Page 24 of Ranger Bravery

His unspoken message was received loud and clear. Piper was likely the target of the attack. Jackson still believed Marcus had been sent to shoot her yesterday morning. In light of the bombing, she had to admit, he could be right. Piper settled back into the chair. “Be careful.”

“Always.”

He flashed her a smile that warmed her insides before turning to leave. The screen door slammed shut behind him.

Winnie approached with a bottle of antiseptic and cotton pads. She winced slightly. “This may hurt.”

“It’s all right.” Piper settled against the wooden chair, bracing herself for the pain. Every muscle in her body ached, and she knew the soreness would last for days. Soot covered Winnie’s floor. “Thank you for fixing me up. I’m sorry about the mess.”

“Nonsense, child. I’m just glad you and Jackson are okay.”

She poured the liquid over the gash on Piper’s arm. White hot agony shot through her. She inhaled sharply. The best thing for the pain was a distraction. “Did you know Elena?”

“Of course. Good girl. Her mama’s pride and joy.” She poured more antiseptic. “Bessie was a good friend of mine, God rest her soul, and after she passed, I did my best to look after Elena.” Winnie’s mouth turned down as a film of tears appeared in her eyes. “I know how cruel life is, and death shouldn’t shock me anymore, but it hurts that someone would murder such a sweet young woman.”

Piper reached out and patted the older woman’s hand. “It should hurt. When it stops hurting is when we’ve lost something of ourselves.”

Winnie nodded. “I suppose that’s true.”

Piper winced as Winnie gently cleaned the wound. “What did Elena think of her job at the Kingston Law Firm?”

“She liked it. The pay was good and the schedule allowed her to take classes at the community college at night. The Kingstons are a hard bunch, but I have to admit they treat their staff well.”

She weighed her options. Winnie wasn’t a gossip, and so far, questioning Elena’s friends hadn’t gotten them very far. Maybe it was time to be more direct. “I heard a rumor that Elena was secretly involved with Shawn Kingston.”

Winnie froze and then her mouth pursed. “Well, that explains a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

“I knew Elena had a boyfriend, but she wouldn’t say who. It worried me. Elena was a hard worker, but even though she’d grown up in this neighborhood, she was a touch naïve. Bessie sheltered her from a lot.” She huffed out a breath. “Shawn Kingston takes after his daddy. That man couldn’t stay faithful to his wife if you gave him a million dollars. Guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree in this case.”

“Did Elena ever complain about the relationship with her boyfriend?”

“No. I got the sense it wasn’t serious.”

That made sense since Shawn was married. It was well known most of the Kingston men were womanizers. Maybe Elena understood it was a fling and had no intention of exposing Shawn. Having an affair was morally questionable, but it wasn’t a crime.

Piper gritted her teeth against a fresh wave of pain as Winnie continued cleaning her wound. “I also heard Elena helped a friend escape her abusive boyfriend.”

“She did. Wally Hutchinson is as mean as a rattlesnake and just as toxic. His brother, Todd, ain’t much better. A’course, I understand their childhood was awful. Their daddy was scary. But there comes a point when a man has to decide for himself who he’s going to be.” She ripped open a package of gauze. “Wally wasn’t too happy with Elena for meddling in his affairs. He confronted her on the street last week as she was leaving for work, yelling and screaming about how she needs to mind her own business.”

“Did she report the incident to the police?”

“Not to my knowledge. With a man like Wally, sometimes going to the police escalates things rather than helps matters.”

Piper curled her hands into fists as frustration bubbled. She understood Elena’s logic, but she wished the woman would’ve reported him. “Was that all Wally did?”

Winnie stuck a bandage on her wound and sealed the edges down. “I’m not sure. The day before she died, Elena came to my house and dropped off her tablet and some other items for safekeeping. She was nervous. She felt like someone was watching her and suspected her house had been broken into. I urged her to report the matter to the police, and she swore she would, but?—”

Her voice broke off. Piper understood why.

Elena hadn’t reported the incidents to the police because she’d been murdered before she could.

Her mind whirled. If Elena was being stalked, her home broken into… then why on earth did she meet her killer in the nature preserve? It made little sense. Unless the person she thought she was meeting was a friend. Or her ex-boyfriend, Shawn.

But then why bomb her house? Unless… unless the person was afraid of what Piper and Jackson would find.

Elena’s killer had taken her cell phone. That simple act had stalled their investigation. What if the killer had previously broken into her house to steal her tablet? Text messages, phone calls, internet searches… most people stored them on a cloud service so they could be easily accessed across devices.

---