“Officers responded to the shooting, but the van disappeared before they could arrest the perpetrators.” Chief Garcia sounded perturbed, and a deep frown creased his features. “I’ve put a BOLO out, but I’m not holding my breath. The license plate number Dawson provided belongs to a 2010 Nissan Frontier. Obviously stolen. A search for the name of the flower shop on the side of the vehicle yielded a chain of stores in Minnesota. The business has no connection to Texas or Knoxville. The perpetrators are probably using some kind of metal decal, one they can add and remove easily.”
“Sounds organized.” Liam’s expression darkened. He was draped over the chair like he didn’t have a care in the world, but his steely-eyed gaze belied that notion. “The Iron Serpents use stolen vehicles to move drugs and guns. Then they ship those vehicles south of the border to chop shops. We should check for reports of stolen white vans.”
“It looked like a Ford.” Dawson tapped his pen against the pad of paper in front of him. “Late 2000’s model. Maybe older. It’s probably worth checking for stolen vans, but if that’s the case, why would they go to all the trouble to swap the plates? I bet this is a vehicle they use regularly.”
“Either way the assault was planned.” Jax gripped the back of a chair and leaned forward. “How did they know where you and Peyton were? Did they follow you from the ranch?”
“Doubtful. I was keeping watch.”
“Bobby, my aunt’s boyfriend, could’ve called someone. Tipped them off.” Peyton felt Dawson’s eyes on her, and she purposefully avoided looking in his direction. Instead shefocused on the chief. “Was anyone able to figure out who Bobby is?”
“I did.” Detective Noah Hodge stood. He removed a photograph from a manila folder before attaching it to the whiteboard at the front of the room with a magnet. “Meet Robert Paulson. Career criminal. His rap sheet includes domestic violence, second-degree assault, drug charges, and robbery. He’s currently on parole for a drug conviction from sixteen months ago. Lists Sandra Morrison’s house as his residence.”
“How long has he lived there?”
“A year.“
Peyton tilted her head. “According to my aunt, the last time she saw Lilia was last winter, so there’s a chance Bobby and Lilia crossed paths then. Does Bobby have any connection to the Iron Serpents?”
“Don’t know yet. I’m still digging into that. His parole guidelines forbid him from associating with criminals, but we all know how that goes. If Bobby is involved with the biker gang, it’s in his best interest to keep that on the down low.”
“Could explain why he was so upset to find two police officers in his house,” Dawson said. “What about the guy who attacked Peyton at the hotel? Marvis Harrison.”
“He’s vanished.” Liam scowled. “I tracked down a girlfriend of his. She confirmed he’s a member of the Iron Serpents.”
“We just keep coming back to them.” Peyton ran down everything she’d learned from the visit with her aunt, including the fact that Lilia was dating Cade Maddox. “She told Aunt Sandra that she was going away for a while. No explanation why. That was last winter, probably about a year ago. Maybe less. So maybe Cade is Grace’s father.”
Stunned silence followed the statement.
She glanced around at the shocked faces in the room, her gaze finally landing on Dawson. Peyton arched her brows, her tone pointed. “Care to tell me what I’m missing?”
He grimaced. “Cade is the leader of the Iron Serpents.”
Peyton’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding?” It was hard to imagine that the stoner she’d met while on spring break was now the leader of an organized criminal operation. “Aunt Sandra described him as a good-time guy, someone who wouldn’t care about a kid he sired. Why on earth would he try to kidnap Grace? Or shoot at me? It would only bring attention to him and the Iron Serpents.”
“Those are good questions.” The chief steepled his fingers. “Ones we can’t answer yet. Let’s go over what we know, focusing on the facts, and starting with the night Lilia disappeared. Peyton, please start us off.”
“Lilia calls me around seven in the evening, and says she’s in trouble and needs my help. She promises to explain everything in person and asks me to come to the abandoned train depot at nine the same night. When I arrived, neither Lilia nor her car was there. I called Dawson for backup, and then heard a woman scream. I entered the train depot to investigate and provide aid, and was attacked by an unknown individual. He disarmed me with a knock to the head, and then attempted to shoot me, but because of our struggle, the shot went wide. I disarmed him and became embroiled in hand-to-hand combat.”
“When I arrived on the scene,” Dawson picked up where she left off, “I noticed Peyton’s truck in the parking lot and heard gunshots. I found Peyton involved in a physical altercation with one perpetrator, but before I could assist, was shot at by another perpetrator. I returned fire and both men escaped into the woods. Afterward, Peyton and I discovered Grace hidden inside an empty railcar.”
“A handgun was recovered from the scene—a Ruger SR9.” Jax rose and added a photograph of the weapon to the whiteboard. “We believe this is the weapon the perpetrator attempted to shoot Peyton with. Forensics couldn’t recover fingerprints from the gun. Bullets collected from the scene were run through the national database, but there were no matches to any other previous crimes.” He paused. “This isn’t a fact, but based on my experience, the weapon looked brand-new.”
“Makes sense if we think the Iron Serpents are involved. A bandana with their logo was found at the crime scene.” Noah removed his cowboy hat and tossed it on the table before running a hand through his hair. The strands stuck up in odd patterns. “The Iron Serpents traffic in illegal guns. Probably safe to assume the perpetrator that shot at Dawson was also using a new weapon. It’s common for experienced criminals to do so in order to cover their tracks.”
Chief Garcia nodded. “Can we prove Lilia was actually at the train depot? How do we know that the person Peyton heard screaming wasn’t someone else?”
“I can help with that.” Texas Ranger Felicity Capshaw raised a hand. The modest diamond wedding set on her left hand winked in the fluorescent lights.
Before the meeting began, as everyone was introduced to Peyton, she learned that Felicity and Noah were childhood friends who'd fallen in love while working a case. Even if she hadn’t been told, the loving looks they shared when they thought no one was looking would’ve given it away.
“A blood pool at the scene near the west side of the railcar indicated there was an altercation.” Felicity shot Peyton a sympathetic look. “It wasn’t enough to suggest someone had died, but the person was injured. I asked the lab to put a rush on the DNA. Full confirmation will take a few more weeks, but we submitted a cheek swab from baby Grace for a familialcomparison. Results came back this morning. The blood at the scene is a parent-child match to Grace. I think it’s safe to assume Lilia was there.”
Peyton had already known that, but knowing there was evidence to prove it still impacted her. Lilia had been bleeding. Hurt. There was no way to know how badly. Silence filled the room, as if everyone was echoing her same fears.
Lilia might already be dead.
A sour taste filled her mouth, and Peyton grabbed the water bottle in front of her. The cool liquid trailed down her throat but did little to ease her roiling emotions. She shoved them back and wiped her lips with the back of her hand, forcing her brain to think logically. “How did Lilia get there? To the train depot? Grace was in a car seat when we found her, and it makes sense Lilia would have to drive there, but her car wasn’t found at the scene.”
