Alibi by Nicole Edwards
Chapter Eleven
Monday, January 18, 2021
On Monday morning, just four days afterKylie’s funeral, Travis woke up with a new determination.
He’d spent the weekend with Gage and the kids, a dark cloud hanging over them all as they went through the motions just to get through the day. His mother and father had stopped by on Saturday morning, then later, Sawyer and Kennedy brought Matthew and Brody by. The kids had enjoyed the visits because it gave them the distraction they needed, but Travis found himself growing irritable with the attention.
Because his mood hadn’t improved by Sunday, he’d skipped the weekly dinner at his folks’ place. Gage had insisted on going, and Travis saw no reason for them not to. It was while they were gone that an idea had come to him.
“Hey, Trav. Didn’t think we’d see you here for a while,” Kaleb said, his eyebrows dipped down in concern.
Travis gave his brother a single shoulder shrug. Kaleb and Sawyer had informed him they would gladly handle the management of Alluring Indulgence Resort until the time Travis felt he could return. Although he had graciously accepted their offer, Travis had known he wouldn’t be able to stay away. Not because he preferred to be taking care of the resort rather than his family, but because Travis knew he would need something to do. He was here because he wanted to be here. As far as he was concerned, there was no reason to ignore his responsibilities. It wasn’t like it would change the outcome of anything if he did.
He got similar comments from others on his trek to his office, and he offered the same response: nothing. He had more important things to deal with than making others feel better because they weren’t sure how to deal with him.
Once in his office, he closed the door. Figured there was no reason to invite more sympathetic looks from those who meant well.
No sooner did his ass meet his chair than he picked up his phone and dialed.
“Mornin’,” came a gruff, uncertain response.
“I want to offer a reward for any information leadin’ to the capture of Juliet Prince,” he said, rocking back in his executive chair and staring at the door.
“Well…”
“Brantley, I’m not askin’ for permission. I want it done. I figured I’d give you an opportunity to head it up since you claim you’re handlin’ the investigation. But if it’s too much for you…”
His cousin sighed. “Where are you?”
“At the resort.”
“Okay. Give me half an hour. Reese and I’ll stop by to chat. And before you get all up in arms, I think a reward’s a good idea. I just want to talk it out. Is Gage there with you?”
“No.”
“Should he be?” Brantley asked.
Travis wasn’t sure it was his place to decide that. And since Gage seemed to be content keeping his distance, he figured he could return the favor. “No.”
Another sigh. “All right. Half an hour.”
“See you then.”
After disconnecting, Travis found himself typing up a text to Gage. He kept it short and sweet: Meeting with Brantley and Reese. Offering reward. If you want to be part of the convo, meet in my office, half an hour.
Travis never did get a response.
As promised, Brantley arrived thirty minutes later with Reese in tow. They took their sweet time getting up to his office, probably stopping to chat with his brothers along the way. He half expected to see a line of people behind them when they finally knocked on his door, but there were no stragglers.
And there was no Gage.
“Come in.” Travis leaned back, trying to appear relaxed and not letting on that his stomach was twisted in knots. He’d thought coming to work would allow him to stop thinking about Kylie for a little while. That didn’t seem to be the case.
Both men walked in, their eyes scanning the room as though they were expecting someone else.
“Have a seat,” he said politely, although he didn’t expect them to be there long.
They sat, neither of them saying anything.
Travis wasn’t sure why they’d gone mute, but he didn’t really need their input, and he certainly didn’t need small talk.
“Like I told you on the phone, I want to offer a reward for any information that leads to the capture and arrest of Juliet Prince in relation to my wife’s murder.”
He probably shouldn’t have tacked on the last part so harshly, but it was all he could do to spit the words out.
“I know I mentioned to you that the governor discussed disbandin’ the task force,” Brantley said. “I just want to make sure you understood that happened. We no longer have jurisdiction over anything. In fact, we’ve gone private. The task force is under the umbrella of Sniper 1 Security.”
Travis wasn’t sure what that had to do with anything, but he nodded.
“We’ve got a large team of their agents down here assistin’ with the search. Includin’ RT and Hunter.”
For some damn reason, that loosened the knot in his chest.
Yes, Travis had been holed up in his house, and his warped and twisted thoughts had led him to think that no one was out there doing anything to find the bitch. Despite the fact he’d blamed them more than once—at least in his head—he should’ve known Brantley and Reese wouldn’t stop looking.
“We are pursuin’ several leads. I just want you to understand, we’re actively workin’ this. In fact, it’s the only thing we’re workin’ on.”
Travis swallowed a hot ball of emotion and nodded.
Brantley glanced at Reese, then back to Travis. Silence hung between them as though Brantley thought Travis might have something to say. If he thought he could get words out, perhaps he would, but it was taking everything in him to sit there.
Brantley nodded. “You mentioned a reward. How much are you thinkin’?”
Travis reached for his water, took a drink. “Whatever’s appropriate. Money’s no object.”
Brantley and Reese shared a look and then Reese spoke up. “We need to make you aware of what’ll happen once that reward is posted. Once it’s made public, we’ll be inundated with leads. Unfortunately, the majority of them will be bogus. And while it only takes one actual lead to get the result we’re lookin’ for, it’ll require additional resources to handle the influx. That means those who’re currently in the field will be called back in to answer the phones.”
“I’ll have the calls come here,” he offered.
Brantley shook his head. “Not a good idea. Then we’re dealin’ with secondhand information. If you want to do this, I’d rather we take the calls directly.” He sat up, leaned forward, his eyes hard. “I just need you to know that we will stop at nothin’ to find her, so whatever you think’ll help make that happen, we’ll gladly adjust our strategy.”
Travis considered it, then said, “Five hundred thousand dollars.”
Brantley exhaled heavily. “I know you said money’s no object and there’s no amount you won’t pay. We get that. Really. But I suggest we start out with fifty or a hundred. Something reasonable. Like I said, we’ll be inundated with bullshit that we have to sift through. The more you offer, the more crazy you invite.”
“One hundred, then.”
Brantley nodded. “Okay. Now the next issue we need to deal with is the press is gonna want a statement. I talked to RT before we came over here, and he suggested we have Sniper 1 represent you and your family. They’ll take the lead. They’ll make the public announcement regardin’ the reward and they’ll field any questions.”
Travis immediately shook his head. “I should be the one. That way Juliet sees that I’m not takin’ this sittin’ down.”
“Actually, we were hopin’ to do the opposite.” Reese’s stare was intense. “We believe Juliet has remained in the area because she’s not finished with you yet. Based on the profile that was done, it’s believed she has developed an obsession with you. By givin’ her access to you on live television, it’ll play into what she needs.”
“I don’t see a problem with that,” he told Reese.
“If we can keep you out of reach, unavailable to her, we’re hopin’ it’ll draw her out. At this point, that’s our best option.”
“Before you ask,” Brantley added quickly, “we’ve got agents placed throughout Coyote Ridge. They’re keepin’ a close eye on your parents, your brothers, their SOs, kids. We’ve even got a pair stayin’ across the street from you. Like I said, RT pulled out all the stops for this.” His voice lowered and Travis heard the pain in it when he added, “She won’t get another opportunity to hurt anyone else.”
He could tell they expected him to say that she never should’ve had the chance in the first place. Yes, it was the first thing he thought about every fucking day. And while he had laid the blame right at their feet during the first couple of days, Travis knew it was not their fault. Brantley and Reese had saved his daughter; they’d done something no one else was able to do at the time. He would not allow his anger and his hatred to get the best of him. They didn’t deserve to be accused of something they had no control over. And ultimately, placing blame wouldn’t make Travis feel better.
“We’ll do things your way,” he conceded. “Under one condition.”
Based on Brantley’s expression, he’d been expecting a stipulation.
“When you get the lead that zeroes in on her … I’ll be right there with you when you go after her.”
Neither of them said anything.
“Otherwise, I’ll do this on my own.”
And he didn’t have to tell them what that meant, because as far as Travis was concerned, Juliet Prince was as good as dead already.
*
Brantley had known from the moment Travissaid he wanted to offer a reward that he was inserting himself back into the investigation.
Granted, he’d always expected Travis would be there for the takedown. Problem was, Brantley remembered Travis’s comment about needing an alibi. His cousin hadn’t been bluffing. Not the day JJ’s house blew up and not today. They could either include him when it came to it or he would go rogue. And anyone who knew Travis understood the repercussions of letting the man go off on his own.
Brantley needed to ensure that didn’t happen.
“Once we have valid intel that leads us to her, you’ll be the first to know,” he promised, getting to his feet.
“You need to talk to Gage,” Reese said as he slowly stood. “Don’t leave him out of this, Travis. He deserves to be included.”
Brantley was surprised by Reese’s statement. More so by Travis’s reaction. At one point in his life, Travis would’ve told Reese to mind his own business, probably with a couple of f-bombs in there for good measure. Would’ve told anyone that, in fact. Instead, Travis was staring at Reese as though the advice was warranted.
“We’ll keep you in the loop,” Brantley said, nodding for Reese to lead the way.
They headed back through the resort and out to the parking lot. It had started to rain, just a light drizzle for the moment, and it seemed to fit the mood. As though the gloomy weather had found the spot over the resort and settled in. It was still hard to grasp the fact that Kylie was dead, that the Walkers had lost someone so special to them.
Because his career had kept him away from Coyote Ridge for so long, Brantley wasn’t particularly close to most of his cousins. Sure, he’d interacted during family functions when he was able to get home for them. But in the past few years, many of his cousins had settled down, gotten married, had kids, and Brantley hadn’t been around. Even in the six months since he’d been back, he hadn’t spent much time with most of them.
The same could not be said for those who’d remained in Coyote Ridge. His mother and father, brothers and sisters… they were all close to the rest of the family. They spent time with each other, at family gatherings, in town, at church, and whatnot. They’d all had a personal connection with Kylie, and he knew it was as much for them that he was determined to find Kylie’s killer as it was for Travis.
But that didn’t mean Brantley wasn’t aware of what was going on. Nor did it mean he hadn’t developed friendships since. He’d spoken to Kylie a few times at Curtis and Lorrie’s. She was kind and funny, with a positive outlook that had been refreshing. Her loss was felt by all.
“You’re worried about him.”
Brantley glanced at Reese as he climbed in the truck. “I am, sure. I think everyone is.”
“He’s strong.”
Yeah, Brantley knew that, too. Didn’t mean the man could go it alone. “You think we should give Gage a heads-up?”
Reese shook his head. “We have to trust Travis to do that.”
Fair point.
Three hours later, Brantley was standing shoulder to shoulder with Reese, alongside Baz, JJ, Charlie, and Trey. They had invited Luca and Holly to join them, but Luca had insisted on being available to take calls once they started coming in, and his sister had wanted to help out.
The task force was joined by other members of the Sniper 1 Security team, as well as Mayor Bianca Stewart and Sheriff Jeff Endsley, all backing RT, who was standing behind a microphone in front of a handful of reporters.
When Brantley had first mentioned Travis’s desire to offer a reward for Juliet Prince, he’d had his concerns. Even now he knew it was a risk, but in all fairness, it was the best option they had for finding the woman. There were only so many of them, but a reward would increase their numbers tenfold by bringing the public into the investigation.
After a lengthy discussion, RT and the team had agreed it was the best avenue to pursue, so he’d gotten some people in place to man the hotline that was being set up and started the process of gathering the press.
Brantley was grateful RT had agreed to speak. The man had a way of articulating that brought people together, had them rallying for the common goal. He listened as RT outlined the events that had taken place, the tragedy that had impacted the Walker family and the community as a whole. He spoke of the kidnapping of Kate Walker, then outlined the devastating loss of Kylie.
While he spoke, Brantley watched the cameramen, the media correspondents, and the few onlookers who’d gathered. He had to wonder if Juliet was watching this live, if she was stalking the town the way she had been for months. He hoped so. Brantley wanted her to see they were stopping at nothing to find her. And he wanted her to see that Travis wasn’t giving her the time of day.
“With that said,” RT continued, “the Walker family is offering a one-hundred-thousand-dollar reward for information that directly leads to the arrest of Juliet Prince.”
That announcement set the press in motion. Questions were lobbed at RT, who handled them brilliantly. He seemed to have an appropriate response prepared and Brantley admired him for it. The guy was definitely good at what he did.
Now it was time for Brantley’s team to prove they were good at what they did, too.
*
Juliet glared at the television screen.
At all of them, in fact, since she was currently standing in the electronics section of a Walmart watching what was evidently the biggest news story in five counties.
With her sunglasses and ball cap on, no one was going to recognize her, even if there’d been more than three people in the store at the moment. This small hick town didn’t have many people to begin with, and at one o’clock on a Monday afternoon, they apparently had better things to do.
One hundred thousand dollars.
She snorted, taking her cart and pushing it toward the beauty department. She’d come into this godforsaken store to pick up a few extra pairs of clothes, although she felt sick at the idea of having to wear such crap. She’d been stupid to leave the clothes behind at the motel. She’d spent good money on that stuff and hadn’t been able to wear half of it. Now she was stuck in this shithole of a town, and the Walmart was the only store they had, so she had to make do. Temporarily, of course.
Now that she’d scrounged a few pieces that were relatively decent, she needed something that’d help alter her appearance a little more.
The thought of putting cheap hair dye on her hair had her stomach cramping, but Juliet knew the days of salon highlights and coloring were out. At least until she figured out a way to start over, to change her identity for good. One day, she would get back to the glam life, of that she was certain. She had even started her list of potential husbands. There were several she knew who had bank accounts worthy of her. It was just a matter of getting through this debacle and reinventing herself. At that point, she could marry money one more time and live happily ever after.
As she skimmed the rows of boxed hair color, she couldn’t help but wonder where Travis Walker was. He hadn’t been part of the group backing the guy who’d stepped up to the microphone and made the big announcement. Juliet had expected Travis to be the speaker, but at the very least, she thought he would be standing in the background.
No. It looked as though Travis Walker couldn’t be bothered to show up.
So where was he? At home, cuddled up to his husband, maybe? Juliet wouldn’t doubt it. The guy was disgusting. A wife and a husband? Who did that? Was he too good to settle down with just one person so he grabbed one of each?
It sickened her to think about. Maybe Travis Walker had already moved on. Maybe the reward was his family’s way of avenging the woman’s death.
Now that she thought about it, most of what she’d ever read was about Travis and the husband. Rarely was the wife even mentioned. Could be he hadn’t wanted the wife in the first place.
Had she done him a favor by offing that bitch?
Juliet felt her face heat with her anger. Had she killed the wrong person? Was that woman of so little importance to Travis that he couldn’t be bothered to offer a reward himself?
She grabbed a box of red hair color, threw it in the cart, and stomped toward the register.
If Travis Walker couldn’t be bothered for Kylie, then Juliet would find someone else to eliminate. Someone whose death would bring that asshole to his knees once and for all.
But first, she would have to find a place to go for a little while. Somewhere to hide until the heat died down. The reward would have people actively looking at her. It raised the chances of her being caught.
As much as it pained her, she knew she would have to leave the area for a little bit. Not too far though. Juliet liked knowing Travis Walker was close.
Mexico wasn’t ideal but it would take little effort to get there. Only a few hours from here.
Then again, crossing the border on her own would likely result in her being caught. She would have to get creative, which meant a little more time.
Nope. Not Mexico. Not yet.
A touristy spot might work. Somewhere along the coast. South Padre? It was close to Mexico. That way, if it came down to it, maybe she could make a run for it.
As she scanned her items through the self-checkout lane, Juliet came up with a new plan.