Page 102 of False Evidence

She caught Erica’s gaze from across the table. Erica’s eyes flicked from JT, who was sharing his stuffing and gravy-covered mashed potatoes with Gemma now that she’d finished off the sweet potatoes. He spoke in a voice pitched to engage a toddler and was playing a word game with her, teaching her alternate words for “yes” and “no.”

Gemma stubbornly refused to vary her language, sticking with the words that worked best.

Defeated, JT said, “Fine, then. Want a bite of mashed potatoes?”

“Okay.” Gemma’s grin was wide.

Erica pressed a hand to her chest as she laughed with the rest of them, then raised her hands beside her cheeks and made a noise as she moved her fingers in imitation of an explosion, showing her mind was blown.

Alexandra laughed with her. Her mind was blown too. She never would have believed JT would embrace the role of father. Even back when they’d been engaged and she’d hoped he’d change his mind about children, she’d been mentally prepared to be on her own when it came to caretaking.

She would have even accepted it as part of the deal back then. It was another reason why it was good that they’d broken up when they did. It would have been an unhappy marriage, with or without children.

They’d both had to grow and change.

She smiled at JT over Gemma’s head. “Thank you. This is amazing.”

His eyes shone with warmth. “I love you.”

This time, she knew his love would be enough.

It was after nine when they loaded a sleepy Gemma into JT’s SUV and headed to Alexandra’s house, which was closer to the Raptor compound than JT’s Maryland estate. Considering she’d left the house for five days without planning to be away at all, she was eager to get home and make sure everything was fine.

The police had served a search warrant in her absence. The search had been conducted Tuesday afternoon. The warrant limited their search to looking for signs she’d been home or where she might have fled to, which meant they’d accessed her computer to view search history and recent emails, but they hadn’t removed anything from the house.

Her financial and phone records had been released to MSP yesterday. As long as the investigation into the shooting remained open, she would remain a suspect. They would likely request more financial information, but unless they produced a new warrant, she wouldn’t give them any more information.

She was braced for the worst as she unlocked the door using the spare key she’d given Erica. The police had her purse and keys along with her impounded vehicle. It was all evidence and unlikely to be released anytime soon. At least they’d used the keys to enter the house instead of breaking the door down. A reason to be glad she hadn’t retrieved anything from her vehicle before running. She hadn’t needed to because Kendall’s house key had been in her coat pocket.

JT held a sleeping Gemma against his chest as she entered the dark foyer. The alarm had been disabled by the cops and didn’t beep as she entered.

“Take Gemma. I want to search the place.”

Knowing the police had been watching the house, she hadn’t considered that the shooter could have been here too, but with the alarm off, there was always a chance someone could have slipped past the surveillance—which hadn’t been constant.

Gemma let out an angry cry at being woken again for the handoff and remained angry that Alexandra held her tight instead of letting her roam while JT searched.

“Sorry, honeybun. You can’t explore yet.”

Little fists pummeled her, and Gemma’s wail was earsplitting. The joys of having an overtired toddler.

The house was chilly. Someone must have turned off the heat pump, which ran on a schedule. Why would the police mess with her system?

JT returned after several minutes. He tucked a pistol into a holster—he must’ve gotten both from Keith at some point. They’d have to figure out ground rules for guns in the house with Gemma. She had a fireproof safe, but she suspected JT would want to keep it close while the shooter remained at large and unidentified.

He caught her gaze. “We’ll talk about it. First, let’s get Gemma in her crib so we can go through the house together. I think someone other than the cops has been here.”

Gemma wasnothappy about being placed in baby jail before she got to re-explore the house she’d been away from for five days. She fought her diaper change, refused to sit with Alexandra in the rocking chair for a bottle and book, and, for an encore, threw Panny and Tee-Tee out of the crib.

Beyond overtired, she would not be soothed. Alexandra had no choice but to give her Panny and Tee-Tee again and tell her she was staying in bed until morning.

She turned her big, crying eyes to JT and raised her arms, a plea for him to spring her from jail. “Unky Tee! Up!”

“And so it begins,” Alexandra murmured. “Trying to play us off each other.”

She watched as he hesitated.

“Don’t fall for it,” she warned.

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