Expert Witness: A Romantic Suspense Novel (27 page)

 
How in the hell had he missed it? A feeling of dread washed over him as he ruminated the question. The thoughts were eerily familiar. Damn it. Not again. “Did any of you know Derek before he started working with you?”
 

“No, we put out an advertisement.”

“Did anything ever happen between him and Jordan? Anything that would make him angry? Resentful?”

“No… Chase, you’re worrying me. Why are you fixated on Derek? The police got a confession from Buckman. He admitted to paying for the hit.” She paused then let out a breath. “But he didn’t admit to the rest. Oh, crap. You think it was more than one person?”

“Maybe.” Even as he spoke the word, he knew he was right. Call it intuition or whatever; something had felt off when he’d left her. And he’d foolishly attributed his worry to paranoia.
 

Why would a suspect confess to a hit but then deny the less serious offenses? It could happen, but that should’ve been Chase’s tipoff right there. Not wanting to waste any more time, he left the parking lot of the rest area. With no way of turning around, he reentered the Turnpike heading east. He’d been on this road hundreds of times before. The next exit with a westbound entry was miles ahead.
 

Karen seemed to be thinking aloud. “It doesn’t make sense, Chase. Derek is the one who saved her that night.”

“I know, Karen. Bear with me on this. I need to check some things out. Can you give me what you have on file, in terms of address, birthday, that kind of stuff?” He made a split-second decision and cut into the median, careful to keep a slightly left leaning trajectory, so he didn’t get stuck in the deep mud in the center.
 

“I’ll give you what we have, but it still doesn’t add up. He’s never done anything to indicate he had a role in what’s been happening. If he did, he’s one damned good actor to have fooled all three of us. Give me a minute to grab that file.”
 

Now heading back in the direction he’d just come from, he drove as fast as he dared without getting stopped by the state troopers who patrolled the area. He had no time for a traffic stop.
 

He waited for Karen to get the information, drumming his fingers impatiently on the console next to him. His foot seemed to have a mind of its own when it came to the gas pedal, so he set the cruise control on the SUV. After what seemed like way too long, she rattled off the details she had from Derek’s employment paperwork.
 

“Got it. I’ll call you back.” He hit the end button before she could reply and dialed his office.
 

He briefed his secretary, Shelly, on the situation and the information he’d gotten. With what Karen had given him on Derek, the woman would be able to conduct a thorough background check and personal history review.
 

“Call me back as soon as you get anything. I need whatever you find as soon as possible.” He blew out a long breath and tried not to think about how different the situation would be had he only made the connection before he’d left Jordan.
 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

While watching the sun sink toward the water, Jordan stretched out her legs. A flat-topped rock in front of her made the perfect ottoman. She couldn’t believe it was already approaching nightfall, having spent over an hour in this very spot. A beautiful spectrum of colors paraded across the evening sky, and she wished for the first time since being there that she hadn’t forgotten her phone in the condo. Up until now, she’d been grateful for the uninterrupted silence and time to process the past few weeks, but she would have loved to have captured the vision in front of her on camera.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
 

The deep voice behind her was familiar, but she couldn’t place it. After turning around to face the speaker, she was surprised to see Derek standing on the rocks behind her.

“Thought you had the whole place to yourself, huh?” He jumped from the top of a nearby rock to a closer one while looking down at her.

A wide grin spread across her face. “What in the world are you doing here?”

“Well, that’s kind of a long story. But it’s suffice to say, I heard you were staying in town for the weekend and thought maybe you could use some company.” He sat down, taking a place next to her on the large rock she’d been using as her chair.

“Really?” She turned to face him as he took in their surroundings. Though it was good to see him, she didn’t understand why he’d traveled all the way up here when she’d be back at the office on Monday.
 

He turned back to her with a sheepish expression. “I know. I probably should’ve called first. I’m sure the last thing you want is to be surprised.” He looked at her meaningfully. “After everything that’s been going on. But I was worried you’d tell me it was too much trouble. And believe it or not, after hearing Karen and Mike go on and on about the place the whole time you were gone, I thought it might be good for me to get away—take a break here as well. This whole thing was pretty stressful on everyone.” He held a hand up. “Not that we had to go through was anything close to what you have, but it’s been pretty tense on our end, too.”

Her chest tightened as she listened to his explanation. Though none of the recent events had been under her control, the threats to her life had certainly impacted the entire practice. Until hearing Derek now, she’d spent little time contemplating how her partners felt about the whole thing. If it had been one of them, it would’ve affected her considerably. “I’m sorry you all had to go through this too,” she said softly.
 

“Don’t be. It’s over now, and I’m glad it turned out the way it did,” he said in a decisive tone. “It looks like we’re out of sunlight. What had you planned on doing next?”

He was right. The water had taken on a metallic sheen, and the remnants of the colorful rays were dusting the clouds overhead.
 

“Well, I’d only meant to stay here for a little while and then go check out one of the lakes a local told me about. But—” she let out a chuckle, “—as you can see, I let time get away from me down here, so I’m not sure how much of the lake we’d be able to see now that it’s dark.”
 

“Oh, come on. Don’t let a little darkness stop you.” He grabbed her hand and hauled her up from the rock. “So, what’s the name of this lake you’d planned to visit?”

She looked at him with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “Gator Lake.”

He frowned. “And I’m assuming they call it Gator Lake for its inhabitants?”

“You’ve got it. But it’s supposed to be safe to visit. As long as you don’t feed them.” She gave him a once-over. He was dressed in a pair of plaid shorts and a T-shirt. She looked around for anything else he might be carrying, but he was empty-handed. “And from the looks of it, that won’t be a problem, because you don’t have anything they’d find appetizing.”
 

“You can say that again. And I’m sure I wouldn’t taste so good to them. You, on the other hand, might be more appetizing.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively.
 

“Gross, Derek.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t even joke like that. I meant you have no food with you. I guess sometimes tourists feed them, and it can become a problem if they get used to it.”

“Interesting.” He gave her a thoughtful look. “So, how did you find out all of this valuable information on the gators here?”
 

She began making her way across the rocks that led back to the shoreline. She’d seen a walkway from there that led further into the park. “Oh. I just asked around a little. People are pretty friendly here. You’ll see. Speaking of that, where are you staying?” She kept her fingers crossed that Karen and Mike hadn’t offered up the spare room in the condo. She didn’t mind having Derek around for the weekend, but she’d hoped to have some time to herself before returning back to her former routine.
 

“I rented a condo at the same resort as Karen and Mike’s. Thought that would give you some room, but it wouldn’t be hard to get together, either.”

“Okay.” She tried to keep the relief out of her voice. “I bet Karen and Mike were surprised to have us both up here after they’ve been trying for so long.”
 

His brow furrowed for a second but then his features returned to normal. If she weren’t so used to relying on behavioral observations, she might have missed it. She pondered what he’d been thinking that caused the reaction as they made their way up the boardwalk to the parking area.
 

“Yes. It was kind of last minute, so we didn’t spend too much time talking about it. They were right though. The place is gorgeous. When I first got here, I tried their condo, but you weren’t there. Thought I’d go for a walk and try you again later if I didn’t bump into you. But lucky for me, there aren’t many people out today, so it was easy to spot you down on the rocks.”

“I wondered how you managed to track me down. I accidentally left my cell in the condo, so I’m sure I’ve missed a few calls.” Her thoughts automatically went to Chase. He’d be home now and probably trying to get in touch with her. She didn’t want him to be concerned. “Would you mind if I used yours? Chase was going to call me when he got back, and I’d hate for him to worry.”

He stared at her for a moment, and then began to laugh. “Would you believe I left mine at the condo, too? I thought about bringing it, but I didn’t want it to end up wet or in the sand somewhere. I’m sure it’s fine though. Chase will probably call Mike and he’ll let him know I’m here with you.”
 

“That’s true,” she said, grateful that Chase wouldn’t be as worried if he knew she was with Derek.
 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Chase debated whether or not he should call Jordan before he heard back from Shelly
.
Though he was fairly certain Derek was involved in the threats to her life, he was relying on his gut instinct and the similarities in the vocabulary used in two messages she’d received. Not a lot to hang his hat on, but in years of policing, he’d learn to trust his instinct. He pulled her number up and pressed send.
 

The phone began to ring in his ear. “Come on, Jordan. Pick up.” He spoke as if sheer will alone could bring her voice on the line.
 

“Hello, you have reached the voicemail box of Dr. Clayton—”

“Damn it.” He didn’t hear the rest of her message as he tried to work out what to do next. The beep following her recording brought him back to the present. “Hey, Jordan, it’s me, Chase. Look, I need you to call me as soon as you get this message. It’s important.”
 

He hung up, feeling more anxious than he had before trying to get a hold of her. Why wouldn’t she be answering? He remembered how she’d joked with him about turning her ringer up so she could still hear him. Had she forgotten? He started doing the calculations in his head.
 

Derek had left around lunch, and it would be about a five-and-a-half-hour drive from Orlando to Panama City Beach. But Karen had said that he’d been driving fast. So…the timing sucked. If Derek wasn’t already there, he’d be close.
 

Chase grabbed the back of his neck, pressing his foot on the gas pedal. He still didn’t want to be slowed down by a traffic stop, but that was a chance he’d have to take now. There was no way in hell he wasn’t going to do anything he could to get to her as fast as possible.
 

Passing several cars, he hit the call back button, trying to reach her again.
 

“Hello, you have reached the voicemail box—”

This time, he hung up without leaving a message. She’d return his call as soon as she saw the missed call notices on her phone. But why wasn’t she seeing them now? His mind raced as he checked his mirrors, scanning the traffic around him. And why hadn’t his office called back with the information he’d requested?
 

As if reading his thoughts, his cell began ringing in his hand. He recognized the office ringtone right away. Wishing it’d been her but grateful for any leads at this point, he hurriedly answered the call. “What’ve you got?”

“Nothing you’re gonna like,” Shelly began, sounding grim. “Your instincts were right on. The background on Derek was clean. Not even a traffic ticket. But after a little digging, it turns out the same isn’t true for his older brother. Guy was convicted of first-degree murder. Details were pretty heinous. The victim was tortured and held captive for several days before he ended her life. He was sentenced to death—jury only deliberated for an hour before reaching a unanimous decision. It was that bad.”

 
Chase’s jaw was clenched so tight that it ached. She was right; he didn’t like what he was hearing. And it sure as hell didn’t fit the account Derek had given them on his brother. But having a murderer for a brother didn’t mean Derek automatically shared the family trait. “So maybe the two apples didn’t fall far apart, but it doesn’t connect all the dots.”

 
“That’s because there’s more. The defense called several witnesses during the penalty phase, a little of everything, really—psychologist, psychiatrist, neurologist, and a professor of neuroscience. They did everything they could to a paint a picture of the guy as mentally impaired, in hopes of getting a life sentence instead of the death penalty. But the state only called one expert.”