Her Broken Wings by D.K. Hood
Twenty-Five
Rattled didn’t come close to the way Samuel J. Cross, the local lawyer, made Jenna feel. The man dressed like a cowboy, straight from the rodeo circuit, but the casual look was deceiving. Sam Cross was as smart as a whip and she needed to be on her toes with him. She peeled off her coat and hung it on the peg in her office, and noticed Duke had stuck to her like glue since the encounter at the ski resort. The dog usually went to visit Maggie at the front counter, looking for snacks, and would lie under her desk in a basket or at Kane’s feet most of the time. It was unusual for him to be so protective, and the growling and teeth-showing was out of character. Jenna patted him on the head. “Can you feel my resentment toward the lawyer? Don’t worry, he won’t hurt me. While he’s talking to his clients, why don’t we go see how the handyman is doing in the basement?”
She walked through the office and took the steps down to the basement. One door led to the evidence locker, a secured area, and a second, currently open, led to the furnace and a storage area. She moved to the door and Duke barked, making her jump. The dog rushed forward and Jenna raised her voice. “Down boy.”
Inside, Tom Dickson dropped the stack of old papers he’d been carrying and staggered back. Jenna grabbed Duke’s collar and instructed him to sit. She looked at Dickson’s face. He was an old, wrinkled mountain man with no hint of compassion in his hard gaze. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what’s gotten into him today.”
“Dogs are nothing but trouble.” Dickson raised his gaze to her and bent to pick up the papers.
Jenna ignored his comment. So, he wasn’t a dog-lover; it made no difference to her. She considered him for a moment. He looked so down on his luck, she wanted to help him in any way she could.
“Is there something else you wanted me to do, ma’am?” Dickson dropped the papers into a carton and straightened. He pressed a gloved fist to his back and groaned. “Sorry, my arthritis plays up something fierce in the winter.”
Jenna shook her head. “No, I was just checking on how you were going down here.”
Rowley had offered him a day’s work over the weekend, but he really needed something else now. She searched her brain for a job for him to do. “If you can come by my ranch first thing in the morning, it would be a great help if you could make some room in my barn. I have the winter feed delivery due soon. I’d planned to help Kane over the weekend, but we’re snowed under right now and I need to be here.”
“You won’t be there?” Dickson frowned.
“No, but the house and cottage are under CCTV surveillance.” Jenna shrugged. “If you enter the perimeter of the house or cottage, you’ll risk setting off the alarm system. So long as you avoid those areas, you’ll be fine.”
“I’ll be there by seven.” Dickson bent to pick up more papers. “As long as that mutt isn’t running loose.”
Jenna headed for the door. “No, he’ll be leaving with me. Just remember, bring everything you need with you because once you leave the perimeter of the ranch, you won’t be able to get back inside without tripping the alarm. I’ll be happy to leave you some lunch.” She ran up the steps with Duke on her heels. Time to face Sam Cross.
She made her way to the interview rooms and found Kane sitting outside, sipping a cup of coffee. “This seems like a waste of your time—shouldn’t you be chasing down a court order for Mrs. Robinson’s bank account details?”
“Cross said his clients would be ready to talk at any time now, so as you’d gone missing, I thought I’d wait here.” Kane lifted a second to-go cup from beside his chair and handed it to her. “Rowley has taken the paperwork over to the courthouse and although the probable cause is vague, we might be lucky.”
Jenna sat down beside him in the cramped alcove and sipped the coffee. “Hmm, seems to me it was common knowledge Lucas Robinson was having affairs for some time. I find it hard to believe the wife was that naïve. We’ll go and speak to her again as soon as the doctors have finished their evaluation of her state of mind. I’m still convinced there’s a link to her that we’ve missed, and she is left-handed like the killer.” She smiled at him. “I’ve asked Tom Dickson, the handyman working in the basement, to drop by in the morning. That’s where I vanished to. He’s going to reorganize the barn before the winter supplies are delivered.”
“You planning on leaving him there while we’re out?” Kane frowned at her and shook his head. “You don’t know him from Adam.”
“No, but what could that old man possibly do?” Jenna sighed in frustration. She had to believe people were inherently good. “We have a security field around the houses. If he so much as moves inside the perimeter, we’ll know. He can’t access the saferoom, and the rest of the barn holds feed and stables. Nothing to steal. He’s worked here without a problem, kept to himself and not wandered around. He’s going to be there by seven, so we’ll set him to work and leave.” She could see he was unconvinced. “I’ll put his lunch in the old refrigerator so he doesn’t have to leave during the day; he’ll be fine.”
“Okay. You’re making him lunch as well?” Kane gave an agitated roll of his shoulders. “You planning on inviting him to dinner too?” He indicated to Duke, who was leaning against her leg. “Duke is agitated, has been since we started working this case. He won’t let you out of his sight.”
Jenna laughed at his sour expression. “He’s getting like you, overprotective. If you recall, Duke became aggressive when we spoke to Hall and Young. They posed a threat to me and he sensed it is all.” She patted Duke on the head. “Although he did frighten Dickson enough to make him drop the papers he was carrying.”
“He did what?” Kane chuckled. “Really?”
Before Jenna could explain, the light flashed outside the interview room, indicating Sam Cross had concluded his interview. She glanced at Kane. “That’s one down.”
“Nope, two.” Kane threw his to-go cup into a nearby trash can and stood. “He didn’t spend more than a few minutes with Young. Most of his time has been with Hall.”
Jenna swallowed her coffee and tossed the cup beside Kane’s. “Okay, I’ll take the lead and you observe unless you have any of your own questions.”
“Okay.” Kane stretched and his long fingers touched the ceiling. He bent to pat Duke on the head. “Stay here, good boy.” He swiped his card and they entered the interview room.
Jenna nodded at Sam Cross. “Afternoon, Sam. Is your client willing to answer a few questions?”
“Yeah, within reason, but I’m stating for the record neither he nor Mr. Young were involved in the shooting in Stanton Forest.” Cross nodded at Kane. “Deputy Kane.”
“Cross.” Kane nodded and sat down. “I’ll start the recording.” He gave the date and time, and everyone in the room stated their names.
Jenna laid her notebook on the table and sat opposite Cross and a very belligerent-looking Hall. She glanced down at her case notes on Robinson; she already had what she needed from them about their involvement with the Stanton Forest murder victims. Both Hall and Young were in the vicinity at the time of the crime, and both men had history with the victims and had refused a gunshot residue swab. Now she needed information on Hall’s interaction with Lucas Robinson. “Mr. Hall, can you account for your whereabouts on Monday night after eleven and Tuesday morning before three?”
“Yeah.” Hall leaned forward on the desk and rested his head in one hand. “I was home with Cliff. We have to get up early for work so we don’t go out weekdays.”
“Did anyone else see you?” Jenna glanced up at him. “A neighbor perhaps? Did anyone call you, or did you interact with anyone online during that time?”
“No, I’d say I was sound asleep.” Hall smiled. “Alone in my bed, unfortunately, so I can’t prove it. Why?”
Jenna pushed on. “I believe you had a grievance with Lucas Robinson. Can you elaborate?”
“A grievance?” Hall snorted and his eyes flashed with anger. “Is that what you call swindling a man out of his inheritance?”
“How so?”
“He told me to invest in a crazy scheme and it went bankrupt two weeks after I invested my money.” Spittle flew from Hall’s mouth. “I’m sure he knew it was going to go bust. I shouldn’t have trusted him to invest my money… if he invested it at all. Seeing the house he built at Majestic Rapids, I’d say he’s been swindling everyone in town for years.”
Jenna made a few notes and felt Kane touch her arm. She nodded at him.
“Did you make a complaint to the bank manager?” Kane leaned back in his chair, making it creak. “If you believed someone was running a scam, you could have reported it to us or the FBI.”
“What’s the point?” Hall choked back a laugh of disgust. “Who’d listen to me? And I don’t have the cash to pay for lawsuits, I’m living hand to mouth since that guy ripped me off.”
Jenna nodded. “I can see you’re upset, Mr. Hall, and why. Did you enter Mr. Robinson’s home on Monday night and kill him?”
“Don’t answer that question.” Cross sent daggers across the table at Jenna. “You said you wanted to interview my clients about a shooting incident; now you’re bringing murder one to the table.” He shook his head. “Lay it out for me, Sheriff. What are you accusing my clients of doing?”
Jenna bristled. She had wanted Kane to watch Hall’s reaction, and rather than denying any wrongdoing, the man was glaring at her with malice. “Okay.” She took a beat to shake off the hate radiating from Hall and lifted her gaze to Cross. “Both your clients were in the vicinity of the Stanton Forest murders at the TOD. Both were involved in arguments at their place of work and later at the Triple Z, where there was an altercation witnessed by a number of people. Both your clients have grievances against Lucas Robinson, and they can’t verify their whereabouts during the time he was gunned down in his home.” She gave him a direct stare. “I believe your clients are involved in three murders.”
“Where’s your evidence?” Cross stabbed a finger into the table. “Do you have anything to prove my clients were at either crime scene?”
Jenna shook her head. “Not at this time.”
“Not at this time.” Cross barked out a laugh. “Circumstantial evidence will not amuse the DA. Nor will it convince him to charge my clients. No jury will convict them without evidence.”
“I asked for a gunshot residue test and they refused.” Jenna glared at him. He was right, of course, but she had to interview suspects to get answers. He was going way over the top. “If they are innocent of the crimes, why not comply?”
“Because a gunshot residue test from two known shooters would likely show positive, as both my clients have current hunting licenses.” Cross pushed to his feet. “That alone is reasonable doubt. Now, if you’ll open the doors, I’m taking my clients out of here.”
Jenna stood her ground. “Not yet. I want to speak to Cliff Young. His girlfriend broke up with him over Lucas Robinson. I need to know if he met with Robinson.”
“I wouldn’t allow you to ask that question, Sheriff.” Cross flicked a glance at Kane and then back to her. “This may be a backwoods town but we don’t allow intimidation from law enforcement.”
In her periphery, she noticed Kane stiffen just slightly and get slowly to his feet. He had her back as always, and from his cold expression, he wouldn’t allow too many more judgmental remarks from Sam Cross.
“Why don’t you take a seat, Mr. Cross?”
“So you can try to intimidate me as well?” Cross glared at Kane.
Infuriated, Jenna shot up from the table. “I resent that. It’s unprofessional, and I thought you were better than that, Sam. We always treat people with respect. I asked you here because I need to ask questions to eliminate your clients from my inquiries. You’re impeding my investigation. This time you can remove your clients, but rest assured the moment we find evidence against them, the talking is over. I’m taking it straight to the DA for an arrest warrant.” She swiped her card on the scanner and walked into the hallway without a backward glance.