“He’s dead,” Northcutt said.
Inhaling deeply, I let it sink in. The son of a bitch was dead. Holy shit.
“He was found this morning by the maid at the motel he’d been staying at. He’d been dead for a couple of days. No one knew. He’d paid for the room up front and asked for privacy; she only went in there because he was supposed to check out today.”
“How?” I asked, reeling from pure relief. He’d never get near Reese again.
“Gunshot to the head. Single shot,” he replied. “You were, of course, the first suspect, but we’ve been to your house to question your relatives. We spoke with Mrs. Colt and Mr. Colt, along with a Major Colt, who informed us that you and Reese didn’t leave the house for two days and that you recently flew to Rosemary Beach, Florida, to visit your sister. We will be checking into that, but as of right now, you’re no longer a suspect. It appears this man had more than one enemy. Signs show he was involved in drugs, and we believe this could have been someone he owed money. Any information you have on him would be helpful.”
“Of course. But Reese hadn’t seen him or her mother since she was sixteen, when they kicked her out. When she ran into him at the grocery store, that was the first time she’d seen him. It really shook her up. We don’t know anything about the man except what he did to Reese when she was growing up.”
“That’s what we assumed. The killer didn’t seem to act on emotion. It was well planned and well covered up. This has all the markings of a professional kill. Which means we may never find out . . .” His voice trailed off. I could tell by his tone that he didn’t want to know. He had Reese’s statement, and he knew what that lowlife fucker had done to her.
But a professional kill? Who the hell had this man pissed off? And what if they knew about Reese? Would they think she had something of his that they wanted? Fuck. My relief turned to fear again quickly. “If this was professional, could they be after Reese next, thinking she knew something?” I had to get her and bring her to safety. Wherever she was, I needed to find her.
The detective cleared his throat. “There was something left behind that leads us to believe Reese is safe. It’s also something that connects him to the drug trade. We’ve seen this calling card before,” he said in a lowered voice.
“What? What do you mean?” I pulled the phone away from my mouth and looked at Grant. “I need to get to Reese—now.”
He nodded and turned the truck around.
“There was a note. It had no prints on it, and it wasn’t written by hand. It simply said For My Little Girl.”
I let out a heavy sigh and closed my eyes as my head fell back. What the hell had happened? Whose little girl had that sick bastard messed with this time?
“Once you’re back in Fort Worth, we need you both to come in and answer some questions.”
“Yes, of course,” I replied. “Were there prints anywhere?”
“Like I said, it was a professional job. There was no trace left behind. All we have is this note. Which . . .” He paused. “The note is a calling card explaining the reason for the death.
It’s something that we’ve seen before. Many times. We’re positive it’s the same stock and ink. It’s gone through testing. I just can’t tell you more.”
That note. The only thing I had to hold on to that told me Reese was safe. Whoever had killed Marco wouldn’t have a reason to come after Reese. I doubted anyone even knew she was a part of his past.
I ended the call just as we pulled up to a small café where Harlow was waiting with Reese outside. There was concern on Reese’s face, but I needed her with me. I wanted to hold her close while I thought things through.
“Hey,” she said, hurrying toward me the moment I stepped out of the truck. “What’s wrong?”
I pulled her to me and inhaled deeply, letting my heart rate slow down.
“What’s wrong?” she repeated against my chest.
Nothing was wrong. She was here. She was safe. And someone else had made sure she was safe for good. “He’s dead,” I said. “Marco is dead.”
She pulled back and looked up at me with shock and hope mingling in her eyes. “What?” she asked in a whisper.
“He’s dead,” I repeated. I decided not to give her details. Not now.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered, and then let out a sob. “He’s gone. He’s gone forever?”
I nodded, understanding her emotion. “It’s over, baby,” I told her as I held her head in my hands and thanked God she was safe. And she was mine.
Reese
My head hurt, and I was ready to go home. The detective assigned to Marco’s case had questioned me about everything. My mother, my real father, my father’s family. I’d had to tell him exactly what Mase and I did during the two days after Marco assaulted me in the grocery store. Remembering it all was difficult, but I tried to give them as many details as possible.
I felt guilty telling them that Captain had been the one to walk Marco out. I didn’t want him pulled into this. But they already had that information from eyewitnesses, and Captain had already been questioned; whatever his alibies were, they were solid.