Page 11 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed (Hard Justice: Outlaw Ridge #6)

After a few seconds of being on the receiving end of that stare coupled with the silent treatment, Jay cursed. “I have the note right here in my pocket. I was going to take it out, but this cop ordered me to keep my hands where he could see them.”

“That’s because you’re trespassing on a crime scene,” Declan was quick to point out.

“And you’re a person of interest in the murder of Walt Garner and Elenore Pierce,” Reed tacked onto that.

Jay didn’t howl out his innocence, but his eyes narrowed even more. “You want to see the fuckin’ note or not?”

Reed’s jaw tightened as he fought against the frustration and anger continuing to build inside him. He knew that Jay’s mere presence here could escalate an already tense situation, but the note might hold valuable information. Reed hesitated, his gaze flickering to Hallie, and she nodded.

“All right,” Reed finally said. “Show me the note, but do it slowly.”

Declan shifted slightly, ready to intervene if necessary. Jay cursed under his breath, but he reached into his pocket with deliberate slowness. As he pulled out the crumpled piece of paper, Reed stepped closer, his eyes scanning for any sudden movements.

There weren’t any.

Jay certainly didn’t seem on the verge of attacking them though he was sporting a smirk.

Reed took the note, unfolding it while keeping one eye on Jay. The message was exactly as Jay had said. Welcome back to hell, Jay. Go to 112 Sadler Street if you want the proof that Hallie knew all about what her parents were doing .

“You could have written that note yourself,” Hallie pointed out.

Jay’s smirk turned into a snarl. “You really think I have time for this shit?” he snapped, his voice dripping with irritation. “I didn’t come here to play games. I came here to find something that’ll get you arrested the way you arrested Charity.”

That last part seemed to be an afterthought as if he’d forgotten all about his girlfriend.

And maybe he had now that Charity had out-served her usefulness to him.

Added to that, Charity had failed to kill Hallie, and with her now in custody, she likely wouldn’t get the chance to come after Hallie again.

Hallie handed the note to Declan. “Could you bag that and send it to the lab?” When Declan nodded and took it, she shifted her attention back to Jay. “Leave now and go to the Outlaw Ridge police station to give a statement to the on-duty deputy about this note you received.”

With that, she turned her back on him and headed back inside.

Reed saw the flash of anger—no, not just anger but pure, hot rage—on Jay’s face.

Jay had maybe hoped to provoke Hallie into attacking him.

Then, that would have given him cause to maybe have her arrested, but Hallie hadn’t fallen for the bait.

“Get the hell out of here,” Reed ordered Jay.

The man didn’t budge right away, but he must have realized he was on the verge of being arrested because he belted out some more profanity and stormed off, heading up the street. Reed stood there, watching, until Jay was out of sight.

“Maybe karma will soon catch up with that piece of shit,” Declan muttered. “Is the sheriff okay?”

It wasn’t an easy question, and Reed knew that Hallie wouldn’t buckle under this intense pressure. But this could keep eating away at her until she decided the badge was no longer worth it.

“She’ll cope,” Reed settled for saying.

“And you?” Declan pressed. “Hey, I’m not blind,” he added when Reed stared at him. “You two have a history, and the old heat is still there. Don’t bother to deny it.”

Reed didn’t deny it. “I’ll deal with that when she’s no longer my boss.”

He wanted a second chance with Hallie. Reed knew that now.

She’d come back into his life, and he wanted her to stay there.

Of course, Hallie might have a totally different notion about that, but there’s no way they could even focus on the personal stuff when they had so many other things on their plates.

Reed went back inside the house to find Hallie on the phone while Shaw was using his own phone to snap some pictures of the crime scene.

From what Reed could tell from what Hallie was saying to the caller, she was arranging for some deputies to start canvassing the neighbors to find out if they’d heard anything.

Their first stop would be the woman across the street that he’d seen peering out her curtains.

Outside, Reed heard the sound of an engine, and he glanced out and saw the CSI van pull to a stop along the curb. Good. The sooner they got started, the better.

“Reed and I were on our way to check a storage facility that Luther told us about,” Hallie said to Shaw. “It’s possible it contains some of my mother’s things that might or might not confirm her role in the murders. Can you manage things here for an hour or so until we get back?”

“Sure,” Shaw was quick to say. “Anything there in storage that might link to…this?” His gaze drifted to the body. “Or the other two murders?”

“I doubt it. Not unless my parents planned these murders before they were arrested. It’s also possible that Luther set up this storage facility,” she admitted, “and if so, he could have planted or flat-out fabricated something to back up my mother’s claim of being abused.”

Shaw didn’t seem surprised by that possibility. “Luther could be killing to shed some doubt on Tami’s guilt. Like by framing you or someone else.”

“Yes,” Hallie agreed. “Luther had old pictures of my father with Corman and Elenore. Those photos are already on the way to the lab to see if they were doctored. But I want to check the storage unit for anything else that might help us. Then, I’ll get a CSI team in there…

though our resources are stretched thin in that area,” she added, her voice trailing off.

They were indeed stretched, but she was smart enough to tap into Strike Force’s forensic team if needed.

Hallie took another long look at the body before she motioned to Reed that it was time for them to leave. He only hoped if they found something in storage that it didn’t make matters worse. While he was hoping, he added that maybe there wouldn’t be any more murders.

Making their way out of the house, they passed the CSIs who were making their way in. Hallie and he went outside and were halfway between the house and the cruiser when Reed heard the crack of gunfire.

And the bullet slammed right into Hallie.

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