Tracking Justice (Texas K-9 Unit) Page 10

  He acknowledged that, but he also acknowledged that he had no choice but to follow through. To give as much as he had to keep Brady safe. It was what he did, and he couldn’t turn his back on it any more than the sun could decide not to rise in the morning.

  He let Justice into the back of the SUV, then climbed into the driver’s seat, turning up the volume of the radio as he backed out of the driveway. Eva’s living-room curtains fluttered and then moved aside. Austin thought Brady would be standing there, thought that he’d have to call Eva and tell her to keep her son from the windows. She stood there instead, her long braid hanging over her shoulder in a silky rope of gold.

  She lifted a hand, and he returned the wave. Felt his heart catch and his mind go because he wanted to see the same thing when he left his own place every morning. Wanted to head out to work knowing that someone was waiting for him to return.

  Not a good direction for his mind to be heading.

  He was happy with his life.

  Happy with his work.

  Happy, but he thought that maybe he could be happier.

  A family, children, love.

  Those were things that everyone craved.

  He sighed, ran a hand down his jaw.

  In the past few years, all Austin had done was run from one case to the next, one missing person to the next. He’d tracked and trailed and hunted, and he didn’t have one regret.

  He wanted more, though.

  So much more than a job and a house and friends.

  Unfortunately, right at that moment, those were his only options. Most of his friends were busy with their families and Saturday plans. His house still stunk from the layers of varnish he’d applied to the floor, and his coworkers would probably boot him out the door if he showed up at the office again.

  That didn’t mean he couldn’t keep busy and help with the case. As a matter of fact, he could pay a visit to Jeb Rinehart’s buddy Camden West and start things moving in the direction he planned to take them once internal affairs allowed him to return to work.

  He drove a few houses up the road, parked behind Slade McNeal’s SUV and got out.

  “Want to visit an old friend?” he asked Justice as he opened the back of the SUV and let him out. Justice raised his head, took a long deep sniff of air and barked enthusiastically. He knew where they were. They’d been there dozens of times before.

  This time, though, Rio wouldn’t be around to play with.

  His father, Chief, would be, though. A retired service dog, he’d been one of the best. Now he was a family pet, enjoying his golden years.

  He probably missed Rio. Slade’s son, Caleb, was missing him, too. At five years old, Slade’s little boy had already lost his mother in a bombing that had been meant for Slade. Two years later, he was still struggling to come to terms with that loss. Losing Rio had to have set him back in his recovery.

  Maybe a visit with Justice would cheer Caleb up, and while they were visiting, Austin would try to talk Slade into letting him pay a visit to the state prison. Camden West had some information that Austin was interested in, and the sooner he got it, the happier he’d be.

  Sure, he wasn’t officially on duty, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t pursue a lead.

  He rang the doorbell and waited for Slade to open the door.

  ELEVEN

  Two hours later, he was on his way, darkness sliding across the horizon as he made the ninety-mile trek to the state prison, his uniform crisp and comfortable, his firearm in its holster.

  Back at work.

  Slade had been excited to give him the news, and Austin had been happy to hear it.

  Internal affairs had deemed the case cut-and-dried. Austin had acted appropriately and according to the guidelines set up by the office. A witness had confirmed it. Bullets from the deceased’s gun had been found in and around the cave where Eva and Brady had been hiding. Because the perp had refused to lay down his firearm, Austin had been given no choice but to use deadly force.

  He’d known that he’d acted according to policy, but it felt good to know that others agreed.

  It felt even better to be on the job again, searching for Brady’s kidnapper and for Rio.

  Slade’s house had felt emptier without the German shepherd in it, and the weight of Austin’s responsibility to his friend, his boss, his team weighed heavily on his shoulders. Forty-eight hours without a good lead, and the case was going cold fast.

  Maybe his visit with Camden West would be the key to heating it back up again. If West and Rinehart had been as close as Parker seemed to think, there had to be some interesting information to glean from it. One name. That’s all Austin needed. If he got it, he could run with it and hopefully run straight into The Boss.

  His cell phone rang as he pulled up to the prison gates and handed the guard his ID. He ignored it as he was waved into the parking area.

  Moments later, it rang again.

  He answered quickly, anxious to get into the building and start his meeting. “Austin Black.”

  “I hear you’re looking for some information.” The voice was vaguely familiar. Austin’s pulse jumped, adrenaline pulsing through him. The fish had finally taken the bait. All he had to do was reel in the line.

  “Pauly Keevers, right?”

  “You guessed it, Detective. So, are you looking for information or not?” A small-time criminal with his fingers in more pies than Austin cared to count, Pauly would do just about anything for a buck, including selling out friends and family. Bad news for Pauly’s associates, but good news for the Sagebrush Police Department.

  “That depends on what information you have to offer. Do you know Jeb Rinehart?”

  “Knew him. I heard you blew out his brains, though, so I guess we’d better keep things past tense. Me? I’m in no mood to meet up with him in the afterlife, so I think I’ll try to stay on your good side, Detective.”

  “Were you and Rinehart close friends or not?”

  “I wouldn’t say we were friends. We lived in the same apartment building.”

  “Did you talk to him much?”

  “Nah. He kept to himself. Had a temper, the way I hear it. That’s not the kind of person I want to associate with. Too dangerous.”

  And betraying friends for money wasn’t?

  Austin kept the thought to himself, leaning back in his seat and staring out at the purple-black night.

  “I’m sure that didn’t keep you from collecting information about the guy.”

  “I’m in the business of information, Detective. You know that.”

  “So you know who Rinehart hung out with?” Austin pressed.

  “I do.”

  “Do you also know that Rinehart kidnapped a young boy? That he’s a suspect in an attack against Captain McNeal’s father, and that—”

  “He’s suspected of stealing the captain’s police dog? Yeah, I know. I know lots of things.”

  “Like?”

  “Come on, Detective, you know me better than that.” Keevers’s mocking laughter drifted across the line.

  “How much is it going to take to get you to talk?”

  “That depends on what you want me to talk about.”

  Austin clenched his jaw. “I told you that I’m not in the mood for games, Pauly.”

  “No game. I have information about Rinehart, but I have other information, too. The first you can get pretty cheap. Five hundred bucks, and I’ll give you a list of Rinehart’s friends and the people he was hanging with this past month. Ten thousand, and I’ll give you the rest of what I know.”

  Ten thousand dollars?

  That was an astronomical amount. Not something a Sagebrush snitch would ever think to ask for. Unless he had something bigger than big to share. The thought made the hair on the back of Austin’s neck stand on end.

  “Five hundred is steep. I’ll give you three, and the list better be complete.” He kept his tone even as he responded. No sense in letting Keevers know that he was interested.

&
nbsp; “What about the rest?”

  “There isn’t much I can think of that would be worth ten thousand dollars, Pauly.”

  “This will be. I guarantee it.”

  “I’ll have to check with my captain.”

  “You go ahead and do that, Detective, but the longer you wait, the higher the price goes.”

  “And the more annoyed you make me, the lower your payday for the list of Rinehart’s friends will be. We’re at three hundred now. In another ten seconds, we’ll be down to two-fifty.”

  “Now, wait a minute—”

  “I can get the names myself. We both know it. Maybe it will take a little more time and energy, but it might be worth it so that I don’t have to deal with you.”

  “I’m wounded, Detective.” Keevers laughed again, and Austin thought about hanging up on him. His curiosity wouldn’t let him. Keevers might be a bad guy, but he had a reputation for selling the truth.

  “Not as much as you will be if you waste my time. I’m going to have to go to a lot of trouble to get the kind of money you’re asking for.”

  “It won’t be a waste of effort. I can tell you that.”

  “We’ll see. Meet me at the west entrance of the Lost Woods at noon tomorrow. I’ll bring the money for the information about Rinehart and the answer about the rest from my captain. You bring the list. We’ll discuss the terms of our next deal then.” He hung up on Pauly’s sputtered protest.

  He’d show. Pauly was nothing if not greedy and eager for a quick buck.

  But ten thousand dollars was way more than he’d ever asked for before.

  He dialed Slade’s number, waiting impatiently while the phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times.

  “Slade here.”

  “It’s Austin.”

  “You’re at the prison already?”

  “Yes, but I haven’t been in yet. I just got off the phone with Pauly Keevers.”

  “What kind of information does he have to offer? It better be good or he’s not getting a dime,” Slade growled, his voice gritty and a little worn.

  “You okay, Slade?”

  “Just tired of hearing the same thing from the doctors. No improvement. You’d think with modern medicine being what it is, they’d be able to bring someone out of a coma.”

  “You’re at the hospital with your dad?”

  “Yeah. Hold on. The nurse just walked in.”

  Austin waited, listening to the faint conversation, his fingers tapping his thigh, his gaze on the brick facade of the prison. Camden West was somewhere on the other side of that wall, and Austin was anxious to pick the guy’s brains.

  “I’m back. Sorry about that,” Slade said.

  “No problem.”

  “Tell me about Keevers.”

  “He says he has some big information to share. He wants ten thousand dollars for it.”

  Slade whistled softly. “That’s a lot of money.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Did he say what kind of information it is?”

  “You know Pauly. He was vague and slightly full of his own importance.”

  “We can’t pay that kind of money if we don’t know what we’re paying for.”

  “I set up a meeting with him for tomorrow. He’s going to bring me a list of Rinehart’s associates.”

  “How much for that?” Slade asked.

  “Three hundred.”

  “Good. You pay him that. Ask for more information about the other. He’s not getting another cent until he tells us what we’re paying for. Pass that message along for me, and let’s see what Keevers says.”

  “Will do.” Austin disconnected and jumped out of the SUV. Time to interview Camden. See what Rinehart’s good friend had to say.

  Twenty minutes later, he realized Camden wasn’t going to say anything at all. He stared into the man’s pockmarked face, tried to read something in his blank eyes and dead expression.

  “You’re telling me that you don’t know anything about who Rinehart was hanging with in the weeks before his death?”

  “Said it ten times already, Detective. Not going to change my story to make you happy.”

  “You might want to change it to make yourself happy, Camden. Rinehart is dead. His folks are going to bury him next week.”

  Camden flinched at the words. A chink in his armor, and Austin was ready to hammer into it, see if he could break him down.

  “Here’s the deal. Nothing you tell me about your old friend can hurt him, but it might help you. The way I hear it, you’re wanting work privileges. You help me out, and I might be able to help you.”

  Camden’s eyes widened, but he didn’t take the bait. “I told you that I don’t know nothin’.”

  “You’re lying. You know something. You and Rinehart grew up together. You were like brothers. You shared booze and drugs. You can’t tell me that he didn’t let you in on his secrets.”

  “You’re right. We were like brothers, but that doesn’t mean I know all his business.” His gaze skirted away.

  “You know it all, and you know who he was working for when he died. Are you going to let his killer go unpunished?”

  “The way I hear it, you pulled the trigger. Doesn’t that make you his killer?”

  “I pulled the trigger, but the person who paid your friend to steal a police captain’s dog and kidnap a seven-year-old is responsible for Jeb’s death.”

  “Let’s say I agree. Let’s even say that you’re right. Me and Jeb were like blood, and I want to do right by him.” Camden leaned in close, his eyes yellow flecked with brown, his breath reeking of onion and old food as he whispered, “But I got a wife and two kids. Another few months, and I’m up for parole. I want to go home to them. Not be buried ten feet under and never seen again.”

  Austin’s pulse jumped at his words, at the fear in his eyes. “We can offer protection if you need it.”

  “No one can offer that. Not for me. Not for my family. Not if I talk, and I’m not going to.”

  “Tell me what you know, Camden. I promise you, I’ll put in a good word with the parole board, and I’ll make sure your wife and kids are safe until you’re released. As soon as you’re out, we’ll relocate your family. Set you up in a nice little house, help you start a new life.” Austin sweetened the pot, sure that Camden wouldn’t be able to resist.

  “You ask me about anything else and I’ll talk, but I’m not talking about the guy who hired Jeb. Sorry, Detective. I’m done.” He stood and shuffled to the door, motioned for the guard who stood on the other side.

  Austin nodded, and the guard opened the door, led Camden away.

  The interview hadn’t gone the way he’d hoped, but Austin had learned something. Someone had hired Rinehart, and whoever it was had the ability to terrify hardened criminals.

  The Boss?

  The more Austin learned, the more convinced he became that there was a puppet master pulling strings in Sagebrush.

  Who?

  Why?

  He had to find out if he was ever going to close the case and bring Rio home to Slade and Caleb. Had to solve it if he was going to protect Brady.

  And he was. He had no other choice.

  Slade was his boss, his friend, a man he respected and admired. He couldn’t fail him.

  He couldn’t fail Eva and Brady, either. As much as he had wanted to stay emotionally distant, as many times as he’d reminded himself that he shouldn’t get too involved, he’d already broken every rule he’d made for himself. Already fallen into the depth of Eva’s eyes, looked into Brady’s face and seen a child who needed him. A dangerous thing, but he couldn’t seem to back off from it. Couldn’t seem to change direction.

  Wasn’t even sure that he was supposed to.

  God’s plan. Not his. That’s what Austin had always wanted. What he’d sought every day for years. Sometimes it was difficult to know where his will ended and God’s began, to find that place where his desire to control things, to make things happen was superseded by the knowledge that G
od was the master planner, the creator of every opportunity.

  He sighed and pulled away from the prison, his thoughts swirling like mist on a lake. The truth was that, aside from his work, he didn’t know where his life was heading. Didn’t know what direction he was going. Only knew that eventually God would lead him to the place he was supposed to be.

  TWELVE

  “Can I go outside, Momma? Please?” Brady’s wheedling tone drilled its way into Eva’s skull and settled there, pounding behind her eyes and in the base of her neck. She popped the lid on a bottle of aspirin before she answered, swallowing two pills down with a gulp of cold, black coffee.

  Patience.

  She needed it.

  Two days trapped in the house with her grumpy son, and she’d had about all she could take of him and of herself.

  “Brady, you know that the doctor said you need to rest for the next few days. Resting doesn’t mean going outside in the cold.” She kept her tone light despite the fact that she’d answered the same question a half a dozen times.

  “It’s not cold. The sun is even out.” Brady pressed his face to the living-room window, the scratches on his cheek and the bruise on his forehead stark reminders of his reasons for being grouchy. He hadn’t slept well in the hospital. Wasn’t sleeping well at home. Eva wanted to change that, but no amount of comforting words seemed to help.

  “Forty degrees is cold, and that’s what the thermometer on the back deck says the temperature is.”

  “Can I go look?”

  “You know you can’t.”

  “But—”

  “No more arguing.”

  “Okay. I guess I’ll just play with my Legos.” He sighed dramatically and went to the plastic bin he’d left on the coffee table. He dumped the bin on the floor, sorting through the blocks with such intense concentration, Eva smiled.

  “What are you going to build?”

  “A doghouse.”

  “For Lightning?” She looked at the big, white stuffed dog that Arianna had given him.

  “For Justice. When Austin brings him over—”

  “They might not have time to stop by today. You know that, right?” It had been a full day since they’d heard from Austin, and Eva wasn’t disappointed about that.