Deadly Revenge (Pearl River #3)

Chapter 23

23

“What?” Jenna couldn’t believe what Max had just said.

Why hadn’t she been notified that he’d been released? Rick Sebastian had stood in the Hamilton County courthouse after his conviction and threatened to kill her once he got out. Granted, he’d only stared straight at her and mouthed the words “You’re dead.” She’d reported it but didn’t think anyone believed her.

“How could they release him? He was supposed to serve at least half his five-year sentence, and it hasn’t been that long yet.”

“Overcrowding in prisons. Evidently, he’s been a model prisoner, and they needed room for what they deem ‘more dangerous criminals.’”

“At least tell me he’s on parole.”

Max shook his head. “Walked out a free man.”

How was this possible? Jenna frowned and rubbed the scar in the soft part of her shoulder where the bullet entered. If the drug dealer followed through on the threats he’d made to kill her, would he then be considered dangerous? Like being the boss of the Scorpions wasn’t enough?

Alleged boss. That’s what the DA had said when Jenna had not been able to tie him to any crime other than possession of two hundred grams of cocaine. A crime that should have sent him to prison for five years.

“I’m sorry to spring this on you like this,” he said. “But I didn’t want you blindsided.”

“Thank you for that.” She fought the tears that stung her eyes and wrapped her hands around the coffee mug.

Max leaned forward. “You can’t get them all, Jenna.”

“He needs to be off the streets.” She set the mug down hard. “The Scorpions—it’s the worst gang in Chattanooga. And he got away with shooting me.”

Max opened his mouth and Jenna held up her hand. “The investigation into the shooting was closed by the time I got out of the hospital, and I know the investigators concluded that the dead gang member at the scene fired the bullet that hit me, but they were wrong. Rick Sebastian was at John A. Henry that night, and he shot me.”

“Were you wearing a vest?”

“Always.” She touched her shoulder. “The bullet came in at an angle through the arm opening. Rarely ever happens.”

“I just wish you’d showed the photos you have to Billingsley.”

“He would have shot them down. He’d already warned me not to accuse Phillip of something I couldn’t prove.” She stood. “I’ll let you see them for yourself.”

She collected the jump drive and her computer and returned to the kitchen. Once the grainy images appeared, she turned the computer where Max could see them. “See? It’s impossible to tell where the photos were taken—the school isn’t evident—or when they were taken. Phillip could argue the photos had been taken months before. And Sebastian is little more than a shadowy figure. I know it’s him, but would anyone else? Probably not.”

Max turned to her. “I understand why you might be hesitant to show these to anyone. How about the kid you saved? What did he remember?”

“Not much. He was focused on his dad. He and his grandmother were new to the apartments, so neither of them recognized any of the players.” She cocked her head. “You know how sometimes everything comes together like clockwork? Well, that night was just the opposite—if anything could go wrong, it did.

“I have to focus on the good . They didn’t all walk. At least I put some of the gang members away. And Sebastian served time. But it should’ve been longer, especially after he threatened me, not once but twice.”

Max hesitated. “I hope you consider me your friend, and if I ask questions, it’s not because I don’t believe you. I just need more information. You say he threatened you. That should’ve been enough to charge him.”

Her shoulders sagged. “No one heard him but me, and no DA would touch it—it would’ve been a he-said-she-said situation.”

“Tell me what happened,” he said gently.

Sebastian’s words echoed in her head, and she swallowed down the bile that rose up in her throat. “The first time was after I came back to work ... I was working the desk Captain Billingsley assigned me, and it was just before Sebastian’s trial for the cocaine bust. He was still out on bond, and another detective in the Unit had brought him in for questioning in the death of a rival gang member, which nothing came of, by the way. I’m telling you, Sebastian is like Teflon—nothing sticks to him.

“I happened to be on the elevator when he and the detective escorting him to the lobby got on. The elevator was crowded and noisy. He managed to lean in close and say, ‘The next time you won’t survive.’”

“Too bad no one else heard him.”

“Yeah. I barely heard him.” She shrugged. “Like I said, it was noisy.”

“You said he threatened you twice?”

Jenna nodded. “The second time was in the courtroom after he was convicted, and he only mouthed the words ‘You’re dead.’ Evidently no one saw him do it other than me.”

Max reached for her hands and gave a gentle squeeze, stilling the frantic pace of her heart. When he’d been head of the robbery division, he’d always been there for her, for all of his detectives, unlike her boss in the gang unit.

She and Max had always connected. How she’d missed that. Jenna hadn’t connected with anyone on that level at the Russell County Sheriff’s Office except Alex ... and maybe Wayne.

She looked up at him. “Tell me something?”

“If I can.”

She probably shouldn’t even ask, but it had bugged her for over five years. “I understand why you went to the TBI—I even thought about applying—but why did you leave Chattanooga? The Bureau has an office there.”

“It was time to leave,” he said after a long pause. “And you need to call Alex and let her know about Sebastian.”

Max had never been one to lay his cards on the table, and this was no exception. “Do you think it’s possible he was the one who broke into my house this morning?”

He hesitated, and her body tensed, remembering he wasn’t completely in agreement with her that someone had broken in.

“It crossed my mind,” he finally said.

“Surely he wouldn’t risk coming to Pearl Springs and doing something stupid like break into my house, would he? He’d have to know he’d be the first suspect, right?”

“Not to mention strangers around here stick out like a neon sign—believe me, I know.” Max took their cups to the sink. “I think Sebastian would be too smart for that. He didn’t get to be the boss of the Scorpions by making moves like that.”

“Alleged boss , according to the DA.” She blew out a breath. “And I really don’t see him leaving his homies in Chattanooga.”

He hesitated. “That’s the one thing that worries me—someone else took over when he went to prison—he may be looking for a place to land. Not that I think it’ll be here. Just stay aware of your surroundings, and when I’m here, I’ll have your back.”

And he would. She’d missed that as well. Not that she didn’t have it with her fellow deputies here in Russell County, but it was different with Max. Always had been. “I know.”

Max checked his watch. “Call Alex, then we’ll get your house dusted for prints.”

She took out her phone. “You’re right, and the sooner, the better.” Before she placed the call, she noticed him eyeing the lock on her back door again. “You keep looking at that lock. Is something wrong with it?”

“No. Did you deadbolt your doors this morning?”

She frowned. “I don’t know. I usually do, but I was groggy after last night. I even left my phone at home.”

“While you talk to Alex, I’m going to check the perimeter of your house—an intruder could come in through a window, and if one did, there might be footprints.”

“Thanks.” Jenna called Alex and relayed the information Max had shared about Sebastian.

“I’m sorry, Jenna,” Alex said. “I’ll call the prison and request his intake photo and then request a mug shot from Chattanooga PD. Tomorrow I’ll distribute copies to all the deputies, and they can show them around town. If he’s here, someone is bound to have seen him.”

“He’s a free man,” Jenna said. “We can’t keep him from showing up here.”

“No,” Alex said, “but we can keep tabs on him.”

“Thanks.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah. I talked to Eric Darby today—he used to be the janitor at city hall when Nelson and Slater were on the city council.”

“I know who he is, and he was in town? And he talked to you?”

“Yeah, he was at Pete’s Diner,” Jenna said. “He seemed really upset about the Slater deaths, and Paul Nelson’s too.”

“He must have been in shock—that’s more talking than I’ve known him to do with anyone.”

“I was kind of surprised too. What happened to him? He used to be so nice to me at church when I was a kid.”

“Nobody knows why he holed up in the woods in that little house of his,” Alex said. “Maybe if you follow up later at Darby’s house, you can get more out of him.”

She didn’t think so. “Why don’t you send Wayne? He’s been a deputy for years, and Darby would probably relate better to him.”

“No. The old man talked to you—like I said, he hasn’t said five words to anyone in town in twenty years—so he must like you. Follow up on it, today if you can, and then take off—after last night, anything on your to-do list can wait until tomorrow.”

She checked her watch. Four thirty. She looked up as Max came in through the back door. “Max is still here. Maybe he’ll ride with me to Summerlin Ridge.”