“No.” The room tilted slightly as her worst fears were realized. “Are you suggesting her brakes were tampered with? That someone attempted to kill her?”
“I don’t know for sure. I’ve had the car towed to the evidence shed and a forensic team will be out first thing in the morning.” His jaw tightened. “But if we were taking bets, my guess is yes.”
Megan’s legs jellied. She gripped the back of a chair for support, her knuckles turning white with the effort.
“Can you think of any reason why someone would hurt June?” Luke asked.
She closed her eyes, struggling with how to answer that question. June was a private investigator, and she’d made quite a few people mad over the years, but it seemed ridiculous to consider this could all be a coincidence. Her aunt’s instructions in the voice mail had been clear. Come home. Tell no one. Trust no one. Goose bumps pebbled her arms.
What should she do?
Lying went against her instincts and her morals, but she’d trusted Luke before and her brother had ended up in prison as a result. Even if she told him the truth now, would he believe her?
“Megs, there’s something else you should know.” Luke’s boots tapped against the floor and she felt, rather than saw, him come up next to her. “Your aunt begged me to find you. I think she was trying to tell me you were in danger.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and faced him. “She told you that?”
He nodded. “If someone tried to kill June, the perpetrator might make a second attempt once news she survived gets out. I can’t protect you or her from something I don’t understand. Whatever it is, you need to tell me.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. None of her choices were great, but she wouldn’t put her aunt’s life at risk.
“It’s about Wade, Luke.” She lifted her gaze to look him in the eyes. “June found proof of his innocence. That’s why someone tried to kill her.”
It took every ounce of Luke’s law enforcement training to keep his expression impassive, but his heart thundered like a stampede of horses. Overhead, the hospital speaker came on, announcing a Code Blue. Megan’s eyes widened and she froze.
He reacted instinctively, reaching out to grasp her arm. “It’s not June’s room. It’s the one next to hers.”
“You’re sure?”
The naked terror and pain on her face made his heart ache. Megan had lost her parents in a car wreck. June’s accident—horrible in its own right—had to be a cruel reminder.
“I’m positive, Megs. It’s not for her.”
He squeezed her arm gently. The desire to embrace her clawed at him, and memories he’d shoved into the far recesses of his mind rose like a tidal wave. She’d been his first love, the woman he’d thought he would spend his life with. She’d also broken his heart.
He gave himself a mental shake. Their relationship, and its fallout, was in the past. It didn’t matter. Luke wouldn’t allow it to matter. He had a job to do.
He released her and took a step back. “Megs, what makes you think June’s accident has anything to do with Wade?”
She drew her spine up and adjusted her blouse. Tear tracks lined her cheeks and the faint smattering of freckles along her nose stood out against her pale skin, but her mouth hardened.
“June claimed to have found evidence of Wade’s innocence. She told me about it right before her accident.”
He stared at her. How was that possible? Wade had confessed to murdering his friend, Franny Dickerson, in a jealous rage. The act had been fueled not just by unrequited feelings but also with alcohol.
Megan seemed to hear his question before he could ask it because she held up a finger. “Hold on.”
She reached for her purse. Her hair, the color of hay dried in the sun, fell over her forehead. She shoved it out of the way. The scent of her shampoo wafted his direction. Honeysuckle. The flower was popular in Texas, and every time he caught its fragrance, he thought of her.
Megan pulled out her cell phone. “June called me this afternoon, but I was in a trial and couldn’t answer. I’d forgotten all about it until I was driving here from Houston. When I checked, I saw she’d left me a voice mail.”
She pushed something on the phone’s screen and turned up the volume. June’s voice spilled from the speaker.
Megs, our prayers have been answered. I’ve found evidence that proves Wade is innocent. You need to come home now, but quietly. No one can know. We can’t trust anyone. Call me when you get this.
The muscles in Luke’s shoulders stiffened. “What time was that call?”
“Four fifteen.”
“Your aunt’s accident happened around four thirty.” His mind raced as he tried to make sense of the information. “Did she call you again?”
Megan shook her head. “Was there anything in the car? A file folder, maybe?”
They’d conducted a search of the vehicle and the ravine to secure possible evidence and hadn’t found much.
“We recovered her cell phone, but it was smashed. Her credit cards and driver’s license were in the case.” He ran a hand through his hair. “How is it possible she found evidence of Wade’s innocence? He confessed to Franny’s murder.”
“Under duress,” she snapped.
“Are you suggesting Sheriff Franklin coerced him?”
“No, but I think the sheriff was under a lot of pressure to solve the case. Some things may have been overlooked.”
“Like what?”
She speared him with a look. “You know as well as I do that Wade wasn’t acting right in the days after the murder. I think he saw something
