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“We’re sorry to disturb you.” Claire removed her cowboy hat and held it in one hand. “But we’ve made headway on the investigation and wanted you to hear things from us before some industrious reporter blasts it all over the news.” Her grim expression relaxed into a smile. “We got them. All of them. You’re safe, Hannah. It’s over.”
She blinked, hardly able to believe it. “What? Seriously?”
Gavin nodded. “Thomas, Dusty, and Lorrie were the only ones involved in the drug scheme and the murders of Julie and Kristin. Dusty confessed to everything in a plea bargain deal yesterday. He’ll spend the rest of his life in prison, but one with minimum security so his mom can visit him.”
“Dusty and Thomas created the drug scheme?” Ryker asked.
“Yes. Dusty provided names and then Thomas would write electronic prescriptions using his wife’s information. The individuals would fill those prescriptions at the pharmacy, get their narcotics, and then turn them over to Dusty for a small fee. He’d sell them on the street. It was a profitable business, one they had for a long time.”
“Until Julie found out.”
Claire nodded. “According to Dusty, Thomas suspected Julie had uncovered his prescription drug scheme. That was confirmed when she confronted him. Thomas devised a plan to kill her and cover his tracks with the grocery store run.” She put grocery store in quotes to show it was a fake alibi. “He would’ve gotten away with it, too, except Ryker didn’t stop digging. The affair he’d been having with Lorrie was discovered and we figured that was his motive for killing her.”
“My screw-up.” Ryker grimaced. “I should’ve dug harder into Julie. Maybe then I would’ve uncovered the unusual number of pain prescriptions attached to her name.”
“You didn’t know to look for it,” Gavin countered. “No one—not even her family or colleagues—knew what she suspected was happening at the office. She kept quiet because Julie thought her husband was behind it and wasn’t certain what she’d do about it.”
“It’s not easy to turn in someone you love.” Hannah had sympathy for family members of criminals. Doing the right thing often meant turning on someone you cared deeply about. “I’m sorry Julie never got the chance to go to the police. In the end, she wanted to do the right thing and was killed for it.”
Claire nodded. “After Thomas was charged, he devised a plan for Dusty to get him out of the murder charge. Initially, Dusty refused.”
Hannah already knew this part. “That’s when Thomas went to Ryker with that made-up story about being attacked in the parking lot of his office. The sketch of his attacker was designed to frighten Dusty into submission. Thomas purposefully left off the scar, but wanted Dusty to know he could add it later.”
“Exactly. Dusty was forced to help him.”
Again she used air quotes around forced. Dusty had options. He could’ve gone to the police and confessed to what he’d done. Instead, he attacked Hannah and killed Kristin.
“Dusty is the one who broke into your house, Hannah.” Gavin rocked back on his heels. “He’s behind the courthouse attack, running ya’ll off the road, and killing Kristin. Every order Thomas gave was passed through Lorrie. She acted as the go-between, so we couldn’t find any communication between Thomas and Dusty.”
Hannah blew out a breath. “She had me completely fooled. I really thought she’d figured out her mistakes.”
“She had us all fooled.” Ryker gently squeezed her shoulder. “It’s strange. Why didn’t Dusty just kill Thomas? It would’ve been easier than plotting to kill Hannah.”
“Because of Lorrie. She knew everything, so Dusty would’ve had to kill her too. Additionally, Thomas had given his lawyer a sealed envelope containing documents that explained everything. His instructions to Jose were to open it only if he was ever killed. Dusty couldn’t take the risk.”
“What about Bruce? And Jose? Were they involved in any of this?”
“No. Jose truly believed Thomas was innocent. Since he and Bruce are friends, Jose pushed to have the case dropped. Bruce told us he was succumbing to the stress of everything. He worried about how he was being portrayed in the media. Pam’s discussion with him served as a reminder that, as District Attorney, his priority needed to be the truth.”
Hannah was relieved to hear her faith in her boss wasn’t misguided. And she was grateful to her paralegal for sticking up for her. “I need to give Pam an enormous box of chocolates.”
Claire laughed. “I think we all deserve chocolate after this.” Her expression grew serious again. “Jose was horrified to learn Thomas had played him.”
Ryker rocked back on his heels. “So he was telling the truth about not recognizing Dusty?”
“Seems so. Jose was going through a divorce back then and explained he was an emotional wreck. That entire year of his life was a blur.” Claire frowned. “When Lorrie and Thomas were confronted with the evidence against them, they both confessed as well. There won’t be a trial. Neither of them will see the outside of a prison cell.”
Another wave of relief crashed over Hannah. She was prepared to face her attackers from the witness stand, but it was nice to know that it wasn’t necessary. “Thank you, Claire. And Gavin. Words can’t express my appreciation.”
“We only did our jobs.” Claire patted her foot. “You deserve all the credit. It would’ve been easy to drop the charges against Thomas, but you stuck it out even through being threatened and injured. Few others would have done so.”
“Not true. It was the right thing to do. That’s all.” Hannah reached up to grab Ryker’s hand, which was still resting on her shoulder. “None of us gave up and justice was done. It won’t bring Julie or Kristin back, but I hope it gives their families some measure of comfort.”
Claire and Gavin chatted with them a bit longer, but when Hannah stifled a yawn, they left.
Once again, she leaned against the pillows. Exhaustion was really tugging at her. Still, she interlaced her fingers with Ryker’s and patted the bed to indicate he should retake his position next to her. He obliged by doing something better. He angled half of his frame onto the mattress and pulled her into his arms.
Hannah sighed with contentment as she snuggled up in his warm embrace. “I’m so glad it’s all over.”
