Delores Fossen - Reining in Justice

“You might want to rethink that. All of this could be dangerous,” Addison said. Not exactly firing the man, but the warning was definitely warranted.

“Yeah, I’m gettin’ that. Kidnapping attempts, your place burned down and it all seems to lead back to either you...” He motioned toward Dominic before putting his thumb against his own chest. “Me. Or Dearborn. My money’s on the agency.”

Addison shook her head. “But who in the agency? The only person I dealt with there was the office manager, Donna Cannon.”

“She’s gone,” Rooney explained. “She quit about a month ago, and they’ve been using a temp ever since.”

Well, that explained why Cooper wasn’t getting a lot of answers. “Who do you think is behind Dearborn?” Reed asked.

“Gunther Quarles,” Rooney said without hesitation.

Dominic looked at the P.I. as if he’d gone mad. “Quarles is a judge.”

Reed knew the name. Not just a judge but a rich, respected one. In addition to his being a judge, Quarles’s family had a charity foundation for underprivileged kids.

“I know exactly what he is,” Rooney said. “But I don’t like the way his name keeps popping up in my investigation. He signed at least five of the recent adoption decrees from Dearborn.”

Now it was Reed’s turn to shrug. “I’d imagine he’s signed dozens of decrees like that. It’s his job.”

“I thought that at first, too, but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find at least three of the birth mothers were teenagers and had spent some time in facilities run by Quarles’s foundation.”

“That doesn’t mean anything, either,” Dominic insisted. The attorney had never looked comfortable with this interview, but his discomfort went up a significant notch. He fingered his collar and then moved those fidgety fingers to the back of his neck. “It’s not a good idea to antagonize a man like Quarles.”

The lawyer checked the time on his phone. “I have another appointment.” Dominic spared Addison a glance. “I’ll be in touch.”

Reed moved in front of Dominic when he reached for the door. “Sorry, but I’ll need both you and Rooney to stay and give statements. We need to find out everything you know about this investigation.”

Dominic huffed. “But I’ve already told you everything.”

“Then you won’t mind writing it down.” Reed didn’t give either of them a chance to refuse, either. He pointed toward the two interview rooms just up the hall. “Rooney on the right. Dominic, you can take the left one.”

Rooney headed in the direction he’d been instructed, clearly cooperating. About this anyway. But Reed had been a deputy long enough to know that sometimes the most cooperative suspects were the guiltiest. Rooney could be here to manipulate the investigation or at least try to figure out what Reed knew.

Which wasn’t much.

Reed would have to do something fast about his lack of information, but first on his agenda was finding that safe house for Addison and the baby.

Pete and Cooper followed the P.I. and the lawyer into the rooms. Maybe they’d be able to get more out of them while they wrote up their statements.

“I’m really sorry about this,” Addison whispered the moment that Dominic and Rooney were out of earshot.

He was still riled about her going through with the surrogacy without telling him, but Reed figured Addison had more than enough to deal with right now. He managed a nod, brushed his hand on her arm and reached for his phone so he could start making those safe-house arrangements.

However, the phone rang, and when Reed saw Colt’s name on the screen, he answered right away and put the call on speaker so Addison could hear.

“The firemen finally put out the fire,” Colt said immediately. But his hesitation after that had Reed groaning.

“What’s wrong now?” Addison asked.

“The kidnappers weren’t lying. They left something in the house.” Again, Colt hesitated. “It’s a body.”

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