Safe Guard (The DeLuca Family Book 2)

by Amy Reece

  “I was walking Byron,” she gestured to the dog, “like I do every evening. He likes to chase rabbits and lizards along this path.” She chuckled, then appeared horrified that she could laugh in such a situation.

  “It’s all right, ma’am.” Chris knew the average person had no idea how to behave when confronted by sudden, violent death. “Just tell me what you saw.”

  “I didn’t see anything at first. Byron was the one who found them.” She shuddered. “I let him off his leash when we got here to the park. I know it says not to, but he’s such a good dog. He always comes when I call.”

  “That’s no problem.” Chris couldn’t care less about this woman breaking petty park rules. “So Byron found the bodies?”

  Marilyn nodded. “I figured he’d found a dead rabbit, the way he was sniffing around. But then I walked around the corner and saw the b-bodies. He was walking through the blood.”

  Chris nodded; that explained the little paw prints tracking through the blood pool.

  “I screamed and grabbed him up. I got blood all over my blouse.” She gestured down her torso. “I hope it comes out.” She started brushing her hands uselessly down her blouse.

  Chris knew she wasn’t going to get anything useful from the woman at the moment. “All right, Ms. Davis. I’m going to have the paramedics check you out and I’ll talk to you again later, okay?”

  The woman nodded, a blank expression on her face. Chris turned and walked away. She met the paramedics on the way.

  “She may be going into shock,” she said as she passed.

  “We got it,” one of them said.

  She walked back to the first enclosure. “Have we got IDs on our two gang-bangers yet?”

  A uniformed officer approached with a notebook. “Victim number one is Juan Esteban Chavez, twenty-three. Lengthy rap sheet and a known member of Los Locos. Victim number two is Javier David Gonzales, nineteen. Also a member of Los Locos and a slightly shorter rap sheet. We found what looks like methamphetamines on Gonzales and a lot of cash on Chavez.”

  Chris examined the bodies, working around the coroner, noting the neck tattoos and teardrop tattoos near the eyes on both victims. “You have a time of death?”

  The coroner looked up from where he squatted beside the victim on the ground. “Liver temp says they died no more than four hours ago. I’ll know more once I get them back to the morgue. Where’s your partner? I heard he finally got back after his accident.”

  “Yeah, but he’s on his honeymoon now. Hawaii.”

  “Lucky bastard. I’d kill to be in Hawaii right now.” It was a mark of how inured they were to their given profession that neither winced at his remark. “So, you’re pulling solo duty till he gets back? Sucks for you.”

  “It does indeed. Well, there’s nothing else I can do here. Let me know when you finish the autopsies.” She wrote another few notes, then closed her notebook and headed back to her car. She’d drive to the precinct, where she had a couple hours of reports to write. God, she hated days like this. She’d worked a full eight hours and now she was pulling another three to four.

  Her report took even longer than it should have because her mind kept drifting back to her evening with Hugh. It had been exciting and comfortable at the same time. Where would it have led if she’d been able to stay? Maybe nowhere, but there was that moment right before she left. What was that about? She didn’t know, but she was dying to find out, even if it was probably a terrible idea. She’d pretty much given up on finding a guy who was interested in the type of commitment she wanted. None of the guys she had dated, including her live-in boyfriend, Greg, had wanted a permanent commitment. It’s what eventually ended what had been an otherwise good relationship. Other women managed to find a guy who wanted the whole marriage and family thing, so why was it so hard for her? She loved her career and had no intention of giving it up, but she was thirty-two and ready for more. Apparently more wasn’t ready for her.

  She finally arrived home around two a.m., exhausted and cranky. This evening had started out so much better than it ended. She only had enough energy to pull off her clothes and throw on the big, soft t-shirt she liked to wear to bed. She set her phone alarm and placed it on the nightstand. That’s when she noticed the note. Her heart pounded as she read the words Hugh had scrawled. She grabbed her phone and sent her text.

  Chris: Just got home and saw your note. I’m safe. I didn’t even have to shoot anyone tonight.

  Hugh: Good to hear. Sleep well, Chrissy.

  She smiled and set her phone down. She was still smiling when she fell asleep.

  Chapter Three

  Hugh

  He whistled as he walked into work. Bob followed, stopping to sniff under a hedge and began to dig. “Knock it off, buddy. Izzy will kill you if you dig up her flowers.” The dog reluctantly gave up and ran to catch up, slipping in the door as Hugh held it open.

  “Morning, Bob. Morning, Hugh. You seem chipper.”

  “Morning Malva. Is Izzy in yet?” The woman had been the receptionist at DeLuca Construction since Hugh was a teenager; he had no clue how old she was and was smart enough not to ask. He figured she’d announce her retirement one of these years. It was a bit unnerving to have someone working for you who had known you since you had acne and braces.

  “Not yet.”

  “Okay. When she gets here, tell her I need to see her, please. Come on, Bob. Malva is not going to give you a piece of candy, no matter how hard you beg.”

  “Spoilsport,” Malva muttered.

  Hugh grinned and shut his office door after his dog followed him in. He checked email and voice mail for twenty minutes until his sister arrived, rushed and apologetic.

  “I’m sorry, Hugh. Janey spilled her cereal and then threw a fit about having to change out of her My Little Pony shirt. What a morning!”

  He smiled at the antics of his niece and rose to pour his flustered sister a cup of coffee. “Sit.” He handed her the mug and backed her into the couch. “It’s fine, Izzy. We don’t watch clocks on each other.”

  “I know.” She sighed and took a sip of the steaming, dark coffee. “I just want to carry my weight, you know?”

  “Jesus, Izzy! You carry plenty of the weight around here.” She took care of the financial part of the family business, handling it better than it ever had been, allowing them to expand and grow in ways never before possible. Her attention to detail allowed him to concentrate on what he did best: working with clients and making sure things went smoothly on job sites. They made a great team.

  “Thanks, Hugh. It’s just tough some days.” She sipped her coffee again. Both were silent as they realized they were wading into deep conversational waters too early in the morning.

  “So, how is the Kensington account coming?”

  She seemed to appreciate the change of subject to something more work-oriented. “I’ve got the preliminary work done. I think we’re ready to make a bid.”

  “Good. I’ll make an appointment with the old man for later this week.”

  She sipped her coffee and stared at him over the rim of her mug.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” She smiled at him. “You seem to be in a good mood, that’s all. You’re not usually this talkative. Any particular reason?”

  “Nope. It’s a beautiful morning is all.”

  She studied him in that way she had; it had always made him squirm. She never said anything. She simply skewered him with her laser glare.

  He stared back.

  “Fine. I can take a hint.” She rose and left his office, taking her coffee with her.

  Hugh blew out a breath as the door closed behind her. He certainly didn’t want to explain what was currently making him happy. His extremely nascent relationship with Chrissy was definitely not something he wanted to discuss with his sister. He wasn’t ready to tip his hand quite yet. He worked for another hour, then gathered Bob and headed out to check a few job sites.

  Things were going well at the sit
e in the far Northeast Heights, where they were building a large custom home. Hugh noted the framing was nearly done and talked with the superintendent, Abe, about the possibility of beginning the exterior walls the next day. He checked the blueprints and did a thorough walk-through, part of his job he enjoyed the most. As much as possible, he left the office work to Izzy and spent his time talking with clients and making sure things ran smoothly in the field.

  The next site, a housing development in Rio Rancho, was not going as well. As he crossed the Rio Grande river, he thought about the unpleasant conversation he was going to have with the superintendent on that site. It would be the last conversation with that particular superintendent unless he could get his job site running more efficiently in short order. When he pulled his truck into the area beside the office trailer, he noticed the general sloppiness of the site, something that didn’t sit well with him. He entered the trailer without knocking and startled the man seated at a desk in the corner.

  “Hey, Mark. What’s up?” Hugh glanced around the office, noting the messiness extended here. He sighed, realizing the time had come. He crossed the room and seated himself in the metal folding chair placed near the desk. This close he could see the redness in the man’s eyes and what looked like a sleep crease in his cheek. He’d heard plenty of rumors about the job superintendent’s love of partying and probable alcoholism. “Everything going well here?”

  “Uh, yeah. Sure. Why? Did somebody say something?” Mark was already on the defensive.

  Hugh hated this part of the job. “You’re behind schedule.”

  “I can’t control the weather, Hugh. That rain has slowed everyone down.”

  Seriously? This guy was going to use rain as an excuse? In Albuquerque, where the annual total was less than nine inches, usually far less? Enough. “Okay, Mark. Pack your stuff. I want you off this job site in twenty minutes.”

  General cursing and blustering followed, as it usually did in situations like this. Hugh simply sat, waiting until the other man wore himself out.

  “What am I gonna do, Hugh? I need a job.”

  “You had one, Mark…a good one. It seems to me you like partying more than you like working. You’re down to fifteen minutes.”

  “You’re a cold son of a bitch, you know that?” Mark stood and began yanking open desk drawers, piling his personal belongings on the top of the desk.

  “Yeah, I know. I’ll make sure Izzy has your check ready by the time you get back to the office.” He left the trailer and went to find the foreman. He found him, along with the crew, smoking and chatting beside one of the company trucks. “Jacko! Come here a minute.”

  The bandy-legged foreman flicked his cigarette stump away and jogged over. “Hey, Boss. What do you want us to do? The super hasn’t told us anything for, like, two days.”

  “Well, he’s not the super of this job anymore. I’ll send a new one out later this afternoon. For now, can you get the crew to clear up the trash and make this place look decent, please? I’ll make sure you guys get time and a half until the new guy gets here.”

  “That’s cool, Boss. I’ll get the guys on it right away.” He called in rapid Spanish to his crew as he walked away.

  Hugh let him go, then turned back to the trailer in time to see Mark’s car fishtail out of the lot, spewing a cloud of dust and gravel in its wake. Good riddance. He had to find a new superintendent for this site, preferably before lunch. He logged on to the computer in the trailer and was searching through employment records when his cell buzzed. “Yeah. This is Hugh.”

  “Hey. It’s Dino at the Petroglyphs site.” Dino was the superintendent at their newest site on the far West Mesa where they were just now breaking ground for a housing development. It was about as far west of Albuquerque as you could get without actually living in Grants, eighty miles from the city.

  Hugh had a sinking feeling; there was no reason for the superintendent to call him if everything was going well. “Yeah, Dino. What’s up?”

  “We got a problem, Hugh. Backhoe dug up some bones this morning. Human, by the looks of them.”

  “Aww, shit.”

  “Yeah, for sure.”

  “I can be there in about twenty minutes.” God, when it rained, it poured. He called to Bob and loaded him into the truck. The day had started out on such a promising note. Twenty-five minutes later he pulled into the empty lot that would someday soon become the newest DeLuca Homes development. The crew was standing around the backhoe, smoking, talking, and pointing at an area of disturbed dirt. “Okay, Dino. What have we got?”

  Dino waved him over and pointed.

  Hugh looked and saw cream-colored bones exposed in the dirt pile directly in front of the backhoe.

  “Maybe we uncovered an ancient Indian burial site,” Dino said. “They might get archeologists from the university out here. That could mess up this job site for a long time, man.”

  Hugh said nothing, but crouched down next to the bones and brushed the dirt away from the skull. “I doubt it’s all that ancient.” The skull was largely intact and clearly showed a small round hole in the center of the forehead. “Goddammit,” he muttered as he pulled his phone from his pocket. She answered on the third ring. “Chrissy? Yeah, it’s Hugh. I need your help.”

  ***

  Chris

  While it wasn’t exactly the type of phone call she was hoping for from Hugh, it was something. It took her nearly forty-five minutes to get from her precinct to the vacant lot where his crew had unearthed human bones. She had no idea what to expect, but Hugh had seemed confident it was a human skull he’d seen. He turned and walked to her car as she pulled into the lot; her stomach clenched at the sight of him, as it had every single time she’d so much as caught a glimpse of the man. She hadn’t experienced a crush this bad since high school and wasn’t sure she liked it. It made her feel weak and girly. But God, he was so handsome and such a nice guy!

  “Hey, Chrissy.” He held his hand out to help her out of the car.

  When was the last time someone had done that for her? Ever? “Hi.” She put her hand in his, loving the warm, rough feel of his skin. “Let’s see your body.”

  He raised his eyebrows, one corner of his mouth raised in amusement.

  “The one in the ground. The bones.” God, what was wrong with her?

  “That’s a relief. I’d hate to strip down in front of the crew.”

  “Shut up.”

  He laughed and led her toward the backhoe. “Dino, this is Lieutenant Hart with the State Police. Chrissy, this is Dino Avila. He’s the superintendent on this job.”

  “Hello, ma’am.” They shook hands and Dino led her to where the bones were sticking out of the ground. “We found them this morning. I thought maybe we found an old Indian burial ground or something, but Hugh doesn’t think so.”

  She smiled briefly at the man and squatted down next to bones. She could make out a skull, and Hugh had been right: there was a small round hole clearly visible in the dead center of the forehead. She stood and dusted her hands on her jeans. “Okay. I’m going to call in a forensic unit and see what we’re dealing with here.”

  Forty-five minutes later, the forensic unit arrived and began setting up. She watched as they began the process of fully unearthing the bones. She stood to the side as they worked, carefully sifting through the dirt. She had removed her blazer and now rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt. Albuquerque was experiencing an Indian summer and it was hot, even though it was already October.

  “Here.” Hugh handed her a bottle of cold water. “You want to come sit in the office for a bit? We’ve got the air conditioning on in there. Looks like this is going to take a while.”

  She uncapped the bottle and drank deeply. “Thanks. Yeah, I’d love to get out of this sun for a while.” She followed him up the steps into the construction office. Inside it was strictly utilitarian, with metal desks, folding chairs, and file cabinets. Hugh pulled a chair out for her and wiped the seat with a paper towel bef
ore she sat, a courtesy she hadn’t expected. “Thanks.”

  He smiled down at her as she sat. “So, this takes a lot longer than it does on television.”

  She chuckled. “Oh, yeah. Real police investigations aren’t terribly glamorous. I’m sorry for what this must be doing to your construction schedule.”

  “Well, I won’t pretend I’m thrilled, but I sent the crew over to another job that needs some extra help, so it’s okay. Any idea how long I’ll need to keep this one shut down?”

  “No, sorry. It depends a lot on what they find.”

  “So, is this pretty typical? What else does a detective do all day? I’m really curious.” He pulled a folding chair next to her and sat, straddling it, resting his arms along the back.

  She was instantly distracted by the sight of those tan arms, sculpted and corded with veins, visible below his rolled-up sleeves. A tantalizing vee of his chest peeked out as well, with a hint of dark chest hair. She sipped her water more to hide any possible drooling than because she was thirsty. “Your brother is a detective. Haven’t you grilled him about what we do all day?”

  He flashed her a grin. “I’m not interested in what my brother does all day. I’d much rather hear it from his gorgeous partner.”

  He was flirting with her. She didn’t know what to say or do; it had been way too long since anyone had flirted with her. She wished she was one of those women who could respond in like manner and flirt back, letting him know she was interested. Instead, she felt the heat rising up her neck and feared her face was turning a lovely beet red. She fumbled her water bottle, managing to spill some on her shirt.

  He stood and crossed the room to get her a paper towel. “Here. Do I make you nervous, Chrissy?”

  “No, of course not. Why should you make me nervous?” She ineffectively mopped at her shirt with one hand.

  “I shouldn’t. Friends shouldn’t make each other nervous.”