Defending Sophie Read online

  Tucking his fingers into his front pocket, hoping he looked casual, he shrugged. "I guess the places I've checked haven't been that good at keeping records."

  She nodded once then crossed her arms on top of the counter. "Why don't you tell me what you're really looking for?"

  Taking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly and rubbed his chin with his fingers. "My friend's sister committed suicide in a black Pontiac Grand Prix. I'm hoping to check it out and make sure a necklace that she always wore, but didn't have on, isn't laying on the floor of the car or something. Their family wants it back. They're distraught as you can imagine."

  She sniffed once, scratched her forehead with dirty fingers, and he noted that the dirt under her nails seemed as if it had been there a while and likely permanent. "I've got a car like that out back. We're scheduled to demolish it in the morning. We told the guy who dropped it off that we only keep cars for two months. We strip them and then crush what's left. Sorta creepy having it out there."

  "I'd be so grateful if you'd let me take a look at it."

  She hesitated, staring at him, indecision on her face. He gauged her at around forty years old, nondescript, and not a very happy woman. But working in these conditions could do that to a person. Or maybe it was a source of refuge for her, hiding out here with the junk and few people to bother her throughout the day. He didn't want to insult her by offering money, but the thought crossed his mind that may be what she was waiting for.

  Deciding to try bringing it around a different way, he asked, "Are there fees owed on the storage of the car?"

  Her brows rose in the air. She grunted, "You think that's what I'm waiting for?"

  "Ma'am, this means so much to my friend's family, which makes it important to me. I'd love to be able to find that necklace and bring it back to them."

  "No fees. He paid up front."

  "What did he look like? Do you remember him?"

  "Creepy guy, light hair, almost white, and eyes the color of ice. He tried being coy with me, but when he smiled it never reached his eyes. Didn't trust him then, wouldn't now. He had the car towed here by some local station. Gus's I think."

  Killian. It had to be. "Did he give you a name?"

  "Nope, and I didn't ask either. Paid me two thousand dollars in cash. We stripped what we wanted from it, the motor's gone. The tranny, too. Other parts that we could sell off are gone, too. But, the seats were shit and we didn't take anything from the inside, so you should be able to go take a look at it. You can't drive your truck back there though; you'll need to walk."

  "Okay." Last thing he wanted to do was walk through a junkyard in the growing heat, but he figured as much when he got here.

  She walked around the counter, maneuvering around various parts laying on the floor and a couple of vinyl stools with an older tall table between them. Locking the glass door, she then turned to him, "Follow me."

  She led him to a side door, which looked much the same as the front door, covered with old fliers and wanted notes from people looking for parts they must have asked for here and she just taped them up on the doors. The sunlight hit him in the face and for an instant he was blinded by its brightness. Turning to look past the fence he could see Sophie watching from inside the truck. He half saluted to let her know all was good, but he wished he was holding her hand now. It would be horrible for her to see the car Kate died in, or at least was found dead in, so he was glad she was where she was.

  The ground was dusty, almost sandy, and it swirled around his shoes as he walked. She led him past junked out cars and trucks, stripped bare of anything of value and ready for crushing. Looked to be around ten or so of them. "That one right there. Have your look."

  "Thanks." He approached the car and a sense of dread settled over him. He wasn't naturally uneasy but knowing something evil happened in this car set his nerves on edge. Pulling his phone from his back pocket, he looked in through the windshield and snapped a picture of the VIN. Opening the driver's door, he could still smell the faint decomposition that had occurred. Based on the medical examiner’s report he'd seen, Kate hadn't been found for more than a few hours after her death, or at least she'd been in the heat and exhaust for around that long. And that was only because the tenant, who rented the garage came home from work and opened the door to put his car inside. He'd gotten home from work early and had taken a late lunch, so they were able to piece together some of the timing. The exhaust billowed out and he called CID and fire brigade on base.

  Taking pictures of inside of the car, he glanced at the dashboard and was happy to see an analog odometer. Taking another picture of the mileage, he walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. Leaning in, he knelt with his knee on the seat and looked around. A quick glance told him his escort was watching and he needed this to look good in case anyone came around asking questions. Stepping back out of the car, he knelt on the ground and looked under the passenger seat. Using his phone as a flashlight he scanned under the seat and something glinted in the light. Focusing on the shiny object he couldn't make out what it was, other than round. Reaching his hand under the seat, he retrieved the object only to see it was a waded up gum wrapper.

  Tossing it onto the passenger side floor, he opened the glove box and found old dirty papers stuffed inside. Fingering through them he saw the name of David Sams on an old electric bill. Another envelope had the same name on it, a cable bill. Opening up the bills he noted that they were around a year old. A CD case lay inside. It was dusty and somewhat clear, the CD inside had DS - Favs in marker written on the front and nothing else.

  Fighting the feeling that nothing here was of assistance to their case, but hopeful the VIN and the name David Sams would lead to something, he closed the glove box door and began to pull himself from the vehicle. Another glint of something dark by the driver's floor mat caught his eye, and since he was already here and this car would be gone tomorrow, he walked around and opened the driver's side door. Shining his phone light on the floor where he'd seen something glimmer, he saw a stone, looked to be dark reddish in color resting in the crack between the floor mat and the carpeting closest to the door. Pulling it out he examined the floor around the same area in case there was something more. Finding nothing he wrapped the stone in his hand and turned to the woman who offered him this privilege.

  "Nothing?" She asked.

  "No, ma'am. But I appreciate you allowing me to look."

  She turned and began walking back to the building leaving him to follow. Time was up here.

  Chapter 32

  The waiting was killing her. She couldn't see anything from her vantage point in the car. They'd disappeared around a rusted out, dilapidated pickup truck. Watching the time on her borrowed phone from GHOST, she saw it had only been eleven minutes. How long should she wait before getting worried something bad had happened? Probably longer than eleven minutes. Next time they had to do something like this, she'd get that information up front.

  Relief swept through her when she saw the woman walking back to the building. Waiting to see Gaige she held her breath. It seemed forever before he finally walked past the old pickup. He briefly glanced her way, then looked straight ahead and her stomach rolled.

  Sitting up straighter she lay her hand across her stomach to quell the roiling. Not sure why she was so nervous, other than the obvious, she was wanted for murder and had no way to prove otherwise. Oh, and there was a rapist and killer out there somewhere maybe preying on his next victim. And, Gaige didn't smile when he looked this way and he sure as hell didn't seem happy.

  Finally, he emerged from the building and stalked straight to the truck. Climbing inside, he started the vehicle, pulled his seatbelt across his chest and put the SUV in reverse before saying a word. Twisting in her seat to look at him, she allowed the silence to settle over both of them. Finally, out of the parking lot and down the road a way, he pulled into a grocery store parking lot and put the SUV in park. He turned in his seat and stared into
her eyes.

  "First of all, I'm glad you didn't have to see that car. My guts are a bit twisted just knowing someone you loved may have died in the car, or, at the least, been placed in it after she was killed. That's all I'll say except, no, there's no blood or anything to prove that someone died in it, except a creepy feeling. Even the clerk said that. But, I found this." Opening his hand to reveal the deep red oval stone, she couldn't stop staring at it.

  "What is that? What does it mean?"

  "I was hoping you could tell me."

  Reaching out to pick it up she halted, looked into his eyes to make sure it was okay to touch it. Gaige nodded and she reached again for the stone. Fingers shaking, she lay her left hand under the stone so if she dropped it, she'd also catch it.

  The stone was a deep red in color, cut with many facets, so probably by a credible jeweler, and it seemed of high quality. That wasn't her specialty by any means, but she loved jewelry and paid attention to such things. She also had a friend in the jewelry business who taught her so much about jewelry and stones.

  "Tell me what you see, Soph."

  Clearing her throat, she pulled her shoulders back and winced slightly as her sore shoulder pinched a bit then replied, "I see quality. A stone cut by a professional. A fake ruby is too bright and clear, but this one is deep red in color, and while it sparkles it doesn't look like a piece of glass. I'd guess a reputable jeweler in town would be able to tell us what kind of setting it had been in."

  He leaned forward and kissed her lips quickly. "You're smart, Soph."

  Putting the SUV in gear again he headed into town. "Grab your phone and find a jeweler in town we can visit."

  "I don't need to; I know a jeweler who is very good at his job and would be able to tell us what we need to know.

  Glancing briefly at her, his brows rose. "Do tell."

  She turned to face the windshield once again. "I used to date him for a time."

  "So an ex?" He said no more but she turned to see his face just in time to see his jaw clench.

  She grinned, could it be he was a bit jealous? "He's an ex for a reason, Gaige. We didn't work out, but we ended it on decent terms. I know he'd help us."

  Nodding, he replied, "Yeah." Letting out a long breath, "Just tell me which way."

  "Turn right at the intersection and head downtown. The store is located on Main Street."

  Turning where she requested, Gaige pulled his phone from his back pocket, tapped a couple of times, then held the phone to his ear.

  "Wyatt, see what you can find out about a David Sams. Also find out if he's had a black Pontiac Grand Prix stolen and if there is a police report in California."

  He listened to Wyatt on the other end of the line a moment, then said, "I'll send you pictures of the VIN and odometer reading on the car Kate was found in, too. I'd like a full report on the vehicle. When was it titled? Who titled it? How many miles were on it at each titling? The works."

  A feeling of relief flooded through her as she felt as though they had leads. Finally.

  Chapter 33

  Stretching his shoulders back he tried loosening the knot forming in the middle of his back. His phone rang and he pulled it from the cup holder in the console. Hawk's name read on the screen.

  "Hawk. Fill me in. But hang on just a minute and I'll put you on speaker."

  Softly Sophie said, "Turn left at the light. We can park around back." She pointed to a large brick building, burgundy awnings over the front windows said "Crowne Jewelers" and that knot grew a bit more.

  Stopping at the red light he tapped the speaker icon on his phone and said, "Go ahead, Hawk."

  "I found the medical examiner, Candace Phillips, on base out here. She reluctantly agreed to talk to me. She was puzzled as to why she was suddenly transferred and it left a sour taste in her mouth. She's bitter. But that's good for us."

  The light turned green and Gaige turned into the parking lot behind the jewelry store, he put the SUV in park. "She spilled?"

  "Oh yeah. She said just before she was transferred she knew someone had accessed Kate's autopsy report and she could tell the report had been altered because she wrote it. Other documents which are part of the report also were missing. Candace was outraged. She didn't have the security clearance to see who had changed the report, including deleting some of it, so she went to her superior. He said he would look into it. Then, suddenly she was transferred, but not before looking at her report and taking detailed notes as to what had been changed that she wrote and what was missing."

  "Was she willing to share those notes?" He glanced at Sophie, whose eyes were locked on the phone as if it were a lifeline. Biting her bottom lip, her hands were both balled in her lap.

  "Yes. I snapped pictures and I'll send them to you. I'm at the airport now and getting ready to board the plane. I'm just waiting for Gavin to finish his pre-flight check."

  Sophie swallowed and he watched her closely. "Hawk, give us the low-down before Sophie dies of suspense."

  Her eyes flicked to his and he grinned. The smile on her face was so sweet and innocent his heart flipped. Relaxing back into the seat she blushed, and he wondered if she ever looked more adorable.

  "Kate didn't die in the car. She must have been placed in the car after she was killed. At least before the hose was shoved into the window and the car left on. According to the toxicology report, there was no carbon monoxide in her lungs or blood. There was a high level of lorazepam in her system and that seized her heart. She did not find any opioids. Of course, the toxicology report was not in the report.

  At the scene and during the autopsy, she saw bruises on Kate's arms that looked suspiciously like finger marks, but those observations were removed from her original autopsy report as were the lorazepam test results. Also, Kate had bruising on her hands that appeared to be defensive wounds, most likely to ward off fists. She said the forensic techs' notes written at the scene, which had mentioned the bruises, were missing from the report. The photographs that the techs took at the scene and the ones she took during the autopsy were removed as well. Candace concluded that she struggled with someone prior to her death, she was injected with lorazepam, likely to calm her or make her drowsy, but the dose was too high causing her death. Then, whoever drugged her panicked and put her in the car to make it look like suicide."

  Sniffing from the passenger side of the vehicle had him looking at Sophie, who silently sat across from him, tears streaming down her cheeks, but staring straight ahead. Once again, trying to be stoic and only partially succeeding.

  "Thanks, Hawk, I'll look at the documents when they get here. Safe travels."

  "Out."

  "Hey." He reached across the console and lay his hand at Sophie's nape. Pulling her toward him, she rested her head on his shoulder and cried. His gut twisted at the anguish she released. Though her right shoulder was still tender, she slowly reached forward and took his hand in her right hand and squeezed. He sat with her while she cried, not sure what he could say to her or how to console her. Sometimes you just had to get it out of your system. He remembered crying exactly twice in his life. When Tate died and when his dad died. Kate was Sophie's Tate. He knew exactly how she felt learning that her friend didn't take her own life, but that someone else had. And the guilt of not having been there to help your best friend in the whole world when they needed you most. That was probably the worst feeling. It's what drove him daily to be the best he could be, train his team to be the best, and to kill every mother-fucker who'd earned it by harming another and thinking they could get away with it.

  Taking a deep breath, Sophie pulled away and sat up straight. While she was swiping her eyes with the pads of her shaking fingers, he hopped out of the truck, pulled the back driver's door open and pulled a tissue pack from his duffle. Quickly making his way around the truck, he opened the passenger door and handed Sophie the tissues.

  She gratefully took them, swiped at her eyes, and gently blew her nose. She turned to him then and exite
d the truck. But her arms instantly wrapped around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her so her body was pressed to him and her feet dangled. Holding her as close as he dared without squeezing the breath from her, he reveled in the contact and comfort they brought each other in that moment. It shook him seeing her grief and remembering his own from so long ago.

  She softly whispered, "Thank you."

  He squeezed her once more, then gently set her on the ground. Before letting her go, he whispered back, "Always."

  Taking another tissue, she dabbed at her eyes once more, reached into the truck, pulled the stone from the cup holder in the console, then turned and said, "Let's go see if JJ can help us figure this piece of the puzzle out.

  His jaw tightened, but he inhaled a deep breath, then stepped back, took her hand in his, hit the lock button on the fob and walked with Sophie to the backdoor. Time to meet the ex.

  Chapter 34

  Entering through the backdoor brought back memories. She'd meet JJ after she finished her shift at work and they'd have dinner somewhere downtown before going back to his place. More often than not, she spent the night and left early in the morning to make it to work on time. Though they only dated for six months or so, they spent much of that six months together. Then she learned his family had a better pairing in mind for him than her. She remembered her own parents forcing her into a marriage she didn't want and tried explaining that to JJ, but he was to inherit his family's jewelry stores, all eighteen of them, and he wasn't willing to fight for her. That probably said it all right there. She'd broken it off with him, and Kate had told her it spoke volumes that she'd only cried once, that first night, then not again. Right after the breakup she'd thought about him though, and wondered if he did finally marry this "right person", but she didn't snoop to find out. It'd be easy enough to do, but she'd unfriended him on all social media platforms soon after and then went on with her life. That was three years ago. Since then, she'd seen him at one charity event for veterans in town, but he was alone. They chatted, busy polite conversation. "How are you? You look good. Still working?" But nothing too personal. It was better that way. But, something told her he'd help her with this. She hoped anyway.