Page 12 of Lone Star Protector

Eddie continued to curse and complain, but he started walking, probably because Nash gave him a shove in the back. Nash and the others followed him, and Nash continued to keep watch just in case Bodie was indeed around. But if he was, the drone hadn’t picked up on it, or Oz would have alerted him.

“Don’t know why I have to talk to the fuckin’ cops,” Eddie went on, kicking at a clump of twigs and leaves with far more force than necessary. “They should be talking to Jordana’s daddy. I’m bettin’ he’s the one who set all of this shit up.”

“What shit?” Nash asked.

“Setting up Bodie to escape, that’s what,” Eddie snapped. “Let me tell you, that wasn’t Bodie’s idea. Why escape when he’d be getting parole next go around? He would have been out in maybe less than a year.”

Nash heard Caroline’s quick intake of breath. Yeah, it was a chilling thought that his brother might have gotten parole, but Nash had figured it probably would have happened eventually. Bodie had already served eighteen years of a twenty-five-year sentence. Normally, the max would have been twenty, but there’d been some illegal weapons and resisting arrest charges tacked onto that.

“So, what does Leland Harris have to do with Bodie escaping?” Nash pressed.

“Shit. Everything, man. I figure Daddy Rich Ass set it all up so that Bodie didn’t have a choice but to escape. Maybe because somebody inside was going to murder him if he didn’t get the hell out of there.”

Caroline huffed. “And why would Mr. Harris do that?”

Eddie made a duh sound. “So that Bodie would be killed. No way in fuckin’ hell does Daddy Rich Ass want his pretty little princess daughter married to the likes of Bodie. This way, he gets rid of Bodie without getting his hands dirty, and his idiot daughter won’t hate him for doing her husband in.”

Well, if Leland Harris had indeed set this up, then his hands were indeed dirty. But that notion sounded like a long shot to Nash. Still, it was possible. A father could do all sorts of things to protect his child.

“You ought to be careful about Leland Harris,” Eddie went on and glanced back at Caroline. “I figure he’s planning to kill you and set up Bodie to take the blame. That way, if the cops or y’all don’t murder Bodie, then he’ll go back inside on death row. A win-win for Daddy Rich Ass.”

Nash wished that theory didn’t tighten his gut. But it did. And it was something that would need to be investigated.

They reached the clearing, and Nash spotted the county cruiser now in Caroline’s drive. He also saw Malley lifting his phone before using it to make a call. Nash’s own phone rang, and he answered it on speaker.

“No sign of Bodie?” Malley asked, but it was obvious from his urgent tone that he had something else to say.

“None, but maybe our guest will be able to tell us where he is. Is something wrong?” Nash went ahead and asked.

“Yeah,” Malley verified. “After the deputy got here, I went inside the house to finish looking around.” He paused. “And I found something.”

Chapter Four

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Caroline had no idea what had put that doom and gloom look on Detective O’Malley’s face, but it was obvious that he needed to tell her something bad.

Or rather show her.

Malley was on her porch and motioned for Nash, Ruby, and her to come into the house as soon as Nash handed off Eddie to Officer Gonzales.

“Is Bodie inside?” Caroline came out and asked.

Malley shook his head but didn’t add more. He just led them through her living room and into the hall to the bedrooms.

With each step she took, Caroline’s heartbeat kicked up even faster, and her grip tightened on the gun that Nash had given her. If Bodie was indeed here though, Malley must not have believed his own gun would be needed since he currently had it holstered.

So, maybe Bodie was dead.

That would mesh with what Eddie had said about Jordana’s father, Leland, wanting Bodie out of the way. Had Leland killed Bodie with the plan to make it look as if she’d done it?

She hadn’t.

But if thoughts could kill, Bodie would have already been roasting in the lowest level of hell.

Malley stopped outside her bedroom door, and stepping to the side, he drew in a long breath. “Obviously, don’t touch anything. The CSIs are on the way and will process the scene.”

The scene. As in a crime.

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