down the hallway, barefooted, and stopped in the living room doorway as the three were taking seats.
“Good morning,” she said. “Coffee?”
Everyone said yes and she went to the kitchen to make a pot. While it was brewing she came back into the living room and sat down next to Hawk on the sofa. Reed and Leslie were sitting on the loveseat, and Holt had taken the chair.
“What’s up?” she asked. “Please don’t tell me the bakery burned down, or something like that.”
“No, everything is fine, in fact it’s great,” Holt said.
“You’re officially off the suspect list,” Leslie said.
Jessica cried out in joy, then put her hands over her mouth. When she had control of her emotions again she said, “How is that possible? I mean, I’m not complaining, but how?”
“Well, Grant has a fiancée named Florence.” Leslie crossed her legs and clasped her hand around her knee. “Grant told the rangers that you’d called him to berate him about the ring, that it was yours and you weren’t giving it back.”
“That’s not true!” Jessica said.
Leslie held up her hand. “Give me a minute.”
“Sorry,” Jessica said. “Just defending myself.”
“Understandable,” Leslie said. “However, he said you’d left it as a voice message.”
Jessica could see where this was going. She put her hand on Hawk’s thigh and he patted it gently.
“He had Florence, who likes to be called Flo, call using a burner phone and disguise her voice. They even did it so that the phone pinged off a cell tower near Bookman Springs. But they did it Monday night, while you and all the Colemans, and even a Texas Ranger, were at the house to verify you were there, and didn’t leave.”
“I could have made the call,” Jessica said. “Or that’s what a prosecutor would say.”
“There are two cell towers that serve your area,” Leslie said. “One near the ranch, and one on the other side of town. Guess which tower the call pinged off?”
Jessica giggled. She stomped her feet up and down, then held her hands up in the air. “Yeah for technology! Thank you big brother for tracking phone calls. He obviously parked near my house.”
Everyone laughed and Jessica jumped up. “Coffee for everyone.”
“I’ll help, and then I can tell you the rest.”
The ladies went into the kitchen. Leslie hunted for a tray while Jessica poured five cups of coffee. Jessica took the half-and-half they’d brought with them out of the fridge, and added some sugar packets. Once they were back in the living room, and the coffee had been served, Leslie said, “Okay, the other part of the news.”
“Go on,” Hawk said.
“The rangers want to trap Grant into confessing, and they want Jessica’s help to do it.”
“How?” she asked.
Leslie grimaced, then cleared her throat. “By acting like they’ve arrested you for murder.”
Before Jessica could ask if that was a good idea, Hawk said, “Absolutely not.”
“It’s just an act,” Leslie said. “I will have that in writing before we do anything.”
Jessica thought about it for a moment, then leaned into Hawk. “We’ll need to talk about it before we make any decision. But tell me, Leslie, is this something that happens a lot?”
“Sometimes,” Leslie said. “But the person you’re trying to trap will be suspicious. That’s why they want to do the trapping somewhere besides the police station. Say the bakery?”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Jessica said.
“I’ll explain it to you, and then you and Hawk can talk about it and let us know tomorrow, or this afternoon. Jackson wants to get it done ASAP because he thinks Grant and Flo will try to run. Can I tell him you’re considering it, and he can at least plant the seed?”
Jessica looked up at Hawk; his gaze was focused on her. His eyebrows lifted ever so slightly and she nodded.
“Tell him I’ll have an answer for him tomorrow morning, but I have one condition.”
“What’s that?” Leslie asked.
“I get to watch the arrest.” The thought of watching the rangers slap handcuffs on Grant made her laugh. “I can’t wait to see him in a prison jumpsuit!”
They finished their coffee and their guests started toward the door. Jessica started to clear up the coffee cups, and she heard Hawk say, “Call first next time.”
The brothers laughed, and as Jessica washed up the cups she heard the truck leave. When Hawk was back in the house she said, “That was close.”
He laughed and leaned against the kitchen doorjamb. “Put it all out of your mind, because you’re mine now.”
Her nipples tightened and she nodded,