Page 24 of Fighting for Mallory

Judd curbed his impatience. If he began this conversation by making demands or threatening ultimatums, he’d get nowhere fast, and Justice would throw him out of his home. He needed answers as much they did, so he swallowed his pride and offered a truce.

“Mallory is innocent.”

Cameron glared at him, in no frame of mind to let him off the hook. “If you had arrived at this revelation two days ago, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“I leaped to judgment without understanding the hidden forces at work. That’s on me. I didn’t pay attention to key pieces of evidence that, when closely examined, don’t make any sense. I have no clue what we’re dealing with…” Judd’s voice trailed away when Justice’s cell phone vibrated with a notification.

Justice banged his fist on the frosted fiber glass table. “What the hell? Did you know about this, Morgan?”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Judd flinched at the expression of disbelief on Justice’s face. “Justice, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry! Did you know about the cabin?”

“What about the cabin?” Brielle glanced between the men.

Justice left the table. He knelt next to his wife and held her hand. “Answer me, Morgan.”

“I was there, though I didn’t see the damage for myself. The first officer on the scene said the fire almost burned it to the ground.”

Brielle let out a soft sob. She gripped Justice’s shirt and buried her face in his neck. He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the house, followed by Cameron.

An awkward silence fell between Judd and Faith Stoker. To cover it, he remarked, “It’s just a cabin. It can be rebuilt.”

Faith shot him an incredulous look. “You haven’t heard the story?”

“No. What story?”

“Justice delivered Noelle in that cabin on Christmas Eve. He and Brielle weren’t even supposed to be there so close to her due date, but Brooke, her sister, had been kidnapped by a drug cartel in Colombia, and they panicked, thinking the family was being targeted again by old enemies. Justice and Brielle swore that Santa Claus, the real Santa Claus, visited them that night. He brought them gifts, like Noelle’s baby rattle and blanket. Their quality is unlike any I’ve ever seen.” She paused and sipped some lemonade. “They made a believer out of me, and I’m a first-class skeptic.”

A chuckle escaped him. “That’s the most ridiculous story I’ve ever heard.”

Faith shrugged, drawing Judd’s attention to the beautiful lines of her neck. He judged her to be about twelve years his junior. The late morning sun highlighted her honey-gold hair that hung in long layers past her shoulders. She regarded him with as much interest as she would an annoying gnat through the deepest blue eyes he’d ever seen. His blood stirred with an attraction he hadn’t felt for someone in a long while.

“You’re entitled to your opinion, Mr. Morgan, but that cabin meant the world to Justice and Brielle. Yes, it can be rebuilt. Without the magic. Why were you there, anyway?”

“Why are you here?” he retorted.

“Investigating Bentley Hayes’ murder at Cameron’s request. And may I just say you made a mess of it.”

Her comment struck a nerve. Judd had arrived at the same conclusion, but it rankled to hear it from the lovely reporter. “I can’t disagree. Look, why don’t we pool our information and see where it leads?” He pulled a set of file folders out of his laptop bag and handed Faith one that contained photos of the dead men bearing the snake tattoos. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

Faith studied the crime scene photos. “No. I followed the Mercado and Tino trial, but I’ve never seen these tattoos until now. The copperhead seems an unlikely symbol for this group, whoever they are. Why not a cobra? It’s far more deadly.”

“What else do you notice?”

“These men are young, in their twenties. Some of them look foreign. Have you learned anything about them?”

“They’re ghosts. No ID’s, no fingerprints we can match in any database. I can’t check the Missing Persons database without knowing their names. Facial recognition software is hard to use on a dead man.”

“I’ve heard about a company that has developed biometrics for that very thing. I could set up an appointment with them. They’re located in Toronto.”

“Good idea. Set it up and I’ll go with you.”

“What’s a good idea?” Cameron asked. He and Justice had rejoined Faith and Judd on the deck.

“Traveling to Toronto to meet with a biometrics company that claims it can identify dead people through facial recognition. How’s Brielle?”

---