Betrayal with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Three) Read online

  Betrayal with Murder

  Book three of the

  Rilynne Evans Mysteries

  Jenn Vakey

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  For my wonderful sister

  Kristin, you inspire me

  everyday.

  Chapter One

  “You know,” Rilynne Evans said as she slid into the candlelit booth. “When you said you wanted to take me out, I didn’t see you waiting over a month to actually do it.”

  “It wasn’t my plan,” Ben Davis said in a playful, yet defensive tone. “It isn’t my fault that I’m so good at what I do that they wanted me to spend the last month training the new overnight forensic team.” If she didn’t know better, she would have thought him bragging. “But you can’t argue that Valentine’s Day makes for a pretty good first date.”

  He was right there. Rilynne couldn’t have imagined a better first date for the two of them.

  Rilynne met Ben at a crime scene just weeks after moving to Addison Valley. Despite having only known each other for seven months, they had been through a surprising amount together, including kidnapping, bar fights, and the death of a mutual friend at the hand of Rilynne.

  After finally giving in to the feelings that had been developing between them, she had found herself really looking forward to moving beyond just friendship. Ben seemed to have come to the same realization when he told her after her housewarming party the month before that he thought it was about time he took her out.

  Rilynne thought for a moment that she must have heard him wrong, because it wasn’t like him to be so frank with her. It was clear by the look in his eyes, though, that she hadn’t.

  They had originally planned on going out a few nights later, but their work schedules got in the way.

  “So why did the department decide to split the forensic department into two shifts?” she asked as the waiter delivered two glasses of red wine. “Haven’t there always been people working nights?”

  “No, not really,” he replied. “We’ve always had at least two techs on call at nights, but we’ve never actually had anyone scheduled. Now we have an entire team-smaller than the day shift, of course-that’s already in the office and ready to take calls. It’ll dramatically reduce the wait time for a tech to respond to a scene.”

  “Well, I’ll forgive the last month then,” she said as she sipped on her glass. “At least now you don’t have to worry about getting called to a scene in the middle of the night anymore. I’m guessing that it means you’ll be getting out earlier, too.”

  “For most of the department,” he said, pausing to order for both of them. Rilynne sat back and grinned as he told the waiter exactly what she would have ordered herself. “I don’t imagine it’ll change mine much, though,” he continued when the waiter walked away. “You know I don’t let anyone else touch things that I’m working on, so I’ll probably end up staying just as late to get everything done.”

  “Why does that not surprise me?” Rilynne asked playfully. She was surprised at just how comfortable she found herself as she sat there with him. She had been so concerned over the last few months about taking the leap beyond friendship, but as she sat in the dimly lit restaurant, she couldn’t remember why.

  “So I thought you said you didn’t bring girls here. You didn’t want to ‘soil it’, I think is the phrase you used.” After saying it, she sat back and studied his face.

  Despite keeping a relatively even expression, she could still see his ears redden beneath his shaggy, dirty blonde hair. “Well, I figured since I brought you a couple months ago, the damage was already done.”

  “You’re right,” she said. “There’s no way I would let you keep me from this place. The steaks are way too good.”

  He smiled playfully across the table. “Well, I don’t imagine we’ll run into anyone from the station this time, so at least you won’t be teased tomorrow.” Despite his cheerful tone, she could still sense him fishing for a reaction.

  “Oh, there’s no chance of that. I’m sure Matthews is talking to Katy about it as we speak, and she won’t wait long before calling Sherri Wilcome. I imagine that both Matthews and Wilcome will be waiting for me when I get in tomorrow with a handful of questions their wives insist on having answered.” The last time they had dinner at Pinkston’s, Detective Patrick Wilcome and his wife had seen them. Sherri went straight to Katy Matthews with the news, and Rilynne spent the following morning trying to nip the rumors before they spread around the entire department.

  “Well, that won’t be fun,” he said, though the pleasure on his face was unmistakable.

  “Eh,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll just send them up and let you deal with it.”

  “Are you sure you want to do that?” he asked as an impish grin stretched across his face.

  Rilynne flipped the lettuce in her salad around with her fork as she eyed him suspiciously. “Well, now I’m not,” she chuckled.

  They sat talking in the candlelit restaurant for over an hour before walking back outside. “On to the second part of our evening,” Ben stated, taking her by the arm.

  “There’s more?” she asked curiously, having not expected more than dinner and possibly a drink after. He opened his mouth to respond, but was cut short by the sound of ringing from Rilynne’s purse.

  “Sorry, I thought I turned this off,” she said as she reached for her phone. Her finger stopped just shy of the decline button when her eyes landed on the phone number flashing across the screen.

  “What is it?” he asked, his eyes on her instead of the phone.

  “It’s my old chief,” she said. “I haven’t heard from his since I transferred.”

  “Answer it,” he insisted. “It could be important.”

  She shifted her gaze from the phone to Ben, and after he gave her a quick reassuring nod, she pulled the phone up to her ear.

  “This is Evans,” she said as a wave of panic shot through her.

  “Hey Evans,” the man responded grimly. “It’s Jimmy Wooldridge. Do you have a minute?”

  “Is it Christopher?” she asked, although she already knew the answer. “Have you found him?”

  The rest of the conversation felt as if it were a dream. She hadn’t even realized she’d hung up until Ben gently tightened his hold on her arm, snapping her back to reality.

  “Sit down,” he said as he led her by the elbow to a nearby bench. “You look like you’re about to faint.”

  “I’ve never fainted,” she replied, letting him lower her down. “I’m not about to start now.”

  He sat down next to her and tenderly brushed her hair back. “What happened?” he asked softly. “Did they find Christopher?”

  She took a deep breath, trembling as her lungs filled, and gently nodded. “They, uh,” she felt the tears building with every word. “They found a body in a park about forty miles outside of Madison. Christopher’s wallet was found at the scene.”

  “Let’s go,” he said as he pulled her up and started toward the car.

  “Where are we going?” Rilynne asked, though she didn’
t fight him.

  “Back to your house. We’re going to get your bags packed, then I’m going to drive you to the airport,” he said firmly. He opened her car door and lowered her in before she even had a chance to react to what he had said.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled as he pulled out of the parking lot. “This wasn’t exactly how I saw tonight going.”

  He reached over without a word and grabbed her hand. He squeezed it gently, not letting it go until they pulled up in front of her house. “You go get packed and I’ll call the airport to book you a flight,” he said as he climbed out of the car.

  Rilynne walked numbly up to the front door, unlocking it and reaching in to flip on the lights. “I won’t be long,” she said as she sat her purse down on the entry table.

  “Hey,” he said as she started toward her room. When she turned back to face him, he pulled her into his arms. “I’ll be here for you, no matter what you need. You know that, right?”

  She nodded, her head pressed firmly against his chest. Ben held her for close to five minutes before pulling away. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead, before she turned and headed through the quiet house to her bedroom.

  It took several minutes for her to remember where she had put her suitcase. Rilynne hardly took enough time off to enjoy some relaxing time at home, let alone go somewhere. After finally lugging it out from under her bed, she sat staring at it for another several minutes before she could bring herself to start filling it. She had only managed to pull a few things out of the closet before Ben pushed the door open.

  “So I guess you’ve moved past that bedroom thing, huh?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood. Ben had refused to enter the bedroom of a woman, stating he was “just old fashioned that way.” Until that moment, she had only seen him break his rule once before.

  “Some things are worth bending the rules for,” he said as he sat next to the open suitcase on her bed. “Your flight is leaving in three hours from San Antonio,” he said. “We’re going to need to leave in the next ten minutes if we want to get there in time. What can I do to help?”

  “Uh,” she said as she looked around the room. “Nothing really. I just need to finish packing and I’ll be ready to go. I won’t be more than a couple minutes. I need to call Wilcome on the way and let him know I won’t be in for a few days.”

  He grabbed the jacket she threw on the bed and folded it before placing it in the suitcase. “I already did,” he said. “I didn’t give him the specifics, because I don’t know how much you’ve told him, but I let him know where you’d be going. He said to take all of the time you need.”

  “I just,” she trailed off, not knowing just how to continue.

  “I know. But you’ve said you wanted closure, so now you’ll have some,” he said. “Will someone be able to meet you at the airport?”

  Rilynne tossed the last few items in her suitcase and zipped it shut. “I can call Wooldridge, my old chief. He’ll pick me up.” She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to absorb the events from the last hour. There were so many different emotions coursing through her that she felt like completely shutting down. She was frustrated that the date had been derailed, but at the same time, happy it had happened. Not because of Ben, but Christopher. As close as she and Ben had become, Christopher would always hold a large piece of her heart. The thought of his body finally being found was both a relief and heart crushing at the same time.

  Ben grabbed the suitcase and left her standing alone in the room. She quickly pulled herself together as best she could and followed him to the car.

  “How long do you think you’ll be gone?” Ben asked as the lights of Addison Valley vanished behind them. Rilynne couldn’t help but notice a tone of concern in his voice that went beyond just empathy.

  “Not long. I just need to make sure everything’s taken care of and I’ll be back,” she said, trying to reassure him. “I am coming back.”

  She could see him glance over at her from the corner of her eye, but she didn’t pull her gaze from the road in front of them. After another several minutes, she closed her eyes tightly and concentrated on the phone call she’d received. She wanted to prepare herself, to know exactly what she would be walking into. Despite putting all of her focus into it, she was unable to see anything.

  This wasn’t surprising, though. She had been a child when she realized the images she saw in her head were actually events that were happening to the people she was close to. Even at that young age, it didn’t take her long to discover that when her emotions were excessively high, it was much more difficult for her to see anything. The majority of her visions occurred when she was relaxed, but she knew no matter how hard she tried, it would be impossible for her to relax at the moment.

  “We’re definitely going to need a do-over for tonight,” she said in the lightest tone she could muster. “Next time I’ll remember to turn my phone off.”

  “It wasn’t all bad,” he said. “The food was definitely great.”

  Rilynne chuckled softly as she reached for her phone. “I forgot to call Matthews. He would never forgive me if he had to hear all of this from someone else.”

  She had expected to leave a voicemail, knowing that he had a big evening planned for Katy, and was surprised when he answered after just two rings.

  “I thought you were supposed to be out on a date, Evans,” he said in lieu of a greeting.

  “I can say the same for you. Now I know Katy wouldn’t let you answer your phone while out together. What did you do?” she asked playfully.

  “Katy got called into the hospital. There was a pile-up and several of the nurses scheduled called in tonight leaving them short handed. She’s the supervisor, so she had to go in to pick up the slack. What about you? Did the date go so badly that you left early or something? Don’t tell me Ben stood you up!” He raised his voice, almost in a protective manner.

  Rilynne glanced over at Ben and smiled. “No, Ben didn’t stand me up.” She paused just long enough to enjoy the shocked look on his face. “Something came up and interrupted our evening, though. I wanted to call and let you know that I’ll be out of town taking care of something for a few days.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” His tone became noticeably more serious.

  “No.” She paused for several seconds to decide just how far she wanted to get into things at the moment. “My old chief called to tell me that a body was found outside of Madison. They’re pretty sure it’s my husband.”

  “Your husband?” Now he just sounded confused.

  “It’s a really long story, and I don’t want to get into it right now. Ben can fill you in tomorrow at work. I’m flying back to Bodker now. I shouldn’t be more than a couple days. I just need to get it all taken care of; I need the closure.”

  She could almost hear him nodding over the line. “I’ll be here if you need anything. See you when you get back.”

  Rilynne hung up and put her phone back in her purse before letting out a long, low sigh. “You haven’t told him?” Ben asked. She shook her head and returned her gaze to the road ahead.

  “It isn’t something I really like to talk to people about,” she said. “I’m sure I would have eventually told him; I just hadn’t yet.”

  “You told me,” he stated curiously.

  Rilynne pulled her feet up in her seat and turned toward him. “You’re you,” she said. “Besides, you found my pictures. I didn’t really have much of a choice after that.” She thought back to the look on his face when he found the wedding picture in her photo album. He had looked so confused that it made her sick. After he risked his life to keep her safe from a serial killer, she decided to tell him about Christopher and the events leading up to his death.

  “How much do you want me to tell Matthews?” he asked.

  She thought about it several minutes before answering. “You can tell him everything,” she finally said. “Honestly, it would probably be easier for me if it was you. I know he woul
dn’t push, but I’m still not up to answering any questions, not quite yet.”

  “What about Wilcome? Do you want me to tell him anything?”

  “If he asks,” she replied. “Although, I don’t think that’s very likely. I imagine he already knows a good deal about it, though. He would have checked into me pretty thoroughly before agreeing to hire me. He may not know the details, but I’m sure he knows the gist.”

  Despite wanting to continue the conversation just to distract her from the thoughts floating through her mind, she couldn’t think of anything else to say. She stared out her window at the blackened blurs passing by. Before she knew it, buildings started to take the place of trees.

  “How long will it take you to get to Bodker after you land?” he asked. Other than coming up in conversation from time to time, he had never really asked her about her hometown. Part of her thought that he felt if he talked about it, it might make her want to return.

  “It’s only a forty-five minute drive to the station with no traffic,” she replied. “If I flew into Madison, it would have been a little over an hour.”

  Aside from going to college in Madison, Rilynne spent most of her life in Bodker, Wisconsin. Having moved so many times as a child, she had lived in nearly every part of the city before settling down in a small housing development on the north side. Like in Addison Valley, she had chosen a house close enough to the station for her to run to work whenever the weather permitted.

  She had never imagined living anywhere else until Christopher was offered a new position on the west coast. After he was killed, she was left with mixed feelings about the city she loved. It wasn’t until the Pirate Killer case became so publicized that she finally made the decision to leave.

  “You’re going to have to hurry when we get there, but you shouldn’t have any problem catching your flight,” he said as he took the next exit. “Do you want me to go in with you?”

  “You don’t have to do that,” she said, although everything inside of her was wishing he would. He pulled up to the doors and stepped out to help her with her bag.