She was everything to him. He protected her, and he’d continue to do that—giving up his life if necessary. That’s how much she meant to him. He never told her any of that. It wouldn’t do any good. Stella was a pragmatist. She didn’t let sentiment get in the way of business. She kept a level head at all times. Which was one of the many reasons she was as good a businesswoman as she was.
Chuck got out of his truck and walked to the door. He used a device and unlocked it. He quickly stepped inside and took a look at all the pictures on the wall. Chuck slowly moved around the room, inspecting each photo with a critical eye. Marlee was good, he’d give her that. She had zeroed in on the adoption agency in Dallas. Frankly, he was surprised that she hadn’t accumulated enough evidence to take them down, but now, he was glad.
If Penny had pushed Marlee in their direction, then the minute Penny and her business were shut down, she’d spill everything. There wouldn’t be anyone in their line of work that wouldn’t be named. Penny was the kind who looked out for herself.
It was a damn good thing Stella had sent Martin to Dallas to dispatch Penny. Chuck hadn’t even considered the fact that Stella might be wrong about Penny because Stella was rarely wrong. And if she was, she wouldn’t have Penny killed.
That was the one downfall with Stella. She didn’t like to take a life unless she had no other option. Chuck had often told her to take out a person, but she always had a reason not to. So far, nothing had come back on Stella for those decisions, but someone had sent Marlee Frampton straight to their area.
When Chuck finished his circuit of the room, he realized that Marlee had nothing on Stella or any of them. There was a small victory in that, but how long could it last? Sooner or later, Marlee would have to be killed. Stella had to know that. But Chuck was willing to wait until the heat died down, and it wouldn’t blow back on them.
He took one last look around the room before he walked out and got into his truck to drive to Stella’s.
Chapter 31
“I just don’t know,” Danny said with a shake of his head.
Cooper sat at the other end of the table in the dining room, holding his mug that only had a shot of bourbon in it this time. His gaze swung to Marlee, who made a face as she shrugged.
“Exactly,” Marlee said. “There’s no definitive answer on this woman.”
“And you really can’t find her real name?” Abby asked.
Danny removed his hat to scratch his scalp before he returned the Stetson to his head. “I’ve done several searches and nothing. So has Ryan.”
“There’s one other avenue we haven’t tried,” Marlee said.
Jace laced his fingers behind his head. “We’re all ears.”
“I have a friend in the FBI. We got to know each other when she worked my sister’s case. I’ve called Stephanie a few times when I’ve been in a bind. She’s also given me intel on occasion,” Marlee explained.
Caleb frowned and said, “Why haven’t you already made the call?”
“Because you don’t use contacts like that unless you have no other recourse,” Cooper said.
Marlee smiled at him from down the table.
“Cooper’s right,” Clayton said. “However, if we want an answer, then Marlee has to make the call.”
Brice leaned a shoulder against the wall of the dining room. “Out of all those names we checked, there wasn’t one that gave us pause?”
“Not a one,” Caleb answered.
Danny sat back in the chair and looked around the table. “Maybe we should look at those who moved three years ago. Or longer.”
“For all we know, these people could be staying in a house that belongs to someone else,” Clayton said with a shrug. “Hell, they may not even pay any of the bills themselves, which—”
“Means there’s no record of them,” Danny said over him. “Damn.”
The little optimism that had been there at the start of the day was fast dwindling. Cooper saw it, but he wasn’t sure how to change it.
“We’re missing something,” Marlee said. “I can feel it.”
Caleb twisted his lips. “I can’t imagine what it is but point us in the right direction. We’ll find it.”
“I agree with Marlee,” Jace said as he rose and got himself another slice of cherry pie. “I may not have the evidence Marlee does, but there’s no denying these bastards are here. In our town.” He turned back to the group with the pie in hand. “I don’t want them here.”
Brice rolled his eyes. “None of us do. But we have nothing to go on now.”
Cooper’s mind was working, trying to solve the problem while the others talked, and he kept going back to their location that night. He’d thought it was a good location. Even now, he still knew it would be where he’d hide out.
His gaze snapped to Marlee to find her already looking at him. “We were in the right place.”
“I think so,” she said with a nod.
Danny frowned as he leaned his forearms on the table. “You mean tonight?”
“Not that particular house, but the area,” Cooper said.
Caleb pinched off a piece of the pie crust from Jace’s plate before Jace turned away so Caleb couldn’t reach more. “It is very secluded in that area. Lots of acres between homes.”
“And we didn’t look at half of them,” Marlee declared.
Cooper rubbed a hand over his mouth. “There are a lot of homes back there.”
“It used to be one huge ranch back in the eighteen hundreds, but the surviving children of the owners sold it off in sections in the fifties. Some as small as ten-acre plots, but others as large as seventy and eighty,” Clayton told them.
Brice scratched his temple before he dropped his arms and pushed away from the wall. “We can’t go to every house and talk to them.”
“Why not?” Caleb asked.
Cooper nodded. “We’d need a damn good reason, but we could.”
“People open the door for kids selling candy,” Jace said.
Abby laughed from the doorway of the kitchen. “Pretty sure that’s only you. The Girl Scouts in the area go to your house first to sell cookies. That should tell you something.”
Jace swallowed the last of the pie and shrugged. “I like cookies.”
“You like everything,” Brice told him with a grin.
Cooper sat forward and looked between Marlee and Danny. “What would need to happen for us to go to the houses?”
“You don’t need my permission to do anything,” Danny told him. “It isn’t against the law to knock on someone’s door. Now, what you do after that, or what you find, well, that’s when it gets tricky.”
Marlee met Danny’s gaze. “Unless we don’t do anything. Just like today, it was collecting intel. This will be, as well.”
“I can’t do it in the morning,” Caleb said. “I’ve got to finish with the mare Doug gave me to train. He’s coming tomorrow to pick her up.”
Marlee smiled at him. “Thank you for the help today. Thank you to everyone. I’m used to doing things alone, but someone”—she paused and looked at Cooper—“told me I need to hire people. After today, I’m definitely going to do that. That being said, please don’t feel like you have to help me. I appreciate anything you can do, but I don’t expect anyone to work like I do.”