Chapter Four

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Owen glanced up at the monitor when his security beeped, signaling that someone was arriving. Unfortunately, it wasn't the someone he'd wanted it to be.

It wasn't Ruby.

But rather Sheriff Marty Bonetti.

Owen had been hoping that Ruby would show up bright and early this morning. She'd left to go back to her place shortly after midnight after they'd poured and poured over that camera feed of Brynn coming out of Howie's condo complex.

Well, maybe it was Brynn.

Owen still wasn't convinced it was her, but he hadn't managed to find any proof that the image had been altered in any way.

Ruby hadn't been convinced it was Brynn either, and Owen was anxious to hear if she'd learned anything in the handful of hours they'd been apart. Anxious to make sure she was all right, too. She could take care of herself. So could he. But it was more than a little unnerving that someone might be gunning for them.

One of seven .

Yeah, definitely unnerving.

Owen went to the door, opening it for Marty, someone he'd known since childhood, which he could say about most people their age in Outlaw Ridge. Marty and he had gone to school together, had been drinking buddies, and had even served together for a short time in the military before Marty had gotten out to return home and take over from the then retiring sheriff.

"Owen," Marty greeted. Like Owen, he was a big man, the sort who got tapped to be a tackle on the high school football team. "How are your knuckles?"

He showed them to Marty. They were bruised and tender, but he'd had far worse. And that was another reason he wanted to see Ruby. Because she had gotten worse, what with the slam on the arm from the baseball bat.

"You got Ruby's and my reports of the incident?" Owen asked, stepping back to let him in.

"I did, thanks." Marty stopped in the foyer, put his hands on his hips, and blew out a long breath. "I charged all three of them with trespassing and aggravated assault. They've lawyered up, and they will get bail. I wanted to let you know that upfront."

That didn't surprise Owen one bit. The aggravated assault would be a felony charge, but unless they had rap sheets, then no judge would consent to them being locked up while awaiting trial. Rocco did have a record for stalking, and there was a restraining order against him, but that alone wouldn't be enough to deny him bail either. However, his bail would likely be sky-high. Since he came from money, Owen figured he'd have no trouble ponying that up.

"Is Ruby all right?" Marty asked. "I reviewed the footage of the attack, and that was a hell of a hit she took."

"Yeah, it was. And I'm not sure if she's okay. I'll call her soon if I haven't heard from her."

And Owen cursed the little flutter he got in his gut over hearing her voice again. He didn't care much for this thing that he'd had for Ruby for as long as he could remember. Ruby certainly hadn't given him any signals that something could heat up between them.

Just the opposite.

In her no shades of gray book, it was possible she would always see him as someone who crossed too many lines. Others did, as well. In fact, some called the Strike Force team Owen's Outlaws.

"Are you all right?" Marty asked, yanking Owen's attention back to the sheriff.

He could tell that Marty was talking about Brynn now. It was no doubt all over police channels that she'd been spotted near the scene of a murder and that her hair had been found at that scene.

Marty had been right by Owen's side when he'd gone through hell trying to find out what'd happened to Brynn. So, Marty knew there was a huge mixed bag of feelings going on inside Owen right now.

"I'm dealing," Owen settled for saying. "But if you hear anything about the investigation, could you pass it along to me?"

"Sure," Marty said without hesitation, even though they both knew that Owen might get info sooner and with more detail than Marty.

There was another beep from the security system, and once again Owen had to curse that blasted flutter. A man his age shouldn't be getting crap like that. And besides, it wasn't Ruby. He saw Hayes on the monitor.

Marty saw it, too, and he turned to leave as Owen opened the door for Hayes. "I'll let you know when the assholes have posted bail," Marty said, tipping his Stetson in lieu of a goodbye as he walked away, passing Hayes as he made his way back to his cruiser.

"A problem?" Hayes asked, glancing over his shoulder at Marty.

"Nothing about Brynn," Owen let him know. He let him in and shut the door. "I hope since you're here that it means you found something."

"I found some possibilities," Hayes said, going into the living room. "I figured I'd drop this off on the way to handle that Kilmer op."

That assignment had just come in just an hour earlier. A daughter searching for her elderly mother with dementia who'd wandered away from her home. The cops were looking, but the daughter had wanted private security involved in the search. Since Hayes was next up on the duty roster, Owen had assigned him.

Hayes didn't have his laptop with him this time, but rather an envelope with printed out images of that shot of Brynn outside the condo complex. "I've analyzed the height and shoe size. Impossible to analyze the weight because of the clothes. Plus, we don't know Brynn's current weight."

True. After all, it'd been three years. "And?" Owen prompted.

"Trent's mother and his ex, Marlie, are approximately the same height. Five-five to five-six. So is Alice," Hayes added. "And Trent's father isn't that far off from that height."

Owen studied the photo again. "But is that Brynn's face?"

"The image hasn't been altered," Hayes was quick to say. "But look at the way the light plays off the person's skin. It doesn't look quite right."

It did indeed look a little milky to Owen. "Could that be from the way the streetlights are hitting it?"

"Maybe," Hayes conceded. He produced another photo from the envelope. This one was of a couple walking past the condo complex. "See how the light catches their faces? Now, compare the two pictures."

Owen was doing just that when there was yet another beep indicating a visitor. And this time, it was Ruby who appeared on the monitor.

"I could be wrong," Hayes continued, already starting for the door, "but I think the person in the photo is wearing a mask."

Everything inside Owen went still. And that storm of emotions came. So, Brynn might not be alive after all.

Hell. Hell. Hell.

Owen was still trying to rein in his reaction when he opened the door. "It's a silicone mask," Ruby immediately said, showing him the same photo of Brynn's face that he'd just been studying.

Hayes made a sound of agreement. "Some of those masks are as thin as human skin and are very realistic."

Ruby looked at Hayes and nodded. "I see you've come to the same conclusion."

"I guessed it was a mask. No proof though," Hayes said.

"Here's the proof," she offered

Ruby pulled up another photo that looked like a blob to Owen. At first anyway. Then, he saw it was a close-up on the person's chin and neck. The milky illumination wasn't on the slight portion of the neck that they could see.

"I had my techs working on this all night," Ruby added, "and they agree it's a mask."

"Good to know." Hayes checked the time. "Gotta run. You'll try to track down the supplier of that kind of mask?"

"Already working on that," Ruby assured him.

Hayes gave a satisfied nod, muttered a goodbye, and headed out. "He's on his way to find a missing person," Owen explained to Ruby. He motioned for her to come in. "And thank you for digging on the mask angle. It's something I should have come up with."

"You would have, but I suspect you were working on other angles throughout the night," she remarked.

"I was. I've been going through the foot traffic to identify anyone who could have seen the person in the hoodie, and I've been contacting them. Nothing so far on that. But I've also been looking at other camera feeds to see which direction the masked person went after he or she left the condo complex."

"You've been busy," Ruby said.

"Yes, but not as successful as Hayes and you have been. How many places sell masks like that?"

"Hundreds worldwide," she admitted. "I have a program going through the retail venues now, both brick and mortar and online, and I should have a report back any minute. The program will give us info about custom facial masks made within the past six months. And hopefully even the names of those who purchased them."

"Good." And even if they ended up with a list of hundreds, it was still a start. "Want some coffee or tea?" he asked.

"Coffee." She touched her fingers to her temple. "Headache."

"Probably an arm ache, too. How is that?" Owen asked, leading her into the kitchen, where he already had a fresh pot of coffee ready.

"Okay enough. Those thugs will likely be out on bail soon," she muttered. "Will they come after you again or have they learned this lesson?"

He sighed, poured her a huge mug of coffee and then another one for himself. "To be determined. I'll watch my back. Not just for them. But whoever's wearing that mask." He paused. "Could it be Brynn behind that silicone?"

The mug stopped halfway to Ruby's mouth. "Is that what your man, Hayes, thinks? That Brynn was wearing it, knowing we'd identify it as a mask and believe it was someone else?"

"Hayes didn't come up with that yet. Or at least he didn't voice to me if he did." Owen paused. "He knows I want to believe Brynn is alive. But Hayes also understands that I'm worried about her being a killer."

Ruby nodded and gulped down her coffee as if it were a necessity. And it probably was. She likely hadn't gotten much sleep. Not that it showed. She was one of those women who always looked good. Not overly made up or a fashion plate. But someone comfortable in her own body.

And what a body it was.

She had a strong, athletic build. No waif there. The woman had some curves, and a certain part of him always noticed them. Always noticed that incredible, interesting face, too. With her short, choppy-cut dark blonde hair and whisky-colored eyes, she had a been there, done that, could do it again attitude that made her just plain interesting.

Their gazes met, and she seemed to be on the verge of pointing out that he was staring at her. She didn't.

"Hayes wears two wedding rings," she said. Maybe to dismiss the staring. Maybe to end the silence that had settled between them.

Owen nodded. "One is from his wife, who was a cop killed in the line of duty about ten years ago. The second is his late fiancée. About four years ago, she died in a car accident within just a couple of days of them heading to the altar. Needless to say, he's, uh, nixed the idea of another relationship. Sort of like you," he added, smiling despite the crappy situation.

"And you," she countered.

He shook his head. "Haven't nixed it. Just haven't gotten lucky. Right woman, wrong place. Right woman, wrong time. Wrong woman, right place, et cetera."

The silence came again, and their gazes were locked. He saw the heat in those amber eyes. Saw her shut it right down, too. Again, crappy timing applied, but Owen was glad to see that spark. Even if Ruby didn't want him, it was obvious her body did, and that was a start.

His phone rang, the sound shooting through the room, ending the silence. And that connection he felt with Ruby. He would have cursed the loss, but then he saw the name of the caller.

"It's Alice Trainor," he relayed to her. Brynn's best friend and the forensic science major. "I'd tried to call her last night, but she didn't answer so I left a message."

"She knows about Howie's murder?" Ruby asked.

"That's what I wanted to find out. FYI, Hayes says the woman behind that mask could be Alice, Marlie or even Trent's mother or father."

Ruby didn't seem surprised by that info which meant she'd likely dug into that as well.

"Alice," Owen answered. "You're on speaker, and Ruby Maverick is here with me."

"Good. I'm probably preaching to the choir, but no way in hell did Brynn kill Howie. I don't care what so-called evidence the cops found. Brynn isn't a killer."

Owen considered that a moment. The Brynn he'd known couldn't murder, but he didn't know the woman that his niece might have become.

"Did you kill Howie, and do you have an alibi for the time of his murder?" he asked, getting to the reason he'd tried to call her the night before.

Alice didn't huff. Didn't growl out her disapproval at what some might have taken as an accusation. In fact, it was possible the cops had already asked her those very questions.

"No and no," Alice answered. "I was home alone, and I didn't want the little weasel dead. I wanted him alive so he would lead me to some answers so I could find out what happened to Brynn."

Owen had expected a response along those lines. "But maybe you became frustrated when Howie didn't do any leading, when he continued to stonewall us and the cops?"

Now, Alice did huff. "I didn't kill him. In fact, now we've lost a critical connection to Trent because I'm certain he's been in contact with Howie."

"You have proof?" Owen asked.

"None that is admissible in court. None that could have been used to arrest his sorry ass." She huffed again. "About three months ago, I paid Howie a visit. An in his ugly face reminder that I wasn't going to give up on finding Brynn. He was holding his phone when he opened the door and I saw TB on the screen. Trent Barber."

That was possible, but it was also possible it was someone else.

"Did you happen to see a phone number?" Ruby pressed.

"No, and the weasel put his phone away and slammed the door in my face. But I could tell he'd just been talking to Trent. He's alive out there, somewhere, and he can tell us what happened to Brynn."

Owen played devil's advocate. "Maybe he's dead. If Brynn is settling an old score, she could have started with Trent."

"Possibly." Alice paused. "But I don't think she's alive. I think Trent's mother killed Brynn three years ago and somehow disposed of the body. Francine hated Brynn, and she could have orchestrated all of this, along with keeping Trent hidden away so the truth about what she did doesn't come out."

That wasn't the first time Alice had voiced that theory. In fact, she'd made the statement many times on social media.

Owen could see Francine doing something like that. Killing in the heat of the moment, ending a woman's life if Brynn had threatened to go to the cops and tell them that Trent had assaulted her. And, heck, Francine might even indeed be keeping Trent tucked away somewhere to prevent him from being arrested.

To prevent anyone from learning the truth, too.

"So, that means someone other than Brynn killed Howie," Alice went on a moment later. "Let me know if you find out who," she snapped, and she ended the call.

Owen was about to ask Ruby if she believed Alice when she said she hadn't murdered Howie, but he didn't get the chance. His phone rang again, and he saw Marty's name pop up.

"You're on speaker," Owen said when he answered. "Are the assholes out on bail?"

"Not yet, but soon. That's not why I'm calling." Marty's tone was dead serious. "There's been another murder."

"Hell," Owen spat out. "Who?"

"Retired detective, Aaron McKinney," Marty said. The cop who had pushed hard to have Brynn declared dead. "Blunt force trauma, just like the first guy," he added. "And there was another note. This one was written in McKinney's blood. Two down, five to go."

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