Deadly Revenge (Pearl River #3)

Chapter 54

54

Jenna was waiting outside the barn when her boss arrived with the CSI team and several other deputies.

“The marijuana plants are in an enclosed area inside,” Jenna said.

“I can’t believe someone was growing marijuana and packing pills right under our noses.” Alex scanned the room. “I should have listened to my instincts the first time we talked to Kirk and put a surveillance team on the place.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Max said. “And there have been quite a few ‘incidents’ this week that had you otherwise occupied.”

Jenna stared at the barn. “Do you suppose the murders have anything to do with this operation? Maybe as a distraction to keep us from focusing on it?”

“You could be right. Let’s see what you found.” Alex pulled on nitrile gloves and followed Jenna.

She opened the doors to the grow room and Max and Alex followed her inside. Her boss whistled. “This operation cost a lot of money, so why didn’t they take the plants with them?”

Max scanned the room. “They must have thought we were onto them and didn’t think they had time.”

“But how? We haven’t talked about this place to anyone or what we suspected.” Jenna turned to Max. “Have we?”

He shook his head. “It’s like someone tipped them off.”

Alex walked through the plants. “What’s this?”

She knelt and parted the leaves on one of the plants and pulled out something shiny.

When Alex held up a necklace, Jenna pressed her hand to her throat. She stared at the gold cross dangling from Alex’s hand. Her cross ... how did it get here?

No, it couldn’t be hers.

Alex turned a questioning gaze at Jenna. “Don’t you have a necklace like this?”

“I ... have a cross on a gold chain, but that can’t be mine.” Or could it? She hadn’t found it when she and Max straightened the house after someone broke in.

Thoughts flashed through her mind, like rapid-fire bullets. Everything that’d happened at her house had been smoke and mirrors, distractions so she wouldn’t pay attention to small details, like her necklace not being in the jewelry box. She’d honestly thought she’d misplaced it.

Her face heated. “If that’s mine, it was planted here. If I was part of this”—she swept her hand toward the marijuana plants—“I certainly would’ve steered you away from this building.”

“No one said anything about you being part of this,” Max said.

“He’s right, and I don’t believe for a minute you lost this here.” Alex stared at the necklace.

Maybe that was true, but it would put a seed of doubt in their minds—not that either one would admit it—and that’s what Phillip and Sebastian wanted. And they wouldn’t stop with planting the necklace—they wanted her destroyed.

Alex studied the necklace. “Let’s say it is yours—why would anyone plant it here?”

“For the same reason Phillip spread the rumors in Chatta nooga. Maybe we’re looking at the wrong person, and it isn’t Sebastian at all, but my ex-fiancé.”

“I still don’t understand why,” Alex repeated.

“Because he’ll do anything to discredit me.” Jenna couldn’t believe the nightmare with Phillip was happening again.

“But why does he want to discredit you?” her boss asked.

“The photos she has, maybe?” Max said.

“What photos?”

Jenna barely heard Max as he explained about the data drive with the photos on it and why she hadn’t given them to the authorities. She’d been so shocked at seeing the necklace, she’d blanked.

“The photos aren’t conclusive evidence. If he can make it look like I’m a dirty cop, he can convince everyone I’m trying to set him up if I turn the photos over to a DA.”