Page 59 of No Going Back
Over lunch, they learned more about Joe and Lia’s background and how they’d met at Midnight Lake.
Joe squeezed Lia’s hand. “My sister Tansy and I inherited the Midnight Lake property and lodge from our grandfather Koko. We hadn’t decided what to do with the property when Tansy had a situation with an asshole of an ex. She moved here and took the whole place off the grid by herself in the middle of winter with a two-mile hike in.”
The more they talked, the more Branna’s confidence grew that she and Sean had landed in the right place.
When they were alone again, Sean pulled her into a gentle hug. “Should you rest again? How are you feeling?”
“I’m good.” But she stayed where she was, wrapped in Sean’s arms. “Do you know what happened with Prince and the other men?”
His hands cruised up and down her back. “I don’t know much. They took the four of them into custody last night. Marcus asked me to call him when we were ready to talk with him.”
Translation, when she wasn’t going to fall apart.
“Okay. Let’s do that now.”
“Are you sure?”
She sighed. “I’d love to avoid it forever, but we know that’s not an option. I want to know what happened and make sure Hawley stays in jail. Getting it done sooner is probably better.”
He leaned back and studied her face. “Okay. But when you get tired, we’ll put it off for another time.”
Which wouldn’t happen. Branna knew Sean’s friend had put off asking for their statements last night, but the sooner they did it, the sooner they could put it all behind them.
CHAPTER 20
Circle Back
Sean was relieved when Marcus offered to come out to the farmhouse to take their statements. He didn’t want Branna dealing with the drive. Nor did he want her anywhere near Hawley. The police station in town was apparently a single room in the back of Phail General. Hawley would be rotting in the cell in that room. No way did he want Branna to have to see him again. Staying away would also ensure that Sean didn’t lose control around the asshole.
Marcus arrived at the farmhouse along with Shanice Williams. The FBI agent’s eyes lit up at the sight of Jabba. He trotted over to the woman and sat on his haunches with his tongue lolling out.
The agent squatted and offered her hand. Instead of sniffing it, the dog licked her. Laughing, Shanice looked up at Branna and Sean while she patted Jabba. “Hello. I hope you’re feeling better, Branna. I’m so very sorry we didn’t get to Phail in time to prevent this from happening.”
With a final rub of the dog, she stood and crossed to shake first Branna’s hand and then his.
Sean gestured to the kitchen, which had become their planning and debriefing space. He hoped someday it would simply be a kitchen.
Marcus and Shanice both took out notebooks, and Shanice asked their permission to record the interview. When Branna spoke about Hawley attacking through the window, he put his arm around her, and she leaned into him.
She sighed. “It didn’t make any sense for Prince to attack that way. If he was smart, he would have watched for a pattern and tried to find me when I was alone. Did he say why he attacked the way he did?”
Marcus shrugged. “He hasn’t said much other than cursing you and saying you’ve ruined his life. The other three are much more talkative.”
Shanice nodded. “We’ve had them all separated, and the three other men all tell similar stories. Hawley has become more and more unstable since the fire back in Miami. There have been several physical altercations between Hawley and other members of his gang. The men were furious with Hawley for killing the man in your pub. The Miami police have confirmed finding his remains in the ashes by the way. After that day, the gang began losing members rapidly, and Hawley became more and more paranoid.”
Marcus continued. “The three men with him are cousins who felt compelled to stick with him, but they were trying to talk him out of his obsession.”
Sean ran his hand up and down Branna’s arm. “Sounds like he was using some serious drugs.”
Marcus nodded. “We ran a standard drug test on them all. The other three were clean, but Hawley had a complicated mix of several hard drugs in his system.”
Shanice took up the story. “The three men tried to talk him into watching the diner and waiting for a good opportunity to talk to Branna. They all claim they were trying to get him to change his plan. They wanted to get him to talk you into changing your story. But he wouldn’t listen to them.”
Which meant he’d wanted to kill Branna. And only pure damn luck had kept her safe.
Sean’s hand gripped Branna’s good shoulder, and he forced himself to ease up. She blew out a slow breath. “Wow. That’s bizarre, and I can’t decide if it makes the whole thing better or even scarier.”
Shanice nodded. “Adding drugs to an already unpredictable and volatile personality is never good. I’m glad he’s been caught, and his gang has fallen apart. You and the area around your home in Miami should be much safer now.”