Page 41 of Protecting the Newborn

Ruston paused a moment, probably to try to wrap his mind around all of that and figure out if it was true. While he did that, Gracelyn showed him what she’d accessed on Zimmer. There were no accounts of any childhood abuse. No reported accounts, anyway, but Zimmer was a former elementary school counselor, and when he’d been on the force, he’d routinely volunteered to work with troubled kids who’d ended up in juvie.

Another thing stood out, though.

The excessive-force charge had involved a couple who had gotten off child-abuse charges because of a botched investigation. Zimmer had been the investigator.

All of that presented a package of a man who seemed to want to help kids and get them away from scumbag parents. But that didn’t mean Zimmer hadn’t crossed some very big lines and turned criminal.

“Give me the name of the thug who was with you when you attacked Gracelyn and me,” Ruston ordered.

“He used the name Buddy Bradley,” Zimmer answered without hesitation. “Marty said Buddy had worked for him for years. I’m guessing the CSIs found his blood in the truck and sent it to the lab. If you don’t have confirmation already, you’ll soon get it and learn his real name was Robert Radley and that he had a record a mile long.”

“Was?Had?”Ruston questioned as Gracelyn started looking for any info on him.

“He’s dead. And, no, I didn’t kill him,” Zimmer insisted. “You did. Or maybe it was Gracelyn. Whoever fired that shot at him through the door. The bullet must have nicked an artery or something, because by the time I got him in the backup vehicle we’d left on one of those ranch trails, he’d bled out.”

Gracelyn held up his phone so he could see the quick run she’d just done on Robert Radley. The man was forty-two and did indeed have a long criminal history that included B and E, assault and drug charges. He’d been in and out of jail since he was sixteen.

“I’d never met Buddy before Marty paired us up to do the kidnapping,” Zimmer went on. “But it took me about a half of a second to realize he was a dangerous hothead.”

“And yet you went through with the job,” Ruston reminded him.

Zimmer was quick to answer that, too. “If I hadn’t, Marty would have just hired someone else. I figured if I was there, I could keep Buddy in check. Obviously, I failed at that.”

“Yeah, you did,” Ruston agreed. “Now, tell me why the hell Marty hired you and the hothead when he had already arranged for someone else to kidnap Gracelyn and the baby.”

That was the big question, and Gracelyn automatically moved closer to the landline because she didn’t want to miss a word of this.

“You,” Zimmer said. “Marty hired you to do the kidnapping.” He groaned. “I was at Marty’s when he called you over. Marty asked that I stay out of sight in a little room he has off his office. He wanted me to listen to the conversation and make sure there were no red flags in anything you were saying. He wasn’t sure he could trust you.”

The muscles in Ruston’s jaw turned to iron. “Did you recognize me?”

“I did,” Zimmer admitted. “I’d gotten copies of the reports on the baby-farm attack, and I knew you were there. Gracelyn, too.”

“Did your friend Charla get you those copies?” Ruston asked.

“No. I, uh, hired someone for that.” Zimmer’s voice lowered to a murmur. “A hacker. Simon Milbrath, and yeah, I know it looks bad that he was murdered, but I didn’t kill him.”

Gracelyn saw the mountain of skepticism in Ruston’s expression. She was right there with him. So far, Zimmer had what was called thecategorical trinity. Means, motive and opportunity. Zimmer could have killed both Marty and Simon to eliminate anyone who could have ratted him out. And since Zimmer had already admitted to hiring a hacker, that same hacker could have been keeping tabs on anything connected to the baby-farm investigation. The call Archie made to Tony might have fallen into that category.

“You told Marty I was a cop,” Ruston said.

“I told him I thought you were an informant for the cops,” Zimmer corrected as if that were a good thing. “And I did that, hoping that Marty would pull you off the assignment.”

“Why? Because you knew I’d kill you for coming after Gracelyn and the baby?” Ruston’s voice was pure ice now.

“No. I did it because I could tell Marty was suspicious of you. Why else have me listen in on the conversation? Marty didn’t fully trust you, and I figured it was safer for you to be pulled off the job rather than risk Marty having you killed.”

“That’s generous of you,” Ruston countered. “And why was Marty suspicious of me? Because of something you told him?”

“I think Allie must have said something about you, like maybe you could have helped Gracelyn go into hiding. If Allie had mentioned you, Marty would have looked you up. Hell, Marty had hackers on his payroll, and he could have discovered you were a cop and set you up to die. Marty didn’t come out and say that to me, but Buddy was awfully fast on the trigger.”

Ruston and she locked gazes, no doubt so he could see what her take was on this. Gracelyn had to shake her head. Like Allie, Zimmer wasn’t innocent. He was a criminal, but maybe he hadn’t gone to her place with the intention of killing anyone.

“Did Marty break into my apartment?” Ruston asked Zimmer.

“I’m not sure. When I showed up to do the job, Buddy had your wallet, and he said Marty had told him to leave it at Gracelyn’s.”

“And my badge?” Ruston added.

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