Addie had no trouble agreeing to that. This visit would be beyond hard, but without Judson, it felt impossible. Besides, Judson was the cop, and this could serve as an official interview.
“Just let me give the babies a quick kiss goodbye,” Addie insisted, hurrying toward her bedroom.
She stepped into the room and found them both asleep. Etta Jean was folding laundry on the bed, and she must have seen something in Addie’s expression, because she immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I just have to visit someone,” Addie settled for saying. “Judson’s going with me. If you need anything, let Bennie or Grace know. And call me if there’s any sign of trouble.”
Etta Jean gave a shaky nod and kept her gaze pinned to Addie as she gave each baby a kiss on the cheek. Addie gave Etta Jean a hug, too, and then hurried back out to find Judson waiting for her at the door.
“The cruisers are ready,” he let her know.
Clearly, he still wasn’t convinced this was the right thing to do, but he didn’t hesitate getting them out of the house and into the waiting cop car. Livvy was already in her vehicle, and they took off, heading toward San Antonio.
“Should I call the treatment center and let them know we’re coming?” Addie asked.
“No. I don’t want anyone there knowing our plans. Especially Rowena. She could call the person who attacked us.”
Oh, mercy. Addie hadn’t even considered that, but it was a possibility. Rowena had made it seem as if she’d wanted to say goodbye, but the woman could have something sinister in mind.
Like trying to kill Addie for rejecting her.
“If you want to change your mind about this visit, I can turn around and take you home,” Judson offered.
“No.” Addie steeled herself up and mentally repeated that a couple of times. “I want to find out anything Rowena knows about Yvette.”
Judson’s jaw muscles tightened, but he didn’t turn around. However, he did keep watch around them as they headed towardthe interstate, and he used a voice command to call the prison where Rowena had been an inmate. It took him several minutes to work his way to the warden.
“Curtis Sanchez,” the man said when he came on the line.
“Deputy Judson Docherty from Renegade Canyon PD. I’m pressed for time, and I’m hoping you can help me. Rowena Matthews’s name had come up as connected to a fugitive wanted for abducting two infants. Yvette Cates.”
“Yes, I saw that on the news,” Sanchez said, but then he paused. “How’s Cates connected to Rowena?”
“It’s possible they were friends. I need you to tell me if Yvette ever visited Rowena while she was incarcerated?”
“Hold on a second and I can check that.” They heard the clicks of a keyboard in the background, and it didn’t take long for the man to come back on the line. “Yes, she did. Lots of times. Three visits in the last two weeks. Before that, Yvette came about every other month.”
So, something had caused those visits to increase. But what? Had the women been planning the trip to the Horseshoe Ranch to get the twins, or was this about something else?
“Were the visits monitored?” Judson pressed. “In other words, were they recorded?”
“Supervised but not recorded,” Sanchez admitted. “Rowena wasn’t considered a flight risk. In fact, while she was here, she was a model prisoner, which was why she was granted medical release. Why? Do you think Rowena had a part in the abduction of those babies?”
“I’m not sure. What about other visitors?” Judson pressed. “I’m specifically looking at other parents who might have lost custody of their kids and were taken into care by CPS.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have that info, but I can send you a list of names of her visitors. Would that help?” Sanchez asked.
“It would. Text it to my phone, and I’ll share it with my boss, Sheriff Granger. We can dig through the names and see if anything pops.” Judson paused. “By the way, for what it’s worth, Rowena isn’t being a model citizen now that she’s out,” he explained. “She’s refused to give the cops vital information about Yvette unless she speaks to the woman she abducted as a child. It’s down and dirty blackmail.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” And the man sounded genuine. “I can call and speak to her if you think that’ll help.”
Judson seemed to consider that and then said, “No, but thanks for the offer. I’ll be in touch if I end up filing charges against her. Then, you can decide if you want to try to revoke her release.”
The warden thanked him, and Judson ended the call. With the silence filling the cab of the cruiser, there was nothing to interfere with her thinking, and dreading, this face-to-face. Addie wouldn’t change her mind, but she could feel the tension building, building…
And then it stopped when Judson took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. That was all it took to settle some of her raw nerves. All it took to lower that barrier between them another notch.
“Just think about the babies,” Judson said, his voice oh so calm. “Think about holding them, feeding them.” He paused. “Think about how many times they’ll wake us up tonight.” He grinned at her.
