Page 17 of Lone Star Hostage

That got the rock star expression off his face, and she watched him shift to the tough operative. “Not really. Jesep refused to talk to the cops about his will. Ruby’s setting up a meeting for us with Ari and Olivia, and she’ll call us as soon as she’s got that in place.”

The words had no sooner left his mouth when his phone rang, and when he yanked it from his pocket, she saw Ruby’s name on the screen.

“Speak of the devil,” he muttered, and he took the call.

“You’re on speaker,” Presley let his boss know. “Give me good news.”

“I don’t have any about Victoria. Like you, the techs haven’t been able to find anything on the traffic cams. My guess is one of the kidnappers sneaked into the house through the greenbelt, left the jar and the message. There’s no evidence to prove that Victoria was ever there.”

That meshed with what Billie had found as well. Which meant they were at a standstill.

“FYI, neither Jesep nor his kids have given us DNA samples yet,” Ruby went on. “Jesep says he’s still talking to his lawyer about that.”

Billie groaned, and she wondered if Jesep knew that, at best, this made him look uncooperative, and at worst, it made him look like the one who’d orchestrated this kidnapping.

“Yes, I’m not pleased about that either,” Ruby murmured, obviously hearing Billie’s groan. “But Ari and Olivia have agreed to see you at Olivia’s home in forty-five minutes,” she went on, rattling off the address. “So, I’m guessing you need to getmoving, and we can finish this conversation as you make the half hour drive.”

“We’re moving,” Presley assured her, setting aside his coffee and taking out his keys. Billie and he went to her garage, where he’d left his SUV. “Considering Jesep’s will, Olivia and Ari have strong motives for kidnapping their stepmom. Kill Victoria first, and the will won’t matter.”

“That’s one of my working theories, too,” Ruby agreed. “It could be just one of them, or they could be working together.” She paused. “You shouldn’t say anything about Victoria being your bio-mother.”

“Got that,” Presley was quick to agree as he entered the address into the GPS and then backed out of the garage. “Because that would make me a target. Of course, I could already be one if Ari or Olivia know.”

“Yes,” Ruby muttered. “Because they could be planning on you dying during the ransom drop. They could be hoping it’ll look like a tragic accident of you trying to do your job. That means they could intend for Billie to be collateral damage.”

“True,” Billie admitted.

And that went back to the notion that she was meant to be a distraction for Presley, to throw him off his game. If that was it, the kidnapper was certainly pushing some buttons here.

“Of course, if Ari and Olivia aren’t the kidnappers, then maybe there’s another reason the two of you were tapped for the job,” Ruby went on. “And that brings me to something I just found out about Hattie.”

Everything inside Billie went still. No way had she ruled out Sandy’s sister coming after them for revenge for Sandy’s murder.

“Hattie worked with a doctor who once boarded at the same school as Victoria,” Ruby explained. “I’m tracking her down to see if she told Hattie anything about Victoria being pregnant.”

Now, that would be a connection that Billie hadn’t considered. But it could fit. If Hattie had learned that Presley was Victoria’s son, she could have orchestrated this payback plot. If that was her endgame, then Victoria would likely be murdered.

As would Presley and her. Once they’d suffered enough, that is.

“I’ll get back to you on whatever I learn about Hattie,” Ruby continued. “And as soon as you finish talking to Ari and Olivia, let me know what they had to say.”

“Will do,” Presley assured her. He ended the call and glanced at her. “You can see Hattie as a kidnapper and killer?”

Billie didn’t even have to give this any thought. “Yes. She’s enraged enough to kill. Maybe she decided to get rich in the process by getting the ransom.” She paused. “But Ari and Olivia have just as strong of a motive.”

He made a sound of agreement. “And Jesep.”

“And him,” she verified. “The will could be a way for him to make himself look innocent. He loved his wife enough to leave her everything, so there’s no way he could be behind her kidnapping.”

That was as far as Billie got before she had to stop.

“That theory runs out of juice when looking for a motive,” Billie concluded. “I’ve uncovered no evidence whatsoever that Jesep is having an affair. No evidence either that Victoria is planning on divorcing him or that there’s been a serious rift in the marriage.”

“Same,” Presley said. “But there’s the greed angle. Victoria is rich in her own right.”

“Yes, and I’m betting she owns a lot of old family jewelry and such that’s a worth not so small a fortune.”

Her phone rang, cutting off the rest of her speculation, and she winced when she saw her boss’ name on the screen.

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