Mountain of Lies

Chapter 12

Hudson leaned a cautious hand on the porch railing, then added more of his body weight when it held up. "You're sure it's not enough?"

"Not if your friend Mia is right. We've been building a case against Raj, but if this Abe guy is actually in the top position, we're either going to need to get very lucky with the research or we're going to need testimony. Hang on, two seconds. I'm at the office and, seeing the lovely crime analyst is working late, I'm going to bribe her with dinner to run the names Mia gave you."

He heard the analyst's snarky reply and suppressed a grin. Mitch had been trying to convince Ava to go out with him since Hudson had started on this case. Didn't sound like his luck was improving tonight.

"Hudson? Still there?"

Mitch's tone had the fine hairs on his arms lifting over tightening muscles. He pushed off the railing and let his gaze slide over the property, suddenly hyper-alert to the possibility of danger. "I'm here. Bad news?"

"It's not good. One of the protesters is on the system as missing, presumed foul play, just like Mia said, and another one is the vic in a homicide file from last year. The good news is it looks like Mia is on the up and up. The bad news is, it looks like she was right to be scared of this guy."

Hudson swore under his breath. He should at least be feeling some relief that Mia had been cleared, but there was none. Because, he realized, he'd never really believed she was dirty at all, and when she'd handed over the gun it had concluded the matter entirely. And now she was in direct danger from this psycho, Abe, because he'd managed to put her right in harm's way.

He could hear the analyst talking to Mitch on the other end of the phone and Mitch's muted reply. There was no levity in their exchange at all now, and the lack was putting Hudson even more on edge.

"Abe Larson is carded to the same file as Mia as a Person of Interest, but there's nothing else on him—not in our records system, anyway. Ava says the guy is listed on the boards of several companies, but it's going to take her some time to drill down. On paper, this guy looks pretty clean, like he got caught up in something when he was younger and it scared him straight."

"Well, that's convenient."

"Isn't it though? Little too much so. Ava said the guy has no presence on social media, which is odd for a corporate mover and shaker. My gut's talkin' to me about this guy, Hudson. I think your tree hugger may have cracked the case for you."

"She's a wildlife biologist."

"Sure—hang on a sec, buddy." There was a scratchy noise and then complete silence. Hudson pulled the phone away to see if the connection had been lost. "Hudson."

He lifted the phone back to his ear. "What's up?"

"Mia's with you, right? You're safe?"

A mosquito had landed on his wrist, but he didn't slap it. The strain in Mitch's voice told him he didn't want to risk the noise bringing Mia to the front door. He made his way quietly down the steps and across the yard to a burly tree, eyes moving across the landscape the whole time. His mouth was dry. "We're safe as we can be for right now. What is it?"

"Damn, Hudson. I'm looking at the scene photos from the homicide last year." Mitch stopped, and the sound of swallowing came over the connection. "Hudson, what this guy did...if you even think there's the slightest chance you might not be able to keep Mia safe, you need to bring her in."

Hudson's heart was beating at double speed and the rushing blood pulsed like ocean waves in his ears. "That bad?"

"That bad and more. This wasn't just about self-protection or hiding evidence. Whoever killed this woman liked doing it, man. Call-in-the-Behavioural-Sciences-Unit liked it. If she's right and it's this Abe guy, Mia's in trouble, Hudson. Huge trouble."