Page 23 of Outlaw Ridge: Jesse
All right, that was a little better to his cop’s ear, and it gave them a jumping off point. They needed to look harder until they found the pieces to help them make sense of this.
“Abilene could have done all of that to Nicky,” Lauren admitted. “She could have set up that whole scene in the shop and then stuffed Nicky into the trunk of her car. Heck, she could have even tatted and drugged herself so she’d look like a victim instead of the abductor. She might have even ended her life when she realized what she’d done.”
She paused, looked him straight in the eyes, and Jesse knew what Lauren was about to say.
“Abilene couldn’t have been the one who tried to kill us last night,” she finished. “Because she was already dead.”
Yeah, Jesse had already gone there over and over. In fact, it was one of the things that had kept him awake.
“Maybe Abilene had an accomplice,” he said, and that was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with if Abilene was actually the abductor.
His phone sounded again with a text. Not from Griff this time but rather from Hallie.
“Dr. Graves will be in at eight with his lawyer for his interview,” he let Lauren know. “Isabel Markham just arrived.She says she’s early but couldn’t sleep. Says she’ll only talk to Lauren and you.”
Lauren was already getting to her feet before Jesse even finished. He got up, too, downing the rest of his coffee and taking out his truck keys. Once she had disengaged the security, they were out the door.
Jesse’s first instinct was to scan the area, making sure they weren’t walking into another ambush. The street was quiet, empty except for Elsie Peters, the retired librarian, puttering around her front yard in a nightgown and flip-flops. She was watering her flowers with a garden hose, but when she spotted them, she paused, grinned, and gave a knowing little wave.
Yeah, he knew that look. The one that said she was convinced he and Lauren had spent the night tangled up in bed instead of just under the same roof.
Great. Just what they needed. Outlaw Ridge’s rumor mill working overtime. Still, that might be better than talk about poor, pitiful Lauren having her past dredged up.
The drive to the station was quiet, tension thick in the air between them. Jesse kept his grip tight on the wheel, his pulse hammering. Another dead woman, another matching tattoo. If Nicky and Abilene had both been branded like Lauren, what the hell did that mean?
That question joined the parade of others going through his head as he pulled into the lot of the police station and got out. Jesse held the door open for Lauren as they stepped into the building. The familiar hum of activity surrounded them—phones ringing, officers typing up reports—but his focus zeroed in on Hallie, visible through the glass wall of her office, phone pressed to her ear. Her expression was tight, her gaze flicking occasionally toward Lauren’s office.
That’s when Jesse saw her. Isabel Markham.
Perched on the edge of a chair in Lauren’s office, Isabel looked like she’d stepped out of a high-end fashion magazine. Her blonde hair was sleek and perfectly styled, makeup flawless, and her clothes, designer, from head to toe. No smudged mascara, no red-rimmed eyes. Just calm, collected composure.
Jesse frowned. Most people would still be reeling from the loss of a family member, especially one found murdered in such a brutal way. But Isabel? She was the picture of control.
Lauren must have picked up on it too, because she shot him a look, one eyebrow arching slightly.
He leaned in, lowering his voice. “Not exactly a picture of a grieving stepsister, is she?”
“No, she’s not,” Lauren softly agreed. “Let’s find out what she knows.”
Together, they crossed the bullpen, Jesse’s boots echoing softly against the linoleum. As they entered the office, Isabel looked up, her smile polite but cool.
“Deputies,” she greeted, her voice smooth as silk. “Thank you for meeting with me.”
Jesse studied her, trying to gauge what lay beneath that polished exterior. “Of course. We’re hoping you can help us understand what happened to Abilene.”
Isabel’s smile didn’t falter. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”
But something told him that it might not be much. Or worse, she might tell then only what she wanted them to hear and nothing more.
Jesse settled into the chair across from Isabel, watching as she crossed her legs with precise elegance. Lauren remained standing, arms folded, her expression unreadable.
“I’d prefer this conversation to remain private,” Isabel said smoothly as she reached over and gave the door a nudge to shut it “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t visit my home again.”
Jesse exchanged a glance with Lauren. They hadn’t been the ones to visit her home—Austin PD had, after she refused to answer her phone. But instead of pointing that out, he let her talk.
She exhaled sharply, her lips pressing together before she continued. “That officer showing up at my house last night was unnecessary. It upset my household.”
“Household?” Jesse questioned.
