Page 55 of Not Our Daughter

Hailey interrupted. “She says you didn’t do it. It was someone else.”

“She’s telling the truth. And we need your help to figure out who and why. I have a video of the man we believe was involved in Candace’s death. Can I show it to you?”

Hailey looked uneasy but shrugged and nodded. He cautiously stepped over to her as to not spook her. A few feet away, he brought up the video of the stocky guy he’d taken from their home security camera the night of her sister’s death. He’d pulled it off his secure website just moments ago. He paused the video with a direct view of the guy’s face.

“Do you recognize him?” he asked.

Hailey squinted. For a second, she didn’t say anything. She just kept staring. “Where was this taken?”

“It’s from our home security camera thirteen years ago. Candace showed up to our house first. She was bleeding and panicked. When I let her inside, she fell right into me before hitting the floor. She said someone was coming to harm Jade—or Marcy—and then she begged us to leave right away. To take her and protect her. She died before I could even call for help. The guy in this video showed up moments after we left the house.”

Hailey looked at him. “But the police said they found the murder weapon. One of your kitchen knives. With your fingerprints on it.”

“We think the guy in the video used one of our knives posthumously. To lead the police in that direction. That’s why my fingerprints are on it. And then he deleted all the security camera footage. We were fortunate to save this video before that happened.”

“Oh my ...” Hailey covered her mouth like she might be sick.

“I’m sorry to be so graphic. I know how awful this must be for you.”

“But why didn’t you just tell the police the truth?”

“We tried. We sent the video I just showed you to our lawyer to share with the FBI. But it didn’t make any difference. So we kept running. We knew they’d take Marcy from us. And if they did, that would just put her right back in danger. Your sister clearly believed whoever did this would have no issue harming a child. We were never going to allow that to happen. But we almost did today. The same guy in the video tried to shoot and kill us earlier this afternoon.”

“This is crazy,” Hailey said. “I do recognize him.”

“You do?” Lisa said, stepping forward, immediately engaged.

Hailey nodded. “But it was way before the night of my sister’s death. Probably a year and a half or so. I remember meeting him at a bar. Candace dragged me there. Some sharp-dressed business guy in a suit was all over her that night. He was probably twice her age. But my sister never cared about that. She could tell he had money, so she was interested in him. We were so damn poor. My dad left us when we were little, and my mom was an alcoholic. Still is. Candace and I only had each other growing up. Anyway, the guy in your photograph was with the man in the business suit. I hung out with him while my sister and the other man sat there groping each other.”

“Do you remember his name?” Cole asked.

She shook her head. “It was just one night.”

“What about the name of the guy in the suit?” Lisa asked.

Another headshake. “I mean, this was so long ago. But I do remember the two guys had an odd relationship. It wasn’t like they werenormal drinking buddies. It was more like the guy in the photograph was also the other man’s security or something. When I asked him to play pool, he declined and said something about him needing to be within eyesight of the other man. So I figured the guy in the suit must be someone important.”

“But you didn’t recognize the man in the suit from anywhere?” Cole said.

“No,” Hailey said, running a hand through her hair. “I don’t understand. How could the guy I met that night in the bar be involved with my sister’s murder?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Lisa explained. “Do you remember anything else about the guy in the photo?”

“Yeah, I mean, he was real cowboy-like. He wore boots and Wrangler jeans. And he talked with a West Texas twang. A little too much for my taste. He was hitting on me and trying to impress me. I think he told me he managed some big ranch. He really bragged about it, saying something about it being one of the biggest ranches in Texas. I remember he even had a tattoo of the ranch’s brand.”

“On top of his hand?” Cole asked.

She thought about it for a second. “Yeah, his right hand.”

Cole made a mental note to look up ranches and see if it led anywhere.

“I don’t remember much else,” Hailey said. “I got bored and left early.”

“You ever see either of the guys again?”

“Nope.”

“What about your sister?”

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