Dire Straits

by Melissa Pearl

  She glanced up at him. A new thought had just formed, something she hadn’t considered before. “What are you suggesting?”

  “I’m not suggesting anything.” His lips thinned. “All I’m saying is be careful. You’re walking a thin line with what you’ve been doing this week, and Kellan just may lose his shit if he finds out.”

  She gave a slight nod.

  “I’m not going to say anything to him,” he told her. “But if I hear you’re still nosing around, you’re gonna be shit out of luck. You need to leave the investigating to the people authorized to do that kind of work.”

  She nodded again. She was hearing his words but they weren’t really registering.

  She was too focused on what else he’d said.

  Jarrett used whatever means necessary to get a story.

  That was his MO.

  She thought back to the night that had started everything. The night at the concert.

  When he’d asked—so casually, so charmingly—about the Katie Simmons case. And she’d willingly told him what she knew.

  Whatever means necessary.

  She swallowed against the lump in her throat.

  He’d been after the story, alright.

  Had he just taken her along for the ride because he wanted something she had?

  A connection with the police department. Access to information. He probably knew she’d spill details far easier than Nate would…especially since she treated him like a schoolgirl’s crush.

  The story was what mattered to Jarrett.

  Not her.

  And it was suddenly very easy to believe that was all she was.

  Part of the story.

  32

  Thursday July 5

  9:15 am

  Jarrett’s phone was ringing.

  He bolted out of bed on the first ring, his mind instantly going to the two possibilities of who might be calling him.

  His sister.

  Or Jess.

  He hoped it was the latter as he crossed his bedroom for his phone. He’d dropped it on his dresser when he’d gotten home from his mother’s.

  After he’d spent part of the night with Jessica.

  A delicious part of the night with Jessica.

  He remembered with aching clarity their time on the back deck.

  A shiver ran down the length of him.

  He didn’t think he could ever get enough of her.

  He grabbed his phone and flipped it so he could see the screen.

  It was a number he didn’t recognize. And an area code that wasn’t local to Aspen Falls.

  He frowned as he answered. “Jarrett Pryor.”

  A man on the other end of the line cleared his throat. “Uh, this is Chance. Chance Cooper.”

  Jarrett’s eyes widened. Katie’s coworker from PCA.

  “Hey,” he said. “Thanks so much for calling me.” He hustled from his bedroom and out to the kitchen where he’d dropped his workbag. He unzipped it, fishing out his notepad and a pen.

  “Joanne gave me your business card,” Chance said.

  Joanne must have been the name of the receptionist at PCA.

  “She said you wanted me to get in touch with you.”

  “Yeah,” Jarrett said. He glanced longingly at the empty coffeepot, wishing he’d remembered to set the auto-start the night before. “I have some questions for you about a story I’m working on.”

  There was a moment of silence. “About Katie?” Chance finally said.

  “Yes.” Jarrett sat down at the table.

  “What kind of story are you working on?”

  Jarrett couldn’t help but notice the caution in the man’s voice.

  “Well, as you know, she was found on the banks of the river. A tragic story.” Jarrett paused. “I’m trying to piece together some details. Where she was at with her life, what might have happened to her that night.”

  “I don’t know what happened to her,” Chance said quickly. “I wasn’t at the party.”

  “That’s okay,” Jarrett said. “Maybe you can fill in some of the other blanks.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like what she was like to work with,” Jarrett explained. “I assume your paths crossed since you were both…” He paused, trying to remember the terminology used on the PCA website. “Was it technicians?”

  “Yeah,” Chance said slowly. “But she’d been reassigned to the lab.”

  “Reassigned?”

  “We were both out in the field for a while, collecting samples, but then she got moved to the lab. Analytical stuff.”

  Jarrett’s hand was moving furiously across the pad of paper in front of him. “And was that normal? Getting reassigned?”

  “The first time, it was.”

  “The first time?”

  “She got moved again recently. Out of the lab and into some admin job.”

  “Why?” Jarrett asked. “And is that normal? Switching into an admin role?”

  “No.” Chance’s voice was flat.

  Jarrett’s hand stilled. “No?”

  “No,” he repeated.

  The hairs on the back of Jarrett’s neck stood on end. “So why was she moved?”

  The line hummed.

  “Chance? You still there?”

  “I’m here.” His voice was small.

  Jarrett repeated his question. “Why was she moved?”

  The man on the other end expelled a deep breath, and Jarrett could almost picture the expression on his face. He thought he might be young, around Katie’s age, with sandy brown hair and a friendly smile. And right about now, he was looking worried. Anxious.

  Jarrett braced himself.

  “It’s a long story,” Chance said.

  “I have time.”

  Another whoosh of air spilled from the man on the other end of the phone. “I don’t know for sure,” Chance said in a low voice. “But if I had to make a guess, it was because she knew too much.”

  33

  Thursday, July 5

  10:00 am

  Jess stared at the scone in front of her.

  She hadn’t taken a single bite.

  The coffee she’d ordered was still mostly full, too.

  She’d been too wrapped up in her own thoughts, her own misery, to think about eating.

  She’d tried. That was why she was sitting in Lulu’s. She’d thought forcing herself out of bed and into the quaint little coffee shop would help take her mind off things.

  Off her job that might or might not be in jeopardy.

  And off the man who had managed to steal a piece of her heart.

  Simply to get a story.

  How could she have been so naïve? So incredibly stupid?

  Jarrett Pryor had used her from day one. She’d been the cop at the scene and he’d sweet-talked his way into getting her to dish details. And when she’d practically begged to come along on his investigation, he’d let her. Because he knew she would keep feeding him information.

  She wasn’t like Nate—tight-lipped, keeping things close to his chest. He was friends with Jarrett, knew how hard he’d dig for details, so he would keep his mouth shut.

  But Jess?

  Jess had been too taken with Jarrett’s looks, with his charm—hell, with his attention—that she’d had no qualms about telling him what she knew.

  And then some, she thought bitterly.

  Mortification washed over her as she recalled all of the things she’d confided in him. How she wanted to be a detective. The story about her dad. All of the things she’d told him about her childhood, about growing up on the North Shore.

  She’d invited him into her mother’s house.

  She’d slept with him.

  Not once, but twice.

  And she hadn’t meant a thing to him.

  Just a means to an end.

  Her eyes filled with tears and she glanced to the floor, blinking rapidly as she tried to keep them from spilling onto her cheeks.

  She was such a fool.

>   In more ways than one.

  The chair across from her scraped against the wood floor and Jess looked up with a start.

  Louanne eased herself into the chair and looked at her with concern.

  “Are you alright, honey?”

  Jess forced a smile. “I’m fine.”

  Louanne’s brow furrowed. “You don’t look fine.”

  Jess could feel the wetness on her lashes, and she knew from experience that her nose was probably red, a result of trying to keep the tears at bay.

  “I’m fine,” she repeated. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  Louanne reached out and patted her hand. “Oh, I have no doubt about that. You’re one tough cookie.”

  Jess smiled, a genuine one, at Louanne’s description. “I don’t know about that,” she murmured.

  “I do.” Louanne’s voice was gentle but firm. “Now, does this have something to do with that poor young lady you found by the river?”

  Jess looked at her with alarm. How the hell did she know she’d been looking into it? Because if Louanne knew, that meant everyone in Aspen Falls knew.

  Including Kellan.

  “I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been to be the one to find her,” Louanne said. Her hand was still on Jess’s and she gave it a gentle squeeze. “Probably hard to get that image out of your head.”

  Jess exhaled. “Comes with the territory,” she said, trying to sound matter-of-fact.

  Louanne nodded, but her lips were pursed and her brow was still puckered into a frown. “Of course. You officers have to deal with so much. I hope you know how much we appreciate all of you.” She patted Jess’s hand. “I know you’ve already paid for your coffee and your scone, but the next time you come in, your meal is on me.”

  “That’s not necessa—”

  “I insist. It’s the least I can do to show my appreciation.”

  Jess didn’t have the energy to argue. “Well, thank you.” She knew she wouldn’t be taking her up on the offer, but she at least wanted to acknowledge the gesture.

  Louanne smiled and then glanced up, her eyes lighting up and her smile widening.

  “One of my favorite people,” she exclaimed. “What amazing story are you working on now?”

  Jess’s heart plummeted to her stomach.

  She didn’t turn around.

  She didn’t need to.

  She recognized the voice.

  “Whatever story I can find,” Jarrett replied.

  He leaned down and gave Louanne a quick hug.

  Jess wanted the floor to open up and swallow her.

  He was the last person she wanted to see.

  “Where is your coffee?” Louanne demanded, noting his empty hands. “And why don’t you have anything to eat?”

  “I’m not here for food,” he told her. “Or coffee, even.”

  “Oh?” Louanne sounded surprised. “Why are you here, then?”

  There was a beat of silence, and Jess stole a glance at him.

  His eyes were locked on her. “I’m here to see her.”

  Jess looked away, but not before she saw Louanne’s mischievous smile. “Oh, really?” she drawled. “Hmm. Well then, by all means, have a seat.”

  She stood up and motioned for Jarrett to sit. “I need to head back to the kitchen anyway and see how things are coming for lunch. You two enjoy your date!”

  Jess winced, the words stabbing at her like knives.

  This was absolutely not a date.

  They’d never had a date.

  Not one without a hidden agenda, anyway.

  Jarrett’s agenda.

  She shoved her plate aside and reached for her purse.

  “What are you doing?” Jarrett asked.

  “Leaving,” she snapped.

  His expression was one of complete bewilderment. “What? Why?”

  “Look, this is a mistake.” Her voice was flat. Hard. “All of this.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She didn’t have the mental energy to explain. And she couldn’t count on herself to keep it together. Not now, with him sitting across from her, his expression a painful mix of confusion, concern and hurt.

  “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said slowly, his eyes never straying from hers. “But it’s going to have to wait.”

  It was her turn to look confused.

  “Chance called me.”

  Jess felt her eyes widen. She didn’t want to know what Jarrett had found out. She didn’t want to care.

  But she did.

  Especially because his jaw had suddenly tensed up. His eyes narrowed and she felt his knee begin to bounce, rocking the table as he did so.

  “He told me some things.” His voice was low, and he glanced around the coffee shop before leaning in close.

  She eyed him warily.

  “Chance takes samples for PCA. Water. Katie analyzed them.”

  She waited.

  “They didn’t work together, per se, but he provided the samples that she worked on. She called him up a few weeks back to ask him to go back to a collection site and take more samples.”

  Jess couldn’t help herself. “Why?”

  Relief washed over his face when she said this, probably thrilled that she’d finally engaged.

  “He said that she’d looked at a report and she thought it was wrong. She wanted him to collect more samples so she could analyze them again.”

  Jess wasn’t following any of this, especially why it might be important. “It sounds like a work issue.”

  Jarrett nodded. “Oh, it definitely was.”

  “A mix-up or something?”

  He shook his head. “Not a mix-up,” he said. “Guess where the water samples came from?”

  Jess had no idea.

  And she wasn’t sure she cared.

  He was trying to bring her in again, and she wanted to know why. What angle was he working? How did he think she would be able to advance his case, his story?

  Because that was why he was there, she reminded herself.

  No other reason.

  “Not gonna guess?” His hazel eyes were liquid fire, his mouth set in a firm line. “I’ll tell you. They were from the storm water runoff from Superior Metals.”

  34

  Thursday, July 5

  10:35 am

  Jarrett waited for his news to register with Jessica.

  She stared impassively at him.

  He frowned.

  What the hell was wrong with her?

  She was acting like a completely different person from the woman he’d been with the night before.

  He knew she’d struggled off and on with even thinking there was a story to be told in regards to Katie Simmons, but here he was, telling her the biggest break they’d gotten so far, and she looked as though he’d just told her the sky was blue and dogs barked.

  Not impressed at all.

  He had more to tell her—lots more—but she didn’t look interested.

  In fact, she looked angry.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked tentatively.

  “Everything is fine,” she clipped. She reached for her purse again. “Good luck with your story.”

  He reached across the table and grabbed her forearm.

  She reacted as if she’d just been stung by a hornet.

  “What the hell is going on?” he demanded.

  “Nothing.” Her eyes were molten.

  “Bullshit.” His grip tightened—not enough to hurt her but enough to know that he wasn’t letting her go so easily. “Jess, I need to talk to you.”

  “I don’t want to listen.”

  Her words stung, in more ways than one. He had no idea what had gotten into her, but he couldn’t dwell on that now.

  He had more to tell her. Important things.

  He forged ahead. To hell with whatever was going on with her. He needed to share what he’d found out. She’d been his partner on this story, and even if she decided to bow out now, he felt like h
e at least owed it to her to bring her up to speed.

  He owed her a lot, actually.

  But now wasn’t the time for that conversation.

  “Chance said Katie remembered finding high levels of some pretty terrible stuff. Copper, lead. Phthalates and PCBs, too.”

  He thought he saw a flicker of interest in Jess’s eyes.

  “But when she looked at the report the office put together, they weren’t listed. They’d been omitted.”

  “Omitted?”

  He bit back a smile.

  She was listening. And responding.

  He nodded. “According to Chance, she asked Bill about it since all the reports go through his office. He told her that she was misremembering. There had been trace amounts of stuff but no elevated levels.”

  She frowned.

  “Katie knew she wasn’t wrong,” he told her. “Chance said that she was adamant she remembered the last analysis. But when she went to look back at the records, they were gone. She was told it had been a backup error, something with the software, but she wasn’t convinced about that, either. So she asked Chance if he could head back out to the site and grab a few more samples for her to test. Just to make sure.”

  “Did he go?”

  Jarrett shook his head. “He told her he was pretty booked up and that the soonest he could head out there was a few weeks from then. She muttered something about maybe heading out and doing it herself.”

  “Did she?”

  “He didn’t know,” Jarrett said. “If she did, she didn’t tell him.”

  Jess swallowed. “So he doesn’t know what came of it?”

  “Well, we all know what happened next,” Jarrett said. “She was dead a couple of weeks later.”

  35

  Thursday, July 5

  11:00 am

  Jessica didn’t want to care.

  But she did.

  The wheels in her head were already spinning, connecting the dots.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she finally said.

  “That Bill had something to do with Katie’s death?” Jarrett asked. “That he fudged the report for some reason?”