Page 27 of Outlaw Ridge: Hayes

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Chapter Eight

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Hayes wasn’t disputing that Jemma and he needed to speak with both Royce and Duane. Those three missing hikers and their dead parents could be the reason one of the men had wanted all the Outlaw Ridge cops murdered.

But which one?

Duane fit if he was covering up the hikers’ deaths either by his own hand or by someone at his school. Considering the complaints that Duane had filed against Outlaw Ridge PD over the death of one of his students, he would obviously go to any lengths to protect those in his charge.

Maybe his idea of protection included murder.

Royce fit though, too. As a dispatcher, he could have failed to report the missing hikers to Sheriff Bonetti, something that would have stayed hidden had it not been for the threat of Jemma digitizing those old police files. But that left Hayes with some puzzling questions.

Had Royce murdered those hikers?

Or was he covering for someone?

“Are Royce and Duane friendly?” Hayes asked Jemma. Of course, it would take more thanfriendlinessto protect a killer.

“No,” Jemma was quick to answer, and then he saw in her eyes when she grasped the reason for his question. “Duane detests anyone or anything connected to Outlaw Ridge PD. Hedidn’t specifically name the dispatcher in his wrongful death complaint, but I recall Royce and him getting into a shouting match once when Duane showed up at the station.”

Hayes considered that a moment, and it put a possible dent in one of his theories—that the mass murders had been payback by Duane for his student’s death. Total payback should have included the dispatcher, a dispatcher he’d had a heated argument with. After all, the current dispatcher had been gunned down like the cops.

Was that an oversight on the killer’s part, or was Royce alive because he was the killer? Hayes didn’t get a chance to give that more thought because he heard a familiar voice.

“Owen,” Jemma and he muttered at the same time.

With Reed right behind them, Jemma and he headed into reception, and he saw his boss. Definitely not a hundred percent. Owen’s arm was in an elaborate-looking sling, and he had beads of sweat on his face. Not from heat, either. Hayes was betting this was from pain.

His boss wasn’t alone. Ruby was with him and so were two members of her team that Hayes recognized. Angel DeLuca and Presley Nolan. Hayes had worked with them on a recent mission to rescue a hostage, and he knew they were both solid. And they were former cops.

“Reed, put them to work on tracking down more info on those missing hikers,” Owen said, tipping his head to Angel and Presley. “They’ve still got the contacts at San Antonio PD to look into the suspicious deaths of the parents who filed the missing persons’ reports.”

Good. Because Hayes figured they’d been killed by the same person responsible for the hikers’ disappearances. Maybe also for the recent murders.

“We’ve already started the research,” Angel let them know. “And there’s only one student, Zander Emerson, who was atDuane’s school in Outlaw Ridge when any of the hikers went missing.”

“We’re getting a list of former students,” Presley added, taking up the explanation. “We’ll do phone interviews with all of them, and if we think one or more is a likely candidate for murder, we’ll meet with them face to face.”

That would be a huge undertaking, but if Angel and Presley could link Duane to the hikers’ disappearances, then that would give Duane a connection to the current murders. Well, maybe it would. Hopefully, Ruby’s men would be able to fill in some of the blanks about that.

When Reed, Presley, and Angel left to go into the dining room, Owen shifted his attention to Hayes and Jemma. “I called Royce on the drive over and said I needed a word with him. He’s on his way here. I’d rather speak to Duane though at the school because I want to get a look at the facility and talk to some of his students.”

Ruby huffed. “Obviously, Owen should be in the hospital or, as a minimum, on bed rest. He shouldn’t be driving to Duane’s.”

A muscle flickered in Owen’s jaw, and while he didn’t shoot Ruby a glare or even look annoyed, Hayes was betting this was an argument the two had already had.

“Hayes and I can go to the school,” Jemma offered. “And you can maybe sit down in the dining room and do the interview with Royce. In fact, you could maybe rest upstairs in your room while you’re waiting for Royce to arrive.”

“Excellent idea,” Ruby concluded.

Owen’s expression indicated otherwise. “If Duane isn’t the actual killer, he could be harboring one or more at that school. A visit there could be walking into an ambush.”

Hayes made a sound of agreement. “Which is even more reason why you shouldn’t be the one to go.” He motioned towardOwen’s injured arm. “Aiden, Jemma, and I can go. We’ll treat it like any other dangerous op and go in fully armed.”

Owen opened his mouth, maybe to argue, but then he closed it. He must have remembered this wasn’t solely a personal battle. That he had trained operatives, ones without gunshot wounds, who could get the job done.

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