Page 120 of Capture My Heart

“She could be covering for him?” Jim said.

“Could be, but I don’t think she is involved. I found that she and their daughters were at a concert that night. Chances of her actually talking to him while they were at a rock concert is slim. The call lasted three minutes. The exact time of the average voicemail before it cuts off. Coincidence? I doubt it. I have a request for a warrant to check Mrs. Peterson’s phone.”

“Get it soon. And the money?”

Trey handed off to CJ. “Peterson’s financials are clean. But you knew that.”

“He didn’t do it for the money?” Chief asked.

“He most certainly did, just not for him. While no one in the Peterson household received a large amount of money, the fundraiser set up for his daughter did.” CJ handed it back to Trey.

“Once I suspected Peterson could have been the man from the bar, I tracked the donations. A week before Finden’s death, an anonymous donation in the amount of $25,000 was made to the Go Fund Me account for Hailey Peterson’s new cancer treatment. A week after, another $25,000 appeared. The same was true for weeks before and after August West’s death.”

“He literally killed for his daughter.” Amy shook her head. And he would be seeing her grow up through bars.

“As a parent, I understand wanting to do anything for my child. But Bob not only broke the law, he killed two people.” The Chief took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Sir, don’t forget Stephen Gardiner.” Amy wanted to ring Bob’s neck for all the roadblocks he put up as she worked to find the truth about her father’s death and her brother’s arrest. Giving him a good pummeling would make her feel better.

Heat filled her face. She clenched her fists. She wanted to say even though he killed people. The warden wasn’t innocent, neither was West—Gus took money to kill her father. Bob was a friend and colleague, a devoted father struggling with his child’s mortality, and she shouldn’t want to see him do more jail time than necessary. But that was bullshit.

He tried to kill her. Period.

“Sir, I want to say take it easy on him. He was one of us, but he wasn’t.” She rubbed the ache in her arm. Her doubts solidified somewhere around the time he pulled a gun on her.

She stood up. She needed air. Space. The room was hot. Her vision blurred. She turned to Trey. He was saying something to her.

Amy shook her head. Big mistake. The room swirled and her knees buckled. The floor came up fast. She collapsed.

Chapter 25

The beep of the monitors grated on Amy’s nerves. “I’ve spent way too much time in this place.”

The nurse patted her arm and smiled.

Trey was back, lounging in the one guest chair. He’d stepped out while they prepped her. Poked and prodded more like it. They just about stuck a rod up her ass. They might as well, they’d done everything else.

Now, he was slouched back in the chair that was way too small for him, reading on his phone, or fake reading. She felt his gaze on her more than a few times.

″You do ask for it sometimes.” Pauline leaned against the door.

Trey stiffened. “Why are you here?”

Amy had the same question, but the look on Paulie’s face gave her the answer. Sorrow and regret. Grief.

″I’m sorry about Stephen.” Amy offered.

Her lip hitched up. “No, you aren’t. But thank you.”

Trey’s hand slid to Amy’s and squeezed. “You good?”

″Yes.” She pulled him down and whispered in his ear. “I could use a real pop, not this sugar free, caffeine free stuff they are calling soft drinks.”

He nodded. His gaze scanned Paulie on the way out, checking for weapons no doubt.

The nurse finished adjusting some tubes. “Okay girlie, try not to pull them out this time.”

Heat flooded Amy’s cheeks. “No promises but I’ll try.”