by M. S. Parker
“All right, then. What are we going to do?”
“I guess we have two choices,” he said. “We can either give up and go home empty-handed, or we can try to figure out a way to get what we need.”
I was silent for a few minutes, but I wasn’t really considering going back without at least trying to do something. The problem was, the idea I’d had bouncing around in my head for the last couple hours was absolutely crazy.
“Allen told me once that his mother kept all sorts of things from his childhood.” My fingers tightened around his. “Including his baby teeth.”
“Teeth that would have his DNA.” Jasper immediately knew where I was going. “We could get a subpoena for them.”
I shook my head. “The Lockwoods would tie us up in court for years.”
“And there’s no way they’ll give the teeth to us.”
“That goes without saying.”
He was quiet for a moment, but when he spoke again, his voice was firm. “Then we’ll just have to steal them.”
I didn’t say anything, but I didn’t have to. That was exactly what I’d been thinking we’d have to do.
I’d always been a level-headed person, I liked to think. The kind of person who could be counted on, who never did anything impulsive or spontaneous. Well, except for sleeping with Jasper, but it seemed like he brought out something inside me that was a little more reckless.
Case in point, I was currently sitting next to him as we parked the rental car far enough down the driveway that the house’s security cameras wouldn’t catch us. We were both wearing dark clothes and I had a hat to tuck my hair up in. On the console between us were a few pieces of wire, paperclips and a few other odds and ends Jasper had spent the day collecting. I’d known about his less-than-legal pastimes as a teenager, but I’d still been surprised at how easily he’d put together lock-picking tools.
We’d come to the house this morning for two reasons. One, to make one last legal attempt to get what we needed. And it was we, not I. Jasper was with me on this. It was good to feel that support again, the kind that could only come with being part of a couple.
We’d gone together to the door, not even bothering to try to hide the fact that we were together. If anything, I’d needed the strength that holding his hand gave me to face that door again. Then the door had opened and the butler had been standing there, the expression on his face even more disapproving than before.
I hadn’t been sure whether or not I should’ve been relieved or disappointed when he’d informed us that the Lockwoods had decided to take a bit of a holiday for the rest of the weekend. They would be unreachable for the unforeseen future.
And then he’d shut the door in our faces without another word.
Whatever lingering doubts I’d had about breaking into the house vanished the moment that door closed. I’d known their absence had been intentional, a way to completely avoid me. It wasn’t meant to simply be hurtful either. It had been insulting as well.
Part of me wanted to be careless about it, to trash their house, destroy things that I knew they cared about more than they did me. Which was pretty much everything, including the dust bunnies under the beds. It would be stupid and petty and childish, but the idea of imagining them coming home to all of their precious artwork torn, fine things broken, I’d have been lying if I’d said the thought of it didn’t make me smile.
I wouldn’t do it though. The Lockwoods would know it was me and file charges. I’d be arrested and most likely convicted. I’d lose the vineyard. I wished I could make them suffer, but I wouldn’t do it at the price of my own happiness. And I meant to be happy again.
Even if I had to commit B&E to do it.
Dammit.
When we’d gone back to the hotel, while Jasper had done his thing, I’d called Henley to talk in hypotheticals about my options. He’d confirmed what I’d already suspected. We could try to force the Lockwoods to turn over anything with Allen’s DNA – I hadn’t been specific – but aside from the near certainty that they would bury us in legal work and try to drag things out, there was also the possibility that they’d simply say they didn’t have anything. It was only my word, based on a conversation with Allen, that his mother even had kept such personal possessions.
“I can do this myself,” Jasper said, reaching over to take my hand. “You can stay here. There’s no need—”
“Together,” I reminded him, pushing aside my thoughts. “We’re doing this together.”
He smiled at me and leaned over to kiss my cheek. “All right. Since I get to introduce you to the world of criminal activity, follow this very important rule: don’t leave my side.”
I smiled. “I don’t intend to.”
There was a moment of heat between us, and then we were out of the car and heading for the house.
The second reason we’d gone earlier today had been to observe the property. That had actually been more Jasper’s thing and it had apparently gone well. He’d noticed a small side door that was out of view of the main security cameras. Between the both of us, we’d been able to remember that it had been an old servants’ entrance, one that the Lockwoods most likely still made their servants use. It would also lead to a back staircase that would prevent us from having to go around the front and risk being seen. The butler lived in a small guesthouse behind the main house, but I knew the Lockwoods had at least one live-in housekeeper or maid. They wouldn’t be wandering around at night, but if they heard an odd noise, they might call the butler or the cops.
I followed Jasper around to the side door and watched as he set to work. Less than a minute passed and I heard a click. The door opened and Jasper looked over at me. I took a breath and nodded.
It was time to break the law.
Chapter 15
The small number of times I’d visited the Lockwood house over the years had been spent wandering around and trying to avoid Allen’s family while he played nice. That meant I knew the way to the second floor from the back stairs.
Jasper and I had discussed it earlier and agreed that the bedroom was the most likely place for May to have kept the baby teeth. Allen had said that his mother had a box for each of the kids where she kept mementos of items that weren’t the sort of thing to display. All of the trophies and awards the kids had earned were in the library on the first floor so anyone who came over could have the chance to properly admire the wonder that was the Lockwood family.
We moved as quickly and quietly as possible, making our way up the stairs and down the hall to the bedroom. Jasper opened the door and went in first even though we knew no one was inside. He’d made it clear that I was supposed to let him take the lead on all of this. After a moment, he whispered for me to follow.
The curtains were all drawn so I turned on my flashlight and headed for the closet. The overhead light would show under the door, but the beam from my flashlight was directed enough that it shouldn’t be noticed. At least that’s what we were hoping for. It still didn’t stop my heart from racing as I opened the closet door and stepped inside.
“Shit,” I whispered. May’s walk-in closet was nearly the size of my second-grade classroom. It was lined with shoes and purses and more dresses than May could’ve worn in a year.
“I asked her to donate some clothes to a goodwill project I was doing a couple years back.” Jasper wasn’t whispering, but his voice was still quiet. “She told me that if I was trying to work off my debt to society, I needed to do it on my own.”
I shook my head. “I sometimes wonder where Allen got his generosity from.”
“His grandmother.”
I stopped mid-step and looked over at Jasper. “What?”
“May’s mother. She died his sophomore year of college and I went with him to the funeral. There were hundreds of people at her funeral. She barely had any money, but every time Allen tried to help her out, she ended up giving away whatever he gave her.”
“What do you mean she didn’t have money?” Allen ne
ver talked about his extended family and I’d always assumed it was because they were like the rest of the Lockwoods. Complete asshats.
Jasper gave me a half-smile. “May wasn’t raised rich. ‘Dirt poor’ was, I believe, the term Allen used. It wasn’t until she married Gregory that she had any money at all.”
“You’d think that’d make her more generous, not less,” I said as I continued on my way to the back of the closet.
“I gave up trying to figure out the Lockwood mentality years ago,” Jasper said as he followed me.
“I think it’s one of those.” I pointed at three identical boxes on the topmost shelf.
Jasper reached up and pulled out the third one, assuming, as I did, that they were in birth order. He handed it down to me and I knelt on the floor before taking off the top of the box. He crouched next to me as I looked inside.
On the very top was Allen’s obituary. I sucked in a breath and Jasper put his hand on my shoulder.
“I can do this if you want,” he offered.
I shook my head. “It was just a shock. I can do it.”
I took a moment to will my hands to still inside the rubber gloves that were making my palms sweat, then I carefully began to take out the items in the box. Allen’s obituary. The newspaper story about the accident. Other newspaper clippings about the vineyard. I assumed these were secondary copies since I knew there were framed ones down in the library. I was a bit surprised to see things from Allen and my wedding, but I didn’t say anything. Jasper had been there, of course, but it seemed strange to call attention to it.
“It’s odd,” Jasper said, breaking the silence. “Sometimes it seems like he’s been gone forever, like I’m going to forget what he looked like. Other times, it’s like it was just yesterday I was planning his bachelor party.”
“I know what you mean,” I agreed. I opened the program and looked at the names inside.
Marcus, of course, had been a groomsman and so had Randall Jackson, Gregory’s business partner and husband to Allen’s older sister, Alice. Also in there was Mitchell who’d reluctantly agreed to be in the wedding party. May and Gregory hadn’t been happy about that, but they’d really pitched a fit about Jasper being the best man. Allen hadn’t given in though.
Alice had been one of my bridesmaids and so had Celeste. Gina had tried to tell me that she and Junie were too old to be in a wedding party, but I’d begged them both. The Lockwoods had, of course, been properly mortified, but had held their tongues in public. One couldn’t fail to be politically correct these days and complaining about a lesbian couple in the bridal party wouldn’t have looked good for them. I’d ignored the under-the-breath commentary, happy just to have a few people there who I truly cared about.
“Did Allen ever tell you about the bachelor party?” Jasper asked suddenly.
“Are you kidding?” I raised my eyebrows. “No man tells his wife what he did at his bachelor party.”
Jasper laughed. “Allen could’ve told you about his. He flat-out told me that if I hired a stripper, he’d never forgive me. So I rented a room at Allen’s favorite restaurant and the five of us sat and drank until your brother decided we should all get tattoos.”
“Mitchell?”
Jasper nodded. His eyes took on this faraway look. “He said he’d go first, but none of us thought he’d go through with it. He did though.”
I quickly ran through images of my brother in my mind. How had I not seen a new tattoo?
Jasper grinned. “It’s on his ass.”
I laughed. “What did he get?”
“Pluto.”
“Like the cartoon?”
“No.” Jasper shook his head. “The planet.”
“Why?” There didn’t seem to be any other question to ask.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. He just got it and left, said he was going to go find some woman to show his tattoo.”
“What about the rest of you?” I frowned. “I know Allen didn’t have a tattoo, so he must have backed out. Did you?”
“None of the rest of us got them,” he said. “Marcus was supposed to go next, but the needle touched him once and he threw up all over the tattoo artist. Got us all kicked out. He was so pissed at me, said if I’d just hired a stripper, it wouldn’t have happened. He and Randall left.”
“What did you and Allen do then?” I asked, trying hard not to laugh out loud, remembering I was supposed to be quiet.
“We went back to my place and drank and talked until we fell asleep. Very boring stuff.”
“Did you want to hire a stripper?”
He grinned at me. “I wasn’t the one getting married.”
My eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Of course I wanted a stripper.” He reached out and took my hand. “I hadn’t been out with anyone in months.” We were silent for a moment and then he asked, “What about you?”
“What about me?” I slid my hand from his and reached back into the box to pull out Allen’s college grade cards.
“Did you have a stripper at your bachelorette party?”
I laughed, then clapped a hand over my mouth as I realized how loud the sound had been. After a moment, I took my hand away and answered his question. “Of course not. Do you honestly think May Lockwood would’ve let that happen?”
“But Gina was your maid of honor.”
I nodded. “Yes, and as she pointed out, she was the last person who should be choosing a stripper for a heterosexual bachelorette party.” I set aside a clipping of the UCLA Dean’s list from Allen’s freshman year. “I ended up with something that looked like a cross between afternoon tea and some sort of hippie meditation ritual.”
His eyebrows went up.
“Seriously.” I shook my head at the memory. “I was just glad when it was all over.”
Another few minutes of silence fell as I continued to dig deeper into the box.
“Does it hurt? Thinking about your wedding?”
“Not exactly.” I didn’t look at Jasper as I answered. “It’s sad, but not painful. Not like before.”
I didn’t add that I knew it was because of him. That he was the reason I could think about Allen without wishing I’d died too, without feeling that gaping hole inside my chest. One glance at his face told me that I didn’t need to say it because Jasper already knew.
Finally, near the bottom of the box, I saw a small manila envelope. Inside was a lock of nearly white-blond hair...and a handful of baby teeth. I stared at them, forcing back a wave of pain and took a small plastic bag from my pocket, placing two of the teeth inside it. The rest I returned to the envelope.
We had what we came for.
I quickly put everything back into the box, doing my best to have it stacked the same way it had been before. With any luck, May wouldn’t even notice anything was gone.
I’d just put the lid back on the box when I heard it. A creak that seemed as loud as a thunder clap.
Someone was opening the bedroom door.
Chapter 16
We were so screwed.
I froze, not knowing what to do next. What could we do? We were in the closet, the first place someone would look if they suspected an intruder. And that had to be it, right? What other reason would have someone opening the door to the one room we just happened to be in?
The air rushed out of my lungs as Jasper grabbed me and rolled us both under a section of floor-length evening dresses. In nearly the same motion, he kicked the box so it slid across the floor to the other side of the closet. And then I was lying underneath him, his hand across my mouth as we both waited to see what would happen next.
All in all, what Jasper had done had taken mere seconds and the noise we’d made had been minimal, but there was always the chance someone could see us. He’d clicked off our flashlights and the darkness was so complete that I couldn’t even see his face even though I knew he was close enough for me to feel the heat of his breath.
“Let’s see what new jewelry
you have, Mrs. Lockwood.”
I felt Jasper stiffen in a surprise that mirrored my own. It was a woman’s voice, most likely the live-in housekeeper or maid, but it didn’t sound like she was there for us. In fact, it sounded like she was doing something she’d done before.
As the two of us lay there under the dresses, we listened to the young woman talking to herself. Most of it was muttered too low for us to hear the words, but the accompanying sounds of things being moved around, combined with what we could hear, told us that she made a habit of stealing various pieces of jewelry from May and that the other woman had no idea that anything was missing.
While my heart was racing in response to the fear of being caught, I couldn’t help but feel a little relief at the confirmation that May wouldn’t be likely to notice that things in her closet had been disturbed. With a start, I realized that even if May did notice, it was more likely that she’d lay the blame at the feet of the person who’d been stealing her jewelry as well. I felt a small pang of guilt, then reminded myself that it wasn’t like I was framing an innocent girl for stealing something expensive. I’d taken two baby teeth and nothing else. The girl was the one taking May’s jewelry to begin with.
Jasper took his hand off of my mouth and I felt his fingers tracing over my jaw and cheek. The gloves he wore felt strange against my skin, but the gesture was as comforting as he’d meant it to be. I shifted underneath him, unable to stop a smile when I heard him stifle a groan. His body was stretched out on top of mine and I could feel every breath he took...and that he was starting to get hard.
I knew it was in response to the situation, the adrenaline racing through our veins, but still, arousal flared hot and bright inside me. I pushed my hips up against him and heard him suck in a breath. Even though I couldn’t see him, I knew he was glaring at me. I reached up into the dark and wrapped my hand around the back of his neck. As I pulled his head down, I wished that I could feel the heat of his skin, the way his hair felt against my fingers, but I knew better than to take off the gloves. What I was doing was risky enough.
