Finding Tessa by Jaime Hendricks (best ereader for comics .TXT) 📗

coffee on the route in the off chance that someone recognized him from his picture online, his mug shot, and then the pitchforks would come out.

Plus, with what he was paying Robert, they should offer him coffee on arrival at the very least. Thank god for credit cards. If the truth wasn’t cleared up soon, Jace feared he would have to take out a second mortgage. Which he wouldn’t get. Being an industry professional, he knew he didn’t have equity in the house to pull money out. Even worse, he had no strings to pull. Was his own bank going to help him? Trey? No way. Trey fired him. Well, Trey was going to have to answer if Jace’s freedom was on the line.

Robert did say earlier that he thought the charges could be dropped for Rosita’s murder. They had nothing except that she was shot with the same caliber gun as the one they took from Jace’s house. There was no proof he’d done anything to Tessa, and the extra DNA was still being analyzed. And the VLPD, that Solomon prick, made his point with Jace’s arrest—his intention was to make Jace look like a homicidal maniac in case they couldn’t find Jane Doe’s killer. Or if Tessa turned up somewhere—no, Jace wouldn’t think about that. Tessa was fine. He was going to find her.

Well done, Solomon, you asshole.

It took Jace about forty minutes to get to Robert’s office, in a town that had a little bit more of a city feel than Valley Lake’s Main Street. Robert’s building was sleek, with a mirrored outside that reflected the bridge connecting the city in the background. Thankfully, the parking was underground. He took the ticket from the machine, happy there was no attendant who would possibly say “Hey, you look familiar, aren’t you—” before stopping and shielding themselves from the vicious murderer they’d just come face-to-face with in a parking garage.

He parked far away from the elevator, on purpose, not wanting to run into anyone. He approached the seventh floor where Robert’s firm was situated and felt the apprehension as soon as he opened the glass doors. Prying eyes from behind the receptionist’s desk cut through him like a saber.

“Hi. I’m here for Robert Brown. Jace—”

“Yes, Jace Montgomery.”

Her hair was red and cut into a short, straight bob just above her shoulders, and she wore thick black-framed glasses. Her lips were outlined a dark red to match her hair, and they didn’t move from their straight line. No matter how many criminals she dealt with daily, Jace was sure this was her first double homicide in suburbia. Guilty killer!

She got up and walked around the desk and curled her finger, indicating he should follow her, so he did. She led him to Robert’s office at the end of the hallway, behind another set of glass doors. Jace could see it was a huge corner office with a great view of the bridge and the water, but what concerned him was Robert’s frantic stance. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, his usually sleek hair was out of place, and voice was raised at whoever he was talking to on the phone. His head snapped to their direction and he waved Jace in.

Jace turned around. “Thank—” Nope, no need for thank you, redhead was already gone. Guilty killer!

Robert pointed to the empty seat in front of his desk. His face flushed with frustration.

“I don’t care!” He slammed the phone down and blew out a puff of air. “We have a problem, Jace. Rosita’s body was missing an earring on her left lobe. A big emerald earring. And they just found it in your house. Your bedroom, to be specific.”

What the— “Wait. What? Who? Who’s in my house?”

“I got a courtesy call from the DA about executing another search warrant. Your phone is still busted so I couldn’t get in touch with you and I knew you were on your way already. There was another anonymous tip, someone claiming to know about your affair with her, just like someone who said they saw you go to her house the night she was murdered.”

One hundred percent impossible. Who was framing him? “This is insane, Robert. How are they allowed in my house?”

“I sent Evan over to let them in—you said he could be the point of contact. He’s overseeing the whole thing.”

Jace was panic-stricken. How were Rosita’s belongings in his house? She was only there once, for his promotion party. And he’d seen her in those earrings after that. She always had those things on.

“Well, you were already arrested for her murder, but this is going to make the charges impossible to drop. Impossible!” He slams both hands down on his desk. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. I mean, the anonymous tips are all hearsay. But still. This isn’t good. They might revoke your bail.”

He was going to die in jail. For something he didn’t do.

Time for the big guns.

“Look, I’m not accusing him of being a murderer, but I’ll bet my last dollar I know who the father of that baby was. I wonder if—”

Like an angel on his shoulder knowing Jace was innocent, Robert’s phone rang, and he lifted a finger to stop Jace’s rant before he answered the phone.

“Robert Brown,” he answered as he picked up the phone. “Oh, your timing couldn’t be better. What did you find out?” Robert wrote something down on a notepad. “Got it. I have Jace Montgomery here right now. I’ll find out.” He slammed the phone down. “That was my guy who was getting information about the rent-a-car. Do you know anyone named Maribel Lopez?”

35

TESSA

When I pull the door back and my eyes adjust, I think they must be betraying me. I’m beyond stunned at the woman standing in front of me. She’s tiny and afraid, dressed in all black, with her blond hair tucked inside a baseball cap.

“Maribel?” My voice catches in my throat, full