“Uncle Dave, Jenna, this is my friend Rhett Lawson.” Julie glanced around Kane and smiled. “Oh, and Uncle Ty and Jo. They’re FBI agents. They’ll be able to help as well.”
Kane liked the way Rhett looked him straight in the eye and had a firm handshake. “Well, grab a chair and sit down. What is it you need to speak to us about?” He dropped into a chair behind the desk beside Jenna.
“I didn’t know until I turned twenty-five that I was raised here—well, until I turned three and then spent most of my life in foster care.” Rhett shrugged. “I knew little about my parents, but before they died they left a will. When I went to learn about my inheritance, Sam Cross, the lawyer in town, gave me this letter from my dad.” He pushed it across the table to him. “In essence, it says if he died when I turned three, he and my mom were murdered.”
“That was over twenty years ago.” Jenna frowned. “Do you know what happened to your parents?”
“No.” Rhett met her gaze. “I was at my grandparents’ at the time and then I was in foster care. I know my parents and grandparents died within weeks of each other, but all the stories about how they died are different. I searched newspapers and found nothing. Their death certificates state natural causes.” He ran a hand down his face. “The thing is, I can remember my grandparents and my parents. I recall the day they didn’t pick me up from the kindergarten and the strange people took me away to a house I didn’t know. I didn’t go to the kindergarten every day. It was only when my grandparents needed to visit the doctor or go out for the weekly shopping.” He sighed. “I even recall being excited to be going to visit them for a vacation and waving goodbye to my parents when they drove off. I must have been barely three at the time, but I remember everything.” He turned tragic eyes to Kane. “I never gave up waiting for them to come and get me. By the time I started high school, I’d made plans about my future. I watched other kids lose hope, but I didn’t. I witnessed abuse of all different types, protected those I could, but most times, I’d be moved on to another home for causing problems. It was a way of shutting me up. I decided then to make it my life’s ambition to succeed in life and get the qualifications necessary to make sure no other child suffered the way I’d seen others suffer.”
“You have the same goals as I do.” Jenna leaned across the table and squeezed his arm. “I’m sure Julie has told you about the Her Broken Wings Foundation? We’re doing everything we can to make sure women and children, as well as men, aren’t subjected to abuse. I personally make unscheduled visits to foster care families and speak to the kids alone. In Black Rock Falls and Louan, they come under very rigid rules. Although there is another sheriff in Louan, that town is in my county. He is appointed and not elected like Dave and me.”
“That’s good to know.” Rhett’s mouth formed a thin line. “The thing is, Sheriff Alton, that kids are frightened of the repercussions if they speak to a cop. When I speak to kids in foster care, they see the tats and that I’m different to the suits they usually speak to. I explain that I’m a foster kid and that they can tell me anything and I won’t tell their foster parents, but I will make it right. I know how to speak to them in their own language. Only someone who has been in that situation could possibly understand what it’s like. There is no escape. There is no one to come and save them. All they can do is try and survive.” His eyes narrowed. “I’ve worked very hard to make sure I have the qualifications to do something constructive to help these kids, even if it means moving them to another family that I know is safe. It might mean moving them to a group home, which is something I would rather not do because orphanages are not the places to bring up children. It’s like being permanently at school with the headmaster breathing down your neck.” He waved a hand. “We’re getting off subject. I’m here to ask you to investigate my parents’ and grandparents’ deaths. I know it’s what you would call a cold case, but after reading my dad’s letter, I figure it needs to be investigated.”
Kane passed the letter to Carter, and he read it with Jo. “I agree.” He indicated to Carter. “Ty has better resources than we do. If you don’t mind passing on the information to Bobby Kalo, he is their IT specialist and has all the most recent gizmos at his fingertips to hunt down information.”
“Yeah, that will be fine.” Rhett shrugged. “That’s a copy of the original, which remains with the lawyer. I have another copy as well.”
“We can arrange that.” Carter smiled. “Have you visited the ranch? What’s it like?”
“Not yet.” Rhett frowned at him. “I figured this letter was more important than going out and inspecting my new home. I planned on heading out there tomorrow with Julie and hope the rain has eased a little. This afternoon I’m going to purchase a truck. It’s too wet to ride my Harley.” He shook his head. “The lawyer, Sam Cross, escorted us to the bank and made sure everything went smoothly with the transfer of funds. I’ve decided he should continue to oversee the running of the ranch as I have no experience in that field. A manager runs the show and it seems to be turning over a profit each year.”
Kane liked Rhett. He was smart and sensible—not to mention the Harley. “Sam Cross is solid. We’ve known him for years. He’s a defense lawyer as well and we often lock horns, but he’s a reliable and good choice.” He considered the young man. He had a decent build, maybe it was natural, but he could turn him into a machine. “If there’s a chance you’re in danger, you’ll need to be able to look after yourself. Have you trained in any form of hand-to-hand combat?”
“Not really.” Rhett gave a half shrug. “I can take care of myself.”
Realizing that he had no idea of the backgrounds of any of them in the room, he smiled. “Yeah, but handling a barroom brawl and fighting off a psychopath are miles apart. Carter and I are both ex-military, and Rio and Rowley are black belts in martial arts. In this town if you plan on surviving, you’ll need an edge. I can give you that edge if you’re willing to put in the work.”
“How so?” Rhett leaned forward raising both eyebrows.
Kane met his gaze. “If you can be at our ranch by five-thirty each morning, I’ll train you—well, I’ll show you what to do. It’s up to you to work until the routine gets easy and then I’ll step it up some more. I’ll get you into shape and show you how to defend yourself or attack as necessary. Unfortunately, in this world there are times we need to attack without a second thought.” He kept his gaze steady on Rhett but didn’t see as much as a flinch. This man had a toughness built from years of mental abuse. “What do you say?”
“I would appreciate it.” Rhett nodded slowly. “I’d need to know where you live and I’ll start ASAP.”
“Well, maybe wait for the weather to clear.” Carter chuckled. “I’m planning on staying for a time and willing to help. Right now, Jo and I are staying in the cottage on the ranch. It’s our home away from home when we get a case here.”
Kane nodded. “Okay.” He handed Rhett his card. “Call me when you’re ready to start.”
“Getting back to why you came here.” Jenna pinched her bottom lip thinking. “We have multiple homicide cases at the moment to deal with, but you can be assured when we catch the perpetrator, we’ll make this case a priority. In the meantime, check out the ranch and speak to people working there. If the manager has been there since your parents died, he might be a good first point of contact to discover what actually happened to them.” She looked at Julie. “At any time you feel something isn’t right, call me.” She turned her attention back to Rhett. “If your parents and grandparents were murdered, it was for a reason. This person might be long gone—but if they’re not, you could be in danger.”
“I’ll likely be working here tomorrow.” Carter moved a toothpick across his lips. “Come by and I’ll go along with you.” He narrowed his gaze. “Are you familiar with firearms?”
“Yeah, I own a Glock 45.” Rhett shrugged. “I go to the practice range regular. I keep it in a locked box. If I feel I need it for protection, I wear a shoulder holster.”
Kane leaned forward. “I suggest you wear it while you’re in Black Rock Falls, until we find out what happened.” He nodded to Ty. “That’s a good idea. You should go with them. If anything is going on there, they’ll never pick you as FBI.”
“Uncle Kane takes me and Emily to the range once a week.” Julie smiled. “You can come along too, but be warned: he expects us to strip our weapons blind.”
“Not a problem.” Rhett turned to look at Carter. “I’d appreciate having you along. We’ll be here by nine.”
Twenty-Three
Raven pressed the phone to his ear as George from Millers’ Garage spoke to him about the vehicle taken out of the river. When he’d requested that George arrange it to be towed to his garage, he explained the seriousness of what was happening and that the vehicle might be classed as a crime scene. He needed his expert opinion as soon as possible to discover if the vehicle had been tampered with and what caused it to veer from the road and into the swollen river.
“I know how Sheriff Alton is all about making sure procedure is followed, so the moment I noticed something amiss about the sedan I called Dr. Wolfe and explained the situation.” George raised his voice to be heard over the sounds inside his garage. “He is fully aware of what had happened and had expected the vehicle to be towed to his office. He’s here now. I’ll pass the phone over to him.”
“Hi there, Raven.” Wolfe sounded his normal relaxed self. “I appreciate you having the vehicle towed to a safe location and it was a great help having George to look over it with me. We’ve determined that the brake hose was loosened, allowing the brake fluid to leak out. It’s not something that will be noticed immediately but I suggest that it was done to cause an accident. That isn’t something that usually would come loose with normal wear and tear.”
Scratching his head, Raven stared into space. “Would this indicate that our perpetrator is male?”
