Page 10 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed (Hard Justice: Outlaw Ridge #6)

───── ? ────

Thankfully, not the same house though.

That one had been torn down shortly after Tami’s and Kip’s convictions, and a new place had been built. That was something at least. This would be hard enough for Hallie without adding the nightmare of memories at her childhood home to go along with it.

Of course, it’d still be a nightmare. And there was no way to dismiss the location. The killer was taunting Hallie, and that caused the anger to slam through him. He wanted to make this sonofabitch pay, but for that to happen, they needed an ID and an arrest.

Maybe there was something at this scene that would lead to that.

“The owner of the house is Marsha Landers,” Reed relayed, reading from the background that he’d just pulled up. “Aged 68, retired school teacher.”

“I don’t think I know her,” Hallie muttered. “The name doesn’t sound familiar.”

Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the steering wheel tighter. Her eyes stayed locked on the road, but the way she pressed the gas pedal just a bit harder revealed the storm brewing inside her.

“She’s not local. Marsha moved from San Antonio to Outlaw Ridge six years ago to retire and take care of her older sister who’d had a stroke.

Her sister died shortly after Marsha had the house built and moved in, and then Marsha was apparently diagnosed with lupus,” Reed explained. “I’ve never met her.”

And he apparently never would. Well, if Marsha was truly their latest victim, that is. The anonymous caller who’d reported the dead body hadn’t supplied any other details other than the address. An address that the killer knew would twist Hallie up in knots.

Yeah, Reed wanted to get this sonofabitch.

He heard Hallie’s breathing kick up as she pulled to a stop in front of the Craftsman’s style house at 112 Sadler Street. “I haven’t been back here to this neighborhood since I left when I was eighteen,” she murmured.

Reed’s chest tightened at the quiver he heard in her voice. Hell. He reached over and took her hand, his fingers gently curling around hers.

“You’re not that eighteen-year-old girl anymore,” he reminded her. “You’re a kickass cop. And you’re not facing this alone. I’m right here with you.”

“Kickass,” she repeated, and he wasn’t sure if she was dismissing that or using it to steel herself up. “Thanks,” she said, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze before she let go and stepped from the cruiser.

Reed got out, too, and he fired some glances around them.

The houses were fairly close together on the street, but when Marsha had bought the place, she’d apparently purchased the vacant lots on each side of her property and behind it.

That had given her a lot more space, complete with a massive backyard that led out to a greenbelt.

So, with no neighbors behind her or on the sides, they’d have to hope that someone in one of the other houses had seen someone coming and going.

Reed went to the cruiser’s trunk and took out two pouches that contained protective shoe covers, and he handed Hallie one before they approached the house.

The street wasn’t empty, he noted. There were several vehicles parked outside some of the homes, and he even spotted someone across the street.

A woman, peering out through the curtains in the front window.

That could end up being a crucial witness, and soon someone would be interviewing her.

In addition to Marsha’s car parked in her driveway, there was also a cruiser.

He could see that Shaw and Declan were already on the scene, securing it and no doubt making the necessary calls for something like this.

Reed knew they were also using some new equipment to check for explosives.

Considering what’d happened at the other murder, that, too, was a necessity.

“All clear,” Shaw let them know after they’d put on the protective footwear and then stepped inside. “Clear of explosives anyway,” he tacked onto that, his gaze shifting to one of the many large windows. “But the killer might have another surprise in mind this time.”

Yeah, and that was the reason Reed had insisted they put on Kevlar vests before coming to the scene. The vests wouldn’t necessarily keep them from being killed, but it would stop them from dying or being seriously injured from a direct shot to the chest.

“Declan’s checking the yard for, well, anything,” Shaw added. “No signs of a break-in, but Declan thought he saw some trampled down plants in the back.”

Good. They might get lucky with a shoeprint or some other forensic evidence they could use.

“There’s a woman looking out her window across the street,” Reed let Shaw know.

Shaw’s immediate nod relayed that he’d noticed it as well. “I’ll head over soon to talk to her. The body’s in here,” Shaw added, leading the way.

This house wasn’t as large as Walt’s, but it had the same open floorplan so Reed had no trouble seeing the frail-looking woman with the thinning gray hair slumped in a chair in the living room. There was an amber-colored empty glass and an equally empty medicine bottle next to her on a small table.

And a note.

“Oh my God,” Hallie muttered. “It’s set up like Corman and Elenore’s mother’s murder.”

Yes, it was. He hadn’t personally seen that particular crime scene for Nancy Pierce, but Reed had studied the photos well enough so he could now recognize all the things the killer had replicated.

The woman’s hairstyle. The dress. The fact that she’d lived alone.

Hell, even the glass and medicine bottle were matches.

Of course, there were differences too.

This woman was more than a decade older than the original victim had been, and she had no children. Corman and Elenore’s mother hadn’t had lupus either but rather chronic fatigue syndrome. That’d been the diagnosis that had allowed Tami to waltz into her life to care for her.

And rob her.

They had done that little by little, draining one account after the other before either Tami, Kip or both had forced Nancy to drink a lethal dose of pain meds.

Kip had admitted to his part in the murder while on the stand at his trial.

Obviously, that hadn’t been his lawyer’s intention since Kip had originally pleaded not guilty, but Kip’s temper had gotten the better of him when the prosecuting attorney had called the murder the act of a coward.

Kip had then “boasted” that it took balls to kill the old bitch.

After that, Kip had changed his plea to guilty and had “thrown himself on the mercy of the court” by spilling a lot more about his crimes and attempting to show some remorse.

While it’d been damn hard to listen to the grisly details of the murders, Reed had been thankful that Kip had at least owned up to what he’d done.

Too bad Kip hadn’t kept his mouth shut after his conviction. But no. He’d seen fit to lie about Hallie in that reply to Luther’s article.

Reed couldn’t think about that now though. He couldn’t let it eat away at him and cause him to lose focus on the here and now. And the here and now was this latest murder.

He went closer to the dead woman, already knowing what was written there on the note, and he was right. The precisely printed words practically jumped out at him.

I can’t go on. The loneliness and pain are too much to bear. Forgive me, Elenore and Corman.

Reed glanced at Hallie who was standing frozen, her attention locked on that note, for several quiet moments. He could only imagine the firestorm of emotions going through her. She’d worked hard to put her past behind her, and now some asshole was throwing that past right in her face.

“The note’s identical,” Hallie said after she cleared her throat, “and the cops didn’t release that to the public after they determined Nancy’s death to be a murder and not suicide.”

“No, they didn’t,” he agreed. “But Jay could have seen the file, and Corman would have seen the note since he was the one who discovered his mother’s body. Tami could have told Luther.”

Hallie nodded, sighed, and he saw and heard the frustration. They weren’t able to eliminate any of them as suspects, and worse, it might be none of them. It could be someone else who wasn’t on their radar.

Reed turned when he heard the sound of voices outside the house, and he went to the front window to see if the CSIs, ME or any other deputies had arrived, but there weren’t any new responders.

“You’re not going in there,” he heard Declan say, causing Reed to head straight for the door to see what was going on.

With Hallie right behind him, he barreled down the porch steps, following the sound of the voices to the side yard where he spotted Declan.

He had his hand over the butt of his gun, and every part of his body language seemed primed and ready for a fight.

The same could be said about the man standing across from him.

Jay.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Reed demanded.

Jay hiked up his chin and met Reed’s glare with one of his own.

“I got another welcome to hell note that told me to come here if I wanted to find proof that Hallie knew about her parents’ murders.

I know that proof exists,” he spat out. “I know she’s hiding the truth to protect her own ass.

That stellar solve rate won’t mean shit when she’s charged with accessory to murder. ”

Reed groaned, and he had to resist the urge to arrest him on the spot. Or punch him. He was so tired of this dickhead’s accusations, and those accusations were adding to the hell that Hallie was going through.

“Where’s your vehicle?” Reed asked Jay after he glanced around and didn’t see one.

“I parked up the street and walked.” He stopped, his gaze shifting to Hallie who was coming around the corner of the house. “There she is,” Jay taunted when Hallie stopped next to Reed. “The killers’ accessory with a badge.”

Hallie didn’t react. Not verbally anyway. But from the corner of his eye, Reed saw her keep a hard stare on Jay.