Page 6 of Marked For Revenge

“As a matter of fact, I do have something,” Edgar said, matching his daughter’s tone with one that was just a tad too sappy-sweet. He motioned toward Duran, who handed a thick manila envelope to Harley. Or rather, he tried to do that. Harley didn’t take it.

Instead, Harley hitched his thumb to Theo. “He’s the sheriff and the one in charge of this investigation.”

Oh, that didn’t set well with Edgar, and Harley added a checkmark on his mental chart of ways to rile the senator. Yeah, it was petty, but Harley didn’t like being played, and he was certain that’s what Edgar was doing now. And what he’d actually done with the investigation where Harley had been forced to clear the man’s name.

Edgar gave Duran a subtle nod, which must have been a green light because he handed Theo the envelope. “Those are copies of the senator’s threat files. The more recent ones,” he clarified when Theo made a show of looking at the thickness of the envelope.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you to keep those private,” Edgar interjected. “No need to give mean, ugly people any more attention than they deserve. I just wanted you to have it in case it connects in some way to the murders.”

“Why would you think the killer would have any connection to you?” Harley asked.

Edgar opened his mouth, closed it and obviously rethought what he’d been about to say. “I know about the masks the sick bastard puts on the victims. I know it’s my daughter’s face.”

Ava groaned, and Harley muttered some profanity under his breath.

“That info wasn’t released to the public,” Theo quickly pointed out.

“I’m not the public,” Edgar fired back. “If the murders are linked to Ava, then they could be linked to me, linked to something in those files,” he added, tipping his head to the envelope. “Somebody might be trying to cause trouble for me and the campaign by creating havoc in the county that Ava has decided to call home.”

“Do you have someone specific in mind?” Theo asked. “A political adversary? A riled lover?”

“I don’t have a riled lover,” Edgar quickly noted, “and my opponent probably wouldn’t go to such lengths.”

Harley would check on both of those possibilities, but he already had some info on the “lover” part. When he’d been spearheading the investigation that’d dealt with Edgar possibly being involved in black-market land sales, Harley had had to interview Valerie Chandler, the widowed socialite who’d been Edgar’s companion for going on two decades. Edgar had started appearing in public with the woman several years after Ava’s mother had been killed in a car accident when Ava had been just eight.

“This is costing Edgar votes,” Duran piped in. “With each murder, he’s taken a dip in the polls.”

Ava groaned and threw her hands up in the air. “Pardon me if I’m more worried about three women being dead more than I am poll rankings.”

“I’m worried, too. Worried about you and my grandchild. About me,” Edgar admitted. “About the election. Do something to find this killer and stop him,” he snarled while he volleyed glances to Harley and Theo. Not to Ava though. He obviously didn’t have a lot of faith in his daughter’s cop skills.

Theo’s phone rang and he muttered, “I have to take this,” when he looked at the screen. Tucking the envelope under his arm, he went to his office.

Edgar, and therefore Duran, turned to leave, but Harley stepped in front of them. “When’s the last time you heard from Aaron Walsh?” Harley asked, keeping his voice low since Diana was back at the dispatch desk.

Now, Edgar’s eyes narrowed and he aimed a strong shot of venom at Ava. “You told him?”

“I did,” she readily confirmed, stepping to Harley’s side. “Answer the question.”

Edgar kept up the steely glare for several snail-crawling moments before he finally snarled, “I haven’t seen or spoken to that worthless piece of trash in twenty years. But I have kept tabs on him.”

“Tabs?” Harley and Ava questioned in unison.

“I have a PI assigned to keep an eye on him, to make sure he doesn’t try to worm his way back into my daughter’s life.”

Ava exchanged a glance with Harley before she said anything. “So, you know where Aaron is?” she asked her father.

“I did. He was living in Bulverde, using the name Eddie Walker, until about seven months ago. His live-in girlfriend died of an overdose and he disappeared. The PI hasn’t been able to find him since, though he’s had reports that Aaron is still in the Bulverde area.”

Harley huffed. “And you didn’t think it was relevant to tell someone this? Bulverde is only a thirty-minute drive from Silver Creek.”

“No, it wasn’t relevant,” Edgar snapped. “That man doesn’t have anything to do...” He stopped and obviously clued in to why Aaron’s whereabouts would be important.

“We’ll want any and all info you have on Aaron Walsh,” Ava insisted.

That brought on a fresh glare from her father. “Any and all info that’ll remain private.”

She shook her head. “I can’t guarantee that. If Aaron is a killer, his history with me will have to come out.”

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