Cut and Run (Lucy Kincaid #16) - Allison Brennan Page 0,140
guy who took care of him for the last three years is religious and they regularly went to church, so Ricky naturally gravitated to Mateo.”
“I was so worried that we’d put him in danger by bringing him home, but I couldn’t help but think that his grandparents need him as much as he needs them.”
“Do they know?”
“I asked Miranda King, the private investigator, to call them and tell them that Ricky was alive and healthy and they’d be able to see him soon but not give any details. Just in case Chavez heads out that way.”
“Do you think he will?”
“No. I think after he shot his partner he left. He could easily have crossed the border. But … there’s still a niggle of doubt in my head. Simon was up at his cabin all day drinking. His phone doesn’t show that he made any calls or texts—though he had several missed calls. When did Ynez start following Max? Why? Because Chavez told him to? When? And if Chavez told him to, he’s still around.”
“And Ynez isn’t talking.”
“Not a word.” She yawned. “I’ll be up early in the morning, does Jesse have a soccer game?”
“Not this weekend, but next weekend is the big tournament.”
“Thanksgiving weekend. That’ll be fun. Dillon and Kate will at least be here for Saturday’s games.”
“And Kane and Siobhan. They’ll be here Wednesday and will stay until Monday.”
“No one else. I wish Patrick was coming.”
“So do I.”
Lucy had to put it out of her head. He said he wasn’t, and nothing she could do would change his mind. He would never come without Elle, and it wouldn’t be fair of her to ask him to. “Dillon said next year he wants us out there. That might be the only time I’ll get to see my other brother. He said Jack and Megan already agreed go out to DC, too.”
“That’ll be fun.”
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I promised Ryan I’d be at Max’s beck and call. I think that’ll go a long way in making him like me again.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I would have seen him before the collision.”
“You’ve been trained that way. And Max is going to run her own investigation the way she sees fit. And she’s good at it.”
“Yeah, but still, I owe Ryan, so I’m going to help. She’s going to be going stir-crazy, and she refuses to take the pain medication. And she’ll want updates, so let me know what I can tell her. And I’ll see if I can find Mitch. He wasn’t difficult to find before.”
“I talked to Jennifer tonight about what we could share. She’ll go on the record with Max, once we get the indictments. Until then, we need to be cautious.”
“She already figured it out, and she knows that you’re using the information she found at the recorder’s office.”
“I think I would defer to Ryan on this. Let him take the heat for giving her too much information. We have to live here and work with SAPD.”
“Fair enough.”
“She really cares about Ryan.”
“He’s a good guy, and Kate really likes him.”
“My sister-in-law is very particular about the people she likes.”
“I know, but she loves me, and that’s all I care about. Let’s go to bed before you fall asleep here.”
“I want to shower first. It’s been a long day and I feel sticky.”
“May I join you?”
She smiled and kissed him. “That would make it perfect.”
Chapter Thirty-eight
SATURDAY MORNING
Detective Reed was taking lead, which was appropriate since the Victoria Mills homicide was her case. Lucy was happy to be able to participate as her partner.
The DA and AUSA were hesitant about bringing any of the accusations of money laundering and illegal gambling into the equation because they had no hard evidence yet—other than Simon Mills’s statement. Ryan had explained earlier that a scheme like this would take months to investigate, but because they had a strong beginning and substantial documentation he felt confident that the FBI office would be able to put a case together within weeks.
But it wouldn’t be today.
Today they wanted Faith Parker Monroe for the murder of Victoria Mills. They had sufficient circumstantial evidence, but the DA was still hesitant because Faith was a lawyer.
Jennifer fought long and hard for a warrant, however. They had Clemson’s statement that he picked up Faith at the crime scene at ten thirty, which was in the time of death window; Ash Dominguez had provided a report that Victoria’s blood was on the passenger side of the car; and both Mitch and Simon knew