Page 85 of Bring Them Home

“Amanda, if this was your husband or relative… Come on, tell me.”

A knot formed in her chest. In his position, she’d want to know everything. But she also couldn’t be trusted with what she’d do with that information.

“Either you tell me, or I will find out another way.”

Trent inched forward on the couch cushion. “Lucas Hernandez.”

Two words, one name, and they sank in the room like a heavy weight.

“The drug kingpin?” Lloyd asked.

“The same,” Trent told him.

“She overheard something that could have sent him to prison. It was from the day of the raid on his warehouse. The one where a few PWCPD officers lost their lives.” Amanda struggled to focus on the good they were doing by giving Lloyd some closure. It was hard to ignore the pain and angst that shadowed his face.

“Okay, but… Wait, I don’t understand. Why wasn’t he put in prison years ago then? And Abigail returned home?”

Amanda took a bracing breath. How could she tell him that Abigail’s testimony was dismissed? That she had given up her life with her husband for the last eight years for nothing.

“Amanda?”

“It never made it to trial,” she said.

His brow pinched. “What? Why?”

“Her testimony was dismissed, and the case fell apart,” she told him.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Lloyd popped to his feet and paced the room. “Tell me you’ve arrested him for her murder. Tell me that much.” He stopped walking in front of her, stared her down.

“It’s not turning out to be that simple.”

His face shot red, and he opened his mouth to speak.

She intervened. “I am angry as hell about all of it. You can trust I will put him behind bars for what he’s done.”

Lloyd’s nostrils flared, his gaze on fire. “But you haven’t yet.”

“Unfortunately, it’s complicated. There are proving to be a lot of hoops to jump through.” Amanda heard herself trying to excuse why Hernandez hadn’t just been arrested and wanted to scream. She rose to her feet and put her hands on Lloyd’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Trent and I will get him, Lloyd. I promise you that.” A promise she had no right making but one she intended to keep.

“Did Hernandez kill Paul and take the rest of the family?”

She nodded. “We think it was all on his orders. Though it’s hard to know if killing Paul was the plan from the start.” Hernandez would have likely preferred to use Paul as bait to draw out his sister, Abigail. Even though they knew now that she was in touch with Valerie and figured Hernandez had learned of that, as well.

“Hell. Do you have any idea where Valerie and Brooke are?”

“We’re still working on it,” she assured him.

Lloyd stepped away from her and shook his head. “No, it’s not of any use. If all of this was some scheme to get to Abigail, he accomplished that. They’re dead too. They have to be.”

It was most likely, but she said, “We need to carry on as if they’re still alive.”

Lloyd dropped back into the chair he’d been in before and dropped his face into his hands.

“I’m so sorry for your loss, Lloyd,” she said. “We both are.”

“If there’s anything we can do, let us know,” Trent inserted.

“Yeah, there’s one thing.” He lifted his head. “Make sure you nail this bastard to the wall.”