Justice At Morgan Mesa. Jenna Night

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СКАЧАТЬ should have called me last night right after everything happened,” her grandpa said, his voice a low rumble, leaving no room for argument. He twisted in his chair to face her. “We would have gone to the hospital to have you checked out. Maybe had you stay there overnight just to be certain you were all right.” He shook his head. “No more secrets, little girl. Not with me.”

      “I’m sorry, Grandpa.” Vanessa’s eyes looked watery and her nose reddened. She sniffed loudly, then turned to Levi. “Go ahead and ask your questions—it’s fine for us to stay in here.”

      “First, have you thought of anything else to tell me about the events last night? Anything you remembered?”

      “Not really. I’ve tried to think of anything I could add to the physical description of the guy who chased me, but I can’t.”

      “That’s all right. Maybe you’ll see or hear something later that will trigger a memory. Meanwhile, you mentioned being up on the mesa to talk to people about your dad. I’ll need a list of the names of the people you spoke to.”

      “I can give you the names of people I know that I’ve spoken to since I’ve been back in town. But when it comes to the people I spoke to on the mesa yesterday, I don’t know their names. They were strangers. Out of desperation to generate a lead, I took a chance and I just stopped at random places. A couple of gas stations, a coffee shop. The Carson Family Diner. I told people who I was and asked if they knew anything about my dad and what happened to him. Asked if they had any theories or ever heard any rumors about who’d murdered him or why.”

      “Did anybody have anything to tell you?”

      “No. I gave people my phone number in case they thought of something. And I mentioned I was going to stop at the edge of the mesa on the Heaton property and enjoy the view around sundown before I headed back down to the flatland.” She drew in a shaky breath.

      “I’ll need a list of the places where you stopped to talk to people,” Levi said. “And the names of anyone back in Vegas who might be angry with you. Disgruntled clients. People who are upset because you successfully defended someone who they thought should have been convicted. Jealous colleagues, bitter exes—whatever you can think of. It’s all worth looking into. And if you can think of anyone who physically reminds you of the man who attacked you, add that name to the list, too. We’ll check them all out.”

      Levi could almost physically feel how desperately this family wanted answers. Right now, though, he couldn’t give them any.

      Sam cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. Levi could see the frustration in the older man’s eyes, along with the fear that had likely triggered the dressing-down he’d been giving his granddaughter when Levi first arrived.

      “Are you familiar with what happened to Vanessa’s father?” Sam asked. “You would have been a kid at the time it happened, but you still might remember. It was all over the news.”

      “I did grow up here, sir. I remember very well when it happened and I’m sorry for your loss. I want you to know I’ll definitely be investigating that angle, but I can’t assume what happened on the mesa last night is related to your son’s murder. I need to keep an open mind and collect as much information as I can.”

      “Along with the other places I mentioned, I also stopped by the O’Connell ranch, where my dad was employed when he was murdered,” Vanessa added. She glanced at her grandpa. “Mr. O’Connell wasn’t there. Neither was his son, Trent. I talked to a couple of ranch hands, but neither of them were employed at the ranch back when the murder happened.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “It’s hard to believe that my asking simple questions after all this time would get somebody upset enough to attack me. Nobody had anything useful to tell me. Maybe it really is related to something back in Las Vegas. Or something I accidentally stumbled across.”

      “Why are you asking people about your dad now?” Levi asked. When he’d asked her last night about the timing of her investigation, her answer had been vague. Now he wanted specifics. “This can’t be the only time you’ve come back to town to visit since you moved away.”

      “I’ve thought about coming home, asking questions and trying to stir up interest in my dad’s murder case before, but I never had the nerve to do it. Not that I ever thought anyone would attack me,” she quickly added. “I suppose I was afraid I’d learn something about my dad I didn’t really want to know. Or that I’d hear some new detail about how he died or what his body was like when he was found that would give me nightmares.”

      Levi felt a sympathetic twinge in the pit of his stomach. He could imagine the horrible nightmares she’d had about her father’s murder over the years. The terrible things she’d imagined when a dark mood settled over her. He’d experienced all of those things and more due to his combat experience. He knew the raw feeling a person was left with in the aftermath.

      “So why did you decide to go through with it now?” he asked.

      “My grandmother passed away recently. And that reminded me that I’m running out of time to find someone who might know what happened. At some point, any potential witnesses will pass on, too, and I’ll never be able to get an answer to the question of who murdered my father.”

      “It’s not your job to find the killer,” Sam said, focusing his gaze on his granddaughter.

      Vanessa reached for her coffee mug and took a sip. “It’s not anyone’s job, anymore—no one’s looked into it in years. If I don’t find answers, who will? I do some investigative work for my job, but I’m not a professional investigator,” she said to Levi. “But I thought maybe I could get some small piece of information, something that changes the timeline of events or brings somebody’s alibi into question, and I’d pass that along to the police. Anything to make my dad’s cold case active again.”

      “Are you telling me you haven’t gotten that little bit of information you’re looking for yet?”

      She opened her mouth as if to answer, then closed it and looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’d forgotten about this until just now, but about midday yesterday I stopped to get something for lunch and my phone rang. I answered it, but whoever it was hung up. I remember the number was the local area code and prefix but I didn’t have a name associated with it in my contact list. I called back, hoping it was someone I’d talked to earlier who wanted to speak to me in private, but no one answered. I suppose it could have just been a misdialed number. But maybe not.”

      Levi took out his phone and tapped the screen a couple of times. “What’s your phone number?”

      She told him and he entered it into his phone. “Obviously we don’t have your phone,” he said. “But that incoming call should be listed in your phone records. I’ll check with the phone company and see what we can find out about whoever called you.”

      “All right.” She nodded her agreement. Her shoulders slumped forward.

      Levi could tell her energy was running low. And with good reason. She’d been through a lot last night, and probably hadn’t slept well.

      He pulled a business card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to her. “Here’s my contact information. Email me a list of all the potential suspects you can think of from Vegas, as well as the names of the businesses where you stopped to talk to people up on the mesa. I’d like that by this afternoon.” He really wanted that information right now, but if he put too much pressure on her, he was afraid she might СКАЧАТЬ