Page 63 of Justice Delayed

Livingston stood, his lanky frame filling the space between Jared and the path to the door. “I think that’s an excellent idea.” He nodded to his partner, who placed a hand on Jared’s arm. “We should continue this conversation down at the station.”

* * *

Quentin endedthe call with his private eye, then uttered an expletive. Raines had contacted Quentin as the detectives escorted Jared from a local coffeeshop to their unmarked vehicle. The private eye had eavesdropped on their conversation with Jared, who would be questioned further about his relationship with a dead drug dealer.

His son had been hiding something when Quentin stopped by Jared’s place after Ruby’s confession about the break-in at Melender’s apartment. Now a sickening feeling washed over him as exactly what that something might be coalesced in his mind. How had one act of mercy spawned such a mess?

“Quentin?”

He whirled to see Ruby standing in the doorway of the kitchen in her tennis whites. “Off to play a set with Alice?”

“Yes. You’re home early today.”

“I’ll be heading back to the office soon.” After he called a lawyer for Jared.

His wife came closer. “You look tired.” She laid a cool hand on his cheek.

Closing his eyes, Quentin allowed her presence to comfort him.

“I’m not as fragile as you think, you know.”

At Ruby’s softly spoken words, he snapped open his eyes to gaze directly into hers. Her delicate features hid a core of steel he sometimes forgot ran through her. “You are one of the strongest women I know.”

A slight smile played on her full lips. “Yet you still feel the need to protect me.”

He encircled her, drawing her close to feel the length of her body pressed against his. “That’s because I love you more than life itself.”

The cliché didn’t make her laugh like it usually did. Instead, she narrowed her eyes. “Then why are you keeping things from me?”

With a forced chuckle, he tried to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters. “Can’t a man have a few secrets from his wife? I let you have yours.”

“There are secrets and there are secrets. The ones I’m keeping have nothing to do with our marriage, and if you really wanted to know, you’d ask.” Rising on her tiptoes, Ruby pressed a light kiss on his lips. “However, I can see that you’re not ready to tell me, and I’m running late.”

When she’d extracted herself from his embrace, she sauntered to the door, swinging her hips in that way of hers that had driven him insane with desire when they’d first met. The familiar feeling rushed through his body as she paused to throw him a look over her shoulder. Rather than the coquettish glance he’d been expecting, sorrow tinged her face. Then she was gone.

Quentin stayed exactly where she’d left him for a long moment. Would she still love him if she got the answers about Jesse she sought? His phone buzzed, breaking into his reverie, and he answered without checking caller ID.

“I thought you were smart.”

The caller sounded puzzled, yet Quentin caught the pulse of anger behind the words. He waited for the man to continue.

“What does your son know?”

Quentin had been half expecting the man to contact him since he’d learned of Jared’s encounter with the detectives. “Nothing.”

“We’re beyond nothing. You told me you had nothing to do with the ransom, and yet twenty thousand dollars of marked money turns up in the pockets of your son’s former drug dealer. That’s something.”

Quentin didn’t want to acknowledge even to himself Jared might have sent the ransom note. That his own flesh-and-blood had callously capitalized on Jesse’s disappearance.

“Now what are you going to do about it?”

Quentin had the answer ready. “Here’s what I had in mind.” As he relayed the details, he feverishly hoped it would be enough misdirection to keep his family from disintegrating even further.

* * *

“They’re questioningJared Thompson in connection with Snake’s murder.” Seth propped his shoulder against the edge of Brogan’s cubicle. “Looks like your phone call to the detective paid off.”

“Good.” Brogan had brought Seth up to speed after Fallon’s directive. Then Seth checked with one of his police sources to see if Livingston had followed up on Brogan’s call about Jared. “Did your contact have any other details?”

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