Page 58 of His Forgotten Colton Fiancee
He mentioned something about the Groom Killer going quiet since the bombing. That led to talk about the killer, and the victims. Then West focused on the Colton most likelyto defend Demi. In the locker room recently, Brayden had muttered his sister was innocent and being framed.
Of all the Colton siblings, Brayden was the only one who believed in Demi’s innocence. “Do you think Demi is guilty?” he asked Brayden.
That was all it took. He shut up, and the three Coltons began to discuss the case. West said nothing, but watched their faces. Shane had receiveda text message a couple of months ago from Demi. He wished he knew her whereabouts.
“She’s alone with a baby. She can’t take care of a newborn on the run,” Shane muttered. “I wish she’d turn herself in, and we could help her.”
“She didn’t do it. Demi’s too smart for that,” Brayden countered.
West gestured with his beer. “What do you think, Chief?”
Finn Colton gazed into the distance,his expression thoughtful. “Demi’s smart. I don’t know if she did it. We can only discern that once she’s found and questioned. At this point, I want this case solved. We have too much to lose.”
“More grooms,” Shane cut in.
“Don’t forget the funding for the center,” Brayden added.
West sipped his beer. The chief was proud of the K-9 training center and the team. He needed Fenwick Colton’sfunding to keep the unit operational.
The trio kept talking about the Groom Killer, then talk switched to the recent bombing and Quinn. He made noncommittal answers when they questioned him about Quinn’s recovery.
Doubts filled him. Mike might suspect the Coltons of harboring information, but the more time he spent with them, the less he believed his boss’s assertions.
He mulled theinformation over in his head. Carson and Danica Gage had believed Demi killed their brother, Bo, the first victim, and the other grooms—until they themselves had gotten romantically involved with Coltons who professed Demi’s innocence. Maybe deep down, though, the Gages still believed Demi had murdered their brother.
Mike suspected the Coltons were withholding information because they werefamily and evidence pointed to Demi as the suspect.
Could the FBI have been dragged into an old family feud, with the Gage family pointing fingers at the Coltons because of past grievances? Mike was smarter than that, but he knew his boss’s ruthless abilities. Mike was as zealous as West when it came to delivering justice.
But he’d been hanging with the Coltons for barely a month, andsaw no justification for Mike’s beliefs.
The main reasons?
The Coltons might have a famous feud with the Gage family, but they were dedicated to the job. Single-minded—a trait he shared with them.
And all three—Finn, Shane and Brayden—had steady female companions of their own, even if they weren’t obvious about it. He’d seen Shane around Danica Gage.
He saw the way Finn Coltongazed at Darby Gage when they’d passed each other on the street.
They hadn’t said anything, but West would bet his shield that the men were damn serious about those women. Even if they tried to keep those relationships secret.
Serious enough to marry.
And no one dared to get married in this town until the Groom Killer was caught.
They wanted the Groom Killer caught.
Makinga mental note to dig further, he walked with Brayden over to watch the horses in the pasture. Of all the Coltons, Brayden was the one who most believed in Demi’s innocence.
Brayden was the one with the most to hide...
* * *
Quinn tried not to panic. West was someplace in the crowd. He wouldn’t abandon her. Surely he had a good reason to walk out of view.
She needed a respite. Someplace to sit, relax and decompress because she felt as if she were swimming through a vat of Jell-O.
A dark-haired man turned, saw her, his hard gaze fixed to her. Smoke wreathed his head from the cigar dangling from his thin lips.
