Page 43 of Outlaw Ridge: Hayes

Jemma heard the dark, dangerous edge in his voice. He was the Rattler now, and she figured if Brooks weren’t already dead, her father would have gone after him then and there.

“When and why did Brooks confess this to you?” Jemma managed to ask.

“Yesterday, right before I left. He came to my office and just blurted it out.” She began to sob again. “I didn’t know he’d done it,” she added, turning back to Stefano.

Her father didn’t push Cordelia away. “What happened to make him tell you something like that?” he asked. “You must have been discussing it for him to have brought it up.”

“We weren’t,” Cordelia insisted. But then she stopped. “Brooks had heard something and he wanted to ask me about it.” She swallowed hard. “He’d heard about a relationship that I’d had with Duane. It happened before you and I were married,” Cordelia was quick to say to Stefano.

Her father certainly didn’t seem shocked by the revelation of the affair. Then again, the Rattler mode gave him the ultimate poker face. “Who’d told Brooks about the affair?” Stefano asked.

Cordelia opened her mouth, closed it and shook her head. “I didn’t get a chance to ask him. Brooks confronted me about it, and I admitted that there had been a relationship with Duanebut that it was long over. Then, I said I probably should have told him so he wouldn’t be blindsided if he heard gossip about it. That’s when he mentioned something about coming clean and confessed to killing your wife.” Her voice cracked. “God, Stefano, I’m so sorry.”

Her father merely patted the woman’s back and eased her closer to him. But Jemma saw something in her father’s eyes as their gazes met.

Doubt maybe?

Had Cordelia actually been the one to kill Jemma’s mother and had she been worried that Brooks was going to unveil her secret? It was possible, and it might be something Owen could get Cordelia to confess to during interrogation.

“We got another visitor,” someone outside yelled. “It’s Duane’s lawyer, and he’s not armed. He’s coming in now.”

Seconds later, a tall, distinguished-looking man in a pricey suit came through the door, prompting Owen to turn to them. “Reed, take Mrs. Salvetti to the second interview room. You can stay with her for now,” he added to Jemma’s father.

Stefano nodded and gave Jemma a kiss on the cheek before he headed down the hall with Cordelia and Reed.

“Declan, you can take the lawyer to interview room one so he can speak to his client,” Owen instructed. “I’ll be in shortly.”

Owen waited until Declan and the attorney had left before he glanced at Molly and Aiden. “Dig deep on this affair Cordelia had with Duane. I want the start and end dates before I question her. Also, access Brooks’ phone records to see who might have called and told him about the affair. I’m betting it was Royce since I saw in the notes that he brought it up during the interview. But I could be wrong. Someone else could have told him.”

Molly and Aiden muttered agreements and went back into the dining/operation’s room.

Owen then turned to Jemma. “Here’s a quick update on Hailey’s body. She died from blunt force trauma to the head. There are no apparent defensive injuries, but her remains and clothes are being tested for possible DNA or trace evidence.”

Maybe the killer had left something of himself or herself behind. Something that could be used to make an arrest. Though that was a long shot, considering how long the body had been in the ground.

“Now, I want you to take those pain meds that the ER doctor prescribed,” Owen went on. He handed her a small bag with the pill bottle inside. “Shaw picked them up from the pharmacy, and I know from experience they can cause drowsiness. Take them anyway since you’re not going to be able to think straight with your head throbbing.”

He was probably right about the thinking straight part, but Jemma wanted to continue working the investigation.

“FYI, taking the meds is an order,” Owen added, his tone and expression adamant, and he shifted his attention to Hayes. “Help Jemma to her room and stay with her until you hear from me.”

Hayes nodded, took the meds from her and was already opening the bottle as they made their way up the stairs.

“I don’t want to go to sleep,” she grumbled, but it was really a token objection. She didn’t want it, but she knew she wouldn’t have a choice once she took the meds. Plus, her body was screaming for just a little downtime.

As ordered, Hayes got her to her room, and he immediately went to the bathroom to get some water. When he came back, he handed her both the glass and two capsules. Jemma sighed first before she took them.

“Boots off,” Hayes muttered, removing them for her, and then he looked at her uniform top. “I know for a fact you don’t have a t-shirt under there.”

Yes, he’d gotten firsthand knowledge of that when the EMTs had unbuttoned her shirt to examine the bruise and burn mark caused by the bullet.

“You should put on something loose so it doesn’t rub the wound,” Hayes advised.

She considered the clothing items that one of the operatives had collected from her house, and she shook her head. “I don’t have anything loose.” In fact, the one pair of PJs that’d been brought over were the snug-fit kind.

He set her boots aside and went into his room. Several moments later, he came back with one of his black tees. Despite everything she had to smile since the t-shirt would definitely be roomy on her.

She began to unbutton her uniform, and Hayes being Hayes turned away to give her some privacy. Jemma managed to get off her top. Not easily because of her knotted muscles and the pain that came with every movement. But as predicted, she had no trouble slipping on his shirt.

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