“That’s not your call,” Judson said.
“We’ll see about that,” the man snapped, already taking out his phone. He turned and headed back toward Garrison and the metal detector. “I want my gun, and I’ll be back when I get Jennifer the legal help she needs.”
Once Elijah was on the other side of the metal detector, Garrison picked up the gun, but he didn’t hand it back to Elijah until the man was outside the door. Then Garrison tapped the sign about no firearms.
Elijah gutted out a single word of raw profanity and walked away while he scrolled through his phone. No doubt to contact a lawyer. He apparently found what he was looking for, because he made a call as he got into his dark blue truck and drove away.
Judson cursed as well. “If a lawyer shows up, the interview probably won’t happen today. There’ll likely be lots of legal wrangling…well, unless Jennifer flat-out refuses to have legal counsel.”
“She probably won’t refuse if she knows Elijah arranged it,” Livvy pointed out. She sighed and glanced at both Addie and Judson. “Why don’t you two go back to the ranch? I figure you’re anxious to be with the twins.”
Addie was indeed anxious, so when Judson nodded, she was ready to go despite the hesitation Addie saw on his face. He no doubt felt swamped with the amount of info that needed to be processed.
“Send me some of the workload,” Judson told Livvy. “I’ll go through any and all reports and summarize them for the rest of the team.”
“I can do that,” Livvy said. “It’ll free me up to try to find Trevor and Yvette. And to deal with Jennifer. I’m not sure how long she’ll sit in interview without putting up an argument.”
Yes, and coupled with a potential attorney, Addie could understand why the interview likely wouldn’t happen anytime soon. It was possible a lawyer would demand a thorough psychological eval of his client rather than relying on the expertise of a small-town ER doctor. Especially a doctor who would know all the members of the police force.
“I’ll get my purse,” Addie said, heading back into Grace’s office where she’d left it. However, she’d barely made it a step before Livvy’s phone rang.
“It’s Grace,” Livvy muttered, and she immediately took the call, putting it on speaker. “I’m here with Addie and Judson, who are listening in. Garrison, too,” she added when the other deputy joined them.
“I made it to the hospital in Bulverde,” Grace started, and Addie’s stomach automatically clenched. Because she could tell from Grace’s tone that this wasn’t going to be good news. “Courtney died before the EMTs could even get her out of the ambulance.”
Addie groaned. The three deputies each did some cursing. “Did Courtney manage to say anything to the EMTs?” Judson asked.
“No. She never even regained consciousness.” Grace’s heavy sigh came through loud and clear. “So, this is officially a murder investigation.Ours,” she emphasized. “The area where Courtney was found is in the county sheriff office’s jurisdiction, but since this is possibly connected to the twins’ abduction, the county is handing it to us. I’m heading back to the station now to create a file on it. What’s going on there?” she tacked on.
“We got a visit from Jennifer’s boyfriend,” Livvy let her boss know. “I can brief you on that since Addie and Judson were about to leave.”
“Good,” Grace said. “No need for them to be there, and they’ll be better off at the ranch. Once you’re back at the Horseshoe, just send Rory or Bennie back to the station. One of them can stay there for a while until…well, until things are more stabilized than they are right now.”
“Thank you,” Addie and Judson said together.
Addie took her purse, and she and Judson headed out while Livvy got started with the recap of Elijah’s visit. Grace probably wasn’t going to be any happier about it than the rest of them were.
They were only steps from the door when a landline phone rang, and seconds after Garrison answered it, the deputy called out, “I have Trevor Cates on the line.”
That stopped them in their tracks, and they hurried back to the desk. “Put the call on speaker,” Judson instructed the younger deputy, and Livvy moved closer, holding up her phone so that Grace could no doubt hear as well.
“This is Deputy Judson Docherty,” he said.
“Trevor Cates,” the man replied, and he sounded all frantic nerves. “I’ve been camping. There’s no cell service out there, and I just saw all the missed calls. Some from Jennifer, others from Shane and three from Renegade Canyon PD. What the hell is going on?”
Addie figured Judson had plenty of questions, but he went with a simple one. “Where are you right now?” he asked.
“On the way back to my house. I pulled over when I finally got out of the dead spot and was able to check my phone,” he explained. “When I saw your messages, I called right away.”
“Don’t go home,” Judson insisted, and he dragged in a long breath. “A woman was attacked in your house, and there’s a team of investigators inside and on the grounds.”
“What?” Trevor blurted, his voice practically a shout now. “What do you mean? What woman was attacked? Was it Yvette?”
Again, Judson took his time answering. “Where is your wife, Mr. Cates?”
“Uh, I assumed she was at the house. At our home,” he amended. “Isn’t she? God, is she hurt?”
“We’re not sure. We’ve been looking for your wife but haven’t been able to contact her.”
