* * *
If Mona was killed Monday night, chances were the police found his prints at her place. On the desk, the door, the kitchen, the beer bottle. But they should also have her phone, and would know that she had called him once Saturday, four times on Sunday, which he’d ignored, then Monday late morning, which he had answered and spoke to her for about three minutes.
He could say that she had hired him, except that she hadn’t. She hadn’t given him money or signed a contract. She’d essentially blackmailed him. Well—that was harsh. They had an understanding, and mutually assured destruction usually worked well. But he had more to lose than she did, because he was married to a cop.
You should have told Lucy about Elise from the beginning.
Should haves weren’t going to do him any good now. Lucy would be angry because he was trying to protect her, but he hadn’t wanted her to worry about Elise until he had more information. His home security was solid, he knew Lucy was covered at work, and he went over advanced security with Jesse.
Sean had begun tracking Elise Hunt. She had no digital footprint, but he’d found the property she’d inherited in Los Angeles and hired a PI to sit on it. Most of the Hunt property had been seized under asset forfeiture laws but her lawyer had managed to get her a chunk that had been owned by her mother prior to her birth. That alone was worth more than a million for the land only.
Elise had flown to Los Angeles after being released from juvenile detention. She was out, free and clear, no probation. She likely had numerous fake IDs, she could have a car, but there was no record of her—under her name—returning to Texas.
Nico, his PI, had eyes on her Tuesday afternoon, but that was only a few hours after Sean put Nico onto the case. No change in her status since, and Sean didn’t know what good it would do sitting on her property, though he’d asked Nico to keep tabs on her for a week.
That’s where he was in his investigation when he was arrested this morning. Today he had a scheduled meeting with the warden of the facility Elise had been housed in, a longtime decorated corrections officer named Kathy Pine, but that wouldn’t happen now.
Dammit!
You should have told Lucy.
He told himself to shut up. Of course he should have. If Elise Hunt was behind this, Lucy had to be doubly careful.
He wished he could get a message to Lucy to keep the meeting with the warden. She might have information they needed, and now he’d be a no-show.
He remembered the last thing he’d said to Mona Hill before he left Monday night.
She walked him to the door, unhappy, hugging herself. “Mona,” he said. “Look at me.”
“You don’t care about me.”
“You’re wrong. You called your bodyguard—that’s the first step. Do exactly what I told you, okay? And if you see her, call the police—then call me. There must be a cop you trust.”
She snorted. “Trust?”
“You know what I mean.”
“There’s a guy. Likes one of my girls, treats her well, he might help.”
“See? You have someone. Talk to him. Seriously, if you see her again or if she leaves another note, let me know. And like I said, change your locks first thing in the morning. Bolt this door when I leave.”
“Fine. Right. Okay. Thanks.”
“She’s eighteen, Mona. She might be a nut job, but she’s still a kid.”
And then he left.
* * *
Mona had been alive. Even though he hadn’t heard from her again, he wasn’t worried—and he’d been focused on tracking Elise.
Now he knew he hadn’t heard from Mona because she was dead.
Chapter Five
When Lucy arrived home, the garage door was up and an SAPD patrol car was out front. Sean’s Wrangler was in the garage, and for one moment she was elated—that Sean was home and everything she’d been told was wrong. She ignored the officer, parked next to Sean’s Jeep, and closed the door. She went in, checked the alarm—it was on—so she coded that she was home and to secure the property, which would alert her if anyone stepped onto the grounds. She wanted a heads-up if any agency was about to serve a warrant.
For now, all was quiet.
She opened the laundry room—Bandit, their three-year-old golden retriever—was relegated to the laundry room and sunroom when they weren’t home. He was well-trained, but the run of the house might be too tempting. He still acted like a puppy at times and got lonely when no one was home. Sean had lost one sneaker in three different pairs because Bandit was bored while unsupervised.
Lucy knelt and hugged him tightly, his tail wagging frantically, hitting both sides of the door jamb. “I know, I’m never home at this time,” she said. She would not cry. She took a deep breath, got up, and walked down the hall to Sean’s office. Bandit followed her and immediately walked behind the desk, where he curled up on the dog bed and thumped his tail while watching her. If Sean was working, Bandit was here with him.
Lucy called Jack from the landline, but he didn’t answer. She opened the safe and retrieved the secure cell phone. No messages. It was fully charged and she put it in her pocket.
She didn’t know who to call, but then the landline rang.
It was JT Caruso, one of the principals of RCK.
“Are you alone?” he asked.
“Yes. Jack said he was going to call Nate, but Nate’s in court. I called Brad Donnelly, and he’s coming over. I don’t know how he can help, but—”
“That’s good. Until we know what’s going on, you shouldn’t be alone.”
“Sean’s the one in danger.”
“The RCK lawyer is already working, and we’re bringing in a top criminal defense law firm based in Houston.”
The words criminal defense made Lucy’s stomach turn. This should not be happening.
JT continued, “It looks like Banner asked for a narrow warrant for the time being—to search Sean’s plane, car, and home for a .45 caliber gun. I have a list of the .45s that Sean owns—he has two.”
“He keeps the Colt in the bedroom, and the other is probably in the gun safe. He usually carries his 9mm when he goes out.”
“You’ll have to open the gun safe if they come with the warrant, but even if they only have a warrant to search for the murder weapon, they could still search your entire property. If they see something suspicious they could ask for an expanded warrant.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Not necessarily. Have you learned anything else?”
Was JT being cautious or did he have a reason for concern that he wasn’t telling her? She let it go for now.
“No, nothing,” she said. “I was going to tell you Sean doesn’t have an alibi on Monday. I didn’t get home until late, it was after eleven. Sean was home when I arrived, but he could have been out.”
“Jesse?”
“I haven’t asked him, he’s still at school. According to Tia, they have Sean on security cameras at about the time of the murder.”
“We’ll have an outside expert verify the time stamps, but let’s assume that he was there. Why would he meet with Mona Hill?”