Earlier at the ranch, Shane had admitted he’d been out looking for his mother, so that could explain why he was in or near Renegade Canyon. Another explanation, though, could be that he’d been there to assist his mother in committing a felony. Or to try to clean up after the one she’d already committed.
With Judson and Addie right behind them, Livvy led Shane to the second interview room. The door to the first one was closed, and Judson was betting that’s where they had Jennifer waiting. Shane didn’t go into the room, though. He whirled around to face the three of them.
“Look, all this is nonsense and a complete waste of your time and mine,” Shane went on.
Neither Judson nor Livvy asked any questions, since any answers the man might give right now could perhaps be challenged later by his lawyer. But if it was info that Shane volunteered, even after being Mirandized, then it could turn out to be something the cops could use to prosecute him.
Shane huffed and folded his arms over his chest. “I was in that area because Mom talks about it a lot. She went through hell when CPS took Jennifer and me away from her. She was always going on about the Horseshoe Ranch and how the woman there, the manager, wouldn’t let her see us kids.”
The manager, Mellie, would have needed permission from the courts for a visit like that to happen, so Mellie had just been following the law. Along with protecting the children.
“Mom’s been talking even more about that ranch lately,” Shane continued. “I’m not sure why.” He stopped, and some of the anger seemed to fade from his face. Either that or he was putting on an act. “Mom hasn’t been herself since she hooked up with Trevor,” he said in a barely audible mumble. “And I just didn’t want her to do anything stupid, something she’d regret.”
Judson didn’t spell out that the evidence did point to Yvette kidnapping the twins. That wasn’t in question since the farmerNan Fredrick had seen Yvette with Lily and Rose. The big question now was had Yvette had an accomplice, and was that accomplice the man standing in front of them right now?
Shane seemed to stay in deep thought for several moments, and then he huffed as if frustrated that they weren’t responding. “I’ll call my lawyer after all,” he snapped, going into the room and shutting the door behind him.
“You believe what he just said?” Addie asked, volleying glances at both Livvy and him.
Judson had to shrug. “It’s possible that Yvette did talk about the Horseshoe, but why would Shane search that area? Why not go to his adoptive parents’ house? Or his sister’s? I’m sure Yvette talked about them, too.”
“I’m hoping I’ll find that out once his attorney shows,” Livvy said, and then she motioned toward interview room one. “Jennifer hasn’t lawyered up, so we’ll be able to start with her…now,” she amended when they heard the sound of footsteps and saw Grace making her way to them.
One look at his boss’s face, though, and Judson knew she wasn’t solely here for the interviews, that she had some news for them. And that the news wasn’t good.
Grace launched right into that news. “I just got off the phone with the lab guys, and they ID’d the blood found in Trevor Cateses’ house. It belongs to a social worker, Courtney Mora.”
Addie gasped, and with her eyes wide, she snapped toward Judson. She obviously remembered that was the woman who’d called them earlier when they were searching for Yvette and the twins.
“She’s the person who told us that Yvette was probably the one who’d taken the babies,” Addie said.
Grace nodded. “Yes, I read that in Judson’s preliminary report. I’m getting her phone records, but can you tell me where Miss Mora was when she made that call to you?”
Judson mentally went back through the conversation and had to shake his head. “She didn’t say, and she sure as hell didn’t mention she was on her way to the Cateses’ house.”
“She didn’t say anything about that to anyone in her office, either,” Grace replied. “In fact, she didn’t show up for work today, and her boss was getting concerned. It was definitely out of the norm for her.”
Hell. She must have taken it on herself to go to the house, looking for Yvette, and then…what? Yvette had killed her and left the knife behind for Jennifer to find and pick up?
Maybe.
Courtney had mentioned that Yvette hated her and had tried to ruin her life because she had been the social worker who’d removed Yvette’s kids and placed them in foster care. So, maybe Yvette had returned from her canceled kidnapping plot to find a woman she hated in her home. But if that’s what had happened, then where the heck was the body?
And where were Yvette and Trevor?
“What about Courtney’s vehicle?” Addie asked. “Was it at the Cateses’ house?”
“No,” Grace answered. “There were no vehicles in the garage, and the one in front of the house belongs to Jennifer.”
Then, that was another question that needed to be answered. It was possible someone had dropped Courtney off, or, heck, maybe she had even managed to get an Uber or a taxi to take her that far. But if she’d taken those particular forms of transportation, there should be a record of it.
“Along with finding the blood and Jennifer at the Cateses’ house,” Grace went on several seconds later, “the CSIs also found some drugs. Rohypnol and Valium.”
“That’s a strange combination.” Judson shook his head. “The date rape drug and anxiety meds. Any idea who was taking them? Or who was giving them to someone else?”
“Don’t have a clue yet, but they were in the nightstand drawer of the main bedroom, so the CSIs might be able to determine through prints who used that drawer the most. Or whose prints are on the actual plastic bags that contained them.” Grace checked her watch. “It’s going to take an hour or two to get those phone records or any other info from the CSIs and ME. Let’s get moving with interviewing Jennifer so you two can get back to the Horseshoe. How are the twins doing, by the way?”
“They’re fine,” Addie assured her. “They don’t seem to be experiencing any kind of trauma.”
