Page 17 of Maverick Detective Dad
“Maybe you know more than you think. I believe there’s someone in the Peace Seekers who can help with the investigation. What are the names of the members in the group?”
The woman made a sharp sound of surprise. “You think the killer could be in the group?”
Everly definitely thought that. Or at least it could be someone connected to the group, but Noah clearly wasn’t ready to spell that out to Megan just yet.
“I believe someone in the group has information that’ll help me,” Noah explained. “Tell me the names of the members.”
“I don’t know them all,” she readily admitted. “Some only show up for a meeting and never come back. Some only use their first names or a nickname.”
That meshed with what Jared had told them, but Noah continued to push. “What about a man who calls himself Bobby?”
“Bobby,” she repeated. “I don’t know his name.”
“Why is he in the group?” Noah asked.
“I have no idea. He’s still carrying a red card.”
Noah frowned. “A red card?”
“Yeah. When a new member shows up, they can take a red card from the table, and that means they don’t want to talk or have anyone ask questions. Most ditch the red card after a meeting or two, but Bobby hasn’t.”
“How long has he been coming to Peace Seekers?” Noah wanted to know.
Megan made a noncommittal sound. “A couple of months or so.”
That sounded like the perfect arrangement for a vigilante killer to find targets. He could listen to all the gripes and grief and then add the offenders to his hit list.
So, how had Noah and she gotten on this guy’s radar?
Had someone in the group mentioned them? Was the killer also scouring other sources to find his victim? Maybe. In this case, Everly thought the way the killer was getting his info would definitely lead Noah and her to identifying him.
“Give me the names of others in the group,” Noah told Megan.
This time, Megan huffed. “Look, I’m not comfortable spilling this. You should talk to the counselor, Daisy Reyes. If anyone gives you a list, you should get it from her.”
And they would have done just that if the killer hadn’t gotten to her first. Noah though, didn’t spell that out.
“Remember, this person killed someone who was innocent,” Noah reminded Megan. “Your help can maybe stop someone else from dying.”
“Maybe someone like my mother who deserved to die?” Megan snapped. “Thanks but no thanks. Goodbye, Detective Ryland.” And with that, she ended the call.
Noah sat there for a moment, staring at the phone, no doubt processing what Megan had just told him. With her alibi, Megan obviously wasn’t the killer, and Noah had already said there was nothing to indicate she’d hired someone to off her mother. Still, Megan probably knew more that could help them.
“I’ll arrange for Megan to be brought in for an interview,” Noah finally said. He looked at her. “I’ll need to do that one in person so I can press her. By then, too, I can tell her Daisy’s been murdered. That should shake Megan into spilling what she knows.”
“I’d like to be there to hear what she has to say,” Everly blurted out before she realized what that meant. Noah and she would be out and about, where the killer could possibly get to them.
And maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.
If Ainsley was tucked away safely here at the ranch with lots of protection so that this monster couldn’t try to use her, then maybe the killer would come directly after her.
“No,” Noah said. “You’re not going to make yourself bait.”
Either he had ESP or else he knew her far better than she’d expected. Well, she knew him, too, and he’d see the logic of this once she made it clear.
“We can’t just shut ourselves away,” she said. “Because this snake will just keep killing. He wants us.Me,” Everly emphasized. “And while I’m not especially eager to cross paths with him, the threat to Ainsley and others has to stop.Wehave to stop it, and we can do that by going to interview Megan, River Parnell and maybe even Jared. We push away at them until they tell us who this Bobby is.”
Noah kept his narrowed eyes pinned on her. “I’m not going to let you use yourself as bait,” he spelled out.
