Shadow Of Betrayal (Margot Harris 4)

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“My partner sent a coded message he figured only I would understand. I mean, who gives a damn about latitude and longitude?”

“You told me you didn’t know what it meant.”

“That’s because I didn’t want you going out here. He was my partner, so it was my case. I guess I shouldn’t have assumed you wouldn’t figure it out.”

“I didn’t, that was Brantley. Considering he probably buried the body out there himself; it wasn’t like he cracked a code either. Coordinates or not, I figure he would have found a way to get me out here just so he wouldn’t have to haul my body to my unmarked grave.”

Shaw didn’t reply. Margot thought he was still breathing, but it was shallow. She hit the road and turned on the sirens.

Chapter 10

“Is Shaw going to make it?”

“He’s good—or at least as good as an old man who got shot could be,” Ames said as he took the seat across from her. Radcliff came into the small interrogation room as well. Since there were only two chairs, he found a spot against the wall.

“Are they going to let me out of here anytime soon?” Margot asked.

Once she had set up the airlift for Shaw, the sheriff had immediately put her under arrest and hauled her back to the holding cell at the substation. Margot wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t heard anything about her being hired on as a consultant. It was news to him that his deputy had traveled out to the coast to investigate a possible murder as well. Margot called her lawyer and asked him to contact Ames and Radcliff.

“Well, you allegedly beat his deputy with a shovel and shot him five times with his own gun, and then after that, you stole his car. So Sheriff Carson isn't all that keen on letting you go,” Ames remarked.

“Yeah, the sheriff didn’t seem too sympathetic.”

“Since Brantley isn’t around to tell his side, he might be forced to believe you.”

“He didn’t make it?”

“I don’t know. He wasn’t where you left him. Neither was Shaw’s car.”

“That doesn’t seem possible.”

Ames shrugged. “All I know is, he wasn’t there. That doesn’t mean it was a waste of our time.”

“You find Randy?”

“Yeah, he wasn’t in good shape, though he looked better than Mom, who was underneath him.”

“I guess all that still leaves me locked up?”

Radcliff smiled as he told her, “Not necessarily. That tip about the hotel clerk panned out. He tried to play it cool, but it took Ames about five minutes to break him. Remember when Brantley said he checked, and Mrs. Cantor wasn’t at any of the places Randy told us to look?”

“Yeah.”

“Turns out that was bullshit. She did stay with her friends and she did stay at the hotel. Her stay ended when deputy Brantley ‘arrested’ her. The clerk wasn’t in the loop on this part, but he thinks Brantley was holding the mom for ransom. He thought it was odd Brantley would be expecting a loser like Randy to come up with anything to make it worthwhile.”

“He wanted the money the cartel gave him to hire me back.”

“Yeah, but my guess is Mrs. Cantor was dead before Randy got here, judging from the shape she was in. Whether Randy raised the money or not didn’t matter. He killed her and Randy was next.”

“Then me and Mal after that.”

“Well, you anyway. I was under the impression Stone had straightened everything out when it came to the cartel.”

“So was I. Mal seemed to think there might be some rogue out there still loyal enough to the former boss to finish what he started, regardless of who was in charge. He called that guy the ‘cowboy’.”

“Well, that certainly describes Brantley.”