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“True. But based on all of this, it seems like they want to hurt me first.”
His lack of a response was enough confirmation. Her pulse kicked and more adrenaline flooded her over-taxed system. “If J.C. agrees, we can drop Daisy at the courthouse on our way out of town. Then he can foster her until this is over. His dog would welcome the company.”
“I thought you didn’t want your brother anywhere near this.”
“Lester brought the sheriff’s department into it by attacking the shelter in their jurisdiction.”
“True.” Dale rocked back on his heels, his eyes on Daisy. “We’ll do it your way and hope for the best.”
One hurdle down, Heather thought. As they walked out to Dale’s car, she made a silent promise to Daisy that when all this was over, she would have a forever home.
Chapter 7
Dale couldn’t believe he’d let Heather talk him into this. His rearview mirror was full of Daisy’s face. When it wasn’t a view of her butt as she sniffed at the back windows Heather had partially rolled down. But it was the waves of doggy breath when she stuck her face into the gap between the front seats that had him convinced his car would never be the same.
While Heather didn’t say a word, he could guess what she was thinking. About the dog anyway. He admired her determination to care for the poor creature, but he couldn’t be part of a long-term solution.
She absently petted Daisy’s pale head whenever it appeared in the front seat, but her brain was clearly working through their startling situation. He didn’t want to hazard a guess as to the conclusions she might be drawing.
The attack on the shelter animals was bad enough, but the murder alarmed him. The cause of death sent a clear message. The killers didn’t fear prosecution. He’d tried to weigh how much of his concern to reveal and still maintain his professional distance. They needed to wrap this case up immediately.
Once Daisy was settled as the new darling of the sheriff’s department, Dale quickly guided Heather back to the car.
She kicked the rear tire instead of sliding into the seat when he opened her door. “I gave all that information to you so you would protect him. Now he’s dead.”
“Get in.” She glared at him, but got in the car and let him close the door. He didn’t have an answer for her. Not a good one anyway. And out in the open wasn’t the place to have this conversation. “You could have taken this to Cypress Security,” he pointed out when they were pulling out of the parking lot.
She gaped at him. “Is that your way of saying you’re dumping the case?”
“No. I finish what I start. Keeping your brother out of it is one thing, but Ross and his team would have done that for you.”
“They investigate, and they do it well, but they can’t prosecute.”
True. He was quickly learning the smiling Heather Morris didn’t do things halfway. “Looking over the data it seemed like their tech expert, Eva Battaglia, might have been more help to you.”
She shrugged, rubbing her palms on her thighs. “You’re smart and you can look at the data and know when and how to prosecute. These nasty fight nights need to end sooner rather than later.”
“That may take some time.”
“More or less time now that someone is dead?”
She needed comfort he couldn’t give. “Rushing the process causes more problems. If we can connect the murder to the corruption case—”
“You know they connect.”
“I assume Terry’s murder is connected to the corruption,” he replied, correcting her. “We can only prosecute what we think we can prove, otherwise Lester might get off entirely.”
“Not an option. They all need to go down.”
“Agreed.”
“But?”
He didn’t like how well she read him. “But,” he began, resigned to the fact that they were at the point of no return, “I’m already out on a limb with this. If we can gather enough evidence quickly, I’ll call in a favor and get a prosecutor on board.”
“Thank you.”
He wasn’t ready for her gratitude.
