All He Has Left(31)

Again, he thought about the possibility that Sarah was at the center of all this. Who could’ve wanted her dead? Had Sarah known she was in danger? Thinking back, Jake couldn’t recall anything she’d said or done leading up to the night of the crash that made him pause. Of course, at the time, he’d been completely consumed with his own world of mounting football losses, an angry fan base, and an administration wavering in their support. There was also a distance between him and Sarah, so he might not have been able to pick up on whether something was off in her world.

But Jake did know someone who would have.

Her best friend, Jill.





TWENTY-ONE


Dani took more than forty minutes to get to the address Mitchell had sent to her because her dog had no interest in expediting her morning plans by quickly going to the bathroom. When Dani finally arrived, she was troubled to find multiple police and emergency vehicles already sitting in front of the house with their lights flashing. She cursed. This couldn’t be good. It was the second time in twelve hours she’d pulled up to this kind of chaotic police scene. But this was unexpected.

What the hell had happened? She swallowed a sudden knot in her throat. Could it be Jake? According to Drew Beamer, Jake was clearly on a mission to track down the resident of this house. Jake had put himself in a precarious position at the bar last night to get the address. Could something have happened to him here this morning? Another thought hit her, made her stomach turn. Could Jake have actually done something to McGee?

After parking her Mazda, Dani hustled up to the house. Mitchell was already there and waiting for her out front. He handed her a cup of coffee with a lid.

“What the hell is going on?” Dani asked him.

“We’re too late.”

“Too late for what?”

“He’s dead.”

She felt a punch to the gut. “Jake?”

Mitchell cocked his head, squinted at her. “No, Judd McGee.”

Dani felt a wave of relief move through her.

Mitchell said, “Shot and killed this morning. I guess his stepdaughter found him and called the police a few minutes ago.”

Dani cursed again. She had been wrong about Jake. He had actually come here and killed this man. It was hard to fathom. But why?

“How old is the stepdaughter?” she asked.

“Twelve, I think.”

“Anyone else home?”

“I don’t believe so. I haven’t had a chance to gather much information. Just got here a few minutes before you.” Mitchell again tilted his head. “What’s going on, Dani? This is the second time you’ve called the suspect by his first name.”

Dani didn’t really want to lie to Mitchell. “I know the guy,” she admitted.

“Seriously?”

“Or, I used to know him. Way back in the day. Haven’t talked to him in forever—like fifteen years.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“It’s not relevant to our investigation. Like I said, I don’t have any kind of connection to the man anymore. Just knew him a long time ago.”

Mitchell stared at her for another moment, clearly wanting more details, but she wasn’t going to give him any.

“Let’s go find out what happened,” she said, moving past him.

A uniformed police officer stepped in front of her until she flashed her FBI badge in his face. He quickly stood down and let her pass. The front door was wide open. Two more officers were inside. Dani again flashed her badge.

“Who was the first on the scene?”

“Me,” said one of the officers. A young guy in his late twenties.

“What’s your name?”

“Officer Reed.”

“Tell me what you know.”

“Call came in to dispatch about fifteen minutes ago. A twelve-year-old girl met us at the front door in tears and hysterical. She’s in the kitchen right now with one of our female officers. She took us to the back bedroom. We found a man dead in the bed. Shot through the head. Blood everywhere. We quickly secured the area. Waiting on crime scene to get here. That’s it.”

“Show me.”

“The dead guy?”

“Yes.”

“You sure you want to see this? It’s messy.”

She scowled at him. “I’m a special agent for the FBI. Not a schoolteacher.”

“All right, my bad.”

Dani followed him down the hallway and into the last bedroom. Stepping into the room, she found what she guessed was Judd McGee lying flat on his back in bed, blood all down his face, pooled beneath him, and soaking into the sheets.

“Must’ve been up close,” Reed said. “Right through the forehead.”

Dani stepped in even closer, studied the victim. “Two shots,” she said.

“What?”

“Two shots to the head.”

“How can you tell?”

“Been doing this a long time, Officer Reed.”

“You can call me Nick.”

She glanced at him, and he gave her a quick grin. She rolled her eyes. Nothing like a little flirting while standing in a room with a dead body. Dani leaned over the victim. She could see now that both of his earlobes were missing. That was odd. Had they been shot off? This didn’t look like an act of rage or revenge to her. It looked like the work of a professional. Which made Dani immediately think about the hit man who’d just arrived in Austin only a few hours ago. Could Logan Gervais have come here? Could it have been Gervais who shot this man and not Jake?