“He rarely had visitors. None the last five years until the warden notified next of kin that he didn’t have long to live. At that point, his two sons showed up. They visited briefly and Brandt was the one to end the visit and send them away.”
Asher nodded. “Okay. I have seen files on the robbery before, and if I remember, Brandt said in his statement thathe’d been the one to hide the money, and he wasn’t talking. Double-check that for me when you’re going through the files.”
“Will do. What are you gonna do?” Gunner asked.
“Run background on Brandt’s sons. Maybe something will pop.”
Satisfied that they had the beginnings of their investigations mapped out, they settled down to work.
* * *
Everett Brandt woke up in a mood. His neck was on the line here, and he still didn’t know anything more about Kingston other than he’d survived the surgery and was in ICU. It was clearly old news because there was nothing more being reported about him or the investigation.
Freddie had already eaten his way through half the groceries they’d brought home, which aggravated him even more. Added to that, there was a storm front heading this way with temps below freezing. He was still antsy about Kingston, and made a knee-jerk decision to call the hospital, but he wasn’t going to use his cell phone. He had a burner with some minutes still on it, and went to his bedroom where it was quieter to make the call.
The call went straight to the switchboard, and a woman answered.
“Northwest Texas Hospital. How may I direct your call?”
“I’m inquiring about a patient’s status. Would that be registration?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “One moment please.”
A few seconds later, another female answered. “NTH, Abby speaking. How can I help you?”
“I was calling for an update on the status of a patient. His name is Jacob Kingston. Is he still in ICU or has he beenmoved to a regular room?”
“I can’t give specifics, but he’s still in ICU.”
“Right… Sure… I understand. Thank you for this much,” he said, and disconnected. “So, if he’s still in ICU, he’s not improving,” Everett muttered. “I’ll take that as a plus.”
He tucked the burner into the back of a drawer beneath his socks, and turned up the thermostat on his way back to the living room.
What he didn’t know was that Asher had left word at the front desk not to give out any information about his father’s welfare, and to notify him if there were calls. While Everett was patting himself on the back for his bit of detective work, the receptionist was calling a real detective.
* * *
The two Kingston brothers were ensconced within the warmth of their kitchen as they worked. The room was mostly silent, but for a clock ticking on the wall. A second pot of coffee was brewing as they sat making notes from the background searches, and the requested FBI files.
Finally, Asher looked up. “Brandt was married at the time of the robbery and the only member of that gang who had kids. One other man, who is now deceased, was married at the time. That wife has since divorced him and moved to Florida. They had no children. One gang member is still alive and in prison. He’s the one who was shot during the robbery and ratted out the rest of the gang while he was in the hospital. No next of kin.”
Gunner frowned. “It could be coincidence that this happened to Dad on the heels of Brandt’s death, but it doesn’t feel like it. There is nothing random about choosing to kill a man who owns a bar, in a little town, in the middle ofnowhere. No thief would assume there were any large sums of money in any of these businesses. I know the lack of law in Crossroads would be tempting, but why the kill shot when you’re only intent on robbery?”
“And yet there was no robbery attempt,” Asher said, and then his phone rang. He glanced at Caller ID and frowned. “It’s the hospital. I’m putting it on Speaker,” he said, then answered. “Asher Kingston speaking.”
“Mr. Kingston, this is Carla, the receptionist at the information desk at NTH. You asked me to notify you if anyone called for information about your father.”
Asher glanced at Gunner. “Yes! Are you saying someone called?”
“Yes, sir, about five minutes ago. It was a man. He didn’t give me a name. He just asked if Jacob Kingston was still in ICU or if he’d been moved to a room.”
“What did you tell him?” Asher asked.
“That he was still in ICU, as you requested.”
“Thank you, Carla. I know there’s a chance he’ll be moved out soon, but we don’t want that known until we’ve arrested the people responsible for trying to kill him, so letting the public believe he’s still in ICU is the best protection he can have at the moment. Let me know if you get any further calls.”
“Yes sir, I will,” Carla said, and hung up.
