Page 17 of Lone Star Showdown

He was the one who eased back from her, and he looked at his phone. Yep, a report. Not the one he’d been expecting though, but it was important.

“This is a detailed list with bios of anyone connected to Marla’s arrest, trial, incarceration and death,” he explained.

It was damn long, too. Twenty-one pages, and he immediately saw something that the database program had picked up on that he hadn’t.

“The killer’s going alphabetically by surname,” Jericho said, pointing it out to Rachel. “First, Dr. Cooper, then Hildie Davidson. You’re next with Rachel Franklin.”

“Oh, God,” she said, her attention pinned to the report. “I didn’t see that. But you’re right. And Judge Edward Gonzales would be right after me. And Jason’s school nurse who testified about his injuries. Amelia Gutzman.” Her gaze whipped up to his. “We have to warn these people. All of them. I mean, I called some—”

“It’s being handled,” Jericho assured her. “The database alerted my boss, and Ruby has started the calls. With luck, she’s already talking to Judge Gonzales.”

With a whole lot more luck, Ruby would have everyone alerted and secured before morning.

“Marco is helping Ruby,” Jericho pointed out, showing her the memo at the top of the report. “Marco Morelli. He, um, has some special skills that help with things like this.”

Jericho decided to leave it at that, mainly because he wasn’t sure how to describe Marco. Maybe if Jack Reacher and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo had a kid, that would come close to nailing Marco’s talents.

The door opened, and even though Rachel and he were no longer hugging, they stepped apart as if they’d been caught doing something wrong. Bree noticed, too, and she gave that little smile that wasn’t actually a smile.

“Rafe is fine,” she relayed. “He did the rescue, and he’s heading home.”

Good. Jericho had no doubts about Rafe’s skills either, but things could and did go wrong. So, it was a relief to know Rafe had succeeded in extracting the runaway teen from a cult and had delivered her safely back to her parents.

Jericho lifted his phone, ready to show Bree the report on the order of the killings, but a shout stopped him.

“Where’s that bitch that got my wife killed?” someone yelled.

Paulie.

Jericho had no doubts about that, and he got confirmation when he saw the man going through security at the front of the building. Paulie was a perfect match for his photos. Ditto for Manson who was right behind him. Manson wasn’t shouting, but she was muttering something that Jericho figured was some ripe profanity.

Paulie didn’t mutter anything. Just the opposite. He just cranked up the volume on his voice to max level and yelled out his demand.

“I want to speak to that bitch, Rachel Franklin, right now!”

Chapter Seven

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Rachel refused to cower in Bree’s office. Refused to let the sickening dread take over. It was obvious Paulie wanted a confrontation.

And she was going to give him one.

She heard Jericho’s groan when she stepped into the doorway, her gaze zooming across the squad room to meet Paulie’s. Rachel only wished she had some kind of super powers to let her know if she was facing down a killer or simply a grieving husband who couldn’t accept his wife’s part in her own death.

“There you are,” Paulie spat out.

“Here I am,” Rachel countered, and she held her ground when Paulie came charging toward her.

Jericho didn’t though. No ground holding for him. He stepped in front of her, and even though she couldn’t see his face, Rachel was betting he was sporting a don’t mess with her glare.

Since Rachel didn’t want this encounter to turn into a pissing contest, she spelled out what she wanted to know. “Did you send someone to kill me tonight?”

Paulie’s body language instantly changed, and he shifted his attention to Bree who’d moved to Rachel’s side. “That’s why you ordered me to come in? Because you believed what this bitch told you?”

“I want to question you and your daughter about an ongoing investigation,” Bree replied. Her voice was as calm as a very still lake.

Paulie cursed. “You believed her. Well, she’s lying through her teeth. I didn’t try to kill nobody.”

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