Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
A fine tremble came over Stephen. “He wants me out of the jailhouse. Is he waiting out there for me?”
Garrett gave him a cold smile. “I’m sure Mr. Barnes will have a word with you at some point. He’ll want to make sure you’re okay.”
Stephen pushed his chair back. “He has no right to touch me. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t.”
Morgan sighed and stood. “Then I guess you’re free to go. I would watch my back if I were you. Barnes is a tricky fellow. And he has that friend who everyone is sure has ties to the mafia, but no one can prove it. You know now that I think about it, I do believe Mr. Lodge is Olivia’s godfather. We should call and let him know. I’m sure he’ll want to help.”
Ruby chuckled. “Mr. Lodge doesn’t get his own hands dirty, but I’m sure he’ll send a friend to investigate.”
“You have no right to threaten me,” Stephen said, but he sounded weak now.
“No one here has threatened you,” Morgan replied.
“I will.” Keane stepped forward. “You should understand that I don’t care what the law says. I know you had something to do with this, and if they won’t handle you, I will. So will my future father-in-law and all of Olivia’s relatives. You think Jack is going to be satisfied with taking your sad-sack grocery store out this time? He’ll raze the earth beneath you.”
“See, this is why you should let the lawyer handle things,” Garrett muttered under his breath.
“I heard nothing,” Morgan said, and she retrieved the small recording device she’d used. “I don’t think this thing picked up our talk. Oh, well, it wasn’t like you knew anything. Good luck.”
She was almost to the door when he broke.
“I didn’t know…I thought…damn it, I thought she was going to talk to her. Give Olivia a piece of her mind. I didn’t know she was going to hurt her.”
“So you saw it happen?” Ruby asked, the question yet another trap.
Stephen shook his head. “No. Of course not.”
“Then where were you?” Morgan’s head tilted slightly. “I heard two stun guns being fired. You tried to cover it with the music, but that sound carries and it’s distinct. I doubt you had to hit Olivia twice.”
“I didn’t hit Olivia twice. That would mess her up.” He slapped a hand over his mouth as though he knew he’d given something precious away.
“So it wasn’t Scott. It was you.” Garrett had gone over this in the car ride to the station. Ruby had shown him what she pulled up. “We have Scott entering the store a few moments before it went down. He is obviously not carrying a weapon of any kind.”
Ruby thought the man was looking for Olivia. He’d looked almost frantic in the footage. It had thrown Garrett off, but he was going with Ruby’s instincts.
“You purchased a stun gun at a shop in Tyler three days ago. Actually, you purchased two,” Ruby said slowly.
Stephen’s stubbornness disintegrated. “It’s Jessica’s fault. Jessica and that man she calls her boss. They said they could help me with the store if I did this one thing for them. I helped her with…”
The GrabItQuick shared an alley with the Barnes-Fleetwood office. It would have been easy to sneak down the alley from the store’s back room.
“You helped her with arson?” Keane asked, his voice cold.
He was quiet for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed. “Barnes deserves it. He’s trying to take down another small business with lies. This is what he does. He ruins lives.”
Morgan’s head shook. “Your father wrecked his own life by being an asshole. That big grocery was going to come sooner or later, and it’s made things so much nicer in this town. Your father was a judgmental tyrant who turned people away when they needed things. You are bitter and mean and you’ve gone further than your father ever did, and that’s why you’re going to tell me where they took Olivia or I’ll get you charged today.”
“I don’t know,” he replied flatly. “Today was the last thing I was supposed to do. I didn’t want to know. I don’t think they want to kill her. I think they just want to figure out what lies Jack is making up.”
Garrett’s heart threatened to stop, but he forced himself to stay calm. “Jack doesn’t even know. Olivia found the evidence that not only was Gladen violating his contract, he was also paying off a USDA inspector. So they have to kill her. You’re going to be an accomplice to murder.”
That seemed to get to him. He scrambled. “I don’t know for sure, but she’s got family out in the country. They got places all over, real off-the-grid kind of places.”
Morgan turned to him. “He’s not wrong. The Fellows family has property outside the county. It’s on unincorporated land, and I’m not sure exactly where the buildings are. They aren’t approved structures, but no one cares because they mostly keep to themselves. This could take a while. I have to convince the sheriff we need a search.”