She leaned in with her elbows on the table. “I’ve dealt with a lot of assholes while working narcotics. I’ve also come across a few kids who got involved in something that spun out of control. Typically you can tell the difference.” She waved one hand. “You know what I’m saying, right?”
Ty nodded. “Yeah, but this is a little different.”
“It is, you’re right,” she agreed. “But from the moment I walked up to that cell, I didn’t buy him as a killer. Some of my reaction is strictly experience, but there’s more, too. Like when I met you, I knew you weren’t capable of hurting me.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What are you saying? I could be a badass if I wanted to.”
Jordan threw her head back and chuckled that dark, sexy laugh that went all through him. “I’m sorry, cowboy, you are a badass. You’re
my
badass. I just meant you weren’t evil in that thug, drug-dealing sort of way.” She leaned even closer and traced a finger across the back of his hand. “What I felt was much deeper, much more intense than anything I’d ever experienced with another man.” She looked around and lowered her voice. “Probably why I had sex with you even though I barely knew your name.”
He turned his hand over and held hers. “You keep telling yourself that, baby. I think you got caught in my McGee charm. But it’s not your fault; no one can walk away from the McGee black magic.”
“Quit being an asshole.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “I’m just saying there’s a combination of things that shoot me to high alert when I’m dealing with someone dangerous. I’m not going to say that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that David Benson isn’t the world’s best sociopath. Maybe he’s just that good and he’s duped us both, but I don’t think so.”
Ty was the one who leaned closer now. “So what do you make of the coat? You think he’s telling the truth about it being stolen? Then there’s your dream—you saw him do it.”
“I know. But I’d think very hard about the possibility that someone is setting David Benson up.” Jordan told him about the incident where Hailey claimed she saw David on campus.
Ty leaned back in the booth. “That’s weird. I should check their phone records to see if he’s telling the truth. If so, that would be quite a coincidence that for the second time in a week, witnesses are claiming that David Benson was in two different places at the same time.”
“Maybe Lincoln University has cameras on campus. We could comb the footage to see if someone who looks like David was actually on campus while the real David was getting his picture taken with his dad in the next county.”
The waiter approached and set their pizza on the table. Ty watched Jordan tease and joke with the young guy, but his mind was still going over her words. What motive could someone have for setting up David Benson?
When the waiter walked away, she asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m just trying to decide if I should try to stop David Benson’s arraignment tomorrow morning. The kid is either a world-class liar or he’s got a fucking clone walking around.”
Jordan slid a piece of pizza onto his plate. “Eat. And go to the arraignment in the morning. I’m sure David’s dad will have him bailed out and home on his cushy sofa before noon. Then you’ll have time to pursue these other leads.”
She wound a long, stringy glob of cheese around her finger and seductively licked it off. “Until then, I guess it will just be my job to take your mind off the case.”
Chapter 14
Jordan rolled over and squinted at the clock when Ty’s phone rang. It had just turned six. The water was running in the bathroom, so she carried Ty’s phone to him.
“Sorry,” he said around a mouthful of toothpaste. “I forgot to grab it off the nightstand.”
“No kidding,” she teased. “That damn thing goes off earlier than the alarm clock most mornings.”
He wiped his mouth and looped his arms around her waist. “I’m sorry. I was going to let you sleep in. It’s Friday and your last full day of vacation.”
She returned his hug and then wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank God. All this vacation time is about to kill me. I’ve managed to get roped into a mortgage.” She looked down when Beauty pushed between their legs. “And adopt a very emotionally needy dog. Then I got mixed up in your murder case. I can’t wait to get back to work where it’s just normal run-of-the-mill drug dealers.”
Ty’s phone rang again.
Jordan brushed her teeth while he was talking. She knew from his end of the conversation that something big had happened.
“What’s up?” She asked when he tossed the phone down.
“You are not going to believe this. An officer from Cooper was transporting David Benson to the court house and their car got run off the road. The officer is being airlifted to the hospital, but David is gone.”
“Gone?”
“That’s what Chief Donner said. He wants me to talk to David’s dad, determine if he had anything to do with busting David out of custody. Isobel thought we were done when we arrested David. She’s gone back home, close to an hour away. I could call her, but I’d rather not. The chief didn’t have a problem with you questioning David yesterday. So you want to ride along again today?”
Jordan wasn’t about to argue. If Ty never called Cherry-bomb again, all the better. “If Donner is okay with it, I wouldn’t miss it.”
An hour later, Ty pulled up to the gated entrance of the Benson estate.
“Holy crap.” Jordan took off her sunglasses to get a better look. “This is more like a castle than a house. Doyle Benson probably has a million little rooms and tunnels he could hide David in.”
“He’s not here,” Ty answered. “His old man is not that stupid.”
“Agreed. And that’s why I don’t think it makes any sense for Doyle Benson to do this.” Jordan said. “Why not just wait until after the arraignment and bail has been set? Then you walk away and there’s no manhunt. It’d be a hell of a lot easier to flee the country then versus now.”
Ty rolled down his window and hit a button labeled
service.
“Yeah, but who knows what people do when they’re desperate.”
May I help you?
echoed through the speaker.
“Officer McGee and associate here to speak with Doyle Benson.” Ty flashed his badge for the small camera.
They drove through the gate, Jordan shaking her head at Ty the whole way.
“What?” he asked after he parked the truck.
“That’s what you’re calling me these days? Your associate?”
He grinned and tapped her nose. “Sounded more professional than my main squeeze.” They got out of the truck and headed to the front door. “And less bizarre than my personal psychic.”
“Fuck you,” she said, but laughed as she said it.
The big wooden door was opened by an older woman dressed in a maid’s uniform.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Benson is in a meeting. Can I take a message for him?”
“Yes, ma’am. Please tell him I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’re going to need to speak with him here or I’ll have to take him to the station for questioning.”
Jordan rolled her eyes when the maid walked away. “Does everyone buy that polite bullshit you shovel at them?”
“Most of ’em.” He winked. “Hey, you have your approach, I have mine.”
Doyle Benson yanked the door open with attitude spilling out of every pore. “You can send anyone you’d like and haul me anywhere you’d like. I’ve already called my lawyer. He’ll tell you exactly what I’ve already told Chief Donner. I have no idea where David is, but this joke of a legal system had better find him fast.”
“Mr. Benson,” Ty started, “we’re trying to help.”
“By arresting my son for a crime he didn’t commit? Then involving him in a car accident and losing track of him? For all you know, he’s lying dead in a ditch somewhere.” Benson pushed the door closed.
Jordan stuck her boot inside, keeping the door ajar. Benson wrenched the door open again and lunged forward as if he wanted to reach out and strangle her.
“Back off, Benson.” Ty pushed in front of Jordan. His voice was laced with a dangerous edge.
Her heart pounded at how swiftly he reacted. In equal measure, him treating her like an inept female instead of a cop frosted her ass.
“I have questions about David’s disappearance,” Ty said.
“Are you crazy?” Benson lashed out. “You think I’d involve my own son in a car accident? If I wanted to bust him out of jail, I certainly wouldn’t have done it like that.”
“We believe David may be innocent, Mr. Benson,” Jordan said from behind Ty’s big body.
Ty glared at her over his shoulder.
Benson also shifted to meet her gaze. She wouldn’t have called his expression warm, but she’d peaked his interest. She ducked under Ty’s big arm to slide in front of him again.
“I don’t think you caused the car accident, either. Still, Officer McGee and I need to come inside and ask you some questions. Important questions that might help David.”
“He arrested David.” Benson stabbed a finger in Ty’s direction. “And I don’t even know who you are.”
Jordan pulled out her badge. “I’m Detective Jordan Delany with the St. Louis PD. I’m consulting because I’m a narcotics detective and I’ve had extensive experience with young adults and crimes involving drugs and alcohol.”
Benson didn’t say anything. And although she was pretty sure Ty wanted to duct tape her mouth shut, he didn’t say anything, either. She’d tipped their hand and said too much, but she knew that it was the only way to get Benson to cooperate.
“We’ve gone over and over this case, and I spoke with David last night,” she admitted. She thrust her hand out when Benson started to object. “David is an adult, Mr. Benson. I advised him of his rights and told him he didn’t have to speak with me. But he chose to let me help because he wants the truth.”
“You people wouldn’t know the truth if it ran over you.”
“Really?” she said. “Because I think David had an alcohol-induced blackout the night Hailey was killed. And even so, after talking to David last night, I think someone may be trying to set him up. But I’m going to have a hell of a time proving that without your help.”
Benson took a deep breath, then begrudgingly waved them in. They followed him into a big, luxurious room that had that look of perfection—dark wood, expensive looking furniture—more like a Hollywood set than a home.
Benson dropped down in one of the chairs and motioned for her to sit, but ignored Ty completely.
She figured Ty was fuming, especially since he was the one who’d always believed David was innocent. But he was also the one who arrested David, so Benson wasn’t cutting him any slack. Which put her in the role of good cop. Not her preferred role, but she went with it. “Mr. Benson, for the record, do you know anything about David’s escape from custody?”
Benson shook his head. “Of course not. And to my knowledge, it wasn’t an escape. He was involved in a car accident.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“I want to know where my boy is.” Benson looked over at Ty. “If he is harmed in any way, I will own you and every other inept cop in this town.”
“Look . . .” Ty began.
Jordan shook her head, hoping Ty understood the universal sign for shut the hell up. She could feel the tension spike every time Benson glared at Ty.
“Mr. Benson,” she said to refocus David’s father back on her, “you need to understand something. Officer McGee was not the only investigator working the case. An entire team gathered evidence and presented it to the DA. The DA’s office decides whether an arrest is made or not. And on the surface, the case against David is solid.”
Doyle Benson looked between her and Ty. “David was crazy about Hailey. I don’t care how drunk he was, he wouldn’t have hurt her. I know my son.”
“Okay, then you need to answer a few questions and help us try to gather the evidence that would support his innocence.”
Benson’s gaze locked onto hers. His aggression eased back as he considered how to help his son. “Fine.”
“If we operate on the assumption that David is innocent, the only thing that makes sense is that someone is trying to set him up. Is there anyone you can think of who has a grudge against David?”
Benson shook his head. “He’s a good kid. He’d never hurt anyone.”
“Maybe not intentionally, but what about jealousy? Did he earn a scholarship someone else needed? Did he date a girl someone else wanted?”
Benson sat quietly rubbing the bridge of his nose, his focus elsewhere. “I don’t know. I can’t think of anything like that.”
Ty sat in one of the chairs and gestured at Benson. “Maybe this is about you. The best way to hurt a parent is through their child. Have you made any business enemies? Cost someone a lot of money? Fired someone and cost them their livelihood?”
“I know I’ve got people out there who hate what I do. There are always the nature lovers who complain if you cut down a tree to build homes or a golf course. But we try to be as friendly to the environment as possible. And I only hire and fire a handful of people, top management. I let human resources handle the rest. I don’t know of anything that would be a reason to target David viciously enough to kill his girlfriend.”
Jordan had to agree. Either David was guilty, or someone had a deeply personal grudge against him.
“Do you have relatives that may resent you?” Ty asked. “Have you turned someone down for a loan? Refused to help anyone’s son or daughter go to college? Refused to pay for a wedding or a funeral?”
“Nothing like that.” Benson took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. “David and I don’t have a lot of family. His grandparents are it, and they’re crazy about him. After David’s mother passed, her parents passed too. So there’s no one on her side of the family that we still have contact with.”
“When she passed, was there anyone who blamed you, or maybe challenged you for custody of David?” Ty asked.
“God, no. I’m David’s father. Ann and I went through hell to have a child of our own. I would never let anyone take him from me. I may be a busy single dad, but David has always come before anything else in my life. Always.”
Jordan glanced at Ty. She wasn’t sure why, but Benson’s words threw up a red flag. “What do mean that you went through hell to have David?”
“David is adopted. We tried for years to have a baby and it wasn’t happening for us. Tests revealed that Ann had a tumor on her ovary. It was cancerous. She beat it the first time, but we knew we’d never have a child biologically, so we adopted.”
“Was there anything unusual about David’s adoption?”
“Not really. Not anything bad, anyway. We began with an agency that had us on a waiting list for years. I got frustrated, began to research again, and found a private adoption agency that said they could get us a baby in just months since we already had all our paperwork in order. But we got a call in a few weeks.”
“A few weeks? I’ve never known an adoption to go through that quickly.” Jordan could feel Ty’s glare urging her on to the next question. “Forgive me for asking this, Mr. Benson, but did you offer someone at the adoption agency money to get you a child faster?”
“No, it wasn’t like that. We paid the standard fees, no more than we were willing to pay with the other agency. Of course we offered to pay healthcare and food and housing for the birth mother while she was pregnant as an incentive, but that’s a fairly standard practice.”
“What agency did you go through?”
“Appleton in St. Louis. I worked with Mr. Appleton himself. When he called, he said there’d been a tragic accident. That a set of adoptive parents were in a fatal car accident. The agency wanted to assure the birth mother that her healthcare bills would be paid and her child would go to a loving home. He said he thought of us first because we had everything in order. It felt like fate. Not that we were happy anyone died, but we’d been waiting a long time for a child.”
Benson’s gaze darted between Jordan and Ty. “I’m telling you, no one challenged anything. I swear it was perfectly legal and in the best interest of everyone. You don’t honestly think David’s adoption has something to do with all this, do you? That was over twenty years ago.”
“Probably not,” Ty said. “But we should check it out anyway. We’re going to need all the information you have regarding David’s adoption.”
***
“Something about this adoption thing stinks.” Ty pulled out of the Bensons’ security gate, fingers tapping on the steering wheel. “People wait for years to adopt a child. Was it dumb luck that the Bensons got a child in a few weeks after signing with Appleton, or were they so fed up with waiting that they offered someone a huge sum of money for a child?”