Page 24 of Protecting the Newborn

“Good. So, if Ruston didn’t tell anyone who and where he was,” Duncan went on, “then who did? What’s your theory?”

Charla huffed. “That the leak came from Marty Bennett, the man who hired Ruston’s undercover persona.”

“Marty, who’s now dead,” Duncan stated in a way that made it sound like “isn’t that convenient” sarcasm. “And how would Marty have learned Ruston was a cop?”

“We don’t know,” Tony jumped in. He met Ruston’s gaze. “Not yet. But we’ll find out. That’s why we’re here. I need to know if there’s any possibility that you gave Marty some information, no matter how small, that made him believe you were undercover and that this was a sting operation.”

Now it was Ruston who huffed. “So, you do think I was responsible for the leak. Trust me, I wasn’t. My life was on the line. Gracelyn’s life and the baby’s, too. No way would I have risked letting anyone know. Especially a lowlife like Marty.”

Duncan sat back, and Gracelyn took that as another of those subtle cues that he was relinquishing the interview to Ruston and her. Gracelyn went with it.

“I certainly didn’t leak my location to anyone,” Gracelyn stated, easing down onto the love seat that was positioned adjacent to the sofa and the chair where Duncan was seated. “And until Ruston showed up, I had no idea he was even coming. But those two gunmen who tried to kill us, they knew. They knew my exact location.”

“Which they could have gotten from Marty,” Charla interjected.

“And that leads us right back to the question of who told Marty,” Ruston said, sitting next to Gracelyn. “It’s not just Gracelyn’s location either, but considering the break-in at my apartment, someone would have told either Marty or his killer about that, too. That’s a lot of information for someone outside of SAPD to have.”

“We’re looking into that,” Tony insisted, and he shifted his attention to Gracelyn. “Is it possible you alerted someone to Ruston’s identity—”

“No,” she interrupted, “because I didn’t know his undercover identity.”

“But you knew the location of his apartment,” Charla quickly inferred. There was something in her tone that suggested Charla had guessed that Ruston and she had gone there because they’d been lovers.

“No,” Gracelyn repeated. “I didn’t.”

Charla pulled back her shoulders, and it seemed as if she wanted to challenge that. “But you came here with him. Before last night, I mean. You visited Ruston here in Saddle Ridge.”

Gracelyn let her smile come. “That wouldn’t have been in any report, Charla. How would you know that?”

“I must have heard it somewhere,” Charla muttered, but her eyes were narrowed now. “What is this about?” she demanded. “You can’t possibly think Tony and I had something to do with what happened?”

“Did you?” Ruston asked, and he used some of Tony’s wording to phrase his next question. “Is there any possibility that you gave Marty information, no matter how small, that ended up blowing my cover?”

“Absolutely not,” Tony insisted.

Ruston didn’t miss a beat. He took out his phone, brought up the photo he’d gotten from Slater and held it out for Tony to see.

“This is one of the gunmen who tried to kill us,” Ruston spelled out. “Recognize him?” His tone indicated he already knew the answer.

A muscle tightened in Tony’s jaw. “Terry Zimmer. How the hell do you know he was involved?”

“Evidence gathered from the vehicle used in the attack,” Duncan supplied. He checked the time. “It’s been less than fifteen hours since that attack, and we—a small-town sheriff’s office with limited resources—have identified a former cop who you personally not only know, but one who also tried to murder Ruston and Gracelyn. And he was connected to the baby farm. You know the one I’m talking about. Gracelyn and Ruston were nearly killed then, too.”

“How do you know that?” Tony demanded, but then he waved off the question. “I haven’t seen or spoken to Zimmer in over a decade.”

“Good,” Duncan said, and he breezed right on. “Because as we speak, I have the Texas Rangers doing a deep background check on Zimmer. Deep,” he emphasized. “So, you want to rethink that answer?”

“No.” Tony spoke through clenched teeth now. “And there was no reason to involve the Rangers.”

“Beg to differ,” Duncan argued. “I have a high-ranking cop in SAPD—that would be you—with connections to a man involved in both an illegal black-market baby operation and the two attempted murders of police officers. I don’t want this swept under any rug. I want everything out in the open.”

The anger came, flaring through Tony’s eyes, and he whipped out his phone, his movement so fast that it had Luca, Duncan, Ruston and Gracelyn all drawing their weapons. That caused Tony to scowl.

“Since you’ve brought in the Rangers,” Tony said, his tone icy now, “you’ll want to let them know about Gracelyn’s involvement in this. And, no, I don’t mean the so-called attempts to kill her. I mean her involvement.”

Gracelyn flashed him her own scowl, but the uneasiness fell on her like a dead weight. She didn’t ask what Tony meant by that, but it was obvious he had something up his sleeve. Or rather on his phone, because he thrust it out for her to see.

She leaned in closer, looking at the image that was just as grainy as the one they had of Zimmer.

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