“Good,” Addie snapped. “Now, tell us about Yvette so we can get the heck out of here.”
Rowena sighed, and for a moment Addie thought the woman was going to keep the conversation on the past. But she didn’t.
“I had no part in taking those twin baby girls,” Rowena finally said. “I want you to know that up front. And I had no idea that Yvette would do it, either.”
Judson put his hands on his hips and aimed narrowed eyes at Rowena. “You’d better tell us a hell of a lot more than that, or I’ll be filing charges against you. I’ve already spoken to the warden, and he’s considering revoking your release.”
That put some alarm in Rowena’s eyes, and she gave a shaky nod. “There’s more. I just wanted you to understand that I didn’t know what Yvette was going to do. If I had, I would have tried to talk her out of it.”
Judson made a circling motion with his finger for Rowena to continue when she fell silent.
“Yvette started visiting me years ago,” she went on. “She was furious that her kids had been taken from her, and she blames CPS and anyone connected with the Horseshoe Ranch.” When her voice cracked, she reached for a container of water and had a few sips. “Recently, Yvette was worried that someone had been drugging her.”
“Who?” Judson demanded.
“She didn’t know, but she thought it might be Trevor. Or Jennifer’s boyfriend, Elijah.”
That got Addie’s attention, and while she didn’t go closer, she was very interested in this part of the conversation.
“Yvette thought Trevor or Elijah might be trying to kill her so they could get their hands on her money,” Rowena added.
“Did she have any proof?” Judson pressed.
Rowena shook her head and sighed. “And I’m not sure it was actually happening. Yvette seemed to be having some kind of breakdown. I think maybe because of the rift between Jennifer and her. She loves her daughter very much, and it was tearing her apart that Jennifer was being so hostile.”
Addie kept up the glare and intensified it when Rowena looked at her. The woman was clearly applying Yvette’s situation to her own.
Or trying to, anyway.
Addie wanted to blurt out a reminder that Rowena was a killer and a child abductor and deserved hostility, but she didn’t want to give this woman anything. Not her words, not her anger.Not her attention. And that’s why Addie shifted her gaze to a spot on the floor. No more eye contact.
“Is that it?” Judson asked. “Did you drag us all the way out here for that?”
“There’s more,” Rowena was quick to say. “Shane also believes Trevor could have been drugging his mother. If he was, then maybe Trevor used the drugs to manipulate Yvette into taking those babies.”
“Wait,” Judson said. “You’ve talked to Shane, or is this hearsay from Yvette?” Addie definitely wanted to know the same thing.
“Not hearsay,” Rowena insisted. “I’ve spoken with Shane plenty of times. At first, Yvette brought him with her when she visited me in prison. Then, later, Shane started coming alone.”
Addie didn’t like the sound of that. What would Shane have wanted with a convicted killer? It certainly wouldn’t have been just to accompany his mother, since he’d done solo visits, too.
So, what had Shane been doing there?
Unfortunately, Addie could think of a reason. If Shane was angry about being placed into foster care, then he could have been thinking it was time for payback, against CPS and the Horseshoe. It chilled Addie to the bone to consider that was why Courtney had been murdered and the twins had been taken. Yvette and Shane could have come up with this sinister plan together.
But did Rowena play into that plan in any kind of way?
“I’m guessing Shane didn’t have any proof that Trevor or Elijah was drugging Yvette?” Judson asked.
“No,” Rowena replied. “But Shane despises both men and thinks they’re after his mother’s money. He said his mom and sister were weak and naive for getting involved with the likes of those two. He was also worried that Jennifer might try to get back at Yvette for the miscarriage.”
“What miscarriage?” Judson snapped.
“Jennifer’s.” She paused. “You didn’t know,” she muttered. “Jennifer had a miscarriage last month, and she told Yvette that she believed the stress caused it. Stress her mother caused by being with Trevor.”
Addie had no idea if that kind of anxiety could cause a woman to miscarry, but if Jennifer had believed that, it might be motive for her to get back at Yvette in some way. But there were a lot simpler ways to do that than threatening to kidnap the twins and spurring Yvette to try to “rescue” them.
“The last time Shane and I spoke,” Rowena went on, “he was trying to convince Yvette to cut Trevor and Jennifer out of her will. He thought if Jennifer couldn’t inherit, then there’d be no threat to Yvette from Elijah.”
