Lost & Broken (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 2) Read online

  “What can I do to help?” he asked, taking their lack of disagreement that it was settled.

  Both Littlemoons pondered it. Where they had expected the man to tell them back off, and leave it to the police, he didn't.

  Finally, they went for it.

  “We need you to have the ME reopen William’s case. We don’t think it was an accident.”

  Sheriff Rand didn't either, especially since they had turned up one of the Hessers, lying in his own blood.

  “If we’re going to share information from the inside,” Tori began, “then you need to be just as forthright.”

  He agreed. “Yeah, except I don’t have anything to offer you. I don’t even know where to start with this one.”

  Julian threw him a bone. “While I was skeet shooting with the men and Jonathan Hesser, their jockey confronted him. He didn't exactly try to hide how pissed off he was.”

  That had Beckett’s attention. “How so?”

  Diving in, he gave him the entire story and didn't hold anything back. When he was finished, the sheriff was making notes in his notepad and looked like a kid in the candy store.

  “So, the jockey was pissed and his boss turns up with his head bashed in?”

  They both nodded.

  “Interesting.”

  “It’s something to start with,” Julian admitted.

  “I’m going to interview the man and see what he comes up with,” he stated. “If I find anything, how can I reach you?”

  Julian rattled off their cell numbers. “Call or text me. We’ll have to meet in private, since we’re already being monitored by some of the people here.”

  He nodded. “I’ve got to get to work,” he said, tipping his hat. “Watch your back, both of you. I don’t want to come here and find anyone else hurt or dead.”

  Yeah, neither did they.

  * * *

  Thursday Afternoon

  The entire estate was worked up into a tizzy. After finding Jonathan Hesser, the staff was shocked and horrified. For a while, Julian and Tori wandered around, trying to pick up some gossip, but it wasn’t panning out. Every time they approached someone, who worked for the Hessers, they clammed up.

  Lorelei raced off with the ambulances to wait with her dad, and no one could blame her. It was hard to believe that someone was now trying to kill people right on the estate.

  Before heading to their room, Julian and Tori noticed that the sheriff was taking in the jockey, Timmy McLeary, for questioning. Obviously, when Beckett Rand questioned the other men, he had gotten the same story Julian had shared.

  Since they needed to be productive, they headed back up to their room. Tori had blood on her jeans from where her hem had touched the pooling liquid, and she wanted to change.

  Plus, they really wanted to spend some time going through the journal.

  After getting changed, they sat in the bedroom, between the balcony and the bed, hidden from view. It didn't seem feasible to hide in the bathroom. If they were being watched, they didn't want to let on.

  Not that this was much better.

  As they sat there and scanned the pages, they found mostly personal accounts of Joseph Hesser’s life. As of yet, nothing was mentioned regarding his favorite mistress, but they still had most of the book to go.

  At the thump, Julian placed his body protectively in front of Tori when the sound registered.

  Someone was outside on their balcony.

  When Kane peeked around the corner, they let out the breath they were holding.

  “Can I come in?” he asked, waiting to be invited.

  Both Littlemoons stood. “Where’s Christina?”

  Kane headed toward the door and opened it. When he stuck his head out and said something, she entered.

  “We wanted to see what you had planned for the rest of the day,” Kane said. Well, it was that and there was safety in numbers. He liked Christina being surrounded by as many ‘safe’ people as possible.

  “We were just going over the journal,” Tori whispered. “So far, nothing has popped.”

  Christina knew what they meant. “We only found that one connection to Bethany Duvaul’s family. We still can’t figure out what he was paying them for, other than guilt that his mistress went missing.”

  It wouldn’t be the first time that someone rich used money to pay off a poor family to keep them appeased. Blood money wasn’t odd in the least.

  Speaking of blood…

  “I had an idea, and I need your help, Christina.”

  She was more than willing to do whatever they asked. “What do you need?”

  “We’re looking for this Bible, but we have a better way to get the proof that we need. We have Jamie’s saliva and now, Jonathan Hesser’s blood. We need a DNA test.”

  Well, she would do anything that she could to help them, but she couldn’t pull off a miracle without equipment. “The best I can do is call for a little backup,” she stated, alluding to their friends in higher places. “There’s an FBI lab fifty miles from here. If I take it there, I can get it run for you. It’ll take a couple days, but they’ll do it for another lab rat with Blackhawk clearance.”

  Tori kissed her noisily on the cheek. “Thank you!”

  Julian simply lifted a brow and stared at his wife. “Uh, no kissing anyone, even other women. I happen to own those lips, and don’t like to share,” he teased.

  She punched him in the arm.

  Christina found that funny. “I need to make a call and see if I can get it taken care of, but I don’t want to do it here.” She wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to the FBI if they were being watched.

  “We can all head out,” stated Tori. “I need to call Elizabeth and see if they have anything on the Snyder couple.”

  Julian took the journal from her and dropped it back into the clear bag. As he sealed it, Kane began laughing. “Old Native hiding spot, huh?”

  Julian laughed and headed to the bathroom. When he walked away, Tori had to explain to Christina.

  She shook her head in exasperation. “For the record, boys,” she began, “that’s the first place the Feds look when we search a house.”

  Kane tried not to smile. “Then, it’s a good thing I never, ever did anything like that in my life.”

  All they heard was Julian’s laughter emanating from the bathroom. Apparently, Kane was full of shit.

  Christina covered her ears and shook her head. “I don’t want to know. I like to believe that the man I’m going to marry doesn’t have a criminal past.”

  Kane dropped a kiss to her lips. “Never, Chrissy.”

  Julian exited the bathroom ready to make their calls. “Let’s get going, and then we can regroup before dinner.”

  They all followed.

  Thank God that they had the FBI to fall back on in situations like these.

  This may be the catalyst to unraveling this case.

  Then again, after today’s events, maybe not.

  It was anyone’s guess at this point.

  * * *

  Their room was empty, and it was time to strike.

  As the hidden door slid open, the shadow crept eagerly into the room.

  Heading toward the table with the folded jeans, they were grabbed and carried away.

  The last thing that needed to be discovered was any DNA mixed in with Jonathan Hesser’s. The old bastard fought, and that was a dangerous risk.

  If that happened, the shit would hit the fan.

  It was better safe than sorry, and now the evidence needed to disappear.

  Once back in the corridor, the door closed and the figure made a break for it.

  For now, there was safety.

  Well, for some people.

  * * *

  Friday Morning

  Last night was something of a bust for the team.

  After calling Elizabeth Blackhawk, she wasn’t available to talk to Tori. It seemed that she too was neck deep in a case and out in the field with Callen. Ethan was still at Quant
ico, and even he couldn’t be reached to help them out.

  Tori knew that her best friend would call her back as soon as she grabbed a few moments to breathe. Since she had worked assignments with the woman, Tori didn't doubt that she was dealing with chaos too.

  As she was trying to reach her ex-boss, Christina had called the local FBI office and spoke to one of the techs there. They were more than willing to test the sample, once they dropped the Blackhawk name.

  It wasn’t like they were worried. They knew that Elizabeth and Ethan wouldn’t question it. That was one of the best things about having friends in high places.

  Today, Christina and Kane would be dropping it off.

  Unfortunately, their afternoon was booked, since they were all going to have to take some time to get ready for the evening’s festivities. While Tori was dreading it, Julian wasn’t.

  He didn't mind mingling with his beautiful wife on his arm. Actually, Julian was a little surprised that the Hesser family didn't cancel the event all together. No one would have blamed them, since Jonathan Hesser was in ICU in a coma. It pretty much put a damper on everyone’s party mood.

  “What’s on the schedule, Jules?” she asked, as they sat on the side of their bed.

  Before he could reply, there was a knock on the door, Julian cautiously opened it. When he saw that it was his team, he let them in. “I was just going to tell Tori what I planned today,” he offered.

  Christina wasn’t looking so good.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, hoping she didn't start tossing her cookies right then and there.

  “I will be,” she answered. “This pregnancy gig is tough. Who would have thought that one tiny little being was able to bring a full grown adult to her knees?”

  Then, she realized that talking about pregnancy was probably a bad thing. Christina knew that they were struggling to have a child of their own. “What are you two doing while Kane and I are off at the FBI lab?” she asked, hastily changing the subject.

  “We’re heading into town,” Julian stated. “I want to see what the police found.”

  “Can we trust the sheriff?” Kane asked. He’d once been law enforcement himself, but he knew that cops sometimes liked to be control freaks. Private investigators weren’t exactly loved by police. They ranked right below Feds.

  “I think so, but this will tell me for sure,” stated Julian. “I’m hoping that he’ll offer up something, and we can get a lead.”

  “Well, we need to get moving,” Christina said. “We need to make the two hour trip before anyone notices we’re missing,” she stated.

  Tori headed for the table where she left the folded jeans and envelope. As she approached, something looked off. Finally, it registered.

  “Uh oh.”

  No one liked the sound of that.

  “What?” Julian asked, moving to her side.

  Tori pointed, and immediately he understood.

  “We had company,” she said, trying to recall if the jeans had been there when they returned from their calls.

  For the life of her, she couldn’t remember.

  “Someone took the DNA,” Julian stated.

  This was a major wrench in the plan, and they couldn’t help but wonder why only the jeans.

  The mystery was getting more complex and honestly, they were confused as hell.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The first thing that Julian did was rush to the bathroom to check on the journal. While they could live without the DNA sample, the book in their possession was more important. After all, they believed that William Macavoy died because of it.

  They couldn’t let that be in vain.

  When he found it, safely tucked away in the back of the toilet, there was a consensus of relief.

  “Someone had to be in here,” Tori said. Glancing over at Christina, she pointed at her purse. “Do you have your lighter on you?”

  She nodded and dumped the contents on their bed.

  Tori stared in horror. “What the hell? Are you packing for some emergency or the end of the world as we know it?”

  There was everything in there but the kitchen sink.

  Christina dug through the spilled contents and handed the woman the lighter. “You never know when you’ll need some of these things,” she said, pointing at the pencil, tape, and razor.

  Julian was amused. “Yeah, you may have to shave your legs on the run.”

  Christina actually looked at him in confusion. “No, that’s in case I need to retract a fingerprint. You can get one using those three items. You scrape the lead shavings, brush over the print, and use the tape to pull the latent print up.”

  They all stared at her.

  “Really? Did any of you take science in school or watch that guy on public TV?”

  Kane grinned. He loved how smart his little woman was. He was betting their child was going to be genius.

  “And the rest?” Julian teased.

  “What if I need to pull a hair or some fiber?” She pointed at the tweezers and little pill boxes. “I can store them in there without fear of contamination.”

  Tori started laughing. “And here I thought you were just a hoarder.”

  The woman laughed. “It’s worse than that. I’m an ex-Fed. That’s something that you never get over, you know that.”

  The women gave each other a fist bump in solidarity. There was nothing but truth in that simple statement. Tori still had shades of FBI, when she least thought they were there.

  “Okay, let me check this room,” Tori said, flicking the lighter on before walking the perimeter. When the flame began flicking, she paused. “It’s here somewhere.” She began running her fingers over the elegant wallpaper, trying to find a seam. When she felt it, she glanced over her shoulder.

  “I got it!”

  Once found, they clustered around her in excitement. The men dropped to their knees to examine the wood floor. Sure enough, there was a subtle wear, showing how the door opened.

  “We’re going to have to figure out how to get behind there,” Julian said, dying to see who was using them. Once they could get access, it would surely lead them somewhere important.

  “I don’t see any peepholes,” stated Christina, as she examined the pattern on the wall.

  “This print doesn’t exactly lend to it,” Tori stated. “The pattern is too geometric. Where yours had petals and flowers, they could be disguised. This one is too simple.”

  Julian was glad to hear that. It was creepy to think someone was watching him and his wife while they were being intimate. He didn't know how Kane and Christina were managing it. The whole thing gave him the willies.

  When the men stood, Tori could tell that her husband was working something up in his head. “What are you thinking about?” she asked, watching his face.

  “We really could use that sample. Is it possible to pull some of the blood from the ground where Jonathan Hesser was found?” he asked Christina.

  She thought about it. “Yeah, the ground inside the tack shed would have soaked up some of the blood. If I get a decent soil sample, the FBI lab can use that to isolate the DNA and run the report against the saliva.”

  Okay, they were back on track.

  “You need to be sneaky about it,” Tori stated.

  Christina rubbed her hands together and couldn’t wait. One of the things that she loved most about working with Tori and Julian was that she got to play undercover. “I’m on it!”

  Kane watched as she dug out a small baggie and shoved it in her pocket. Scooping up the rest of her ‘gear’, she was ready to go.

  “Text us when you’re on the road,” Julian stated, wanting to make sure that his team was indeed safe. After all, he was responsible for them.

  Once the team had split up, Julian and Tori wandered into the dining room to grab some coffee and make an appearance. The last thing that they needed was to draw suspicion with the four of them all missing at once. They were going to head into town and take care of their part of
the day’s work. In the back of Julian’s mind, he was still a little worried. The sheriff was offering to help, but this could come back to bite him in the ass, and he knew it.

  He was putting his faith in a stranger, and the fate of his wife and the team too.

  It was a huge risk, but for some reason, he didn't get that off feeling about Sheriff Rand. His instincts were telling him that the guy was one of them.

  A seeker of justice.

  At the buffet, they made their coffee and turned to leave. There were a few people in the room, but most of them staff. The head housekeeper, Sharla Wheaton, was updating her other co-workers of Jonathan Hesser’s status. Her voice was fraught with sadness, and then anger that someone had hurt their boss.

  Apparently, they were struggling to keep him alive, and he wasn’t doing all that well.

  It was a shame.

  With the kind of head injury that he had sustained, he wasn’t likely to be doing what he loved in life, if he could survive and make it home again. Whoever wanted to take the man out, did a damn good job, managing to prolong his suffering.

  Someone had some major issues.

  Crushing a sweet old man with the things he loved in life, and trying to kill a man where he found the most happiness.

  It was all some sick, twisted game.

  Tori and Julian listened for a bit, since that was what they were supposed to do, and when they realized that there wasn’t anything more going to be revealed, they headed out.

  Once in the car, the conversation turned toward the man they were about to trust. Julian wanted Tori’s honest opinion. He relied on her gut more than once, and it had been dead on. His wife was just good at these kinds of things.

  “Do you think he’ll toss us to the wolves?” he asked.

  She had to think about it. “I don’t think so. I don’t get that vibe from him. Sheriff Rand appears to be a person who really wants to find justice. That’s far and few between when it comes to men in his position. In my experience, if you’re an elected official, you always want to assure that you’re going to win the next election and retain your job.”