by Judi Lynn
“You sure you don’t need this?” Radley asked. He sat in the chair and plopped his feet on the coffee table. When Donovan grinned, Radley gave him a thumbs-up. “Thanks.”
Bain looked around the apartment and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re leaving the farm to live in this dump with a bunch of hand-me-downs?”
Radley let out a short laugh. “What did we have at the ranch house? Grandma and Grandpa’s old furniture? The beds we slept in as kids?”
Bain’s scowl deepened. “This is other peoples’ rubbish. Open your eyes, Rad, and come home.”
When Radley looked troubled, Donovan jumped in to defend him. “Give him a chance. He’s just starting up. He makes enough money, he can buy a new piece of furniture a week if he wants to. Come to see him again in a few months, and this place will look good.”
Bain glared at him. “First of all, I don’t know you, and I don’t care what you think. This is family business. You’re not family, so butt out.”
Radley pushed to his feet. “That’s enough.”
Donovan held up his hands in a placating gesture. “No worries. I know all about family drama, have plenty of my own. I’ll leave you guys to it. But, Radley, you have a shot at a fresh start. It’s your choice.” He turned and they heard him walk down the hall and start down the stairs.
“Are you going to listen to him or me?” Bain demanded. “We’ve worked together since we were kids.”
“I’m staying,” Radley told him.
“Dad’s getting older, slowing down. Are you just going to desert him when he needs you?”
“I’ve heard that my whole life. I’m staying.”
Jamming his hands into his pockets, Bain started for the door, too. “Fine. Find out for yourself how much fun it is trying to make it on your own.”
His footsteps pounded down the stairs, and Ansel frowned at Radley.
“Are you going to be okay?”
Radley shrugged. “You know Bain’s temper. He’ll stew and grumble, then get over it in a while.”
That’s when they heard a gunshot. They all looked at each other, then raced for the top of the stairs.
Chapter 2
When they hesitantly made their way to the second floor, Jazzi pointed at Donovan stumbling out of his apartment, his hand pressed to his chest. Blood covered it and dripped down his arm. As he tried to walk toward them, his knees buckled and he fell.
They ran to him. Jerod and Radley knelt beside him, and Jazzi reached for her cell phone to call 911. Then she called Detective Gaff. She’d worked with him on previous murders. More of them than she should ever have had to deal with.
“A man’s been shot at the apartments on Berry Street, apartment 2D,” she told him. “He’s in bad shape. I called 911. Are you on duty today?”
“I’m working a homicide not far away. Give me fifteen minutes.”
Jazzi wasn’t sure Donovan had that long. There was so much blood. It spread beneath him and oozed out of the exit wound in his back.
“We need to apply pressure to the wound.” Radley pressed both hands to Donovan’s back, pressing down hard. Relief flooded her when sirens approached the building and EMS techs hurried up the steps. Everyone stood back out of the way, to let them do their jobs.
Walker’s voice shook when he asked her, “Is Gaff coming?” He’d worked with the detective when his dad, Darby, was killed. He respected him.
“He’ll be here soon.” She hoped it was only to solve a shooting, not a murder. She willed Donovan to hang on, to make it.
Walker leaned against the wall to wait. Ansel grabbed her hand, though, and pulled her after him. When she glanced back at the medics, Ansel tugged harder.
“What is it?”
“Where’s Bain?” His voice cracked with tension.
“Bain? He left.”
“Hurry!” He practically dragged her after him. They got out of the building before cops arrived. He headed straight to the back lot and found his brother searching through his pickup in near panic.
“Did you hear the shot?” Ansel asked.
Bain’s face drained of color. “Someone must have seen me walk back to my truck to put our gun in the glove compartment. It’s gone. Somebody stole it.”
Ansel stared. “I told you it was a stupid idea to buy a gun.”
“Dad bought it when we drove here for your wedding. He said every big city was filled with violence. He insisted I bring it to get Radley.”
Jazzi studied the glove compartment. No marks on it. No marks on the truck’s doors either. “No windows are broken or doors jammed. How did someone get in?”
Bain swallowed hard. “I never lock it. No need to on the farm or in our small town. I just forgot.”
Ansel raked a hand through his white-blond hair. “There’s no way to prove anyone took it.”
Bain pressed his eyes shut, rubbed his forehead. “But why would I shoot anyone here? I don’t know anybody in River Bluffs.”
“It’s Donovan, and you just argued with him. He’s lost a lot of blood. You’d better come with us. Detective Gaff is going to want to question you.” Ansel waited for his brother to follow him, but Bain stood rooted to the spot.
“This is going to look bad. I’ve heard about big city cops. They pin a crime on anyone to close a case. I just fought with Donovan. It was my gun.”
Ansel frowned at him. “You’ve listened to Dad too long. Cops aren’t like that, especially Gaff. It’s going to look worse if you run. How far do you think you’d get? You’d be pulled over somewhere between here and home.”
Bain gripped the truck’s door handle. Jazzi tried to reason with him. “If you follow us in now, they can check your hands for any residue. If you’d fired the gun, they’d know.”
Bain’s gaze slid to the work gloves on his front seat. “Unless I wore gloves.”
She sighed. He would have to have those right there, wouldn’t he? But Ansel started to return to the building.
“They know where you live,” he said. “Do you want them to arrest you on the farm in front of Mom and Dad?”
Bain’s shoulders sagged and he trailed after Ansel. Jazzi brought up the rear. By the time they reached Donovan’s hallway, the medics were carrying Donovan out on a stretcher. A sheet covered his face.
Jazzi’s limbs felt numb. He’d died? They’d just talked to him, laughed with him. He was nice. Who’d want to hurt him? A tech strode toward his apartment and Jazzi watched him go inside. She froze. The door was open, and she could see that his couch was slashed open and its stuffing thrown everywhere. Books were knocked off shelves, furniture overturned. The door to his bedroom was ajar, and his mattress was cut open, too.
Ansel followed her gaze and grimaced. “Someone was looking for something.”
Radley came to stand next to Bain. “I thought you left.”
Voice low, Bain said, “Whoever shot him used my gun. They took it out of the pickup.”
Radley’s jaw dropped. He stared. “Geez, Bain, you couldn’t have made things worse if you tried.”
Jerod and Walker had heard him, too. Jerod took a deep breath. “Gaff’s a good guy. All he cares about is finding the truth. Don’t play games with him. Just tell him exactly what happened.”
Bain nodded, but Jazzi wasn’t sure he’d comprehended. His hands shook, and she thought he might be so shocked, he was only going through the motions. She turned to Ansel. “Stay with him. He needs support right now.”
But when Gaff got there, he left them waiting to zip into the apartment to see the crime scene and talk to his men. When he emerged, he suggested they all go down to the building’s lobby to talk. Once Bain was away from 2F, he looked a little more together than before. And Gaff kept his voice low and calm as he asked him questions. Still, when they finished, Gaff pinched his lips into a tight line. “We found your gu
n in the dumpster behind the building. We’re taking it in for evidence. We’re taking your gloves, too, to check for residue in case you wore them when you fired your weapon. Until we learn more, you’re our chief suspect. So don’t leave town until I tell you it’s okay. We have to start somewhere, and right now, we don’t have a lot to go on.”
Bain held out a hand to brace himself on the back of a chair. “But Dad needs me on the farm.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Gaff said. “But there’s no way around it right now.”
Bain looked at Radley. “I can’t afford to stay in a hotel.”
Radley shook his head. “I don’t have a spare room. I don’t even have a couch.”
Ansel’s voice sounded strained. “You can stay with us until this is settled.”
Jazzi’s heart sank. She felt it shrivel and weep. Bain. Living with them. And he’d be in a worse mood than usual. But he was Ansel’s brother. They couldn’t just leave him on the streets. Could they? No. Shame on her. Would it look bad if she offered to pay for a hotel room for him? She grimaced. Yeah, Ansel might not appreciate that. But she wasn’t looking forward to spending time with Ansel’s oldest brother.
Chapter 3
Jazzi was ready to head home, but Radley said, “Why not come to my apartment and have a beer while I call Thane? He’s going to be upset. Donovan and I were supposed to play cards with him tonight.” He motioned to Walker. “You were going to be there, too.”
Walker’s shoulders sagged. “Should we drive to his house and tell him in person instead of over the phone?”
“No, he might not be home. He was going to run around with Olivia today. She’s making one of their spare bedrooms into an office. That’s why he couldn’t stay to help more with the move.”
“We still have a few things for you in the van,” Ansel said. “Jazzi and I will carry those in while you make your call.”
“I’ll help you.” Jerod started to file after them. “Can we make it in one trip?”
“I’ll help, too.” Bain followed them out of the building. Jazzi couldn’t hide her surprise, and he growled, “The sooner we’re done here, the sooner we’re out of the building. I want to get away from here.”
Soon, Jazzi was surrounded by men who towered over her. Every single one of them, including Walker and Radley, were six feet or taller. Jazzi suspected that, like her, none of them wanted to hear Radley’s end of the depressing phone call or gauge Thane’s reaction to it. She opened the back doors of the van and handed a huge tote to Jerod. “Pots and pans. We bought a new set when we moved into the house. I meant to take these to Goodwill but never got there.”
She handed a heavy box to Bain. “Odd dishes and silverware, a few coffee mugs, more old stuff I’ve never bothered to get rid of.”
Bain glanced inside it. “A can opener. He’ll need that. He’s partial to Dinty Moore stew and Chef Boyardee. That, and frozen pizzas.”
She handed him a bag full of grocery staples. “I know.” Canned food and soups filled half of it, along with flour and sugar. “I already sent milk and eggs with him earlier.”
He shook his head and impatience colored his voice. “You’re not his mother, you know.”
“I know. She probably wouldn’t have bothered.”
Bain’s jaw dropped. He stared at her, then turned on his heel and stalked away.
Ansel put an arm around her. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for Radley. So does he.”
“Your brother and I are going to bump heads. Are you okay with that?”
“Have at him. If he gets on my nerves, he has to get on yours, too.” He handed her the bag of old towels she’d packed. “Hope Radley brought soap so he can take a shower.”
“I put a bar in the bottom of the bag.”
Ansel grinned and picked up the last sack filled with a pillow and a sheet set. “You think of everything. Let’s hope Radley’s off the phone when we take these in. This is going to put a damper on the family meal tomorrow.”
She picked up the box loaded with the food she’d made. She cooked for her family every Sunday. That way, everyone could touch base and keep tabs on each other. Somewhere along the line, Walker had been adopted into their midst, and then Radley. She and Ansel had bought a second long, narrow fold-up table to seat everybody. Joined to their farmhouse trestle table, along with the first fold-up they’d bought, what had once been a long rectangle had become a big square.
They entered the building and climbed the stairs to 3F. Cops and crime techs still came and went from the second floor. At Radley’s, Bain sat in the recliner, his head back and his eyes closed, while Radley put things in cupboards. Jerod leaned his long frame against the wall. “Supervising,” he told them.
Radley’s kitchen was small but big enough for one bachelor. He turned when they put their bags on his small wooden table. “Thanks, guys. I have everything I need to get settled in.”
Jazzi rolled her eyes. “We didn’t give you anything fancy. I hope you can replace most of it soon.”
He motioned to the cupboard with mismatched glasses, cups, and dishes. “This is the kind of stuff I’m used to. It’ll make me feel at home. I felt like I was staying at a topnotch bed-and-breakfast at your place, like I should mind my manners.”
“I didn’t notice you being on your best behavior,” Ansel teased.
“I didn’t say I did. I said I felt like I should.”
Ansel chuckled, but Jazzi quit worrying her bottom lip to say, “How’s Thane? Okay?”
“He didn’t take it very well. He and Donovan have been work buddies for a long time. He said Olivia’s ordering in food tonight. He doesn’t want to see anyone, but they’ll be at the family get-together tomorrow.”
Jerod grimaced. “Yeah, that’s sure to be fun. Nothing like a murder every other month to cheer us up.”
Jazzi glanced at her watch. “Talking about the Sunday meal, we’d better go. I have to cook something for everybody.”
“You could pass on that if you want to.” But Radley sounded disappointed.
“Don’t be silly. It won’t be anything special, though. I was planning on brats and sauerkraut.”
“Love those. I’ve never left your table hungry.” Radley motioned toward Walker. “What about him?”
Jazzi shrugged. “We’ve adopted him. He’s officially part of the Sunday doings.”
When Walker balked, Radley nudged his arm. “Come on, man. It’s better than sitting home, brooding.”
“I’ll be there. I would brood. Can I stop and grab something on my way?”
“Nope, and you’re welcome to come for supper tonight, too. I already made a cherry pie and we have lots of food. We won’t starve.”
Walker loved desserts as much as Ansel did, she knew. His gray eyes lit up when she’d mentioned pie.
“You sure?” he asked. “I can always stop to buy a pizza.”
That sobered everyone. Pizza is what Thane served for poker night.
Ansel gave himself a small shake. “We’d better go. Quit fussing and come on over, Walker.” He touched Bain’s arm on the way out. “We’re heading home. You coming?”
Bain pushed to his feet. “I’ll follow you in my truck. I don’t know the way yet.”
He sounded lost in more ways than one. Jazzi had to feel sorry for him. Talk about plans going wrong. He came here to collect his brother and now he was stuck in River Bluffs as a murder suspect. Even Bain didn’t deserve that.
“I could ride with you and give you directions,” she volunteered.
“God, no, a little of you goes a long way.”
Her spine stiffened. Bain wasn’t that lost. He was still his unpleasant self. If he lost them on the way home, he had a cell phone. He could call Ansel. If he called her, she wouldn’t answer.
Chapter 4
George perked up his head when
they walked through the kitchen door, and Inky and Marmalade came running. The pets weren’t happy they’d been left alone for so long on a Saturday. Usually, Jazzi and Ansel worked around the house and ran to the store. When they’d return, they’d throw empty paper bags on the floor for the cats to run in and out of. Their usual weekend routine, and the pets liked it.
Bain came in next, and George turned his head, ignoring him. Even the pug knew Bain was a party pooper. Jazzi called the pets into the kitchen to fuss over them, ladling food into their bowls, while Ansel took Bain upstairs to help him get settled. He’d be staying in the same caramel-colored room Radley had used. It was on the far corner upstairs without a direct view to their bedroom. Thankfully, Radley had tugged off the dirty sheets, and Jazzi had placed fresh ones on the chest of drawers.
While the men made the bed, Jazzi started supper. She covered the enchiladas with foil and put them in the oven to heat up. With a salad and pie, that was a good enough meal.
Raised voices upstairs caught her attention. “It’s all your fault!” Bain shouted. “You lured Radley here with your stupid wedding. If he’d have stayed home, where he belongs, none of this would have happened.”
“If I remember right . . .” Ansel’s voice could freeze pipes . . . “I didn’t want you at my wedding. I told you so. You came anyway.”
“Mom wanted to see it. So did Adda. Our sister wouldn’t leave it alone.”
“So, send Mom with Adda and Henry. You and Dad could have stayed on the farm with your cows. You put them above anything or anyone anyway.”
Hmm. Jazzi smiled. Her Norseman could hold his own. She stepped closer to the stairs to eavesdrop.
“If Mom came, Radley would come. If I’d stayed home, it wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“Maybe if you’d treated Radley better than you treated me, he’d have been happy on the dairy farm.”
“We did treat him better. He got to stay and work with us.”
“Got to? Or did you need him for cheap labor? Did he have any say in any of the decisions you and Dad made?”
