Well, she had enough money to buy the best lawyer.
Chapter Eleven
Reese stared out the window, processing everything they’d learned while he waited for Brantley to advise where they would be stopping for lunch.
After leaving the Jacobs residence, they’d gone over to have a chat with Brian Wright’s wife, but no one answered the door, and there hadn’t been any signs of life at the house. At that point, Brantley suggested they go back to Cedric Hawkins’s neighborhood and chat up the neighbors. Unfortunately, they weren’t all that chatty, a couple of them even refusing to talk at all. Reese didn’t think it was because they were hiding anything, more like they didn’t want to get involved in anything that didn’t exist in their own orbit.
“What are my options for food?” Brantley asked as he steered them out of the neighborhood.
Reese rattled off the list he’d pulled up of nearby places.
“Mexican food,” Brantley said quickly.
Reese smiled to himself. The man was a bit predictable when it came to food.
“Be sure to text Trey and Charlie, tell ’em where we’re goin’. I told ’em we’d meet up when we were done.”
Reese typed a message to both of them, hit send. When he was done, he tucked his phone away and stared out the window, once again recalling how nonchalant both Annie Hawkins and Mallory Jacobs had been about their husbands’ deaths.
“Did it sound to you like Mrs. Jacobs was rehearsin’ lines she’d forgotten to memorize?”
Brantley laughed. “She did sound guilty, huh?”
“If not guilty, she definitely knows somethin’. And I wouldn’t say she’s all too worried that her husband’s dead.”
“You think?” Brantley snorted. “She couldn’t seem to get rid of that shit fast enough.”
No, she didn’t seem to have a problem tossing it out, Reese had noticed.
In fact, neither wife they’d spoken to had been all that concerned with their husband, and it took effort to keep his inner conspiracy theorist down. Had they participated somehow in their deaths? Or had their relationships simply been unfulfilling, and this was more of a relief? Perhaps just a happy accident, one that happened to benefit them in the long run. He could see it going either way, honestly. While money provided a lavish lifestyle, it didn’t always equate to happy.
And while it looked as though they were guilty, Reese was doing his best not to jump to conclusions. He didn’t want to taint their search for Cedric Hawkins by going down this rabbit hole, so he stuck to what he knew.
“You think the wives were threatened, too?” he asked, looking at it from a different angle. “Maybe they weren’t brought in the loop about the real estate deal beforehand. I couldn’t imagine their friends were too happy with that revelation.”
“It’s possible.” Brantley pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot. “I guess that could explain their relief.”
“Yeah. They don’t seem like the type of women who’d do well under scrutiny from others.” Especially Mallory Jacobs. She didn’t appear to have as thick of skin as Annie Hawkins and her diamonds.
When Brantley parked, Reese got out, took Tesha’s leash in hand, then followed Brantley into the restaurant. His mind continued to churn through all the information they’d gotten, the women, the lawyer, what JJ had uncovered about the men’s deaths, what Trey had confirmed after his visit to the ME, and Charlie’s revelation about the country club. It was a lot to process at one time, and he was still hung up on how tight-lipped Annie Hawkins had been considering her husband was missing.
“Law enforcement animal,” Brantley informed the hostess when she looked at Tesha sideways.
Once they were seated, Brantley ordered iced tea for both of them, then dug into the chips while Reese continued to mull over what they’d learned while they waited for the others. He wanted Trey and Charlie to be there so they could bounce the information off them, get their first impressions. Plus, he was hoping to see Evan and Slade in action, where their thoughts were on what they’d learned so far.
“What about Wright’s wife?” Brantley asked. “She wasn’t home, but has anyone been able to locate her?”
“According to JJ, Detective Mathis said he’s still trying to get in touch with her, too. He has notes from a brief conversation with her but wanted to talk more in depth.”
Brantley crunched a chip. “Have we traced her phone?”
“Yes. JJ said it’s turned off.” Which Reese thought sounded a bit suspect, but it could be she didn’t like to be disturbed, and with her husband’s death, she was likely dealing with an overwhelming amount of family and friends concerned for her.
“What’s the word on her?”
Reese shrugged. “JJ doesn’t have much yet, but that’s where she’s now focused.”
Brantley looked up, smiled at someone over Reese’s head, so he looked back, saw Trey and Evan weaving their way through the scattering of tables. The place was filling up with the lunch rush.
“We haven’t ordered yet,” Brantley informed them, shoving the menus in their direction.
“I think I’ll pass,” Trey said.
Reese looked at him, noticed he was a tad green.
Evan smiled down at his menu. “Morgue.”
“Enough said.” Brantley chuckled. “First time to see a dead body?”
Trey didn’t respond, but the glare he shot his brother was hot enough to make sparks.
“I told him it doesn’t get easier.”
No, it didn’t. Reese had firsthand experience from his time in the Air Force. It hadn’t been a common occurrence for him, thank God, but there’d been a few instances he would prefer to never relive.
“Make room,” Brantley commanded. “We’ve got two more.”
Reese looked up, saw Charlie and Slade strolling through the restaurant, speaking as they walked.
“Glad y’all could make it,” Brantley greeted, motioning for them to take a seat.
They took a few minutes to peruse the menu, snacking on chips and salsa. When the friendly waitress stopped by, they managed to rattle off what they wanted while she scribbled it down on a pad. She promised to bring drinks and more chips, then rushed off to another table.
“All right, what’s the lowdown?” Evan asked, surprising Reese with how easily he jumped into things.
“I’ll go first,” Brantley said, then gave a very colorful overview of his thoughts on Annie Hawkins.
“I saw their financials,” Charlie said, nodding toward her phone. “JJ sent them over a short while ago.”
“Not hurtin’?”
“Generations won’t be hurting,” she confirmed. “For any of them.”
Reese didn’t mention the diamonds, although he figured those things might just suck up a good chunk of that money if the woman didn’t chill.
“The business?” Brantley inquired.
“The investment group is doing well,” Charlie confirmed. “In the black. This recent purchase is predicted to make them quite a chunk of change based on their reported analysis.”