Page 38 of All of Me

“After mom died the only thing keeping me alive was Gran’s will. I don’t know how he found out she’d left everything to charity if I was dead, but then he expected to get the house but that was already sold, so he just got seven thousand. Then within days I got my scar and I guessed he hoped I would be able to do something he could use. I’m sure he had both my mom and Gran killed. Mom for revenge because he was convinced she sicced the cops on him, and Gran because he wanted me. Like I said he thought she’d left me the house and could use it, but he didn’t know it was one of those schemes where they bought the house but let you live in it. He was really angry when he found out she’d sold it to one of those companies that give you money and they get the house when you die. She did it when Grandad got sick.” Shae glanced at Kane. “So no, murdering someone to get out of child support payments is exactly something he would do.”

Danny stopped typing and an image of Shae’s father appeared on the screen. Then at its side came an image of Albert Davis. Then a picture of Lee Dodson, our dead fire starter, and his accomplice, Jethro Dunne. And finally a picture of Ryan Connaught, who didn’t look as put together as when he’d arrived at our place last night. I quickly filled everyone in about Ryan’s visit, even though Danny and Rawlings would already know because of Jay.

Kane chuckled. “I’d have loved to see the velvet escape.”

Danny grinned but carried on posting pics. A picture of Gary Bruin, who we thought had poisoned the dogs. And lastly, a picture of a young woman in scrubs holding a smiling baby: Aisha and Tammy.

“Not forgetting…” Shae said, turning to me. “Ryan just about admitted to poisoning the dogs to you. I mean, we thought this was just a fucked-up revenge thing for Gary losing his job, but what if it wasn’t?”

I stared at the screen. “Are you thinking Ryan broke in looking for something and got Gary to poison the dogs to keep us all busy?”

“Didn’t you say Jim and Ellie knew who Albert is?” Shae asked. “Is it possible he knows about all the land, heard his mom or dad say something to each other and he thinks it might be leverage? That in some screwed up way this is all connected?”

“I thought the same,” Danny said slowly. “And it was something Kane said to me last night.” He shot a loving look at his boyfriend. “He said, and I quote, ‘How much random bad shit can happen to one couple in the space of a couple of weeks?’”

I glanced at Shae and honestly wondered how he was holding it together.

“I started wondering myself,” Danny said with an understanding look at Shae, “if it could be connected. Maybe it wasn’t all random?”

“But how can Tammy have anything to do with the fire at my place?” I nearly scoffed, and maybe I would have if I didn’t have the greatest respect for Danny’s mad computer skills.

“I had a teacher once who used to argue the validity of mathematical coincidence,” Danny said thoughtfully. “And a sergeant who used to put everything in the ‘shit happens’ category.”

“But how can it?” Shae said. “What is it that connects Tammy to the whole thing with the dogs and Ryan? Tammy’s mom only died two days ago.”

Danny shrugged. “Maybe leverage on you. Maybe like you said he wanted to avoid child support, or maybe where you live.”

I shook my head. “What?”

Danny clicked a key, and we looked at the eighth picture that now graced the screen. I gazed at the picture of a grinning fiftyish Latino-American man holding what looked to be an assault rifle and surrounded by two others in a similar position.

“Who’s that?” Shae asked.

“Carlos Garcia. Leader of the Los Reyes del Silencio Cartel, and released from prison six months ago after forty nine years even though he was in for life.”

“Wait,” I said. “Is that why Albert’s picture is up there?”

Danny nodded. “Garcia isn’t your typical cartel leader. He isn’t all about business, or should I say, his business is more about revenge since his younger brother took over. Five DEA agents that were involved in the bust on Albert’s place all died in the first five years after the conviction.” Danny sighed. “And not just them. Their families had been completely taken out, so much so that the last two families had had to go into witness protection.”

“But why now?” Shae said. “After all these years?”

“Unless they seem to think Albert has the gun,” Rawlings spoke up. “Because if they find the gun, Garcia will be back inside and facing the needle.”

“And Texas has executed more people than any other state since 1976,” Danny added randomly, but I wasn’t surprised.

“Which is all understandable,” I said, “but still nothing to do with me. Moira and Albert haven’t been targeted. I can understand revenge,” I continued. “Taking someone out with a bullet maybe, but this seems like a lot of work. I don’t have any sway over Albert.” I glanced at Danny. “Are you thinking somehow he has the gun? I mean, that makes no sense.”

Danny huffed. “I get it, except did you know that your place was originally part of the spread next door?”

“Albert mentioned it years ago.” But it made the whole access thing make much more sense.

“And your house was the original farmhouse, before Albert built a bigger one. From what I can gather, Moira was Ellie’s childhood best friend. I suppose it would suit them all to live close.”

Rawlings leaned forward. “Okay, but at the risk of sounding ridiculous, are you saying this whole thing is because Carlos Garcia is convinced Albert Davis somehow took a gun from a crime scene he was arrested at and instead of handing it over to ensure Garcia got the needle, as he was a witness for the prosecution, he kept it and hid it somewhere on their property for forty years? Apart from the fact he would be searched on arrest.”

Rawlings shook his head in disbelief, and I didn’t blame him. It made absolutely no sense at all.

“Plus, why would Garcia think he’s at risk now?” Kane asked. “If he was capable of ordering the hits from inside, he’s capable of sending someone to get the gun.”

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