Page 28 of Legends: Easton (Legends of Fire Creek #3)

Bailee felt as if she’d stepped into a time machine and traveled back to the early days as a detective with the Louisville PD.

Surrounded by Easton and his brothers, the intensity in their demeanors mimicked her team when they worked a case.

The back-and-forth of ideas, the piecing together of the evidence, the consideration of everyone’s input…

this is what she yearned for when she became a detective.

The icing on the cake was seeing Easton’s dynamic with Luke, Jackson and Ben.

She could see why they worked. Different personalities, different talents, but one mind.

Their disagreements seemed to resolve themselves with the brothers in one accord, and she was swept up in their process, making her glad she decided to trust Easton and his brothers to have her back.

Luke started the meeting with the reason they came were together — the new lead. “Alex found where Clive Melvin was staying.”

“Alex is your friend at the security company?” she asked.

“Right. I asked Alex to help out because he has more resources than we do. According to his intel, Melvin was smart enough not to rent a hotel here in Fire Creek.”

“Too many people would peg him as a newcomer,” Easton pointed out, and Bailee nodded. Everyone knowing everyone else was a perk and a drawback of being in a small town.

“My search of hotels and motels within thirty miles of Fire Creek came up empty. Alex checked alternatives, and his people found a camper registered to Melvin Clive at an RV park in Waverly. It’s on the edge of town.”

“Smart,” Jackson said. “He could come and go without drawing a lot of attention, and with this being peak season, he could get lost among the summer tourists without a problem. Interchanging his first and last name seems amateurish, but I guess he didn’t figure anyone would be looking for him too closely. ”

“We should have the police pick him up for questioning,” Bailee said.

“I thought the same thing,” Jackson agreed. “But Melvin had already packed up and left the RV park by the time the local PD could check it out. Tater issued a BOLO on the truck and camper he was driving. He said he’d reach out if they got any hits.”

Bailee pursed her lips. “Do you think he could have left the area? Since his attempt to kidnap me failed, he has to know the police are looking for him. The smart thing would be to get the hell out of here.”

Jackson shrugged. “It’s possible, but I don’t think so. Coming after you at the bar was a brazen move. Makes me think he’s getting desperate. I don’t think he would leave until he’s gotten whatever he’s after.”

“Desperate for what, though?” she asked more to herself than to the group.

Jackson drew his mouth into a thin line. “That’s the key. If we can figure that out, then we could probably end this.”

Bailee’s brow furrowed. “Well if that’s the case, we should canvas other campgrounds and RV parks where he could set up his camper.

If I were him, I would also consider an Airbnb listing in the area.

He could easily hide in a neighborhood close to here and wait until our guard is down to make a move. ”

“Alex volunteered his folks to take care of that for us,” Jackson said.

“Then why are we here? It sounds like we’re right back where we started.”

Bailee couldn’t hide the frustration in her tone. Her fingers tangled in her hair, pulling it back, only to have it fall forward with a bounce against her face.

“N-not quite,” Ben spoke up. “I got to thinking about Melvin’s motivation for coming after you.”. We know he’s not out to kill you, at least not right away, so why bother kidnapping you at all?

“You have a theory?” Bailee asked Ben.

“Sort of. It was a long shot, but I asked Alex if he could run down the list of players in this case. Not just the gang members, but your partner, your CI, your contacts with the ATF, and even personal connections—wives, friends, girlfriends, co-workers. Anyone with a remote connection to someone involved in the case.”

“That’s a lot of people,” Easton said. “What are you hoping to find?”

“Someone who called in a favor with Melvin.”

Bailee’s eyes narrowed. “You think he’s coming after me because he owes someone a favor? That seems a little far-fetched.”

Ben shrugged, and Luke’s eyes popped up from his laptop. “Not really. I’ve seen people do terrible things for worse reasons than that.”

She stared at Luke, blinking owlishly. Ideas rolled through her mind.

“You checked for connections with the Louisville PD, right?”

Luke nodded. “Yes, but you look like you have someone specific in mind.”

“I don’t know,” she murmured. “I just…Jimmy’s ex. We should check her.”

“His ex-wife? I checked into her. Nothing came up to link her.”

“You checked only one?”

“How many does he have?” Easton asked.

“Two. Evelyn is his most recent wife, but there was one before her. He was new to the department, a patrol cop when they got married. Her name is Jane. She still goes by Pearce. I don’t know why I didn’t think of her before.”

“Checking.” Luke’s laser focus returned to his laptop.

Bailee felt Easton’s hand on her arm, and she turned to face him. “What do you know about her?”

“She’s a bitch.” The words were matter-of-fact and blunt, and it wasn’t until after she uttered them that she realized how they sounded.

“Sorry, but she is. She cornered me in the parking lot at the precinct not long after the Chief assigned me as Jimmy’s partner.

She threatened to come after me if I tried to hook up with Jimmy.

Another cop had to restrain her. They detained her in an interview room until Jimmy had a chance to talk to her.

It was weird because they’d been divorced a while.

I remember how you could hear them arguing all through the precinct.

I don’t remember what they said, but Jimmy stormed out of the room and had a patrol officer escort her home.

I never saw her again after that. Jimmy and I never talked about it.

It was bizarre because they’d been divorced a while by the time I was promoted to detective. ”

“What made you think of her?” Jackson asked.

“She comes from a family of law enforcement. Her father, brother, sisters, cousins, uncle. Their dog is probably a K-9 officer. Melvin could be connected to one of them.”

“What else do you know?” Easton asked.

“Not much. I don’t think she worked outside the home.

One or both of them cheated while they were married, and that’s why they divorced.

No kids that I know of. Her family isn’t from Louisville, so I think everyone would assume she’d move back home after the divorce.

I don’t know where home is, but she ended up staying in Louisville.

She’s a jealous sort. Kind of crazy. That’s about the extent of what I know. ”

“Got it,” Luke announced. “I found the divorce papers. Irreconcilable differences is listed as the reason for divorce. Her name is Jane Lauren Stein Pearce, and she’s originally from Rockford, Illinois.

According to a narrative, she alleges that her husband, James Harold Pearce, had an affair with his then partner that resulted in a pregnancy.

Jane stated that the affair was one of many.

According to her, he slept with other cops, informants, and even witnesses in cases he worked.

The mistress’ pregnancy was evidently the straw that broke the camel’s back for her. ”

“Does the records show his side of the story?” Ben questioned.

Luke studied his screen for a moment. “He didn’t contest the divorce. The judge granted the divorce, and…well, this is interesting. He ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Jane.”

Bailee nodded. “I told you. She was crazy.”

She stood, a surge of nervous energy fueling her need to move. She paced the small space behind the dining table where they all sat. Her mind thought through the theory, but even with Jane’s connection to Jimmy, her jealousy, and her ties to law enforcement, the lead was far-fetched.

Other than the confrontation outside the precinct, she’d never crossed paths again with Jane, not even at the time or Jimmy’s arrest or his bail hearing. As far as she knew, Jane was out of Jimmy’s life now.

Luke got their attention. “Looks like Jane is back in Illinois. She’s engaged to John Webb, a real estate agent. I’ll keep digging, but it’s going to take a while.”

Ben caught Jackson’s eye. “Maybe we should have a talk with Ms. Pearce in person.”

Bailee stopped pacing, whirling on the brothers. “If anyone is going to talk to her, it’ll be me.”

“It’s not a good idea,” Easton told her. “Melvin is out there looking for you. If Jimmy’s ex is the one to send him, you’re a sitting duck by talking to her.”

“She won’t expect to see me. The surprise could be enough to get a reaction from her. Then we’ll know if something is up.”

Jackson nodded. “She’s not wrong. Easton and Ben, you go with her.

Ben, take your SUV. The windows are tinted, and Melvin’s going to be looking for Easton’s Jeep or Bailee’s car.

Luke, can you set up some false trails to throw Melvin off track in case he figures out where they’re going?

It’ll be late before they make it to Illinois, so they won’t be able to see the ex until tomorrow. ”

“On it.”

Jackson nodded. “Good. I’m ready to get this guy and end this.”

“You and me both.” Bailee wrapped her arms across her chest. “I need to take care of Roxy before we go. She needs some food and essentials if she stays with Becky while we’re gone.”

“Don’t worry about her.” Jackson grinned. “I’ll have Gish bring her here. We have more room than Becky does, and Jax will love having a dog around to play with.”

“You understand that Roxy is more like a small horse than a dog, right?”

Jackson chuckled. “You understand that my Jax is a handful, right? He’ll put her through her paces. By the time you get back, Roxy will be more than ready to see you.”

Bailee smiled. “Thank you. I hate the idea of leaving her with strangers after what she’s been through. She’s going to think I’ve abandoned her.”

“No way.” Easton stood in front of her, running his hands up and down her biceps. “She’ll be taken care of. She’ll miss you, but she’ll do fine.”

“Let me square things away at the hardware store. Then we can hit the road.” Ben stood, his cell in hand, and moved into another room.

Easton looked over at Jackson. “What about the bar?”

“I’ll take care of it. Gish already offered to help while we were looking into Bailee’s case.”

“I’m sorry to be such a disruption to your lives. That was never my intention.”

“Shit, if it weren’t for disruptions, life around here would be too boring for us.” Easton grinned at his own joke, and Bailee rolled her eyes.

“He’s not wrong,” Jackson added. “If it weren’t for the disruptions, as you call them, I wouldn’t have met Reagan, and Luke wouldn’t have met Melody. I’d say those disruptions worked out for the best. This one will too. Wouldn’t you say so, Luke?”

Luke never paused in his work, but his smirk indicated he heard every word of the conversation going on around him. “Hell, yeah. Don’t worry, Bailee. As Easton already told you, disruptions are what we handle best.”