Death by Intermission

by Alexis Morgan

  Rather than being grateful, Jada looked horrified. “Abby! What were you thinking? If that was the killer or even the burglar, who’s to say they wouldn’t have tried to stop you? Or that they won’t come back?”

  Okay, maybe taking that picture wasn’t the brightest thing she’d ever done. It had seemed reasonable at the time, but clearly she was in the minority on that. “It’s too late now, but at least I did get the picture. I’ll call Gage as soon as we’re done eating.”

  She rustled up a small smile. “I should be safe, though. If he reacts like both you and Tripp did, he’ll toss me in a cell for my own protection.”

  Jada looked at her as if she’d totally lost it. “That’s not funny, Abby. No wonder Tripp’s upset.”

  Abby studied the array of food on the table. “I’m sorry I’m not doing justice to the meal you paid for, but we can always have it for lunch tomorrow. Right now, though, I’d better go call Gage.”

  Jada started to say something, but then her eyes widened in surprise. “I don’t think you’re going to have to call him after all, Abby.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because he’s standing on the back porch.”

  Bracing herself for another confrontation with an overprotective male, Abby got up to let him in. When she stood facing him through the window that formed the top half of the door, he gave her his angry-cop look and held up pair of handcuffs.

  Abby grimaced and then glanced back at Jada before opening the door. “So tell me, how do you think I’m going to look in one of the Snowberry Creek Jail orange jumpsuits?”

  CHAPTER 25

  A braver person might’ve been able to stand her ground and face down the irate lawman on her back porch. But at that moment, that wasn’t Abby. In fact, she wasn’t sure how much longer her legs were going to support her. Worried she’d collapse in a hot mess on the floor, she motioned for Gage to come inside and quickly retreated to her seat at the table.

  As he closed the door, she pointed toward his usual chair. “Would you like to join us for dinner?”

  He remained standing, towering over her. “Playing the gracious hostess card won’t cut it this time, Abby. You’d do better trying to convince me not to slap these cuffs on your wrists and haul you off to that cell I’ve been warning you about.”

  She’d been staring down at the table, but now she dragged her gaze up to meet Gage’s. “I know an apology isn’t much, but it’s all I have to offer. I really wasn’t trying to interfere with your case. I wanted to help.”

  To substantiate that claim, she slid her cell phone across the table in his direction. “I saw what might be the same vehicle parked out on my street that Jada and I both saw in her neighborhood, and decided to snap a picture of it. I thought if you could read the license plate, you might be able to track down the owner to see why someone is following Jada around.”

  When Gage made no effort to reach for the phone, she sighed. “And yes, I realize now that I should’ve called nine-one-one and asked for a deputy to swing by to check it out. I was just afraid the vehicle would be gone before anyone could get here.”

  Okay, that idea hadn’t even occurred to her, but it was important to convince Gage she hadn’t acted completely on impulse. It probably wasn’t smart to lie to him about anything, but it didn’t matter. It was all too clear her ploy hadn’t worked, considering his expression hadn’t softened at all. Either he didn’t believe her or else he didn’t care what she’d been thinking at the time.

  “I’m guessing Tripp called you.”

  “He did.”

  Those two sharp-edged words clarified what really had Gage so upset. Her rash actions had not only endangered herself, but they’d hurt Tripp as well. Once again, her eyes burned with the sting of tears, but she didn’t deserve the release they would offer her. She swiped at her face with a paper napkin, wincing at the feel of the rough paper against her skin.

  “I’ve already apologized to him, but I know it’s not enough.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  His words were still chilly, but at least Gage finally sat down. When he was settled, he tossed the handcuffs on the table between them, a harsh reminder that she still wasn’t in the clear on this. “Show me the vehicle.”

  Her hands were shaking so hard that it took her several attempts to find the picture on her phone. With everything that had happened, she hadn’t had a chance to look at it herself. Thank goodness both the make of the SUV and the license plate were crystal clear.

  When she passed it over to Gage, he studied it for a few seconds before handing it to Jada. “What do you think? Could this be the same one you spotted outside of your place?”

  It worried Abby when Jada didn’t immediately answer. It was bad enough that she might’ve permanently damaged her relationship with both Tripp and Gage. It would be so much worse if she’d done so for no gain. Jada finally nodded and handed the phone back to Gage. “I can’t say for sure, but it could be. The overall shape and color look right.”

  He set the phone down on the table and got out his own. Abby didn’t know who he called, but he asked the person on the other end of the line to run the plate for him. While he waited, he yanked his spiral notebook and pen out of his pocket. She had no experience with how long such things took, but it was only a matter of seconds before Gage started writing something down. When he was finished, he said thanks and disconnected the call.

  He leaned back in his chair, his eyebrows riding low as he frowned. “Well, that’s certainly interesting.”

  It was tempting to ask questions, but right now the less she said the better. Jada looked curious as well as they both waited for Gage to decide he was ready to share. “What can either of you tell me about Eve Swahn?”

  At first the name didn’t mean anything to Abby, but Jada looked more surprised than confused. “Will Swahn is my godfather. Eve is his wife . . . or possibly his ex-wife now. I’m not really sure. Before he stopped by here, I hadn’t actually seen Will in ages other than at my father’s funeral. Dad and Will used to be pretty close, but not so much for the last few years. I can’t say I really know Eve at all.”

  “Any idea why she’d be lurking around wherever you happen to be?”

  Jada only looked more puzzled. “No. Even when Dad and Will used to hang out together, it was usually just the two of them. Eve never came with her husband at all after Mom died, so I have no idea why she’d suddenly take an interest in me.”

  Thanks to her own rather contentious divorce, Abby actually had a thought about why Eve Swahn might be lurking around. The trouble was, she wasn’t sure if anyone—especially Gage—would want to hear it. Finally, she raised her hand while feeling a bit foolish for doing so. Gage pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “This isn’t elementary school, Abby. You don’t have to wait to be called on.”

  Well, fine. It wasn’t as if he always welcomed her input. She dropped her hand back down to her lap. “Maybe she’s hoping to cross paths with Will. Jada mentioned earlier she didn’t know where he was staying these days, and maybe his wife is having the same problem. Even if neither of them is contesting the divorce, that doesn’t mean they’ve come to an agreement on dividing up their assets or even the value of those assets.”

  Jada frowned, as if not quite following, so Abby did her best to explain. “It’s like this, Jada. My ex-husband and I owned a business that we started together. After we separated, he’d agreed to buy me out but then decided to be a jerk about it. He lied to the court and said that I was little better than a file clerk and deserved a small severance package rather than half the actual value of the company. Fortunately for me, our records clearly proved that I was both co-owner and chief financial officer. It all worked out in the end, but it wasn’t fun.”

  Gage looked sympathetic for the first time since he’d walked through the door. “Unfortunately, that sort of stuff is more common than most people know. Maybe something like that is going on between Mr. and Mrs. Swahn.”

&
nbsp; He picked up his notebook and pen and stuck them back in his pocket. “Looks like I need to have a talk with the lady. I’ll call if I have any further questions for either of you.”

  As he stood up, he also pocketed the handcuffs but then leaned down to look Abby right in the face. She instinctively tried to put a little extra distance between her and the anger in his eyes. “I’m going leave you on your own recognizance—for now. Don’t make me regret it. In fact, consider yourself under house arrest until tomorrow. If you can’t stay out of trouble for that long, we’ll revisit the matter.”

  He stopped to toss Zeke a cookie from the treat jar on his way out. “Keep an eye on her, dog. You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

  Zeke gulped down the treat and then woofed his acceptance of his orders. Gage was chuckling as he headed out the door. Jada picked up her plate and stuck it in the microwave. “Do you want me to reheat your dinner, too?”

  Abby carried her plate over to the counter and stared out toward Tripp’s house for several seconds. “Thanks, but I think I’d better try to mend a few fences.”

  Her decision made, she took several plastic containers out of the cabinet and dished up a generous amount of food for Tripp. After debating whether or not to heat it up for him, she decided against it. If the man was hungry—and when wasn’t he?—he could nuke it himself. Too bad she didn’t have a fresh-baked pie to go along with her makeshift peace offering. It was probably too much to hope that he’d forgiven her rash actions, but she had to at least try to make up for the pain she’d caused him.

  Zeke whined as she gathered everything up and started for the door. Should she take him with her? No, it wasn’t fair to the dog to have to deal with the emotional tug-of-war if his two favorite people couldn’t be civil to each other. “I know you have your orders from Gage, Zeke, but you should stay with Jada. I probably won’t be gone long.”

  And if that didn’t sound pathetic, she didn’t know what did.

  Jada gave her a quick hug. “Good luck, Abby. Tripp is only mad because he cares. I’m betting he’s cooled off by now.”

  “Maybe.”

  With considerable effort, she managed to slip past Zeke’s determined efforts to come with her. Her journey across the yard took both too long and not nearly long enough. All too soon she stood on Tripp’s porch, where it took every bit of courage she had to knock. Seconds passed in silence, and she’d almost given up when she finally heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door. Her breath caught in her throat as she waited to see what, if anything, Tripp would say to her.

  When the door swung open, Tripp planted himself in the middle of the doorway, clearly in no hurry to welcome her inside. Disappointing, but not surprising. He also didn’t say a word, which left it up to her to break the impasse.

  “I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be. No matter how good my intentions were, it was impulsive and stupid on my part, so I’ll say it again. I’m really sorry, and I hope you’ll forgive me.”

  Then she held out the bag full of food. “I don’t want you to go hungry because of my mistake.”

  When he didn’t immediately accept the offering, she set it down on the porch and turned to walk away. Before she’d gone more than four steps, a big hand came down on her shoulder and spun her back around. Her first instinct was to fight her way loose and run for the privacy of her room, but Tripp wasn’t having it. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t cry, Abby. You know I hate that.”

  She sniffled against his T-shirt. “I can’t help it. I hurt you, which hurts me, too.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, about that. I admit you scared the heck out of me. But looking back, I probably overreacted. I’m pretty sure that car swerved to the other side of the road long before it passed by, so the driver wasn’t really aiming at you. I was just putting on my shoes to head your way when you stepped up on the porch.”

  She looked up to see if he meant that. “Really?”

  He grinned just a little. “Look for yourself. I only managed to put on one before you knocked.”

  She glanced down to see he was sporting a single untied shoe while his other foot was clad in a sock. Considering how damp the grass was, that couldn’t be comfortable. “So I see. Why don’t we take this conversation inside?”

  At least he kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked back toward his porch, stopping only long enough to retrieve the bag she’d left for him. That went a long way toward convincing her that their friendship hadn’t been totally destroyed. It was amazing how much that little bit of knowledge improved her outlook on life. When they were safely inside with the door locked, she pointed at the bag he’d set on the counter in his tiny kitchen. “I brought enough for both of us on the off chance that you didn’t hate me anymore.”

  Tripp didn’t comment, but at least he handed her dishes to set the table for two while he warmed up their dinner. To break the silence, she said, “So, Gage ran the plates on that SUV. Turns out it belongs to Eve Swahn, Jada’s godfather’s ex-wife.”

  “I assume Gage will track her down.”

  “Yep, although there’s no guarantee he’ll tell us what he finds out.” Which was frustrating, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Not with the memory of those handcuffs still dancing in her head.

  Tripp passed her a beer. “Tell me you’re not thinking about asking him to keep you in the loop.”

  It was more of an order than a question, but she answered anyway. “Nope, I know better.”

  She risked a small grin as she shared a little more about what had happened during Gage’s visit. “Especially considering he showed up at my back door waving a pair of handcuffs in my face. He also put me on house arrest until tomorrow. He even assigned Zeke guard duty, bribing him with a dog treat I baked for the furry traitor.”

  Tripp didn’t look amused. “And yet here you are at my house, not yours.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “True, but I’m still within the boundaries of my property lines. He didn’t say I couldn’t go outside at all.”

  His answering snort made his thoughts on that all too clear. That was okay, though. All that mattered was the two of them were back on speaking terms. For now, she’d enjoy their time together. Tomorrow could take care of itself.

  * * *

  They were just finishing up the few dishes when Abby’s phone pinged. She set the dish towel aside to check her messages. Her mother had finally made it home, thankfully alone this time. “Mom’s back. I’m surprised Owen isn’t with her.”

  “Those two are really joined at the hip these days, aren’t they?”

  “Yeah, although I was wondering if that would still be true after he explained his past to her.”

  Tripp walked over to the front window to stare out into the darkness. “I wonder how much he actually told her. More importantly, how much did she actually understand? Her life experience wouldn’t give her any frame of reference for the kinds of things he likely did.”

  Abby suspected Tripp wasn’t only talking about Owen. “Mom would’ve listened anyway, especially if she thought it would help him in some way. Contrary to the past few days, she’s normally a nice person with lots of empathy.”

  Tripp glanced back at her, his mouth quirked up in a hint of a smile. “So, like mother like daughter?”

  Abby joined him at the window, slipping her arm around his waist. “Maybe we do have a few things in common.”

  She waited to see what he’d say next. It was a few seconds before he finally spoke. “One of the reasons I moved out here was to get away from my mom. It wasn’t just that she kept trying to fix me up with every single woman in town. She doesn’t understand why I’m so different from the boy she knew before I enlisted, and I can’t explain.”

  “Because you don’t want to burden her—or me—with your memories.” Even though her heart hurt for Tripp, she retreated a step to avoid crowding him too much. “I’d better head back in case Mom needs me fo
r some reason.”

  Tripp grabbed his keys off the counter and headed toward the door. “I’ll walk you home.”

  Abby blocked his path and pointed to his feet. “Fine, but you might want to put on your other shoe first. Well, unless you plan to hop all the way there.”

  Then she grinned up at him. “I bet you could do it, what with all your Special Forces ninja skills. But why waste the energy?”

  He just grinned and slipped on his missing shoe and tied the laces.

  CHAPTER 26

  The next day started off blissfully peaceful. Both Jada and Tripp had early classes at school. Owen had an appointment with his attorney to deal with the fact the prosecutor was still pressing Gage to file charges, and her mother had gone along for moral support. The only thing that took a bit of the shine off her good mood was a disappointing call from Gage saying his attempt to track down Eve Swahn had been unsuccessful. As it turned out, both she and Will had moved out of the house they’d been renting. He’d promised the search would continue, and he’d keep them posted.

  She texted back to let him know she’d gotten the message, and added she’d let him know if she heard from either of the Swahns. “Well, Zeke, that’s disappointing, but Gage will figured it out.”

  Meanwhile, the dog parked himself by the door to wait. Evidently she wasn’t the only one who needed to work off some nervous energy. After filling a to-go cup with coffee, she grabbed Zeke’s leash and her keys. “Come on, big guy. We’re off to the park.”

  * * *

  An hour later, the two of them made the final turn leading back toward the parking lot. She paused briefly, debating whether to take another lap along the trail. She rejected the idea, considering how hard Zeke was panting as he flopped down on the grass. After giving them both a chance to catch their breath, it took two tugs on Zeke’s leash to get the big dog up and moving again. “Come on, you can take a nap while I do chores.”