Josh glanced down at the smear of red on the sleeve of his shirt and felt his stomach roil at the reminder. Quinton’s blood. Why hadn’t he seen that before? The police would say it was more proof he’d been involved in his partner’s murder. His attempts to convince them he was innocent had failed because there was a greater force working against him out there. But no matter how this looked, he wasn’t ready to stop fighting. Not yet.
He rubbed the back of his neck, knowing he looked guilty. And he couldn’t really blame them. The evidence was there. His guilt obvious. They truly believed he’d killed his wife and then his partner who’d gotten too close to the truth. But they were wrong.
How do I make them believe me, God?
The door opened, and a brief sense of relief washed over Josh at the familiar face. Eddie stepped into the room before closing the door.
“I’m trying to decide if this plan of yours is brilliant, or just plain crazy.” He set two coffees down on the table, then slid one of them across to Josh.
“At this point, probably a bit of both.”
“How are you doing?”
“Let’s see.” Josh frowned at the question. “I’ve just been accused of murdering two people, including my wife. Everyone here seems to have turned against me, and even if I do manage to get out of this, my career is over. If I don’t get off, I’ll either be executed or I’ll spend the rest of my life in prison if, that is, I manage to survive the first forty-eight hours.”
“I guess that wasn’t the right question.” Eddie dropped his leather messenger bag on the table, then sat down across from him.
Josh reached for the coffee. “I’ve never seen you in a suit.”
“I’d actually forgotten I even owned one, but I thought I should at least try to look the part of a lawyer.”
“I appreciate your coming, because I need your help,” Josh said, jumping straight to the reason he’d called Eddie and not a lawyer. “At this point, you’re the only person I know I can trust. They killed Quinton.”
“I heard it on the news on the way over here. I’m so sorry.”
Josh didn’t miss Eddie’s gaze stopping on his bloody sleeve. He wanted to shower and change. Wanted to walk out the door like none of this had happened. But none of those things were going to happen anytime soon. He needed to find Caitlyn and make sure she was okay, and on top of that, find the evidence they were innocent.
“First let me say that I’ve read through the file they have on you, and I still believe you.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
“You saved my life, and I’d trust you with mine again, but that said, this doesn’t look good.” Eddie had never been one to beat around the bush either. “The DA has some pretty incriminating evidence that’s going to be hard to refute. And if this ends up going in front of a jury . . . I can promise you, those twelve men and women aren’t going to be sympathetic to the idea of a cop who killed his wife and then his partner.”
Josh managed a sip of coffee. “That’s exactly why I need your help, starting with finding a way to get me out on bail.”
“The DA’s pushing for no bail, and more than likely the judge’s going to agree.”
The confirmation that he wasn’t going anywhere felt like a punch in the gut.
“I guess that makes sense. If the assistant DA’s involved in this, he’s going to make sure I’m not going anywhere.” Josh stood up, feeling like a caged animal. “Here’s the other problem. I won’t last a day in prison. Someone wants me dead, and whoever that someone is, I’m pretty sure they decided this was the cleanest way to take care of me.”
Eddie frowned. “I have to admit the same thing crossed my mind. The problem we have right now is that the evidence against you is pretty solid. The murder weapon . . . the signed divorce papers . . . And there’s also Caitlyn Lindsey.”
“I’m assuming they told you she confessed that we were having an affair, and when Olivia wouldn’t sign the divorce papers, I killed her.”
“They did.”
“Do you really think they brought her in, or are they just playing me?”
“Honestly, I think anything’s possible at this point.” Eddie leaned forward. “I tried to call her like you asked but haven’t been able to get ahold of her. I’m thinking either she ditched her phone, or they’re telling the truth and she’s here.”
He was second-guessing his decisions. He’d turned himself in so she could get away. Now everything had backfired against him.
“First of all, the two of us weren’t and aren’t having an affair. I’d hardly spent any time with her until the past few days. And even if they have her, she wouldn’t have confessed to any of that, because it isn’t true.”
“There’s something else you need to know,” Eddie said.
Josh felt his chest tighten. “What?”
“As I was coming in, the detectives told me they’d just been given new information. Caitlyn had been afraid someone was after her, and she’d been run off the road.”
“That’s true. The night I met with her for the first time, she had a bruise on her face. She’d been checked into the hospital for observation, but she left.” Josh struggled to draw in a breath, waiting for the next bombshell. They’d managed to twist everything that had happened so far. This was clearly not going to be any different. “What did they tell you about it?”
Eddie pulled a file from his bag. “According to the information I was just handed, your car was found. They believe that the paint marks on her car match the paint on your car. On top of that, a witness to the accident gave a description of your car.”
“A witness. Of course.” Josh ran his fingers through his hair. “But that doesn’t even make sense. Why would I try to run her off the road?”
“Because she found out you murdered your wife and decided she was going to go to the police. They’re saying you kidnapped her from the hospital and have been holding her until today.”
The room was closing in on him. He wasn’t going to win this. That virus was worth millions, and someone had already made it clear that anyone who got in their way was going to be eliminated. Framing him for the murder of his wife was actually brilliant. Because proving he didn’t do it was going to be far harder than proving he did.
Josh pressed his fingers against his temples. His head pounded like it was in some kind of vise. He sucked in a deep breath. He knew what the detectives were doing. This was nothing more than a mind game. They were trying to play him and Caitlyn against each other, but it wasn’t going to work.
“When you were at my store you mentioned a bioweapon. Is that still what we’re looking at?”
Josh nodded. “Caitlyn found Helen Fletcher’s lab notes and was able to confirm that they’d discovered a virulent virus where the vaccine could generate a more lethal strain of the virus that would spread instead of stopping it.”
“That sounds nasty,” Eddie said.
“Combined with the right researcher and buyer, it would be deadly. We were trying to find out who was behind it and in particular who might be trying to sell the virus.”
“I’m assuming you have a plan?”
“You are my plan. First of all, I need to know she’s safe,” Josh said. “Can you confirm that the police have her in custody?”
“I can confirm that’s their story. Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know.”
“Then I need you to find out if she was arrested, or if they’re lying to me.”
“Okay, what else?”
“If she is still out there, I need you to make sure she’s safe. I did what I could to protect her, but I’m worried about her on her own. I also need evidence.” He knew it was a tall order, but if anyone could pull this off, Eddie could. “Concrete evidence that will trump anything they’ve got against me.”
“Where do you want me to start?”
“We know there are at least three people involved in this,” Josh continued. “The assistant DA Nigel Hayward, Jarred Carmichael from the lab where Olivia worked, and Shawn Stover, aka Jigsaw. The problem is, we don’t have any solid evidence that ties them to Starlighter.”
“Seems like the DA’s office would be a good place to start. I have some contacts there.” Eddie nodded, then pushed back his chair. “We’re going to figure out who’s behind this, Josh.”
A wave of relief washed over him. “Thank you.”
“Like I said, I owe you, but you need to be careful. You know how this works. I will do everything I can to get the evidence you need to clear you, but in the meantime, think twice before you say anything. They’ve already proved that they’re going to do whatever they have to in order to take you down.”