Page 20 of Marked For Revenge

“Your daddy would pitch a fit if he found out we’re here together in the same room,” Aaron commented.

Edgar would indeed, but Ava didn’t confirm that. “You’ve been in touch with my father?”

“No.” His answer was firm and fast. “Last time I saw him, he said he’d have my butt thrown in jail if I didn’t get out of town.” He paused a heartbeat. “The last time I saw you, you were pregnant then, too,” Aaron remarked. While it seemed an odd thing to say, Ava thought he might have been going for some levity because he gave a small smile.

Since there was nothing to smile about, Ava launched right into what she wanted to ask him. “Did you fire shots at me about an hour ago?”

Aaron groaned and then scrubbed his hand over his face. “Hell, no.” He looked at both Theo and Harley—specifically at their badges—and repeated his denial. “Like I told the other cops, I was there to see Caleb.” His attention went back to Ava. “Did you see him?”

She took her time but finally nodded.

Aaron smiled again. “Did he look like us? What did he say? I’ve talked to him on the phone, but I’ve never met him.”

Ava ignored that and went with another question. “Why did you come to Austin to visit him today?”

Aaron wasn’t so quick to answer this time. “Because of you. Marnie called me and said you were looking for me. I figured you wanted to talk about Caleb, so I came to Austin to introduce myself and let him know you might be in touch with him.” He paused again. “All right, I just wanted him to hear my side of the story about what happened. I would have never given him up for adoption if I’d had a way of keeping him.”

She considered not only his words but his tone. What she didn’t hear was any of the concern Marnie had mentioned about Aaron being worried that Caleb might try to hurt him.

“And you thought I had a way of keeping him, gave him up anyway and that I might try to put some of that blame on you?” she asked.

“Maybe,” Aaron conceded.

So, there was some anger for her, but Ava couldn’t tell if it was enough for him to kill. “Was Caleb threatening you in any way?”

Aaron pulled back his shoulders. “Did he tell you that?” he demanded.

“Did Caleb threaten you in any way?” Harley repeated.

Aaron glared at him, but it seemed to Ava that he quickly tried to rein that in. He had to know he was under suspicion, and since he had a police record, he also knew it was best not to clash with a Texas Ranger.

“No, Caleb didn’t threaten me,” Aaron finally answered. “And I want to know what made you think he had.”

Ava lifted her shoulder. No way would she spill what Marnie had told her, but Aaron might soon be able to figure it out since he’d already mentioned he’d spoken with Marnie. Ava also gave Theo a subtle gesture so he could proceed with the things he needed to get out of the way.

Theo took out his notepad and turned it to a fresh page, one with only the dates of the murders and not any of Caleb’s notes. “Do you have solid alibis for those nights?” Theo asked.

Aaron looked over the list and his eyes registered the shock when he turned not to Theo but to Ava. “I know how this works. There were crimes committed on those dates—”

“Murders,” Theo interrupted.

“‘Murders’?” Aaron repeated, his gaze sweeping over all of them. “You think I killed somebody?”

“I’d like to know if you have alibis for those nights,” Theo stated.

That obviously rattled Aaron. He shook his head, muttered some raw profanity under his breath and took the notepad. Because Ava was watching him, some of the color drained from his face.

“I was at Marnie’s on these dates,” Aaron finally said.

“You can recall where you were two and three months ago?” Ava asked, and she didn’t bother to take the skepticism out of her voice. Most people had to consult a calendar to recall such things.

Aaron’s eyes narrowed. “I remember because the first date was the four-month anniversary of Christina’s death, and Marnie and I were both having a hard time. The second one was Christina’s birthday. Last night, I was at Marnie’s to pick up some pictures that Marnie thought I’d want.”

“Did you stay the entire nights with Marnie?” Harley asked.

“Yeah, I would have been drinking,” Aaron muttered while he looked at the dates on the notepad again. “It wasn’t safe to drive so I crashed in her guest room.”

That meant Aaron had been at Marnie’s when Ava had been talking to the woman on the phone. Well, maybe he had, if Aaron was telling the truth.

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