Page 23 of Conner's Choice
His admission startled Christian, and a wave of annoyance flashed through him before it dissipated altogether. None of this was Conner’s fault. “I know,” he replied in a resigned tone.
“What do you mean ‘you know’?”
“After I was sober, I remembered what I said. Don’t worry, Conner. I’m going to fix this. I have to. For the child I’m having with the woman I love. In the meantime, William Hughes is looking for the boy.”
“Surfer is in the middle of a situation right now overseas, but when everything is resolved, maybe he can aid in the search if William still hasn’t found him by then.”
“Yeah, okay. Sounds like a plan, Con-Man.”
After a fewdays of intermittent storms, the beginning of May dawned bright and clear with a deep blue sky. Rawson waited for Conner to meet him at the police station with a sample of Warner’s DNA. He needed answers NOW. The mayor was exerting pressure on the D.A. to solidify the case since the trial was in a month and a half. And in turn, the D.A. was breathing down his neck, anxious for the evidence to fall into place.
An officer led Conner to the interrogation room, and the men grimly greeted each other.
“I need that sample, Conner,” Rawson began, getting straight to the point.
Conner pulled a sealed envelope from his briefcase and handed it to Rawson. “I can do better than that. Here’s the lab report.”
Rawson tore open the envelope, perused the results, and remarked, “So, you involved Jessica? You were supposed to bring me a sample, Conner.”
He met the detective’s stern gaze with one of his own. “She’s the only person I trusted to run the test.”
Rawson snorted. “Huh.” His eyes scanned the report again before he flipped open a file folder and compared it to the Parker baby’s DNA. “Shit. I didn’t want to believe it. Kevin Warner is the father of Tanya Parker’s baby.”
“And what about Farmer? Are they half-brothers?”
The detective examined another report. His eyes grew round in dismay. “What the hell is going on? How did we miss this?”
“You weren’t looking for it. The odds of Kevin being related to Farmer were slim. You know what this means, Detective. Kevin arranged for his half-brother to kill Tanya Parker. So, what do you plan to do now?”
“Sit on it until I have a complete case to present to the D.A. Ray Farmer isn’t going anywhere, and Warner doesn’t have a clue we’re on to him. I’d like to keep it that way, Conner. You have your proof of infidelity, but you can’t name Tanya Parker in the complaint.”
“I don’t need to. We have proof Warner had an affair with Elizabeth’s assistant Lexi Loveland and is currently having one with his partner Alexa Wainwright.” Conner paused. “Look, Rawson, the mayor’s birthday celebration is Saturday, which Elizabeth is hosting. I plan to wait until afterward before I serve Warner with divorce papers. I want to set him up and get Elizabeth out of that house. She’s still in danger.”
Rawson nodded. “I’ll be there along with the rest of the Stones. I don’t know what you have in mind, Conner, but call if you need me.”
Conner snapped his briefcase shut. “I will. See you, Saturday, Detective, if not sooner.”
On his wayout of the police station, Conner called Surfer and left a voicemail message. He hoped the situation overseas had not taken a wrong turn. His phone dinged as he slid behind the wheel of his Jag. It was a text from his secretary.
Sherri:William Hughes is here.
Conner:Tell him to wait. I’m on my way to the office right now.
Thirty minutes later, William and Conner settled into chairs around the conference table, and Sherri brought them cups of coffee before she returned to her desk.
“What do you have for me?” Conner asked.
“Nothing good. Elizabeth’s instincts were spot on.”
DNA results proved the gold earring she gave to the investigator belonged to Lexi, compared to a sample Elizabeth provided when she pilfered a coffee mug her assistant used. Although Conner and William had plenty of security camera footage of Kevin and Alexa together, they were careful not to be openly intimate.
However, the lab report on the diamond necklace caused Conner’s gut to tighten with genuine fear. It had been coated with deadly fentanyl, which would seep into Elizabeth’s skin the longer she wore the diamond necklace.
“Damn, William. Coupled with what I learned from Detective Stone, this means Kevin Warner is a murderer.”
“If you’re referring to his affair with Tanya Parker, both Surfer and I uncovered proof of it within the last twenty-four hours. When you told me he was working with us, I contacted him to compare notes.”
“I left him a message about an hour ago to update him.”
