Page 36 of Maverick Detective Dad
Chapter Eleven
Noah cursed, and because he didn’t trust River any more than he did their other suspects, he nudged Everly back inside her house.
Hudson went with them, and taking out a Glock from a slide holster in the back of his jeans, he checked the camera feed on his phone. If there was anybody out there in their line of sight, Hudson would spot them.
“FYI, you’re on speaker,” Noah spelled out to River. “Now, who tried to kill you?” Noah not only shut the door, he made sure Everly wasn’t standing directly in front of it or the windows.
“I think it was Bobby,” the man readily said. In the background, Noah could hear what he thought were the sounds of River driving.
“Bobby,” Everly repeated on a rise of breath. She’d obviously heard what River had said and would be listening to the rest of the conversation.
“You actually saw Bobby try to kill you?” Noah pressed.
River groaned, the sound of fear and frustration—both of which could be faked. “No, but Bobby was at my place earlier so it must have been him.”
Noah had to do a mental double take. “Why was Bobby at your house? You claimed you didn’t even know his last name.”
“I didn’t,” River insisted, and then he paused. He muttered some profanity. “I left a message for him on the bulletin board outside the room where we meet for Peace Seekers. I didn’t use his name. I called him Red Card and added my number. He saw it and called me.”
Noah did some groaning of his own, and he wondered how the heck the SAPD had missed such a note. Then again, maybe it hadn’t been there when they’d searched the room.
“When Bobby called,” River went on, “I gave him my address, and he came right over. I told him I was scared, that I thought Jared was the killer and that he might try coming after us. You know, to silence us ’cause I was pretty sure Bobby had seen the mud on Jared’s shoes, too.”
Noah didn’t volunteer anything about Jared being able to walk. Instead, he pushed for more details of this so-called attempt to kill him. “Tell me what happened when Bobby visited you.”
River took a deep breath. “He asked if I knew for sure that Jared was the killer, and I told him no, that it was just a gut feeling. He said I should be careful and not tell anybody else my suspicions because it might get back to Jared. And if Jared wasn’t the actual killer, it might get back to the person who was.”
Maybe it had already gotten back to theperson who wasbecause the killer could be Bobby. Then again, all of this could be a ruse set up by River to take suspicion off himself.
“Anyway, Bobby didn’t stay long,” River continued a moment later. “He left, and after he’d been gone about ten minutes, I heard this loud boom, and I looked out the window and saw that my front porch had blown up. I mean, there were pieces of wood everywhere.”
Noah considered that and wondered if the explosive had even been meant to kill. Maybe it’d been a warning.
“Did you hear me? I said I think Bobby could have put a bomb there,” River insisted.
Even though Noah figured he already knew the answer, he asked the question anyway. “Did you see Bobby do that?”
“No, but I left him alone for a couple of minutes while I went to the bathroom. He could have planted it then.”
True, but that would have been gutsy to the point of being careless to do that since Bobby wouldn’t have known how long River would be gone. If Bobby had indeed planted an explosive, it was more likely he’d just tossed it there when he arrived or when he was leaving.
“I’m guessing you didn’t call the local cops to tell them about the explosion?” Noah asked.
“No. I didn’t want to wait around for them. It would have taken them minutes to get out there, and Bobby could have come back while I was waiting on them. I ran to my truck and started driving. If you’re not at the sheriff’s office, you need to meet me. I’ll be there in about five minutes.”
Now Noah sighed. He really didn’t want Everly stuck in the sheriff’s office for heaven knew how long while he worked all of this out with River and the Bulverde cops who’d have to be called in to investigate the explosion. Even if she wanted to hear anything else River had to say, she probably wouldn’t want to be away from Ainsley that long especially since he could fill her in on the details later.
“All right,” Noah finally said. “I have an errand to do first, and then I’ll head to the sheriff’s office. Go straight there,” he instructed River just in case the man was truly a target, “and wait for me.”
Noah ended the call and turned to Everly. “Hudson and I can take you to the ranch. You can maybe work on the financials and that list Hudson gave us while I deal with River.”
Until he added that part about the financials and list, Everly had been shaking her head, but she must have realized she could still help with the investigation while also being with her daughter. She finally nodded.
Noah felt the instant relief that came with knowing she’d be tucked away safely at the ranch. Not alone with Ainsley either. He’d make sure some of the ranch hands were guarding the place, and there’d be no visitors or deliveries until he’d made it back from the sheriff’s office.
He turned to Hudson who was still watching the security feed on his phone. “Do you see anyone?”
Hudson shook his head. “But I can’t promise that no one is out there. I can get the infrared from the SUV, but that won’t extend but about fifteen yards.”
