Page 12

CHAPTER ELEVEN

FURY BURNED HOT in Noah’s gut. So Morrison didn’t have a serial killer on the loose, huh? The Morrison PD was deliberately turning a blind eye to the problem or they were totally incompetent.

“How did she die?” Grant asked, his gaze intent.

“Stabbed to death.”

Rayne shook her head. “And no one connected this to the other stabbing deaths in the area, especially Camilla’s?”

“Something is wrong in my hometown,” Violet murmured. “Morrison used to be a safe place to raise a family.”

“I wouldn’t raise my kids here for any amount of money,” Noah muttered. With his luck, he and Violet would have all girls, and he’d constantly be worried about their safety. And he was really reaching, assuming that he and Violet would get married, much less have a family. He couldn’t deny he wanted a life with the beautiful medic. Didn’t mean she felt the same way about him. “What about Charity and Lauren? Are they still alive?”

“Charity is,” Rayne said. “She moved to Wheelersburg as soon as she graduated from high school, and that’s where she’s been ever since. What about Lauren, Grant?”

“She went to North Carolina State University, then moved to Wheelersburg as well. She’s still there.”

“Wheelersburg is an hour from here.” Violet turned to Noah. “What are you thinking?”

“We need to talk to the women as soon as possible.”

“Not tonight,” Rayne murmured. “By the time we finish eating, it will be too late to track them down and have a conversation.”

“She’s right,” Grant said. “We should get their addresses and places of work, then visit them tomorrow.”

Noah inclined his head. “We have other priorities tonight.” Violet wanted to go to her sister’s apartment, and he was going to make that happen for her. Didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, but Noah would help her search. She knew Camilla better than anyone. If there was something to find, she was the one most likely to unearth a clue. He had little faith in the Morrison police department.

Jana returned with a tray loaded with drinks. “I’ll be back in a minute with your food.” She brought their meals and distributed them around the table. “I’ll check on you in a few minutes.” The woman hurried off to talk to more customers seated nearby.

Noah cut into his steak. “Grant, tell Rayne and Violet about the princess.”

Rayne’s head whipped toward the operative. “Princess?”

“It’s not as exciting as it sounds,” he muttered.

“Well, it sounds like a good story. Talk.”

For the next few minutes, Grant told the story about a woman he’d encountered on a protection detail with Echo unit in the Sand Box. The woman they were protecting was royalty and decided that he would be the perfect husband. He regaled the women with the non-classified details of his attempt to point the princess’s interest to another man who obviously was in love with her.

Rayne patted his left hand. “No ring, so you got away. How did you do it?”

Grant’s face flushed. “No way, sweetheart. I’m not telling you anything else.”

“Aww, come on.” Violet pointed her fork at him. “You can’t leave us hanging like this. It’s cruel.”

The operative shifted his gaze to Noah. “I can’t tell them more, right?”

Noah chuckled at his friend. “Sorry, buddy. The ladies are right. Finish the story.”

Grant growled. “I will pay you back for this.” After an enormous sigh, he said, “I set up the love-sick sap and the princess on a date. She met me for dinner, and I invited Saleem to join us. By the time we ordered dinner, the princess and Saleem were totally ignoring me. I asked for my food to be delivered as take out, paid for all three meals, and returned to my unit.”

“Did it work?” Violet asked.

“They married two months later, and now have three children.”

“Wait.” Rayne frowned. “I think I read something about this in the news. Didn’t the headlines report a princess and a pauper romance?”

“That’s the one.”

“Oh, man. I wish I’d known you were responsible for that sooner. I would have asked you for more details. That was the best story of the year.”

Grant winked at her. “I’ve added matchmaker to my resume.”

She laughed. “Good to know. Your success is worthy of the title.”

Jana returned. “Dessert for anyone? We have a dessert called Chocolate Explosion that gets rave reviews from everyone who tries it.”

Noah smiled. “How big is the dessert?”

“Big enough for the four of you to share.”

“Sounds great. Bring it on.”

“Perfect. You won’t regret the choice. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

“Shouldn’t we be making plans for tonight?” Violet asked softly. “We won’t have much time as it is.”

“Chocolate is a girl’s best friend.” Rayne grinned.

“With four of us, it won’t take long to demolish the cake and ice cream.” Noah cupped Violet’s nape. “You need the calories, sweetheart, and you have a well-known weakness for chocolate.”

Jana returned with a large plate loaded down with several slices of chocolate cake, scoops of vanilla ice cream, and caramel and chocolate drizzles. “Here you go. Enjoy, folks.” After collecting their empty dinner plates, she returned to the kitchen.

“Good grief.” Violet’s eyes were wide. “That’s huge.”

“No wonder people share this dessert.” Rayne picked up a spoon and dug in.

Fifteen minutes later, the serving plate was empty. Violet shook her head. “I can’t believe we ate every bite.”

Jana walked up to take the dessert platter. “How was it?”

“So good,” Rayne said. “Thanks for the suggestion.”

“Of course.” She held up the bill. “Who gets the bad news?”

“That would be me.” Noah glanced at the bill, then handed the woman his credit card.

Minutes later, they were back in the suite, preparing to return to Morrison. “How vigilant are the boys in blue around Morrison?” Grant asked Violet.

“Not anywhere near our level of alertness. However, since Cami was murdered, the patrol cops might pay more attention to the area than they would otherwise.”

Grant looked at Noah. “Two o’clock?”

“That’s the plan.”

A nod. “Good.” He glanced at his watch. “Gives us time for a brief nap before we do the cat burglar thing.”

“Go sleep. You, too, Rayne,” Noah said. “I’ve got the watch.”

“Are you sure?” She looked troubled. “You slept little last night, Noah.”

“I’m fine. Rest while you can.”

Grant nudged her toward the second bedroom. “See you in two hours.” Once she closed the bedroom door, Grant walked to his room.

Noah turned to Violet. “What about you, love? You should rest, too.”

She shook her head. “Every time I close my eyes, I see Cami’s body on that metal slab. I can’t, Noah.”

Noah brushed his lips over hers. “Stay here. I’ll be back in a minute.” He went into the bedroom he shared with Grant and grabbed an extra blanket and pillow from the closet.

Grant set his phone on the nightstand. “Something up?”

“Violet keeps seeing Camilla in the morgue when she closes her eyes.”

“Want me to take the watch so you can hold your woman for a while?”

He shook his head. “I’ve got it. Thanks, though.”

“Come get me if you change your mind.”

Noah carried the blanket and pillow to the sitting room and motioned for Violet to stretch out on the sofa. “Rest and relax. If you drift off and I can tell you’re caught in a nightmare, I’ll wake you.”

The medic slid off her shoes and laid on her side. Noah spread the blanket over her. “I’ll be here if you need me.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and walked to the French doors to scan the area. Although he didn’t think this location had been compromised, Noah preferred caution over trust.

Thirty minutes into his watch shift, his phone vibrated with an incoming message. He scanned the screen. Zane requested Noah to call when he had a chance.

After another scan of the quiet street in front of the hotel, Noah called the communications guru.

“Yeah, Murphy.”

“It’s Noah.”

“Someone in Morrison is poking around in your background.”

He stiffened. “Who?”

“Bradley Melton.”

Of course. Guess he and Violet had ticked him off. “He’s at the top of the suspect list.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“An in-depth search into his background. He’s squeaky clean except for an accusation of rape by three high school classmates.”

A whistle from the former SEAL. “Anything come of it?”

“Zip. No charges were filed. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to attend Harvard or their law school. He’s a third generation lawyer. Instead of working with Dad and Grandpa, he struck out on his own and established a new law firm in Morrison.”

“How did he meet Camilla?”

“In court. She was a social worker. We discovered something else, Z.”

“What’s that?”

“One of the three women who accused Melton of rape was murdered about six months ago.”

Zane growled. “Let me guess. She was stabbed to death?”

“You got it.”

“That can’t be a coincidence.”

“Nope.”

“Anything else I can help with?”

“I’ll let you know if something pops up we can’t handle.”

“Be careful, my friend. Sounds like you’re stirring up trouble.”

He snorted. “I excel at that.”

“Maddox wants an update. Call him.”

“Copy that.” He ended the call and glanced over his shoulder. Violet was watching him. Not what he wanted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Zane?”

He nodded. “Bradley Melton was digging into my background.”

Violet sat up, shoved the blanket off, and swung her feet to the floor. “Bet he’s frustrated.”

“We’ll find out tomorrow when we pay him another visit.”

“Bradley won’t be happy to see us.”

“Don’t care. I want to know what he has to say about the rape charges and Dana Farraday’s death.”

“Same. Did Zane say anything else?”

“Call the boss.”

She grimaced. “Better not keep him waiting.”

Violet had a point. Brent Maddox expected his orders to be carried out immediately unless an operative had a stellar reason for the delay.

Unwilling to anger the man who signed his paychecks, Noah placed the call.

Maddox answered after the first ring. “Yeah, Maddox.”

“It’s Noah.”

“Sit rep.”

He updated his boss on the developments since his last check in. “We’ll return to Morrison after midnight to search Camilla’s apartment.”

“What are you looking for?”

Noah eyed Violet, whose gaze was fixed on him. “Hoping to find something that will point us to the killer. Camilla knew or suspected something, and someone killed her to keep her quiet.”

“Think the police would have missed it?”

“I don’t have a lot of faith in the Morrison PD.”

“Since they put a tail on you, it looks like local law enforcement suspects you’re meddling in their case. If they catch you in the sister’s apartment, you can expect to spend a long time in the station interrogation room.”

“I’m aware.”

“Watch your back, Noah. I don’t like the way this is playing out.”

“Copy that, sir.”

“How is Violet?”

“No change.”

“Do I need to pull her?”

“No, sir.” Wouldn’t help matters. Violet wouldn’t leave Morrison until after her sister’s funeral despite a direct order from their boss. In fact, Noah wasn’t sure Violet would stand down from the investigation if Maddox gave the order.

After a long pause, Maddox said, “All right. I’ll leave her in place for now. Don’t make me regret it.”

“Copy that, sir.”

Maddox ended the call.

Noah blew out a breath and shoved his phone in his pocket.

Violet walked to the small kitchen and nuked a cup of water. “He wants to send me home, doesn’t he?”

“He’s worried about you.”

“I’m fine. He needs to focus on other problems, not me.”

When the microwaved signaled the end of the heating cycle, Violet dropped a tea bag into the hot water and returned to the sitting room to curl up on the sofa.

“You know he won’t do that. He cares about you.”

“Maddox doesn’t want to lose his investment. He’s afraid I’ll do something stupid because I’m distracted.”

“That’s not fair, Violet.”

She held up her hand. “I know. You’re right. Forget I said that. We should plan our approach to Cami’s apartment because the less time we spend in Morrison, the better.”

Couldn’t argue with her logic. “You’ve been away for years. Did Camilla send you pictures of her apartment building and neighborhood?”

She shook her head.

Noah considered the options and grabbed his phone to send Zane a text. His friend responded seconds later. “Zane will send satellite images of the apartment building and the neighborhood in a few minutes.”

“I should have thought of that myself.”

And that’s why Maddox was concerned about her. Inattention at the wrong moment would be deadly. Noah wouldn’t let that happen. Violet meant too much to him to lose her.

“Do you think Maddox is right?”

“Do you?”

Violet sipped her tea. “Maybe.”

“There’s a reason cops aren’t allowed to investigate crimes involving their friends and family. They can’t be objective. The investigator doesn’t consider things that would be obvious if he wasn’t close to the victim. Most murder victims are killed by someone they know.”

“And if you don’t consider everyone a suspect, the killer will murder another victim?”

“Exactly.”

She sighed and set down her empty tea mug. “I understand what you’re saying, Noah, but I have to do this. I have to be involved in finding Cami’s killer. It’s the last chance I’ll have to do something for my sister.”

“Camilla loved you. She wouldn’t want you to lose your life while hunting down the person who took her from you.”

“I can’t walk away now. The killer knows why I’m here.”

“Yeah, and he’s already attempted to take you out twice in the past twelve hours.”

“I know.” Violet shoved her hands through her hair, rumpling the tresses. “I should ask Maddox to call you and the others back to duty. I don’t want any of you hurt on my account.”

Noah narrowed his eyes. “Do you really think I would leave you to find your sister’s killer on your own?”

She shook her head. “I know you won’t. But I want nothing to happen to you, Noah. To lose you now would shatter me into a million pieces.”

He drew Violet to her feet and kissed her. “Losing you would break me. We’ll watch each other’s backs and stay vigilant. Everyone is a suspect in your sister’s murder, including your aunt.”

She stared at him. “Are you serious?”

“Something isn’t right with her, and I’ve asked Zane to look deeper into her background.”

“She wouldn’t murder Cami.”

His eyebrow rose.

Violet closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at him. “You’re right. Again. Everyone is a suspect. I don’t think Aunt Rosalie is physically capable of murder, though.”

“Doesn’t prevent her from persuading or paying someone else to do her dirty work.”

“Do you really think she’s guilty of murder?”

“She’s guilty of something. I’m just not sure what yet.” He hugged Violet, holding her against him for several minutes until her body relaxed against his. “Do you want to sleep?”

She shook her head. “I’m too keyed up.”

He’d been afraid of that. Somehow, he had to help Violet get some real sleep tonight. “All right. Let’s look at the satellite photos and plan an approach to your sister’s apartment building.”

When he started to release her and grab his laptop, Violet tightened her hold around his waist. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Being here with me.”

His mouth curved. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with you.” He pressed a quick kiss to her mouth, then said, “Come on. Let’s study the photos Zane sent.”

An hour later, Grant and Rayne joined them in the sitting room. “Did you get any rest at all?” Rayne asked Violet.

She shrugged. “A cat nap.”

“You wouldn’t let us get by with that.”

“I know. I’ll sleep after we return from Cami’s apartment.”

Rayne rounded on Noah. “Make her.”

Right. Like that would work on his strong-willed lady. “I’ll take care of her.”

“Any updates while we slept?” Grant asked.

Noah told them about Melton digging into his background and asking Zane to run a deeper search into the lawyer’s background and his continued suspicion of Rosalie Trevelyan.

Grant motioned to the laptop. “Zane sent satellite images?”

“Violet hasn’t stepped foot in Morrison since she joined the Army. She doesn’t know the neighborhood or Cami’s apartment building layout. Since Violet couldn’t sleep, we opted to use the time to plan our approach.”

“Show us.”

For the next few minutes, Noah pointed out the various approaches they’d considered to the apartment building. “Camilla’s apartment is on the second floor at the front of the building.”

The operatives debated the pros and cons of each route. Grant shook his head at one option presented. “Too risky. Look.” He pointed at three places along the route. “The chance of being seen is too high. Yeah, I know Morrison isn’t the size of Nashville, but the town doesn’t roll up the sidewalks at midnight, either. Camilla’s neighborhood is only a few blocks from our first hotel. When I did a watch shift, someone was always coming and going at two in the morning.”

“He’s right,” Rayne said. “I noticed the same thing. Approaching from the front has too much risk of being seen, plus there’s the added problem of surveillance cameras from homes and stores along the street. If the police check the footage, we’re toast.”

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem whichever route we choose,” Violet said.

“The cops won’t be happy with our B & E activities.”

She smiled. “No B & E. I have a key to the apartment.”

Silence greeted her statement. “Why?” Grant asked.

“Cami wanted me to have access to the apartment in case I changed my mind and came to visit her.”

But she never had, and now the opportunity was gone. Noah squeezed her hand briefly. “I’m glad I won’t have to use my burglary skills. Let’s hope the Morrison police have removed the crime scene tape.” If they hadn’t and Noah and the others were caught in the apartment, they would have a long, uncomfortable interview in an interrogation room with irate detectives.

Noah looked at his teammates. “All right. Let’s take out the first approach. That leaves the other four options. Opinions on the second approach?”

They debated for a few minutes, then moved on to the other three. After evaluating the pros and cons of each, the team voted to go with the second choice.

That suited Noah. An approach from the back of the apartment building was the option least likely to draw attention to their activities. “We leave in ten minutes. Standard equipment.”

Noah and the others scattered to change into their standard Fortress attire. Black t-shirts, black cargo pants, and tactical boots plus side arms, backups, and knives.

They left the hotel by the stairwell and drove from the underground garage in Grant’s SUV. Noah rode shotgun, leaving the women to ride together in the backseat.

“Rest if you can,” Rayne murmured to Violet. “We have an hour’s ride ahead of us.”

“I’ll try.” She leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes.

Noah glanced over his shoulder at Rayne and gave a slight nod of thanks. He doubted Violet would sleep much, but anything would help.

Noah monitored the mirrors, constantly scanning their surroundings for trouble, although he had spotted nothing suspicious during his watch shift.

“I’m not seeing a tail,” Grant murmured.

“Neither am I.”

“The back of my neck is tingling.”

“Same.”

Although he and Grant remained alert during the return trip to Morrison, they arrived two blocks from the apartment building without incident. Grant turned off the engine and glanced at Noah. “Orders?”

“Wait.”

They sat in the SUV for a few minutes. Nothing moved or changed in the area. Despite his trouble radar pinging, Noah saw nothing to delay their mission.

He twisted in his seat. “Violet, anything seem out of place or off to you?” She knew the area better than the rest of them.

She took her time surveying the area, then shook her head. “We should go, Noah. We’ll draw attention if we sit here much longer.”

They exited the SUV and walked toward the apartment building where Camilla had lived. Noah threaded his fingers through Violet’s. “Any idea how efficient the Morrison cops are?”

“It’s been the good-old-boys club as long as I can remember. They’re never in a hurry to do anything except take donut breaks.”

“Ouch. Don’t have a high opinion of law enforcement?”

“Not this department. You and the rest of Echo unit were exceptionally good cops. The Morrison PD isn’t in the same league as you and your team.”

As they walked, two cars drove past them and parked in a driveway half a block back. Noah continued walking at the same pace, casually glancing around and behind him. The drivers of the vehicles walked toward a house.

He breathed easier. “Neighbors,” he whispered.

Ten minutes later, he inclined his head toward the alley leading to Camilla’s apartment building. “Stay alert. Lots of hiding places back here.”

“Where is a Klieg light when you need one?” Grant muttered.

With Violet, Noah approached the back of the building. Everything remained quiet. Good. He examined the door and tugged on it. “Locked.”

Violet handed him two keys. “Try these. One should unlock the door.”

Excellent. Breaking one less law would make the lawyer happy if Noah and his team were hauled into the police station for questioning.

He chose one key, slid it into the lock, and twisted. The tumblers shifted. He opened the door and peered into the interior. The door opened into an empty laundry room. “Clear,” he murmured, and motioned for the others to enter the building. With a last glance around, Noah followed them inside.

They walked through the laundry room to the door leading into the main part of the building.

Grant opened the door wide enough to peer into the hallway. “Clear.”

“Go. Second floor, apartment 205.”

“Copy that.” He eased into the hall and led the way toward the stairwell at the other end of the hall.

Soon, the four operatives exited onto the second floor. They paused, listening. So far, no one was stirring.

Noah motioned for Violet to follow him to her sister’s apartment. When they reached her door, he noted that the crime scene tape had been removed, slid the second key into the lock, and twisted. No resistance.

He frowned. “Wasn’t locked,” he whispered. Bad police work or had someone else been in Camilla’s apartment after the crime scene team finished?

Noah nudged Violet back against the wall. Grant did the same with Rayne. He and Grant stood on either side of the door, weapons held down by their legs. When Grant signaled he was ready, Noah twisted the knob and pushed open the door.

No response.

He signaled Grant to take the right while he took the left. After counting to three, they entered the apartment, weapons up. His breath caught at the mess in the apartment.

Together, he and Grant walked through the apartment, clearing room after room. When they finished, Noah went to the hall. “It’s clear,” he whispered. “Be careful walking in here. It’s a mess.”

Violet scowled as she scanned the interior of the apartment. “Cami didn’t do this. She was obsessive about keeping things tidy. Used to drive me crazy when we shared an apartment.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, her last statement made Noah smile. Violet was just as obsessive about keeping everything tidy. She knew exactly where every piece of medical equipment was stored in her mike bag. Her own apartment was orderly as well. “The crime scene team wouldn’t have left this kind of mess, either. Someone came in after they finished and trashed the place.”

Grant glanced around. “They were looking for something.”

“What?” Rayne asked. “This looks like anger and hatefulness to me.”

Noah looked at the wholesale destruction again. She was right. The only items in sight not destroyed were pictures and ceramic decorations that would have made a lot of noise and brought unwanted attention to the apartment.

“This is a disaster.” Violet surveyed the surroundings with her hands on her hips. “I’ll have to clean this up as I box what’s salvageable of Cami’s belongings. Otherwise, the landlord will charge a huge cleaning fee.”

“We’ll help you.” Rayne gripped Violet’s hand for a moment. “We’ll get boxes from a home repair center or a moving business and load them on the jet when we return home.”

“Will your aunt will want something of Camilla’s?” Grant asked.

“I doubt it.”

“What about Mrs. White?”

Violet walked to the wall beside the television and removed all the pictures her sister had hung up. One of them was a picture of Mrs. White and Camilla. They both looked so happy. “She’ll want this photo.”

“I’ll find something to put them in to protect the frames.” Rayne picked her way through the mess to the kitchen and searched for a box or container.

“Is there something specific you wanted to look for?” Noah asked.

“Cami always kept a journal. If something troubled her in her personal life or her work, she journaled about it to work things out in her head. I teased her about that since she was actually working it out on paper. She said the act of writing it down helped clarify the issues and helped her see how to approach the problems.”

“Makes sense. Many old school cops keep a separate set of case notes with personal impressions of all the people connected to a crime for the same reason.” Noah glanced around again. “What did she use to journal?”

“Beautiful notebooks. She loved the look and feel of them and also had a penchant for unusual pens.”

“I bet she could have spent hours in office supply stores.”

Violet laughed. “You have no idea. Every time we met, I wanted to go to the bookstore. Cami wanted to find the nearest office supply store.” Her smile faded and her hands clenched. “I’m going to find whoever killed my sister and make him pay.”

Noah wrapped his arms around Violet and held her for a moment. When the stiffness in her body eased, he said, “Where is the best place to look for her journals?”

“She turned the second bedroom into an office. That’s where she would have kept them. If they’re still here and intact, I want them all, Noah. This place isn’t secure. I don’t want to leave them unprotected.”

“I understand.” He clasped her hand and led her down the short hall to the office. Chaos reigned in this room, as it did in the rest of the apartment. Evidence of the crime scene team’s work was apparent. Black powder dotted the surface of Camilla’s desk and lamp. No computer in sight, though a printer remained behind. The detectives had probably taken the computer for the techs to analyze.

“There they are.” Violet skirted debris scattered on the office floor until she reached a heap of notebooks on the floor in front of a bookcase. She gathered all the notebooks into her arms and stood.

Noah started forward to help her when he saw a flashing red light out of the corner of his eye. He turned, searching for the source of the light. Frowning, he stepped closer to the desk and peered underneath.

Nestled in the corner was a bomb with a digital clock ticking down the time to zero.

“Bomb! Run!”