Linc leaned back in his chair, took a long drink of whiskey. Josh figured he was doing his best not to interfere.
“You hear from Taggart, you’ll let me know,” Linc said.
Josh nodded, took a drink, savored the taste of the expensive liquor. “There’s one more thing.”
Linc cocked an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“Tory’s ex-boyfriend hacked my identity. Created total havoc.”
Linc’s mouth tightened. “Send me a list of all your account numbers and I’ll have Glen Barker, our CPA, get with Beau’s computer whiz, Rob Michaels, see if they can pull things back together.”
“Thanks, but it’s already handled. I would have been up a creek without a paddle if it hadn’t been for Tory. She was amazing. She cleaned up the mess, but—”
“But you need to figure a way to stop this guy.”
“Yeah. Tory shouldn’t have to live this way.”
“And neither should you.”
Josh just grunted. “Let me know if you come up with something. Aside from heading for Phoenix and pounding him into the sand, I’m drawing a blank.”
A calculating look came into Linc’s dark eyes. “He’s a businessman, right? Real estate? I know people in Phoenix. Maybe it’s time for Damon’s company to feel the pinch.”
“It’s his dad’s company, unfortunately.”
“Might be even better.” Linc swirled the whiskey in his glass, shot the last of it back. “Let me give it some thought.”
Both men rose from their chairs. It was time to rejoin the women. The anticipation that moved through him wasn’t a welcome feeling. He was in real trouble with Tory.
And he didn’t see an end to it anytime soon.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Aside from everyone being on alert, life on the ranch went on as usual. The June weather was growing hotter, more humid, the sky overcast one day, the sun broiling down the next.
Worried about Ivy, they decided to leave her with Mrs. Thompson during the day, at least till things settled down. The older woman loved having her and it gave Tory time for her riding lessons and working with Star.
They still needed photos to finish the webpage, but Josh’s old camera wasn’t really up to the task, and now was not the best time to be out on the ranch. Since she’d done plenty of photography in the advertising business, Tory figured taking the photos herself would save money, and it would be fun.
Josh planned to buy whatever gear they needed, but for now, they were staying close to the house, concentrating their efforts on the stallion.
Star seemed to be growing more and more docile every day. As long as Josh was with Tory, the horse remained placid, even seemed affectionate. The stallion was in a separate pasture from the rest of the horses, but the animals stood together at the fence and they didn’t seem to bother him.
Josh wasn’t planning to use Star for breeding until he was sure it was safe, but Tory had every hope the stallion would be able to live a normal, productive life.
The afternoon slipped away. “I’ll see you at supper,” Josh said, striding off to the barn. Cole and Noah had gone off on the ATVs, out checking on the rest of the horses and the few head of Black Angus cattle Josh was raising. Tory knew they were also keeping an eye out for any sign of trouble.
She had just walked into the kitchen to start supper when she looked through the window above the sink and spotted a dark brown four-door Chevy Impala heading down the road toward the house.
The car pulled up, a rental with an Enterprise license plate on the front. The driver opened the door and stepped out and she recognized Detective Jeremy Larson, Phoenix PD.
Nerves sent her pulse up a notch. Removing her apron, she hurried through the living room and opened the front door to see the tall, lanky detective walking up on Josh’s porch.
“Detective Larson. What a surprise. Please . . . come on in.”
The detective ran a hand through his curly brown hair and stepped into the living room. Behind him, she saw Josh coming out of the barn, striding in their direction.
“I just got off a flight from Phoenix,” Detective Larson said. “Drove from DFW straight out here. I’m hoping you can help me.”
“Of course.”
The door opened again and Josh walked into the house. “Detective Larson. What’s going on?”
“I was just telling Ms. Bradford—”
“Tory, please,” she said.
“I was saying that I just arrived from Phoenix, drove straight out from the airport. I’m hoping Tory can help me.”
“That’s a long way to travel,” she said. “Why don’t we sit down at the table and I’ll get us something cold to drink.”
“Sounds good.” Larson and Josh both followed Tory into the kitchen.
“I’ll get it,” Josh said.
Walking over to the fridge, he brought out the pitcher of lemonade Tory always kept there, filled three glasses with ice, and poured them full. He carried the glasses over and set them down on the table. Larson sat down and Josh took a seat next to Tory.
“What can I do for you, Detective?” Tory asked.
He took a sip of his drink, set the glass back down. “There’s no good way to say this, so I’ll just begin. Two weeks ago, a Phoenix woman went missing. Disappeared from a bar in Carefree after her shift one night. Two days ago, her body was found in the desert.”
Josh shifted in his chair. Tory caught a flicker of something in his eyes that put her on alert. “You knew about this?” she asked.
“Ham called when she went missing. He thought I’d want to know.”
“Brown’s been calling me for updates,” the detective said. “He’s working for you?”
Josh nodded. “After what happened to Lisa Shane, I asked him to keep me updated on the investigation. He called, told me about the girl. I was hoping she took off with her boyfriend. I didn’t know you’d recovered her body.”
“Information hasn’t been released pending notification of next of kin.”
Tory zeroed in on Josh. “You should have told me when it happened. Why didn’t you?”
“Like I said, I was hoping the girl had just left town.”
Larson’s gaze remained on Josh. “Or maybe you didn’t want to worry her.”
Josh looked away.
The detective turned back to Tory. “The thing is, there are similarities between the Shane abduction and what happened to the waitress, Patty Daniels. The coroner puts the time of death about a week after Ms. Daniels went missing. The ligature marks on her wrists and ankles indicate she was restrained during the time she was missing. Before she was killed, she was violently beaten and raped.”
Tory thought of Lisa and swallowed against a wave of nausea.
“What was the cause of death?” Josh asked.
“Strangulation.”
Josh’s hand tightened around his frosted glass. “Bastard wanted to enjoy it.”
“That’s right,” the detective said. “I’ve seen this kind of behavior in certain types of killers.”
“What type?” Josh asked.
Larson flicked a glance at Tory, but spoke to Josh. “Serials. Men who are sexually aroused by torturing their victims before they kill them.”
Tory trembled. Could Damon be a serial killer? It didn’t seem possible. But she had read about killers, men like Ted Bundy who seemed to live completely normal lives.
She took a breath for courage. “Why are you here, Detective Larson? What do you want from me?”
“I want you to tell me about Damon Bridger. So far Lisa Shane hasn’t remembered anything about the attack on her. The doctors think there’s a good chance she never will.”
Tory had spoken to her friend several times since she had moved from Phoenix. Lisa sounded upbeat, glad to be back in Cooperstown, grateful for the chance to rebuild her relationship with her parents.
She’d been a wild teen, her parents overly strict and determined she marry a man they approved. Now they were getting to know the responsible, successful career woman their daughter had become.
In a way, it was good Lisa didn’t remember what had happened during those terrible days in captivity somewhere in the mountains.