Hot SEAL, April's Fool Becca Jameson (philippa perry book txt) 📖

April leaned over and kissed her mom on the cheek. “I love you too, Mom. Thank you so much.”

“You want me to wait?”

“No. Go on home. Someone will bring me to get my car later. I feel like this is going to take a while. And I’m not leaving here without Cole.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

April jumped out of the car, slammed the door, and ran into the police station. She had no idea what she was about to face, but she knew Cole was in here being questioned for something he most certainly didn’t do, and she would be facing similar questioning. All she wanted to do was hold Cole in her arms, look him in the eye, and tell him how much she loved him.

It was loud in the police station, and everyone was hurrying around. No one was available to help April, but she spotted Rodney in the crowded room and made her way toward him.

The moment he saw her, he rushed to close the distance and grabbed her arm, leading her away from the chaos and down a short hallway until they came to an open door. He stepped inside, drawing her with him, and shut the door. “Jesus, it’s loud out there,” he mumbled as he pointed to a chair next to a small table.

April took a seat and he took the other chair. “Is this an interrogation room?”

“Yes. I need to ask you a few questions, but it’s also the only place where it’s quiet right now.”

“What happened?”

He sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “Piecing things together, I’d say that Mayor Chamberlain had an arrangement under the table with Chief Clarkson. He was probably buying the protection of the police force, which I suspected all along. I’m betting he stopped paying. It would stand to reason he was running out of funds because he kept loaning money to people like Cole’s father and hadn’t collected yet.”

April nodded slowly. “So the police chief snapped?”

“Not sure, but many complaints had been filed in recent months about Clarkson, including from me. The local district attorney was about to file charges against him. It leaked last night. Clarkson went to Chamberlain’s house earlier this morning, confronted him, and then killed him before taking his own life.”

“Shit.” April was still struggling to fully grasp the magnitude of this situation. “How did Cole get pulled in?”

“There was a police report from his altercation with Dewey Hartman yesterday. Hartman fingered Cole as being involved in a financial dispute with Chamberlain. Nothing to worry about. The case is clear. No one is questioning the obvious murder/suicide. They are just asking him some questions to get more details about what Chamberlain was involved in. They’ll be questioning everyone who owns a business in that area.”

April blew out a breath and nodded.

“When did all this happen?”

“Three twenty this morning. Chamberlain’s wife woke up when she heard shots fired. She rushed down the stairs and found both men dead in the library. No one else was present.”

“Okay. That’s good, right?”

“Couldn’t be tidier, to be honest. Once this is all investigated, the list of crimes both men committed will be fairly long. It would have taken years of trials to convict them. Several of Chamberlain’s associates are being questioned, including Dewey Hartman.”

April sighed.

“There’s one more important detail. When Dewey was at the shop yesterday attempting to get Cole to sign over the business, he claimed to have gotten text pictures of you at Chamberlain’s. He showed them to Cole in an attempt to pressure him, insinuating that you were being held until he signed. I need to know if you were aware of that?”

April shook her head. “No. What pictures? Where did they come from? I didn’t notice anyone taking them.”

“We traced the number they came from to the police chief’s phone.”

April sat up straighter. “Are you serious? How did he get them?”

“Did you know he was also at Chamberlain’s yesterday?”

She shook her head. “No. I never saw him.”

“We think he was in the house the entire time you were there. Sneaking around.”

“Why?”

“We suspect he intended to use them as leverage to get Chamberlain to pay what he owed the chief. Dewey was working for both men. He needed both of them to succeed. Clarkson figured if he sent the pics, Cole would believe they came from Chamberlain. Clarkson could use the pictures for two purposes—to get Cole to give up the deed and then blackmail Chamberlain to get his late cut of the incoming funds.”

April rubbed her temples. “What a mess.”

Rodney stood. “You’re not kidding. To be honest, and I told Cole this earlier, I’m not sure how long this town would have gone along being terrorized by Chamberlain and Clarkson if Cole hadn’t come back to town and stirred things up by putting his foot down about turning over the deed to his father’s shop.”

April blew out a breath. “I guess you’re right.”

Rodney nodded. “His dad likely would have run out of options and signed over the deed. Instead, Cole lit a fire under those two and sent them scrambling to try to fix the damage. They dug their own graves.”

April nodded. That was a lot to take in.

“Well, that’s all I need from you. I assume you’re going to want to wait for Cole anyway?”

“Yes. Is that okay?” She stood and followed Rodney toward the door.

“Of course. I’ll find you a place to wait.” Before he opened the door, he turned and faced her. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you two are back together again. I hope things work out for you. I don’t know what the hell happened back in high school to put a wedge between you, but you belong together. It’s obvious to anyone.”

April swallowed through the emotions as they came back to the surface. “Thank you. That means a lot. I hope we can work things out too.”

“Good.” Rodney smiled and leaned over to kiss April on the cheek. “He’d be crazy if he let you get away.”

April