Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) by Karen Rose

            Like I’d lie to Kowalski. Well, yeah, he would. He had. So he supposed Kowalski had a right to be suspicious.

            “Burkett.” The man had provided meds whenever Coleen had requested something specific.

            Kowalski hummed, amused. “Jason Burkett?”

            DJ’s internal alarms began to scream. “Yes. Why?”

            “Nothing. Just good luck with getting in touch with him. Not so sure that he’s getting good cell reception where he’s at right now.”

            DJ blinked. “You know Burkett?”

            “Not personally. He was all over the news a month ago. He was murdered in his home. Neck snapped like a twig. What’s really interesting, though, is that would have been less than twenty-four hours before you were shot.”

            “Do they know who killed him?” DJ asked tightly, because he was pretty sure he knew.

            “Some guy named Harry Franklin, who also went by Ephraim Burton.”

            Fucking hell. DJ hadn’t realized that Ephraim had killed the man. Fucking Ephraim.

            “Okay, then. I’m going to need to find another doctor.”

            “There’s the Yellow Pages,” Kowalski offered with faux helpfulness.

            “You know that’s not an option,” DJ growled. “We live off the grid for a reason.”

            “Which I’d love to hear more about,” Kowalski practically purred.

            “It’s . . . it’s not my story to tell.”

            “Bullshit,” the man murmured. “Bull. Shit. But your story can wait. I’m willing to help you with another doctor.”

            DJ bit his tongue, because he wanted to tell Kowalski to go to hell. “I think we’ll be okay.”

            Because he didn’t actually need to take Pastor to a doctor. He just needed Eden to think that he was. Pastor needed to stay alive long enough to give him the account information. Once he got the passwords, he’d take Pastor’s body back to Eden, lamenting that he hadn’t made it.

            “Fine,” Kowalski agreed affably. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

            I won’t. “Of course,” he lied.

            “Uh, before you hang up, did you take care of that small matter we discussed?”

            Mrs. Ellis. “Yes.”

            “Then I guess I’ll see you after you’ve gotten your father to a hospital.”

            The call ended abruptly and DJ let his head fall forward, suddenly weary. But he didn’t have time to be weary. He had things to do before leaving for Eden.




ROCKLIN, CALIFORNIA

            WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 8:15 P.M.

            Rafe tapped his notepad with a pen. “I’m sure you know everything I’m about to tell you.”

            “Maybe, maybe not. What do you know?” Tom couldn’t feed Rafe information, but he could confirm what the man had discovered.

            “I started with Terminal Island, where Pastor and Waylon met and where Edward McPhearson came after he was arrested for his first bank heist. It was after the second bank robbery that he hid in Eden. When they met in prison, McPhearson was Aubrey Franklin and Pastor was Benton Travis.”

            “Right.” Tom hoped Rafe’s review would at least trigger a new approach. “Keep going.”

            “Waylon was Pastor’s protector in prison, but McPhearson also saved Pastor’s life once and this seems to have cemented their friendship. Marcia came along later. She was part of a prison reform movement and connected with Waylon there. The visitation records show that Marcia visited Waylon every two weeks without fail.”

            “She was a devoted girlfriend,” Tom noted.

            “Who became a devoted wife. They got married as soon as Waylon was released.”

            Tom had also found the marriage license—and the divorce decree. “And divorced him shortly thereafter. McPhearson didn’t get out for a few more years.”