Trouble with a Badge (8 page)

Alexa glanced at Levi, the question in her eyes—was this for real? Or was Marcos simply trying to get them off Lockwood's trail? Of course, maybe Marcos really didn't know that Lockwood could have been one of the names involved in the money laundering scheme.

“You're sure about that?” Jericho pressed. “Because presumption of innocence doesn't hold water if I've got a credible witness who says you've dealt with Lockwood recently.”

Jericho wasn't telling the truth about the credible witness since the info had come from a secondhand source—the PI who'd told Alexa. But Marcos didn't know where Jericho had gotten the info.

Maybe it would stay that way until they could find James and give him the protection he might need if he did indeed have some kind of proof as to this dirty partnership in the money laundering.

“So, are you or have you ever been in business with Lockwood?” Jericho asked.

“No.” Marcos smiled, looked straight in the mirror again. “Alexa.” He clucked his tongue. “Are you trying to frame me again?”

“I didn't frame him,” Alexa spat out. “I found evidence against him, turned it over to the cops. And because of that snake I can never have a normal life.”

Levi tightened his grip on her and braced himself for the tears to start.

“Alexa?” Marcos called out. He stood, tried to go closer to the mirror, but Jericho blocked his path. “Come out, come out wherever you are. It's not like you to hide behind a mirror. Or a badge.”

“Don't let him goad you,” Levi insisted. But if she heard him, she gave no sign of it. She had her attention fixed to Marcos.

“If I'm the bad guy you think I am, then why don't you look me in the eyes when you say it?” Marcos taunted. “I mean, it's not like you won't have to face me in court. You will.” His teeth came together for a moment. “And my lawyers will bury you and any of your Crockett lawmen who have ganged up against me.”

“That's enough,” Jericho warned him.

“Nowhere near enough.” Marcos smiled at him. “Must feel like a knife to the gut for Alexa to be sleeping with your brother. It's surprising that she would bring Levi into this since she believes I'm capable of killing. You'd think she'd be worried about her precious pretty cowboy with that shiny new badge.”

Alexa bolted before Levi could stop her. “He knows I'm here. And if he tries to attack me then we win because you can arrest him.”

“I don't want you in there with him,” Levi insisted.

It didn't work. Nothing short of going caveman and throwing her over his shoulder would have stopped her. And he couldn't blame her. Marcos had essentially just called her out.

Alexa threw open the door to the interview room and glared at Marcos. “You have something to say to me?”

The lawyer didn't just lean this time, he got up and moved between Marcos and her. Jericho did some moving, too.

“Not a good idea,” Jericho said to Alexa. But then he looked at her. “Of course, if I were in your shoes, I'd want to face him down, too. Maybe give him a good swift kick where it'll hurt the most. But just remember, you'll get plenty of satisfaction from putting him behind bars.”

Levi stepped behind her, eased his arm around her waist. Marcos didn't miss the gesture, and it probably confirmed in his mind that Alexa and Levi were indeed sleeping together.

Marcos smiled, glanced at her stomach. “Funny, you don't look as if you just had a baby.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” she countered. “I just want you to know that you can't intimidate me into backing off.”

Marcos made an I-beg-to-differ sound. “The trouble with caring for someone is that the caring makes you vulnerable. Like Levi, for instance. Right now he wants to come at me and beat me to a pulp.” Marcos slid his gaze from Jericho to Levi.

Levi forced himself to shrug. “Well, you do talk a lot and that's annoying, but why would I want to beat you up? All I have to do is wait a few weeks and you'll have plenty of inmates who'll do that for me.”

Marcos sure didn't shrug. The flash of temper came again. “I won't be railroaded by a bunch of cowboy cops and her.” He jabbed his index finger at Alexa. “So help me, you'll all pay for this.”

“How exactly will you do that?” Levi asked calmly.

Now it was Levi who was on the end of Marcos's finger jab. “You'll soon find out. Do you think I'll just let this slide?” His voice got louder with each word. “Do you think there won't be payback?”

Levi wanted to move Alexa out of the way, but she held her ground even when Marcos started toward her. He didn't get far, and this time it wasn't Jericho who intervened. It was the lawyer. He latched on to his client's arm.

“We should be going
now
,” the lawyer warned Marcos. The man looked at Jericho. “Call me if you're filing new charges against my client.”

Marcos obviously wanted to hold his ground, but the lawyer was persistent and finally got him moving toward the front door. Levi didn't do anything to slow them down because he wanted Marcos far away from Alexa and Violet. Of course, because of the upcoming trial he couldn't keep Marcos away from Alexa forever, but at the moment he wished he could do just that.

Great.

Now he was feeling protective of her. Not a good combination with the attraction. And worse, Levi figured it was only a matter of time before Alexa, he or both of them acted on that attraction.

Marcos shot them all one last glare before his lawyer manhandled him out of the door. As soon as they were outside, Marcos threw off the lawyer's grip with far more force than necessary. And then Marcos punched him.

“Look, he's having a temper tantrum,” Jericho joked.

The lawyer rubbed his jaw, dodged another punch and wrestled Marcos into the limo waiting just outside the door. Too bad Marcos hadn't let that temper fly and assaulted Levi. But Levi figured there was no way the lawyer would have let that happen.

“Are you okay?” Levi asked Alexa.

She nodded. But it was a lie. Alexa was shaken and rightfully so. Marcos had just threatened all of them, and the threat wasn't over unless they could figure out how to tie Marcos to the recent attacks.

“I'll check on Violet,” she said, turning in that direction.

However, she didn't get far before the front door opened again. Levi automatically drew his gun in case Marcos had decided to act on his threat right here, right now.

But it wasn't Marcos.

It was Scottie.

Scottie didn't have a weapon visible, but he was still wearing that bulky coat. He also had an envelope in his left hand.

Levi so wasn't in the mood to deal with another fool right now, but he had asked Scottie to bring in the so-called evidence he claimed to have. Still, the timing sucked.

“Wait in Jericho's office,” Levi told Alexa.

But Scottie had already gotten a good look at her. His expression was pleasant enough. Until it landed on Alexa.

“The lady PI,” Scottie said, and it wasn't a friendly greeting. “Finally we meet.”

“Former PI,” Alexa clarified. She sounded a lot steadier than Levi knew she was. “What did you do to Tasha?”

Scottie held up his hands. “Nothing. I'm here to find out what
you
did to her. Did you convince Tasha to hide from me?” He didn't give Alexa even a second to answer before he continued, “If so, tell me where she is.”

Levi had heard more than enough. He holstered his gun and went closer to Scottie so he could frisk him. No gun. Of course, Scottie could have left it in his car since he must have known he'd be searched.

“This isn't a good time to test my patience,” Levi warned him. “Now, unless you've got something for me, then you're about to be under arrest for withholding evidence, obstruction of justice, trespassing at the ranch and any other charge I can come up with.”

That got Scottie's glare off Alexa and on Levi. Good. Now, maybe she'd go into the office with the baby so he could finish up with Scottie.

“You have no grounds to arrest me,” Scottie said once he got his jaw unclenched. “There's the evidence I have regarding the Moonlight Strangler. But if you want to file those charges, you should look at the woman cowering behind you.”

Levi wanted to groan. Or punch the guy. “And why would I arrest her?”

Scottie smiled. “Because this evidence belongs to Alexa.”

Chapter Eight

Alexa just stared at Scottie, waiting for an explanation about that stupid accusation. But Scottie only handed the envelope to Levi.

“I don't have any evidence connected to the Moonlight Strangler,” Alexa insisted, and she repeated it after she turned to Levi.

No matter what was in that envelope, Levi had to believe her. He was just starting to trust her again, and she didn't want to lose what little ground she'd gained with him. She didn't want to lose
him
.

Not that he was hers to lose.

But he certainly wouldn't be offering her his shoulder or his arms if he thought she had kept information about the Moonlight Strangler from him.

She hurried to Levi to get a better look. Jericho made his way there, too. It was a plain white envelope and it was addressed to her or rather to her WITSEC identity. It'd been sent to the house that the marshals had arranged for her. The house where she'd never actually stayed.

“I've never seen that before,” she insisted. Then she snapped toward Scottie. “How'd you get it?”

Scottie ignored her question and kept his attention on Levi. “Look inside,” Scottie instructed.

The envelope had already been opened, and it had no return address or postmark on it.

“What is this?” Levi asked. “And you can also answer Alexa's question about how you got it.”

“Just look inside,” Scottie repeated. “Read it and then we can talk about that deal you promised me. Tasha's whereabouts in exchange for information about the Moonlight Strangler.”

Levi shook his head. “The only deal I promised you is that I'd arrest you if you withheld evidence.”

Scottie clearly didn't like that, but he motioned for Levi to take out the letter. Both Jericho and Alexa leaned in so they could read it. It was short, just a single typed paragraph. Her attention zoomed to the bottom where she saw the sender's name.

The Moonlight Strangler.

“‘Alexa-girl',” Levi read aloud. The killer, if this was indeed from the killer, had used her real name instead of the aliases she'd used while in WITSEC. “‘You're a hard person to find. Bet you're sleeping with one eye open, huh?'”

She did. And not solely because of the Moonlight Strangler. She had another bogeyman, Marcos, that she had to watch even more.

“‘You don't have to be scared of me,'” Levi continued to read. “‘I've decided I don't want you dead after all. Better for you to stay alive so you can keep beating yourself up about your friend's death. I do so love watching a girl in misery. If you want to talk about it, go to the Starry, Starry Night website and log in to the chat room. That's where you'll find me. Limited time only, though. Hurry.'”

Levi studied the words a moment longer before he looked at her. “You've never seen this.” It wasn't a question, and his gaze slashed to Scottie. “Because I'm guessing you stole it.”

Scottie shrugged. “Not really. It was on her porch, and I was going to put it the mailbox, but then the letter fell out.”

“What a crock,” Levi concluded. “You stole it, opened it and read it. When did all of that happen?”

Jericho didn't wait around to see if Scottie was going to add to that lie. He said something about checking out the website and he went to one of the desks to use a computer.

“Day before yesterday,” Scottie admitted, though he didn't seem the least bit concerned that he'd withheld possibly critical evidence for hours. Alexa hoped the killer was still checking into that chat room so Jericho could try to contact him.

And find him.

Of course, she doubted the Moonlight Strangler would just give her his location, but he might let something slip. That was a big
might,
but mights were the only thing they had when it came to the killer.

“How did you find me?” Alexa asked. “How did you find the house where I was supposed to be staying?”

Scottie froze. For just a second. “I didn't find you, exactly. But rather I found Tasha. I knew she was about to deliver the baby, so I got in touch with hospitals, looking for someone who matched her description.”

“I'm betting that involved hackers,” Alexa said, and she filled in the blanks. “So, you managed to locate Tasha, saw me with her and then what? You didn't follow me to the house, because I didn't go there.”

“No, but I got some photos of you. Asked around the area, and when I learned your name, or rather your fake name, I got your address, went to the house to talk to you. That's when I found the letter.”

“When you saw that the letter was from the Moonlight Strangler, why didn't you turn it over to the cops?” Levi asked.

“It slipped my mind.” Scottie lifted his chin, a defiant pose challenging Levi to argue with that.

“Arrest him,” Levi told Mack.

And Mack moved to do exactly that. He holstered his gun and took out some handcuffs.

“What?” Scottie howled. “This is absurd, an abuse of power. Why the hell are you arresting me?”

“Theft and withholding evidence,” Levi quickly supplied.

Scottie's face tightened so much it turned red. “You can't do this!”

“Already doing it,” Mack assured him.

“Are you even trying to find Tasha?” Scottie snarled while Mack slapped some handcuffs on him. “Mendoza could have—”

“He's dead,” Levi interrupted.

Scottie made a flustered sound. “That loan shark then, Perryman.”

That got Alexa's attention. “What do you know about him?”

“That he's a bad man capable of doing bad things. You should be arresting him, not me.”

Levi shook his head. “I don't have probable cause to arrest him. Can't say the same for you, though.” He motioned for Mack to get moving.

“I demand a phone call.” Scottie was still shouting when Mack led him away toward lockup. “That's the law and you can't deny me. I want to call my lawyers. So help me God, I'll have all your badges.”

“Good luck with that,” Levi said before looking at Mack. “Read him his rights and let him make his one phone call.”

That meant Scottie's lawyers would be there in no time. Probably less than an hour. Still, for that hour Scottie wouldn't be out planning another attack.

“Did you find the chat room?” Levi asked. Both Alexa and he went to the desk where Jericho had his attention fixed on the computer screen.

“It's cyberspace for sickos.” Jericho turned the laptop screen so they could see it.

Alexa only had to read the first post to realize what Jericho had said was true. The poster who identified himself as ColdMan was looking to buy a corpse.

She cringed. “I'm surprised the site hasn't already been shut down.”

“It will be,” Jericho assured her. “But I just sent a message to the FBI to ask them to monitor it and check through the old messages to see if there's anything about the Moonlight Strangler. Nothing obvious stands out to me.”

Alexa thought about that a moment. “Maybe he wanted me to post something first. If so, he could be checking it.”

Jericho nodded. “I'll let the FBI take the lead on this. They can create your online identity and do the post.”

Alexa nearly asked him to nix that idea so she could do the post herself. Catching the Moonlight Strangler was her obsession. Or at least it had been. But right now she had so much going on, and the FBI would probably do a better job making contact.

“All right,” she finally said, and she didn't think it was her imagination that Jericho and Levi were surprised by that. “I'll check on Violet.”

Levi followed her, and Alexa got the feeling he did that to check on her. Probably because once again she looked ready to lose it. And she was. As much as she wanted to catch the Moonlight Strangler, she didn't want that monster coming after her. Especially since she now had Violet.

They were still a few steps from the office door when Levi's phone buzzed. Because most calls he'd gotten had been bad news, Alexa figured the trend would continue. But it was his mother's name, Iris, that appeared on the screen.

“The ranch,” he said, quickly jabbing the answer button.

Her heart jumped to her throat, and Alexa prayed her attackers hadn't come to the ranch looking for her. Or worse. That the Moonlight Strangler was there.

“What's wrong?” Levi greeted. Since he didn't put the call on speaker, Alexa moved closer so she could hear.

His mother, however, didn't answer right away. “Is it true?” Iris finally asked. “Is that baby really your daughter that you had with Alexa?”

Even though it wasn't the nightmare Alexa believed that had prompted this call, it was still a tough question. No doubt debating his answer, Levi looked at her. That was when Alexa realized that she was much too close. Levi must have realized it, too, because he put the call on speaker and she stepped back.

“No,” he answered. “The baby's not mine.”

So, he'd gone with the truth. The only real reason to keep up the lie was to give them time to find out if Violet had a next of kin and to prevent Scottie from trying to hurt or take her. Still, Alexa felt the little tug at her heart.

And silently cursed herself.

Yes, she was definitely losing it. Like Levi, Violet wasn't hers, and she had to stop thinking of the baby that way.

“I see,” Iris said.

“You sound disappointed,” Levi pointed out. Alexa agreed.

“Not really. I'd just hoped that you'd found something more fulfilling than the badge and this thirst you have for justice. Don't get me wrong. I want Paige's killer caught, but justice won't bring her back.”

“I know that.”

This conversation seemed much too personal for Alexa to be hearing, so she stepped away, thinking that Levi would take the call off speaker.

He didn't.

“Do you really know that?” Iris challenged. “Because from what I can tell, you've been living like a monk and working like a dog. Not a good combination, and you deserve more. Of course, I'd rather that
more
not be with Alexa.”

Alexa hadn't expected his mother to feel any other way. The Crocketts would always see her as the woman who'd gotten Paige killed, and it didn't matter that Jax and Paige had gotten a divorce shortly before the fateful night of Paige's death. Nothing would change their feelings for Alexa, and even though she had known that, she'd let her guard down. Had let herself feel something she should never have felt when it came to the Crocketts.

Hope that someday they would forgive her.

Hard to do when she couldn't forgive herself.

“Mom, I have to go. I'll phone you when I can.” Levi ended the call, and in the same motion he opened the door.

Violet was still asleep in her infant carrier, and the corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile. Just like that Alexa's dark mood lifted. How could she possibly have this reaction, this much love, for a baby who hadn't been in her life just a few days ago?

“Everything okay?” Dexter asked. “I heard lots of yelling going on out there.”

“We arrested Scottie,” Levi answered.

Dexter nodded in approval. “And Marcos?”

“No grounds to hold him, but he's out of the building.” Levi glanced at some notes Dexter had written. “Anything yet on James Moser?”

“Some. I contacted a detective friend at SAPD, and he's going to James's place to talk to him about Lockwood. I didn't mention anything to him about Alexa, but I did tell him to make sure James got police protection if he wants it.”

Good. But by now James had likely heard about the attacks the night before, and the PI would put one and one together. James would know that all of this was related to Alexa.

“I could call James,” Alexa suggested.

“No way.” Levi didn't hesitate, either. “Someone could have tapped his phone. I don't want you to have any contact with the man until we get all of this sorted out.”

Before Alexa could say anything else, she heard the voices in the squad room. Definitely not Mack or Jericho, and for a moment she thought Scottie's attorneys had already arrived. However, when Levi opened the door, she saw the two men and a woman. Alexa didn't recognize the woman, but she knew both men. One, Marshal Dallas Walker, wasn't a surprise. But the other was.

Because it was Marshal Chase Crockett.

Jericho didn't look especially pleased about Chase's arrival, but his phone rang, and after glancing at the screen, he stepped aside to take it. “Deal with this,” Jericho ordered Levi.

Levi cursed and made a beeline to his brother. “You're supposed to be recovering at home.”

“I've recovered,” Chase grumbled. “And I wanted to help.”

The family resemblance was strong, what with their brown hair and eyes. Similar builds and scowls, too. Scowls they were aiming at each other.

“Is April all right?” Levi asked.

That was another sore subject because it generated another scowl from Chase. “Apparently. If there was a breach in WITSEC, it doesn't seem to have included her.”

That was something at least. Both April Landis and Alexa were scheduled to testify against men involved in the money laundering and extortion case. However, Alexa had gotten the better deal in this. She wouldn't be testifying against a cop killer like April would be. Of course, the man April was testifying against was in jail. Unlike Marcos.

Thankfully, Marshal Walker didn't scowl at her. He went to Alexa, hugged her and then glanced into the office at the baby before turning back to Levi.

“I wanted someone on the protection detail I could trust,” Dallas explained. “I trust Chase.” He lifted his hand to the woman. “This is Patty Dawley, a private bodyguard who specializes in guarding infants and children. I trust her, too.”

Levi huffed. “But Chase—”

“Is fine,” Chase finished for him. “I would show you that the wound has healed, but I'd prefer not to have to strip off my shirt. I'd rather you take my word for it.”