Till Justice Is Served (16 page)

"You must be Colton Weir." Erin extended her hand.

His grip was strong and his smile wide. "Yes, ma'am. Rafe texted me where you two were going, but I haven't located him. Figured he wouldn't be too far away. Is it okay if I wait?"

"Of course, although I'm not sure my girls will pay me any attention with you in the stands."

"It appears to me that Rafe left out a lot of information about you. He failed to tell me that you're beautiful and charming."

Erin held back a laugh. Rafe had also failed to mention his partner's heavy Southern drawl. "Rafe is two doors down at the barbershop, if you'd like to join him."

Colton looked behind her. A grin spread, flashing his straight white teeth. Erin hadn't heard a ball hit the floor since they started talking. No doubt, the entire team was staring.

"Thanks for the intel. Maybe I'd better go check in with him." He put on his hat, tipped the brim with his finger, then swaggered out of sight.

Erin whirled and caught the team standing perfectly still. She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from busting out laughing. "Okay, ladies, wipe your chins. You act as if you've never seen a handsome man." She blew her whistle and tried to get the girls' minds back on basketball.

Rafe's partner was eye candy for sure. But his looks paled in comparison to Rafe's. His olive skin, stormy gray eyes, and perfectly shaped lips won in Erin's opinion poll.

C
HAPTER 14

Rafe heard the bell over the door to the barbershop jingle. He paid little attention as he paid for his haircut. The familiar voice turned him around. He and Colton had both grown up in Texas, though in different parts, and Colton spoke with a much heavier accent. Colton had grown up in Midland, where oil wells, heat, and dust were the norm. Rafe, on the other hand, had lived here, just thirty miles west of Dallas, until he'd left for college.

"Aww. He got prettied up to impress the coach next door," Colton said to no one in particular. He could mask his heavy drawl with a Jersey accent faster than you could blink.

"You made good time," Rafe said, choosing to ignore the comment about getting prettied up.

Colton nodded. "I missed the heavy traffic coming out of Dallas. Must've been luck."

"Erin told you where to find me." They walked out onto the sidewalk and headed back to the gym.

"Yeah. I watched her and the basketball team for a few minutes."

"She was coaching the girls?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"That means she's been allowed to resume her volunteer work." Rafe brought Colton up to speed on her situation with the Y.

"You could've warned me that she's the hottest thing within a three-state radius."

"I hadn't noticed," Rafe said.

"You lie."

Rafe didn't dispute it. "Let's get back to the gym. I'll leave my keys with Erin just in case something happens, which it shouldn't. We need to be back in time for me to drive her home. You need to check in with the narcs and Linc."

"I spoke at length with Linc while I was on the road."

"Good. You already know most of what's happening. The guys at the precinct can tell you the rest."

They entered the YMCA and walked back to the basketball court. The silence unsettled Rafe's nerves. He'd expected squeaking tennis shoes and female voices.

"Hell of a lot quieter than ten minutes ago," Colton said, reading Rafe's thoughts.

Rafe increased his pace, stopping as they turned the corner. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the court, surrounded by teenage girls, Erin had never been so beautiful. The team was focused on her every word, and she was lost in the moment.

"That's the first time since I got home that I've seen her looking relaxed."

"Partner," Colton said, drawing out the word and pronouncing it as
pardner
. "Do you have history with this woman?"

"Not the kind you're thinking. We went to the same school." Rafe sat on one of the metal bench seats that sufficed for bleachers. "These damn things were built for people the size of a first-grader."

Erin's gaze lifted in his direction. She nodded then returned her attention to the team. They stood, circled her, each girl stuck one hand out, and then cheered. The girls changed shoes, grabbed their backpacks, and took the long way to the front door.

"Afternoon," Colton said as each girl passed the bleachers. His slow drawl caused pink hues to race up all but one of the girls' cheeks.

Rafe watched as she swung wide and left quickly. He'd recognized Grace. He'd spoken with her at the high school. He turned his attention back to Colton. "You made their day. Just keep in mind the average age of this team is sixteen."

"What?" Colton made an exaggerated show of folding his arms across his chest and burying his hands in his armpits. "These girls remind me of my baby sister, which is why I was interested in helping you bust this drug supplier."

Erin stopped at the bottom of the stands. She planted both hands on her hips and scowled up at Rafe and Colton. "I may have to ban you two from practice."

"It was his fault." Rafe pointed at Colton.

Erin raised an eyebrow. "Right."

"Why are they out of school?" Colton asked.

"Teacher in-service day," Erin said. "So what's the game plan?"

"We were going to drop by and let Colton make nice with the local narcs, but if you're finished, those plans just changed."

"I'm easy. Just tell me what to do." Colton stepped down off the bleachers and waited.

"First," Rafe said to Erin, "tell me about Grace."

Erin's eyebrows rose. "How do you know her?"

"She stopped me the day I went by the school. I could tell she wanted to tell the truth, but she was just too scared."

"Her family moved from Houston at the beginning of this semester. I believe she's a good kid who got swept up by the wrong crowd."

"Is her family wealthy?"

"That's what I've heard, yes."

"That's probably why that particular group befriended her so quickly," Colton said.

"Could be." Rafe and Erin followed Colton out of the gym.

"You think Grace's money made her attractive to the other girls?" Erin asked.

"It's a good guess." Rafe stopped next to his car. "If she ponied up a little cash for drugs, it would've lifted the burden off the rest of them."

Erin shook her head. "Grace is smart and a great athlete. I'd hate to see her ruin her chances to get into a good college because of drugs."

"Maybe that's why she wanted to speak with me. We were interrupted when another girl kept calling her name, which noticeably spooked her. A few minutes later, she ran out the front door and got into a yellow sports car."

"That would be her brother's car."

"Interesting." Rafe turned to Colton. "Follow us out to the house. Then we can make a run downtown." Rafe opened Erin's door for her. "Does that work for you?"

"It does if you'll swing by my house and pick up my mail." Erin slid into the car.

Rafe drove out of the parking lot and drove toward the highway. "You'll like Colton. I wouldn't take anybody else with me to a gunfight."

"Look, I'm going back to work soon and will have to be at the Y two or three times a week. My moving to your house might not have been a good idea. We're not even sure my admirer is dangerous to me."

"Give us at least a few days to figure it out. It's safer if one of us drives you wherever you need to go."

"Won't I be the talk of the school? My own entourage of good-looking men taking turns dropping me off and picking me up. That should give the gossips something to talk about." Erin laughed.

"I'm afraid your entourage will consist of one man. Me."

"In that case, how can I refuse?"

Rafe parked in his driveway and killed the engine. "Truth be told, I'm not comfortable leaving you alone out here."

"Are you kidding?" she said on a laugh. "My whereabouts are safer than most state secrets. I have Jeff's gun, and I'll lock the door."

****

Rafe was pleased with the reception he and Colton had received during their meeting with the narcotics squad. They'd allowed Rafe to sit in unofficially and listen. The empty desks in the bullpen were indicative of the cutbacks the city had made. Rafe understood budget cuts, but he'd didn't get reducing the size of the police department. Westbrook Hills had three high schools. If drugs were a problem at one, he'd bet the other two were experiencing issues, too.

Colton had met with two detectives and their sergeant for two hours, going over interviews, drug busts, and recent arrests. The flow of narcotics had been slowed, but the main supplier was still at large. The meeting ended with the sergeant emailing the case files to Colton.

"Let's check in with Wade Beckett," Rafe said. "See if he's looked at the note left at Erin's last night." They turned right and walked down the hall to the homicide division.

"What's your take on Beckett?" Colton asked.

"He's okay. Serious. All business." Rafe walked through the open door and scanned the open space. "That's him coming out of the side office."

Wade waved, dropped a manila folder on a desk, and walked to meet them.

"Granite-faced. He must be a shitload of fun," Colton observed.

"Can't say. I haven't socialized with him."

Rafe made introductions then followed Wade back inside a small office. One chair sat across from a weathered gray metal desk, but the detective dragged one from an empty desk outside the office and let Rafe position it to suit himself. Colton remained standing, moving around the room.

"Colton. I heard you'd been temporarily assigned to the narcotics squad." Wade smiled. "I'm guessing you're going to back up Rafe, too."

"I lend a hand when it's needed." Colton's gaze was on the diploma hanging on the wall. "University of Texas at Austin," he read aloud.

"You an alumni?" Wade asked.

Colton responded by flashing the famous Hook 'em Horns sign, which consisted of a closed fist except for the index and little finger, which he waved in the air.

"Anything we learn," Rafe said, choosing not to remind them Texas A&M was, in his opinion, the better college, "we'll pass on to you. Have you studied the latest note sent to Erin?"

"I had a copy waiting for me this morning. Damn near missed it." Wade slapped a stack of paperwork. "If it had gotten buried here, it might've been days before I got to it. The lab tech left it on my chair."

"What did you make of it?" Rafe asked.

Wade stood, walked over, and closed the door. "I assume you know the killer left a message on the wall of each murdered girl." He held his hands out in the stop-don't-talk position. "Don't deny it, and don't tell me how you know. I'm fairly sure how you learned about it, so please, don't confirm it." He returned to his chair.

"We have no idea what the message said," Rafe answered honestly. "I'd like to know if it was anything like the note Erin received."

Wade shuffled around pieces of paper on his desk as if looking for something. Rafe could see the struggle behind the detective's eyes. "I intentionally kept this information away from the press. I expect you to do the same."

"You have my word," Rafe said.

"And mine," Colton said.

"The messages were written using each girl's blood. Big and bold, in all capital letters. Each read, 'You lie, you die.'"

"Shit," Colton said. "What a warning."

"And so was Erin's note," Rafe said. "Think about it. The killer and Erin's stalker are one and the same. Her note wasn't written in blood, but he made it clear that she had tested his patience. You have the proof you need. The cases are connected."

"I agree," Wade said. "The girls' lies hurt Erin. Maybe their actions were the impetus this bastard needed to crawl out of the woodwork."

"Maybe he already had Erin on the radar, and the girls interfered," Rafe said, pleased not to have to argue his idea. "Now we just have to figure out who he is."

****

Casanova emptied his shopping bag. He wrapped the nylon rope around his palms and pulled hard. This would be easy to handle and wouldn't harm Erin's skin. A camping toilet and refrigerator were the best he could do without raising suspicions. She'd just have to make do. He hoped putting her in the safe room long term wouldn't be necessary. This was just until she realized she was safe and with him. She'd quickly come around when she realized how much he'd done for her.

He hoped those men hanging around her hadn't confused her. Mixed up her thinking. Made her doubt her love for him.

Concentrating on anything except Erin was getting more difficult by the day. His heart ached to be with her, and he knew she felt the same way.

He went upstairs and showered before carrying the white wedding gown to the safe room. He wrapped his arms around the lace bodice, closed his eyes, and then swayed to the music drifting down from upstairs. His body ached for the real woman rather than this empty dress, so he carefully spread the gown across the foot of the small cot he'd installed. Then he went upstairs and closed and locked the storm shelter door. He pressed the new carpet and molding back in place. To the unsuspecting eye, the carpet would appear to be properly installed.

Soon, he'd bring his bride home. She'd prove to him that the room had been a waste of time. Then it would become a shelter to protect them during bad weather.

He had to see her. A quick look to ensure she was okay would suffice. He hopped into his SUV and drove by her house. The man who'd been hanging around Erin was getting her mail out of her mailbox. And who was the new guy driving the pickup? A stranger. His lunch rebelled, forcing its way up the back of his throat.

A horn sounded, snapping Casanova out of his rage. He jerked his steering wheel to the right, swerving and barely missing an oncoming car.

Keeping her under surveillance presented problems, but he had no choice. He'd take her home with him as soon as the situation presented itself. In the meantime, he wouldn't tolerate any more men hanging around.