Ernie knewthey were walking on the edge of collapse now. The failures were adding up. He was seriously considering taking Riely and relocating to another country before his name inevitably came up in the investigation.
Or someone talked.
He should have beentoldthat this had happened.
He had men on the inside at every TSP post except Garrity within a one-hundred-and-fifty-mile radius. He should have been informed of this. This was just anotherconcern.He didn’t know how he hadn’t been told.
Ernie looked at the young man in his office. Bo was upset—storming around, angry. Of course he was, he was intensely loyal—Denver was his brother.
He had been kept in police custody for several days and Bo hadn’t known. Now, they had no idea what had happened to the younger man. Bo was older; he had taken care of his brother his entire life.
Ernie hadn’t beentold.
Melvin should have been told—and told Ernie. Ernie was going to find out why Melvin hadn’t. The other man knew exactlywho Denver was to Ernie, and he knew that the younger Naylor was one of those Ernie had neededwatched.And anything connected to Naylor.
Now, this was going to become a big problem. Probably bigger than Ernie needed.
Ernie had a list of everything the TSP had against his nephew in front of him now.
There was too much evidence against his youngest nephew. Denny was going to prison for a very long time. There was nothing Ernie could do about it at this point. Denny was going to just have to deal with getting caught.
He didn’t have a way to just make this go away. Yet. Unless there was some sort of legal technicality that prevented conviction. That would take time—and the longer Denny, that impulsive fool, sat in a cage, the more likely he would say something he shouldn’t. It was almost inevitable now.
Ernie had already made a call—Denny was ranting to anyone who would listen about Detective Miller and what he wanted to do to that woman. Well, Ernie had met her, and while he would have enjoyed doing some of those same things to her if he had been twenty-five years younger—Denny wasn’t helping his own case now at all.
He would have to either be released from prison on bail, or someone would have to silence him—probably sooner than later.
Ernie was not going to letthathappen. That boy was an idiot, but he was family, tenuous though the connection was. Moreover, he wasBo’sfamily. And if Ernie did not do something to protect that fool, Bo would never forgive him. Bo thought he had earned Ernie’s loyalty by all he had done for him through the years, and he had.
Bo…could turn on someone in an instant. Especially for his brother.
Ernie had looked at the specifics of what evidence there was. They had Denny on surveillance cameras, had him with multiple weapons, and had him physically assaulting Detective Miller. Unless that woman and the evidence, including the recordings disappeared, Denny was almost guaranteed to do a stint.
Unless he talked, turned state’s evidence.
Against Ernie and the others. Ernie would be the one to face the consequences of that.
He had told Denny he needed Brett Naylor eliminated. He had told Denny that Brett Naylor had found too many things that connected to Bo for comfort. The way Denny idolized his brother, and the two took loyalty to the core—of course Denny had been too hasty and foolish.
Or had just made a stupid mistake.
He reviewed what he knew about Miller. He didn’t think there was anything questionable in that young woman’s background. He had worked with her a few times before. Discrediting her quickly wouldn’t be easy to do. Unless, Melvin…but since his damned conversion into the Hope Life cult, Melvin had been unreliable. Difficult. He’d had to work around Melvin far too many times since.
Melvin would eventually become a problem, too. It was just a matter of time.
Joe might be better able to deal with Miller. Just taking her out of the equation while Ernie handled the littleevidenceproblem Denny had created.
This was just going to be another minor irritation. Ernie would make sure of it. Or…he’d justpayto have someone turn their heads while Denny walked out a free man. He had done that occasionally. There were those in Finley Creek who could provide anything, if the money was green enough. You just had to know where to look.
90
Madison wasin the back of the vault, digging out information on the first suspicious death on Hope’s list that she thought they had a good chance of still having evidence for when she heard someone come in behind her and the security door slam shut.
She jerked around. Only forensics techs were allowed on the floor of this part of the vault. Everyone had to sign in. But here, her people could access the physical evidence. There was a secure facility at the back where they kept guns and weapons seized by the TSP. Ammunition was kept in a totally different location and under a different security system. They had had four weapons stolen before. Shortly before the choir hall shooting. She would have scars from those missing guns for the rest of her life. She saw them every time she took a shower.
Madison stepped out into the main area, where the cases that were currently being worked on were stored. It was the most accessible area of the vault.
Miriam was in the first entry. Pacing, and agitated—and almost crying. Madison put the clipboard in her hands down and turned to the other woman. “Miriam, what’s going on?”
