Page 51 of Shadowed Witness (The Secrets of Kincaid #2)

Eric did not have his reports submitted by Monday morning.

After spending most of yesterday serving warrants to search the devices, homes, and offices of the men involved in Allye’s kidnapping, he and Chief McHenry were holed up in the police station conference room, combing through the evidence.

Eric flipped another page on his notepad and clicked his pen before finishing his sentence. If he kept going at this rate, his reports were going to be backlogged for a month. He stifled a sigh. Fat chance McHenry would allow that.

Considering the events of the weekend and their current priorities, the chief had been understanding of his tardiness so far, though he nearly took Eric’s head off for allowing a minor to accompany him into a hostage situation.

He’d cooled down somewhat once Eric explained that Dion had been instructed to remain in the car, which Eric had left parked in the weeds at the far end of the long drive so he could safely approach on foot.

Unfortunately, Dion had ignored him and followed anyway.

When he saw Eric get jumped and then heard the gunshots, he’d attempted to distract the men by throwing a rock through the window.

And he’d taken a bullet to the shoulder for it.

Eric and Allye had spent the evening in the hospital waiting room while the teen underwent surgery.

He’d lost a lot of blood, but he’d come out of surgery all right and was expected to fully recover with a little TLC.

Bernie had also undergone surgery to treat the gunshot wounds he’d received during the shoot-out. Barring some unforeseen complication, he should survive to stand trial, and Eric couldn’t wait to see him behind bars.

Thomas had been pronounced dead at the scene, as had Lenny. And Wesley? He was hanging on by a thread. His prognosis wasn’t hopeful, and the doctors had warned Hailey that he probably wouldn’t make it another night.

By all indications, Thomas Marshall had been the brains of the local drug ring.

Bernie had served as manager and primary enforcer while Thomas orchestrated everything behind the scenes.

Despite everything they’d discovered so far, Eric hadn’t quite pinpointed what Wesley’s part had been or how many other players there were, but he hoped to find an answer to that somewhere in these files.

Mayor Jennings’s role also puzzled him. As it turned out, the hunting cabin belonged to him.

But so far, nothing indicated that he’d given permission for its use or that he’d been aware of Saturday’s activities.

According to Allye’s statement though, Thomas had claimed the mayor and Wesley had both been involved in trying to gaslight her.

But why? And could it be proven? Without further evidence, it was just hearsay.

Eric clicked his pen as he skimmed through more of the reporter’s computer files. If they hadn’t already suspected the mayor, he might be inclined to agree with McHenry’s opinion that Thomas had been blowing smoke. But from where he sat, something smelled fishy.

“If you click that pen one more time, I’m going to confiscate it,” Chief growled from the other side of the conference room table.

“Sorry.” Eric put the pen in his pocket. He stood and stretched. They’d been at it for hours and still had a ton of work to do. He poured himself another cup of coffee from the ten-cup pot he’d made an hour ago. Looked like he’d need to brew another soon.

Sipping the steaming liquid, he returned to his seat and clicked on another file folder. He straightened. This was interesting. He read the contents of the folder more carefully, then clicked on the accompanying photos. This might just be the proof he was looking for.

He glanced at the chief. Did he trust him? He decided that he did. McHenry had always been a by-the-book guy. Until he had reason to believe otherwise, Eric would give him the benefit of the doubt.

He drew in a breath. “Chief, I think you need to see this.”

McHenry circled the table to read over Eric’s shoulder. A minute later, he hung his head. Eric hated this for him.

The chief straightened. “You know what you have to do. Do your research, make sure this is real.”

Eric nodded. “Yes, sir.” He’d do the double-checking, but he was pretty sure they both knew this was real.

THREE DAYS LATER, Eric watched a squad car pull away from Mayor Jennings’s house with the mayor cuffed in the back seat.

After a lot of digging and double-checking, Eric had built quite a case against him. Though Mayor Jennings had maintained his innocence when first confronted, Eric had done his homework—or rather, Thomas Marshall had.

The man had caught Jennings and Wesley in a shady business deal several years ago.

He’d blackmailed the mayor into letting them use his cabin as a drop point while separately blackmailing Wesley into manipulating certain of the city funds.

Each time they acquiesced to his demands, he added the new action to his blackmail files.

He’d eventually begun extorting them both as well.

When confronted with the mound of evidence, Jennings finally cracked. His confession filled in most of the blanks they were missing.

He admitted to gaslighting Allye to destroy her credibility in hopes that would satisfy the Marshalls.

It had started as a spur-of-the-moment solution when he’d saved her from Bernie that first night.

And then when Wesley overheard her conversation with Hailey and how she was afraid she might be starting to hallucinate, the two men had concocted the scheme to break into her house with the green glow.

Because of the high risk of Allye recognizing Wesley’s voice, they’d hired Lenny, already a part of the Marshall brothers’ ring, to pose as Bernie.

Wesley had let him in with her spare key, orchestrated the lighting, then locked Allye out—retreating through the back door and replacing her key where it belonged when they were finished.

They thought they’d found the perfect solution to the problem. Until Marco’s body was found, and things quickly began spiraling out of Jennings’s control.

Under pressure from Thomas and Bernie, the mayor was also the one who shot Allye’s camera and sent the threats about her family as a last-ditch effort to keep her quiet. He still claimed he hadn’t been aware of the attempt on her life at his cabin though. They might never know for sure about that.

Once the squad car disappeared from view, Eric started his engine. He was taking the rest of the afternoon off.

He called Allye and let her know he was on the way to pick her up for Wesley’s funeral. Five minutes later, he was opening the passenger door for her to climb in.

“It’s done?” she asked when he was back in the driver’s seat.

“Yeah.” He released a long breath. “He still has to go to trial, but the case against him is solid. Jennings will be going away for a while.”

She sniffled, and Eric squeezed her hand. He knew she had mixed feelings about the mayor.

In a way, Eric did too. Jennings had carried a heavy load for a long time, and by all indications, he truly had tried to protect Allye. But when it came down to it, he was responsible for his actions. And those actions nearly cost Allye her life— had cost other lives, albeit indirectly.

“I have some other good news. We think we caught the other guy who broke into your house.”

“Really?” Her eyes brightened.

“Yep. We asked the nearby hospitals to keep an eye out for someone with his description and injuries. He showed up at the ER last night, trying to get antibiotics for his shoulder. We were able to get there before he disappeared again.” The man had apparently tried to take care of the wound himself and ended up with a raging infection—but Allye didn’t need to know that detail, and Eric didn’t plan to tell her.

Instead, he whispered, “You’re safe now. ”

With her hand still clasped in his, he pulled onto the road and headed for the church.

ONLY A FEW CARS WERE IN THE LOT when they arrived at the church. Blindsided not only by her husband’s death but by what he’d been involved in, Hailey had requested a semiprivate funeral. Family were gathered here, but few others had been informed of the arrangements.

Allye blinked back tears through the service.

Wesley had been friend as much as family, and like with Mayor Jennings, she found her feelings toward him now were a jumbled mess.

In the end, he’d tried to do what was right.

That didn’t excuse his prior actions—not by a long shot—but it helped ease the sting a little. She could choose to focus on that.

After the service, they joined the procession to a cemetery just outside of town.

As Eric pulled into a parking space and got out to get her door, Allye eyed the small group beginning to take their seats under an awning.

Hailey was already in the front row, sitting with shoulders rigid just as she had during the funeral.

Allye’s heart broke again for her cousin.

Eric opened her door, and she allowed him to help her out of the car. She wobbled.

“You okay?” He wrapped an arm around her waist to help steady her.

She blew out a frustrated breath. “Yeah, I just need a second.”

“We’ve got time.” He held her until she felt stable, and she relished his nearness. She almost hated to tell him she was ready. But they needed to join the others. He seemed to feel the same, and instead of releasing her, he took her hand in his for the short walk.

Just as the minister began speaking, they slipped into the seats next to her mom. Mom’s gaze fell on their clasped hands. Allye didn’t miss the hint of satisfaction that flickered through the grief clouding her eyes.

After the brief service ended, Eric leaned toward her. “Do you two need some time?”

“Maybe just a few minutes?”

“I’ll be back.” He pressed a light kiss to her temple and then slipped away.

She watched him join a group of men that included Bryce, their uncle, and Corina’s dad. Then she turned to her mom again.

“You doing okay?” Mom asked before she could say anything.

“Going to need some ibuprofen when I leave,” she admitted.

“Migraine?”

“Not quite to that level yet. I took something before we left.” She’d known the tears would set her back. She glanced at the tissue balled in her mom’s hand. “Are you okay?” She didn’t mean about Wesley—well, partly, but more about everything.

She had hoped to break the news about Jennings to her mom privately at home, but Kincaid’s grapevine was alive and strong.

One of the mayor’s neighbors had witnessed his arrest and called her right after it happened.

Mom had asked Eric for confirmation when he and Allye arrived at the church, but there hadn’t been time for anything more.

Mom didn’t immediately respond to her query, and Allye could hardly bear the sadness in her expression.

“You don’t have to answer,” she whispered.

A tear escaped her mom’s lashes, but she managed a smile. She drew in a long, ragged breath, then gave Allye’s hand a quick squeeze. When she started to pull away, Allye held on.

Mom looked at their hands. “I really have been trying not to be clingy since...” Since finding out Allye was almost killed. She didn’t need to finish the sentence.

“It’s okay. And maybe ... maybe I could use a bit of clinginess for a while too.”

Her mom chuckled, then sobered again. “I know you’re wondering how the news about Raymond affected me. On top of almost losing you. On top of Wesley’s death.”

“And on top of old grief,” she said quietly.

“I won’t lie and say it doesn’t hurt. All of it.

I really thought our relationship was heading somewhere, and his betrayal is hard to swallow.

But”—she squeezed Allye’s hand again—“I still have you and Bryce and Corina, and we still have the Lord. Our family will be all right. But please don’t keep any more secrets from me—even if you think you’re protecting me. We need each other.”

“You’re right. And I’m done with secrets.”

“Good.” After a long moment, her mom nodded toward where Hailey stood alone at her husband’s casket, saying her good-byes. “She’s going to need us too—and that is not permission for you to overdo things.”

“I promise to pay attention to my limits,” Allye conceded. “Or at least try to.”

Mom just shook her head. “I think someone else needs you right now though.”

Allye followed her gaze. Eric had wandered away to a grave nearer the center of the cemetery. His posture looked ... vulnerable. She stood.

“You okay to walk it on your own?”

“I’m okay. It’s just the first couple seconds that get me sometimes. See you at Bryce’s for dinner?”

“I’ll be there.”

Allye made her way to Eric and slipped her arm through his. She read the small granite grave marker. “I didn’t realize your dad was buried here,” she said softly.

When he spoke, his voice was rough. “I haven’t been here since his funeral fifteen years ago. Even when I came to visit Gramps or Officer Mike, I refused to even look this direction.”

“Then you’re making progress.”

He shrugged. “I still don’t understand why he chose his addictions over me. Guess I never will.”

Allye leaned into him, and he put his arm around her. She didn’t say anything, just let him work through his emotions.

Finally, he said, “I know I need to forgive him, but I don’t know if I can. I’m still angry at him—at both my parents.”

“You don’t have to do it alone. Someone smart told me that once.”

“I don’t think he was talking about forgiveness.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Still applies. Sometimes being willing to ask for help goes a long way. And I doubt God will tell you no about that.”

After a long pause, he cleared his throat. “You’re good for me, Allye Jessup.”

“Feeling’s mutual.”