Holden Read online

  At least she’d shown up. “Has she volunteered anything?”

  “Only that she’s not happy that the Silver Creek lawmen seem to have a vendetta against her.”

  “What?” Nicky and Holden said in unison.

  “Yeah. She actually used the word vendetta and said the interview I scheduled with her is akin to police harassment. She’s a piece of work all right and seems a lot more concerned about this interview than about her missing husband.”

  “I want to ask her about that,” Holden insisted. He wanted to ask Beatrice a lot of things including, if she knew anything about what had happened at Conceptions.

  “I’ll try to keep Beatrice here as long as I can so you’ll get a chance to see her, but she’s got her lawyer with her and I’m sure he’ll advise her not to stay too long,” Grayson continued. “How far out are you now?”

  “About five miles from town. No one was on the road when I left the house, and I haven’t spotted another vehicle.”

  But just saying that must have tempted fate because that’s when Holden saw an SUV just ahead. Not only wasn’t it moving, but it also appeared to be in a ditch.

  “I’ll have to call you back,” he said to Grayson, and ended the call.

  Holden took his gun from his holster. “It’s just a precaution,” he told Nicky when he heard her suck in her breath. “The person could be drunk and just have run off the road.”

  However, with their luck Holden figured it was just as likely to be an SUV filled with kidnappers who would start shooting at them. He prayed this trip didn’t turn out to be a fatal mistake.

  He slowed his car to a crawl, and behind him Gage and Dade did the same. Once Holden was closer to the SUV, he could see that the passenger window was down and that someone was inside. Not a gunman.

  But a woman.

  And she was slumped over the steering wheel.

  Holden motioned for Nicky to get down, but as she was sinking lower into the seat, she also had a look in the SUV. “That’s Amanda.”

  He couldn’t see much of her face, only the woman’s brunette hair. “You’re sure?”

  Nicky nodded, and she touched her fingers to her mouth. “Is she dead?”

  Maybe. But Holden sure as hell hoped not. There’d already been one murder. And that was more than enough. Especially if it involved a woman who could have helped them.

  “Stay in the car,” he told Nicky. “And call Gage and tell him what’s going on.”

  “What is going on?” she asked.

  “I’m going to check and see if Amanda’s alive.” It probably wasn’t the wisest move, but if the woman was hurt, he needed to get an ambulance out here fast.

  Holden waited until Nicky had finished her call with Gage before he stepped out of the car. Gage and Dade did the same, both of them drawing their weapons.

  “Keep watch,” Holden warned them. “This could be a setup to get to you.” Of course, they likely already knew that since their gazes were firing all around them, and they were primed for an ambush.

  Holden took aim at the SUV and started toward it. Slow, easy steps while he tried to listen for any sound of movement coming from inside the vehicle. He didn’t hear movement, but he did hear a sound.

  A moan.

  Amanda lifted her head and looked at him. “Help me,” she said after another moan. That’s when he saw the blood on her cheek.

  Holden still didn’t go charging toward her. He took his time, though it was hard when she kept repeating that “help me.” When he made it to the SUV, he lifted his gun, taking aim in case someone was in the back waiting to attack. But there was no one.

  Amanda was alone.

  And in pain.

  “Call the ambulance,” Holden told Gage.

  Holden opened the passenger’s side door and had a better look at the woman. Other than the blood on her face, there were no other visible injuries. He also didn’t see any weapons, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any in the SUV.

  “I’m Marshal Holden Ryland,” he said. “And you’re Amanda?”

  She gave a weak nod. “Help me, please.”

  “Help is on the way. Tell me what happened to you.”

  It took her a moment and several deep breaths. “Someone ran me off the road.” More of those deep breaths. “I’m not sure who it was. The car came out of nowhere.”

  There was a side road a few yards back, but there was no one on it now. No visible signs of damage to her SUV, either, and there was something else about this that didn’t look right.

  “Why didn’t your air bag deploy?” Holden asked.

  She lifted her head again, staring at the steering wheel as if trying to figure that out. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s not working.”

  Or maybe someone had tampered with it.

  Of course, Holden had another theory about what had gone on here. Amanda had to know she was a suspect so maybe all of this had been orchestrated to throw suspicion off her.

  “How long before the ambulance gets here?” she muttered.

  “Not long. While you’re waiting, can you answer some questions?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t see who did this to me.”

  Yeah, he got that. “I meant questions about the baby, about Conceptions.”

  That caused her to pull back her shoulders, and she suddenly looked a lot more alert than she had been. “I can’t talk about that yet.”

  “Why not?” And she’d better have a damn good reason for it.

  Tears sprang to her eyes, but like the moaning and the accident, Holden wasn’t sure they were genuine, either. If he was wrong about all of this, then he would owe her a huge apology, but she wasn’t getting that from him now.

  “I did some things, and I don’t want to go to jail,” she said, her voice cracking. “I need...whatever it’s called.”

  “Immunity?” Holden asked.

  “Yes. I didn’t know what was going on there. I swear, I didn’t know until it was too late, but I was too scared to report it. Too scared that someone would silence me for good.”

  Maybe. Again, he was going to withhold judgment on her innocence. “What was going on there?” he persisted.

  “The babies,” Amanda said after a long pause. “It was all about getting the money for the babies.”

  They’d already figured out that part. He needed more. “Who set all of this up?”

  Amanda didn’t say anything for a long time. “If I tell you, you’ll have to arrest her so she doesn’t come after me.”

  “Her?” Holden asked.

  Amanda groaned, maybe from pain and maybe because she just didn’t want to say it aloud. “The woman who’s behind this. Her name is Beatrice Minton.”

  Chapter Nine

  Beatrice.

  It wasn’t exactly a surprise that Amanda had claimed the senator’s wife was behind the things going on at Conceptions Clinic. After all, Beatrice was on Nicky and Landon’s suspect list, too.

  But so was Amanda.

  Holden had explained the reasons why he thought Amanda’s accident looked staged. No damage to her vehicle. No skid marks on the asphalt. No serious injuries. However, there were injuries—a cut to Amanda’s chin and some bruises—but Nicky was hoping the doctor would be able to tell them a whole lot more once he examined the woman.

  Especially be able to tell them if Amanda had indeed had a C-section recently.

  “You know the drill,” Holden said when they pulled up in front of the Silver Creek sheriff’s office.

  Nicky did. She moved out of the car as soon as she opened the door, and Holden was right behind her. Behind him, Dade came in. He’d followed them to the sheriff’s office, but Gage had gone in the ambulance with Amanda.

  Along with the dispatcher,
there were two other deputies in the squad room. Josh and Kara Duggan. Nicky didn’t know Kara that well, but she’d heard the woman had worked for San Antonio PD before coming to Silver Creek.

  Dade immediately went to his desk to get to work, but she and Holden went in search of Grayson. They found him in his office. Alone.

  “Did Beatrice leave?” Holden asked.

  “No. I wouldn’t let her, not after you told me what Amanda said. I’m just letting her and her lawyer cool their heels in an interview room.” Grayson paused. “I was also hoping you’d have more for me before I go in there. For instance, some proof that Beatrice really is guilty of something other than being a pain in the neck.”

  Holden had to shake his head. “No proof, and yes, I did press Amanda all the way up to the time the ambulance arrived, and she insisted that she couldn’t say more until I could promise her that she wouldn’t be charged with anything.”

  Grayson huffed and leaned back in his chair. “It’d be nice to know what exactly she did wrong.” His attention wandered to the room across the hall where Beatrice was. “But maybe Beatrice will be willing to spill something if I tell her she’d just been accused of some assorted felonies.”

  Nicky doubted Beatrice would say anything incriminating, not with her lawyer there to stop her, but Grayson was right. If he managed to shake her up a little, then Beatrice might tell them the pieces that Amanda was withholding.

  Grayson stood, ready to go into the interview room, but then he stopped and looked at Nicky. “I’m guessing you’d like to be in there when I’m questioning Beatrice, but I need to keep this official. That means as a marshal, Holden can be in there, but you’ll have to watch from the observation room. There’s a two-way mirror so you’ll be able to see and hear everything.”

  He was right. Nicky did want to be in there to face the woman who might be responsible for this nightmare, but she also didn’t want to do anything that would compromise an arrest if they did manage to get enough to put Beatrice behind bars.

  Grayson led her to the observation room, and Nicky immediately went to the mirror. Beatrice was there all right—pacing with her arms folded over her chest. A man in a suit was seated at the table.

  Beatrice looked exactly like the photos that Nicky had seen of her. Blond hair that tumbled onto her shoulders, the curls and waves looking as if they’d each been perfectly placed. Tasteful makeup that was as flawless as the rest of her. Ditto for her clothes. In the photos with her husband, Beatrice often wore blue, probably to match her eyes, and today was no different.

  When the door opened and Holden and Grayson walked in, Beatrice whirled around to face them. Or rather to glare at them.

  “I’ve been waiting a long time,” she snarled. “Need I remind you that I’m doing you a favor by coming in here to answer your idiotic questions? I guess you were too busy eating doughnuts and drinking coffee to get in here and finish this so I can go home.”

  Nicky could see why Grayson had called the woman a pain in the neck.

  “No doughnuts or coffee,” Grayson said. “Holden was waiting for an ambulance to take a woman to the hospital.”

  “Was it Nicky Hart?” Beatrice asked without hesitation. However, she didn’t wait for an answer. “She’s been hounding me for a story about my husband, and I’m fed up with her, too.”

  Holden took a step closer to the woman, looked her straight in the eye. “Why would you think Nicky needed an ambulance?”

  Beatrice shrugged as if the answer was obvious. “She does all those articles about criminals, crimes and such. I figure there’s someone out there who might want to silence her.”

  A chill went through Nicky. Because it was true. Someone did want to silence her for good. Was that someone Beatrice? If so, Beatrice wasn’t doing much to cover up her guilt. Maybe because there was no guilt for her to cover up.

  “It wasn’t Nicky who was hurt,” Holden continued a moment later. “It was Amanda Monroe.”

  That got a reaction from Beatrice. Her eyes widened. “The office manager from Conceptions Fertility Clinic?”

  “That’s the one,” Grayson said. “What do you know about her?”

  Beatrice actually seemed surprised by the question, as if it was the last thing she’d expected they would want to know. So maybe this wasn’t Beatrice’s attempt to cover her involvement after all.

  “I don’t actually know her,” Beatrice answered. “The only time I met her was when she was still working at the clinic. She did the initial paperwork when Lee and I went in to start the process for my egg harvesting.” She paused. “How was she hurt? Why was she hurt?”

  Holden went even closer, violating the woman’s personal space. “You tell me. Amanda said you’re the one behind her attack.”

  Beatrice dropped back a step, and she volleyed some stunned glances between Grayson and Holden. “Amanda said...?” But she stopped and made a sound of outrage. “I had nothing to do with anything that happened to her.” She jammed her thumb against her chest. “I’m the victim here.”

  Her lawyer practically jumped to his feet and reached out for her, but Beatrice slapped his hand away. “I’m the victim,” she repeated. “And I won’t be treated like a criminal when I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  She no longer had that pain-in-the-neck tone or glare. Beatrice sank down onto one of the chairs and buried her face in her hands for a moment.

  “We need to talk before you say anything else,” her lawyer insisted.

  “She needs to talk now,” Holden argued. “Someone ran Amanda off the road, and Nicky was nearly killed. I want answers about that.”

  Beatrice shook her head. “I don’t know if what happened to me is even connected to them.”

  Grayson went closer to the woman, too. “Then tell us what did happen, and we’ll figure out if it’s connected or not.”

  “Mrs. Minton,” the lawyer said, his voice a warning for her to stay quiet.

  But it was a warning she ignored. “Lee and I went to Conceptions Fertility Clinic about a year and a half ago. I desperately wanted a baby and had been unable to get pregnant. I went through all the egg harvestings, all the procedures, but I still wasn’t able to conceive. Lee said we had to stop trying...that it was putting too much strain on our marriage.”

  “Was it?” Holden asked, and Nicky was thankful he had because she wanted to hear the answer, too.

  Beatrice shrugged. Then her eyes narrowed a little after she paused. “This stays here in this room, and you’d better not breathe a word of it to anyone else.” Despite the fact that neither Holden nor Grayson agreed to that, she continued. “Lee was having an affair, and that was putting far more strain on our marriage than my trying to have our baby, his heir.”

  She spat out the last two words like venom. Clearly, Beatrice was not a happy wife.

  “Who was he having an affair with?” Grayson asked.

  “The latest one is some bimbo ex-beauty queen. Sharon Bachman.”

  Nicky knew the name and had heard the rumors linking Sharon to the senator. But then, several other names had come up, too. Apparently, Lee had a roving eye. Of course, Beatrice had known that when she married him because he’d cheated on his first wife with Beatrice.

  “Do you think Sharon had anything to do with your husband’s disappearance?” Holden continued.

  “Maybe,” Beatrice readily admitted. “The two could have run off together. I suspect he’ll turn up when he realizes what a mess he’s made of things. Well, I’m not taking him back this time. I won’t be treated like dirt again.”

  The woman certainly had a lot of anger, but if what she was saying was all true, then Nicky could understand that anger. Well, except for the fact that Beatrice had made her own bed by cheating with a cheater.

  “There’s more,” Beatrice said a moment later. The lawyer tried t
o stop her again, but Beatrice gave him a stern look of her own. “I have to tell someone, and it might as well be them.”

  “What do you have to tell us?” Holden prompted when Nicky didn’t continue.

  She took a few more moments, some deep breaths as well. “A couple of days after my husband went missing, I got a call. The voice sounded mechanical, like it was a computer speaking. Anyway, he said that Lee and I had a son. One that’d been born using a surrogate, and that if I wanted the baby, I was going to have to pay a million dollars to get him.”

  Oh, mercy.

  That put the knot back in Nicky’s stomach. That was the same thing that’d happened to her father. Of course, it didn’t mean Beatrice was telling the truth, but there were tears in the woman’s eyes now.

  “I told the caller that I didn’t believe him,” Beatrice went on. “And he said he had proof. DNA proof. He claimed that they’d implanted my embryo into a surrogate, and that she’d given birth to our child.”

  “And you believed that?” Grayson asked.

  “Not at first, but then I got this package with photos of the baby, and I knew that was my son.” Her voice was trembling now. So was Beatrice. Or at least she was pretending to tremble. “They said if I went to the cops that I wouldn’t see the baby so I went to Lee’s financial manager and begged him for the money. My name’s not on Lee’s accounts so I couldn’t just take it. He finally gave it to me, and I arranged to pay the ransom.”

  Holden cursed. “That was risky and stupid. You could have been killed. That’s why people take matters like this to the cops.”

  “I know that now.” A hoarse sob tore from her throat. “I dropped off the money in a park just like the kidnapper asked, but they demanded more. A half a million more.” She looked at Holden, and while she was blinking hard, as if trying to stave off tears, there weren’t any actual tears in her eyes.

  “Did you pay it?” Holden asked.

  She nodded. “Again, I had to beg Lee’s financial manager, and he told me that it was all I was going to get, not a penny more. He went with me that time to pay the ransom.” Beatrice paused. “And we got the baby.”