She had to remind herself to breathe. “So…”
Smiling, he slid his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to his much larger frame.
“So…”
Bending his head, he brushed his lips against hers. Once. Twice. Three times before deepening the kiss. Her arms creeped around his neck and his fingers tangled in her hair as his tongue swirled around hers. When they finally broke the kiss she was dizzy and breathless, her face and chest flushed. She would have been self-conscious but he too looked just as aroused, his eyes heavy-lidded and his shoulders rising and falling rapidly with his ragged breathing.
“That was…good,” she panted, their gazes locked together. His normally soft blue eyes were dark, the pupils blown wide, and this time she didn’t resist the urge to trace his jawline and the rough stubble underneath her fingertips.
“Very good,” Zach agreed, a smile playing around his well-shaped mouth. “But I think we should do it again. You know, just to make sure.”
One could never be too thorough.
* * *
Back at Zach’s home after dinner, Leann changed into sweats and a t-shirt while he checked his email. Dinner with her family had been rather exhausting, between trying to figure out what Jason and West were up to and also wanting to make a good impression on Leann’s parents. Zach had spent time with David and Eileen in the past, of course, but now that he was involved with their daughter it was a whole new ballgame.
And he was involved with Leann. The kiss had sealed the deal. He didn’t care what her brothers thought about the relationship.
Opening his laptop, Zach had several emails but the most important was from Jason Anderson’s partner Jared – a preliminary report on Drew Marshall, although there was more to come according to the email. Jared described this report as “The stuff a little digging would find”. Now he was going to work on uncovering “The stuff buried deep that no one wants you to know”.
Leann joined him in the kitchen, settling into the chair opposite him at the table.
“Anything interesting?”
“Background on Drew Marshall.”
“Are you still hoping to find a connection other than being classmates?”
Zach rubbed his chin, which was scruffy at the end of the day. “These people were killed with a lot of hate. Carole was bludgeoned to death. Bitty was strangled. Drew had his throat slit with a champagne bottle. These were not random murders and I’d bet my favorite pair of blue jeans that the killer knew Drew Marshall. Killing someone with a broken champagne bottle is too up close and personal. He had to face Drew and look him in the eye. That’s an intense moment and nothing accidental about it.”
Leann shuddered, her lips turning down. “Can you imagine facing a person that’s trying to kill you? Basically seeing your own death? It’s horrifying.”
Zach opened the attachment on the email. “I think whomever killed Drew had a lot of hate for him. That’s why this research is so important. It might give us a clue as to who would want him to die a painful death.”
Peering over Zach’s shoulder, Leann frowned. “You mean like his friends and enemies?”
“That and everything else we can get our hands on. Business partners. Finances. Group associations such as club memberships. Any lawsuits or arrests. Also family issues such as friction between himself and a sibling. Or his wife.”
He’d casually dropped that last part, not sure how Leann would respond. Jenna was her friend and as such he assumed Leann would defend her.
“You want to find out if Jenna and Drew were having any marital difficulties?”
Scrolling through the report, he didn’t see anything that jumped out at him. “Yes, it’s standard operating procedure to investigate the spouse. Statistically, they should be our number one suspect.”
“Is she?” Leann gave him a searching look. “Your number one suspect?”
“No, she’s not. So far I don’t have any evidence that points to Jenna but I would be remiss in my duties to exclude her from the investigation.”
Blowing out a breath, Leann smiled. “I’m glad she’s not on your radar. I haven’t seen or talked to Jenna much these last fifteen years but she was always a good person. A little self-absorbed but I never saw her physically harm anyone. So do you see anything?”
“He and Jenna took a second mortgage on the house and they have quite a bit of credit card debt. He wasn’t ready for the poor house or anything but he wasn’t making much more than the minimum payments.”
“That doesn’t sound all that unusual.”
Zach scrolled farther down. “It’s not. It doesn’t look like he had any out of control spending, either. I don’t see any luxury purchases like jewelry, travel, or cars. What I do see is a man that is house rich and cash poor. It appears that he sunk every dime he had into that home and then some.”
Leann’s brows went up. “And that means…?”
“That he’s a normal middle-class American. So far, there’s nothing to write home about in this report. Drew Marshall was a typical average guy.”
* * *
Zach’s assessment of Drew’s life was fascinating. Just what was average these days?
“Typical?” Leann asked. “Can you elaborate?”
“From what this tells me, he went to work every day and came home to his wife and two kids. They have a dog and cat and a minivan. His kids are involved in sports and musical instrument lessons. They get decent grades but are no Einsteins. Jenna does volunteer work at her kids’ schools and goes to lunch once a week with her friends. She has two cocktails and a chicken Caesar salad normally. We can tell that detail from her credit card receipts. She has an addiction to reading police procedural novels. Drew liked political thrillers but reads much less. They had a Netflix subscription. Once a month they went out – probably a date night for the two of them – and had dinner at an upscale restaurant. He bought her flowers and candy on Valentine’s Day. Jenna’s Facebook feed is filled with puppies and kittens. Drew didn’t have any social media accounts so I’m guessing he preferred face to face contact.”
Leann pulled his laptop closer. “You can tell all of that? Holy shit.”
“And more.” Leann was horrified. Secrets were becoming extinct. “This is just the beginning. Jared will be able to dig much more deeply but it will take more time and effort. Do you have any secrets that you don’t want the world to know?”
“No, and thank goodness because I bet you were about to tell me that it’s too damn late. It’s already out there.”
“It is,” he confirmed. “By the time we’re done with Drew Marshall and his family – and the other victims as well – I’ll know where every dime of his money went in the last five years. I’ll know how often he took in his car for an oil change. I’ll know what brand of beer was his favorite and I’ll definitely know his favorite television show. All we have to do is follow his web footprint. In addition, we’ll also interview some of the people on the edges of his life. His family and friends will try to cover up anything embarrassing. Coworkers or employees? The guy down at the Quickee Mart who sells him his coffee and gas? The kid that mows the lawn? They’re happy to tell us every little detail, good or bad.”
She couldn’t help but feel sorry for Jenna, her family, and the relatives of Carole and Bitty. It was as if they were being victimized a second time. “That’s a terrible invasion of privacy. Don’t you feel a little guilty about ripping apart someone’s life like this?”
Leann hadn’t meant it to come out sounding so accusatory but luckily Zach didn’t seem to take offense. “It sounds callous but if you’re involved in a murder case your life is going to be inspected under a microscope. I do always apologize later but I have to do my job, Leann. I owe it to the victims.”
“I know,” she sighed, pushing her long hair back from her face. “It’s just I hate to think of Jenna and the kids having to go through any of this.”
Capturing a stray strand of hair between his fingers he
tucked it behind her ear, his fingertips caressing her cheek and sending streaks of warmth straight to her abdomen. “I’ll be as respectful as I can.”
He would be, she was sure of it. She hadn’t known him long but he had that air about him. Truth, honesty, and integrity. Her gut said she could trust this man no matter what. He reminded her of the men in her own family. They might not be perfect but they always tried to do the right thing.
She closed her eyes in contentment. “I know that too.”
To her surprise and delight, Zach’s nose nuzzled hers and his lips skated across her cheekbone, ever so lightly, sending a shiver up her spine. “How about we put the case away for the night?”
Her fingertips glided down his arm and over his palm where his larger hand trapped her much smaller one. “I think that’s a good idea. What do you want to do instead?”
His wolfish grin was the answer she’d craved. “I was hoping to kiss you again. Any objections?”
None at all.
Chapter Nineteen
‡
Zach was in a particularly good mood the next morning. He probably shouldn’t be this happy since he still hadn’t found the killer plaguing Leann’s reunion but he couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
Because of Leann.
Yesterday he’d decided to pursue a relationship with her no matter how her brothers felt about it. If their kisses had been anything to go by, she was certainly as attracted to him as he was to her. After coming back to his place last night, they’d spent a long time on the couch sipping wine and talking about every little thing they could in between kisses. Childhood, careers, friends, enemies, politics, religion, music, and movies. They had more than he’d imagined in common but there were differences too. Enough to make it interesting. He wouldn’t be dating a carbon copy of himself, that was for sure. She was stubborn, opinionated, and wickedly smart. Basically? She was an Anderson.
A fact that had kept him up far past when they’d both gone to bed. It didn’t bother him that their romance would be watched closely by not only her family but by almost everyone in town. He’d just ignore them all. What bugged him was the about-face Leann’s brothers had taken when it came to her love life. Zach would have liked to think it was because it was him. They knew he wouldn’t do anything to hurt their sister, but about three in the morning he’d woken up out of a sound sleep and sat straight up in bed. An idea had come into his head and once there he couldn’t shake it. Jason and West were up to something and Zach was pretty sure he knew what it was.
Those Anderson boys thought they were so smart.
Leann shuffled into the kitchen, yawning and stretching. In just a few short days he’d learned that she wasn’t a morning person. He already had the coffee and breakfast made.
“Sorry, I overslept,” she said as she poured her first cup of the day. He’d also learned she didn’t perk up until her second coffee. “Are we going to the office this morning?”
She’d agreed to shadow him today so he could still work and protect her at the same time. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too bored. Investigation work wasn’t always that exciting.
“We are but after we eat.” He filled her plate with eggs, bacon, and toast. “How about I cook some steaks on the grill tonight? It’s supposed to stay warm today.”
She dug into her food with enthusiasm. “That sounds fantastic. I love your cooking but I feel a little guilty. I should be helping more.”
Sitting down opposite her, he shrugged. “I like doing it so it’s no big deal. I’ll make a deal with you. If I get tired of cooking I’ll let you know. You can either do it or we can eat out.”
“Deal,” she grinned, humming in appreciation at his scrambled eggs. “Damn, these are good.”
“I didn’t do anything special to them other than use some cheese.”
“They taste better when they’re not burnt.”
From what Zach could tell, Leann didn’t like to cook. Or she wasn’t good at it. Or both.
They chatted about innocuous subjects while they ate – the weather, their plans for the day, but eventually Leann finished her second cup of coffee. It was time to talk to her about what he’d been up thinking about last night.
“I’ve been thinking,” he began cautiously, not sure how she’d react to his theory.
“Is that dangerous?” she teased, taking their plates to the sink and rinsing them off.
“It might be. I was thinking about how your brothers suddenly are all on our side about dating. It just seemed…strange to me.”
Wiping her hands on a dish towel, Leann nodded in agreement. “It does and it kind of worries me. What are they up to?”
“I have a theory,” he confessed. “Jason was adamant about my protecting you twenty-four-seven almost from the beginning. Then all of the sudden your brother West is cheering for us? There’s more to it than they think I’m a great guy. I think they’re pushing us together to try and lure you back home, Leann.”
She didn’t look shocked or angry. Instead she sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. “I admit the thought crossed my mind as well. It would be just like them to try and manipulate me into coming home.”
“You haven’t said anything to them? That you’re thinking about moving back?”
“Give ’em an inch, they’ll think they’re a ruler,” Leann groaned. “If I told them I was thinking about coming back they’d freak out and do something crazy. Well, crazier than trying to make us a couple. It’s a creative solution to what they consider a problem. I wonder which one of them came up with it?”
“I think it was Jason.”
“I think you’re right. This little plan has his fingerprints all over it. West would have done something more overt. Jason is the subtle one.”
Zach wasn’t sure just how subtle this was but he’d bow to her judgment when it came to her own family. “The question is what do you want to do about it? Just ignore it? Call them on it?”
Her smile widened and her brown eyes sparkled as she waggled her eyebrows. “Do you want to have some fun with them?”
This. This right here was why Zach was so damn attracted to this woman.
“Hell yes, I do. What do you have in mind?”
* * *
Zach and Leann’s evil plan for world domination was set by the time they reached his office. She headed off to torture her brother Jason while Zach stopped off at the admin assistant’s desk to see if the forensics had come in from the state crime lab.
“Morning, Tina. Anything for me?”
Pushing her glasses up her nose, she nodded absently. “I printed it all off and set it on your desk.” She finally looked up and smirked. “You should thank me, by the way. The mayor’s assistant called me this morning asking if we’d heard anything from the state crime lab and I said no. Thought you might not want West Anderson sticking his nose into your investigation.”
Inwardly chuckling, Zach wished he were shocked. West just couldn’t seem to let go of police work. “Thank you, Tina. You’re a treasure. As soon as I read through the report, I’ll call West. I don’t want to get you into trouble.”
Zach had his own office and he shut his door and sat down, impatiently skimming through the paperwork Tina had left on his desk. The news was good. The lab was able to pull four prints off of the champagne bottle. Drew. Darrell. Colin. Nicole.
The first two Zach had expected but the second two were a surprise. How had Colin Simpson and Nicole Quincy managed to get their fingerprints on the bottle? It would be one of the first questions he asked both of them.
As for the rest of the report, there was confetti on the broken edge of the bottle and in the wound on Marshall’s neck. The confetti matched the type used at the reunion. No surprise there either. Blood samples had been collected at the scene but DNA was going to take several more days. It wasn’t like on television where results were given in hours. In reality, it was more like weeks.
The rope marks on Bitty’s neck didn’t have any evidence that
could help them and the fingerprints on Carole’s car hadn’t come up with anything either. Zach was going to have to break this case another way because it didn’t look like the science was going to help him at all. He needed to talk to Colin and Nicole. Somehow all these people were connected. It was more than the reunion; he felt it in his gut. What was he missing?
But there had been four sets of prints on that bottle and they had yet to talk to Darrell. He had motive, opportunity, and ability. Now he had a connection to the murder weapon. Plus he hadn’t stepped forward to clear his name.
Where in the hell was Darrell Madison hiding?
* * *
“I brought you some coffee, big brother. Say thank you.”
Jason smiled and pointed to the guest chair in his office. “Thanks, little sis. I was ready for another cup. Are you here with Zach today?”
She placed the coffee in front of him but she didn’t sit down, instead walking around the desk and looking out of the large window behind him. Jason had a lovely view of the park across the street but he chose to turn his back on it every day.
“Where else would I be? I’m in danger, after all.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you don’t believe you’re in danger?”
She didn’t, actually, and even if she did she was certain Zach could handle whatever or whoever wanted to hurt her.
“I guess I don’t think anyone wants to kill me. Yes, Bitty, Carole, and Drew were part of my social circle in high school but so were a lot of people. Besides, the reunion is over now and we haven’t had a dead body since Saturday night. Maybe the killer is done.”
Jason sat back in his big leather chair, a contemplative look on his face. “That’s certainly possible. Or it could be that they can’t get to you and are waiting until we’re more relaxed and our guard is down. I don’t want that to happen.”
Reunited With Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 6) Page 12
