Page 13 of Outlaw Ridge: Jesse
“Yes,” Lauren confirmed. “What the heck happened?”
The doctor sucked in a long breath. “An hour before she died, she received a phone call. A nurse brought her the phone. It was someone claiming to be her brother.”
Lauren’s stomach twisted, and Jesse fired off the question on the tip of Lauren’s tongue. “Does she even have a brother?”
Sal shook his head. “Not that we could find in her records.”
It hadn’t come up on the background check that Lauren had run on her either.
“What was said on the call?” Jesse demanded.
“She wouldn’t tell us,” the doctor admitted. “But whatever it was, it upset her. After that, she became withdrawn, stopped answering the nurses when they checked on her. Then…” He hesitated, his voice dropping. “She used her own IV needle to end her life. We tried to save her, but—”
Lauren swallowed hard. “I don’t believe Abilene was suicidal when we were here earlier,” she muttered to Jesse.
“I agree. So, the caller threatened her. Unless…” Jesse looked at the doctor. “We’ll need the number of the person who called her and the security footage to see who went in and out of her room. Every nurse or doctor who had contact with her will need to come into the station and give a statement.”
Dr. Monroe didn’t argue with any of that, and he reached in his pocket and took out a sticky note. “That’s the number, but I’ve already spoken to the nurse who took the call, and she says the caller didn’t give a name, only that he was Abilene’s brother and had to speak to her.”
Lauren immediately took out her phone and ran a check on the number. And her heart went to her knees. She turned her screen so that Jesse could see the name of the caller.
Tim Reardon, the former sheriff who was already a person of interest.
“We need to go see him now,” Jesse insisted.
Lauren didn’t hesitate. “We do.” She looked at the doctor. “Please get everyone into the station for those statements. And we’ll let the sheriff know what’s going on.”
Hallie would need to get another CSI team out here in case someone had managed to walk into Abilene’s room and murder her. The security footage would help with that, too.
As Jesse and she made their way out of the hospital, Lauren stared at the number scribbled on the small slip of paper the doctor had handed her.
Tim Reardon.
She couldn’t shake the chill that slithered down her spine. Of all the people who could’ve called Abilene before she died, why him? And why had he said he was her brother? The man was in his mid-sixties, old enough to be Abilene’s grandfather.
Beside her, Jesse led the way out the ER doors and back toward the police cruiser. The smothering hot air did little to settle the unease twisting in her gut. She climbed into the passenger seat, her fingers tightening around her phone as she pulled up the number and hit dial.
One ring.
Two.
Voicemail.
Her stomach knotted as she listened to the impersonal message. Just Reardon’s gruff voice telling callers to leave a message. She ended the call, frustration burning through her. “Straight to voicemail.”
Jesse’s fingers drummed against the steering wheel. “He could have his phone off. Or he could be ignoring calls.”
“Or someone doesn’t want us to reach him,” Lauren murmured.
Jesse didn’t argue. Instead, he pulled up Reardon’s address on the cruiser’s GPS system. “He lives ten miles from here. We’ll go check it out.”
Lauren nodded, her nerves tightening more with each passing second as Jesse started the engine and pulled onto the road.
Lauren exhaled slowly, trying to shake the memories that were creeping in. This was too close. Too familiar. An abducted woman who looked much as Lauren had sixteen years ago. And now, another lead pulling her deeper into the past she’d tried to outrun.
She made a call to Hallie, filling her in on what had happened. As expected, Hallie jumped into action. By the time Lauren had finished the call, she had no doubts that Abilene’s death would be thoroughly investigated.
After Lauren had put her phone away, she shifted in her seat to look at Jesse. “Let’s play devil’s advocate and assume that Reardon didn’t provoke Abilene into killing herself. If he’s innocent, what reason would he have to call her?”
