered via Bluetooth, putting it on speaker while he drove. “Chief Deputy Powell.”
“Hi, Holden, it’s Becca. My CI got word to me that Emma seemed happy at the Shining Light. She always followed the rules and was liked by everyone in the compound. No one had any grievances with her or cause to do her harm.”
“Okay. That’s good to know. Did you track down the family lawyer?”
“Sure did. His office gave me the runaround for a while, but they failed to realize how persistent I can be. Turns out Nagle told Emma that she had a strong case for getting custody of her daughter back because she was sober for almost a year and living in a stable, nurturing environment.”
“Why do I sense a but coming?” Holden asked.
“But he advised her to do anything she could to get the support of the child’s father.”
“Jared Simpson,” he said, glancing at Grace, and she could still feel his lips on hers.
“That’s right. If the father supported her claim in court, it would only strengthen her case against the child’s grandparents.”
“Guess who was allegedly the last person to see Emma alive, according to her parents?”
“Jared.”
“Bingo. We’re trying to track him down now.”
“Want me to see what I can do to help?”
“Any assistance would be much appreciated. The sooner I can question Jared, the better. Thanks.” He hung up and looked at her. “Once I have him in the station, can you swing by and take a look at his bike? See if it looks familiar.”
“Just let me know. I’ll come right over.”