Page 156 of Noel Secrets

“How long until I get in there and clean?” he asked Clay. “I need to rent that room.”

“You’ll have to take that up with the Sheraton police, but I wouldn’t plan on it anytime soon,” Clay explained.

The manager grumbled a bit then gave them another set of adjoining rooms.

Once she was settled in, Clay moved his own belongings to his new room. He checked his phone again. Still no word from Cooper. That frustrated him. It shouldn’t take him this long to track down something online.

He blew out a breath. Blaming his colleague served no purpose. It wasn’t Cooper’s fault that Darby was in danger any more than it was his, yet he still hadn’t liked the feeling of watching Rushton looking so smug as he walked out of the police station tonight.

He might get away with it.

Rushton also didn’t strike Clay as the type of man who gave up easily. He might not have a means of getting his hands on Darby’s money once he discovered Brent was dead, but Clay doubted he would go away quietly. He might try to simply steal it from her.

A feeling of dread filled him. This wasn’t over.

It was time to start planning for Darby and her son to go into hiding for good.

Chapter Fourteen

His phone rang in the middle of the night, waking Clay. His first thought was for Darby and that something was wrong. He snatched it up, but the caller ID showed it wasn’t from Darby.

Cooper.

He rubbed sleep from his eyes as he answered the call. “Hey, Cooper, it’s four a.m. What’s up.”

“I did it. I found the link.”

His mind was still mush and he couldn’t push through what Cooper meant. “You did what? What are you talking about?”

“The shooter—the one they arrested for shooting into the motel room and killing Darby’s ex. I followed the money he was paid for the job, and after digging through several shell companies, it led me to a dummy corporation connected to Rushton. Once I had that, I traced other payments made through it. We have what we need to link him to the attacks against Darby.”

Clay sat up, suddenly wide awake. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. I’m on my way to Sheraton. I’ll be there in two hours.”

“Meet me at the police station. I’ll alert Chief Dean to get his team ready. I want to arrest this guy before he flees town.”

He let out a relieved sigh. Rushton was the one putting Darby’s life at risk. Thank goodness they finally had the evidence they needed.

He woke Darby to share the news then called Dean too as he headed to the police station. Dean met him there just as Cooper arrived. He explained the link and went through the evidence he’d uncovered as Dean and his team listened.

Once Cooper was done with his presentation, Clay turned to look at the chief. “This should be enough to arrest him. I can get an FBI team here, if that’s what you prefer.”

Dean shook his head. “He’s responsible for the murder of one of our citizens and arranging the abduction of another. I want him to face a Sheraton jury.” He turned to one of his officers in the meeting. “Is Rushton still at the Regency?”

The officer nodded. “Yes sir. I’ve had a patrol car on the hotel and his vehicle since he left here yesterday evening.”

Clay was surprised to hear that but grateful that Dean had made that call to keep an eye on Rushton. It didn’t seem smart on his part that he was still in town. If he’d have thought he was going to be arrested, he’d have been halfway out of town by now. It only showed the man’s arrogance. Clay couldn’t wait to see him in cuffs.

Dean acknowledged the information then turned back to Clay and Cooper. “I’ll gather a team to arrest him.”

“I’m joining you,” Clay told him and Dean agreed without pushback.

Later, in the locker room as they geared up, Dean approached Clay. Already wearing his vest, Dean looked ready to go. He shoved an earpiece into his ear then took a seat on the bench beside Clay as he was lacing up his boots. “I hope once thisis over and Rushton is in prison, you’ll leave Suzanne alone and stop thinking she’s guilty.”

So his main concern was for his girlfriend. Interesting. “We were just following the evidence, Chief.”

He sniffed loudly. “No evidence ever pointed toward Suzanne. This was all about a vendetta against a business rival. I hope both you and Darby will leave us alone for good after this.”