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“Sure. He killed his girlfriend.”
This was going to be a long discussion. Benson laid out the series of events. Preston came in partway through the talk and sat down, saying little.
“Turns out we believe Trent didn’t kill his girlfriend after all. We think the men who came to the ranch were responsible.”
As expected, that caused a flurry of questions, ones that Benson was determined to answer as honestly as possible.
* * *
“Why don’t you call the men?” Beth said. “You said they usually don’t take this long to practice.”
Ariel was worried, but she didn’t want to be the type of girlfriend who had to know where they were at every turn. “I bet they are chatting with their parents. Benson said he hadn’t spoken with his family in quite a while.”
“I imagine when he’s handling a case, he stays busy.”
“That's true.”
“Text him and see if they need you to order dinner or something.”
“I don’t think calling in an order of food would be smart. No telling who could be watching the delivery man.”
Beth shook her head. “I am so sorry that it has come to this.”
“I’ll just ask if they know when they are coming home.” Ariel really just needed to be assured nothing bad had happened to them, though between the four of them, what could go wrong?
She texted Preston since he might be able to respond more easily if they were with Benson’s folks. He responded right away.
“What did he say?” Beth asked.
“They’re talking with Benson’s family. Hammer and his friends came to the ranch. They fought and now Hammer is in jail.”
“That’s wonderful!” Beth said. “Why the glum look?”
“He didn’t say if they were okay.”
Beth placed a hand on her arm. “Clearly, Preston is okay, and if he said thattheywere speaking with Benson’s family, Benson is okay too.”
Ariel exhaled. “You’re right.”
“Do you know what this means?”
She looked over at her friend. “What?”
“That your stalker is in jail. You can go back to work.”
Ariel hadn’t wanted to tell Beth the theory about who might have killed Sam. The less she knew, the safer she’d be. “Hopefully, that’s true. There is still the issue of the ransom demand not having been paid. Maybe this Hammer guy thought Benson or Preston would give them the money.”
Why else would they attack the men? And what did that attack entail? Were guns or just fists used? If Hammer and his men relied on beating up Benson and Preston, good luck with that, especially if Liam and Alex were there.
“I’m sure they’ll tell you everything when they come home.”
“Let’s hope.”
Beth stood. “I have to get back. Now that Hammer is in jail, you are no longer in danger.”
Unless Paul Franklin decided to take out his revenge on her. “Can you stay a little longer?”
Beth sat down. “What haven’t you told me?”
