“Yes. The journal and the thumbdrive told us what we needed to know.”
“But you won’t tell me?” I hedged already knowing the answer, but I needed to ask the question anyway.
“For now, no. You don’t have backup at the sheriff’s office. Everybody at this table and in this club knows that. With your dad gone and Hollender running the show, you are on your own. We have the safety net of the club to deal with this,” Duncan said quietly.
I shook my head. “I can’t condone vigilante justice, no matter how warranted it may be, Buchanan. You all are too connected to this through Brooklyn, and not one of you has a badge.”
“We are all close to this, Deputy, yourself included,” Zodiac spoke up, “You’re tied to it because that cop from back east is here asking questions. He wants answers, and if he’s on the payroll of the people she’s running from, then you already know more than you should just by reading that letter.”
“I didn’t have a connection to the victim though.”
“No, but you had a connection to your father and his death happened right before Brooklyn’s.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Do you think they are related?”
“We have no reason to suspect that they are, Juliette, but we can’t rule out that they aren’t either. This is a small town; when’s the last time we had a murder or suspicious death that couldn’t be explained?”
Eighteen years ago. I didn’t even have to think about it. Andrea disappeared before I graduated high school. Her body was found four years later. Small towns like ours mostly get accidents, and disturbances from kids going cow tipping. There’s some drugs, but for the most part, our little town is quiet. Until recently, even issues with the MC’s haven’t been a problem. Dad was right in that regard. The Celestial Sons had never given us trouble and they took care of most of their own issues because people didn’t want to fuck with big burly bikers.
Stars and Strips never had incidents that required police intervention. Until that rally, we’d never been called out for anything related to the MC. I frowned, thinking about the day that dad died. We showed up for a random safety detail, walking around the rally mainly to make sure things weren’t getting out of hand. But besides the small scuffle that was just starting, everyone seemed to be having a good time. It only got bad when we arrived, but now that I’m thinking back on it, shouldn’t it have gotten bad before we were called?
“I need to go.” I pushed back from the table. Eyes around the room focused on me, but my mind was spinning, details from the day dad died came back. Things I should have seen but was too caught up in my grief to see or consider.
Hollender had taken over the investigation while I buried my dad. They wouldn’t have let me near it anyway, and while I had the reports of dad’s death, there was one thing I didn’t have. The dispatch logs for that day. “Juliette.”
“I’ll help where I can as long as it leads to the truth. You all have my word on that. I don’t believe you killed her,” I looked up at Duncan, “but you should be careful because whoever did, might think you know something. Keep your head down,” I said just to him, and then back at the others in the room, “All of you. If they find out you have Brooklyn’s baby, you may be a target too.”
I rounded the table and left the room, the music was still going as they celebrated Duncan’s release. From the open back door, I could smell something cooking on the barbecue, but none of it mattered. I couldn’t focus on any of it because I needed to go for a drive and clear my head before I went back to the station. Hopefully, Hollender would be long gone when I got back. He wasn’t on duty tonight, Gallagher and I were.
“What happened back there?” Duncan stopped me just as I reached my car.
“I figured out a missing puzzle piece.” I reached for the door handle on my car, but he stopped me again from getting in.
“Juliette, you can’t fight this battle alone. You don’t know who these guys are.”
“I would if you told me, Buchanan, but since you won’t you leave me no choice. Your friend deserves justice, and so does my father.”
He must have seen the determination in my eyes because there was no way in hell I wasn’t going to try to solve these cases whether they were connected or not. I couldn’t get justice for my friend, but I was damn well going to get justice for Brooklyn, her baby, and my dad.
Chapter Fourteen
Juliette
It was dark out as I patrolled the streets of Rising Star. Duncan thought he was being smooth by following me, but I knew he was there. He was giving me the space I needed to think, so I didn’t call him on it. To be honest, I felt a little safer knowing he was trying to be my silent bodyguard. I knew I could handle my own, but having backup was always helpful–backup I could actually count on.
I turned left off Main Street and passed by the old abandoned movie theater. The alley beside the theater was dark, but the moon provided enough light for me to see a familiar car parked between the two buildings.
“What is he doing here?” I asked myself, pulling forward and ducking down the next alley past the pharmacy.
The old theater is known as a teenage makeout spot, so we’ve busted kids in there hooking up in the past, but why would Hollender be parked in that alley? I got out of my car and walked toward the old main entrance of the theater. Duncan drove straight past me, so he must not have seen Hollender’s car or mine.
Hollender’s car was gone when I moved past the opening of the alley. He must have pulled through to the back street, but it still didn’t explain why he was there. Since he was gone, I decided to investigate and try to see if I could find out what he was up to. Quietly, I made my way into the darkened theater, turning off my radio at my shoulder. It was quiet all night anyway, so I didn't expect to miss much.
The front doors had been opened, the chains were cut, and the walls were covered in obnoxious neon spray paint, tagged from floor to ceiling. My flashlight swept over the sides of the walls, and I made a mental note to have extra patrols running by this place to discourage the kids from doing this crap. The old building wasn’t functional anymore, but that didn’t matter. I didn't want anyone to end up hurt, and they would if this place was left open for all. Kids were kids, and trouble was easy for them to find. We didn’t need to help them find a safe place for it
“Tell me again why we have to work with this asshole.” I shut off my light and ducked into the shadows at the sound of approaching voices. The doors that led to one of the theaters opened and two guys came walking out. They were huge, their thick heavy boots echoed with each of their steps as they moved into the lobby, but I couldn’t see either of their faces or really make out what they were wearing.
“That asshole is the only reason the club isn’t behind bars.”Club? Were they part of an MC?
