Settling an Old Score - Delores Fossen Page 0,23

the room with him, and she shook her head. “I’ll listen to Dominick, and then we can go.”

Eli didn’t think the listening part was a good idea, because it would likely upset her, but he couldn’t blame her. If he were in her shoes, he’d want to know every possible aspect of the investigation. He flicked on the switch for the audio and went in search of Owen. He wouldn’t dawdle, though, because the memory of Ashlyn trembling was still way too fresh in his mind.

When Eli made it to the bullpen, he glanced around and soon spotted Owen. “Any sign of Remy?”

“Not yet. He called to say he was delayed because he’s waiting on his lawyer. He’ll be here in about an hour.”

An hour was going to feel like an eternity with Cora in the break room and Dominick just up the hall. Eli knew it was stupid for him to feel as if he had such high emotional stakes when it came to the baby. But he did.

“I’ll call Remy and tell him to get his butt in here ASAP,” Eli grumbled. And if not, he’d see about getting a warrant for his arrest. Remy ticked all the boxes when it came to suspects, and Eli didn’t want the man dodging them while he came up with an alibi or a way to escape justice.

“Hold off on that call,” Owen said, his attention on the screen of his desk computer. “I just got a report from SAPD.” Owen looked up at him. “They sent an officer out to talk to the mortician who works at the funeral home that handled Marta’s remains.”

“Terrell Wilburn,” Eli supplied. He didn’t like that suddenly tight look on his brother’s face. “And what did he have to say?”

“He’s dead.” Owen’s tense look only got worse. “Someone murdered him yesterday afternoon. A gunshot wound to the head.”

Eli felt the shock of that ram straight into him. He doubted it was a coincidence that the mortician had died just hours before the kidnapping and the attack.

“Who killed him?” Eli asked.

“SAPD doesn’t know yet. There’s more,” Owen quickly added. “The killer apparently stole Wilburn’s laptop, but Wilburn had some hard copy files in his office. There was a folder with Marta’s name on it.”

“And?” Eli prompted when Owen paused.

“It was empty,” Owen said. “It looks as if the killer took whatever was in it.”

Chapter Seven

Ashlyn listened to every word of Dominick’s interview. Of course, he claimed he was innocent of hiring the gunmen. And maybe he was. But she had no intention of letting him see Cora until they had the person responsible for the attack behind bars.

Whenever that would be.

It sickened her to think that the search could go on for days, weeks or even longer, but she had to hold on to the hope that maybe there wouldn’t be another attack. That whoever was behind this was done. But she had to be sure. For the sake of her baby, she needed to be certain that no one else would come after them.

After Dominick and his lawyers were gone, Ashlyn went into the break room to check on Cora. She was asleep in Gloria’s arms, and Owen was still standing guard. Seeing both steadied her nerves a little so she went in search of Eli so she could find out when they’d be going back to Jack’s place. Not that Ashlyn especially wanted to go there, but she didn’t like the alternative of staying in the sheriff’s office where Dominick could return.

She coiled her way around the hall and spotted Eli in Kellan’s office. The two were huddled over a computer, and judging from their stern expressions, something hadn’t gone the way they wanted. When she stepped in, both men looked at her, but then Kellan gave Eli a nod. Obviously, that was a cue for Eli to fill her in. The fact that he had to take a deep breath first told her that she wasn’t going to like this much, either.

“Someone murdered the mortician who handled Marta’s remains. They stole his file on her and his computer.” Eli said it quickly and continued before she could do anything more than gasp. “We’re starting the paperwork to have Marta’s remains exhumed.”

Ashlyn still didn’t manage more than a gasp, but she did make her way to the chair to sit. Her legs suddenly didn’t feel very steady. Someone was dead. Someone connected to all of this.

“There’s no concrete proof that Marta didn’t die the