Deadly Coincidence (Brantley Walker Off the Books #4) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,58

started.

“We need to find Dante,” Reese stated. “At this point, he’s the only one who can give us answers.”

Provided all this blood didn’t belong to him, they might have a chance of that.

“Definitely a good place to start,” Brantley agreed, but worried that would be where they ended, instead.

*

“Maybe you should try callin’ him,” BAZ suggested, glancing from Brantley to Reese. “I would but I don’t know the guy.”

Brantley was still scanning the room as he pulled out his phone, dialed.

Baz waited patiently, hoping Dante Greenwood would answer and they could get some answers. He had no idea what those might be, or how they could possibly make any of this make sense, but what else did they have?

It was a reach, he knew. Baz seriously doubted this would be simple—who the fuck went to these lengths only to answer the phone and cop to the crime?—but some wishful thinking certainly couldn’t hurt.

Unfortunately, the ringing that sounded from somewhere in the living room was the next clue that getting answers from Dante wasn’t going to pan out.

“Where is it?” Brantley asked, holding his phone away so he could listen for the direction of the ring.

Baz pointed to the couch.

It only took a moment to retrieve the cell phone that was tucked into a small area between the couch arm and the base. It almost looked as though it had been left there on purpose considering how everything else was in disarray. Had Dante managed to slip it there? Leaving it as a clue, maybe? Did he want them to find it?

Brantley picked up the phone using a plastic glove he pulled out of one of his many pockets. “Let’s get Charlie to go through this, see—”

“No,” JJ snapped. “That’s my job.”

“Right now, your only job is to get checked out by—”

“I’m fine,” she bit out, most of the fear Baz had witnessed earlier erased.

JJ and Brantley faced off from their respective spots, neither of them backing down.

As much as Baz agreed JJ needed to take care of herself and let them worry about the rest, he was happy to see some fire back in her eyes. Even if it did ring with a hint of petulance.

“We need to call the sheriff,” Reese stated, interrupting the standoff as he held out his hand for the phone.

Reese was right. They needed to know what happened here last night. Not only because Baz wanted to help JJ move forward but also because he could feel the fiery rage brimming beneath his skin. Whoever did this to her … hurt her … put that fear in her eyes … they would pay for the hell they put her through. That he could promise.

Brantley was slow on the transfer, his eyes brimming with frustration. Finally, he passed the phone to Reese, who slid it into a clear plastic bag, then set it on the table next to the finger.

“We need crime scene techs to comb through it,” Reese explained, motioning toward the living room.

“What about JJ?” Baz asked. “She’s gonna be the prime suspect in Dante’s disappearance.”

He could see Reese was aware of that when he said, “If Dante wasn’t the governor’s son, I’d say we could finagle this to our liking, but we don’t know what this is about. It could be a mess Dante’s gotten himself into…”

Reese’s eyes shifted to Brantley, and Baz saw something pass between them, but he couldn’t translate it.

“Or it could be politically driven,” Brantley added, almost as an afterthought.

“Political?” Baz looked around. “What the fuck does this get them? This is JJ’s house. For all we know, Dante’s the one who bashed her over the head.”

“Well, we won’t know until we investigate.”

Baz hated that Brantley was right. This very well could be aimed at the governor and whoever was targeting Greenwood was simply using JJ to relay the message. It seemed a stretch for him, but then again, Baz had seen the criminal element at work. Often there was no rhyme or reason. Logically, at least.

“I need to get her out of here first,” Baz told Brantley and Reese, ensuring they heard the concern in his tone. “We all know there’s enough evidence to throw suspicion on her, and if we have any hope of finding Dante, we can’t have her detained.”

“Nor can Dante afford for the cops to be focusin’ in the wrong direction,” Brantley agreed before glancing over at Reese.

“Whatever we do, this place has to be treated like a crime scene. We can’t confirm that’s