Julianne glanced at Brody’s stern profile as he navigated the curvy highway. She could tell he was beating himself up for not thinking of Kurt Royce’s telltale scar sooner, and knew this wasn’t the time to bring up her second theory.
That one of his own deputies might be working with Nate and the gunman.
Turning the sequence of events over and over in her mind, she couldn’t help but think an insider was the most likely explanation. Nate and his accomplice may have gotten lucky by catching a glimpse of her small K-9 logo on her SUV parked outside Rusty’s, and she could also agree they’d set the trap with the bloody towels at the Broke Spoke, but finding her and Brody at the Thoroughbred Inn? That stretched the realm of her imagination. It just didn’t seem likely.
Although, to be fair, Nate and Brody had been friends for over ten years. It was entirely possible that Nate knew Brody well enough to figure out where he’d go next, staying one step ahead of him that way. Still, she knew Brody was smart enough to avoid any hiding places that his former friend might remember.
Most cops didn’t believe in coincidences, leading her back to a potential inside leak.
Yet wouldn’t his officers be loyal to Brody? Why turn criminal, for the money? Maybe. But just because she didn’t like Deputy Dan Hanson much, with his sexist attitude toward women, didn’t mean he would join forces with Otwell and the gunman.
She could drive herself crazy going around and around about this.
Deciding to keep her thoughts to herself for now, she let Thunder out of the back before following Brody inside the sheriff’s department headquarters. A black-haired woman with gray strands framing her face sat at a large desk lined with four wide computer screens. Other than giving them a wave and Thunder a curious glance, she didn’t say anything, obviously listening to the chatter going on through her headset as her fingers flew across the keyboard.
“That’s my most senior dispatcher, Corrine Haley,” Brody said as he unlocked his office. “She’s been a rock during these past few days. She’s been putting in extra hours so that I can use more hands in the field. I don’t even want to think about what my overtime bill is going to look like. The mayor is not going to be happy if I don’t have anything to show for it.”
“I hear you,” she agreed, knowing that budget concerns plagued every agency, even federal government agencies with highly secret missions such as their K-9 unit. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”
He gave a curt nod, then dropped into the chair behind his desk, quickly booting up his computer. She stood near his shoulder, watching him work. Several keystrokes later, he’d pulled up the database and began a search for Kurt Royce.
The image that popped up on the screen made her gasp. Same narrow face framed by greasy blond hair, beady eyes and scar at the corner of his mouth. “That’s him! That’s the gunman.”
Brody surprised her by letting out a heavy groan, rubbing his hands over his face. “I should have thought of Kurt Royce earlier.”
“Hey.” She put a hand on his arm. “Don’t do this, Brody. You knew several kids in juvie, the gunman could have been any of them.”
He pulled away from her touch, jumped up to his feet and began to pace. Thunder jerked up in surprise from where he was stretched out at her feet. She calmed him by scratching his ears. “I didn’t want to believe that Nate’s ties went back that far.” He seemed to be talking to himself. “Why didn’t I look into the juvie connection sooner?”
“Brody. Brody!” Her sharp tone finally got his attention and he snapped out of his funk long enough to look at her. “This isn’t your fault. Regret isn’t going to get us anywhere. All we can do is to work forward from here.”
His tortured blue eyes clung to hers for a long moment and it was all she could do not to throw herself into his arms. Maybe he hadn’t trusted her six years ago, but he did now. “Don’t you think I should have known Nate was hanging out with Kurt?”
“Why would you?” she countered. “Did you ever see them hanging out together?”
That seemed to bring him up short. “No, I never did,” he admitted. “I guess you’re right. Nate and Kurt must have grown closer while I was in the army. It’s possible that’s when they decided to go into ‘business’ together.”
Julianne held her tongue. Yes, she still believed it was possible that Nate had been a crook even back while they were still in college, but this wasn’t the time to harp on the past. Especially since she didn’t have any proof, other than her gut instincts.
And her inherent dislike of Nate from the first time she’d met him.
“Exactly,” she said, forcing a smile. “And even better, we now have something to go on.”
“Yeah, we do.” Brody drew a deep breath, then dropped back into his chair and initiated a new search. “I have to believe Royce owns property here, somewhere.”
Her pulse thrummed with anticipation at the possibility of a new lead. They had to find Nate, and the clock was ticking. Nate knew this area well enough to find a way past the roadblocks Brody’s deputies had put into place and she could only imagine that he wouldn’t risk sticking around in the area for much longer.
“Look!” Brody tapped a finger against the computer screen. “Royce owns an old ranch house set on several acres of wooded land. This could be where he and Nate are hiding.”
“It’s possible,” she agreed. “And worth checking out, because even if they’re not holed up there, we may find some other clues as to where they might be.”
“It will be dark outside soon,” Brody said, glancing toward the window overlooking the parking lot. “But I’d still like to get over there tonight.” He opened another screen and used the internet to pull up a three-dimensional satellite view of the ranch house. “This is our destination.”
“I see it.” Julianne still couldn’t shake the nagging worry that someone else was helping Otwell and Royce in the quest for revenge. Then again, why bother sticking around at all? If they really had a cop working with them, they could easily have gotten far away from Clover County where they had a much higher likelihood of getting caught.
“Do you want to call for backup?” she asked as Brody shut down the computer.
“No, not yet. Let’s see if we find anything, first.” His expression remained grim as he stood and rounded the desk. “Let’s hurry, though. It would be nice to try and get there before darkness falls.”
Julianne bit down the urge to once again offer Brody some sort of physical comfort as she and Thunder led the way back outside to where they’d left her borrowed vehicle. He was taking this case against Nate extremely personally.
She hated to see him suffering for mistakes that had happened a long time ago. Mistakes that included standing up for Nate, rather than believing in her, the woman he’d claimed he loved. Her heart squeezed in her chest and it hit her, then, how much she still cared about him.
Making her realize how difficult it would be to find the strength to leave Brody for a second time.
* * *
Brody gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to corral his deep-seated anger. He was furious with Nate Otwell and Kurt Royce.
But even more so at himself.
Why hadn’t he anticipated that Nate would go back to his old ways? Why hadn’t he thought about the fact that it wouldn’t take much, say meeting up with an old friend like Kurt Royce, to drag him back down to a life of crime?
What if they never managed to catch up with Otwell and Royce? The thought of the two of them escaping from the law was almost too much to bear.
He glanced over at Julianne, wondering why she was being so nice to him. He didn’t deserve her support.
Or her friendship.
And for sure he didn’t deserve her love.
Because no matter how hard he tried to justify his actions six years ago, he should have trusted her instincts. At least where Nate was concerned. Granted he didn’t believe his former friend had anything to do with Lilly’s disappearance but Julianne had been right not to trust Nate. After all, Nate had certainly proven himself to be a hard-core criminal.
“Brody.” Julianne placed her hand on his forearm. “Please try to trust in God’s plan, okay?”
That was the second time she’d mentioned that, and he remembered how nice it felt to let go of all his self-recriminations and nagging doubt. He tried to lift his heart and his mind to pray, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come.
When they were within fifty feet of the driveway leading to Kurt’s ranch house, he pulled off to the side of the road and cut the engine. “From here we go in on foot.”
“Understood.” Julianne pushed out of the passenger side door, then went around to the back to let Thunder out.
Brody slid the strap of his automatic rifle over his shoulder and grabbed his Glock. For a moment he second-guessed his decision not to call for backup, then he shook it off. Julianne was a trained FBI agent and Thunder was a K-9 officer, as well. Three against the two of them, but he didn’t really expect to find Otwell and Royce.
They may have felt safe using the place to hide that first night, but probably wouldn’t have stayed for a second and for sure not for a third night.
Still, they’d go in quietly, just in case.
Julianne was kneeling beside Thunder, encouraging him to sniff Nate’s scent. “Find, Thunder,” she commanded in a quiet yet firm voice. “Find.”
Thunder sniffed along the ground in front of the driveway and on either side of the opening, but didn’t alert. Which did not come as a surprise because if Nate and Royce had driven here, their scent wouldn’t be easy to detect. But up at the house would hopefully be a different story.
He took the left side of the driveway, gesturing for Julianne to stay to the right. According to the satellite map, the driveway curved to the left, and he intended to go in first. Once they’d cleared the house, they’d search for clues.
The trees surrounding the house made it difficult to see clearly. Julianne and Thunder moved stealthily on the other side of the driveway, and the moment he rounded the bend, he froze, raking his gaze over the house.
There were no lights on indicating anyone was inside, but he wasn’t going to take chances. Gesturing for Julianne to stay back, he eased forward. One step, then two, until he reached the front door.
It was locked, and he edged over to the closest window. He pressed his face against the glass and peered inside.
No one was in the living room.
He heard a footstep land with a soft thud on the wooden porch, and whirled around.
Julianne.
“I told you to stay back,” he gritted out.
She gave him a yeah, right look and gestured to the door. “Should we break in? Thunder alerted on Nate’s scent near the base of the porch.”
“Not yet. I want to make sure the place is clear.” He moved toward the next window and was irked when she went off in the opposite direction.
He should have known better than to expect her to follow orders. Fifteen minutes later, they met up in the back of the house.
“I didn’t see any sign of life, did you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, but Thunder keeps alerting on Nate’s scent so they must have spent a fair amount of time here.”
Guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders. “Okay, I checked the windows. One is open, so I’ll go in first.”
“Should we wait for a search warrant?”
He hesitated, knowing she had a point. “I saw bloody dressings on the kitchen table, so we can use that as reasonable suspicion.”
“It’s your case,” she said.
He hesitated, then quickly called the judge who’d presided over Nate’s case. When he explained about Royce’s home and the bloody bandages on the counter, the judge agreed to execute a warrant.
“Okay, we’re all set,” he told her.
She waved a hand. “You’re the sheriff, lead the way.”
I’m sheriff for the moment, he thought. But not for long if I don’t find Nate.
After shimmying through the bedroom window, no easy feat, he made his way through Royce’s ranch house, verifying that no one was hiding inside. He opened the back door, letting Julianne and Thunder in.
“Find, Thunder. Find,” Julianne said.
Thunder went to work, moving from one room to the next, alerting nonstop until Julianne called him off.
“Thunder, heel.” The foxhound came over to her side, standing at attention. Brody realized he hadn’t heard the dog let loose with his musical howl in the past twenty-four hours and wondered why.
“They were here,” Julianne confirmed. “Have you seen anything other than the bloody bandages?”
“Not yet, but let’s get to work.” Brody swept his gaze over the room. He didn’t intend to leave without some sort of information.
Even if that meant staying all night.
* * *
Julianne sighed as Brody returned to the living room to begin his search. She doubted there would be much to find, but took Thunder with her down the hall to the three bedrooms.
They were sparsely furnished with a decor that looked as if it belonged to another era. Either Royce had inherited the place from his folks, or he hadn’t bothered to change anything left behind by the original owners.
She tackled the master bedroom first, searching every square inch for—what? She had no idea. But that didn’t stop her from dropping down on all fours, checking beneath the bed and dresser for any scraps left behind.
Nothing but fuzz balls of dust, indicating no one had bothered to clean the place over the past few months.
Thunder bumped his head into her side, as if upset at the thought she was taking over his duties. She kissed the top of his head, then continued her investigation into the closet.
It was full of men’s clothing, including a pair of worn cowboy boots. She picked one up, and turned to look at the sole. Hard to say for sure, but she thought it matched the print they’d seen outside the veterinary clinic. But that would mean Royce came here and changed out of the boots into a different pair of shoes.
Unless he had two identical pairs of cowboy boots?
She shrugged and set the boot aside, ignoring the tiny pang in her heart over the way she’d ditched Brody’s red cowboy boots. Now her actions seemed petty, and Brody’s dismay over hearing she’d given them away bothered her.
Focus, she reminded herself. There was nothing more of interest in the closet, so she finished up in the master bedroom and wandered into the first guest bedroom.
The bed was nothing more than a bare mattress, and there were scuff marks on the metal rails of the headboard. For a moment her stomach knotted as she imagined someone being held here against their will. She shivered and tried to shake off the sense of foreboding.
This wasn’t the time to let her imagination run wild. Turning away from the mattress, she inspected the scuffed hardwood floor.
There were deep cracks between some of the warped boards. She crouched down, running her fingertip across the board. When she raised her hand, her fingertips were blackened with dirt. A glint of something shiny caught her eye, and she realized there was something stuck between the boards.
She rubbed the spot again, revealing more gold. “Brody?”
“Yeah?” His husky voice was faint, but she heard him coming toward her. “Did you find something?”
“Maybe. Do you have a knife?”
He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small red penknife. He opened the blade and carefully handed it to her.
“Thanks.” She went to work, prying the tip of the knife around the sliver of gold. Whatever was down there must have been in there a long time. Thankfully, the wood slats were old and hadn’t been taken care of, so they eventually gave way, giving her enough room to pry the object out of the floor.
“What is it?” Brody asked, hunkering down next to her.
“Some sort of charm.” She doubted there would be usable prints, so she rubbed the circle of gold on her pants in an attempt to clean it off. After a few minutes, she could make out the letter R engraved in the surface.
Then she turned it over, and her stomach dropped like a rock. On the other side of the charm, the letter L was clearly visible.
L. R. Lilly Ramos.
Lilly!
Julianne clearly remembered the charm Lilly wore like a talisman around her neck. The same charm that Nate Otwell had given to Lilly on her twenty-first birthday.
In that instant, Julianne knew that her initial fears all those years ago were right. Her best friend hadn’t decided to run away, leaving Clover for Houston to find a job.
Finding the charm meant that Lilly had been there. In Kurt Royce’s house. Back when she and Brody were still in college. Eighteen months before Brody had left to join the army.
“Is that a piece of Lilly’s necklace?” Brody asked harshly, his face twisted with agony.
She closed her eyes and nodded.
A strangled sound rose from deep in his throat, seconds before he bolted from the room.