Page 19 of River Justice

“The kidnapper isn’t demanding money. He or she is asking for the truth.”

Charlotte frowned, still clearly impatient with all of this. “What truth?”

“Possibly this.” He leaned across his desk to hand her a copy of the DNA report. “It was left for Holden.”

Charlotte barely looked at it. “What is this?”

“It shows that Brand shares some of the same genes as Holden’s son Cooper. In other words, the DNA indicates that they are half brothers.”

She blinked, then shook her head. He watched her swallow and look away as she sat back in the chair, gripping her purse, knuckles white against the leather.

“Were you aware that Brand is your son with Holden McKenna?” Her lips moved but no words came out. “If Brand kidnapped Holly Jo to force his father to acknowledge him—”

“That’s ridiculous,” she snapped as Drake advised her not to speak. “Kidnap a child?”

“It would appear that Brand wants to be acknowledged or he wouldn’t have left the DNA results in Holden’s mailbox, the same mailbox that also held the kidnapper’s first demand,” the sheriff said.

Her cheeks had reddened with anger, shock or embarrassment. He couldn’t tell which, but the news had shaken her.

“I was with Holden when he read the results,” Stuart said. “He hadn’t known Brand was his son. But I assume you did. Or at least suspected.”

“Holden knows?” Panic flickered across her face as she paled. She quickly looked away. “What do you plan to do with this information?” she asked, her voice cracking.

“Find out if Brand took Holly Jo to force his father to admit his parentage. If so, then hopefully find out where he’s keeping her, get her home safely and arrest him for kidnapping.”

“He didn’t do it,” Charlotte said firmly. Drake tried again to get her to remain silent and failed. “Not Brand. You have the wrong man. He definitely wouldn’t take that little girl. He’s not like...” She didn’t finish, but Stuart knew she was going to say CJ, her son who was in a jail cell in Billings awaiting a criminal trial.

He looked at Drake and figured he too remembered when Charlotte had professed CJ’s innocence, and look how that had turned out.

“I’m surprised Brand even left Holden the DNA results,” she said. “Or that he went to the trouble to find out in the first place. He’s never said anything.”

Stuart watched her struggle with the DNA news before he asked, “How about you? Is there a reason you might have wanted Holden to admit the affair and acknowledge Brand?”

She stared at him before her words came as if shot from a cannon. “Me?You think I kidnapped the girl to force Holden to admit that Brand was his?”

Again, Drake tried to intervene, but again, Charlotte overrode his concerns.

“I never wanted him to know,” she spit out. “Never!I never wantedanyoneto know, especially my children.” She shook her head. “I should have known once Oakley got her DNA results, the others would, too.”

“You don’t think Brand suspected?”

She snapped her lips shut for a moment. “I don’t want you talking to Brand without my lawyer present.”

Stuart nodded. “If you want to see your son—”

She shook her head and shoved the copy of the DNA results at Drake as she stood. “My attorney will handle it.”

“I really think we should talk, Charlotte,” Drake said as he rose as well.

“I don’t need a lawyer. My son Brand does.”

As they both watched her leave, the lawyer said, “I need to talk to my client alone first.”

The sheriff’s phone rang. “You can talk to Brand down at his cell. I’m short-staffed today with all my deputies looking for Holly Jo.” As the attorney left to meet with his client, Stuart glanced at the clock on the wall. It had been hours since Holly Jo had headed for the bus stop—the last time anyone but her kidnapper had seen her. Stuart didn’t want to think what could have happened to her in all that time—if she was still alive.

His phone rang again. He quickly picked up, hoping this time it would be good news.

“There is a young woman insisting that she has to talk to you,” the dispatcher told him. “She says it’s about Brand Stafford. Her name is Birdie Malone.”

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