“Can’t blame her for that. She might seem like a kid to us, but she’s had to do a lot of growing up these past few weeks. You’d want to pay your own way if you were her.”
It would be hard to be totally dependent on people who had been total strangers to Jada only days before. “True enough. It’s been a while since we’ve had Chinese, so I thought I’d suggest that. It’s cheap, and we both like it.”
“Sounds good.”
She was in no hurry to end the comfortable silence that settled between them, but she had yet to tell him about her meeting with Gage. Then there was her discussion with Owen that had followed. There was no real urgency, but she’d rather fill Tripp in on everything while the two of them were alone. She started off with the easy part first. “I took Jada’s scrapbook to Gage today. We looked through the pictures of Mr. Davidson’s office, but it was hard to pick out any important details even with a magnifying glass. He planned to call Reilly Molitor to see if he could track down the JPEG of the one that had the best shot of the stolen picture.”
Tripp set his beer on the porch railing. “Well, learning anything significant from a bunch of old newspaper clippings was a longshot.”
“I’m mostly hoping he can make a clear print of Mr. Davidson’s army unit for Jada.”
“Who knows, Reilly might come through for her.” Tripp shot her a wicked grin. “Maybe he’ll make more of an effort if I promise not to toss him out in the street to see how high he bounces the next time he gets all in your face about something.”
“I’m sure that threat could spur him onto greater heights.”
Tripp groaned. “Tell me that isn’t your idea of funny, because it seriously wasn’t.”
She pretended a hurt she didn’t really feel. “Fine, be that way. But while we’re talking about non-funny things, I had an interesting conversation with Owen earlier this afternoon.”
It was hard to tell if it was the subject matter or her grim tone that had Tripp sitting up straighter. There was no question about his heightened interest in what she was about to say. “Do tell.”
She hated keeping secrets from Tripp and was glad she didn’t have to this time. On the other hand, he wasn’t going to like the fact she’d listened in on Owen’s conversation with Gage. Deciding confession was good for the soul, she started by explaining why she’d ended up back in the police station.
“So, while I was getting my keys, I accidently overheard Gage and Owen having words.”
Just that quickly Tripp had the same tough-guy expression on his face that had scared her a bit when she’d seen it on Owen’s. Her reaction was far different this time, though. While Tripp might get mad, he never scared her, not even at his angriest.
“And you didn’t stop to think their conversation wasn’t meant for your ears?”
She prayed for patience. “Like I said, I was there to retrieve my keys, not to spy on Gage. Besides, they should’ve closed the door if they wanted to keep the discussion private. Anybody in the general area would’ve heard them. From what Gage said, he wasn’t planning on sharing what Owen told him with his own deputies.”
Now her handsome tenant looked nothing but disgusted. “You say that like it excuses you for hanging around long enough to get an earful.”
Her conscience tried to stir to life, but she quickly squelched it. Going on the offensive, she snapped, “All right, Mr. High-and-Mighty, what would you have done?”
“I would’ve let Gage know I was there in case he needed to do damage control. Now you possess information regarding the case that he considers confidential. You need to tell him.”
“I already let Owen know, which is what I was going to tell you before you so rudely interrupted.”
“And what did he have to say about that little bombshell?”
She did a little glaring of her own. “He told me that both you and Gage have warned him that I have a penchant for getting into trouble. For the record, I didn’t appreciate that one bit.”
He angled himself to look more directly at her. “What can I say? We call them as we see them.”
Considering how many times Tripp had had to come to her rescue, there was no way she was going to win that particular argument. Time to move on. “Owen gave me specific permission to let you know what we talked about, so don’t think I’m telling tales out of school. I’ve suspected all along that Owen had been in the military. What I didn’t know is that at some point he got recruited to work for some government agency. He didn’t say which one, and I didn’t ask.”
She paused in case Tripp wanted to praise her for her forbearance. When he didn’t, she picked up where she’d left off. “In short, he retired after his last mission went badly, Owen Quinn isn’t his original name, and his old identity remains classified. If that wasn’t interesting enough, it turns out the same could be said of the murder victim, Mitch Anders. The two of them knew each other back then, and they’re both in that photo of Mr. Davidson’s unit, the one that was stolen. Gage wasn’t happy to find out about that little fact from the scrapbook instead of from Owen himself.”
An odd question popped into her head, one that would never have occurred to her to ask before today. “Say, is Tripp Blackston your real name? You can tell me if it isn’t. I promise to protect your identity.”
He’d just taken another drink of beer, which he promptly spewed right back out in a burst of laughter. Luckily, the spray missed her, but Zeke gave Tripp a puzzled look as it landed on his fur. “That’s some imagination you have, lady. But yes, it’s the name I was born with. I was Special Forces, not a spy with a decoder ring.”
“Good to know.” Although for some strange reason, she was a bit disappointed. She kind of liked the idea of having an ex-spy for a tenant. “Anyway, back to Owen. After we parted ways, he was going to tell my mother the basic facts. He also swore that he’d break things off with her if his past ever presented any kind of threat to her.”
Tripp gave her a doubtful look. “And so now that you know he has a secret past, you’re okay with them being together?”
Actually, she’d been mulling over that exact question all afternoon. “Gage trusts him, which says a lot. Owen also seemed sincere about caring about Mom and wants to make her happy. It also helps that I know why he plays his cards close to his chest. He deserves a chance to prove himself to not just me, but her as well.”
“That’s good. Maybe if you quit questioning her life choices, she’ll quit questioning yours.” Having dropped that little bombshell, he drained his beer and stood up. “I’m going to grab another cold one from your fridge. Want anything while I’m inside?”
Before she could respond, Tripp disappeared into the house, leaving her staring at his back as he shut the door hard enough to rattle the windows. Okay, then. Clearly she wasn’t the only one having issues with her mother.
CHAPTER 24
Abby had no idea what her mother had said to Tripp that indicated she didn’t approve of his relationship with her daughter. When he came back outside, he handed her a beer even though she hadn’t asked for one. She couldn’t fault his instincts, though. A little alcohol would go a long way toward blunting the edges of her temper right now.
Once he was settled back in his chair, she leaned toward him. “Tripp, if my mother said anything that made you feel less than welcome in my life, she and I will be having words on the subject.”
He reached across the short distance between them to take her hand in his. “Don’t sweat it, Abby. She’s understandably not happy that you keep getting drawn into murder cases since moving to Snowberry Creek and wants you to return to the safety of your old life. She knows the friends and connections you’ve made here make that unlikely. I can handle whatever she dishes out, except when she rips into you. That makes me furious.”
Abby, too, which meant it needed to stop. “Maybe I should’ve pushed back harder the other day when I parked the car and walked away. At the time, I was too angry and hurt to have anything close to a ra
tional conversation. But as I told her, I love the life I’m building here in Snowberry Creek, and you’re a big part of the reason why. If she won’t accept that, it’s her problem, not ours.”
He tugged on her hand. “Come here.”
Abby didn’t hesitate. As soon as she stood in front of him, he tumbled her into his lap. Her arms found their way around his neck almost of their own accord as his wicked smile signaled his intentions. That was okay, considering she suspected her own smile mirrored his. She was leaning in for the kiss they both wanted when the sound of a car pulling into the driveway had Zeke sounding the alarm.
Chances were either Jada or her mother would be putting in an appearance any second. Too bad. Abby was going to kiss Tripp while the chance presented itself. They kept it short, but the sense of urgency packed a hefty dose of wow into the brief encounter. She was about to clamber back up to her feet when Jada came around the end of the house.
As soon as she saw them, she grinned and backed up a step. “Maybe I should leave and come back again, say in an hour or so.”
Tripp lit up as if he was considering taking her up on the offer, but Abby dropped back into her own seat. “Ignore him. Come on up and have a seat.”
Jada accepted the invitation, sounding relieved when she dropped her backpack down onto the porch and stretched her legs out in front of her. “Boy, this feels good.”
She smiled when Zeke nudged her hand and hinted for her to pet him. As she stroked his fur, she glanced at Abby. “Did you guys decide what you wanted for dinner tonight?”
“We were thinking Chinese sounded good, if that’s all right with you. I like broccoli beef, and Tripp will eat whatever you put in front of him.”
Instead of acting insulted, Tripp just laughed. “She’s not wrong, especially when I don’t have to cook.”
Jada pulled out her phone. “Great, I’ll place the order and tell them to aim for delivering dinner in about an hour.”
* * *
After Jada disappeared into the house, Tripp went back home to take care of a couple of chores. Zeke opted to go with him, probably hoping for a few extra treats while he hung out on Tripp’s couch. Meanwhile, Abby set the table and then read in the living room while she waited for dinner to arrive.
When a car pulled up out front, she set the book aside and quickly texted Tripp to let him know dinner had arrived. Rather than wait for the driver to carry the bags of food all the way to the house, Abby walked out to meet him halfway. Jada had probably added a tip to the bill, but Abby slipped him an extra five anyway. “Here you go, Cody.”
He pocketed the money and grinned at her. “Thanks, Abby. Enjoy your dinner.”
She suspected she was one of Cody’s most frequent customers. His grandmother was a member of the quilting guild, and she’d shared that he was putting himself through college delivering meals for several of the local restaurants. “Let me know if you add any new names to the list of places you deliver for. I’m always up for trying out different menus.”
“Will do. I was supposed to start delivering for Mr. Quinn’s barbecue joint, but it’s been closed for the past few days. I’ll let you know when I get everything set up with him.”
Rather than explain why that might take a while, she said, “Well, I’d better get this inside. Tell your grandmother hi for me.”
As Cody drove away, she noticed a car parked a short distance down the street. It seemed vaguely familiar, but it took her a few seconds to place it. Unless she was mistaken, it looked like the dark blue SUV that had cruised by Jada’s house the day Abby and her mother had stopped by to check on her. Could it also be the same one that Jada had mentioned to Gage? If someone really was spying on Jada, it probably wasn’t a coincidence that same SUV would suddenly appear on Abby’s street.
She set the food bags down on the porch and then pulled her phone out of her pocket. If she could get a clear shot of the car’s license plate, Gage could run it to find out who owned the car. Of course, it could simply belong to somebody visiting one of her neighbors. If that was the case, she would apologize for any inconvenience she caused the owner.
Rather than sticking to the sidewalk that led directly to the street, she cut across the grass to use the cluster of rhododendrons in the front corner of her yard as cover. If there was someone in the car watching the house, it would be best to avoid drawing any attention to herself for as long as possible. Unfortunately, the reflection of the early evening sun off the windshield made it impossible to tell for sure if the car was occupied.
Her plan worked fine right up until she realized she was too far away and at the wrong angle to get a straight-on shot of the SUV’s license plate. Leaving the deep cover of the bushes, she edged forward to the point there was only one large rhody left between her and the road.
From where she now stood, there still was no detectable movement in the car. Maybe luck was with her, and it was unoccupied. Deciding to go big or go home, she boldly walked out into the road as if crossing to the other side. At the last second, she spun to snap a picture. She was about to take a second one when the car surged forward. The sudden movement startled her into nearly dropping her phone. Then there was a loud roar just before something plowed into her, carrying her the rest of the way across the street to tumble to the ground in her neighbor’s yard. The impact knocked the breath out of her, but she still managed to screech in protest.
Before she could holler for help a second time, a big hand clamped down on her mouth. “Abby, shut up. It’s me.”
Her frazzled brain finally managed to recognize the voice. “Tripp?”
He glared down at her. “Yeah.”
She gave him a hard shove, which had no impact on him at all. “Why did you tackle me?”
He kept her anchored right there on the grass long enough to snarl, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I thought you’d prefer that to being flattened by that SUV barreling right towards you.”
Then, without giving her a chance to respond, he rolled to his feet and pulled her back up to her feet with one powerful tug on her hand. As he marched back toward her house, dragging her behind him, he growled, “We’ll continue this discussion behind closed doors.”
Contrary to what he’d just said, he started railing at her again as soon as they crossed the boundary back into her yard. “What the heck were you thinking? I swear I’ve never known anyone so determined to get herself killed.”
That was outrageous. How could he even think that? She planted her feet, refusing to go another step. “I was not trying to get myself killed!”
He wheeled around to stare down at her, crowding close as an unspoken reminder of how much bigger he was. “Really? Were you out there playing in traffic for no particular reason at all?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I had a reason.” She held up her phone after checking to see it had survived their fall. “I think that SUV was the same one that drove by when Mom and I stopped at Jada’s house. She also told Gage she’d noticed a dark blue SUV in her neighborhood on day of the break-in. I wanted to get a picture of the vehicle’s license plate, so Gage can check out who it belongs to and find out why they’re hanging around our neighborhood. Besides, I thought the car was empty.”
“Well, it wasn’t, was it? I suppose it didn’t occur to you to simply call the police to come investigate.” He clenched his fists at his side. “No, of course not. Why contact trained professionals when you have Abby McCree, amateur sleuth, on the job?”
Well, if he was going to look at the situation that way, she guessed it did sound bad. “Why don’t we go inside and eat? The food is getting cold.”
He went completely still and then shook his head. “You know what, I’m going to give dinner a pass. I’ve got better things to do with my time right now than to try and talk sense to a total nitwit.”
That last part really hurt, but she didn’t want to let him walk away mad at her. “Come on, Tripp. There was no harm done. Come inside.”
He no longer looke
d angry. Instead, his expression was incredibly sad. “Sorry, Abby. I can’t do this. I told you once before that I’ve already lost too many friends in this life. I don’t want to hang around until you finally do something that gets you killed.”
Her heart broke as he walked away.
* * *
Miserably unhappy, Abby retrieved the bags that she’d left on the porch. Tripp wasn’t the only one whose appetite had disappeared, but it wouldn’t be fair to Jada to let their dinner go to waste. She carried it into the kitchen and unloaded the boxes of food on the table. She was just putting Tripp’s plate back in the cupboard when Jada walked in. “Isn’t Tripp eating?”
Abby blinked hard trying to stave off the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. “No, he went home.”
Jada inched closer, moving slowly as if not sure if her presence would be welcome. “Did you two have a fight?”
“Yeah, sort of, anyway. I made a decision he didn’t like, and he’s mad.” Trying to pretend that was no big deal, she sat down at the table and started opening the containers. “We’d better eat before everything gets cold.”
Jada joined her at the table. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, it’ll be fine.” Okay, that might not be true, but she really hoped it would be. “I’ll give him a chance to cool off and then go talk to him. I can always use taking him dinner as an excuse.”
Jada spooned rice onto her plate and then added some sweet-and-sour pork over the top. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but I’m a good listener if you want to talk about what happened.”
There was no reason not to share. Jada would find out what happened as soon as Abby gave Gage a call. With her luck, he’d probably yell at her, too. To buy herself a bit of time, she took a bite of the broccoli beef. If it had any flavor, she couldn’t taste it. Setting her fork down, she leaned back in her chair.
“I walked out front to meet Cody, the driver who delivered the food. When I spotted a dark blue SUV parked a short distance down the street, I decided to take a picture of the license plate for Gage. I was hoping he could track down the owner.” She lifted her gaze to meet Jada’s. “You know, to see if it was someone who might be tied to either the murder or the break-in.”
Death by Intermission Page 22
