Shattered (26 page)

“Is that how you feel? That you have to do your job?”

“Somebody needs to.”

“Because?”

“Because justice is important. Because there are consequences for breaking the law and for hurting others.”

He spoke with such passion, such conviction, that Piper again began to see deeper inside the heart of the man she’d unwittingly come to love. As much as she didn’t want to hear what he was saying, the same doubts about the Mongols having killed Karli were beginning to creep into her heart. But they couldn’t walk away now, couldn’t give up hope that for some reason a Mongol had sought Karli out after so many years and exacted revenge. Otherwise they were back at square one, and Reef’s trial date was steadfastly marching nearer.

Darcy’s heart fluttered as they waited for John Terry to appear. Though glass would separate them, she hated the thought of being so close to a cold-blooded killer.

A buzz sounded, and Terry entered, his orange jumpsuit the only color in the otherwise bland room. The officer led him to the seat opposite the glass and Terry plunked down with a slightly curious glance. His eyes raked over Darcy, and he smiled in a way that made her skin crawl. She was so thankful Gage was right behind her. She leaned forward and picked up the phone on her side of the partition, and Terry did the same.

He whistled. “Too bad this ain’t a conjugal visit, because you are fine.”

“Mr. Terry, I’m—”

“Nah.” He waggled a finger. “We ain’t going to go there. It’s John. Call me John.”

“Okay, John.”

“And you are?”

She swallowed, the thought of giving this creep any personal information about her making her hesitate, but in the end she complied and prayed he’d do so as well. “Darcy.”

“Now I like the sound of that.” He leaned forward, only the glass partition separating his face from hers. “What is it you want from me?”

“I want to talk about Michelle Evans.”

“That’s easy.” He slumped back with a shrug. “She’s dead.”

“You killed her?”

“I’m not in here for the three square a day.”

“And Michelle’s daughter? You kill her too?”

He chuckled. “You obviously haven’t done your homework. The kid wasn’t home when the house blew.”

“I know that. Angela Evans, aka Suzanne Wilson, aka Karli Davis, was recently murdered in Yancey, Alaska.”

“Is that right?” He smiled, no surprise on his face at the news.

“I have a feeling you already knew that.”

“What’s it to you if I did?”

“Because it could be evidence of your role in her death.”

He laughed. “How do you figure that? If you haven’t noticed, I’m not in the position to be killing anyone outside these walls.”

“But you could have ordered the hit.”

“Why would I bother? I killed the rat—her stupid kid meant nothing to me.”

“You’d planned to kill her back in Oregon, but she escaped.”

“She didn’t escape. She just wasn’t home when the bomb went off, and it was no sweat off my skin. Like I said, I got the rat.”

“So the fact that Karli’s dead means nothing to you?”

“No different than any other dead broad.”

“If you had nothing to do with her death, how’d you hear about it?”

“I got the message last night that a group was down from Alaska poking around about Michelle and her brat.”

“And you’re claiming that’s the first you heard of Karli’s death?”

“I ain’t claiming. I’m telling you, that’s the first I heard the kid was dead.”

“Karli—her name was Karli Davis,” Darcy corrected, annoyed at his derogatory tone when he said
the kid.

“Whatever. I never knew her name. Just knew she was Michelle and Bryan’s kid. The fact is, she’s dead and I had nothing to do with it.”

“What about the rest of the Mongols? Anyone else want to see Karli pay for what her mom did?”

“Look, this is getting old and you ain’t listening. If we’d wanted her dead, she would have been dead five years ago, just like her momma. We sure wouldn’t have waited all these years to hunt her down.”

“Maybe you couldn’t find her until now.”

He burst out laughing. “Couldn’t find her.” He shook his head. “You really don’t get it, do you? We can find anybody, anywhere, anytime.”

“Sounds like a lot of talk.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You and your crew”—he looked at Gage with contempt—“are staying at the Marina Del Ray Hotel.”

She ignored the trepidation shooting along her spine. “That’s not hard to find out.”

“All right. How’s this? You’re sleeping all by your lonesome in room 203. The other two foxes are in 204. The dude behind you is staying in room 206 with his brother. And the deputy and the other guy are in 205.” Terry’s smug grin widened. “It’s clear you’re way out of your league, darlin’. I suggest you head back to Mammoth and the snow reports.”

Gage leaned across Darcy, staring Terry straight in the eye. “You or your goons come near her, and I’ll . . .”

“You’ll what?”

“Do whatever is needed to keep her safe.”

“Trust me, if we were after her, that would hardly be enough.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Mongols don’t make threats. We act.”

“Like you did with Michelle?”

“Exactly.”

“And now with Karli?” Darcy said.

“Darlin’, I’m only going to say this one more time. Mongols had nothing to do with the death of Michelle’s kid. If we’d wanted her dead, she would have been the day after her momma.”

“What do you think?” Darcy asked as they stepped back into the sunshine. She’d never been quite so thankful for fresh air.

Gage pulled out his phone. “Time to change hotels.”

“You really think it’ll make any difference?”

“Probably not. But I’ll tell you one thing—they try and come after us, we’ll be ready for them.”

“You really think you, Landon, Jake, and Cole can hold off an army of Mongols?”

“They never send in an army to do their dirty work, just a handful of guys.”

“Armed and dangerous ones.”

“We protect our own.”

She knew he would do anything in his power to protect her and his family, and his strength comforted her, despite the fear.

“Kayden?” Piper pressed her cell closer against her ear.

“Yeah. Where are you?”

“In the car, driving up to Huntington Beach to speak with Karli’s father.”

“Any progress?” Hope, usually foreign to Kayden, lingered in her tone.

Piper couldn’t share the disappointment she’d just experienced, couldn’t share Landon’s doubts, even if they were reasonable and made more sense than she dared admit. Not with him sitting right beside her. “We’re still hard at it.”

“Oh.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I hate to tell you this, but I thought you guys needed to know that Judge Morrell rejected Harland’s request for an extension.”

“What?”

“I know. I couldn’t believe it.”

Landon looked over at her, worry heavy on his face.

Piper fought back a sob. “It’s so unfair. Didn’t Harland
explain the extenuating circumstances, all the new evidence that’s been uncovered?”

“Yes, and Judge Morrell said he may present any of those facts in Reef’s defense during the trial. But since there is no clear evidence that Reef is innocent or that the Mongol club or any of its individual members killed Karli, she refused to approve a trial delay.”

“But it’s taking time to find that evidence. That’s exactly why Harland is asking for the extension.” After all the progress she’d thought they’d made, it suddenly seemed like it was all crumbling.

“Meredith argued that you were all on some wild-goose chase that could go on indefinitely. Unless something other than supposition and conjecture is discovered, the trial begins as scheduled.”

Piper hung up, tears stinging her eyes.

“The extension was denied?” Landon asked softly.

She nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t even think the Mongols did it,” she lashed out, knowing it was wrong and completely undeserved. It wasn’t Landon’s fault. She just wished, just hoped, that he would stick by her regardless of what logic said. That he’d put her before logic, ridiculous and unfair as that was.

“I didn’t say that.”

“I can see the change in you. You no longer think Karli was killed because of her past.”

“I still think it’s possible . . .”

“But not likely.”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

“Then what are we even doing here?”

“Trying to find Karli’s killer.”

“If you don’t think the Mongols did it, then who?” She prayed he had come up with another suspect, anyone other than Reef. That they hadn’t circled back to the start.

He exhaled. “I have no idea.”

She bit her lip, trying to cut off the tears.

He clasped her hand. “I’m not saying we should quit investigating the Mongols and their link to Karli, but . . .”

“One talk with Detective Robertson and you’re ready to believe
their
innocence.”

“I highly doubt any of them are innocent. But of Karli’s murder, I’m not so sure they’re guilty.”

“What was it that changed your mind so quickly?” She was a fool for asking; she knew exactly what had done it. It was the same things that had cast a shadow of doubt in her own mind of the Mongols’ involvement, though she wouldn’t admit it yet. She couldn’t. Not when doing so would mean all their hard work had been in vain and Reef would once again become the only viable suspect.

“Looking at it logically—the timeline, the fact Karli played no role in what they saw as Michelle’s betrayal. . . . When it comes down to it, I’ve got a bad feeling it’s not going to pan out, but I hope I’m wrong.”

“You’ve got a feeling? Well, that’s a first.” She tried to lighten her swiftly declining hope with a forced laugh.

He glanced over at her with a weak smile. “Seems you’ve unleashed all sorts of feelings in me.”

Landon worked to keep his voice even, to not react to the news on the other end of the line as Piper climbed back in the car with a bag of food. She had barely eaten breakfast and he refused to let her skip lunch, so they’d stopped for fast food on their drive to Huntington Beach.

“Did you hear what I said?” Gage asked on the other end of the line. “I think we should switch hotels.”

“I agree. Someone working there must have ties to them.”

“Okay, so when we all get back, we’ll move.”

Piper handed him his soda.

Landon nodded his thanks. “Wait on that,” he said.

“On what?” Gage asked. “Moving?”

“Returning.” He was thankful Piper was intent on doling out their order. He prayed she wasn’t paying close attention. He didn’t want her to worry.

“Oh, so don’t head back to the hotel,” Gage said.

“Right. Not until we’re all there.”

“Gotcha. We’re heading to talk to John Terry’s wife now.”

“How did it go with Terry?”

“He says the Mongols had nothing to do with Karli’s death.”

“Do you believe him?”

“I don’t want to.”

“I know the feeling.”

“Who was that?” Piper asked as soon as he hung up with
Gage. She popped a fry in her mouth, and the delicious scent of peanut oil and warm potatoes filled the car.

“Gage.”

“How did it go? Did they get to speak with Terry?”

“Yeah. They are headed over to talk with his wife now.”

“What did Terry say?”

“Claimed he and the Mongols had no involvement.”

“Of course he did.” She slid a straw into her lemonade. “Why did you say ‘Not until we are all there’?”

Of course she’d been listening. She always listened. Though it was curious, she hadn’t asked whether Gage believed Terry or not. “Just that we can all discuss everything we’ve learned in detail tonight when we’re all together.”

“Good idea.” She bit into her burger. “Mmm.”

He chuckled. “Good?”

“Delicious.”

He smiled, thankful to see her appetite had returned. Ever since Todd had slipped her the Rohypnol, her desire for food had been meager, which was very unlike Piper. For such a slight thing, she normally maintained a hearty appetite.

“What?” she asked, mayo glistening on her lip.

Lips he ached to kiss. But he couldn’t take that liberty again, no matter how strong the urge, not until he’d laid it all on the table. And now was not the time. He’d waited this long to tell her he loved her—he could restrain himself a few more days, couldn’t he?

“Why are you staring at me?”

“Sorry. Just starving.”

“Eat your burger.”

“Right.” He loosened the wrapping, not at all hungry in that way.

Bryan Evans’s address led them to a tiny bungalow on Oceanside in Huntington Beach. It wasn’t fancy, but the view was stunning. The blue house with white shutters sat relatively silent
at their approach; only the soft melody of a wind chime and the rhythmic pounding of the surf could be heard. A Harley sat out front.

Piper looked at it. “I’d say we’re in the right place.” Now Karli’s fear of motorcycles made sense. Every time she’d heard the distinct sound, she must have feared they’d found her.

“Old habits die hard,” Landon said, rapping on the door.

No answer.

“He said he’d be here.” Piper peered in the front window. The interior was neat—white wicker furniture, a handful of hanging plants, a small decorated palm tree in place of a traditional fir—but no sign of Bryan Evans.

“Let’s try around back.”

A narrow stone path led around to the rear. The gate unlocked, they entered through, passing a weather-beaten deck and on to the beach.

A man sat at the water’s edge, his surfboard propped upright in the sand beside him. A golden retriever frolicked in the waves before him.

Piper looked to Landon and he shrugged.

Taking off their shoes, they crossed the warm sand. It was finer than that of Yancey’s shores—fewer rocks and a lighter shade of caramel, but Piper preferred Yancey, all the same. It was home. It was where she belonged.

“Mr. Evans,” Landon called over the crashing waves. “Bryan Evans?”

The man turned. He had dirty blond hair, the length a tad longer than was typical for his age. His skin was tan and weathered. A smattering of wrinkles fringed his eyes, eyes the same ocean blue as they’d seen in pictures of Karli.

“We spoke earlier,” Landon said, approaching with hand extended.

“Right, the cop.” Bryan got to his feet and shook Landon’s hand.

“Deputy Grainger,” Landon said. “This is Piper McKenna.”

Bryan moved to shake her hand but stopped short. “McKenna?
As in Reef McKenna?” His perplexed gaze shifted from her to Landon.

“He’s my brother,” she said, knowing it was always best to be upfront with people.

“That explains why you’re searching for another killer.”

“Evidence suggests someone else was after Karli,” Landon said, surprising her.

Bryan rested his hands on his hips. “And you believe it was a Mongol?”

“That’s what we’d like your opinion on.”

“My opinion? Well, I’ll be glad to give it to you. It’s the least I can do for my baby girl, but I don’t know how helpful it’ll prove to be.”

“We appreciate any insight you can give.”

“Insight?” A sad smile crossed Bryan’s face. “It’s been a long time since anyone was interested in my insight.” He grabbed his board. “Let’s go talk on the deck.”

“Great.”

Bryan turned and whistled.

The retriever’s head shot up.

“Come on, Max.”

The dog bounded over.

“Nice place you got here,” Landon commented as they made the short walk across the beach to the deck.

“One of the families at my church owns it. They’re renting it to me at a really fair price while I get back on my feet.”

“That’s very generous of them.”

“To rent to a convict?”

“Yes.”

Bryan chuckled. “At least you’re honest.” He propped his board against the deck railing and took a seat at the old wooden picnic table, gesturing for Landon and Piper to do the same. “What do you want to know?”

“Do you think your daughter was murdered by a Mongol?” Piper asked.

“I’ve been told it wasn’t a Mongol’s deed.”

“And you think they’d tell you the truth?”

“They were my brothers for thirty years. If they took out my kid, yeah I think they’d have the decency to tell me.”

Decency
seemed a strange word for it.

“Are you still part of the Mongols?”

“Not actively.”

“Meaning?” Landon prodded.

“Meaning, I’m going a different direction with my life.”

Landon’s eyes narrowed. “And they just let you walk away?”

“Things are straight between us.”

“Why leave?” Piper asked. “What changed your mind?”

“I found God. Or rather I should say He found me.”

“And now?”

“I’m trying to live for Him.”

“Your parole officer said you volunteer a lot with the troubled youth of the area.”

“If I can steer even one away from the rotten choices I made and toward God, I’ll be thrilled.”

“What about your daughter?” Landon asked. “You ever try to contact her, to steer her away from poor choices after Michelle was killed?”

Bryan shook his head. “I had no idea where she was, and I figured she was better off without me after all these years.”

“Did you know about the hit beforehand?”

“I knew they were going to go after Michelle for what she’d done.”

Landon shifted, resting his arm on the table. “I imagine you were pretty upset with her yourself.”

“Disappointed’s more like it. It was a stupid move. She put our kid’s life in danger, got herself killed.”

“Why do you think she did it?” Piper asked.

Bryan swallowed, pain etched across his sun-weathered face. “It was my fault. I wasn’t upfront with her when we hooked up. We were married and she was pregnant with Angie before she figured it out.”

“That you were in the Mongols?”

“What the Mongols were all about, and the fact that I was deeply involved in their criminal activities.”

“How did she find out?”

“Micki—that’s what I called Michelle.” Bryan squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as pain flickered across his face. He opened his eyes, and the wrinkles around them appeared deeper, graver. Perhaps he truly was sorry for what had happened, for his role in it all. “Micki was a bookkeeper for some lawyer downtown. Not long after Angie was born, she decided she wanted to be home more with the kid, so I arranged for her to work the books for the club.”

“The Mongols?”

“Our chapter’s at first, and then our region’s. Didn’t take long for her to figure it out.”

“Figure what out, exactly?” Piper asked.

“It was all there in the ledger—all the money that changed hands from arms sales, drugs, prostitution. It was the last one that really got to Micki. Some of the girls were young, and having a daughter made Micki extra sensitive to the situation.

“One afternoon things came to a head. Micki was working in the back office when this hooker brings her money to Nick—he was in charge of the girls. Anyway, Nick says the hooker is short. He figures she’s holding out. He’s high at the time, which doesn’t help, and things escalate. He punches her. She throws back. The hooker ends up dead.”

“And Michelle witnessed this?”

“Yeah, I was in the back unloading some new inventory. I heard a scream and caught Micki as she came busting out the rear door.”

“What happened then?”

“I took her home, settled her down. At least I thought I had, but Micki, she couldn’t let things lie. I guess she called that lawyer she’d worked for and he put her in touch with the Feds. I came home from work the next day and they were gone.”

“Michelle and your daughter?”

Bryan nodded, his face tightening.

“Did you know she’d gone to the Feds?”

“I was hoping she’d just run, but when the Feds busted in not long after, I knew she’d talked.”

“And you knew she’d be killed for it?”

He nodded once, his jaw growing rigid.

“You do anything to try and stop them?” Piper asked, indignant.

“You can’t stop vengeance.”

“And your daughter?” Didn’t he even care?

“I asked them to spare her. Said she was only a kid, that she hadn’t done anything.”

“You asked Terry?”

“No. I had no idea who they’d send. Those orders come from higher up.”

“So you spoke to someone higher up?”

He nodded.

“And?”

“He said he’d take it under consideration.”

“Did you warn the police it was coming?” Piper asked.

Bryan released a bitter laugh. “They knew it was coming. Every marshal on every case knows it. That’s why they attempt protective custody.”

“Statistically the marshals have a one hundred percent success rate when those in the program follow the rules.”

“Tell that to my wife.”

Interesting that he still referred to Michelle as his wife.

“What happened to your wife was extremely unfortunate and a rare exception,” Landon said. “But for all we know, she might have let one of the rules slip.”

Bryan lifted his chin. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“When Michelle was killed and your daughter survived, did you think they’d still go after her?” Piper asked, trying to keep the conversation on topic.

Bryan rubbed his hands on his thighs. “I hoped not. I hoped killing Micki would be enough.”

“And after five years went by, did you believe your daughter was safe?”

“Yeah, I figured they’d laid the matter to rest with Micki’s death.”

“And now? Now that your daughter’s been murdered?”

Bryan pinched the bridge of his nose, his agony evident.

“Do you think they killed her?” Piper asked him outright.

Bryan swallowed, his throat muscles flexing with the movement. “No.”

“How can you sound so certain?”

“They told me about Micki after the deed was done; they would have told me about Angie too.”

“Even now that you are no longer active?”

“I told you we’re square. A brother still tells his brother when one of his own is taken. Angie was dead and some outsiders were poking around. I called an old friend and asked for it straight. The Mongols didn’t kill Angie. Someone else took my baby’s life.” He coughed back tears. “They say she was killed up in Alaska?”

“In Yancey, our hometown.”

“Was she buried, given a proper funeral?”

“She’s still in the morgue.”

“I’m going to call my parole officer. Tell him I need to go lay my baby girl to rest. I didn’t do right by her in life. I need to at least do right by her in death.”

“Would you do it differently if given the chance?” Piper asked. Bryan seemed genuinely grieved by his daughter’s death, but she couldn’t decide if he was actually contrite over his past actions.

“If I could go back, I’d live my whole life differently. And maybe I’d still have my wife and child.” He rubbed his bristled chin with a shaky hand. “You have no idea what it’s like knowing the woman you love is dead because of you. That your child is on the run because of you. If Micki had just come to me instead of going to the Feds . . .”