Page 50 of Protecting the Newborn

“Close range but not point-blank,” Duncan supplied. “Noah believes Zimmer’s killer was waiting for him, and when Zimmer parked in front of his motel room, the killer shot him. Not through the glass. Zimmer had apparently lowered his windows.”

“Because he knew his killer and was going to talk to him or her?” Ruston wanted to know.

“Maybe. Noah said the AC wasn’t working in Zimmer’s truck, so both the driver’s and passenger’s windows were down. He was shot through the passenger’s window. The killer could have simply walked up to him, fired and then placed the gun in Zimmer’s hand to try to make it look as if he’d pulled the trigger.”

Gracelyn took a moment, fixing that scenario in her mind. “Is the gun registered to Zimmer?”

Duncan shook his head. “It was reported stolen about a year ago, so no way to trace it. Zimmer had a slide holster in the back of his jeans, but there was no gun inside it.”

“Which meant the killer likely took it,” Ruston said, shaking his head. “Was the motel parking lot well lit? And please tell me there are security cameras nearby.”

Duncan’s sigh said it all. “No cameras, bad lighting, and in a neighborhood where it’s rare for someone to come forward and report what they saw.”

The killer would have known all of that. Added to that, it’d been night, and the darkness would have given him an advantage.

Duncan washed down a bite of his breakfast burrito with some coffee and shifted his attention to Gracelyn. “There’s been no sign of your sister. Why don’t you go ahead and leave her another message on the private Facebook page? Tell her I want to talk to her about that deal she was looking to make.”

“I will,” Gracelyn said, taking out her phone to do that. “But I doubt she’ll believe that.”

“Probably not, but we need to find her. And, yeah, there’s a slim-to-none chance of a deal, but if she cooperates, the DA might show some leniency.”

Gracelyn didn’t say aloud that Allie didn’t deserve leniency. Not after what she’d tried to do to Abigail, but that wasn’t for her to decide. Right now, Allie just needed to turn herself in or she would likely end up dead like Zimmer.

She left the message for Allie just as Duncan’s phone rang. “It’s Hank, one of the ranch hands,” he relayed.

Gracelyn couldn’t hear what the hand said, but whatever it was caused Duncan to get to his feet and make a beeline toward the front window. “We have a visitor,” Duncan explained. “It’s Tony. He said he’s here to make a confession.”

“A confession?” Ruston and she repeated in unison.

Mercy. Gracelyn hadn’t seen this coming. Then again, maybe this was just another ruse to get close to Ruston and her so he could kill them.

Duncan must have had the same concerns, because he glanced back at Joelle. “Why don’t Slater and you go ahead and take the baby upstairs?”

Joelle nodded, immediately got up and took Abigail from Ruston. Gracelyn figured Duncan was about to tell her to go with them, but he didn’t.

“Tony’s still at the end of the road, and the hands can and will block him from coming closer. It’s up to you whether or not you want to see him,” Duncan explained, looking at both Ruston and her. He listened to something else Hank said. “Tony’s alone and volunteered to be disarmed before he comes in the house.”

Before Duncan had added that last part, Gracelyn had figured they would be having this conversation with Tony on the porch and Ruston and she would be tucked back in the foyer.

“We’ll talk to him,” Gracelyn agreed after she got a nod from Ruston. “I want to hear what he has to say.”

They had a lot of information about the murders and attacks. Info from plenty of sources that might or might not be reliable. Zimmer, Allie, Charla and Devin. If Tony was truly here to confess, then all of those pieces of info might actually fit. They might be able to make an arrest and put a stop to any other murders or attacks.

“Frisk him thoroughly,” Duncan told the ranch hand on the phone. “Hold on to any weapons he has and then drive him to the house in your truck. If this is some kind of last-ditch effort, Tony’s vehicle could be rigged with explosives.”

Gracelyn hadn’t even considered that, a reminder that she really needed to try to keep a clear head. If Tony was desperate enough to make a confession, then he might want to first do as much damage as possible.

Since Ruston and Duncan were already at the front windows and had their weapons drawn, Gracelyn moved to the side one and took out her gun as well. The ranch hands were keeping an eye on the yard to make sure no one tried to sneak into the house, but she needed to do something to make sure they weren’t attacked.

It was a good five minutes before Gracelyn saw the truck coming up the road, and she lost sight of it when it turned down the driveway toward the house. Both Duncan and Ruston stayed in place until the driver turned off the engine, and then they went to the door.

“Hang back until we have Tony inside,” Duncan told her. “I’ve got to turn off the security system for just a couple of seconds. Once Tony is inside, I’ll turn it back on.”

Gracelyn muttered an agreement and continued to keep watch out the side window, especially since there’d be that short pause for the security. It wasn’t long before the footsteps on the porch had her turning in that direction. Tony stepped in, and while he frowned at Duncan and Ruston basically holding him at gunpoint, he didn’t protest.

“I won’t take much of your time,” Tony insisted, spearing Ruston with his gaze before he did the same to her.

Duncan maneuvered Tony into the foyer so he could shut the door, and Gracelyn saw him rearm the security system. Only then did Gracelyn give Tony her full attention. He looked disheveled, with his clothes wrinkled and stubble that was well past the fashionable stage. Like the rest of them, Tony didn’t appear to have gotten much sleep.

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