Deadly Revenge (Pearl River #3)

Chapter 7

7

Max left the men talking about the Slaters and texted Alex that he was coming by. The information he’d learned about Slater, Carter, and Nelson piqued his interest even if it was from twenty years ago. He wanted to talk to Alex and anyone else who might have more information.

But mainly he wanted to see Jenna. He owed her a long overdue apology for that public kiss. The thought had gnawed at him ever since he’d seen her earlier today. But because he’d never tried to make it right, she might not accept his apology.

Max had regretted kissing her the minute he’d done it. He shifted in his seat as his conscience lobbed a dart at his heart. Okay, maybe he hadn’t totally regretted it—it’d been an amazing kiss, one that she had returned.

He turned into the parking lot at the sheriff’s office. Max parked and grabbed his satchel with the maps and walked to the visitor’s access. Inside, he told the deputy on guard duty that he was there to see the sheriff. After a quick phone call, he was ushered through the doors.

The guard started to direct him to Alex’s office, and he remembered to smile when he let the guard know he knew where it was. “Is Jenna Hart here as well?”

“I believe they’re all in the conference room.”

“Thanks.” He’d seen the conference room earlier and strode down the hall. The door was closed, and he rapped on it. His heart kicked up a notch when Jenna opened it. From the way her eyes widened, she was just as startled.

“We have a meeting just starting,” she said.

“I know. Alex is expecting me.”

“Oh, sorry.” She opened the door wider to let him pass and returned to her seat.

He stepped inside and scanned the room, looking for a place to sit. He noticed there was an empty seat beside Jenna in the back row. Perfect.

“Do you mind?” He mouthed the words to Jenna as he sat in the adjacent chair.

She shot him a cool glance. “Of course not.”

Alex cleared her throat. “As you all know, Harrison Carter has made our Founders Day picnic one of his campaign stops. What you don’t know, and this isn’t for public knowledge, is that Carter has received threats on his life. It’s why TBI Agent Maxwell Anderson is here. Max, introduce yourself so everyone will know who you are.”

Max stood and gave a wave. “I emailed the park layout to the logistics team and will have more information in the morning on where everyone will be assigned.”

“Thank you.” Alex discussed the estimated crowd and Carter’s schedule before asking for questions. When there were none, she turned to Jenna. “Now for the Slater accident. Jenna is responsible for an interesting development that may make us rule this a homicide rather than an accident.”

A murmur went around the room, and everyone turned to look at Jenna.

“You want to come up and explain what you found?” Alex motioned her forward.

She stiffened. “Me? I thought you would—”

“No. It’s your case.”

Jenna’s breath hitched, not loud enough for anyone except him to hear, but it told him Jenna hadn’t known she would be lead on the case.

She stood and strode to the metal lectern. “Thank you,” she said to the chief deputy then turned to face the others.

“When the wrecker service winched the Hummer to the road, it revealed the tie-rod had come loose. With the vehicle being so new, it didn’t make sense, especially since the bolt holding it together wasn’t stripped, so I looked for the missing castle nut.”

Max listened as she detailed how she found the cotter pin. She had good instincts—it was one of the things he’d admired about her when she worked robbery. That, and she could think like a criminal. Chattanooga lost a good detective when she left.

“While this isn’t conclusive proof of a crime, we’ll follow what we have and see if it leads to homicide.” Jenna scanned the room. “I would appreciate it if you let me know if you hear anything that might help us to decide one way or the other. Any questions?”

Max raised his hand. “I don’t know how pertinent it is, but I understand Joe Slater was a former city council member. I’d like to talk with anyone who remembers anything unusual happening during that time ... anything that would connect his death to Harrison Carter.”

“You think the threats against Carter are connected to this accident?”

“I don’t know, but I heard that some people still hold a grudge against the mayor and city council for pushing through the dam project.”

Jenna frowned. “Most people don’t wait twenty-odd years to get revenge.”

“Just a thought,” he said. “Oh, can anyone tell me if they’ve seen someone named Paul Nelson today?”

Jenna crossed her arms. “What does he have to do with this?”

Alex approached the lectern. “There’s no need to hold everyone else up. Why don’t we discuss this in my office after the meeting?”