Chapter Twelve
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Trent .
That was one of the names that had been on Ruby's mind throughout the night and now into the morning. And he was continuing to seep into her thoughts as Owen and she were driving to the hospital.
Trent, who had seemingly attacked his father.
Well, if Carlton was to be believed anyway. But Ruby was having a hard time imagining why Carlton would lie about something like that.
Of course, the cops hadn't seen any signs of Trent. No one had. And from the police report that Ruby had read of the attack, Carlton hadn't gotten that good of a look at his attacker before he'd been walloped on the side of his head with a hammer. Still, it could have been Trent if he'd turned against his father for some reason.
But it could have also been someone wearing a mask of Trent's face.
That possibility had spurred a lot of research hours, working to track down if other such masks had been ordered. Owen and she had worked on that and viewing traffic cam feed well into the night before she'd needed to crash.
She had intended to go home, but he'd talked her into staying in his guestroom. In hindsight, that'd been a mistake. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep thinking of him just up the hall from her.
Or thinking of that kiss.
Heck, just thinking about him, period.
But now she had to focus on the investigation since they were headed to talk to Carlton. The man had reluctantly agreed to see them, but Ruby knew he could change his mind in a blink.
Or rather, Francine could change it for him.
Ruby couldn't imagine that Francine was happy about her precious son being implicated in this, and she might press her husband into not only changing his statement but also not speaking to anyone that wasn't a cop. Technically, Owen could play his reserve deputy card, but that probably wouldn't wash either since this was SAPD's jurisdiction.
Ruby had to take a deep breath and try to tamp down some of the tangle of thoughts that just wouldn't back off. She'd skipped her usual massive quantities of morning coffee, settling for a single cup that Owen had fixed for her, but she was still wired. Of course, wired had been her default mode since Howie's murder two days earlier.
Finding Brynn was still their top priority, but she now also had to keep a lookout on the drive for the dirtbag, Rocco Culpepper. The abuser was still at large, still evading capture, and as long as he was out in the wild, then he could come after Owen and her again. She couldn't devote too much mental energy to that, but she couldn't dismiss the possible threat either. Doing that could get Owen or her killed.
"I can practically hear you thinking," Owen remarked. They were on the interstate, but he was firing glances all around them, no doubt checking for Rocco as well.
"Lots to think about," she remarked.
"Yeah." And that's all he said for several long moments. "I hope you're not regretting that kiss. Or staying at my place last night."
She frowned that he'd picked up on that, but she doubted the man was a mind reader. He had to know this was, well, troubling her. Since they had about ten more minutes to go on the drive and there weren't any immediate reports to read, Ruby decided to spell out some things.
"I suck at relationships," she said.
He made a sound of disagreement. "You were married."
"Yes, because I got pregnant when I was eighteen, and we thought we needed to get married and raise our daughter."
She wouldn't get into how hard it'd been to have a child, go to college, and work part-time. Wouldn't mention that her drive to be a military officer had often taken a higher priority than family. However, Ruby did let him in on something that she rarely told anyone.
"My husband died from medical complications when I was away on a deployment. Because I wasn't there with him, it nearly destroyed my relationship with my daughter. Things are better between us now, but I had to fight my way back into her good graces."
And what a fight that had been. But she had finally gotten to a point where she felt she deserved being called a mother.
She paused, gathered her breath. "I don't have the time or the energy to go through another relationship."
"It's a risk, all right," he commented.
She frowned, maybe feeling a little challenged that he'd basically said she was afraid. She wasn't.
All right, she was. But there was no need to confess that to Owen who might take it as a challenge to help her with that fear.
"My life is in good balance now," she added as he took the final turn to the hospital. "Time for my daughter. Time for work."
"But not so much time for yourself," Owen concluded. "I get that."
Yes, he probably did. "Have you ever been married?" she asked.
"Nope. I've had a failed engagement and way too many relationships where I wasn't present enough. Deployments, then Strike Force. Always something more important than a personal life. I figured that's because I never had the right personal connection. The right one would matter."
Since that seemed like some kind of invitation, Ruby went with more spelling out. "I'm not the right one, Owen."
He pulled into the hospital lot and parked. Then, he turned to her and brushed a kiss on her mouth. The jolt surprised her.
Aroused her.
And made her want so much more.
She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut a moment. Owen laughed. She wanted to throttle, and kiss, him for that. Ruby held back from doing either.
"My suggestion is when this is over, we just do more kissing and see where it leads us," he drawled.
"It'll lead to sex," she snapped.
He smiled a smile that only a Greek god or he could have managed, touched his mouth to hers again, and then got out of the SUV.
Ruby had to force herself to push aside the heat, the kiss, the invitation, and everything else about Owen. It wasn't easy. Not until they stepped into the hospital and she saw someone she hadn't expected to see.
Alice.
Ruby recalled saying that Alice considered Carlton and Francine the enemy. So, why was she here?
Alice immediately made a beeline toward them. "Have you found Trent?" she asked.
"No," Owen answered. "Have you?"
Alice huffed. "No, but he must be back in the area since he attacked his father."
In theory, yes. But there were those pesky issues of motive for the attack and the masks.
"Have you ordered any masks lately?" Ruby came out and asked her.
The woman pulled back her shoulders. Her eyes widened. And she looked genuinely riled about the question and all its implications. "No. But I'm betting Francine or Marlie did. Heck, maybe even Carlton."
Any of those were possibilities. Well, except for the last one. "You think Carlton staged an attack?" Ruby pressed.
Alice seemed to throttle back on her emotions, and she finally shook her head. "I can't think of a reason why he'd do that and then point the blame at Trent." She glanced behind her. "I need to talk to Carlton. I'm guessing you're here to do the same?"
Owen nodded. "We have an appointment with him. And, no, we won't be taking you in with us."
That clearly didn't please Alice, and a muscle flickered in her jaw. "I'm just trying to find justice for Brynn."
Ruby hoped that form of justice didn't involve murdering people who hadn't saved Brynn, but the bottom line is that Alice had means, motive, and opportunity. According to the police reports Ruby had read, Alice didn't even have solid alibis for the times of the murders.
And that was troubling.
Because as a criminal justice major, Alice would have known the police would ask her where she'd been. She could have at least arranged to be at a party or such, put in an appearance and sneaked out to commit the crimes.
Then again, Ruby could say the same for all their suspects.
"I want to set myself up as bait," Alice continued. "You could help me put out the word that I'm close to finding Trent. Or that I have some kind of proof of what happened to Brynn. Then, I could wait—"
"It's too dangerous," Owen interrupted.
That didn't please her either, and Ruby saw the quick temper race through the woman's eyes. "We have to do something. Trent is alive, and that means if Brynn is, too, then she's still in grave danger from him."
Ruby couldn't argue that. "Do you have any proof that Trent is actually alive?" she came out and asked.
Alice opened her mouth but closed it at the sound of approaching footsteps. Ruby and Owen turned to see Francine coming straight toward them. And there was no guessing that the woman was pissed. Every muscle in her body seemed tight and ready for a fight.
"What are you doing here?" Francine snapped, aiming that at Alice.
Alice held her ground, hiking up her chin and meeting Francine's hard gaze. Both women's eyes were narrowed."
"Working out a way to catch your son," Alice snarled right back.
Francine huffed. "Leave," she demanded, and she didn't wait to see if her order would be obeyed. She tipped her head for Owen and Ruby to follow her, and she led them to a small chapel.
"I've been trying to talk Carlton out of speaking to you," Francine said. "He's confused and disoriented."
"But he wants to see us," Owen insisted. "What's his room number? And if you don't give it to us, I'll just ask a nurse."
Francine's mouth went into a pinched line. "Fine. Speak to him. Upset him when he won't even know what he's saying to you."
Ruby had had enough, and apparently Owen had, too, because they walked out of the chapel, heading toward the nurses' station. Of course, Francine was right on their heels.
"He's in room 312," the woman spat out, "and I'm not leaving you alone with him."
"Is that because you're worried about the mask of Brynn's face that arrived at your house?" Owen asked. In contrast to Francine's, his voice was calm as a proverbial lake.
"I did not order that mask," Francine snarled, pushing the button for the elevator as if she had a personal battle with it. "Someone is setting me up."
"Maybe Trent," Ruby suggested. "Since your husband believes he's the one who attacked him."
Francine stewed during the short elevator ride to the third floor, and when they stepped out, she whirled around to face them. "Carlton is mistaken about that, and I don't want you planting any seeds in his head that will make him think it was our son. Trent wouldn't do that."
Her voice cracked, and Ruby thought she saw some doubt in the woman's face. No need to spell out to Francine that Trent was an abuser. He hurt people. And his own father wouldn't be excluded from that violence.
But that left one big question.
Why would Trent go after his dad? Ruby just couldn't wrap her mind around a motive…unless Carlton had been on the verge of turning him in to the cops. If that'd been his plan though, Carlton, too, could have ended up facing possible charges for harboring a fugitive.
They stepped into Carlton's room, and Ruby immediately noticed the bandage on his head, but there didn't seem to be any other injuries. She certainly didn't spot any defensive wounds on his hands to indicate he'd tried to protect himself.
Ruby noticed something else, too. Or rather someone else. The dark-haired woman standing by the window, and Ruby recognized her from the visits she'd made to SAPD after Brynn's disappearance.
This was Detective Heather Lawrence, McKinney's former partner and Francine's friend.
Owen noticed her as well, and it caused Ruby and he to exchange a glance.
"What do you know about this?" the detective asked, motioning toward Carlton.
"Nothing so far," Ruby answered. "That's why we're here."
Heather's mouth twisted as if she'd tasted something particularly nasty. "Well, if you have any better luck with Carlton than I did, then you'd better fill me in."
With that, the detective shot Carlton a scowl and walked out.
"You plan on sharing info with her?" Owen whispered to Ruby.
Ruby couldn't shake her head fast enough. She wouldn't withhold evidence from the cops, but she'd deal with some other officer, not a friend of Francine's.
Francine murmured something to Heather, and then the woman practically ran past Owen and Ruby to get to her husband's bedside. She leaned down and whispered something in Carlton's ear, and there was a pleading look in her eyes when she eased back to meet his gaze.
Ruby wanted to curse because she could practically see the doubt and worry creeping into Carlton's expression.
"If Trent did do this," Carlton said, his words slow as if he were considering each one. "Then, he might try to come after me again. I'm sorry, Francine, but I have to protect myself."
The woman changed in a blink. No more pleading look. Her teeth came together. "Fine," she snapped. "Destroy our son." With that, she turned and stormed out of the room.
Ruby was thankful for her exit. Thankful, too, that Carlton hadn't backed down despite the obvious pressure his wife was putting on him.
"Can you stop Trent?" Carlton asked them.
Owen and she stepped closer. "Are you sure it was Trent who attacked you?"
Carlton groaned. "I only got a glimpse out of the corner of my eye, but it looked like him."
Owen nodded. "Tell us what happened? Where were you when you were attacked?"
The man gathered his breath. "I was in the bathroom of my home office, and when I came out, the lights were off. Only those in the room," he clarified. "There was some illumination coming from the hall."
"So, your office door was open?" Ruby asked, trying to get a mental picture of the scene.
Carlton's forehead bunched up in thought, and he winced, no doubt from the pain. "It was open just a little," Carlton said. Then, he paused, squeezing his eyes shut a moment. "I was walking across the room toward the light switch when I heard some movement behind me. I started to turn around, figuring it was Francine or the housekeeper, but then I saw the hammer. And I got a glimpse of Trent's face," he added in a mutter.
It was obvious this was eating away at Carlton. Obvious, too, that he was scared. He had a right to be. If Trent, Brynn or a vigilante killer had targeted him, then the killer might try to go after him again.
"I need you to think back to that moment," Owen instructed. "Try to freeze the image of the hammer and Trent in your mind." He paused, giving Carlton a moment to do that. "Was there any kind of shimmer on Trent's face?"
"Shimmer?" Carlton questioned.
"Like a mask," Owen added.
Carlton lifted his shoulder. "I don't know. It was dark, and I only got that glimpse."
Ruby made a sound of understanding. "What about the person's height? Was that right to have been Trent?"
Carlton looked more than confused for a moment. "Do you think someone could have been pretending to be Trent?"
"We don't know," Ruby admitted. And she tried a different angle. "When's the last time you saw your son?"
Carlton hesitated. "The day before the alleged attack on Brynn."
Ruby had to force herself not to bristle at the addition of the word, alleged. There'd been enough of Brynn's blood found to confirm some kind of attack.
"You're sure that's the last time you saw Trent?" Ruby pressed.
Another hesitation before he groaned softly. "No," Carlton finally continued. "About six months ago, I was in San Antonio on business, and I think I saw him at a restaurant."
Ruby and Owen exchanged a glance. "You think ?" Owen questioned.
Carlton sighed. "I saw him," he confirmed. "I'm certain it was him. I believe he might have seen me, too, because he ran off. And he wasn't alone," he added before Ruby could push for more details. "He was with someone."
"Was it Brynn?" Ruby couldn't ask fast enough.
Carlton shook his head. "No, he was with Alice."
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