Chapter Fifteen

Jemma hoped Hayes and she didn’t look too guilty, or sexually sated, when they went back downstairs.

Sex probably hadn’t been what Owen had in mind when he’d sent them to her room, but she was so very glad that it’d happened. She had been lusting after Hayes for months now, and it had been amazing to finally land in bed with him.

Of course, amazing didn’t completely eliminate the guilt over the break they’d taken. But Jemma figured the therapeutic effect outweighed what they could have contributed to the investigation during the two-and-a-half hours they’d been upstairs.

The meds were likely helping as well. She wasn’t a hundred percent yet, but no parts of her were throbbing in pain either.

They made their way into the dining room to the flood of activity that she’d come to expect, but there was some actual dining going on as well. Not just the usual sandwiches and such that Owen had been having delivered but also pizza. And lots of it. There were at least a dozen huge boxes on the tables, and everyone was chowing down, including Ruby, while she worked on her tablet.

Owen looked up when Hayes and Jemma stepped in, and while he didn’t dole out a full-blown smile, he gave a nod, apparently satisfied that she didn’t look ready to collapse in pain.

“Grab some pizza,” Owen immediately said. “And I’ll fill you in on what Reed, Presley, and Angel have uncovered. They found some interesting links between our missing hikers and two of our suspects.”

That sounded promising, but since she was indeed hungry, Jemma helped herself to a slice of pizza and a Coke. Owen did the same.

“Two of our missing hikers, Jacob Worthington and Kyle Furst, had a run-in with Royce about two years ago,” Owen explained. “They were all at a bar in San Antonio, and eyewitnesses say that Jacob and Kyle started heckling Royce when he was trying to chat up a woman. There were some threats along with some pushing before the bouncer broke it up and told them all to leave.”

“Was this reported to the cops?” Jemma asked.

“No,” Owen confirmed. “But according to one eyewitness, things escalated even more in the parking lot. Jacob and Kyle both punched Royce, knocking him to the ground and heckling him again before they walked off. The eyewitness went to help Royce but said Royce was enraged and threatening to kill them. Royce shouted out that he was a cop and would make them pay.”

Jemma considered that. Yes, it was motive, and Royce did have a chip on his shoulder.

“Obviously, following that through,” Reed said, “Royce could have wanted anyone in Outlaw PD dead who might have discovered that he’d never reported the missing hikers.” He paused. “But Royce doesn’t have a link to Hailey. We haven’t been able to find a single source to indicate they ever crossed paths.”

“The same can’t be said of Duane,” Angel said, taking up the explanation. “According to the statement Cordelia gave Owen during her interview, Duane met Hailey when the woman showed up looking for Brooks at Cordelia’s country house. He witnessed a heated argument between the two women, and he was pissed off when Cordelia broke down and cried after Hailey left.”

“Cried?” Jemma questioned. Yes, her stepmother had wept over her son’s death, but that was the first time Jemma had seen her have such a reaction. “Cordelia’s more likely to slap or curse someone than to cry.”

Angel nodded. “Cordelia admitted she did both of those things, along with calling Hailey a gold-digging whore who crawled out of the gutter to go after Brooks.”

“Ouch,” Jemma muttered.

“Yeah, your stepmother really hated Hailey. In fact, during that encounter, while Duane was there, she threatened to kill Hailey, and Hailey laughed and said she’d just recorded their entire conversation. Hailey was going to show it to Brooks to let him know what his mother was really like.”

“Did Hailey give the recording to Brooks?” Hayes asked.

“No. Because she went missing shortly thereafter,” Reed was quick to supply. “Under heavy questioning, Cordelia admitted that Duane left within minutes after Hailey did, and he possibly went after her. Neither Hailey’s phone and, therefore the recording, were ever found.”

Again, Jemma took a moment to consider all of that, and she knew firsthand how protective Duane could be of the people he loved. He’d threatened everyone in Outlaw Ridge PD after his student had died. The man had a short fuse and the means and opportunity to murder. Added to that, he was very familiar with the park trails since it was right next to his school.

“And that brings us to Duane’s connection to the two male hikers, Jacob and Kyle,” Reed continued. “The connection is through Duane’s former student and the now-dead gunman, Zander Emerson.”

That got Jemma’s attention. There were a lot of questions as to why Zander had turned killer, and she was hoping this would explain it.

“Zander’s grandmother lived in the same neighborhood as Kyle, and apparently, when Jacob would visit Kyle and they ran into Zander, they made a point of bullying and harassing him. Once, when Zander retaliated by pulling a knife on them and cutting Jacob, Zander ended up being arrested and sent to juvie. After he got out, his folks sent him to Duane’s school.”

“Where he probably told Duane all about the hell that Jacob and Kyle had put him through,” Hayes concluded.

Owen nodded. “He did, and during the interview, Duane didn’t come out and admit that Zander could have killed Jacob and Kyle, but he couldn’t deny that it was possible.”

“I’m surprised Duane didn’t go ahead and put the blame on Zander,” Jemma remarked.

“So was I.” Owen stopped, sighed. “And that gives me a sliver of doubt that Duane might not be guilty. Not of Jacob’s and Kyle’s murders anyway. Duane might not have been aware if Zander had killed them.”

Everyone stayed quiet a moment, and then Hayes spoke. “Did Zander know about Hailey? I mean, did Zander know that Duane likely despised the woman for upsetting Cordelia?”

Owen nodded. “Duane admitted to that in the interview, too. Apparently, Zander saw him after he’d just gotten back from Cordelia’s, and he asked him what was wrong. Duane claims he can’t recall exactly what he told Zander, but it’s possible he mentioned Hailey by name.”

Jemma could see this playing out two ways, and she voiced them. “Either Duane killed all three hikers, or else he spurred Zander to do it. Maybe even helped him set it up.” She paused. “But then who killed all the cops and the dispatcher? Certainly not Zander. Not solo anyway. The sheriff and deputies wouldn’t have recognized him, and they wouldn’t have just stood by when he walked up to them.”

Everyone in the room made some form of agreement, and it was Owen who continued. “Royce, Duane or Cordelia could have approached the cops, and they wouldn’t have automatically drawn their weapons. Not until it was too late anyway. But if it was Zander acting solo, he could have used some kind of ruse. Maybe pretending to be hurt. He’s eighteen, but he looks younger than that.”

He did. And Jemma had to concede if she’d seen Zander pretending to be injured or bleeding, she would have likely rushed to help him. She was still mulling that over when Owen’s phone rang.

“It’s the head of the forensic team in the woods,” he relayed before he answered the phone.

Even though he didn’t put the call on speaker, Jemma could tell from Owen’s expression that there was more bad news. Hayes and she exchanged glances, mentally steeling themselves up.

“Shit,” Owen snarled. “How many?” His mouth tightened as he got the answer. “Yeah. Send me the coordinates, and I’ll get someone out there right away,” he added in a mutter before he ended the call.

“They found Kyle’s and Jacob’s bodies?” Reed immediately asked.

Owen nodded as his phone dinged with a text. “It appears they did.” The muscles in his jaw went to war with each other. “And they’ve also found others. They believe they’ve discovered the burial grounds of a serial killer.”