The waiting was hard, but Judson was making good use of the time while going through reports and doing some paperwork. In fact, all the deputies were doing that, including a reserve cop who Grace had called in to assist with the extra workload.
She imagined that Grace was seriously shorthanded, what with multiple facets of an investigation going on. That’s why Addie was thankful Grace had given Judson the time off to do personal protection detail. Addie hated to add to Grace’s manpower burdens, but she hated more that the twins wouldn’t have someone around who could protect them. The two deputies with them now were a good substitute, temporarily anyway, but Addie didn’t trust anyone more than Judson when it came to keeping Lily and Rose safe.
At the thought of the girls, Addie checked her phone again and reread the last text she’d gotten from Etta Jean. It’d come just fifteen minutes earlier, and there’d been one a half hour before that. Addie was thankful for each and every one of the messages, but especially this one, since Etta Jean had included a photo of the babies, sleeping peacefully in their bassinets.
“The CSIs are going over Courtney’s car now,” Judson relayed, obviously reading from a text update he’d just received.“Her clothes will be processed, too, once the EMTs are able to bag them. It’s hard to stab someone and not leave at least a little of your own DNA behind.”
Addie hoped that was the case here. Or better yet, she hoped that maybe Courtney herself would be able to give them that info. That was the reason Grace had decided to keep Jennifer in custody a while longer. There wasn’t enough evidence to actually arrest her, but that could change in a blink if Courtney named Jennifer as her attacker.
“The CSIs also checked for prints on the two plastic bags of drugs,” Judson went on. “There are some smudges and what appear to be paper fibers on the outsides, as if someone tried to wipe the bags clean. Still, the lab might be able to enhance them enough to get a match.”
She considered that a moment. The drugs were yet another question mark in an investigation crammed with questions.
“How much access did Jennifer and Shane have to the Cateses’ house?” Addie asked.
“Shane was there recently. Jennifer claimed she’d never been there before today.” He paused. “You’re thinking one of them could have planted the drugs.”
She nodded. “Maybe to set Trevor up and make it look as if he was drugging Yvette. Or could they have done that to discredit him in Yvette’s eyes?”
“Possibly. Both Jennifer and Shane have made it clear they despise their stepfather. There’s no evidence, though, that Yvette was ever given or took the drugs. And by that, I mean no witness statements or tox reports.”
That was true, and Addie would have given that more thought as well if the sound of approaching footsteps hadn’t caught her attention. She was still on edge enough to get to her feet, ready to defend herself.
A moment later, Livvy stepped into the doorway, and she wasn’t alone—Shane and his lawyer were right behind her. Addie recalled the lawyer introducing himself as Ira Covington when he’d arrived at the police station shortly after Grace had left for the hospital.
“Grace texted and said she’s decided to reschedule Shane’s interview,” Livvy let them know.
“The cops have no grounds whatsoever to hold my client,” the lawyer piped up, causing Livvy to roll her eyes. Obviously, she was tired of dealing with the attorney’s complaints.
“The cops have rescheduled your client’s interview for tomorrow morning at eight,” Livvy replied, mimicking the same snappy tone as the lawyer’s.
“I’d like to see my sister before I leave,” Shane said, aiming that request at Judson.
“I’ve already told him no,” Livvy volunteered.
“Then you won’t be seeing her.” Judson aimed that remark at Shane.
Shane huffed. “But if there’s no cause to hold me, the same applies to her. You should have her come back in tomorrow, too. For now, I can take her home so she can get some rest.”
“The same doesn’t apply,” Judson was quick to point out, but he didn’t elaborate, holding on to the details of Jennifer being found with a knife in her hand. “And the reason you’re not speaking to her is because we don’t want her statement skewed by any outside information. It needs to be an accurate account from her perspective of what actually happened.”
The lawyer stepped into the doorway, bumping Livvy as if trying to nudge her aside. But Livvy held her ground.
“Are you saying you believe my client and his sister will fabricate something if they have a simple conversation?” Covington demanded.
Judson gave him a hard stare. “Yes. I’m saying it’s possible. And it might not even be intentional or with criminal intent,” he added, cutting off what appeared to be the start of a rant from the lawyer. “It’s best if Jennifer gives us a clear account of what happened at her mother’s house. We don’t want her to add or draw conclusions from anything that anyone else says. That includes her brother.”
Clearly, neither Covington nor Shane cared much for that answer, but they must have sensed the deputies weren’t going to change their minds. The lawyer muttered something about seeing them in the morning and motioned for his client to follow him out of the building.
Because Addie kept her attention on them, she saw the beefy man with sandy-brown hair approach Shane and Covington just outside the door. She couldn’t tell what the three were saying, but it was obvious Shane knew this man.
Obvious, too, that the man was furious.
After a short conversation with Shane, the man practically threw open the door to the police station.
“Where the hell is Jennifer?” he snarled.
“That’s Elijah Banks, Jennifer’s boyfriend,” Judson informed Addie. “I recognize him from his DMV photo.”
