Page 73 of Out of the Shadows
He had a point, Margo thought.
She hugged him. “I’m going. Give my best to Laura.”
After Margo left, Jack started breakfast and his mom called. She filled him in on a conversation she’d had with John Thornton, Jr. He didn’t want the jewels—he and his sister felt like they were tainted because his father was killed over them. But he planned to sell them and Ava would be assisting with that. He also wanted to repay Charlie Barrett for what he’d bid on the storage unit out of the proceeds.
“I’ll let him know,” Jack said. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You doing okay?”
“Yes, I’m helping clean up around here, so I won’t be in.”
“Take a few days,” she said. “We have nothing urgent, and I know you have Austin for the long weekend.”
“I definitely won’t object,” he said and ended the call. He might even call Whitney and see if he could pick up Austin a day early. Sometimes she refused, but usually she had no problem. And a long weekend? She likely had made plans.
He was looking forward to introducing Austin to Laura and her kids. He didn’t want to make a big deal about it, but at the same time, he wasn’t going to drag his feet.
Laura stepped into the kitchen. “I cannot believe I slept so long. It’s after nine!”
“You needed it,” Jack said as he finished getting the pancakes ready to cook. The bacon was already done and warming in the oven. “Sydney and Logan are still crashed.”
“Where’s Cody?”
“After we checked on the kittens—there are six, in case you were wondering—Cody took the horses to the field. He said they needed exercise.”
“He’s far more responsible than I was at nine.”
“Me too,” Jack said with a smile.
Laura walked over and hugged him. Then she lightly kissed him. “Thank you. Thank you for being here. You look exhausted.”
“I’m getting there.”
“I have a guest room.”
“I’ll take you up on that, after breakfast. Because I’m tired, but I’m also starving.”
“Are we still on for the Fourth of July?”
“We are. Would you mind if I brought Austin up here the day before? To meet Cody and Sydney. Casual, no pressure.”
“That sounds perfect,” Laura said.
A knock on the door made Laura jump. “Damn,” she muttered.
“I’ll get it,” Jack said. It was Rick. “What are you doing here?”
“When I got up this morning I checked on the status of Aberdeen and thought you might like to know what’s going on.”
“Sure. Want breakfast?”
“I’ll never say no to coffee.”
Jack introduced Rick to Laura. “Rick and I went through the academy together, and he’s been helping with Aberdeen.”
Laura poured Rick a mug of coffee, and they sat at the kitchen table. “I talked to the detective in charge. Aberdeen came through surgery this morning. He’s expected to make a full recovery, so he was arrested on multiple charges, including felony hit-and-run, assault with a deadly weapon, home invasion, and attempted murder, for starters. The truck wasn’t registered to Aberdeen, so we tracked down the owner. The guy spilled his guts. Admitted he participated in the break-ins and was in the passenger seat of Aberdeen’s truck when it hit you, Laura, on Sunday night. But said after that, he told Aberdeen he was out of it, and the detectives who talked to him believe him—he has an alibi, he was working. Didn’t even know Aberdeen took his truck.”
Rick sipped the coffee, told Laura it was delicious, and continued. “He also pointed fingers at Aberdeen for the murder of John Thornton. He went to Thornton’s house, assuming that he had brought it home. When he didn’t find it there, he went to the law office, but was stopped by law enforcement—pulled over for speeding, a ticket he never paid. He went back to San Diego, worried he was going to be caught for home invasion and murder, but when no one came knocking, he returned to Phoenix and learned that the law office was closed. He assumed the partner took the jewels, but didn’t know where Hedge went.
