Vulnerable (Morgans of Nashville 4)

Dalton moved to a large picture window and stared out over the green landscape. His body stilled as if the weight of the news settled on his shoulders.

“Was Mike ever depressed?” Jake asked.

Marlowe didn’t face him for a long moment before he turned. “Is this some kind of fishing expedition? Why would you come into my home and ask me about my son’s mental health when you know Amber Ryder is here? Anybody ask her why she returned to Nashville?”

“One of the folks on our team called her. She was a prime witness in the case five years ago and it made sense to re-interview her. She states she is here to help.”

Dalton laughed, but the sound held no hint of humor. “Right. Amber is here to help. Did she tell you her memory has miraculously returned?”

“She still has no memories of those days,” Jake said.

“Where is she? I want to see her.”

“Not now.”

“You’re not going to tell me what to do.”

Like hell. The old man might have opened the case, but now that it was wide open it belonged to Jake. He might have his own doubts about Amber, but until he had solid proof, they stayed within his team. “We wanted your take on Mike.”

“Why?”

Tension snaked up Jake’s spine as he stared at the older man. Whatever slack he wanted to cut this guy had thinned rapidly. “Sir? About Mike?”

Dalton shook his head and then downed the remains of what was in his glass. “Christ, the cops were all over that park five years ago. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven through since then myself. Hell, I even hired people to comb those woods.”

“This is a small cave with two chambers. It could have been easily missed. And the older bodies were in the back chamber.”

“Shit.”

“What can you tell us about Mike?”

The old man’s eyes sharpened as he set down his glass. “He was a great kid. The best a father could ever ask for.”

“Mike got into some trouble when he was fifteen. He vandalized several cars in the school parking lot,” Jake said.

Marlowe frowned. “He was a good kid. But even good kids sometimes do stupid things. I paid for all the damage.”

“Your son wasn’t depressed?”

“Hell no, he was not depressed. I resent you asking the question.”

He ignored the man’s bluster. “I also read an interview of a teacher who said Mike could be disruptive.”

“He was a boy. A high-energy, athletic boy who did dumb things. I never denied that. But he was a good kid until Amber got under his skin.”

“They were dating?”

Marlowe shook his head. “Fucking would be a better description.”

Jake studied the hard lines of Marlowe’s face. “Someone is sending her threatening texts.”

He looked amused. “Threatening texts?”

“That’s right,” Rick said. “She received several while in Dallas.”

A mirthless laugh rumbled in his chest. “And you think I might have been the one to do that?”

The man’s disdain for Amber was clear. “Why don’t you like her?” Jake asked.

He rested his hands around the empty glass. “She’s a liar and a manipulator. Other than that, I have no opinion of her one way or the other.”

Jake shifted tactics. “Your wife passed away when Mike was a freshman in high school.”

“You seem to know so much about my family. Why don’t you tell me?”

Tension thumped the back of Jake’s skull like an annoying flick of a finger. “I’m asking you, sir.”

Lips flattened into a rigid line. “Susan was never a strong woman and she struggled for most of our marriage with many illnesses. However, she did love Mike. He was her whole life. About three years before he vanished she was diagnosed with cancer. It killed her.”

“She came from a wealthy family?”

“She did.” He shook his head. “And just in case you’re wondering, when she passed, her family money went into a trust for Mike. He was slated to inherit next week as a matter of fact. He would have been twenty-three in just a few days.”

“How much money was in the trust?”

“Millions.”

“And if Mike were dead?”

Frown lines deepened. “I pray every day he’s not.”

“But if he were dead or declared dead, what would happen to the money?”

A muscle tensed and released in his jaw. “Then the money would go to me. Mike has no other living relatives.”

“Make you a really rich man,” Rick said.

“I don’t like what you’re insinuating,” Marlowe growled.

Jake’s phone buzzed on his hip and he glanced at the number. Dr. Heller. “I need to take this.”

Marlowe’s jaw tightened and released. “Sure. Why not? Take as long as you want.”

Jake moved into the hallway and dialed back the doctor’s number. It rang twice before she picked up.

“Detective,” Dr. Heller said. “I have dental X-rays on my desk.”

“And?”

“And, I can say for certain that the female is Bethany Reed and the male is Mike Marlowe.”

A ray of light streaming through a skylight cut across the foyer’s tiled floor. “You’re sure?”

“Bethany had two front teeth replaced when she was twelve. She wrecked her bike and flew over the handlebars. She went headfirst and struck the curb with the side of her face. Broke two teeth and ended up with a bridge. That is an identical match to the skull. Mike had a distinct pattern of fillings in his mouth and had a right molar pulled after it was fractured during a hard tackle.”

Jake dropped his voice a notch as tension climbed up his back and clamped around the back of his head. “Okay, doc

. When you have more information, please feed it to me.”

“I have preliminary information that I want to confirm before I share. I should have more to tell you tomorrow.”

“Understood.” Jake pocketed the phone and returned to the room where Rick was talking to Mr. Marlowe. “That was the medical examiner’s office.”

Marlowe’s bravado wavered and he appeared to age two decades in two seconds. “And?”

“We found the body of your son, Mike.”

* * *

As Jake and Rick sat in the living room of Bethany Reed’s mother, Jake put aside his distaste for Dalton Marlowe, reminding himself that grief dragged out the worst of emotions. He understood firsthand that it could drive anyone to do just about anything.

Now, he focused on the grieving eyes of the woman before him. There were many parts of the job that were not easy but this was the worst.

Mrs. Reed was a short and plump woman and, though age had pulled the edges of her eyes down, her hair remained an unnatural shade of dark brown. She sat on the green silk couch of a living room decorated in Colonial style next to a portrait of her husband and wept. Her thin shoulders looked fragile and broken as she leaned forward, a tissue clutched in her hands.

“And you’re certain it’s Bethany?” Mrs. Reed asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Her dental records are an exact match.” Jake avoided as many details of the crime scene as he could manage.

“I’m glad my husband has passed now. I miss him, but I know now he’s with our Bethany. They have each other.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How did you find her?”

“Another body was found in the park.”

“I heard about that on the news today.”

He shifted, and tugged his jacket forward. “Bethany was found close by in a back chamber of the cave.” He reached for his cell and pulled up the picture of the pendant. “We found this near her.”

With trembling hands, she took the phone and studied the picture. Tears welled in her eyes. “I gave this to her when she turned sixteen. She wore it all the time.”

“We also found a body next to Bethany’s. It’s Mike.”