Rough Waters

by Maggie Toussaint

  “You going to sic the dogs on us?”

  “No. They’re my pets.” He cleared his throat and tilted his chin toward the shop. “What’s the damage? Do you have someone in custody?”

  She gave him a pointed look. “We might.”

  Crap. Why was he a suspect in whatever went down in this town? “I’m not involved. I know Jeanie. Is she all right?”

  “Where were you thirty minutes ago?”

  “At home. Asleep. Is Jeanie all right?”

  “Can anyone verify your story?”

  The woman was as tenacious as a barnacle on a boat. He offered his best smile, hoping to soften her up. “My dogs?”

  Her voice sharpened. “Burglary is no laughing matter, Sir. Property has been damaged. Items are missing.”

  No mention of Jeanie. He had to assume she was okay. “I’m taking this very seriously,” he said, affecting a properly chastised manner. “I’m renting Lytham House. I’m concerned about the safety of the neighborhood.”

  The cop seemed to be sizing him up again. She lowered her weapon and nodded to Calucci. “Run his license. If he’s clean, kick him loose.”

  “You better be exactly who and what you seem to be, mister,” Calucci said. “This is a quiet community, and we don’t tolerate criminals.”

  Rock lowered his arm with relief. They’d find a few charges against him. A DUI a year ago. A drunk and disorderly charge of the same era. His readjustment to the world after his mother’s illness.

  He’d considered breaking into this place, but he’d opted to gain Jeanie’s trust and enter through the front door. Less risk, but he’d lost valuable time.

  Jeanie wasn’t out here so she must be inside the shop. No way would the cops let him enter the crime scene. Rock brought his hand to his side and made a small motion forward.

  The search command.

  Castor and Pollox scrambled into the shop, noses low to the ground.

  “Whoa.” The female cop dashed after his advance team. “Jeanie! Dogs!”

  Chapter 9

  Jeanie’s heart thundered as she heard the scrambling feet on the tile floor. Laurie Ann shouted her name. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t raise her head. Couldn’t throw the rock.

  Oh, God.

  She was going to die.

  Huddled in a tight ball, eyes closed, she felt warm breath on her neck. She squeezed her eyes tighter. A wet tongue laved her ear. A new scent battled with the crushed mums and rose petal fragrance.

  Dog.

  Her pulse stuttered and stalled.

  Dog?

  She lifted her head. Two German shepherds flanked her. Tails wagged, stirring the dead air. Her makeshift weapon clattered on the floor. er makeshift weapond thudded on She threw her arms around both of them and wept.

  The German shepherds licked her face, and a giggle of relief slipped out.

  They felt so warm. And safe.

  “Jeanie? You all right?” Laurie Ann called.

  “I’m okay,” she managed. The dogs licked her face again. She tried to stand. Couldn’t. Damn legs. Why wouldn’t they work?

  “Jeanie?” a man called.

  Rock.

  Laurie Ann’s hand appeared in front of her face. She wanted to reach for it, but she couldn’t make herself let go of the dogs.

  “You okay?” her friend asked.

  “Peachy,” she managed.

  “You’re okay with the dogs?”

  She hugged them tighter. “I am.”

  “Sit tight. I’ll find out what this is all about.”

  As Laurie Ann strode away, Jeanie tried to slow her rapid breathing. She wouldn’t be a victim again. Women with pink hair had girl power. Her breathing evened out.

  One of the dogs licked her face again. Castor or Pollox? One had more black coloration near the eyes.

  She rubbed her face against the dog’s soft fur. “Which one are you?”

  With her pulse no longer thrumming like a bass fiddle in her ears, she picked up the murmur of voices outside. Curiosity sparked.

  The dogs’ ears strained toward the door.

  She craned her neck around to see, but the high counter blocked her view. Invoices littered her floor along with pens, florist tape, ribbon spools, and bendy wire. Out of habit, she stacked like items together on the floor.

  First one dog, then the other lay down, heads resting on front paws.

  Jeanie stared at her hands. What was she doing? She might be obliterating fingerprints or hindering the investigation. She needed to be outside, where the people were. There were no answers in here.

  Pushing up off the floor, she glanced around her destroyed shop. Some stock remained in the shattered glass refrigeration case. Those flowers could be saved, even if she had to take them home and put them in her refrigerator.

  She stared at the dogs. “Come on.”

  They ignored her, so she tapped her leg with her hand to get their attention. She infused her voice with girl power. “I’m leaving. Come.”

  One dog, then the other padded after her. Damn. Girl power works. She squared her shoulders and strode through the door into the watercolor splash of flickering blue lights.

  In the near darkness, she picked out three people standing beside Laurie Ann’s Jeep. She recognized Laurie Ann by her height, Calucci by his voice, and Rock by his masculine irritation.

  Was Rock being detained? She’d watched enough cop shows on TV to know when the police thought they’d found a person of interest.

  Was he involved in the break-in?

  Chapter 10

  Jeanie’s appearance in the shop doorway eased the knot of anxiety in Rock’s gut. He’d been worried when the dogs didn’t return and she didn’t come out. He took a deep breath. She was okay.

  “Pay attention, buddy,” Calucci snapped. “You don’t want to spend the rest of the night in lock-up, now do ya?”

  Rock had reached his limit with the bumbling cop routine. North seemed competent enough, but this Calucci guy rubbed him the wrong way. Unfortunately, the guy had a badge and a gun, and even though Rock could take them both out in less than five seconds flat, even with his arm in a sling, his best bet was to play by the rules if he wanted to maintain his cover.

  “Can anyone confirm your alibi?” Deputy North asked again.

  How many times would they ask this? He wanted to roll his eyes. “I was alone in my house. Sleeping. The dogs alerted and woke me up. I came outside with them to investigate. End of story.”

  North moved closer, her expression sharp. “Alerted. Strange word choice. What’s going on here?”

  Jeanie approached, her spiky pink hair jetting in all directions. Her fine figure moved a little more than usual as she strode. Rock’s eyes narrowed at her bouncing breasts. She’d probably rolled right out of bed and hurried to answer the alarm call.

  He had news for her. These cops didn’t do anything fast.

  Castor and Pollox gazed at him expectantly. He’d have to check their paws to make sure they didn’t pick up any broken glass inside.

  “Alerted,” Deputy North prompted, regaining his attention. “Explain.”

  He studied the tall cop. “My dogs are former officers. I sent them inside to search.”

  “For what? Guns? Drugs? What were you looking for?”

  Good catch. He couldn’t slip anything past this cop. “They’re scent dogs. They recognize Jeanie’s scent. If someone else was inside, they would have alerted, er, barked.”

  Jeanie looked deliciously rumpled. Vulnerable. And more than a little pissed off.

  “Will we find your prints in The Muddy Rose?” North asked.

  He told the truth. “I’ve never set foot in the store.”

  North shot a glance over to Jeanie, who’d stopped a few feet away, and back to Rock. “But you were a customer?”

  “Ms. Munro brought me a delivery the other day. I didn’t come to the shop.”

  He’d walked around it plenty at night, wanting to be inside. They would never hav
e known he was there. But he was a civilian now, and trying to stay on the right side of the law. He also didn’t have time to be arrested. Not with Lyle breathing down his neck.

  North scowled at Jeanie. “Does he have a key to the shop?”

  Her eyes widened. “No. Why would he?”

  “Just asking,” North said. “Didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “What can you tell me about the break-in?” Jeanie asked.

  North pocketed her notebook. “The door wasn’t forced. You sure you locked up?”

  “Absolutely. I’m like a machine in my opening and closing routines. I lock this place every night. Double check the knob after I lock it. I glance at the alarm keypad to see that it’s armed.”

  “Whoever entered had a key or picked the lock. Who else had a key?”

  “I rent this place from the bank. They must have a key somewhere.”

  “You haven’t given out keys to anyone?”

  “No. I’m the sole proprietor of The Muddy Rose. Oh. Wait a minute. My mom. She has a key. In case I lose my keys.”

  “I’ll make sure those keys are accounted for. Anyone else?”

  “Not to my knowledge. You’ll wait until daylight to call my mom, right?”

  “Will do.”

  “You’ll release Rock too?”

  “No reason to hold him, though his presence here is suspicious.”

  Rock stepped away from the Jeep and shot Jeanie a grateful glance. “Thanks.”

  To his delight, she edged closer, her strawberry-scented hair infusing him with protectiveness. “Thanks for sending the dogs inside. I appreciated them keeping me company.”

  Rock nodded. “You okay?”

  “I am now, but I want to know who did this and why. If robbers wanted money, why wouldn’t they hit a grocery store or the bank? I’m puttering along in the slow lane at The Muddy Rose. I can’t believe someone needed flowers in the middle of the night.”

  “Me either,” North said. “Does anyone have a grudge against you?”

  “Shandy’s family. I haven’t spoken to them since, well, you know.”

  North wrote the name down. “Anyone else?”

  “Avery. He was very upset about the divorce.”

  “Too bad,” the female cop said.

  Too bad indeed. Rock wanted to know more about Avery, but this wasn’t the time to push Jeanie for information about her ex.

  “Anyone else?” North continued.

  “I was pretty rough on the Mossy Girl Festival committee. I replaced two chairs a few months ago. They might be mad at me.”

  “Names?”

  “Lonnie Gordon and Vonda Woodly. They weren’t doing their jobs, and I couldn’t carry deadwood on the committee again. It put too much strain on the rest of us to do their jobs at the last minute.”

  North wrote some more. “You think of anyone, you let me know. Anything else you learned from being inside?”

  “Yeah. It’ll break my heart to throw out all those ruined flowers.”

  “I’ll help,” Rock said.

  North stared at him unabashedly, her jaw slack.

  Jeanie smiled. “Thanks.” She touched North’s arm. “Can we start tonight?”

  “It’ll be a coupla hours before I release the scene. Might as well go back home and get some sleep.”

  “My cut flowers,” Jeanie said. “I need to refrigerate the intact stems, or I’ll lose my entire inventory.”

  Rock whipped out an option like a fly fishing line. “You can store them in my fridge. I have room.”

  North hesitated, her gaze flitting between Rock and Jeanie. Rock’s pulse pounded in his throat. They were at an impasse here.

  He needed to touch Jeanie. Being this close to her and not touching her was driving him crazy. He reached out and brushed her arm. Rather than step away, she edged closer. He hid a smile inside as he slid his hand down her arm to grip her hand. He intertwined his fingers with hers, hoping he hadn’t misread her signals.

  Her icy fingers gripped him tightly. He felt the tremors in her body. This experience had scared the crap out of her.

  He wanted to pound the guy into the ground who’d done this to her.

  Worse, tingles shot up his arm, lighting him up inside.

  He swallowed wrong, coughed, and tried to hide the sudden burst of emotion inside him. Jeanie wouldn’t let him. She pounded on his back with her other hand. “You okay?”

  “Yes,” he managed, heat rising to his face. Jesus. When was the last time that happened?

  A telling look passed between the women. Finally, North nodded. “I’ll bring the flowers out, and y’all can load them in Jeanie’s van.”

  About ten minutes later, Rock sat in the passenger seat of Jeanie’s van, dogs in the back with the flowers and the child seats. Jeanie eased across the state highway and onto the access road to the town square. He’d asked to drive but she’d held firm. Her van. She drove.

  Jeanie had dog hair all over her. Cute.

  “Who did this?” he asked.

  “Not a clue,” Jeanie said. “Why would anyone bust up a flower shop?”

  “I don’t understand either.” He paused as she backed her van to his rear gate to park beside his four-door pickup. “You mentioned your ex. Is he in the picture?”

  “Avery doesn’t care about the shop or me. He lives out of state. Hasn’t been here for almost two years.”

  Her words sent a shaft of fear through Rock’s gut. If Munro wasn’t in Mossy Bog, where the hell was he? Had someone else decided Munro’s kids were the way to flush him out?

  “What?” she asked.

  “Nothing.”

  She didn’t need to be worried about her kids right now.

  He’d worry enough for the both of them.

  Chapter 11

  The first rays of dawn brightened the eastern horizon as they stashed the pails of flowers in Rock’s refrigerator. Jeanie’s legs still felt like rubber. The kids would be up in a few minutes. She needed to go home and get the day going.

  “Coffee?” Rock asked as he pulled down two mugs. The pungent aroma of coffee grabbed her attention and wouldn’t let go.

  “I should go. The kids.”

  Her reluctance to leave must have shown. He handed her a steaming cup, their fingers brushing. She jolted from the casual contact, intensely aware of Rock’s masculine appeal. Her nerves jangled even more, now that they were alone. Back at the shop, his touch had been a source of warmth and comfort. Here, now...

  “They can manage with your friend for a few more minutes. When do you want to start the cleanup?”

  “Right now. I don’t like the shop being messy.”

  “We need to let the cops do their job. One good fingerprint is all it takes.”

  “Half the town has been in my shop. Fingerprints won’t reveal anything.”

  “Unless the prints match someone from out of town.”

  Her pulse surged to a mild roar. Discreetly, she glanced through the kitchen window. Nothing seemed out of place.

  None of this made any sense.

  She studied Rock through narrowed eyes. He seemed edgy. “Why would a stranger break into The Muddy Rose?”

  The dogs nuzzled her legs. She set her mug down and knelt to snuggle with the dogs again. They rewarded her with licks for the behind-the-ear rubs she gave.

  “Jeanie...” Rock’s voice trailed off.

  She glanced over Castor’s back. At least she thought it was Castor. “What?”

  “Be careful. You don’t know what this is all about.”

  He said “you.” How odd. She dodged licks from the dog with the darkest muzzle. “Do you?”

  “People do bad things. They won’t stop until they get what they want.”

  She stood and took a sip of coffee. The hot liquid burned all the way down. Like his words. Something was up with him. Darn. “Now you’re scaring me.”

  “Scared will keep you alive.”

  Why hadn’t she bought that gun after the fir
earms class? “Alive? What the...? I don’t like this.”

  Rock stared into his coffee as if all the answers could be found on the surface. His silence irritated her. He knew more than he was telling. Damned if she would leave before she wormed it out of him. Speculation fluttered through her head on wings of caffeine. Had trouble followed him here? What did that have to do with her?

  “You know something, don’t you?”

  He was quiet so long the hair on the back of her neck snapped to attention.

  “I might,” he said.

  “Tell me.”

  He set his mug in the sink. “I know Avery.”

  Jeanie blinked. Her blood iced. She tried a deep breath and choked on it. “You’re friends?”

  “I met him in North Carolina. He told me about Mossy Bog.”

  “This is about my ex-husband?” She straightened. Light glinted on the tin roof of the potting shed. The strength of the beam warmed the frost in her bones. She wasn’t sinking down to that dark place again. She wouldn’t let Avery crush her a second time. “Does he owe you money? ʼCause if he does, I’m not paying it. The bank of Jeanie is officially closed.”

  Rock’s silence spoke volumes. “Oh, God. He does owe you. I’m sick and tired of this crap. Avery owes me so much it’s ridiculous. And child support. Don’t even get me started on child support. I refuse to pay another red cent of his bills. If you loaned him money, kiss it goodbye.”

  Rock didn’t say anything.

  Cuss words roiled in her craw like crabs in the cook pot. Jeanie glanced at the sling supporting Rock’s left arm. A horrible possibility occurred to her, a possibility so scary her vision whited out. She hung onto the kitchen counter until shapes and colors came back into view.

  “Jeanie? You okay?”

  If she wasn’t, she wasn’t going to let him know it. She’d learned to stand on her own two feet after Avery left. “Tell me this isn’t about your accident.”

  “I can’t.”

  Her knees sagged. A needle of betrayal stabbed her heart. Damn you, Avery. How many lives do you have to ruin? It wasn’t enough that you threw away me and the kids? You had to go and maim a perfect stranger?

  The room began to spin. It floated in and out of focus.

  Rock’s hand rested on her shoulder. “Sit,” he said. “Sit down before you pass out.”