Risk Everything

“Is there some sort of problem?” Finally something else took the place of boredom in Parnam’s tone: irritation. But Tanner didn’t give a damn if Parnam was perturbed that he would have to actually do his job.

“Yes, there’s a problem. We have a woman in our care here who was damn near beaten to death by her husband. So finding out he’s been out on bail for three days and nobody saw fit to notify either her or my office is very much a problem.”

“Look, I just run the paperwork for whoever the judge tells me to and make the calls that come across my desk. Nothing more or less than that. But hang on a minute and let me see what I can find out.” Irritation still painted the other man’s tone, but at least Tanner could hear the clicking of his fingers on the keyboard. “Judge doesn’t usually let violent offenders out on bail.” More clicking. “Well, that explains it. Oscar Stobbart. He’s a very high-end defense attorney—has a great record of getting people out on bail, and honestly, getting them reduced sentencing. Ellis must have a ton of money to hire someone like him.”

Tanner was now frustrated with himself that he didn’t know more about Jared Ellis. But he honestly hadn’t thought there would be much he needed to know since the man was behind bars. Did he have money? Tanner didn’t know.

But he was out. And more important, had been out of jail within the window for setting the detonator for the fire. “Do you at least have his last known address?” They would definitely be paying a visit to Jared as soon as possible.

“Actually, I can do a little better than an address. As part of Mr. Ellis’s bail, he was placed on a GPS tracking monitor. That was probably why it wasn’t a priority for me to call Mrs. Ellis or your office. Jared Ellis is required to stay within a two-mile radius of his listed home address, which is in downtown Denver.”

An ankle monitor was good news. “So you can tell where he’s been at any particular hour? What happens if he leaves the two-mile radius?”

“Yep, there’s a log that keeps record of exactly where he is at any given time. And if Ellis leaves the radius for which the monitor is set, it automatically sets up an alarm with the Denver marshals. They’ll be at his house in minutes. Plus, it’s completely unhackable.”

“So if I wanted to know where he was two nights ago, you could get that for me.” If there was some sort of glitch in this “unhackable” system, Tanner wanted to know about it.

Parnam gave a long-suffering sigh. “How about if I just send you the entire log of Ellis’s whereabouts since the moment he was released. That will save us a number of different calls and emails, don’t you think?”

And would require a lot less work from Parnam.

“Fine. I’ll expect it in an email within the next hour.”

Tanner hung up without waiting for a response. The fact that Ellis had been released without notifying Marilyn would be addressed within the system.

But right now, until they could confirm exactly where Jared Ellis was, he needed to get security on Marilyn and her kids.

He had Ronnie start the paperwork for protective surveillance, even though Tanner knew the approval was a long shot unless a direct threat to Marilyn and the kids could be proved—which hopefully it would be as soon as they checked Ellis’s whereabouts on the night of the fire.

He was also going to request the live data from Parnam’s office. Knowing where Jared had been afterward wasn’t good enough. They needed to know his current whereabouts. Not that Tanner didn’t trust the Denver marshal’s office to do their job. But all it would take was Jared tricking the system one time and he could attack Marilyn. And as long as that was a possibility—until Jared’s trial when he went away long-term—Tanner wanted to be multiple steps ahead of the other man.

Right now that included making sure Marilyn knew her ex was out of jail.

His cell phone buzzed on his belt with a call from Noah before Tanner even made it out of the office.

“Ronnie said Jared Ellis was released on bail?” His brother didn’t even waste time with a greeting.

Neither did Tanner. “Affirmative.”

Noah’s curse was foul. “Does the sheriff’s office have money to put surveillance on Marilyn and the kids?”

“I’ve already got the process started, but I’ll be honest, unless we get proof that Ellis is a threat to her or was anywhere in the area of the fire, then I don’t have much of a legal leg to stand on.”

“I’m on my way into town. If we can’t get a uniform on her, then I’ll take up watch duty myself. It’s very suspicious that there was a fire at New Journeys at the same time Ellis got out on bail.”

Tanner began walking down the block toward the old New Journeys building. It would be quicker than driving. “Especially since it looks like someone started it deliberately.” He explained what the fire inspector had found.

Noah cursed again.

“I’ve spent all day trying to figure out why someone would’ve started a fire that wasn’t trying to hurt anyone or burn down the building,” Tanner said.

“It might have made a perfect opportunity for Jared to snatch Marilyn and the kids. Probably wouldn’t have taken into account how much the people of Risk Peak would be surrounding them.”

“Definitely true,” Tanner said. “Although the fire may have nothing to do with Ellis.”

“I’m not willing to take that chance,” Noah said quietly. “Or take the chance that he’s just going to leave Marilyn alone. She’s been through enough.”

They both felt that way. It was the very reason he’d had Ronnie call his brother to begin with. “I’ll meet you at the old New Journeys building.”

Even though there hadn’t been much damage to the living quarters of the new building by the fire, they’d still moved everyone back into the old building while the initial cleaning was going on. Tanner wasn’t thrilled about the change. It definitely didn’t have the security upgrades the new building had.

When he arrived at New Journeys’ current home, he immediately asked to talk to Marilyn. He hated to see the shadows cross the quiet woman’s face when she saw him. She knew this was going to be bad news.

Bree was there and gave him a tight smile. “I’ll just hang out in the office so you two can talk. Give you guys some privacy.”

Tanner nodded, but Marilyn shook her head, holding her hand out to Bree. “No, stay. This is going to affect all of us. The kids are doing schoolwork, so this is a good time. Let’s go into the kitchen.”

Bree reached over and grabbed Tanner’s hand as Marilyn put on a pot of coffee with jerky movements.

“Do you want to bring Cassandra in too?” Tanner asked.

Bree shook her head. “She’s not here. She’s having a throwdown with the insurance company, trying to get us back in the other building by next week. But evidently she’s having some difficulties because of what’s in the fire report.”

Tanner nodded. “The fire inspector thinks the blaze was deliberate.” He turned back to Marilyn, who was trying to pour the coffee she’d made with shaky hands. Damn it, he didn’t want to have this conversation. He tried to start but couldn’t force the words out.

“Just tell me,” Marilyn said softly, when she handed him his mug. “It’s Jared, right? He made bail?”

Bree muttered a curse that would’ve made Cassandra proud.

Tanner nodded.

“Yes. Three days ago.”

Nope, this new string of curses from Bree would’ve made Cassandra proud.

Marilyn blanched. “Three days ago? I thought they were going to tell me immediately if he made bail.”

It was so hard to watch Marilyn’s sense of safety and security be torn away with his words. The skin across her cheekbones was drawn and pale. Her shoulders hunched in as if to protect herself from a blow.

“I know. They should have told you right away. It was some sort of communication breakdown, but it was wrong and I’m very sorry.”

Marilyn was clutching her coffee like a drowning victim would a lifeline.

“But there is a little bit of good news,” Tanner continued. “Jared is on an ankle tracker. I’ve got the Denver County bonding office sending me the log for everywhere Jared has been since the moment he got out. I’ve also got one of my men looking into seeing if we can get direct access to the live data, so we know where he is at all times.”

“I thought you said Jared wouldn’t get out on bail given what he did,” Bree said softly.

He grimaced. “Yeah, I’ll be honest, I was shocked to hear it. Evidently he got himself one of the most expensive and well-connected lawyers in the state.”