Settling an Old Score - Delores Fossen Page 0,30

what he was hearing about Marta, he might have to amend Leon’s label. His lawyers would want an amendment, too, and if Marta was truly alive, they could use that to get Leon a much reduced sentence.

“I heard about the trouble you had out at your place,” Leon answered. “Lots of gossip about it, and it was on the news. The details are a little sketchy, but it sounds like someone took some shots at you.”

Eli didn’t doubt the news or gossip part, but that might not have been the reason Leon knew about it. He might have firsthand knowledge. “You’re sure you didn’t hire someone to kill me?”

Leon laughed. “You have access to my bank accounts. Oh, wait. I don’t have any bank accounts because I don’t have any money. You also have access to any and all of my visits so unless you think my lawyer floated me a loan, then you know I didn’t hire anyone.”

Yes, Eli did have access to those things, but that didn’t mean something couldn’t slip by. “You hate me. That means you might have found a way to come after me.”

No laugh this time, but there was a heavy sigh. “I don’t want you dead. Didn’t want you dead that night, either. Drake said he needed to have it out with Marta, that he was going to convince her to quit ratting on him. You and Marta’s friend, Ashlyn, were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Ashlyn went a little pale again, and she was no doubt battling the flashbacks from that night.

“So you didn’t want me dead, only Marta?” Eli said.

“Didn’t want Marta dead, either,” Leon insisted. “I actually liked her, but Drake was paying, and I needed cash. It wasn’t personal, just business.”

There was no chance of Eli’s chest muscles relaxing with that. He wanted to reach through the phone and beat Leon senseless. “It was personal to me,” Eli said, his voice a low, dangerous warning.

Leon stayed quiet a moment. “What’s this call all about? Because I doubt you’re just wanting a trip down that particular memory lane.”

“It’s about Oscar. Tell me about his visits.”

“Oscar,” Leon repeated, and he didn’t sound surprised. More like resigned that his old friend was going to come up in conversation. “You think he’s the one who hired the gunmen.”

“Did he?” Eli pressed.

Leon gave another sigh. “Maybe. I honestly don’t know for sure,” he quickly added before Eli could challenge his answer. “Unlike me, what happened with Drake is personal.”

Everything inside Eli went still. “Explain that.”

“Oscar and Drake were like brothers, and Oscar wasn’t happy when you killed Drake.”

“Well, I wasn’t happy when Drake gunned down Marta, shot Ashlyn and then tried to kill me. I get testy when things like that happen. What the hell did Oscar say to you when he visited you in prison?” Eli demanded.

“That he wasn’t happy about some honor that you got,” Leon answered after a short hesitation. “He got all worked up when you got a commendation last month.”

Eli had indeed gotten that, because he’d tracked down a killer and saved the hostage that the killer had taken. The commendation had embarrassed him some since he’d just been doing his job, and now it had had this effect. But Eli hadn’t seen anything “worked up” about Oscar when he’d come into the sheriff’s office.

“Oscar was angry about that?” Eli pressed.

“Yeah, he said he didn’t like that you were getting on with your life when you’d cut Drake’s life short. And there’s no need for you to remind me that Drake was trying to kill you. Oscar doesn’t believe that. Oh, and he’s riled about Ashlyn, too.”

Ashlyn’s eyes widened. “Why?” she asked.

“Because Oscar heard you’d adopted a kid.” Obviously, Leon wasn’t surprised that Ashlyn had been listening to their conversation. “It’s that whole getting on with your life thing.” He paused again. “Look, I think Oscar would like it better if you two were wallowing in grief over what happened.”

Maybe they weren’t exactly wallowing, but it was still haunting them. Worse, it could be the reason for the attack.

“Why did Oscar come to visit you twice in the past month?” Eli went on.

Leon groaned but also made a sound of dismissal. “He just wanted to rant, that’s all. He went on and on about Ashlyn’s kid and your medal. I told him to cool off, but it didn’t help much. He hates your guts.”

“That’s it?” Eli didn’t roll his eyes, but that’s what he wanted to