Page 25 of Lone Star Target

His phone rang with a video call request, and since it was Ruby, he answered it right away. It only took seconds for Ruby’s image to replace the report on the monitor.

“I hope you both managed to get some rest,” Ruby greeted.

“Some,” Kit muttered. Jace stayed quiet rather than verify what Ruby already suspected—that there hadn’t been nearly enough sleep.

“Thank you for having my things from my townhouse brought here,” Kit added to Ruby.

The clothes had indeed arrived the night before. Several suitcases of them, delivered by Jericho’s brother Nash. Along with the clothes, including the jeans and green top Kit was now wearing, Nash had brought along her cosmetics and the entire contents of her medicine cabinet.

And a six-pack of Coke.

Nash had apparently seen the stash she’d had in her fridge and pantry, and then he’d deduced this was a staple for her. He’d brought some along in case Jace hadn’t had any in stock.

“You’re welcome,” Ruby replied, “and if you need anything else, just ask, and we’ll get it for you. Best not to go to your place or your office until, well, until it’s safe.”

Jace couldn’t agree fast enough. The kidnapper would likely have both places staked out, maybe with a hired gun or with cameras that he’d set up so he could know if they arrived at one of those locations.

“Three things,” Ruby started, fixing her attention on Kit when she stood and walked closer. “Did you know your brother is hurting financially?”

The surprise washed over Kit’s face. “No.” She shook her head. “But how? Trevor inherited six million from our maternal grandmother just two years ago.”

“And he’s gone through all of it with a combination of bad investments and overspending. Well, the overspending is mainly from Deanna, but Trevor hasn’t reined her in any with a budget.” On the monitor, he saw Ruby looking at her tablet. “For instance, they spend over 10K a month just on fresh flower arrangements for their house. And another 10K-20K a month on salon and spa treatments. Vacations and getaways are a half million a year.”

Kit continued to shake her head as she sank down on the edge of Jace’s desk. “I had no idea. I mean, I’ve always joked that they live like rock stars, but I didn’t know they were burning through his inheritance this fast.”

“They’ve burned through all of it,” Ruby supplied. “And now they’re tapping into the quickly dwindling principle of the few investments they have left. The salary your father pays him isn’t nearly enough for Deanna and him to sustain their current lifestyle.”

“The ransom demand,” Kit muttered.

Yeah, Jace had already gone there, and judging from Ruby’s expression, so had she.

“If Trevor did actually hire someone to kidnap Jace and you, then he would have had to shell out some cash,” Ruby went on. “The tech nor I can find a record of that, nor any kind of record of the phone purchases, but we’ll keep digging. And that brings me to the second update. So far, the cops haven’t charged Trevor with anything.”

Jace cursed, but this was what he’d expected. “Trevor denied the phones were his?”

“Oh, yes,” Ruby was quick to say. “Deny, deny, deny. And he claims Kit or you planted them despite neither of you having a motive for doing that.” She paused. “Ramsey has stepped up to give Trevor all the legal support he needs, which means that he’s lawyered up to the hilt.”

“So, we shouldn’t expect Trevor to be arrested,” Kit concluded.

Ruby made a sound of agreement. “Not at the moment anyway, but we could still come up with something. Maybe the cops will, too, on those phones.” Though she didn’t sound especially hopeful about that last part. “Now, here’s the third thing, and I’ll tell you upfront, you don’t have to agree to this.”

“It’s about the meeting that Marvin wants with Kit?” Jace asked. “He called you back?”

“He did indeed, about thirty minutes ago. I was beginning to think I wouldn’t hear back from him. But he finally called, and I spelled out to him what we’d already discussed. That Kit couldn’t meet with him. Not directly anyway. And I suggested he could meet with you instead and that Kit could observe.”

Jace looked at Kit to get her take on that. She certainly wasn’t jumping at the arrangement. Probably because it was toeing the line of the law. Still, as long as Marvin and she didn’t speak, then it wouldn’t violate the judge’s orders of Marvin having no contact with a witness.

“Marvin agreed about Kit observing, and he offered a time and place,” Ruby went on. “A café in downtown San Antonio at ten this morning.” She rolled her eyes. “Since it would have been next to impossible to secure a scene like that, I nixed that right away and gave him an alternative. A meeting at the Bandera Bluff’s Sheriff’s Office.”

Jace chuckled. But he stopped when he noted Ruby’s expression. “Marvin agreed to that?”

“He did. Yes, that surprised me, too,” she said, studying their faces. “But I called the sheriff, Solomon Manning, and he said we could use their interview room that would allow Kit to observe through camera feed.”

“I’m assuming the sheriff’s office is safe, that Marvin wouldn’t use this as an attempt to try to kill me?” Kit wanted to know.

“Well, it’s not Fort Knox, but it is a building of cops so we can make it safe enough for a visit,” Ruby assured her. “Angel will accompany you there and stay with you during the meeting.”

“Could Marvin maybe manage to sneak in a weapon?” Jace pressed.

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