“Ever since my me-maw got sick, my daddy’s business hasn’t been doing so well. He was paying for her cancer treatments out of pocket. At first, it wasn’t so bad. But then he got underbid on a few projects, and there wasn’t as much money coming in. So my mama took a housekeeping job at the Bennett ranch.”
Aja’s stomach roiled. She could already see where this story was headed, and she didn’t like it.
“One day, Mr. Bennett saw me drop Mama off to work and asked how I planned to spend my day. I told him working with my daddy over at your ranch.
“I didn’t think nothing of it then. But a few days later, when I dropped Mama off again, he asked to speak with me. He told me he had a job for me, one that would pay better than my summer gig with my daddy, and it would be less work.” Taylor shook his head, then looked up to the ceiling as if he were reading his past through a new set of lenses, understanding things now that had escaped his comprehension then. “I should’ve known better than to listen to him. If I’d taken off, I wouldn’t be in this mess, and you wouldn’t have been hurt.”
She was quiet. It was too soon for her to add her thoughts to the mix. Aja didn’t want to disturb his flow. She needed every detail if she intended to use this account to get Taylor out of this predicament somehow and lay the blame where she was certain it rested—at Eli Bennett’s feet.
“He told me he wanted me to push a few of your fence posts down as a joke. He said he was teaching you a valuable lesson about ranching. He said you didn’t have any livestock, so no one would get hurt by a few posts being knocked down. I figured he was right and that it couldn’t cause any harm because my dad would probably fix them anyway, so I agreed.”
She let a long breath escape her, hoping it would ebb her frustration. “But that wasn’t the last of it, was it? He came back with another task, and another task until you were burning down my barn and trying to strangle me in my bed?”
The boy shook his head furiously. “No, that wasn’t me. I swear I didn’t attack you.” She watched him for a minute, then waved him on to continue his story. “When he demanded I cut the scaffolding, I told him no. He said he’d turn me in to the police, and he’d make it so my dad never got another job, and he’d fire my mom. I thought he was bluffing until my dad lost three bids back-to-back the following week. With no cash, we’d be on the streets, and my me-maw would die.”
“So you went along with his plan and cut my scaffolding, burned down my barn, and tried to kill me?”
He shook his head again. “I cut the scaffolding after I knew my daddy’s men were through with it. They were coming to take it down the same day. I didn’t know you’d be under there taking more measurements. The barn was an accident. I went in there to damage some electrical work, but I heard Ms. Daniels screaming your name as she walked by, and I panicked. I accidentally stepped on some kerosene lamps, a spark from an exposed wire hit the spilled gas, and the fire got out of control so quickly, all I could do was run.”
She watched him carefully. His eyes never wavered from hers. “Where were you the night of my attack? I need more than your word you weren’t the one to attack me.”
“I was with Mr. Pete at the hardware store. We had a late shipment come in, and he needed my help doing inventory and restocking. He keeps a camera running in the store. You can ask him to show you if you want.”
She believed him. But she was still going to check it out. She’d get Pete on the phone before she left this room. But for now, she was satisfied Taylor was telling the truth.
A strange sense of relief washed over her. She wasn’t thrilled with Taylor’s admitted involvement in the vandalism on her ranch, but knowing he wasn’t the one to attack her made her anger and frustration ease.
“I believe you, Taylor.” The boy sighed big and loud, sliding down somewhat in his chair as he leaned back. “The problem is, without irrefutable proof, there’s no way anything you told me gets you out of cuffs and Eli Bennett into them. Even without the assault charge, you could be looking at serious time for the vandalism.”
“Would a video recording of him admitting he made me do this be proof enough?”
She sat up a little straighter in her chair. “It would be a hell of a bargaining chip if you had one.”
Taylor shared a nervous smile, the corners of his mouth still anxiously trembling before he gave her his log-in information for a cloud account. She sat back and watched the video on her phone, a smile spreading across her face as she did. When it finished, she looked up at Taylor with a lifted brow. “Now this is a game changer—something I can use. Sit tight, Taylor, and watch me work.”
* * *
“How did you let this happen, Dean?”
Jackson leaned against the wall and watched as Ross paced back and forth. “How did I let it happen? I’d like to see how you planned on stopping her. And honestly, I agree with her.”
“So you want to let him go like that sentimental fool sitting in there, blowing a hole in this case, because he’s sixteen?”
Jackson shook his head, keeping himself planted against the wall, unsure if he could ignore his instinct to snatch Ross up by his neck for talking about Aja like that in front of him. “No. If he did it, I want him to pay just like you. But I agree with what she said. If it comes out that we questioned him and got a confession without representation or a parent present, this entire scenario could blow up in our faces. Even though we’re working inside the parameters of the law, the public won’t see it that way. I don’t want him to get off because we couldn’t make it look good on paper.”
Ross stopped pacing, staring at Jackson with a pointed glare that pissed him off more than intimidated him. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Now that she has crossed this line, we’ll never be able to get this in front of a jury. If the victim is defending him, this is all a waste of my damn time.”
The door to the interrogation room opened and Aja peeked outside. “Gentlemen, all is not lost. Come inside. I believe my client has something to share with you that’s going to makes us all smile.”
Ross turned to Jackson, his brow furrowed in tight, straight lines as he silently questioned him. His response to the prosecutor was to shrug and follow Aja back into the room. If the confidence he saw in each sway of her hips was an indicator, he knew she was about to blow their minds. Because one thing he knew about Aja Everett was that she was a problem solver of the highest caliber. She always got the job done.
Chapter 31
“Well, I’ll be damned. Eli Bennett sho’ does put on an interesting show.”
Aja’s smile widened as she sat across the table from John Ross. This was exactly the reaction she wanted from the prosecutor.
“As you can see from the video, my client was being threatened and coerced by an adult. Now, putting my client in jail for these crimes might get you another notch in your win column, but we all know if you take Eli Bennett down, you’ll get the acclaim that goes along with catching a big fish.”
