Page 38 of Outlaw Ridge: Jesse
Even if it meant unearthing every dark secret buried in the past.
Lauren sighed, and she and Jesse headed toward the door to go after Reardon and Belinda, but it opened before they reached it, and Isabel Markham rushed in.
Dressed in a designer outfit and with her blonde hair sleek and perfect, she looked every bit the wealthy heiress that she was—except for the fury burning in her eyes.
“This is unacceptable,” Isabel snapped, marching straight toward them. “Have you seen the news articles? Nearly every one of them refers to Abilene as the stepsister of the Austin socialite, Isabel Markham. Do you have any idea what this is doing to my reputation? People are gossiping about it.”
Lauren arched an eyebrow. “Yourreputation?” she repeated, crossing her arms. “Your stepsister is dead, and that’s what you’re upset about?”
Isabel’s nostrils flared, and she fanned her hand through the air as if waving off that question. “Abilene was always trouble. Always. She had it too easy, and her mother never did anything to stop her.”
“And that pissed you off,” Jesse remarked, and his tone was clear to any cop. Jesse was spelling out possible motive for Isabel wanting her sister dead. “Maybe pissed off enough to…well, I don’t know, maybe get your hands on someone else’s phone and use it to make a call to convince Abilene that her life wasn’t worth living.”
Isabel made a sound of outrage, but she didn’t seem puzzled as to why Jesse would make that sort of investigative leap. She only became even more angry.
“I did no such thing,” Isabel snarled. “And this is why these new articles have to stop. Because people like you will read them and make assumptions about me.” She jammed her perfectly manicured thumb against her chest. My family is furious. My mother is mortified that our name is being dragged into this circus, and now the man I’ve been seeing is suddenly reconsidering our relationship because of thescandal.”
Jesse let out a low breath beside Lauren, clearly biting back whatever sarcastic remark was on the tip of his tongue.
Lauren, however, had no such restraint. “Ascandal?Isabel, Abilene was likely abducted and God knows what was done to her before someone provoked her into ending her life. And if you’re done worrying about how this affects your social status, maybe you’d like to hear something actually important.”
Isabel’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Fine,” she snapped, the word bursting out of her mouth. “What?”
Lauren glanced around. Her fellow deputies were clearly trying to get on with their work, and that wasn’t going to happen with a heated discussion going on right in the bullpen.
“Let’s take this in my office,” Lauren insisted.
Jesse and she headed there, but Isabel stayed put. For a couple of seconds anyway. But then Isabel must have realized the bullpen wasn’t the place for a conversation about the damage to her reputation because on a huff, she followed them into the office, stepped in and slammed the door behind her.
“All right, what is so important?” Isabel demanded.
Lauren didn’t waste time. “We’ve identified the man who kidnapped me sixteen years ago,” she said, watching Isabel’s face closely. “And we have reason to believe he might be the same man who abducted Abilene and Nicky.”
Isabel’s eyes widened slightly, but Lauren wasn’t sure if it was from shock or because she finally realized this was bigger than a tabloid scandal.
“Wait,” Isabel said, her voice quieter now. “You’re saying the man who took you—he might have taken Abilene too?”
Lauren nodded. “And we need to figure out exactly what that means. So, if you’re ready to stop worrying about your image and start focusing on what actually matters, let’s talk.”
For the first time since Isabel had stormed in, she didn’t have a snapped-out remark. Instead, she hesitated before she finally exhaled and gave a slow nod.
“All right,” she said, her voice barely louder than a murmur now.
Lauren watched as Isabel absentmindedly brushed her hand over the long sleeve of her top. Isabel had done that on her last visit to the station, and when they’d asked her if she had a tattoo, Isabel had rushed out.
So, obviously it was a sore subject.
But why?
Lauren couldn’t help but go back to her theory that Isabel and she had a shared past. An ugly, horrific one that definitely wouldn’t look good to a socialite eager to keep her name untainted by, well, anything.
“Isabel,” Lauren said, throttling back on the cop’s tone, “do you have a tattoo on your arm? Were you… one of the victims taken back then?”
The question hung in the air like a challenge. Isabel’s eyes flashed with anger again. “What? No,” she snapped, her voice rising. “I was never one of those… victims. I don’t know what you’re insinuating.” Isabel’s expression hardened even more as she folded her arms. “Is this the important news you wanted to tell me? Because if that’s all you have to say, I’m done here.” She moved as if ready to leave.
Before Isabel could turn and walk out, Jesse stepped in. He swiveled the laptop toward Isabel, the screen illuminated with the prison photo of Reggie.
Lauren held her breath as she waited to see if Isabel would have a reaction to the picture. And she saw one all right. But it wasn’t fear or horror of a victim looking at the face of someone who’d abducted and branded her.
