Deadly Revenge, page 25
“Do you know who owns TerraQuest?” Jenna asked.
“I don’t,” Junior said.
Before anyone else could answer, excited barking captured the men’s attention, and they all jumped up, whooping.
“They found one!” Sam chortled. “And according to the tracker, it looked like Watson was the lead. Come on, let’s go see how big this raccoon is.” He elbowed Max. “Told you he was a good dog!”
Jenna groaned. They’d lost them. There would be no answers now.
56
Jenna caught Max’s eye as the men prepared to trek to the tree where the dogs had a raccoon treed.
He joined her. “What’s up?”
“I’m worried about my dad—he never misses one of these. If you want to stay, I’m sure Sam will drop you off at the house.”
“No, I’m ready.” He lowered his voice. “I think we’ve gotten all the information we’re going to get tonight anyway.”
“I agree, and thanks.” She waited while he told Sam they were leaving, a little amazed at how well Max had fit in with her family and friends. That was rare. Russell County people tended to be standoffish with outsiders.
They used their lanterns to light the way back to the SUV. “Enjoy yourself?” she asked.
“I did. Lewis has been trying to get me to go coon hunting with him for ages, and next time he asks, I think I’ll surprise him and go.”
“Good. You’ll need a dog.”
“I don’t think so. I’m only planning on one time.”
She laughed. “You’ll need a dog—coon hunting gets in your blood.” Then Jenna sobered. “I don’t understand why my dad wasn’t here or why he’s not answering my texts.”
“Let’s go find out.”
The house was dark when Jenna pulled into her dad’s drive. She could barely see Max’s frown in the dimly lit SUV. “Do you think he’s asleep?”
“He could be—Sam said he was tired when he came in from work.” She fished his house key from the console. “I’m still going to check on him.”
When they entered the back door, she flipped on the kitchen light and called out. There was no answer. Maybe he’d fallen asleep in the recliner in the den. Except the house had an empty feel to it.
She took a deep breath to calm her roiling stomach. In the hallway, she called once again, then stepped into the den and flipped on the overhead light.
Her hand flew to her throat. “No.”
Signs of a struggle were everywhere. A floor lamp had been knocked over, tables were overturned, and the newspaper her dad read every evening was scattered on the floor. She picked up a broken mug—his favorite. She stared at the broken pieces and wanted to cry.
Max got out his phone and made a call.
“Alex Stone.” He’d put it on speaker.
“I’m at Randy Hart’s house,” Max said. “There’s been a struggle and it looks like someone took him.”
“I’ll be there in ten.”
Jenna scanned the room. “Why?” she whispered.
“Has to be one of two scenarios,” he replied. “Either the person who killed the Slaters and Nelson, or . . .”
The other option drained blood from her face. Jenna reached for something to steady herself with. “Sebastian.”
“But why? And how did anyone get in?”
Jenna stared at Max, trying to decipher his words over the roar in her ears.
No! She didn’t have time for a panic attack. Jenna filled her lungs with air and forced her attention back to the room, searching for anything that would give her a clue to who took her dad.
She pulled out her phone and snapped pictures while sirens wailed in the distance.
“This is personal,” Jenna said quietly. “It has to be Sebastian.”
“Not necessarily—it could be related to the Slater and Nelson cases . . . and Alex said Tuesday that a burglary ring had been operating in the county. Maybe the house was dark and they—”
“Burglary rings aren’t usually violent—they just want in and out with goods.”
“But what if your dad walked in on them?”
He had a point. “I’ll keep that in mind, but my money is on Sebastian.”
“Alex isn’t going to let you work this case—it’s your dad we’re talking about.”
“She can’t take me off. It’s probably my fault he’s been taken.” Jenna glared at Max. “I told you Sebastian was here, but you didn’t believe me.”
“We don’t know who took your dad.” He looked over his shoulder as the sirens died.
“Alex can’t stop me from investigating this,” Jenna said stubbornly.
“You know that’s not a good idea.”
“What’s not a good idea?” Alex had come in through the front door. Dylan and Taylor trailed her. “And which room was he taken from?”
“I’ll show them,” Max said and led the way to the den.
“You can’t take me off this case,” Jenna said. “We’re already shorthanded with Mark in Kentucky and Hayes Smithfield at the training academy.”
Her boss studied Jenna like she was a grasshopper pinned to a board in science class.
Jenna forced herself not to look away. “You need me, and I’ll go crazy just sitting around waiting.”
Alex nodded. “Mark will be back at work Saturday. You can stay on the case until then.”
Tension released in Jenna’s shoulders. “Thank you.”
Alex took out a notebook. “Don’t thank me—it’s against my better judgment, but you’re right about us being shorthanded.”
Max returned to the kitchen, and Alex shifted her attention to him. “Can you help us out on this?”
He nodded. “The kidnapping very well could be related to the case that brought me down here.”
“Harrison Carter? How do you think it’s related?”
“I think the other three deaths this week are connected to the letter Carter received, which I believe is related to the eminent domain cases from the dam and reservoir. Jenna’s family was a part of that, plus, her dad delivers the mail—maybe he saw something.”
“That what you think?” Alex asked Jenna.
She shook her head. “I think it’s more likely that Rick Sebastian is here in Russell County, and he kidnapped my dad to get back at me.”
Sebastian wasn’t the only one with a vendetta against her. What if her ex-fiancé was involved as well? Maybe he wanted to trade her dad for whatever evidence she had against him.
“What’s on your agenda tomorrow?” Alex asked.
“Checking out the names and addresses of people who sold to TerraQuest,” Max said. “And the funeral for the Slaters. Has anyone said when Paul Nelson’s funeral will be—we need to go to that one as well.”
“His body hasn’t been released—it’ll probably be Monday at the earliest.”
“I want to interview Eric Darby again,” Jenna added. “I think he knows something he isn’t telling. Maybe my dad’s kidnapping will be the thing that loosens his tongue.”
Alex scribbled something in her notepad and looked up. “Go ahead and interview the people on your list, and see if you can get any information out of Darby. I’ll personally run the investigation into your dad’s disappearance.”
“Thanks.” Jenna crossed her arms. “But I want an active part in it.”
Alex pressed her lips together. Jenna had probably stepped over the line. “Talk to the people who know your dad the best—Sam, your grandmother . . . his friends.”
That was better than giving her busy work. If Sebastian had been using the Armstrong place to move drugs, maybe he had her dad stashed wherever they’d moved. And the location could be one of the addresses Tom Weaver gave them of rentals in the last month. “I’ll check out Tom Weaver’s rentals for the past few months. Sebastian could be staying in one of them.”
Alex hesitated, then she nodded.
“What time is the funeral?” Jenna asked.
“Three.”
They should make that easy unless something broke with her dad’s kidnapping.
57
Friday morning Sebastian let himself into Jenna Hart’s house through the kitchen door. This morning he had plenty of time—he’d overheard the deputy and the TBI cop talking about their schedule for today. Besides, the app would alert him if they got within a mile of him.
But first things first. Sebastian opened the cabinet door where he’d seen her over-the-counter pain relievers. He fingered the box of headache powders . . . it’d be so easy to replace the powder with heroin . . . maybe a little extra fentanyl . . . The thought made him laugh. No. He wanted Jenna Hart to know who killed her.
Instead, he quickly grouped the pill bottles accordingly, vitamins on one side and pain meds on the other, including the powders. Then he turned to the pantry and grouped the cans according to size and content. That should be a nice little surprise for her.
Now for the photos that Phillip Ross insisted were here. He methodically searched each room, leaving no space untouched, even her dresser. He spied a small box and lifted the top.
Not photos but her business cards. With her cell phone number on it, and he pocketed it. That would come in handy very soon. Tonight, in fact.
Sebastian moved to the second bedroom and repeated the process. Nada. This was a waste of time. There were no photos anywhere in this house.
The app buzzed. Sebastian jerked out his phone and swore. Hart and the TBI agent were a mile away. They weren’t supposed to be anywhere near the house. He hurried to the kitchen, let himself out, and pressed the tape back in place before he jogged to the wooded area. His car was parked on a farm road a mile away.
Sebastian wished he’d installed a camera—he’d love to see her face when she opened the cabinet door. As soon as he reached his car, he would listen in, then tomorrow he would break in one last time and remove the bugs.
It was time to stop toying with the mouse and end the game. Tonight was the pièce de résistance.
58
Jenna pulled into her grandmother’s drive, and Max checked his watch. “It’s only 7:30. Are you certain Eva is up?”
“Yes. I’ve already talked to her once, but I want to make sure she’s okay.”
The aroma of cinnamon rolls reached them when her grandmother opened the door dressed in her blue robe and house slippers. “Has there been any word?”
“Not yet,” Jenna said as they stepped inside the house. She hugged her grandmother. “How are you?”
“Praying. And baking.”
That’s what Jenna expected her to say. “We’ll find him.”
“I know. God has this—it didn’t take him by surprise.”
Jenna wished her faith was as strong as her grandmother’s. But this was her dad. And she’d seen the worst people were capable of, especially someone like Sebastian . . . or Phillip.
“When did you see him last?”
“He stopped by here on his way home from the post office. Said he was going to take a nap before he drove to the woods.”
That’s what Sam had told her last night both before and after they knew he was missing.
“Come on to the kitchen,” Granna said. “Have you two eaten? I have rolls and coffee.”
“I don’t want anything,” Jenna said as she and Max followed. Putting food or coffee in her roiling stomach was more than she could do.
“How about you, Max?”
“I’ll take a cup of coffee.”
She sat at the table and picked at her cuticles while Granna poured Max’s coffee. Then she set a roll in front of him. “And one for you, Missy. You need to keep your strength up.”
Jenna palmed her hands. “I’m sorry, Granna, I can’t.”
The back door scraped open and they all turned toward it as Sam entered the room.
“Have you found him yet?”
“No.” Jenna blinked back tears.
“Have you remembered anything that might help us?” Max asked.
Sam flattened his lips. “No. Yesterday was like every other day—Randy stopped by the house, said he was going home to take a nap first, then he’d come to the woods. Said he’d call us if he couldn’t find us. But he never showed. And I didn’t see anyone at his house when I left.”
Jenna rubbed her hands on her pants. They needed to be doing something more productive, like checking out Tom Weaver’s recent rentals. She stood. “I’m ready if you are.”
Max nodded. “If either of you hear anything, call us.”
By midmorning Friday, Jenna’s neck muscles were tight enough to break as she pulled away from one of Weaver’s rentals—another dead end. A tension headache threatened, but at least they’d checked off two of the addresses Tom Weaver had given them of recent rentals, this one and another, both families with small children.
They’d also phone interviewed three heirs of the families who’d sold their land to TerraQuest, including the one where Max had left a note for them to call. For what good it’d done them—not one of the families they’d talked to knew anything about the company.
The next address would take them five miles past her house. Jenna felt in the console for ibuprofen and found an empty bottle. She glanced toward Max. “Do you mind if we stop by my house on the way to the next place?”
“Headache?”
“How did you know?” She rubbed her temple.
“That.” He pointed to her action. “And I’ve noticed you massaging your neck.”
Jenna dropped her hand. “I guess tossing and turning instead of sleeping has caught up with me.”
“I’m good with stopping, and then I’ll drive if you’d like.”
She nodded, and ten minutes later, Jenna turned into her drive. She checked the front door while Max checked the back.
“Tape was fine on the back door,” he said when he returned.
“Here too. Shouldn’t be any surprises waiting on us,” she said, pointing toward the tape still in place.
“Right.”
Pain shot through her right temple. She closed her eye and pressed her fingers to her cheekbone. If she didn’t take something fast, she was in for a full-blown tension headache. As soon as she had the door opened, she hurried through to the kitchen, filled a glass of water, and opened her cabinet to grab the ibuprofen.
Jenna froze.
“What is it?”
Before she could stop herself, she blurted, “Sebastian has been here—he rearranged my bottles.”
Max joined her. “Are you sure—”
“Of course I’m sure. I’ve been meaning to organize my cabinets, but I haven’t had time. Besides, I would know if I’d done this!” She pointed to the neatly arranged bottles. “If you don’t believe me, look at my pantry.”
Jenna flung open the pantry door and stared at the neat rows of canned goods, the boxes of cereal lined up together. A chill raced up her spine. Jenna turned to Max. “You’ve seen my cabinets—they look nothing like this!”
He shook his head. “You’ve always had the cereal and the coffee on the counter, waiting for me.”
That’s right, she had.
“What if Sebastian found the photos.” Jenna whirled around. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll check the windows.” Max followed her down the hall.
“I’ll check the ones in this bedroom.” Jenna quickly knelt beside the false receptacle. The tape was still intact.
The pounding in her chest eased only slightly, and she examined the windows. Both locked down tight. She walked back to the kitchen.
Max returned a few minutes later. “All the windows I checked are locked, and I’m assuming the ones in the bedroom—”
“They’re locked.”
It didn’t make sense. Everything was locked up tight—how had someone gotten in and lined up the medicine in her cabinet and rearranged what was in her pantry?
“Did you examine the back door?”
“No.”
Max walked to the back door and tried to open it. “If someone was here, how did they get in?”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“Does anyone else have a key?”
“Granna does.” Hope fluttered in her chest. “She’d do something like this—but not today, not with Dad missing.”
“Call and make sure—she may have needed something to take her mind off what’s happened.”
That had to be the answer. Jenna jerked her phone out and punched in her grandmother’s number. “Hey, Granna,” she said when her grandmother answered. “Have you been to my house today?”
“No, dear. I haven’t left the house since you were here. Why do you ask?”
Jenna gripped the phone. “No reason . . . I just thought maybe you’d straightened up my cabinets.”
“No, I’ve been right here, baking a pound cake for the meal after the funeral. I just took it from the oven.”
Jenna braced herself with the table. “Thanks, Granna. If I have any news about Dad, I’ll call you. Otherwise, we’ll see you at the funeral.” She disconnected. “I guess you could tell that Granna hasn’t been here.”
“I’ll dust for prints.”
Max didn’t believe anyone had been here. Oh, he said the right words, all right. It was his tone that said he was humoring her.
“No need,” she said, brushing him off. “Whoever did this would’ve worn gloves. Are you ready to go to the next place?”
“Aren’t you going to take something for your headache?”
“I forgot.”
Her hand froze as she reached for the bottle of ibuprofen. He’d handled her bottles. What if he’d switched the pills out with heroin—no, the ibuprofen were caplets. They would be safe.
She wasn’t letting whoever did this control her. She grabbed the bottle, uncapped it, and swallowed two pills with a gulp of water. “I’m ready.”
Max followed her out the front door and waited while she placed a new piece of tape at the top. When they reached her SUV, he cleared his throat. “We need to talk about the elephant in the room.”
“I don’t see that there’s anything to talk about. I think someone has been in my house and you don’t.”
