Page 41 of Lone Star Wanted
“Yeah,” Kincade added, making another glance out the edge of the blinds. “She claims that’s why she pulled a gun on you. Said she didn’t know who was behind it, only that she had to follow orders. She also claimed the two of you had a relationship, that you’d been seeing each other on and off.
“That’s BS. There was no relationship, no seeing on or off. Yeah, I knew who she was, but that’s about it.” Travis leaned back, processing. “But maybe despite the lies, Marlene was just a pawn…”
Cassidy wanted to believe that. But the image of Marlene putting a gun to Travis’s head still burned in her memory.
Kincade didn’t look convinced either. “Or maybe Marlene wasn’t a pawn. Maybe she’s working with whoever killed Alisha. Maybe she helped cover it up.”
Cassidy stared at him, feeling the chill of the idea settle in her spine.
“Or she killed Alisha,” Kincade went on. “Did Marlene have any motive to kill Alisha?”
Cassidy looked at Travis, but he was already shaking his head. “None that I know of,” he said. “She might not have even known her.”
Cassidy exhaled slowly. “I think it was Benji Salazar who made that call about seeing Alisha get in the vehicle that likely belonged to Vance Harlan.”
“Benji Salazar,” Travis repeated. Not a question. “Yeah, I think it was him, too. Everything about him fit.”
Cassidy nodded. “Sixteen years old. Lived in that rundown place off County Road 12. He was always in trouble, hanging around with the wrong people. After Alisha was killed, everyone assumed he ran off. But what if he didn’t run?”
Travis leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing. “My guess is that someone made him disappear.”
She made a quick sound of agreement. “I dug into it last night. Something in that file about the unnamed witness didn’t sit right. The way it was worded… was just off. I think Benji saw something, reported it and that’s why he vanished.”
“Yeah. That’s what I think, too,” her brother spelled out.
Travis pulled out his phone and brought up the map. A few quick swipes, then he zoomed in on a cluster of streets near the outskirts of town.
“Here’s Benji’s place,” he said, pointing. “And here, less than a quarter mile away, is where Alisha’s body was found.”
He traced his finger along a thin, winding trail behind the tree line. “That’s Lover’s Ridge. Back then, it was the go-to spot. Kids used to hang out there all the time. Hook up, party, whatever.”
Cassidy stared at the map. “What if Alisha went out there that night? Maybe she was meeting someone. Maybe she followed someone.”
“Or stumbled into something,” Kincade suggested. “Something that got her killed.”
Cassidy nodded. “If Benji was out there too, he might’ve seen it happen. Or seen who was there. And that made him athreat. Alisha was obviously one, too, since someone murdered her.”
Travis let out a low, frustrated sound and scrubbed a hand over his face. The weight of it all seemed to settle heavier on his shoulders. “Either Daniel or Vance could’ve been the one driving that SUV Alisha got into,” he said finally. “It was registered to the Harlan family back then.”
Kincade leaned a shoulder against the wall, arms crossed tight. “Would she have trusted either of them?”
Cassidy hesitated, then nodded. “Probably. They were already big names in town. Daniel was the golden boy of the prosecutor’s office, and Vance was on the rise politically. People respected them. Looked up to them.”
“But it doesn’t have to be either of them,” Cassidy added a moment later. “What if Vance lent the SUV to someone else? Like Sheriff Moran. Or Becker. The Harlan brothers had ties to both men.”
Travis blew out a slow breath, obviously considering that. And he nodded. “Alisha would’ve gotten into a car with any of those four. They were authority figures. Safe. That’s what makes it so damn dangerous.”
Kincade’s expression didn’t shift, but she saw the flicker of cold anger in his eyes. They weren’t chasing shadows anymore. They were closing in on the people who wore the masks of power and safety—and used both to get away with murder.
Travis sat back against the couch cushions, exhaustion lining his face, but his gaze was steady as it shifted between them. “Thanks for looking out for my sister, Kincade.”
Kincade gave a small nod. “We’re looking out for each other.” He paused, then cracked the faintest grin. “I’m pretty sure she’s capable of kicking just as much ass as we are.”
That pulled a smile from Travis. It didn’t last though. Her brother looked at Kincade, more serious now. “I was wrongbefore. Telling you to back off from her. That was about me, not her. You two should be together.”
Cassidy arched an eyebrow. “You’re talking like I didn’t have a say in that decision.”
Travis gave her a sideways glance. “Would you have stayed away from Kincade if I hadn’t interfered?”
