A Judge's Secrets Page 11

  There was nothing like looking down from the bench, knowing in her gut that the person in front of her was guilty of not only the crimes they were arrested for but also likely a medley of others, and not being able to do a damned thing about it. Instead of saying, “You are free to go,” she often wanted to scream.

  “As this is our primary suspect, I don’t think it’s a good idea that you go inside. She may respond better if I questioned her alone.”

  Natalie bristled. He wasn’t wrong, but she didn’t want to be left out of the action. “You know, if she is the person we’re after, she is going to know exactly who I am, and I’m sure she will make her feelings known. And, if she doesn’t recognize me, well...that can be a helpful sign, too.”

  He sighed. “I should have known you would balk at the idea of not being involved.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I get it, though. I would be the same way if someone was trying to kill me. Plus, I think it’s best if we stick close to one another until we have our suspect in custody.”

  And there she had been thinking she was going to have to make a stronger argument for not being left in the truck.

  “Agreed.” She pulled the vehicle to a stop just across the street from the downtown headquarters for the textile company.

  The company’s front bay doors opened and a large white delivery van made its way out on to the main road. The place was busy as men and women, workers mostly, came and went from the main entrance.

  As she watched, she realized she didn’t even know the face of the woman they were going to go and talk to. It was dumbfounding. How could this woman want to kill her when she herself didn’t even know her face from a million others?

  She understood hate; she had felt it countless times just in the past year. And she had long ago realized she could empathize to the best of her abilities and sometimes still not understand what drove a person to do the things they did. In fact, the more time she spent around the public, the less she understood about human nature. There were core needs that never wavered, but how people acquired, kept and maintained those needs were all up for grabs.

  “I would say that it may be best for me to lead the questioning when we get in there, but you are pretty unique. You may have more practice in eliciting information than myself. So I guess we will play it by ear. Okay?”

  She gave a stiff nod. “And what if this comes to nothing?”

  He shrugged. “We will cross that bridge when we get there. Let’s just hope that this is our perpetrator and we can get you back to your normal life as quickly and safely as possible.”

  Did that mean he wanted her gone? No doubt it would be easier for him without her in his life. He could go back to whatever his normal life looked like—a life she had no idea about. The realization made her ache. She couldn’t make him open up to her any more than he naturally did, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want him to.

  He gave the back of her hand a quick kiss before letting go and getting out of the truck. He walked around to her side and opened the door for her. The simple act of chivalry surprised her in all the right ways. It had been a long time since a man had gone out of his way to do anything for her, unless it was in the courtroom—where everyone was always trying to buy her favor.

  He helped her out. His walk was steady; he must have been feeling better. She wanted to ask him if he was feeling okay and if he was really up for doing this, but even if he wasn’t, she was positive he would lie to her in order to get the job done...and get her out of his life, maybe.

  Then again, he had been so kind to her and held her hand.

  He opened the door for her and followed her inside; meanwhile, she reminded herself that just because a man was kind didn’t mean that he was flirting with her.

  The man at the front counter looked up from his phone and barely masked his disgust at having been disturbed. “Help ya?” he asked, his words truncated, like it took too much effort to say a complete sentence.

  She disliked him already.

  “We are here to see Ms. Rencher or Ms. Sanders, if one of them is available.” As Evan spoke, the man smirked like he knew a secret they weren’t privy to...a secret he was dying to tell.

  “Ms. Rencher is in the back. She doesn’t like being disturbed these days.” The man looked back and forth between them, seeming to hint at the divorce to see what they knew.

  She made sure to keep her expression as neutral as possible. This young, disgruntled man couldn’t know she was one step from running away, that a lump had formed in her throat that threatened to strangle her from the inside out, or that the last thing she wanted to do was look her potential murderer right in the eyes.

  She could only imagine how it would feel to see such unbridled hate directed solely at her. What if the woman was carrying a gun? She could draw and fire before Natalie even knew she was under threat. Sure, they were in public, but that likely wouldn’t stop this killer.

  Her hands started to sweat.

  Until now she hadn’t thought about the feelings that were enveloping her and threatening to unleash a panic attack.

  At least she wasn’t facing this alone. Or, worse, having to sit idly by while others handled the entire situation. At least by taking an active role in bringing down her assailant, she held control over her own welfare.

  The man picked up the phone, said a few quick words and turned back to them. “She said she’ll be right out. Good luck.”

  Her heart raced, and she tried to take back control of herself by counting her breaths. One. Two. Three.

  The door leading to the back opened, and a brunette woman stepped into the lobby. Her hair was loose, cascading down her shoulders, and she was far younger than Natalie had assumed she would be. If she had to guess, she was somewhere in her midthirties. When the woman saw her, she sent her a big smile.

  Was it fake? Was she pretending she didn’t know her?

  “Hi, how can I help you guys?” Ms. Rencher asked, her voice high and chipper.

  The man who had greeted them in the lobby had warned that she was not one to be trifled with, and yet, this woman was nothing like she had expected. It had to be a show.

  “If you wouldn’t mind excusing us,” Evan said to the other man, who was now standing and watching them with a bemused look on his face.

  The man dipped his head in acknowledgment before making his way out. She couldn’t help but notice that he looked over his shoulder one more time before letting the door slip closed with a click.

  The woman frowned. “What is going on here?”

  Evan smiled, but even someone who didn’t know him would have known that the action was false. “We are here thanks to an investigation in a case of attempted murder.” He paused.

  The woman cocked her head to the side, looking confused. “I don’t know how I could possibly be able to assist you with anything to do with murder.”

  The woman’s gaze never moved to Natalie as she’d have assumed it would have, had Rencher known what Evan was actually talking about. It was strange how the body would give away so many clues, if a person just knew how to watch for them. And Natalie desperately wanted to see something that would prove this woman was responsible for what had happened to her, but right now she wasn’t sure if she was actually the person they were looking for.

  “I’m certain that is probably the case,” Evan said. “However, we just need to make sure we cover all of our bases and talk to anybody that would potentially know anything about the case we’re trying to solve.”

  “Did my ex send you here?” Ms. Rencher’s lips puckered and her expression soured. “If she did, you need to know that she is just a vindictive brat. There is nothing she wouldn’t do just to screw with me. I can’t believe it. And people wonder why I hate her. It’s not that I want to hate her. It’s just that she keeps doing this kind of crap.” She let out a long, tired sigh.

&
nbsp; Evan slipped Natalie a look, like he was beginning to think perhaps this woman wasn’t who they were after.

  “Can you tell us a little bit more about your relationship with your ex?” Natalie asked.

  The woman crossed her arms over her chest like she was protecting her core. “We are going through a pretty nasty divorce. Things are getting really heated. And we share a daughter. She is contesting the parenting plan and pretty much everything else. It wouldn’t surprise me if she did something like this, and somehow got me involved in a legal battle with potential felonies in order to take away my daughter.”

  The way she spoke made Natalie wonder exactly what had befallen the woman before they had arrived. Though she had looked through some of her case file, there had been no reference to any crimes beyond the so-called knife fight. Was it possible that the other woman, Ms. Sanders, was responsible for the attacks and was trying to pin it on her ex?

  “Do you mind telling me where you were last night?” Evan asked.

  The woman shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. “I was here until midnight or so, then I went home.”

  “Is there anyone who can vouch for your whereabouts for the past twenty-four hours?” Evan asked.

  “There was no one here when I left last night, but there are cameras everywhere. And you can definitely take a peek if you’d like. And there’s also the camera on my front porch that would show me coming and going last night and this morning.”

  Evan nodded. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a business card. He handed it over to her. After taking it, she slipped it into her back pocket.

  “If you wouldn’t mind sending me a digital copy of those videos, I’d appreciate it.” Evan smiled. “And hey, if you hear anything that you think would be helpful, don’t be afraid to call.”

  “I just have one more question,” Natalie said, interrupting. “Have you ordered any rodent killer for the business lately?”

  The woman pursed her lips, thinking. “We don’t have a rodent problem here, so long as I know about. And I definitely haven’t ordered anything to mitigate it. Why?”

  “Would your ex have access to any of your ordering or business affairs?” Evan asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes. I have been trying to remove her from my business accounts, but it is impossible until the final divorce decree is granted. For now she is on most things—even my car insurance,” Ms. Rencher said.

  “I know just how hard going through a divorce can be,” Evan said, ever the kind man she had come to know. “I’m so sorry you are going through this.”

  The woman looked down at her hands and she could tell that she was struggling in her attempt not to cry.

  “I just don’t understand why it has to be so hard. What’s worse is that we still really do love each other.”

  Love and hate were sometimes only millimeters apart, and damn if this wasn’t one of those times. The poor woman.

  “I know this is hard, but we really do appreciate your help.” Evan took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the information his team had sent. “Here is a copy of the rodent killer company’s orders for the past few months. Do any of them look familiar?” He pointed at the screen.

  The woman squinted like she was having a hard time seeing the type, even though she was relatively young. Oh, had she actually thought relatively? Natalie grimaced. The woman was maybe a few years older than she was. Though Natalie felt like a grown adult, big job and all, she wasn’t ready to check the box for middle-aged. Not yet anyway.

  “Yeah, I didn’t make an order, but I can see how you would assume I had. If you like, I’d be happy to show you around the entire facility so you can see that there’s nothing like that currently in our possession.” The woman seemed genuinely open to their searching the building.

  Yeah, this wasn’t their person. However, she had a sinking feeling that somehow, she was connected.

  The woman squinted harder, pulling the phone closer. “I have to say, though, this guy here, VanBuren, I’m surprised he would make this kind of order.” The woman tapped on the screen.

  “Why is that?” Evan asked.

  “VanBuren is the training officer for the city fire department. He seems like the last person who would order something from this kind of company. He doesn’t do any kind of maintenance work for the city, so I can’t see why he would need rodent killer.” The woman frowned.

  The knot in Natalie’s stomach tightened. It was odd that a firefighter would need something like this. That was, unless they were going to use it for some kind of training—or he had some kind of vendetta against the district court judges. A city employee, one who worked around criminals and arsonists, could probably name at least one time when they didn’t agree with something a judge did. Or maybe the training officer just didn’t like them on principle.

  Until now the training officer hadn’t even crossed their suspects list. However, he did have the knowledge and the access to the chemicals it would have taken to perpetrate the attacks—he may have even had the access to their chambers and to police scanners and informational systems. He could totally be their guy, or not.

  If nothing else, they would need to talk to the training officer. Even if he wasn’t their perpetrator, he would likely have a wealth of information about who would have access to the knowledge to create the devices that they had found.

  Sometimes, in moments like these, where they stumbled onto names and ideas, she was reminded that it was better to be lucky than it was to be good.

  Chapter Ten

  He was sure that if they went over to Ms. Sanders’s that they would run into the same nonanswers that they got from Ms. Rencher. Handling questioning was not one of his favorite exercises. Elicitation had always been Mike’s stronger suit. His brother could get answers from just about anyone about anything and his ability to read people was on point. As hard as Evan tried, he had not come by those skills naturally.

  Maybe he should call him and have him step in on this investigation. The last he had heard, Troy and Mike were taking turns sitting with Judge Hanes in the ICU.

  Thinking about the judge, he took out his cell phone when he got to the truck and typed out a text message to Elle, asking about the judge’s status. A few seconds later his phone pinged. Apparently, Judge Hanes was still unconscious, but the doctors were saying he would likely survive.

  He asked if they had found evidence of sarin gas.

  The lab tests had been inconclusive.

  Such a thing wasn’t a huge surprise. In the middle of Montana the last thing the doctors would be looking for would be chemical nerve agents. But not knowing what had poisoned Hanes meant lots of dead ends awaited them.

  “You okay?” Natalie asked.

  He nodded, slipping his phone into his pocket. “Yeah, I’m good. Your friend, the judge, is still alive.”

  She sucked in a long breath and her hands balled into tight fists.

  “I don’t have much more information than that. But at least it’s something. I’m so sorry, Natalie.”

  “You’ve nothing to apologize for. If it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t even be alive right now. As it was, he was lucky.” Her eyes softened as she looked at him.

  “Do you want to see him?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I wouldn’t want him to see me like that, so I can’t imagine he would want me to see him in that state, either.”

  He didn’t bother to argue. When a powerhouse was taken out at their knees, they often didn’t wish to be seen. The judge likely had enough people coming and going that he wasn’t alone.

  “The best thing we can do for him,” Natalie said, “is to find whoever did this.”

  He nodded.

  “Are you still thinking that whoever poisoned him is likely the same person that planted these bombs? I’m having such a hard time believing that one person could be b
ehind all of this. Poisoning and bombing are so different.”

  “Are they? If someone is good with chemicals, it really isn’t that big of a leap.” Evan watched as she started the truck. “Now, we can’t be one hundred percent sure this is the same perpetrator, but given the proximity of the events and their rapid succession, if it wasn’t the same person, it was at least the same team.”

  “Do you think it could be one of the divorcées?”

  “I think they have a thin motive, but right now they are definitely still on our list. However, I’m not about to stop looking into our other leads.”

  “I agree. Let’s keep this simple.” She chuckled. “Let’s just keep checking things off and working down our list. Next up, I think we need to hit up the ex, Ms. Sanders.”

  He nodded, glad to be working instead of stuck in the heaviness of confusing feelings that had been resting between them.

  “Also, about what happened at Judy’s...” she started, stripping away any relaxation he was feeling.

  “We don’t have to talk about that. Let’s just call it a lapse in judgment,” he said, though he could sense the falseness of his words square in his chest.

  From the tired look on her face, she could hear it, as well. “No. We are both adults. We don’t get to just sweep what happened under the rug. That’s not how it works.”

  In his experience, that was exactly how it had worked. Then, his previous relationships had been with a different caliber of women. He wasn’t used to a woman who pushed for more. If anything, he seemed to attract a certain type of woman, the kind who was looking for danger, a one-night stand that they could tell their friends about, but then never have to worry about calling him again.

  He wasn’t the kind of man women went to in order to pour their emotions or feelings out, and they certainly didn’t expect it of him. The few who had attempted to have a real relationship with him, even his ex-wife, always ended up resenting him for his lack of emotional depth—a problem he really wasn’t having with Natalie, which was what confused him the most.