Torrid - Book Three

by Jayne Blue

  Tora shook her head. “I don’t think so. First of all, the poison was in Miranda’s drink inside her own refrigerator. It had to be Seth. He was the one with the opportunity to do it. Plus, George Pagano had thirteen years to kill Miranda if he was worried about her exposing him. She knew she would have gone down with him, just like Seth is finding out. And when I talked to Pagano, he seemed genuinely concerned about her not being around. He didn’t sound like a guy who stood anything to gain by killing her. She was in his back pocket and sitting on the federal bench. She was much more use to him alive.”

  “All right.” Addie slammed her hands against the table hard enough to make the silverware rattle. “Everybody needs an assignment. This sitting around and spinning our wheels won’t do us much good.”

  “Let me do some digging,” I said. “Maybe Ed Jeffries knows more about what was going on with Seth and Miranda and the senate bid. If Seth’s driving goal was that seat and he perceived Miranda as a threat to it, Ed might know why.”

  “Good idea,” Addie said. “And any thoughts you have about where we can find Seth are important too.”

  “Let me try taking that on as my assignment,” R.J. said. “I make my living tracking down lost people. I’ll start trying to pick up his trail.”

  “Perfect,” Addie said. “Tora, your job is to lay low, I’m afraid. Don’t do anything to draw attention to yourself or violate your bail terms. And I don’t need you talking to any potential witnesses.”

  “I need something to do,” Dex said. “I can’t stand just sitting around and waiting for things to happen. I’ve had thirteen years of nothing but.”

  “Dex,” Addie said, her voice growing softer. “You’re not doing nothing.”

  Tora put a hand on Dex’s arm. “Dad, just stay close to me. I need that more than anything. I need to be able to put my head on a pillow at night and not worry about where you are or what’s happening to you. I’ve had thirteen years of nothing but.”

  “She’s right,” I said. “Tora needs you close and out of trouble until we get her through this. And we will get her through this.”

  Dex locked eyes with me and I knew he understood my unspoken message in the intensity of my gaze. I made him a promise. I intended to keep it. There might come a time very soon where I would need Dex McLain and whatever connections he still had through the Great Wolves M.C. network to get Tora and me far away.

  Dex set his jaw hard and I knew we were on the same wavelength. Tora saw the look pass between us and she bristled. I just had to pray that we wouldn’t have to use that nuclear option but I was ready and willing if it came down to it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jack

  Ed Jeffries hung up on me the first time I called him. The second time, his secretary wouldn’t even put me through to him. I didn’t wait for a third time. I knew Ed and his wife Leona played golf at his country club on Wednesday afternoons from Memorial Day through nearly Thanksgiving. They took a late lunch on the terrace of the clubhouse. This particular Wednesday, I took a seat at the bar and waited. True to his habit, Ed walked in with Leona on his arm. He didn’t see me. Why would he? He didn’t expect me and I kept my nose in my martini until the two of them were seated. Luck was with me because the Jeffries ate alone today. I waited for them to place their orders and then I picked my moment. Leona excused herself for the ladies’ room and as soon as she was out of eyesight, I sat in her chair.

  Ed’s eyes widened when he saw me then he set his mouth into a hard line. “I oughta have you thrown out of here.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “You probably should. Except we both know you won’t. You may be on the way out but you’re still savvy enough to know that making a scene here won’t be good for your reputation.”

  “Sitting at a damn table with you won’t be good for my reputation.”

  The waitress came back and asked if I’d like another martini. “Just ice water,” I said. “And I won’t be staying to eat.”

  “Is there any chance you’re going to leave before making your speech?” Ed said. He downed his scotch and set it on the table with a loud thunk.

  “No speech, Ed,” I said. “Just a couple of questions. Actually, on second thought, maybe a little bit of a speech.”

  Ed grumbled and raised his scotch glass when the waitress walked by again.

  “Victoria McLain is innocent,” I said. “That’s the first thing. She didn’t kill Miranda.”

  “McLain, is it?” Ed said. “I seem to remember a wedding not too long ago. And why do you think it’s so important for me to know your opinion on this? It’s not like you have a lot of credibility where that girl is concerned.”

  “Fine. Then we won’t debate that particular point. But I need to know more about your dealings with Miranda before she died.”

  Ed barked out a laugh. “Are you out of your mind? What in the world would make you think I’d be willing to talk to you about any of this? I think I’d like to live the rest of my life without ever having to talk to much less think about anyone named Manning again. You’re poison. The whole lot of you.”

  Ed gave me a hard expression. He narrowed his eyes so much they crinkled to the point of almost disappearing. I knew what he meant. The “whole lot of us” now included my father. They had been close once, Ed and my dad. But now, Ed was making it clear how badly he wanted to walk back that friendship.

  “Why does any of this matter to you?” I asked. “You’re retiring. You’re getting ready to start your golden years with Leona. You knew my dad. You knew what kind of man he was. You also knew what kind of woman Miranda was. I can’t sit here and tell you I know what went on between them. Are you going to tell me that my dad was completely himself in the last few years of his life?”

  Ed grumbled instead of answering. Leona came back from the ladies’ room. If she was surprised to see me in her seat, she didn’t show it. She didn’t even give me the chance to vacate it. Without missing a beat she simply took the chair next to me and opposite her husband.

  “It’s good to see you, Jackie,” she said. She leaned forward and patted my hand. She gave her husband a skewering stare and he grumbled again. Leona Jeffries was the kind of woman whose respect was worth having and I dared to hope I still had it in spite of her husband’s posturing.

  “We were just talking about old times,” I said.

  “I hope my husband has remembered his manners,” Leona said as she snapped a crisp white napkin and folded it in her lap. “We’ve been thinking about you, Jackie. I can’t imagine how difficult the last few weeks have been for you.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “I really do appreciate that.” And I did.

  “And I hope you’ll also understand why sitting and talking with you right now puts us in a precarious position.”

  “I do, Leona. And I wouldn’t put you in it if it wasn’t important.”

  “Good,” she said. “So why don’t you make your point and then let us enjoy our lunch. You’ll also understand why I can’t ask you to stay.”

  As tough as Ed Jeffries was, Leona was tougher. It occurred to me that a better plan might have been to reach out to her first.

  “Well, Leona. I do understand your predicament so I’ll be blunt. I know there are a lot of rumors out there about Tora Blake. Some are true and most of them aren’t. She didn’t kill Miranda. I’m trying to figure out who did.”

  “How do you think we can help?” Leona sipped her mimosa with a steady hand.

  “You talked to them both.” I turned to Ed. “I’m guessing at length. Was Seth angry with his mother? Did he have any reason to think she wasn’t truly behind him?”

  “You’re barking up the wrong tree,” Ed said. “Who the hell knows what went on between the two of them. Why don’t you ask Seth?” His words were clipped. I’d known Ed Jeffries a very long time. He wasn’t an impatient man and he was rarely ever rude.

  I looked back at Leona. Her face was neutral but I saw the slightest narrowing of her e
yes as she stared at Ed. I looked back to Ed. He chewed the bottom of his lip but didn’t elaborate any more. Something was up between these two. I wished we weren’t in a public place. I don’t know if it was in me to threaten Ed Jeffries, and I didn’t know what I would use to do it, but he wasn’t telling me something and Leona knew it.

  “I’d love to talk to Seth. He appears to have run away from home though.”

  Ed laughed. “Probably a wise move on his part. If he manages to keep himself out of jail, he’s finished. You know that, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Jackie,” Leona said. “We really do wish you the best through all of this. If this Victoria is being wrongly accused, then I hope justice works in her favor. This whole business is positively awful. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you in particular. We all loved Jackson and know there has to be some logical explanation to all the terrible things they are reporting about him in the news.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “And if Ed thinks of anything else that might be of help to you, we’ll be sure he reaches out to you.”

  So that was it. The kiss-off. Ed stared straight ahead. He wouldn’t even look at me as I rose to leave.

  I kissed Leona’s hand and said my goodbyes. Ed Jeffries was afraid of something and I had to figure out what. I was going to have to find a way to get him alone and very soon.

  ***

  Tora

  As long as I lived, I didn’t think I would ever be able to fully repay Margie Burnett for the kindness she’d shown me over the last few weeks. Since my father’s arrival the day before, we hadn’t had a moment alone and it was Margie who made sure that today we got it. When my father showed up for a home-cooked meal that Margie made, she had some ruse about how she had forgotten she and Reed had made plans to go out with their neighbors. Reed looked surprised but didn’t question her. The two of them made hasty goodbyes and for the first time in more than thirteen years, I got my father all to myself over a plate of the best tuna casserole either of us had ever eaten.

  “Are you okay?” I said, putting my hand over his. Just this. The simple act of touching him was something I couldn’t do for all these years. When I visited him at Marion, we were always separated by glass.

  “Button.” His eyes shone when he looked at me. “One of these days you’re going to have to stop worrying about everyone else but yourself. It gets you into too much trouble.”

  I smiled. “I don’t mind.”

  He turned his hand so he took mine in his palm. His fingers were rough and calloused just as I always remembered. My father worked hard every day of his life and that hadn’t stopped when they locked him up.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Strangely, yes.” It was an honest answer.

  It was hard to think about the murder charges I faced. I knew I was innocent so I suppose I still carried around a large dose of denial. Even with the curfew and the tether and everything swirling around me, it didn’t always seem real. My brain would simply not process the fact that there was a chance I might get convicted and face the same fate my father had.

  “You trust this lawyer?” Dad asked while shoveling a large forkful of casserole in his mouth. I relished these little moments as I relearned the lines of my father’s face. Gray peppered his black hair at the temples and blended into the stubble along his jaw. I reached out and brushed the hair out of his eyes and he winked at me.

  “I do,” I said, sitting back down. “I had the option of going with someone more high profile, more expensive. I don’t know. Addie believes me. She’s not in this for money and that matters to me.”

  My father took a breath and let it out slowly. “I can’t fault your logic. Last time I went with a high-profile lawyer, it didn’t work out too well.”

  He cracked a smile but the pain stayed in his eyes.

  “Fair point.” I waved my fork at him and finished the last bite on my plate, set my fork down and pushed my chair a little away from the table. “Any news on your own defense lawyer front you’d like to share?”

  Dad shrugged. “Ms. Flynn’s got a motion in to drop the charges. She thinks once the dust settles with Miranda’s worm of a son, she might have a pretty good shot at winning it. My case is in a holding pattern until then. But she thinks even if they make me go through another trial, without the phony bank records, the government will never get past reasonable doubt.”

  “Good. Knowing that helps me more than I can tell you.” It did. I felt like I could face down whatever Seth or the prosecution in my own case threw at me as long as I knew my father was finally safe. I smiled at him. He looked at me but his mind was somewhere else. I threw my napkin across the table and hit him in the chest to snap him out of it.

  He shrugged and smiled. “I’m going to make this okay for you.”

  I laughed. “You and Jack sound just like each other.”

  He looked down. Jack was a subject I’d had to tread lightly over for the past few days. My father wanted an “agree to disagree” truce but that wasn’t good enough for me.

  “He’s not like Seth,” I said for about the hundredth time. “He’s nothing like Miranda. And he matters to me, Dad.”

  Dad leaned down and kissed my hand before he let it go. “I’m not sure about him. He’s got some pretty big strikes against him in my eyes.”

  “Oh?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this.

  My father raised his index finger. “One. He went after you to screw over his brother. That’s what we call a man code violation. I don’t care how much they hated each other.”

  I wanted to answer that one but knew better than to interrupt him when he was on a roll. Plus, I didn’t think I’d help my case any by telling him I was the one who pretty much straddled Jack on Miranda’s desk that first time.

  “Two. He let you marry that bastard. He let him touch you.”

  I shuddered. I didn’t want to think about anything I’d done with Seth Manning ever again. But Jack and I had made our peace with it. It was none of my father’s business and as soon as he let me, he would get an earful on that score.

  “And three. He’s a Manning, Tora. Hasn’t this family suffered enough at their doing?”

  I sighed. “See, you’ve got that backwards. It’s Miranda and Seth who really aren’t Mannings. Jack’s a good man, Dad. I love him and he’s said he loves me. Sure, we haven’t exactly had what anyone would call a traditional, ah, courtship, but we matter to each other. We’ve already been through quite a lot together and he’s proven he’ll do anything for me. You wouldn’t be sitting here right now if that weren’t true.”

  “You’re absolutely, one hundred percent sure he wasn’t in on his father’s scheme to lock me up?”

  The question surprised me so much my head reared back. “Yes,” I said without missing a beat. “One hundred percent, yes. Jack and his father had a falling out in those last years. All to do with Miranda. They weren’t talking very much. Jack knew nothing about what his father did on Miranda’s behalf until the night I told him. It devastated him. You have to know how tough it was for Jack to bring all of that to the prosecution. He was the one responsible for finding people to corroborate Seth’s confession. I know you don’t like to hear this, but you owe him. He played just as big a part in getting you out of that hell hole as I did.”

  My father finally met my eyes. “I hate every bit of this, Tora. I hate what you put yourself through trying to help me. My freedom wasn’t worth you sacrificing yourself.”

  I leaned forward and took his hand again. “Yes, it was,” I said. “And it was my choice to make. I know it’s going to be hard for you to see me for what I am now. But I’m a grown woman and everything that’s happened to me over the last few months happened because I wanted it to. And who says I’ve completely sacrificed everything? I didn’t kill Miranda, remember? I’ve got a lot of people around me now that are trying to help me prove that. Neither one of us is used to relying on other people for help; m
aybe it’s time we got used to it.”

  Dad grumbled but didn’t say anything else to contradict that particular point. He was far from finished though. “Four strikes,” he said. “He’s got no people, Tora. How am I supposed to trust a guy who doesn’t have a single family tie, it seems?”

  “It’s not his fault that he’s lost most of the people that were closest to him. He had a mother and a sister and a drunk driver took them away. Whatever family he had left, Seth and Miranda took away. Plus, he does have people. The Burnetts are his people. And they’ve had every reason not to want to help me. But when Jack asked them to ... for him ... they didn’t hesitate to stick their necks out for me. Plus, I was kind of hoping that we could start to be Jack’s people. You and me. Charlie too.”

  My father heaved a great sigh and he dropped his shoulders. “He probably doesn’t even know how to ride. What am I supposed to do with that? Button, I just got you back. Do I really have to start thinking about giving you away again?”

  This got a real laugh out of me and the first genuine smile out of my dad since we started the conversation. “I think my plate and my dance card are pretty full for the next few weeks. I’m not asking you to walk me down any aisle right now. Let’s just try and stay focused on one day at a time.”

  “Shouldn’t be too hard,” he said. “I’ve had thirteen years of practice doing exactly that.”

  He hugged me close then but not before I saw one last look flash in my father’s eyes. I’d seen the same look in Jack’s. I knew it stemmed from the promise Jack had made him. If it came to it, Jack and my father were already working on a plan to keep me out of jail. It gave me a chill to think what it would mean to all of us if they really had to execute it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jack

  R.J. picked me up after dinner the next night and drove me down to his parents’ house. It gave us a chance to catch up and compare notes about his particular homework assignment: finding Seth.