Deadly Revenge (Pearl River #3)

Chapter 14

14

Tuesday morning, Jenna poured a cup of black sludge that passed for coffee at the sheriff’s office and took a sip. Her eyes widened and she shuddered at the bitter taste. If that didn’t wake her up, nothing would.

She hadn’t gotten into bed until four, but she should be more awake than this after going by the barn and feeding Ace and then turning him out. Jenna had even tracked Kirk down and arranged for him to feed and water her horse until this case was solved and the political rally was over. But she’d had trouble getting to sleep, and all too soon the alarm she’d set for eight had gone off.

“Is that as strong as it looks?”

Max’s voice sent electricity charging through her. That was one way to wake up, but not exactly what she had in mind, especially since he was one reason she hadn’t slept well. “Afraid so,” she said without turning around.

“Good.” He stepped past her, grabbed the carafe, and filled a Styrofoam cup.

His musky cologne sent another charge through her, triggering the memory of that one kiss. She’d definitely spent too much time thinking about Max before she fell off to sleep. Why else would she be having this response to him this morning?

Jenna turned around just as he took one sip and shuddered. It looked as though he’d skipped shaving, and he had the day-old beard going on. She swallowed hard. Max looked way too good for this time of the morning.

“This is stronger than what passes for coffee at the TBI.” He took another sip. “Good job on finding the body last night.”

Jenna held up her finger. She needed more octane before she dealt with the handsome TBI agent this morning. She took a bigger sip and then another, and the caffeine hit her system. Yes! Once Jenna finished the cup, she refilled it and then turned to Max. “Actually the dogs found it. I just happened to be nearby. Sorry you got dragged out of bed.”

Heat set her face on fire. Jenna did not need that image in her brain. She quickly checked her watch. “Oops. Alex’s briefing starts in thirty seconds, and she doesn’t like for us to be late—I’m assuming that’s why you’re here?”

“She called me at seven and said I might want to come.”

Jenna nodded, avoiding his gaze—she’d always been a sucker for dark brown eyes, and if she looked up, she’d get lost in his.

“That means she’s had less sleep than I have.” Then what he’d said sank in. Why had Alex called him at all? He wasn’t investigating Russell County’s crimes.

What if he planned to take over her case? No, Alex wouldn’t do that to her. She pointed her cup down the hall. “We’re meeting in the conference room where we were yesterday.”

They were the last ones to arrive, and there were only two empty chairs in the back row. Wayne stood to let them in, and they barely were seated before Alex stepped up to the podium.

“Good morning.” Alex’s gaze rested on each deputy briefly as she scanned the room. “Preliminary results indicate Paul Nelson was killed with a bullet to the heart—caliber not determined yet. No tattooing, so the gun wasn’t against his chest. He wasn’t killed where he was found, and no report of trace evidence on the body, but it’s early.”

Jenna raised her hand. “How about Joe Slater and his wife? Has the report on the castle nut come in?”

“Not yet.” Alex shifted her attention to Max.

“I turned it in late yesterday, and the tech said she would expedite it,” he said.

“Good,” Alex said. “At any rate, we’re treating the accident as a possible homicide now.”

“How about anyone else who served on the city council with Slater and Nelson?” Wayne asked.

“We’re looking at their early years on the council, and the other two men who served with them were older and died of natural causes.”

Max held his hand up, and Alex acknowledged him. “Was there a note of any kind on Nelson’s body?”

“I’m getting to that.” Alex shifted her notes. “When Dylan examined Nelson’s clothes, he discovered the pockets in his slacks had been cut out, probably with a knife. While it’s not a note saying he’d lined his last pocket like Harrison Carter received, removing the pockets indicates the same message, linking the cases.”

“Is there anything in the Slater case that links it to Nelson’s murder?” Jenna asked.

“Not yet,” Alex said. “We may find something at Slater’s house. Judge Cornelius signed off on a search warrant, and Dylan and Taylor are currently on their way to the house. Jenna, I’d like you to join them once we finish here.”

Max looked up from the notes he’d been writing. “Joe’s sister wouldn’t let you in?”

“Just dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s for when the case goes to court.” Alex smiled at him. “And I’d appreciate it if you would help out as well—we can use your expertise.”

A band squeezed Jenna’s chest. Alex was about to let Max highjack her case. “Russell County deputies are perfectly capable of looking for evidence at the Slaters’. We don’t need TBI’s help.”

Alex stiffened, and the room seemed to hold a collective breath.

Wayne nudged her. “Jenna...”

Don’t contradict your commanding officer in public. If Jenna could hit the rewind button, she would. “I’m sorry,” she blurted. “I spoke out of turn.”

She probably didn’t sound very sorry, but confound it, Dylan and Taylor were good, and she was no slouch when it came to finding evidence, either.

Alex fingered her notes. “I wasn’t saying Russell County deputies couldn’t handle it, but if these two deaths are related to Harrison Carter and the rally Saturday, we’re short on time and need all the help we can get.”

Jenna released the breath she was holding.

“In fact,” the chief deputy continued, “I want you to work closely with Max on this, which includes planning and implementing security for the political rally Saturday.”

Work closely with Max? This time Jenna managed to close her mouth on the protest bursting to get out.

The chief deputy shifted her attention to the other deputies. “Moving on. I want the rest of you scouring the county for any information you can find on Paul Nelson.”

Jenna barely heard the rest of Alex’s assignments. She was trying to figure out how she was going to work with Max and stay immune to him.

The man in question leaned toward Jenna. “Want to ride with me to the Slaters’?”

She frowned at him. “No. But you’re welcome to ride with me if you don’t care how long you have to stay.”

Why did she say that? Because he wouldn’t accept, that’s why.

“Not a problem.” He chuckled softly. “While we drive there, we can go over some of the security measures for the Founders Day rally.”

As usual, the man had an answer for everything. She turned toward Alex as she approached.

“I have one more job for you,” her boss said. “It’s too coincidental that all three of these men were involved in Pearl Springs politics at the same time. I talked to my grandfather, and he said to check the newspaper archives for the years they served together and see if you can find a motive for someone wanting to exact revenge on them.”

“I’ll do that as soon as we finish at the Slaters’.” Jenna added the request to her list and drew a star beside it. The conversation last night among the coon hunters had crossed her mind a couple of times since finding Paul Nelson’s body. Did she want to bring up the dam project just yet? Or wait and present it with a list of any other controversial projects the mayor and city council pushed through?

Jenna picked up her folder and turned to Max. “You sure you want to ride with me? You might get stuck at Slater’s house or the newspaper office and be late getting away from here.”

“I’m good. I’m set up at the hotel across from the hospital for the rest of the week, so I don’t have to worry about driving back to Nashville.”

That was just peachy.

“Jenna,” someone called out to her. She turned as Alex’s administrative assistant and sometimes dispatcher, Marge, bore down on her. “Your dad has been trying to reach you.”

Jenna felt her pocket for her phone and groaned. It wasn’t there—she must’ve left it at home. “Tell him I forgot my phone and I’ll call him back as soon as I’m able.”

“Gotcha!” Marge’s thumbs-up was accompanied with a look of concern. “You okay?”

Evidently she wasn’t, but Jenna wasn’t about to admit it. She gave Marge a slow nod, then chuckled. “I must be getting old—late nights like last night never bothered me before.”

“I know what you mean,” Marge said with a wry grin.

Jenna turned to Max just as his phone rang. He held up a finger. “I need to get this.”

“Why don’t you meet me at my house?”

“That sounds good. Text me the address,” he said and punched the answer button.

She would as soon as she got her phone. Instead she wrote it on a sticky note and handed it to him.

Ten minutes later, Jenna parked her SUV in her drive and climbed out. She glanced up the road, figuring Max would be right behind her, but he wasn’t. Hopefully he would arrive by the time she grabbed her phone. Jenna jogged to her front porch and skidded to a stop, her heart flying to her throat.

The front door was cracked a couple of inches. Sweat formed on her palms, and she swiped them down her pants. Jenna could’ve sworn she shut the front door and locked it.

She unsnapped the strap over her gun and hesitated. Backup. The last time she hadn’t waited for backup, she’d almost died. But her phone was inside the house, and this wasn’t Chattanooga where break-ins happened every day. Pearl Springs was relatively safe.

Tell that to the two men who died yesterday.

Footsteps inside the house kicked her into action. She yanked her gun from the holster and kicked the door wide open as she entered. “Police!”

Jenna whipped to the side and swept the gun around the living room. Empty. The back door slammed.

She raced down the hall through the small dining area and burst into the kitchen, her nerve endings screaming something was off.

The back door was open. No! She’d heard it slam.

The intruder was in the kitchen. It was a trap.

She turned, and pain to the base of her neck sent Jenna crumpling to the floor and fighting to stay conscious.

A voice penetrated the haze, the words garbled. The voice ... she’d heard it before ... Sebastian? Her world turned dark as unconsciousness claimed her.