According to Design

by Nicole Dennis

  Robin pulled the box across his desk and stared at it. There were containers of pushpins, markers, erasers, a length of ribbon, highlighters, and who knew what else Clara had found. He looked up as Tony carried another stack of items and set them on his desk.

  “Thanks, Tony,” Clara said.

  Still young and impressionable, the officer flushed. “Coffee, sir?”

  “Please.”

  “One cream. Three sugars. Real ones. Right?”

  “Correct, thanks for remembering,” Robin said.

  With a nod, the rookie left to get the coffee.

  “He’s a good kid,” Robin said.

  “He’s working out. Getting his feet underneath him.” Clara tapped the box and papers with one hand. “No more procrastination. Get to work, boss. You have a bad guy to catch.”

  “Thanks, Clara, can always count on you for a kick in the ass.”

  “If you need any help, let me know.”

  He pushed away from the chair then walked around and leaned against the corner of the desk. He contemplated what he was about to attempt.

  “Sir, I have your coffee.” Tony knocked on the doorframe, carried in the steaming mug then set it on the desk. He clasped his hands behind his back and studied the empty boards. “Do you need some help?”

  Robin glanced at the younger officer. “Do you know how to create a case board?”

  “We studied it in school, sir. Didn’t you?”

  Robin narrowed his gaze at the wet-behind-the-ears rookie. “It’s been a little longer for me.”

  Clearing his throat to cover a chuckle, Tony proceeded to give Robin a lesson in creating a board and timeline.

  * * * *

  Robin discovered the board’s usefulness as it expanded with every additional piece of information. They used the ribbon to create a small timeline of what had happened. Several markers indicated points of interest. He wrote a list of employees on one side.

  Robin placed Allan Daniell’s name on top. He circled it.

  “Is this the main guy you’re looking at?” Tony asked.

  “He’s been the most consistent name popping up when I speak to others around the Charm. He was seen there the day of the poisoning—”

  “Poison?”

  “Simplicity in explanation for the moment.”

  “Right. Sorry. About Daniell’s whereabouts.”

  “Not much is known about where he was or is.” Robin sipped at the fresh cup of coffee. “I first heard the name from Ashford and Dakota. Malcolm Bissette confirmed Daniell was in the kitchen when Ashford mentioned his severe nut allergy.”

  “Why would Daniell be in the kitchen? According to the file, he’s a waiter and supposed to help with the set-up. The restaurant wasn’t opened to diners.”

  “Correct. I confirmed his position within the restaurant with Cecile, the hostess. It was before the dinner service started and he was there to help, but he wasn’t doing much other than following Dakota. Cecile mentioned his strange fascination and lust for Dakota.”

  “Must be a bit awkward.”

  “Very. He wasn’t hiding his attraction.” Robin picked up a folder and flipped to one of the statements. “It seems Daniell returned to the restaurant after several months away. He mentioned he was going to school, but I haven’t found a record of him attending class. At least within the four surrounding counties.”

  “Where was he?”

  “I’m trying to figure it out.”

  “Where was he when the actual incident took place?”

  “According to the schedule, he wasn’t at the restaurant, but Daniell knew enough about the operations to slip in, find the vial and coat the pitcher. Since he was there when Ashford mentioned his allergen, we could have Daniell on intent.”

  Tony pointed to another name off to the side—Beauregard Courtenay. “This is the owner of the local IT company, Courtenay Tech. Why is Beau there?”

  Robin picked up a couple of pages from his desk to show Tony. “Five years before this happened, Daniell’s address was the same as Courtenay’s. Courtenay was his guardian. They’re connected, perhaps family. I’ve never had a problem with Courtenay. He’s one of best IT techs.” There was another reason Robin didn’t want Beau involved, but that was personal and hidden deep inside him.

  “No, sir, he couldn’t have helped Daniell. You haven’t heard?”

  Robin lifted his gaze as he tried to ignore the bubble of attraction at the thought of the slender IT geek. He could easily remember his deep blue eyes sparkling behind the rimless glasses and his chestnut hair falling over a high forehead. “I know he left for London. Other techs appeared to repair our servers, but none of them are as competent.” Robin cleared his throat as he flicked a thumb against the pages. “Other than his disappearance, I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “That’s just it, sir, Beau Courtenay disappeared because he has been in London since March. He wouldn’t know what was happening,” Tony said.

  “How do you know this?”

  “I’ve been umm—” Tony flushed. “I’ve been trying to date Maggie Kelley.”

  “You’re trying to date Maggie?” Robin chuckled and shook his head. “I didn’t know about that.”

  “She’s one hell of a lady. I mean, she’s the admin of the office and runs everything when Beau is out of town.”

  “Do you know what happened to his father?”

  “Maggie mentioned his father suffered a bad heart attack. Beau went to London to take care of his father’s business. Beau has dual citizenship and travels between the countries for personal and business reasons.”

  “He wasn’t anywhere near Shore Breeze or Southern Charm when the attack happened. Still, he could connect to Maggie and possibly Daniell via phone, Internet, and hell—even that—what is it? The face thing?”

  “There’s a couple of programs.”

  “Whatever, it doesn’t matter where he is. He can connect to Daniell. What else does Maggie have to say about Daniell?”

  “She hates him because he’s a low-life whiny bastard trying to take advantage of his relationship to Beau and doesn’t do a damn thing in the world on his own.”

  “That…” Robin stopped and shook his head once. “She certainly spoke her mind about him.”

  “I cleaned it up,” Tony said with a chuckle.

  “What kind of relationship is she talking about?”

  “They’re half-brothers through their mother. That’s the connection you were looking for, but it isn’t a close one. Maggie can tell you whatever you want. I can ask her to come over for an interview.”

  “Call her.”

  “Yes, sir,” Tony said then raced away.

  Robin stepped around his desk and added notes on the board about what Tony had told him under Beau’s name. Sitting back down, he opened a search about the adorable geek who’d captured his attention the first time he’d seen Beau concentrating on his work and ignoring the chaos of a busy, noisy sheriff’s substation office. He located information about the intriguing Beauregard Greyson Courtenay, dual citizen of Great Britain and America.

  “That’s a mouthful of a name.”

  It bothered him a bit to look into a man he was desperate to date, but had never gotten a chance to. Hell, he’d never gotten the nerve to ask the handsome, gorgeous geek who was well out of his reach. Pushing back his uneasy feeling and sliding into the role of sheriff and not wannabe boyfriend, he moved through the different databases.

  To his surprise, he didn’t find much about Beau. If he considered the man’s expertise with all things electronic, he figured Beau knew how to cover his tracks and protect his online image and reputation. He did manage to learn about the company Beau had created from scratch and what it offered.

  When he clicked into another database, he found the name of Beau’s mother and ran a search on her. He let out a low whistle. The lady had married four different times, filing several domestic abuse charges, but had never followed through. The first marriage had
been with Beau’s father, a respected British citizen, but had ended in an amicable divorce. She had a couple of minor arrests for petty crimes, DUIs and public intoxication.

  All four of her relationships had ended in divorce. The third one had produced a son, ten years younger than Beau and called Allan.

  Robin tapped on the file. “Daniell. Allan Stephen Daniell. Well, damn, now I got your full name. Where are you hiding?” He shook his head again as his gaze moved to Beau’s name. “Why you? What do you have to do with this?”

  His dream guy had a connection to a suspect. How deep the connection went? It was something he needed to figure out.

  * * * *

  Losing time as he continued the searches and built the board of information, he didn’t stop until he heard a knock on his door.

  “Sheriff Robin Burke, may I introduce Margaret Kelley, admin of Courtenay Tech, to you,” Tony said as he stepped to the side.

  Behind Tony was a beautiful lady with curly hair the color of the deepest auburn fall leaves and bright green eyes. Her skin was the pale beauty of a natural redhead. She looked younger than he remembered.

  “I believe we met. At least over the phone, if I’m not mistaken. You called the office,” Maggie said. “Good to meet you in person, Sheriff.”

  “I did contact the company when my personal laptop went on the fritz.” At the time, Robin had hoped Maggie would send Beau to the rescue, but another tech had appeared at his door. His plan hadn’t quite worked out. Clearing the thought from his mind, Robin rose as she entered and they shook hands. “Please, have a seat, Ms. Kelley.”

  “Maggie. Please. I’m not formal and I don’t believe I’m here as a suspect,” Maggie said.

  Robin chuckled and shook his head. “No. Just a bit of help.”

  “Help. I can offer up my help.”

  “Wonderful. Would you like some water or coffee?”

  Maggie glanced at Tony. “A cup of coffee, Tony?”

  “Of course, your usual black and double cream?” Tony asked, and when she nodded, he looked at Robin. “Do you need a refill, sir?”

  “Please, why don’t you bring one for yourself and join us,” Robin said as he showed Maggie to a sitting area he’d managed to tuck into the far corner opposite the newly created case board. While Tony left to get the coffees, he gathered a pad and pen as he chose a chair.

  Maggie settled across from him. “Tony said you needed to speak with me about Beau and his family. I can’t stay away from the office for long.”

  “This won't take long. Thank you for talking with me.”

  “I have never been called to the sheriff’s station, for good or bad. This is quite an experience for one not in uniform,” Maggie said with a chuckle.

  “Yes, I’ve heard being called down here has been known to be worse than the principal’s office.” Robin waved Tony inside when he appeared with three cups in his hands. He accepted his mug and sat back. “I was hoping you could tell me what you know about the relationship between Beau Courtenay and Allan Daniell.”

  “Relationship?” Maggie snorted. “There is no relationship with Allan the sleazeball,” Maggie said with a roll of her eyes. “He is Beau’s younger half-brother, they share a mother. Allan has done nothing good with his life.” She emphasized the next word. “Nothing.”

  “Understood.”

  Maggie crossed her legs and adjusted the hem of her skirt. “The sleazeball steals money and anything else he can pawn from everyone around him. I’m sure it all goes to alcohol or drugs.”

  “Sounds as if you hate him.”

  “I hate what he does to Beau. It stresses Beau to high heaven whenever Allan makes one of his unwanted appearances. This means I’m stressed trying to control Beau and get him to kick the guy permanently out of his life. Due to some ancient promise to his mother to look after his younger brother, Beau feels obligated to watch over Allan. I don’t believe she meant for him to help like this.”

  “Do you know where Allan is?”

  “Haven’t seen him in months. He tried to get money out of Beau before he left, but Beau ignored his increasingly harassing calls and pleas.”

  “What college did he attend?”

  “College?”

  “He’s supposed to have been at a college for the last two years.”

  Maggie laughed in a derisive tone. “Is that what he said?”

  “To Cecile and others at the Charm, yes.”

  “Please, he didn’t even graduate from high school. There’s no way he was in college. He was a patient at the Pavilion and then at a residential rehab center called Twelve Oaks, but I heard he skipped out on both of them. He never sticks to anything. When he doesn’t stick, he always blames it on someone or something else and never where it belongs—him.”

  “A psychiatric center and a residential drug rehab center. Not a college.”

  Maggie shook her head. “Nope. Did I mention he’s a habitual liar as well as a drug user?”

  “Anything else?”

  “Cecile swears he is constantly tagging along Dakota’s heels whenever he’s at the restaurant, like a pathetic puppy. He cares more about what Dakota is doing than doing his job. I think Dakota once gave him some attention, but realized the sleazeball is an addict. Even if Dakota told him he wasn’t interested, Allan’s intent on getting in his bed. Cecile mentioned he disappeared from the restaurant one afternoon a few months ago. She isn’t going to give him another chance.”

  “Wait. Wait.” Robin looked at Tony, who nodded. He definitely wanted this part of the story confirmed by another source. “What was that about him and Dakota?”

  “He’s hot on Dakota, who couldn’t care less about him. But Allan is infatuated with him, to the stalker edge of things. Ask Cecile.”

  “I will, thank you.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Whatever you want to tell me.”

  Maggie checked the time on her watch, crossed her legs and leaned forward. To Robin’s surprise, she dished on everything about Allan and Beau. Robin made sure to take copious notes until she finished and left with Tony.

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  About the Author

  Ever the quiet one growing up, Nicole Dennis often slid away from reality and curled up with a book to slip into the worlds of her favorite authors. Over the years, she’s created a personal library full of novels filled with dragons, fairies, vampires, shapeshifters of all kinds and romance. Always she returned to romance. Still, there were these characters in her head, worlds wanting to be built on paper, and stories wanting to be told and she began writing them down whether during or after class. She continues to this day. Only recently has it begun to become fruitful, spreading out to let others read and enter her worlds, meet her characters, and see what she sees. No matter what she writes, her stories of romance with their twists of paranormal, fantasy and erotica will always have their Happily Ever Afters.

  She currently works in a quiet office in Central Florida, where she also makes her home, and enjoys the down time to slip into her characters and worlds to escape reality from time to time. At home, she becomes human slave to a semi-demonic tortie calico.

  Email: Nicoledennis.author@gmail.com

  Nicole loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.pride-publishing.com.

  Also by Nicole Dennis

  Southern Charm: Rules of the Chef

  Southern Charm: By the Numbers

  Southern Charm: On the Green

  Southern Charm: When in Bloom

  Southern Charm: Following the Law

 

 

 
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