Five years before leaving the department, Jessup racked up several grievances accusing him of taking cash bribes from at least three dozen motorists. If they paid up and met his demands, he’d let them off with a warning and wouldn’t write up a citation. But it seemed the highlight of his career involved a shakedown of a talented college musician who’d supposedly been caught drug trafficking. There’d been an arrest, an indictment, and then the kid had disappeared right out of his dorm room in the middle of the night. The case made Florida headlines for almost a year. But after a period of time the story went away. She couldn’t find any mention of an outcome. Shortly after the incident, Jessup and the Highway Patrol came to a parting of the ways.
As she snapped her laptop shut, it was apparent the old man had a darker side that obviously hadn’t come to light during the last two decades whenever he ran for reelection. She decided she’d just found the angle to exploit.
After applying her make-up she got dressed in the lowest cut top she’d brought with her. She’d thrown on a pair of skinny, tight-fitting jeans, a pair of strappy sandals that made her four inches taller, and prepared to woo a seventy-year-old man into confessing he’d long ago thrown away his ethics to join the bad guys.
She still hadn’t found enough evidence to point to who the bad guys were exactly. That would take a savvy approach and all the patience she could gather. Yes, she had a tablet full of theories, suspicions, a few leads and more than a headful of ideas. But whether real or imagined she had a long way to go before proving Sinclair held the link to Ryan’s or Livvy’s case. She wasn’t even sure what role, if any, Jessup had played in any of it.
So in a town this small, she prepared to take a step toward covert, a direction that would either go well, or break down in a most embarrassing way. Whatever the outcome, she was prepared to give it her best shot.
Anniston walked through the doors at the police station looking like a tart straight out of Miami Vice. But since the outfit was thrown together for that very reason, she couldn’t whine too much.
And when the sergeant behind the desk looked her up and down in appreciative fashion that made her feel cheap and tawdry she knew the look worked. The man did everything but whistle and sing the first bars to Dixie.
She had to wait fifteen minutes before getting an audience with the chief. So when she did stroll into his office, she ramped up the old Marcelli magic. She acted like her IQ dropped twenty points.
“Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to me. You know I’m on this impossible case trying to find out what happened to Walker and Olivia. I’m getting an awful lot of pressure from my clients to make all sorts of assumptions. I was hoping you could help me out with a few facts.” For emphasis, she added, “I think I might be in over my head.”
“It’s such a pretty head,” Jessup said with a wink. “The Indigos are good at making assumptions.”
“Don’t I know it. You don’t like them very much, do you?”
“I don’t have a problem with them, just the way they’re trying to make a big deal out of this situation with Livvy. The simple truth is there’s not a thing to indicate the Buchanan family was kidnapped or jerked out of their house in the middle of the night. Not a thing.”
Anniston chewed her lip to keep from pointing out that the family had left behind everything they owned. Instead, she rolled her eyes and smiled, leaning forward so he could get a good look at her cleavage. “But they say it was you who first thought the two cases were related.”
“That was before we found the car. If you ask me, your clients are being unrealistic. Those boys should pack up right now and get back to their own lives, leave Indigo Key like they’ve done so many times over the years and travel the world. Leave their poor parents to get back to a routine.”
“But how can they do that with their grandchildren unaccounted for, their daughter and her husband gone?”
“That’s just it, the whole thing is harebrained but just the kind of stunt Walker would pull. You’ll see, Walker and Livvy will come strolling back into town when they’re damn good and ready.”
Anniston knew she needed to keep Jessup venting and worked up. “But in the meantime I get to keep that sweet retainer. A girl’s gotta make a living. Surely you don’t begrudge me that? I’m not trying to grab the spotlight here or usurp your territory. I mean look, you know the life of a PI.”
Jessup came around his desk and parked his butt on the corner of the wood. “Sure I do, you guys soak the clients for a hefty fee upfront, then rack up a ridiculous daily expense all the while never doing much more than taking pictures of a cheating husband.”
Good to know what you think of my job, thought Anniston. It sounded like he spoke from experience. Even though she found Jessup’s attitude thoroughly condescending, she kept the phony smile plastered on her face as she waded into deeper waters. “So you’re convinced Walker pulls a disappearing act and takes off. I got that, but what about Ryan Connelly. What do you think happened to him?”
“Honestly, the guy probably got fed up with his boring life back in North Carolina and took off on a freighter for parts unknown. The guy could be anywhere by now.”
Anniston had grown tired of the game, tired of this silly man who passed himself off as law enforcement. She got to her feet, bringing her IQ up to a healthier quotient. “A freighter? Really? What did he do with his car? I ran the plates, his Honda’s still registered to him without benefit of selling it to anyone.”
She didn’t miss the patronizing look Jessup gave her but she ignored it. “Plus, Ryan had a business back in Nags Head that he’d babied along for years. I don’t see the connection to giving up what he’d worked for and setting sail on a freighter.”
“People get fed up with their lives all the time and decide to try something else. That’s what Alaska’s for. The sister admitted the business wasn’t doing that well. If you don’t believe me, ask her.”
The defiant attitude had Anniston turning for the door. “I think I’ll do that.”
It was a balmy eighty degrees when Anniston ended the skirmish with Sinclair and christened it a standoff. Calling it that was the only way she could live with the fact that she hadn’t dug in and battled him more. But the goal had been to learn how much he disliked the Indigos. After her twenty minutes with the chief of police, he’d left no doubt.
She changed clothes and brought that news into The Blue Taco looking for lunch. It was crowded, so she stood in line to place her order behind a young mom with two cranky toddlers who wanted nothing more than a sugary churro. The kids cried so loud through the woman’s order Anniston couldn’t think straight. When it was her turn, she took one look at Raine behind the counter and felt instant empathy.
“How do you put up with this chaos?”
“I’ve been working here since I was old enough to stand at the register.” Raine lifted a shoulder. “Danny and I were raised by a single mom. This place didn’t run itself. We pitched in, learned the ropes. You deal with the public every day. What can I get you?”
“I’ll take the steak burrito plate with a Diet Coke,” Anniston said, removing her debit card from the pocket of her jeans. “Here’s a thought. Why don’t you give Tessa a job here? She could use the cash.”
Raine’s eyebrows formed an arch. “That’s not a bad idea. I wonder if she’d be insulted by the offer?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Anniston declared before moving along so the next person in line could order.
After finding a table on the patio, she took out her iPad and started organizing the major points about the meeting with the police chief into an email for the Indigos. She was deep in thought when Raine arrived with the food and dropped into a chair next to her.
The sunny blonde clasped her hands together, all excited. “I have an idea. Let’s get together tonight at my place, just us girls. I’ll bring home takeout, some enchiladas and fajitas, and we’ll make a party out of it. Maybe I’
ll get Tessa plastered and hit her with the job idea. You could back me up on that.”
“Sounds like a plan. Besides, I need an opening to tell her that…” Anniston shifted forward and whispered, “I don’t think Jessup has done a thing to look for Ryan. Absolutely nothing.”
“Oh, she’s figured that out already.”
“Suspicion is one thing, confirmation another. Jessup thinks Ryan jumped on the first freighter out of port and took off. Sound familiar?”
Raine settled back in the chair, stumped. “He actually said that?”
“Yup.”
“Funny isn’t it, so many people around here suddenly deciding to take off?”
“Well, it makes me wonder how safe visitors are with a man like Jessup running the show. What if I went missing? I’m an outsider. This island gets thousands of tourists every season. It makes me wonder if I should dig into the town’s history a little farther back. You know, see how many tourists have disappeared during their vacations.”
“Do it. See what you can find out by tonight. Be at my place around six-thirty. I’ll make sure Tessa knows to expect company.”
At that very moment the only person Tessa intended to entertain was Jackson Indigo. Jackson had been able to detour from his duties on The Black Rum long enough to spend two hours with Tessa inside the tiny bungalow.
So far, they’d made the most of every minute. From the moment they’d burst through the front door they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other.
Her fingers fisted in his hair. She plundered his mouth while he devoured hers. They couldn’t get out of their clothes fast enough to ravage each other.
Her naked body was like hallowed ground, he thought as he worked his way from her luscious mouth down to her lovely curves. He lingered over the texture and shape of her breasts, pleased when he felt her quiver, her heart pick up its pace. There was shock and awe as he licked his way down her belly, kissed the silky skin of her thighs.
With each touch, her blood heated. With each nibble and nip, she wanted more. Erotic sensations blinded her. Passion and hunger shifted back and forth as he did things to her no one else ever had.
He swept over her, brushed her cheek with his lips and whispered, “Look at me, Tessa. I want you to look at me when I’m inside you.”
She met his deep brown eyes. Her head was spinning as she shuddered at the joining. Pleasure flowed down like gentle rain as he raised her arms above her head, locked his fingers with hers. He began to move, slow and deliberate, over her, inside her.
The frenzy had her wrapping her legs around him. She felt the power in his muscles as he drove them higher. He left her heart skidding and her body quivering as they vaulted up, rocking through the satiny dance, the bond as old as time.
Heat curled and circled between them like steam rising. The climax shattered, white-hot, like a rocket in the night sky.
There were still tremors pulsing through her when he rolled to the side and brought her with him. Snuggling into his chest, she rested her head on his heart, listened to it thud in her ear. “I like jumping you in the middle of the day.”
He let out a laugh and raked his fingers through the strands of her copper hair. “I like being jumped. Sneaking away from the guys took some planning.”
She raised her arms in the air that signaled a touchdown. “But you did it.”
“I aim to please.”
“Now you’re just bragging. I’m starving. How about you?”
“Yeah, smelling the stuff only made me work harder.”
“Hmm, food as an incentive, I’ll have to remember that. It’s time to break for fuel. I left the sack on the coffee table.”
“I’ll get it.” He got up, didn’t bother putting on his boxers as he padded out to the front room to retrieve the Kung Pao chicken takeout Tessa had brought from Lee Fong’s Palace on Pearl Street.
“We could nuke it warm,” he said when he brought the bag back.
“Can’t wait.”
“You want to eat here in bed?”
“Sure. Why not?”
They set the Styrofoam tray between their bodies, took turns dipping into the veggies, munching on the tender meat.
Jackson had his mind on making plans for later. “I could pick you up and we could go out for dinner at that little French bistro by the marina.”
But Tessa had already picked up her phone to check her messages. “I don’t know. It looks like Raine’s having a little get together tonight at six-thirty. Girls only. She wants me there.”
“What for?”
“No idea. But I’m bound to go. It has to be somewhere in the roommate code, right?”
Obviously disappointed, he grumbled, “I suppose.”
She stroked a finger down his cheek, leaving a trail of Kung Pao sauce. She used her tongue to trace the path off his face. “How about we come back here after that?”
He pinned her to the mattress. “I don’t want to wait that long.”
Chapter Twenty - Fire
Girls’ night out at Raine’s rippled out like a pebble on a pond. Anniston tossed out an invitation to Lenore, who in turn invited her best friend, Jule Mae Harriman, who brought along her daughter-in-law, Cara.
As promised, Raine provided the appetizers and entrées. For dessert, Lenore baked her decadent chocolate cake she’d laced with coffee liqueur. Anniston had stopped by the liquor store and picked up enough wine to buzz a sorority house. Jule Mae and Cara contributed a tasty guacamole and a Crock-pot queso dip along with bags of chips.
The spread looked like it could feed twenty people. It prompted Tessa to go in search of Raine’s dishes and glassware to brighten up the table. It made her long for her cramped kitchen back home. But then she realized these same friends wouldn’t be back in Nags Head.
Willing to try for another normal evening, Tessa listened to the houseboat rock with the welcome sounds of laughter and merriment. For the first time in days, she noticed a difference in Jackson’s mom. Lenore’s spirits seemed to lift. Maybe everyone needed another chance for the worry and tension to drain away. She concluded it was worth a shot.
Tessa opened a bottle of white wine, poured until she’d drained every drop into their six glasses. As she went to discard the empty into the recycling bin, she hesitated. “You know, back home I would’ve found a use for this wine bottle.”
Without a crafty bone in her body, Anniston let out an easy laugh. “Really? Why?”
“Because this one’s a DIY genius,” Raine explained. “You should read her blog sometime. It’s under the name of the hardware store, The Toolbox.”
“Catchy name,” Anniston noted, taking out her cell phone to check it out. She used the search engine to land on a site with a picture of Tessa on the sidebar. “So how exactly would you reuse a wine bottle?”
Tessa found Anniston’s reaction amusing. “Paint it, decoupage it, or sprinkle it with glitter. If you’re truly creative you could design a mosaic pattern and turn it into a lamp. Or just leave all that stuff off and tie a pretty ribbon around the top, use the bottle to hold candy or flowers and give it as a gift.”
“Huh, learn something new every day.” Anniston sat back, tipped her glass toward Tessa. “I like a woman who thinks on her feet. Although I’m not sure I have the patience for turning around a wine bottle.” She turned to Lenore. “Do you do this kind of stuff?”
“Oh yeah, had to. Raising four kids on a tight budget, I used to save all kinds of stuff. I even made the kids’ birthday cards. Then when Livvy became a mom, we’d pool our resources and make some of the best projects for the annual church bazaar. Halloween and Christmas items were our specialty.” Lenore scowled into her drink. “Come to think of it Walker made her get rid of all her craft supplies and move them out of the corner of the kitchen and into the utility room, said it junked the place up too much.”
Jule Mae reached across the table and snatched up a jalapeño popper. “Walker’s an ass, always was.”
Rai
ne tittered with laughter. “That’s the consensus. Who else but Walker would build himself a generous man cave that caters to all his hobbies and then relegate Livvy’s to one counter in the laundry room.”
Anniston stuck a chip into the guacamole. “I don’t think I like this guy very much.”
Cara shifted her weight in her chair and snagged a chicken taquito, dipped it into the salsa. “Once in high school he stole the answers to the chemistry midterm. It was common knowledge. Back then, I think Livvy liked the aspect of the bad boy in him.”
Lenore acknowledged that with a bob of her head. “I think you’re right. Livvy seemed to be attracted to everything he did. She even crossed that line herself a time or two by shoplifting a blouse he wanted her to buy. He was right there encouraging her to do it. God knows her father and I tried to talk some sense into her head. We tried to dissuade her from dating him, but nothing we said mattered. Typical teenager behavior I suppose.”
Raine wanted to leap to her friend’s defense, but the truth prevented her from doing it. “Walker and Livvy dated for more than two years before they got married. That was plenty of time for her to see all his warts. And let’s face it, there were plenty of red flags. Like the time he took off with his friends to Daytona for spring break and had a one-night stand with one of the coeds there. I couldn’t believe it when Livvy forgave him.”
Lenore nodded. “That was three months before the wedding.”
Raine took a sip of wine. “Exactly. I kept thinking she’d come to her senses and back out. But I think she liked the idea of having Walker’s family money. There, I’ve said it.” To Lenore, she added, “I’m sorry. It’s what I’ve always believed.”
The Indigo Brothers Trilogy Boxed Set Page 24
