“Due to your incompetence, Emma was attacked last night in her home and nearly killed.”
“What?” Dean paled. He swallowed hard. “Is she... I mean, is she all right?”
His deputy’s shock and concern seemed genuine, which tampered Reed’s anger a touch. “Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. This time. But if you’d filed the report and we had investigated properly, the attack on Emma might’ve been prevented. You are suspended, Deputy, without pay for two months. After that, you will be on probation for the next year. Desk duty with an overseeing deputy watching over you.”
Dean shot to his feet. “That’s insane!”
“Count your blessings. I could fire you.”
Dean’s mouth popped open as if he was going to say something, but Reed’s glare stopped him. The deputy’s lips flattened into a hard line and his nostrils flared.
“Let this be a lesson to you.” Reed softened his tone. “Don’t let your personal feelings cloud your professional duty.”
“You can’t seriously think Owen had anything to do with the attack on Emma.” Heat tinged the tips of Dean’s ears bright red. “He’s got a temper but he isn’t stupid.”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. If Owen was innocent, an investigation would’ve proven it. You messed up, Deputy, by trying to protect your friend. You’re dismissed.”
Dean left his office with the flurry of a five-year-old in the midst of a temper tantrum. Reed watched through the blinds of his office window as Dean stormed out. Reed felt no guilt at the punishment he’d doled out, but neither did he take pleasure in it.
Austin Carter, his cousin and chief deputy, appeared in the doorway. His dark hair was cut military short. A faint scar, etched out by an errant bicycle handle when he was eight, marred his upper right cheek. “Hey, Emma’s here. She came into the department while you were talking to Deputy Shadwick.”
Reed’s brow furrowed. “Is she okay?”
“Fine, but she wants to talk to you. She’s waiting in the break room. I didn’t think it would be a good idea for her and Dean to cross paths, all things considered.”
“Thanks.” Reed hesitated. “Did you tell her anything about Owen being in the hospital? Or the developments in the case?”
“No. I figured it would be easier coming from you.”
Reed walked quickly down the hall. Emma was standing next to the window in the break room. She turned at the sound of his approach, her lips tipped up in a smile. Sunlight caressed the elegant curves of her face and brought out the red highlights in her dark hair. She was dressed simply, in jeans and a T-shirt, but it only made her beauty that much more striking. Reed’s breath hitched.
“Hi,” she said. “Sorry to barge in on you like this, but I cleaned up the mess from the break-in and discovered something else was stolen.”
“Of course.” His gaze dropped to her neck. Bruises marred the delicate skin, and his gut clenched. Emma was special, a piece of his childhood and his first love. But he needed to keep his emotions in check and his head in the game. Otherwise, he might make a mistake on the case. “What is it?”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a photograph. Her hands were slender, the tips of her fingers long and the nails unpainted. “Uncle Jeb’s gold pen was taken. It’s not extremely valuable, although I’m sure you could sell it to a pawn shop for several hundred dollars.” She handed him the photograph. “He used it to sign the deed to the original property. This is a picture taken on that day. Sorry, I don’t have a close up of the actual pen.”
“That’s okay. Was anything else taken besides the iPad and pen?”
“No, that’s it. Were you able to find Owen and talk to him?”
“Yes.” He hesitated. The last thing he wanted to do was worry Emma, but he had to tell her the truth. “There’s a strong possibility Owen isn’t behind the attack, Emma. The perpetrator might be someone else.”
Emma blindly reached out and grabbed the back of a chair as the implication of Reed’s words slammed into her with the force of a freight train. “Are you sure?”
“Owen has an alibi for last night. The bartender at the Silver Spur said your cousin was there from six o’clock in the evening until closing time.”
Her mind raced. As frightening as it was to have Owen stalking her, it was exponentially worse to have a stranger doing it. “My house is only five miles from the bar. Could Owen have slipped out without the bartender knowing?”
“I considered that, but the amount of alcohol Owen drank last night would make it nearly impossible for him to have the coordination and wherewithal to break in to your house.” Reed took a deep breath. “My deputies discovered Owen in the parking lot of the Silver Spur this morning suffering from alcohol poisoning. He had to be rushed to the hospital.”
She pulled the chair out and sank into it. “Is he okay?”
“Thankfully, yes. The doctor said there was a strong possibility he could’ve died if we hadn’t been out looking for him and gotten him to the hospital in time.”
Emma closed her eyes as a rush of pain radiated through her chest. Her relationship with Owen hadn’t always been so rocky. They’d been close as children. “I’ll contact my uncle’s attorney and have him pay Owen a visit. I didn’t get all of the inheritance. Uncle Jeb set up a trust for Owen. He’ll receive it if he goes to rehab and remains sober for a year.”
Maybe this time her cousin would take the help. She feared if he didn’t, Owen’s addiction would kill him.
Reed pulled out the chair across from her
