Page 32 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed
Hallie texted the name “Teddy” to the Strike Force lab in case they could use it to match it to one of the people in the background of the photos. It was too general of a name to try to search the databases, so facial recognition might get them some answers soon.
Her phone rang, the number flashing on the dash, and Hallie frowned when she saw it was the prison where her father was incarcerated. Reed obviously saw it, too.
“They call you often?” Reed asked under his breath.
She shook her head. “Never.” With a deep breath, she answered, bracing herself for the news. “This is Sheriff McQueen.”
“Sheriff, I’m Jacob Sanchez, a correctional administrator here at Holbrooke,” the voice on the other end of the line said. “I regret to inform you, but your father has been murdered.”
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Chapter Twelve
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Reed pulled the cruiser into Hallie’s garage, turned off the engine and shut the garage door. What he didn’t do was make a move to get out.
Neither did she.
She had to be exhausted. He sure as hell was. And Hallie might even be experiencing some shock over her father’s murder. Yes, she had despised the man and had helped put him on death row. His murder might even be a relief, but it was still an emotional blow that had come on the heels of nearly forty-eight hours jammed full of emotional blows.
So far, they didn’t know the whole story about Kip’s murder, but it was being investigated. Apparently, the man had been shanked and bled out when he’d been in the exercise yard during his daily half hour outside. As a death row inmate, that would have been one of the few times Kip would be allowed out of his cell. And during that half hour, someone had gotten to him.
Security feed would be scrutinized. Lots of interviews would take place, and in the end, Reed had no doubts that they’d be able to ID who’d killed the killer. After that, they’d have to figure out if the prison murder was connected to what was happening in Outlaw Ridge.
“It’s been a really long day,” she whispered.
He made a sound of agreement. It had indeed been hellish long, and it’d started out with a murder, followed by Hallie being shot by a gunman. Then, interviewing Luther and having him give them those pictures.
And that hadn’t been the end of it.
After all of that, there’d been the gut-twisting visit to her mother’s storage unit. A visit cut way too short so they could go to Helen Robey’s ranch and ultimately charge Corman with trespassing. What they hadn’t been able to do was keep him locked up. They had to walk him out of the station after his lawyer had arranged bail to be posted for him.
So, yes, hellishly long. And despite all of that, it had taken Reed a while to convince Hallie to call it a day and let him drive her home. In the end though, long after her shift had been over, she’d finally given into the exhaustion and probably the pain, too, and had agreed.
She had even taken more of the over-the-counter meds for her aching bruise, and with luck those would kick in soon. With more luck, he’d be able to talk her into a long soak in the tub.
Reed was about to reach to open the door when his phone sounded with a text. When he saw it was from Griff, he read it right away. And felt the relief.
“It’s good news,” he let Hallie know. “The CSIs found more pictures of the party in the storage unit, and Griff has IDed the guy named Teddy that Corman mentioned.”
He frowned. The good stopped there.
“Theodore Atkins,” Reed finished.
Hallie’s gaze slashed to his, and he didn’t have to ask if she recalled who that was. Of course, she would remember. Theodore Atkins was one of the murders attributed to her parents, but it had never been confirmed. He’d died about fourteen years ago when he’d been doing some electrical work in the home of an elderly woman, Betty Gomez. Both their bodieshad been found in the home, and later, there’d been enough circumstantial evidence to charge Kip and Tami with her death but not Theodore’s.
“Two people in those pictures were murdered,” Hallie spelled out. “Three if you count my father. You think someone’s cleaning house?”
“Possibly. Or someone might want us to believe that’s what’s happening.”
If so, then someone was trying to get them to aim their suspicion at Corman. Then again, there might be someone else in those photos who had something to hide. If so, Griff might be able to ferret that out.
“Come on,” Reed insisted. “Let’s get inside, and you can take a long soak in the tub. That’ll help the bruises.”
She didn’t argue. On a heavy sigh, she got out of the cruiser, and he followed her inside. Hallie stopped though in the mudroom and turned to him.
Groaning, she dropped her head onto his shoulder. She didn’t say anything, didn’t make a sound other than that groan. But because she was pressed against him, Reed could feel the tension. Her muscles were in knots, and her breath was thin and labored.
