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Buckner pointed to one of the metal walls, and the guy in the rafter started up a projector. After a couple of moments, grainy images began to scroll across the surface. The personcarrying the body was wearing a rain parka that concealed his body and face. Each step he’d taken had been captured frame by frame.
“Eighteen years ago, camera phones were a piece of shit,” Buckner explained. “No way for me to tell who this was, and I didn’t want to move in too close in case I got spotted. I just figured I’d let whoever it was do some dirty work for me. So, which one of you is in these pictures?” he asked Davy and Wade.
“Why does it have to be one of them?” Bree asked, still sounding like a cop despite the bomb on her chest.
The timer read thirteen minutes and eleven seconds.
Buckner sighed. “Because the man got into a silver Ford truck, and through lots and lots of research, that great private eye I have on retainer learned that only two men owned such a vehicle in your hick town.” He held up his hand. “And, yes, I know you’re planning to ask why I didn’t just get the license plate. Well, I couldn’t do that without moving out from cover because of the way it was parked.”
Rafe could picture that. The rain, Buckner cowering and watching. Clicking off the pictures. But what he couldn’t picture was Wade or Davy burying a body. Well, he couldn’t picture it until he reminded himself that either man would likely do anything to protect Tessa.
“I managed to follow the truck to the inn,” Buckner added, “but again couldn’t get close enough to figure out who was playing knight in shining armor.”
More blurry photos appeared on the screen. These didn’t give any better angle of the truck or the man carrying the body. However, Buckner had gotten a picture of the sign that had still been in front of the inn back then.
“How did you know Tessa had killed Sandy Lynn?” Rafe asked, posing the question to both Davy and Wade.
“I didn’t,” Wade immediately snapped.
Davy didn’t say anything. And that confirmed he was indeed the man in the rain parka. The one who’d buried Sandy Lynn.
“All right then. We’re getting somewhere,” Buckner declared. “I’m guessing you dropped by to see Tessa, found the body, and decided to clean up Tessa’s mess.” He didn’t wait for Davy to confirm that. “Well, your coverup and my pictures led to another death.”
“Dani Dawson’s,” Bree provided. “Did she see the pictures and question you about them?”
“She did more than that. She accused me of covering up a crime and said she was going to the cops. Bad idea,” Buckner snarled. “Really bad.”
“So, you killed her, planted her body and an explosive by the burial site,” Rafe filled in. “How did you know the inn was being renovated.”
“Because a friend is behind the project. Eventually, the whole place was going to be dug up, and I was…concerned. I gave Sandy Lynn that jacket that I could see she was still wearing when she was buried, and I thought maybe something on it could be traced back to me. Best to let Gavin go ahead and expose it. Then, blow it up.”
“Then, you could kill Gavin and set his wife on Bree,” Rafe provided.
Buckner nodded and followed it with a shrug. “Okay, since everyone is caught up, let’s move to the main attraction.” He lifted his hands in a grand gesture to Tessa. “Tessa will start giving me the locations of her recordings. And she’ll do it now.” He put a gun to Wade’s head. “Daddy will be the first to die.”
“There’s one on a thumb drive in my purse that I left in my car on the road near Rafe’s,” Tessa blurted. She was crying now and shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe this was happening.
Buckner smiled and nodded to the guy in the rafters, who immediately called someone. “Go on,” Buckner said, shifting the gun to Davy.
“The original recording is in a safe deposit box at First National Bank, downtown office, in San Antonio,” she answered.
“Good girl. Continue, please.” Buckner took aim at Bree, probably because he knew he wouldn’t have a clean shot at Rafe.
“There’s only one more, and it’s on a storage cloud.” Tessa stopped. “And I’ll give you the password and username if you let everyone else go.”
Buckner smiled. “Admirable,” he chided. “But no can do.”
“Tessa didn’t kill Sandy Lynn,” Davy spoke, and that had everyone turning toward him.
“Excuse me?” Buckner questioned.
Davy glanced at Tessa, then pinned his attention to Buckner. “She didn’t kill Sandy Lynn, so you’re not an accomplice after the fact. There’s no reason for you to need that recording.”
“What the hell do you mean she didn’t kill—” But Buckner stopped. “You killed that gullible little bitch?”
Now, Davy turned back to Tessa. “I went to see you, and Sandy Lynn was coming out of the house.”
“But I shot her,” Tessa insisted. “I know I did.”
