Chapter Nine
The sudden shock hit Leigh to the core. “Rocky?” she managed to say to the PI. “You’re sure?”
“Bowen said he’s positive.” Saylor paused. “He also wants to talk to you about this.”
Of course he did. He’d demand to know if Rocky had conspired with Alexa to cause trouble for Cullen. Maybe for her, too. And right now, Leigh didn’t have the answer to that, but she soon would.
“I photographed only one meeting that Alexa had with your deputy,” Saylor continued. “But it’s possible there were more.”
Yes, and that was something else she would ask her deputy.
“When did this meeting with Rocky take place?” Leigh asked.
“Three days ago.”
So, two days before the party. Rocky definitely should have mentioned speaking to Alexa that close to the date of her murder. Especially since Leigh hadn’t heard a peep about Rocky being friends or even friendly with the woman.
“Thanks for the info,” Leigh told him, and she ended the call so she could access her email on her phone.
“I’m guessing Rocky didn’t tell you about these meetings?” Cullen asked.
Leigh shook her head, pulled up the file with the photos, and the moment the first one loaded, she wanted to curse. It was Rocky all right, and she turned her phone so that he could see. Rocky and Alexa weren’t exactly cozy-looking, the way lovers might be, but they were clearly having an intimate conversation.
“How bad does Rocky want to see you fail as sheriff?” Cullen asked.
Leigh suspected the answer to that wasvery bad. But she didn’t voice that opinion because she spotted Cecile Taggart, a reserve deputy, heading her way. Cecile was in her early fifties and had plenty of experience. Better yet, she was someone Leigh trusted.
“I was already heading into town when I got your text,” Cecile greeted. “Which one is Jamie’s room?”
Leigh pointed to it. “The security guard’s with him now, but I’d rather you be in there. The guard can stay on the door.”
Cecile’s eyebrow winged up. “Are you expecting big trouble?”
“Trying to avoid it,” Leigh explained. “Jamie’s sedated right now, but he’s scared. Stay with him at all times.”
“Will do. I’ve got my laptop with me,” she added, patting the bag she had hooked over her shoulder. “If you need any help with the murder investigation, just let me know. I’ll probably have some downtime while I’m with Jamie.”
True, especially since Jamie was asleep and might be that way for a while. “There’s a search warrant to go through Alexa’s files and phone records. Get started on making that happen. I need you to earmark any communication Alexa had with Austin Borden, Kali Starling and James McNash, aka Jimbo. Also with Cullen and Bowen Brodie.”
Cecile’s eyebrow came up again, and she glanced at Cullen, probably to see how he felt about that. Cullen merely shrugged.
“I’m covering the bases,” Leigh muttered to Cullen. But, of course, she hadn’t. Because she’d left Rocky’s name off that list. No doubt because Leigh didn’t want Rocky to know he was under investigation. And that was probably why she also added to Cecile, “Flag anything that’s connected to anyone involved in this investigation.Anyone,” Leigh emphasized.
“Will do,” Cecile repeated. “You headed home to get some shut-eye?”
Leigh shook her head. “I’ll be in my office.”
She waited until Cecile was in with Jamie before turning back to the visitors’ room. Kali was still sitting there, but she’d stopped crying. She was staring blankly at the table.
“Would you like to walk with us to my office?” Leigh asked.
Kali shook her head. “I need a few more minutes. I’ll be there soon.” Now she turned and looked at Leigh. “Just make sure Austin’s in a room somewhere when I get there. I meant it when I said I didn’t want to see him.”
Leigh gave a confirming nod, and with Cullen right beside her, they started for the exit. As she walked, she pressed Rocky’s number, and he answered after several rings.
“Yo,” he grumbled, sounding as if she’d woken him.
“I want you at the office right now,” Leigh told him.