he wouldn’t mention to Bailey or Evan. Old habits died hard, and Jackson had wanted some kind of backup for the tests.
She nodded again and took a sip of the coffee. At least she tried, but the shaking sloshed it out of the cup and onto her hand. Jackson took the cup from her and put it back on his desk.
“The sheriff just called,” he told her. Best to use this time to give her an update, rather than go back to the subject of Caden. He also checked her hand to make sure the hot coffee hadn’t burnt her. “No identity yet on the dead intruder.”
Bailey didn’t do a good job of hiding her disappointment. “And the person who killed him?”
“Nothing yet on that, either. But the intruder did call Nurse Shannon Wright.”
She took a deep breath and slowly drew back her hand. “Shannon,” she repeated. “And does she have an explanation why a possible killer would have called her?”
“Not yet. The sheriff will look into it. But don’t get your hopes up that Shannon is guilty of anything. The intruder accused you of hiring him, so he could have also made a call to Shannon to implicate her.”
“Of course. I hadn’t thought of that.” She paused. “Thank you for letting me stay last night. I was a wreck. Still am,” she added in a mumble.
He didn’t doubt that. He wasn’t feeling at ease either. “Who knew you were coming here to the estate?”
Bailey shook her head. “No one should have known. I used an alias when I applied for a temp job with the decorating crew. And I only applied two days ago.”
“Maybe someone had been watching you, following you,” Jackson suggested.
“That’s possible. Maybe the woman who took my son has been keeping an eye on me. Maybe she wants to make sure I can’t ID her.”
“Can you?”
She made a slight sound of frustration and closed her eyes a moment. “I wish. But the only thing I can remember is that it was a woman. She warned me to be quiet or the gunmen would kill me. She also said they might take the baby to get me to cooperate.”
Jackson tried not to let that get to him, but it had to have been terrifying. “Maybe this woman is the one who hired the intruder. She could have sent him here, not for me or Caden, but for you. She could have done that to cover up the fact that she stole your child. Maybe she wants you dead.”
Not a sound of frustration this time, but her eyes widened with surprise. No. Make that shock. “But why kill me? I don’t know who she is.”
“She might not realize that. If she believes you could identify her, then she would want to keep you on the run, away from the police. And if she thought she could no longer do that, then she might hire someone to kill you.”
“Oh, God.” And Bailey kept repeating it. With each repeat, she grew paler and her breath started to race. “I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection. I thought the intruder was here after you or even Caden—maybe a kidnapping for ransom. How could I have been so stupid?”
Jackson was about to point out that the intruder could indeed have been there for a kidnapping attempt. Of course, that still left the question of why the man had implicated Bailey?
“I’ve considered the possibility that the intruder somehow eavesdropped on my conversation with Evan,” Jackson explained. “When I talked to Evan in the foyer, I said your name and asked him to run a background check on you. If the intruder heard that, using some kind of long-range eavesdropping device, he might have latched on to it because he would have known I was already suspicious of you.”
She frantically shook her head. “Or he already knew my name before he arrived.”
That was his number-one theory. “But if this woman who stole your baby wants you dead, why try to have you killed here at the estate? Why not wait until after you left? There’s a long stretch of country road between here and San Antonio, and if the intruder had attacked there, fewer witnesses would have been
She nodded again and took a sip of the coffee. At least she tried, but the shaking sloshed it out of the cup and onto her hand. Jackson took the cup from her and put it back on his desk.
“The sheriff just called,” he told her. Best to use this time to give her an update, rather than go back to the subject of Caden. He also checked her hand to make sure the hot coffee hadn’t burnt her. “No identity yet on the dead intruder.”
Bailey didn’t do a good job of hiding her disappointment. “And the person who killed him?”
“Nothing yet on that, either. But the intruder did call Nurse Shannon Wright.”
She took a deep breath and slowly drew back her hand. “Shannon,” she repeated. “And does she have an explanation why a possible killer would have called her?”
“Not yet. The sheriff will look into it. But don’t get your hopes up that Shannon is guilty of anything. The intruder accused you of hiring him, so he could have also made a call to Shannon to implicate her.”
“Of course. I hadn’t thought of that.” She paused. “Thank you for letting me stay last night. I was a wreck. Still am,” she added in a mumble.
He didn’t doubt that. He wasn’t feeling at ease either. “Who knew you were coming here to the estate?”
Bailey shook her head. “No one should have known. I used an alias when I applied for a temp job with the decorating crew. And I only applied two days ago.”
“Maybe someone had been watching you, following you,” Jackson suggested.
“That’s possible. Maybe the woman who took my son has been keeping an eye on me. Maybe she wants to make sure I can’t ID her.”
“Can you?”
She made a slight sound of frustration and closed her eyes a moment. “I wish. But the only thing I can remember is that it was a woman. She warned me to be quiet or the gunmen would kill me. She also said they might take the baby to get me to cooperate.”
Jackson tried not to let that get to him, but it had to have been terrifying. “Maybe this woman is the one who hired the intruder. She could have sent him here, not for me or Caden, but for you. She could have done that to cover up the fact that she stole your child. Maybe she wants you dead.”
Not a sound of frustration this time, but her eyes widened with surprise. No. Make that shock. “But why kill me? I don’t know who she is.”
“She might not realize that. If she believes you could identify her, then she would want to keep you on the run, away from the police. And if she thought she could no longer do that, then she might hire someone to kill you.”
“Oh, God.” And Bailey kept repeating it. With each repeat, she grew paler and her breath started to race. “I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection. I thought the intruder was here after you or even Caden—maybe a kidnapping for ransom. How could I have been so stupid?”
Jackson was about to point out that the intruder could indeed have been there for a kidnapping attempt. Of course, that still left the question of why the man had implicated Bailey?
“I’ve considered the possibility that the intruder somehow eavesdropped on my conversation with Evan,” Jackson explained. “When I talked to Evan in the foyer, I said your name and asked him to run a background check on you. If the intruder heard that, using some kind of long-range eavesdropping device, he might have latched on to it because he would have known I was already suspicious of you.”
She frantically shook her head. “Or he already knew my name before he arrived.”
That was his number-one theory. “But if this woman who stole your baby wants you dead, why try to have you killed here at the estate? Why not wait until after you left? There’s a long stretch of country road between here and San Antonio, and if the intruder had attacked there, fewer witnesses would have been
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