Deadly Secrets (New York State Trooper Series Book 3)

by Jen Talty

  Then Frank stepped out of the coffee shop. He and Jared made eye contact, but did nothing to acknowledge each other’s presence. Why where they there?

  She grabbed the box of stuff that belonged to Conrad’s law office then opened the front door, using her back to push it open.

  “File whatever injunction you need to. File them all. Bury him in paperwork. Do whatever you can think of to stop that sale.”

  Patty didn’t need to turn around to know that silky-sweet voice with the bitter edge belonged to Keith Holland.

  “Oh, hi, Patty,” Conrad said. “Thanks for returning all the files promptly.”

  “Not a problem.”

  “I haven’t given up on buying the Heritage Inn.” Keith glided into her personal space. He was smooth and charming and intimating, all at the same time. And those eyes. It had to be how deep and blue they were. She tried to avoid them, but it was impossible. “I want it for my family. I think you, of all people, can understand that.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Harmon Hill,” Keith said. “It’s beautiful, and all owned by your family. I want that for my family. You know, I have five grandchildren now. Five.” He shook his head. “I want to make sure my family—the ones that have stuck by me—are well taken care of.”

  “I’m sure you’ll find the perfect place,” she said. “Conrad, may I have the paperwork on my severance package?”

  “I had Angela put it in the mail,” Conrad said. “I am sorry things didn’t work out. I will give you a glowing reference if you need it.”

  “Thanks,” she said, but she noticed Holland’s expression of glaring distain. “I appreciate it.” Without waiting for any fanfare, she walked out the door. For the last year, she’d given this job her best. Her termination felt like a manipulation of billing hours, but she could do nothing about it.

  She got into her car, noting that Frank and Jared were still across the street. Still leaning against the car. Still sipping coffee. Whatever they were doing, they certainly weren’t trying to be secretive.

  That scared her. She texted Reese, asking what the heck was up with that. He responded that he’d talk to her tonight about it, and asked if she wouldn’t mind setting up his things in the main house since was renting until he closed on the property. He also told her that a patrol car would be going by the Heritage Inn and Harmon Hill, just to be safe.

  The idea he was taking such precautions, made her jittery. She called Lacy, hoping they’d be able to help move Reese into the main house together. She did not want to be alone.

  Chapter Ten

  THE MORNING HAD BEEN overwhelming for Reese. They’d hit brick wall after brick wall when it came to figuring out who was responsible for the fire, as well as connecting the dots to Terry, Conrad, and Holland. Stacey had hit a dead end with the law firm. Mary wouldn’t give her a thing, and without a warrant, she didn’t have to.

  It was three in the afternoon, and the sun was still high in the sky, warming the chilly waters. A pounding headache had been looming all day. Reese had been hoping for a couple more nights with Patty. He’d begged her to come stay with him. She met him with a resounding no. He continued to flip through the paperwork on the fire that had destroyed the trailer and his Mustang, while managing a few more begging texts.

  “You look deep in thought,” Jared said, standing over him with a deep scowl, like a father with his son. He and Frank had just come in from patrol, but had yet to brief him on anything.

  “I’m contemplating.”

  “About what?” Jared asked, sitting down.

  “First, who really has motive to burn up my trailer and car? Because saying it was Holland makes sense on the surface. You and Frank saw him at Conrad’s, where Patty mentioned some weird shit about him still wanting the place for his family.” He looked at his boss, who still had that fatherly look that drove Reese nuts. The man wasn’t that much older. “Why do you always look at me like I’m twelve, or something?”

  Jared shrugged. According to his wife, he did it to everyone, even people much older. “So, what do you think?”

  “Even if Holland wanted me gone that badly, a Mustang and a trailer aren’t going to scare me off the sale, unless he somehow hinted it was him. That it would get worse if I didn’t back off. He’s done no such thing, and so far, while all sorts of rumors about him being ‘connected’ run rampant, we can’t find anything that says this guy would even think about doing that, much less hire someone.”

  “All right,” Jared said. “Who is out and about, and who has the biggest grudge against you?”

  “It’s not a very long list. Hell, Frank has more enemies than me.”

  “Well, make the list, right down to a kid you punched on the playground in the second grade.”

  “Already on it.”

  The front door pushed open, and Stacey breezed in. “Let’s hit the road!” She didn’t bother take off her standard-issue coat.

  It was the first time Reese had seen her show up in full uniform. “I guess fifty-two degrees means no more Eskimo parka?”

  “You’re a funny guy,” she said. “So, we ready to roll?”

  “Good Lord, girl. Relax,” Jared said. “You’re just going to be sitting in a car for hours.”

  “Yes, sir,” Stacey said.

  “And don’t call me sir.” Jared shook his head. “You know I hate that.”

  Reese laughed. He’d gotten used to this group of people, and he suddenly felt a sense of belonging that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

  “Anything to report before we head out?” Reese asked.

  “Holland’s still at the Edgar Resort, last we checked. Conrad is still at court, according to our sources. Nothing much going on, so basically, normal patrol.”

  “Well, that’s no fun,” Stacey said.

  “You can get another job, if you like.” Jared lowered his head and gave Stacey the evil eye.

  “You know,” Stacey said, “I’ve brought in a lot of intel. I think you need to cop to the diaper thing.”

  “You haven’t connected it all,” Jared said. “Do that, and we’ve got a diaper deal.”

  “Do we always have to talk about Stacey’s diaper and bony ass?” Reese asked.

  “Get to work, the both of you.” Jared turned, laughing as he disappeared into his office.

  “Heard the fire wasn’t an accident.” Stacey put a cylindrical box on the desk.

  “How did you know? I just found out.”

  “I know people.”

  “Of course you do.”

  She pushed the cylinder closer to him.

  “What’s that?”

  “The final blueprints for The Heritage Inn. Doug said he filed them this morning. You’ll only need three variances to complete phase one.”

  “Can your dad get me a list of things to ask the owner about now?”

  “I’m sure he can.”

  Reese opened the cylinder then slid out the papers. The blueprints were held together by a rubber band that also secured an envelope. He pulled it out, then read the handwritten note thanking him for giving them the project and assuring him they wouldn’t let him down.

  “Seriously? How much money do you have?” Stacey asked.

  Not a question he was used to being asked, much less answering. “Enough that I’m not going to tell you. Ever.”

  “That’s fair,” she said. “Is that the report of the fire? Can I see it?”

  “Yep,” he said and handed it to her.

  She flipped open the file then started reading. He watched as she turned the pages, made a few faces, then folded it shut and leaned back. “What does Jared think?”

  “He wants names of the people I put behind bars, or who might see me as an enemy.”

  “I put my money on Holland.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Funny you should ask that.” She pulled out a piece of paper from her purse. “I got this from someone I know who works with Mary in the Albany office. Seems
it was Holland who paid the legal fees for Terry.”

  “Well that sort of sheds new light now doesn’t it.” He grabbed his phone, texting Patty one more time. While looking into other suspects was due diligence, he knew in his gut Holland was a dangerous man.

  Stacey nodded. “Let me give this to Jared before we head out.”

  He waited, grabbing his coat and his Stetson.

  “It’s so weird to know you’re rich,” she said.

  “I get the impression your dad is pretty well off.” Reese grabbed the mini-computer. “Let’s go, bony-assed little girl.”

  She smiled coyly. “On your six, boss.”

  “Don’t ever call me boss.”

  “On your six, bossman.”

  He laughed, but immediately turned his expression stone-cold when she went for the driver’s seat of the patrol car. “Listen, rookie,” he said. “I’m driving. Period. Got it, bony-assed little girl?”

  “Should I let my father know you’ve been checking out my ass?”

  “Should I let your boyfriend know you check out Doug’s ass every chance you get?”

  “That is so not true.” Her cheeks turned five shades of red, so Reese knew he was on point, but decided it was best not to harass her anymore about it, or her total denial. Something he could relate to, since for months he’d been in denial about how he really felt about Patty.

  The next half-hour or so was silence. They parked in one of the No U-Turn positions on the Northway. Reese held the radar gun while Stacey searched the portable computer and took notes. She’d been pulling Reese’s arrest records and also digging into his background, per Jared’s request. Reese knew she was doing it. He also understood why. He was too close to the problem himself, and often by profiling the victim of a crime, you came across the perp. “Maybe we should go after that guy,” Reese said, putting the radar gun down. “Clocked him at—”

  “Well, that sucks,” Stacey said as she shoved her cell phone in front of his face. “Dad says there have been four different injunctions filed against the sale of the Heritage.”

  Reese read the texts. “Patty said she overheard them talking about that at the office, but said it was bullshit.”

  “It is,” Stacey said, “but effective to stall a sale.”

  “So, essentially—” Reese’s thoughts were cut off by Jared barking over the radio.

  “Locals were called, but I thought you might like to know Patty called in a 9-1-1. Seems someone broke into her house while she was gone. She’s fine, so don’t freak out.”

  “On my way,” he said. “Buckle up, little girl.”

  “Drive faster, old man.”

  He grinned. You needed a dry sense of humor in this job. “I’m going to like working with you.”

  “Jury is still out on if I’m going to like working with you,” Stacey said. “We really need to work on your driving skills and teach you a thing or two about sarcasm.”

  Chapter Eleven

  PATTY KNEW, THE MOMENT she went for her keys while juggling two bags of groceries, that the front door was ajar. At first, she thought Andy had forgotten to secure it again, but he hadn’t done that in months. After she kicked the door closed and looked up the stairs, she knew something wasn’t right. The door to her apartment was wide-open.

  She stood there for half a minute before deciding she’d rather have the cops come than risk someone being up there, ready to point a gun at her. Again.

  She got in her car, turned it on, locked the doors, then called 9-1-1 and waited, ready to drive away the moment in the intruder came out the door.

  She was grateful when the local sheriff showed up within six minutes. The officer walked her through the apartment. Nothing was taken, but Patty noticed, with shock, a floral arrangement nearly identical to the first one Keith Holland had sent. This one had no card, instead it had a dead rat right in the middle of it.

  The officer had the audacity to ask if the building had a rat infestation and wondered whether the plant was poisonous. Patty felt a surge of rage knot in the pit of her stomach, and was about to let the officer have it when a furry creature scurried across the kitchen floor. Then she heard the noises in the walls.

  Rat issue aside, that plant wasn’t there when she’d left this morning, her door had been open, and someone had been in her house. She placed both hands over her belly.

  Reese and Stacey showed up while the officer was still there. Reese made her feel safe. Secure. She knew she should have called him directly, but he probably would have told her to call 9-1-1, first, then call him. By the look of annoyance on his face, she realized she’d done what she’d been accusing him of doing: leaving her out of the loop.

  Patty wrapped a blanket around herself while Reese talked with the officer. Stacey walked through her apartment, and then Frank’s. Frank, his wife, and Andy were away at a school function, so Patty let Stacey in.

  It was hard not to stare at Reese. When they first got together, she couldn’t believe a man that looked like Reese would want to date a plain Jane like herself. She wasn’t sexy like Lacy or demure like Ryan, but Reese always made her feel beautiful. And, she thought as he glanced her way, he made her feel important.

  “I’m going to call my dad,” Stacey said.

  “Why?”

  “To have him get one of his rodent buddies to check if this is really a problem that’s been here for a bit, or something else because if you’d had this problem you’d know it, so I gather it’s the former.”

  “Thanks,” Patty said, understanding Reese’s frustration and amusement with the young trooper and her massive use of words and the speed at which they left her mouth. “I was beginning to feel crazy.”

  “You’re not crazy, but we’ll need to get those rodents exterminated before you can move back in.”

  “Frank is going to be pissed about that,” Patty said.

  “It won’t take long, especially if what I suspect is true.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Someone brought the rats in. And,” Stacey continued, “I think they cut a fresh hole in the back of the house, let them in through the walls, then tried to patch it. Did a shit job of that, too.”

  “Why would someone do that?”

  Stacey shrugged. “We also need to find out where those flowers came from. You said the first one was delivered?”

  Patty nodded.

  “Do you have any of the packaging? The plastic wrap? Where is the card? Do you remember who delivered them?”

  “Geez, you really are the Energizer bunny.”

  Stacey didn’t laugh. “Seriously. We need all this.”

  “I don’t know. I threw it all away, including the plant, but the card was singed Keith.” Patty focused on Reese and the officer. It didn’t look like the conversation was pleasant, but they shook hands, and the officer got in his car and drove away just as a shiny black truck and a beat-up pickup pulled in next to Reese’s patrol car.

  “Wonderful,” Stacey said. “He brought the bitch.”

  “Huh?”

  “Sorry,” Stacey said. “Very unprofessional of me.” She pointed to the handsome man getting out of the shiny truck. “That’s Doug, my father’s business partner. In the pickup, his wife. We don’t like each other.”

  “Ah,” Patty said. “Mary Nesbitch. She has the quite the reputation.”

  “You know her?”

  “I’m a paralegal. I’ve met her. She’s a one tough nut. Highly driven and motivated.” Patty wanted to add that Mary was the kind of career-minded woman that gave women a bad rap in general.

  “I can’t stand her.”

  Stacey’s anger was palpable, so as Doug and Reese came toward them, Patty was glad Mary stayed in the truck, phone to her ear.

  “What did the local say?” Stacey asked as Reese approached.

  “Basically said to call an exterminator,” Reese said. “What did you find?”

  “Well, I think the rat situation was planted,” Stacey said.

/>   “How so?” Doug asked. He was much cuter up close and personal, but he had that deep distance in his dark eyes that Reese used to have in his blue eyes.

  “Be easier if I just showed you and the rodent expert my findings.”

  Patty couldn’t believe all that had transpired in the last few days. She felt dizzy and leaned into Reese.

  “You okay?” Reese asked.

  She shook her head. “I’ve been shot. Held at gunpoint. Lost my job. Pregnant. And now some wacko is putting rats in my apartment. How would you be?”

  “Pretty shitty.”

  Patty welcomed Reese’s dry sense of humor at a moment like this. She’d spilled enough tears over the last few days. Didn’t change that whatever was happening, scared the crap out of her, a moment of lightness held calm her trembling body. “What’s going on here? Because I’m going to fall apart at any minute. None of this makes any sense.”

  “I wish I had a real answer,” Reese admitted. “I wish I didn’t think it was all connected. You being held at gunpoint. The weird threats from that Holland fellow. The fire. The Rats. Four separate injunctions filed against my offer for the hotel, by Holland. All roads lead back to that asshole.”

  She shivered. “You really think it’s all connected. Some crazy plot? But why?”

  “I don’t know.” Reese’s voice grew dark. “We need to take steps to make sure your safe.”

  “You’re scaring me.”

  “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared,” Reese said. “But I’m going to put and end to all this bullshit. I promise you. Stacey, Frank, everyone at the station is working on this. I’ve got Jim looking into the injunctions, but I’m going to need a good lawyer. What are your thoughts on Doug’s wife?”

  Patty shook her head. “She’s ruthless and probably good at her job, but I wouldn’t hire her. She gives me a bad vibe.” Everybody right now gave Patty a bad vibe.