Page 70 of Lost Truth
“You can’t recall anything when you’re dead, can you?”
Someone gasped behind Hayden and Abby, and they both spun. Reece stood at the door, staring at the computer.
“Pause it,” Hayden instructed Abby, who stopped the video.
“I can’t believe he just said that.” Reece shook her head. “He… I mean… I’d never expect that from him.”
“Palmer?”
She shook her head. “No. The other guy.”
Abby took a step back. “You know him?”
“I don’t know him personally, but I know who he is. And I can hardly believe it.” Reece shook her head. “It’s Odin Ivers.”
Abby shared a baffled look with Hayden, but he was no more in the know than she was.
“Is that name supposed to ring a bell for us?” he asked.
Reece’s eyes were wide. “He’s our county commissioner.”
Abby clapped a hand over her mouth.
“Yeah,” Reece said. “If he’s in this with Collins and Palmer, there’s some high rollers in the group.”
Hayden had to agree. The former mayor’s brother-in-law, a respected attorney, and the county commissioner. Could they possibly be human traffickers? As Reece said, it was almost unbelievable.
“If I hadn’t seen him tell Palmer to kill Percy on this video,” Reece said. “We probably wouldn’t have believed he was involved.”
Hayden agreed. “Start the video again. Let’s see if he says anything else to incriminate himself.”
Abby clicked “play,” and the screen came to life.
Palmer glared at Ivers. “You want me to kill this Vaughn guy? He’s just an old dude with dementia. He’s gonna die soon enough anyway.”
A shrill shriek came from the doorway. Hayden whipped around to see Cady standing there, her mouth hanging open as she gaped at the computer.
Abby stopped the video, but Hayden stepped in front of the screen so Cady couldn’t see it.
“He’s talking about my father. Did he kill my father?” Each word took her voice higher and higher until it reached an out-of-control range. She rushed across the room, sidestepped Hayden, and stared at the screen. “It’s Palmer. Oh my goodness! Palmer killed my dad? But who is the other man?”
Reece stepped forward, concern etched on her face. “His name is Odin Ivers. He’s our county commissioner.”
Cady lifted her hands and gawked at Reece. “Why would a county commissioner want my father dead?”
“Earlier in the video he admits to being connected to human trafficking,” Reece said.
“Seriously?” Cady blinked. Blinked again. “That’s almost unbelievable, but at least we have proof of who killed my father.” Her expression tightened, and she glanced around the trio. “Where did this video come from, and how long have you had it without telling me?”
Hayden really didn’t want to talk about the video with her, much less give her any details. He hadn’t even wanted her to know about it, but now that she did, she deserved an answer. “It’s one of Palmer’s security files. Abby just discovered it.”
“And you all decided what I should and shouldn’t see.” She gritted her teeth. “For now, I’ll skip telling you how upset I am that you would keep this from me.” Tears glistening in her eyes, she curled her arms around her waist in a protective hug, and glared at them. “I want to see the whole video.”
“You really don’t want to watch this.” Hayden met her gaze, and it gutted him to see her pain. “That’s why we didn’t tell you about it. You don’t need to see this man’s cruelty.”
“But I do.” She lifted her chin and squinted at Hayden. “Don’t interfere in this.”
He didn’t want her to watch these bottom-feeders discuss killing her father, but her body language and tone of voice served as warnings he didn’t want to ignore.
