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That guy had fought. The instant he’d seen the threat, he’d fought. To protect A.J. No one in Major Crimes would take what had happened that morning lightly. Not by a long shot.
But the case in front of him demanded his attention now.
Handley Barratt.
Handley was going to be Heather’s problem now.
Everything that lunatic had kept on Melody Beck and her sisters was right there. Handy Handley had purchased a house across the street from the Beck family when Brynna was an infant. And then that crazy lunatic had watched them for two decades.
Stalked them. For decades.
Every major milestone the Beck girls had achieved had been notated in a stack of a journals two feet high.
It was obsessively odd. No denying that.
Stalking an entire family like that for decades. Guy had probably done it before—maybe even since. Jarrod was a bit freaked out by the thought of that.
Dr. Gregory Eastman had stalked Heather’s family for decades, too.
Funny coincidence, that.
The two men had known each other, too. Jarrod was sure of it. He just hadn’t proven it yet.
Nothing Jarrod had dug into said Houghton was involved in anything even the least bit shady or illegal. The guy was on the up-and-up. Not so for the father.
But if he’d holed up across from the Becks for decades—where else had the man holed up? Had he ever even left the country like everyone had originally thought?
Jarrod had his doubts now.
The conference room door opened.
A familiar strawberry-blonde stepped in. So classically pretty in that suit she wore. She studied the evidence he had spread on the table. Her thin little lips, so pink and beautiful and very kissable, pursed. “What exactly are you doing?”
Jarrod straightened. Looked at her. Anger threatened when he recalled when Barratt had resurfaced again. Why he had. And her. Her life had been in the hands of that man. That would never sit well with Jarrod. “Handley Barratt.”
“Again? I thought it wasn’t yours any longer?” There was that snotty look he loved so much. His little rabbit had a stack of reports in her hands, no doubt to pass out to whichever detective in Major Crimes needed them. The queen of the evidence had come to call.
“Nope. I’m going to catch that guy. It’s my case, remember?” For another hour, maybe. Until Heather clocked in and he could fully brief her on what he knew. She’d had the day off yesterday—something about checkups and immunizations for her baby Heathers or something. Today, he was turning over his work for the last three years.
He was conflicted. No denying that.
She was far smarter than he was. Of that, he had no doubt. Maybe that diabolically brilliant Heather brain could make sense of what Jarrod had already found. Hell, maybe he was just too close to the case at this point. It happened to the best of them.
He was torn—go after Barratt and what that hot dog knew about who had hurt Brynna, Gabby, and Melody or focus on the bastards who had hurt Haldyn that day. Tried to take Powell.
He wasn’t stupid—what had happened this morning was probably connected to Haldyn’s abduction. No wonder his skin felt itchy. He wanted to get out there and prove it.
That meant giving Handley Barratt over to Heather. Damn it. He didn’t like that option either. Not really. Maybe he was the control freak Haldyn had accused him of being multiple times over the last three years.
The beautiful queen might just have had a point.
“Your obsession rather. I really don’t think Handley had anything to do with the abduction attempt. But Daniel is handling that. He’ll find them. And he’ll find the guy responsible for this morning. A.J. is fine. She’s been cleared to go home as of an hour ago. Just shock and a few bumps and bruises. Baby is okay, too.” Haldyn shot him that little look that had always burned right through him. It didn’t cause the same reaction as it had each time before. Now he wanted to scoop her close and just kiss her. “Joe is going to be okay, too. He has a concussion that might have some lingering damage. But he’s going to get out in a few days, they said. Daniel will find the guy responsible.”
Jarrod just nodded. “Full faith in your boyfriend, huh?”
Blue eyes just watched him. Blinked. “You feeling jealous of Daniel again?”
“Maybe. You seem to like him.” He wasn’t jealous. Jarrod was a bigger man than that. Daniel was one of his closest friends. They were closer than he was with his two brothers. The only thing that was a sore spot between them at all was this woman right here.
