Always A Lawman

“No,” Gabriel finally said. “He’s too young. Plus, I believe the man who attacked her has already been caught and is in prison.”

Hector made a quick sound of agreement. He always did when it came to her father. It was the one thing he had in common with the Becketts—they thought her father was guilty.

“Several other people got threats,” Hector went on. “Apparently, all of you did.” He glanced at Gabriel, Jameson and then her. “But so did Russell Laney and August Canton.”

Judging from the soft grunt of agreement Gabriel made, he was already aware of those last two. Jodi certainly wasn’t, and she looked at Gabriel for him to provide some details.

“There are probably others who got the emails, too,” Gabriel said as Cameron stepped away to take a call. “The FBI figures some folks just deleted them as a hoax. But, yes, I suspect anyone connected to the initial investigation was on the receiving end of the threats. Russell and August got theirs the same day I did.”

Jodi knew both Russell and August, of course. Both had been suspects in the Beckett murders and her attack.

Them, and Jodi’s own brother, Theo.

It was public knowledge that the police and then the FBI had questioned all three. Theo, because he’d been a hothead at the time and had a run-in that day with Gabriel’s father, Sherman, over some horses that’d broken fence. Russell had gotten caught up in it simply because Jodi had ended her short relationship with him the week before the attack. August was her dad’s half brother and had been just as much of a hothead as Theo.

And the cops excluded them all as suspects.

After they’d found her father passed out drunk with Gabriel’s father’s blood on him.

“August thinks the threatening emails prove that Travis is innocent,” Hector went on. “In fact, he’s already taking all of this to Travis’s lawyers in the hopes that it’ll help with his last-ditch appeal.”

August was probably the only other person in Texas who believed her father was innocent. Despite that, it never had felt as if August and she were on the same side. That’s because August had never approved of her friendship with the Becketts. It didn’t matter that the friendship had ended the night of the attack. It was a drop in the bucket, though, to what August held against Jameson. Because Jameson had been the most vocal of the Becketts in professing her father’s guilt.

“Theo might have gotten a threatening email, too. Have you been in touch with him?” Hector asked her.

“No. I haven’t spoken to him in over a year. I don’t even have a phone number for him.”

Nor did she know who to contact to get one. As a DEA agent, Theo spent a lot of time on deep-cover assignments, and if the copycat/killer had managed to send Theo an email, then he or she was well connected with insider Justice Department information.

Not exactly a comforting thought if it was true.

“We have an ID on our young suspect,” Cameron announced as soon as he finished his latest call. “We got a match on his prints because he’s a missing person. His name is Billy Coleman.”

Jodi repeated that a couple of times to see if she recognized it. She didn’t.

“He’s a runaway,” Cameron continued. “His parents filed a missing person report about a year ago. Not for the first time, either. He’s run away at least two other times. He’s seventeen, and judging from his juvie record, he’s paranoid schizophrenic. My guess is he’s probably off his meds.”

Gabriel cursed. And Jodi knew why. Billy was no doubt going to plead mental incompetence, and they might never get answers as to why he’d committed this horrible crime.

But something about that didn’t sound right.

“Billy called a lawyer,” Jodi pointed out.

“Yeah,” Gabriel agreed, and he cursed again. “And he had the name and phone number of the attorney when he got here to the sheriff’s office. Not something a runaway teen would necessarily have.”

“Especially since he’s not from a wealthy family,” Cameron supplied. “His parents both work at blue-collar jobs.”

So, that confirmed that someone had likely put Billy up to doing this, and if so, that meant he was just another victim of this tangled mess.

“What about the dead guy?” Gabriel asked Cameron. “Any ID on him yet?”

“No. His prints weren’t in the system, so we’ll have to try to get an ID by searching through missing person reports and getting his picture out to the press.”

That might take a while. Especially if the man was homeless and no one was looking for him.

“I really think you should let me take you home,” Hector said, turning back to her. “Gabriel can fill you in on anything that happens, including whatever the suspect says in the interview.”

She was shaking her head before Hector even finished. “I’m staying here.” And she didn’t leave any room for argument in her tone.

Hector gave a heavy sigh and looked at Gabriel as if he expected him to force her to leave. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for Jodi to be out anywhere right now,” Gabriel answered. “She’ll be safer here.”

Jodi was more than a little surprised that Gabriel had backed her up. Then she realized why he’d done that. Because she was almost certainly in danger from the person who was manipulating Billy. Gabriel probably didn’t want to be a part of another attack that could leave her dead.

“Just go,” Jodi told Hector. “I’ll be fine.”

He obviously knew that “fine” part was a lie. Was also obviously not happy about being dismissed. But he didn’t get a chance to voice that unhappiness. That’s because Jameson finished his phone call, and he got up from his desk, making a beeline toward them.

“There were prints on the knife,” Jameson said, “and the CSIs got an immediate hit.” He snapped toward Jodi, and that definitely wasn’t a friendly expression he was sporting. “Is there something you want to tell us?” he demanded.

Jodi shook her head, not understanding why Gabriel’s brother looked ready to blast her to smithereens.

But she soon found out.

Jameson turned to his brother to finish delivering the news. “It’s Jodi’s prints on the knife.”

Chapter Four (#ubed458c7-832f-5a4b-b3a4-4cd72a0208c9)

Gabriel had hoped there wouldn’t be any more surprises today, but this was a huge one. Since Billy had been wearing gloves, Gabriel hadn’t expected there to be any prints at all on the knife.

Especially not Jodi’s.

Judging from the stunned look on her face, Jodi hadn’t expected it, either. Her attention slashed from Jameson to Gabriel, and she shook her head. She also opened her mouth as if ready to blurt out some kind of denial, but the denial and anything else she might have said died on her lips because she groaned and sank down into the nearest chair.

“Jodi was obviously set up,” Hector jumped to say.

Gabriel hated to give the man even a slight benefit of doubt, but Hector could be right. Of course, there was another possibility. One that wasn’t going to help ease that stark expression on Jodi’s already too pale face.

Gabriel moved closer to her, lifting her chin so they could make eye contact. Like the other time he’d touched her, she tensed, making him wonder just how many “scars” she had from the attack a decade ago. Probably plenty that she wouldn’t want to discuss with him.

“Do you remember ever touching the knife?” Gabriel asked. He’d chosen his words carefully. No need to say aloud that he wanted to know if she’d taken hold of the handle when her attacker had been trying to end her life.

Jodi ran her hand through her hair and shook her head. “I honestly don’t know.” She shifted her attention to Jameson, and even though the paleness and nerves were still there, she straightened her posture and took a deep breath. “Is the fingerprint pattern consistent with me having grabbed it while I was being stabbed?”

Jameson lifted his shoulder. “There are two clear prints. Your right index finger and thumb. The other prints are smeared.”

“That means nothing. Her attacker could have been wearing gloves.” Hector again.

It riled Gabriel that Jodi’s boss had taken on the role of defending her. Then again, plenty of things riled him about Hector. Including the fact that Jodi had turned to him and not Gabriel after the nightmare ten years ago. Hector considered himself some kind of victim’s recovery advocate and had come to visit Jodi in the hospital shortly after the attack. She’d allowed him into her life—while excluding Gabriel.