Chapter Ten

Hamlin .

Duncan wouldn't have been surprised no matter which of their suspects Luca had named. Kate, Brad or Hamlin. At this point, Duncan considered the three to all be sharing that top spot for their number one suspect.

Too bad he couldn't eliminate two of them, and then he'd know which one of them was responsible. Well, maybe. The gut-twisting possibility was that the culprit hadn't even surfaced, that Willie Jay's boss was someone other than Hamlin.

Still, Willie Jay had worked for Hamlin so that was a start.

"Arrange to have Hamlin brought in right away," Duncan told Luca, and Luca assured him he'd do just that.

Duncan ended the call and slipped his phone back in his pocket. "Sonya, I figure you didn't get much rest, what with being called in early and Molly's birth coach, but do you have the bandwidth to stay here with the baby and her until I can get someone else to guard them?"

"I can stay as long as needed," Sonya quickly assured him. "In fact, I'd like to stay the night. Molly and I are friends, and I think she'd be more comfortable with me than with someone else."

"I agree," Duncan told her, "but if you feel yourself start to fade, then let me know."

Duncan checked the time. The hours were just racing by, and they had so much to do. But it was a priority now to see Molly. Not just because she might be able to give them answers but also because she was part of their Saddle Ridge Sheriff's Office family, and she'd been through a hellish ordeal. Then, Joelle and he could go back to the sheriff's office and wait for Hamlin. Duncan had no doubts that Luca would be able to locate the PI and get him in there fast.

"I take it you're up to this visit with Molly and the baby?" Duncan asked Joelle.

"Absolutely." Her answer was quick and resolute.

Ruston checked his watch as well, and he leaned over and brushed another kiss on Joelle's cheek. "I'll head back to San Antonio and work the arrest warrant there. I just wanted to see for myself that you were all right. Are you going to Slater's tonight or will you stay with Duncan?"

Obviously, the question threw her because she gave him a blank stare for a couple of seconds. "To be determined," she said at the same moment Duncan said, "I'll take her to my place."

"Good," Ruston concluded, but he didn't spell out why he felt that way.

"Good," Joelle murmured, not sounding nearly as pleased about staying with him as Ruston had been.

They went into the hall with Ruston heading for the exit, and Sonya, Duncan and her going in the direction of labor and delivery. Sonya must have sensed Duncan needed to have a word with Joelle about the sleeping arrangements because she walked ahead of them, giving them some privacy.

Duncan waited for Joelle to spell out that it was risky for them to be under the same roof. Especially after the kiss and the steamy looks they'd been giving each other.

"My resistance for you is really low right now," she whispered. "You saved my life, and you're the father of a baby we both love and want to protect."

That was it. No extra line to clarify where that low resistance would lead them. Duncan's guess was to bed since he didn't have a whole lot of resistance when it came to her, either.

And that caused him to curse.

Because she'd just confessed she was vulnerable. Of course, she was. She'd nearly been kidnapped and could have been killed. So, landing in bed was totally out since it'd be taking advantage of her.

"Yes," she murmured when he cursed again, and the response confirmed she was well aware of his thought process.

His body didn't want to give up on the "landing in bed" part, but Duncan had to shove all thoughts of that aside as Sonya opened one of the hospital room doors. When Duncan looked in, he immediately saw Molly on the bed. She was smiling and cooing down at the baby she was holding.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Molly asked, her smile widening when she looked up at them.

Duncan took one of the paper surgical masks from a wall holder, put it on and went closer. "Yep, she's beautiful all right."

And she was. A perfect little face with fingers so tiny that Duncan hoped Molly didn't insist he hold her. She seemed way too fragile for that, but he got a reminder that soon, in four months or so, he'd have to get past that fear since he'd be holding his own child.

Joelle put on a mask and walked closer, peering down at the baby. Even though Duncan couldn't see her expression, he knew she was smiling. "Molly, she's adorable." Joelle gave Molly's arm a gentle squeeze. "Congratulations, Mom."

"It's all a little daunting," Molly admitted, "and a whole lot amazing." She seemed ready to go on about the joys of motherhood. She didn't, though. She looked at Duncan. "You want to ask me questions about the kidnapping."

"Are you up to that?" he offered. "Because it can wait—"

"I can tell you what happened," Molly interrupted, "and then maybe we can do a more formal statement after I've gotten some sleep."

Duncan nodded and decided to let Molly say whatever it was she clearly wanted to say. If he saw her energy levels draining, then he would put a stop to this and come back.

Molly dragged in a long breath. "I was asleep when I heard my security system go off. I picked up my phone, thinking that maybe it was some kind of malfunction, but it wasn't. I heard someone moving around in my living room so I hit the last number I'd called. Joelle's. Then, I saw two men coming into my bedroom."

"Two?" Joelle asked.

Molly nodded. "They were both wearing ski masks, dark clothes. Both were about six feet and with somewhat muscular builds."

That described Willie Jay. Hell, it described a lot of men, and while Duncan was certain they had one of the kidnappers in custody—Willie Jay—they obviously needed to look for his partner. And Joelle's attacker. Of course, it was possible the second kidnapper was also the one who'd fired those shots into the cruiser at Joelle.

"I tried to get to my gun that I keep in the drawer next to the bed, but they grabbed me before I could do that," Molly went on. "I hit one of them with my phone and then dug my nails into his arm. I guess I cut him deep enough for him to leave blood at my house."

"We've identified that blood," Duncan told her. "Willie Jay Prescott. We have him in custody."

Molly's breath hitched, maybe from relief. "And the other?"

"We'll find him," he assured her, and Duncan hoped that was the truth. They needed to find the remaining person or persons responsible for this.

Molly paused a moment, kissed her daughter's cheek and then started again. "They put a hood over my head, tied up my hands and feet, and got me into a vehicle. A truck, I think, because of the way they had to lift me to put me in it. And they drove away."

It was hell for Duncan to hear all of this. To know the terror that had to have been going through Molly's mind. She'd probably thought she would lose her precious baby as well as her own life.

"The men didn't talk when we were driving," she went on. "But we weren't in the vehicle long. Maybe ten minutes or less."

Duncan calculated that was about the time it would have taken the kidnappers to get from Molly's house to the McCullough ranch. "Did they take you to the location where we found you, or did you go somewhere else first?"

"Just that one location. Your dad's ranch," Molly muttered, looking at Joelle. "I didn't know that's where I was until the EMTs were taking me to the ambulance."

That made Duncan do more mental cursing. All those hours, Molly had been so close. But they'd had so many places to search, and Molly hadn't had any connection to the McCullough ranch. She had been taken there because the kidnappers no doubt knew it was empty.

Molly cleared her throat before she continued, "After I was in the shed, I'm sure one of them left. The one who smelled like cinnamon stayed, and the other left."

"Cinnamon?" Duncan pressed.

Molly nodded. "He was chewing some kind of gum or candy. He's the one who made the calls to Joelle." She paused. "And I honestly believed what he was saying, that he regretted kidnapping me."

Maybe he did. But obviously Willie Jay hadn't felt that.

"A couple of hours before you found me," Molly continued, "the second man came back, and they had a whispered conversation. The cinnamon guy was pleading with the other to let me go, but the second man said no. They went out of the shed, and they argued, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Then, neither one came back in. I didn't hear anyone else until you and the deputies showed up."

Duncan could only speculate as to what'd happened. Maybe the "cinnamon guy" had stormed off. Or maybe Willie Jay had eliminated him. If so, the man's body hadn't been found on the ranch, and the CSIs and some of his deputies had been combing the place.

"If you get me a sample of Willie Jay's voice, I should be able to confirm he was one of the kidnappers," Molly offered.

"I'll do that," he said just as the baby let out a kitten-like cry. That was his cue to leave and let Molly have some time with her daughter.

Joelle gave Molly another gentle hug, ran her fingers over the baby's cheek and left with Duncan. He was about to call Slater or Luca to provide backup while they went to the sheriff's office, but Slater was already in the hall, waiting for them.

"Ruston told me about Hamlin's connection to Willie Jay," Slater explained as they headed for the exit. "He's on his way in for an interview, but he's not happy."

"Welcome to the club," Duncan muttered. But in Hamlin's case, not being happy was a good thing. Riled people often said more than they intended to.

As expected, Slater had the cruiser waiting for them right outside the ER doors, and the three of them hurried to get in. Duncan glanced at Joelle and saw that she was looking at the window next to her. And she was no doubt recalling that Willie Jay had shot through a similar window to get to her.

The bullet-resistant glass was better than nothing, but this had to be a reminder that they weren't safe, not even in the cruiser. Duncan could only hope they'd be making an arrest soon that would put an end to the danger.

Duncan kept watch as Slater drove, but he didn't see anyone he didn't recognize. If Joelle hadn't been with him and if they hadn't been in the middle of town, Duncan would have wanted to spot the missing attacker. Would have liked to have a showdown with him. But the thug apparently wasn't showing his face in broad daylight.

After Slater parked, they went into the sheriff's office. Which was nearly bare. Understandable, what with all the various components of the investigation going on and with some of the deputies needing rest after a hellishly long day. Woodrow was at his desk, working on his laptop, and Ronnie was at his. Not alone. There was a young brunette woman sitting next to him. Both Ronnie and the woman got to their feet, their attention turning to Duncan.

"This is Erica Corley," Ronnie said. "She just came in to talk to you."

The name was familiar, but Duncan thumbed through his memory to figure out if he recognized her. He didn't. And when Joelle and Slater shook their heads, he figured they didn't know her, either.

"I'm Sheriff Holder." Duncan went closer to Erica and hitched a thumb at Joelle and Slater when he introduced them.

The woman nodded, swallowed hard. "I'm Al Hamlin's ex-girlfriend. Al and I had a baby together when we were teenagers."

Duncan was certain he looked surprised because he was. Not about the baby part but that Erica would just show up like this. Then again, it was possible the PI they'd talked to had located her and sent her to them.

"I heard about the kidnapping and attacks on the news," Erica went on. "One of the reports mentioned Al, that he was on the scene when a man was taken into custody."

Duncan silently groaned. He didn't know how the media picked up on such details, but he had to admit a story like this would make good press.

"And I thought... Well, I wondered," Erica added a moment later, "if Al was involved in some way?"

Since that was exactly what Duncan wanted to know, he motioned for Erica to go into his office. Joelle came, too, but Slater muttered something about needing to check for updates, and he headed to his desk in the bullpen.

"Can I get you some coffee or water?" Duncan asked her.

Erica shook her head and took one of the seats next to Duncan's desk. Joelle took the other.

"Was Al involved in the kidnapping and attacks?" Erica pressed.

Considering that Willie Jay had worked for Hamlin, the answer was yes, but Duncan kept that to himself and went with a question of his own. "Do you believe your ex is capable of something like that?" He'd asked Brad's ex, Shanda, the same thing, and she'd more or less waffled on her response.

Erica didn't.

"I believe he's capable," she said after a heavy sigh. "I don't know why he'd do it, but..." She stopped. "It could be because of what happened with our baby. I suppose you know about that?"

"We do," Duncan verified.

Erica nodded. "I wanted to give the baby up for adoption, and Al wanted to, well, sell it."

There was some anger, maybe even shame, in those last few words, and Erica lowered her head, shook it.

"I was against it," Erica went on after several moments. "But Al kept pressing me. He said he'd gotten in touch with someone, and the person would pay us ten thousand dollars. I don't come from money, and that sounded like a fortune to me. So I went through with meeting with this person, even though I wasn't sure I could actually sell my child."

That meshed with what Duncan had read in the juvenile records that Slater had managed to get. The arresting officer had mentioned that Hamlin had been the one to orchestrate the sale and had also contacted the couple two more times to up the amount he wanted them to pay for the child. That's how the extortion had come into play.

The wannabe adoptive parents had been charged, too, since they had planned on paying for the baby, but no one involved in the case had pointed the finger at Erica as being the aggressor in the sale or the extortion. Still, she'd been convicted since she had gone along with meeting the couple.

"What happened at the meeting?" Joelle prompted when the woman fell silent.

Erica gave another of those long sighs. "The San Antonio cops found out what Al and I were doing because they showed up and arrested us." She shifted her attention to Joelle. "I think your late father was the one who told the cops."

Duncan didn't know who was more surprised by that, Joelle or him. "My father?" she questioned.

"I spoke to Sheriff Cliff McCullough shortly after I was arrested. He'd gotten a tip from a longtime confidential informant that a couple was trying to buy a baby, and he gave SAPD the couple's names, and that in turn put the cops on Al and me. We didn't even make it to the meeting with the couple because they in turn told the cops about us. We were convicted of attempted extortion and trying to sell the baby."

Joelle stayed quiet a moment. "Did Hamlin know about my father's involvement in this?"

"Sure," Erica was quick to say. "Your father spoke to both Al and me after the arrest. I'm not sure what he said to Al, but your dad was kind to me. He knew my folks had kicked me out, that I had no place to go and had been staying with friends just to have a roof over my head. He told me if I needed help with a legal adoption agency or if I decided to keep the baby, he could find me a place to go."

That part didn't surprise Duncan one bit. Sheriff McCullough had been a good man, and he would have done whatever possible to right a bad situation. If Erica was telling the truth, and Duncan believed she was, then her situation had definitely qualified as bad.

"I took the sheriff up on his offer," Erica explained. "I got out of juvie three months before Al did, and the sheriff helped me get into a home that had other girls like me. I had the baby, legally put her up for adoption and then the sheriff arranged for me to get my GED and a job."

Joelle and Duncan exchanged glances, and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head. "How did Hamlin take that?"

"Not well." That answer was also quick. "He didn't find me until after I'd had the baby, and he was furious. Not because he wanted the child. But because he still thought I should have gotten some money for the baby. Money that I should have shared with him." Her bottom lip trembled a little. "I told Al to leave me alone or I'd ask Sheriff McCullough to help me file a restraining order against him."

Duncan figured Hamlin wasn't happy about that, either. In fact, it could have riled him to the core. Did it rile him enough, though, to carry on a vendetta to murder the sheriff and go after Joelle? Maybe. And maybe Molly played into the plan simply because she would soon give birth to a baby that Hamlin could sell.

Erica lifted her head and met Duncan's gaze. "I think Al might have pressured his sister to sell her child. That might be why Isla disappeared."

Duncan considered that for a moment and then tried to link that to what was happening now. If Hamlin had continued to dabble in selling babies, then it's possible Isla would have run from him.

"Did Al ever mention Kate Moreland?" Duncan asked.

Erica opened her mouth to answer, but the sound of a man's voice stopped her. Speaking of the devil, Hamlin came in, pushing his way past one of the deputies, and his attention must have landed on Erica.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Hamlin demanded.

Erica sprang to her feet, and Duncan thought the woman might cower in fear at the sight of her ex, but she turned and faced him head-on. "I came because I thought you might be involved in what happened to Deputy McCullough and the woman who was kidnapped."

Hamlin cursed, and he opened his mouth as if about to unleash some rage and profanity, but he quickly bit that off. He turned around, pacing a few steps, and when he turned back toward Erica, he scrubbed his hand over his face.

"Don't you see?" he asked her. "They'll use anything you've told them to try and pin these crimes on me. I'm just trying to find my sister and make the people who took her pay."

"I had to come," Erica fired back. There was no real anger in her voice, just that shamed reaction again. "I don't know for sure if you've had any part in what happened, but I wanted to tell the sheriff about our arrest. I didn't think it would come up in a normal search since we were underage."

"And it's irrelevant," Hamlin insisted. He snapped toward Duncan and repeated that. "Yes, I was convicted of doing something very stupid by trying to get money for our child. I was young and desperate, and I made a mistake. All of that has nothing to do with the attacks. I told you I was there on scene because I got a text from you. Or rather a text I thought was from you."

"It wasn't," Duncan verified. And that's why Duncan had had his phone records entered into the investigation log so it would be clear he hadn't been the one who'd messaged Hamlin telling him to go to the McCullough ranch. According to the techs, the message had come from a burner, which meant Hamlin could have sent it to himself.

That was a reminder of why Duncan had wanted Hamlin to be interviewed, but he wasn't sure if Erica had more to add to the investigation or not. "Thank you for coming in today," Duncan told the woman. "Deputy Slater McCullough will take your statement because there are some things I have to ask Hamlin."

And Duncan didn't want to do that in front of Erica. He needed to keep this all by the book since he soon might be charging Hamlin with a boatload of felonies.

Duncan tipped his head to the interview room. "This way," he told Hamlin, and Joelle followed in step behind them. On the short walk, Duncan repeated the Miranda warning.

Hamlin muttered throughout the warning, and he was still muttering when they were in the room and seated. "Erica shouldn't have come and stirred up things like that," he snapped. "I had nothing to do with what happened to Deputy McCullough and the dispatcher."

"Nothing to do with Sheriff Cliff McCullough, either?" Duncan threw out there.

Hamlin flinched. Then, he huffed again. "Erica told you that the sheriff is the one who ratted us out. Yes, he did. He poked his nose into something that wasn't his business, but I'm going to repeat myself again. I had nothing to do with what's been going on."

Duncan just stared at the man, and after a few seconds had crawled by, he said, "Willie Jay Prescott." And he watched Hamlin's reaction.

Joelle was no doubt watching, too, which meant she saw the flicker of recognition in Hamlin's eyes. "Want to tell us about your relationship with Willie Jay?" she suggested, though it was more of an order.

Hamlin's mouth tightened, and he belted out some more profanity. "What about him?"

Duncan huffed. "Stop playing games with us. Willie Jay is in a jail cell right here in this building, and he's had plenty to say."

Of course, that last part was a lie. Willie Jay hadn't said a word, but it was obvious that the revelation of Willie Jay's arrest put some serious concern on Hamlin's face.

Hamlin stayed quiet a moment, his gaze flickering right and then left. "Mr. Prescott briefly worked for me when I first became a PI," he finally said. "I employed him to help me track down leads on my cases. The employment didn't last because Mr. Prescott turned out to be not very reliable at showing up for work or doing his assigned tasks. So, I fired him."

Duncan continued to fix his hard stare on the man. "When was this?"

Hamlin certainly wasn't quick to answer. "I officially fired him about two months ago, but he hasn't actually worked for me in nearly a year. I just quit giving him assignments." He paused a heartbeat, and some more anger flared through his eyes. "Mr. Prescott was not happy about me terminating his employment so I'm sure anything he told you is to get back at me for firing him."

Duncan made a sound to indicate he was giving that some thought and he shook his head. "He didn't mention anything about you firing him." And Duncan left it at that, letting Hamlin squirm.

He squirmed all right and did more cursing. "Look, I don't know what Willie Jay said about me, but I've done nothing illegal. Nothing illegal since that incident when I was a teenager," he amended when Duncan lifted an eyebrow. "The person you should be looking at is Kate Moreland. She's behind these attacks."

"So you've said," Duncan commented. "But I'm not seeing a whole lot of proof that she's guilty. You, on the other hand, have a strong connection to a hired thug, Willie Jay, who we caught red-handed. He's going down, and he's going down hard. It'll be interesting to see who he takes with him."

The anger came again, like a burst of red-hot heat, but it faded just as quickly. "The person he should be taking down with him is Kate because I didn't hire Willie Jay to go after Deputy McCullough or your dispatcher."

Joelle leaned in. "Why are you so sure it's Kate? There has to be more to this vendetta of yours—"

"She was the one who contacted me when I was seventeen and Erica was pregnant," Hamlin blurted. "I'd been asking around, and she got in touch with me. She called herself a middleman in the process. A facilitator was the word she used."

Interesting. Because Kate hadn't mentioned anything about that. Then again, this might all be Hamlin blowing smoke.

"Kate contacted you personally?" Duncan asked.

Hamlin nodded. "With a phone call. I'd left my number around in case anyone was interested. I spelled out that Erica and I wanted some money to cover the expenses of her pregnancy and the upcoming delivery."

Duncan raised his eyebrow again.

"All right." Hamlin huffed. "I wanted more than expenses covered. I wanted to be able to give Erica and me a fresh start. And she had already said she was giving up the baby. It wasn't as if I pressured her to do that."

Maybe. Duncan figured some pressure was involved once Hamlin realized he could get money for the baby. Still, Duncan didn't want to muddy this line of questioning.

"So, did you actually meet with Kate when you were trying to arrange for the sale of your child?" Duncan asked.

The wording clearly riled Hamlin, but Duncan wasn't planning on sugarcoating anything. "No," Hamlin snarled.

"Then you can't know for certain it was Kate Moreland," Joelle was quick to point out. She obviously wasn't sugarcoating, either.

"It was her," Hamlin insisted, but then he paused and seemed to have a lightbulb over the head moment. "It was her voice. I've heard recordings of her speaking at various social events, and I'm positive it was Kate."

"Maybe," Duncan repeated.

"There's no maybe to it. It was Kate, and after that initial call, I dealt with one of her employees."

That got Duncan's attention. "Who?"

"A man named Arlo Dennison," Hamlin said without hesitation. "I've researched him, and he used to manage one of her gyms. He doesn't any longer. In fact, he's not officially on her payroll that I can find, but she's probably paying him under the table for more black market baby deals."

"That's possible," Duncan admitted. "But other things fall into the area of possibilities, too. For instance, you're the one doing the baby-brokering deals, and you want to toss some bad light on Kate so she'll take the heat for something you're doing."

Yeah, it was a hard push, but Duncan had wanted to see how Hamlin would react. And he saw all right. Hamlin got to his feet.

"I'm going to terminate this interview right now and come back with a lawyer," Hamlin insisted. He glared at Duncan. "Unless you plan on arresting me simply because I once employed a man you now have in custody."

Duncan wished he could arrest Hamlin. It'd take one of their prime suspects off the street. But there was no way he could get an arrest warrant much less a conviction with what he had.

"Come back first thing in the morning with your lawyer," Duncan told Hamlin. "By first thing, I mean eight o'clock. Be here or I'll send someone to bring you in."

Of course, that riled Hamlin even more, and the man stormed out. Duncan immediately took out his phone to look up this Arlo Dennison, but Joelle had already done it.

"Arlo Dennison," she relayed, "is forty-two and did, indeed, manage one of Kate's gyms. He's got a sheet, an old one for assault and extortion. That was eleven years ago, so he either learned his lesson or he's gotten better at covering up his crimes. I'm texting you his number now," she added.

The moment Duncan's phone dinged with the text, he clicked on the number to call Arlo Dennison. There was a single ring before the call went to voice mail. The greeting was automated and simply told the caller to leave a message. Duncan didn't, though if Arlo checked his phone, he'd be able to figure out that the sheriff of Saddle Ridge was calling him.

"Arlo lives in San Antonio," Joelle added. "You want me to have Ruston send someone out to pick him up and bring him in for questioning?"

Duncan thought about it for a couple of seconds and nodded. "See if Ruston or another SAPD cop can do the interview."

That would save them from having to wait around for Arlo to come in. Duncan figured Joelle was spent for the day. He certainly was, and added to that, they would need to re-interview Kate and try to get Willie Jay to talk.

Joelle nodded and immediately called her brother. She'd barely had time to convey what they wanted when Duncan's own phone rang, and he saw Luca's name on the screen.

"We have a problem," Luca said the moment Duncan answered the call on speaker.

"What?" Duncan asked after he groaned.

"Woodrow found a truck on one of the ranch trails that's near the McCullough ranch. Inside it, there were two dead bodies."