Random Acts of Deceit (Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries Book 2)

by Christy Barritt

  “Dubai?” Why hadn’t I heard this story before?

  Alex nodded and took a long sip of coffee. She downed coffee like an athlete downed water after a marathon. “He couldn’t pass it up. It was with a private defense contractor, and it was basically his dream job. He asked me to come with him, but I would have had to drop out of law school.”

  “So you chose your career over love?” I tried to sound nonjudgmental, but as soon as the words left my lips, I realized I’d failed.

  Her lips puckered out in a frown. “It sounds so dramatic when you say it that way. I couldn’t throw away my life to support his dreams. I have more purpose on this earth than just getting married and having babies.”

  I was certain she had no idea how harsh her words sounded. I understood her point, but her commentary made me cringe. “I see.”

  “Besides, there was more to it than that. I mean, Dad thought I could do better. Mom told me I needed to finish my education. Ralph thought he was weird. Even you. You used to kick him.”

  “I would never do that.”

  She laughed. “Oh yes you would. And you did. You always made it look like an accident, and you seemed so innocent that people believed you. I knew better.”

  I tried not to smile at the mental picture that formed. “Moving on . . . did you ever talk to Brandon after that?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t for a long time. Then he called me a few years ago. He’d started his own company and was doing some work with the Department of Defense as a private contractor. It sounded like he’d done really well for himself.”

  “Did he want to get back together? Be honest,” I prodded.

  “I think he’d be too proud to suggest that. I’ve always wondered what happened to him since then. Sometimes I wish I had fought harder to make things work between us. You know, maybe trying things long distance for a while. But that’s all water under the bridge now.”

  “And you met William.”

  “And I met William.” Her gaze locked on mine, like she was selling her closing argument in a court case. “He’s a good man, Holly.”

  “He is. He’s very nice . . .”

  She frowned again. “Nice isn’t a bad word, Sis.”

  “I never said it was. I’m probably one of the nicest people around, so I’m not throwing it out as an insult. In fact, I think kindness needs to be valued and utilized more in our society today.”

  Alex lowered her gaze. “Besides, not everyone can have a perfect relationship like you and Chase.”

  I frowned. She hadn’t heard? How was that possible?

  Then I knew. Mom hadn’t told her because she was doing everything in her power to make Alex’s big day perfect. It was all I’d heard for the last several weeks. Don’t upset Alex. Don’t let anything spoil your sister’s fairy-tale moment. Alex deserves a stress-free day.

  “What?” Alex asked, studying my face with a touch of suspicion.

  I swallowed hard and contemplated my options.

  Could I really lie about one more thing?

  CHAPTER 16

  I might as well tell Alex, I decided. There was no way I could keep this from her for so long. I didn’t need her finding out at the rehearsal dinner when Chase wasn’t there. “Chase and I broke up.”

  “What?” Her voice screeched unusually high for my poised sister.

  I nodded, that familiar weight returning to my shoulders and to my heart. “It’s true.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s complicated.” How many times was I going to use that excuse? Every time I opened my mouth, that’s what came out. I was even getting tired of hearing it.

  “Did he break up with you?” Her voice sounded hushed, as if her realization had to be the truth. As if Chase would naturally be the one to reject me.

  I shook my head, ignoring the silent jab. “No, I broke things off.”

  Her lips parted. “Have you lost your mind? You and Chase are great together. I’ve never seen you so happy. Not even when you were with that Rob guy.”

  I frowned. Rob was the man I thought I was supposed to marry. We’d courted, vowed to save our first kiss until the wedding day, and seemed to have been cut from the same cloth. But when Dad became ill and I spent most of my time taking care of him, Rob had split.

  “I guess we all learn from our mistakes. Maybe our exes aren’t even mistakes, for that matter. Maybe they’re people who help us learn along the way, you know? When our relationships don’t work out, we realize what we really want in a partner.”

  “That’s so optimistic of you.” She said it like an insult. “I guess Brandon helped me realize that there are some people who are just too smart. His IQ was at the genius level, but that didn’t mean he was wise in matters of the heart . . . or the mind. I mean, he gave me up for a job, right?”

  “And Rob made me realize that just because a person goes to church doesn’t mean he shares your worldview. It doesn’t mean he’s your match.” I sighed. “And now that we’ve had that tête-à-tête, we should probably talk about your wedding.”

  Alex gave me her lawyer look, reminding me that nothing easily got past her. “Now, you want to change the subject. Interesting diversion. For the record, I still think Chase is the total package. I know he has issues from his past, but don’t we all? I don’t want to see you throw that relationship away.”

  I shrugged, unsure what else to say. “Our breakup is still fresh, you know. I’m trying to process everything. It’s going to take some time.”

  “Well, when you want to talk, I’m here.”

  “Thanks, Alex.” But I had no intention of burdening my sister with more problems before her wedding.

  ***

  I was standing in line at my favorite coffeehouse the next morning after church when someone grabbed my arm. My head snapped toward the person, and I saw Jamie standing there.

  “Jamie?” I’d never run into her here before. Like, never. “What are you doing?”

  “We need to talk.” Her eyes were narrowed, and her lips pursed in that sassy manner she was known for. “Since you didn’t return my calls last night, I decided to come here instead.”

  “How’d you know I was here?”

  “You’re more predictable than you think, Holly. You come here almost every Sunday after church. And Mama Val isn’t happy that she didn’t see you this morning.”

  I frowned as I grabbed my coffee. I wanted to get out of this conversation. I really did. But Jamie didn’t take no for an answer, which made her an excellent reporter but an exhausting friend.

  “I should get home to help Alex with the wedding planning.” I knew my attempt wouldn’t work, but I had to at least try.

  “Sit down for a minute.” Jamie grabbed my elbow and led me to a table.

  The next thing I knew, we were sitting across from each other. The cappuccino machine squealed in the background, people chatted amongst themselves, and acoustic music crooned overhead. The normally soothing scent of coffee and cinnamon was void on me today.

  I glanced around. The table where we sat was away from the door and partially concealed by the coffee counter. No one seemed to be watching me, and no one looked vaguely familiar. Maybe I should calm down.

  “So I was covering a story yesterday,” Jamie started, “a shooting in Clifton.”

  Of all the things she was talking to me about, this was it? I took a sip of my coffee and nodded. Maybe this conversation would be easier than I thought. “Okay . . . ?”

  “I ran into Chase.”

  Realization washed over me. No, this talk would be just as difficult as I thought. “I see.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “He told me you broke up with him. I couldn’t believe it, though. I had to hear it from your own lips first. I thought you were just going through a rough patch.”

  I swallowed hard as she waited for confirmation. Tears tried to prick my eyes, but I held them back. “It’s true. I called things off.”

  Every time I said the words aloud,
it drove home the reality of our breakup. Basically, it had broken my heart.

  Her hand went to her hip, which jutted out, and she did her head tilt. “Holly Anna Paladin, what’s going on? First, I run into you with that weird Benjamin guy. Then I hear you and Chase went into Splitsville? Something is majorly wrong in the universe, and I have to figure out what. It’s my mission in life at the moment.”

  “That’s a little dramatic, wouldn’t you say?” I rubbed the side of my coffee cup uneasily.

  Her smile disappeared. “Holly, Chase looked torn up. I mean, seriously.”

  My heart thudded in my chest at the thought. Poor Chase. I didn’t want to put him through this. I didn’t want any of this.

  “So, while he was at the crime scene, he just up and told you about us? That doesn’t sound like Chase.” Again, I was trying to use a diversion tactic in order to keep myself from losing it and spilling everything.

  She gave me a “duh” expression. “Don’t be silly. I cornered him afterward, of course. You know guys don’t talk about stuff like romance and breakups. He said he was confused and that he hadn’t gotten any sleep. What is going on? I’m going to keep asking you that until I get an answer. You know I will.”

  “It’s complicated, Jamie.” This had become my standard answer. I mean, what else was I supposed to say? But even I was becoming sick of it.

  “Uncomplicate it for me.”

  Would I ever love to. That’s when I realized we were virtually hidden in our corner nook, and that the coffee shop was so noisy it would be nearly impossible to eavesdrop. I had a secret fear that I’d been bugged—maybe my coat or my purse—which had made me paranoid about discussing the situation. But if there was ever a time and a place, it was now.

  “A man cornered me in my bedroom and told me I had to break up with Chase or he’d kill him,” I blurted. “And that I had to date Benjamin.”

  Jamie stared at me, unblinking and stoic.

  “Come again,” she deadpanned.

  “You heard me right. Then Chase’s car exploded, and the man locked my mom in a closet and planted a bomb at Ralph’s place.”

  “This sounds like a Lifetime movie.” Jamie leaned back in what looked like shock. “It’s so outlandish it doesn’t seem real.”

  My shoulders slumped. “Believe me, I was dazed at first. But the man keeps making it obvious that he’s dead serious. I didn’t know what to do. But I know that I can’t risk Chase’s life.”

  “Why didn’t you tell Chase?”

  “The man planted cameras and a bomb at Chase’s place. I thought I’d figured out a way around it by convincing Chase to move in with Ralph, but then this all-knowing Shadow Man sent me a video feed that had been set up at Ralph’s. That’s how I found out about the bomb there. I don’t know what to do or how to get out of this. I’ve tried to examine it from every possible angle, and I only feel trapped.”

  Her gaze locked with mine. “We can figure this out, Holly.”

  I glanced around again. No one looked our way or seemed to be paying a bit of attention to us. Still, I lowered my voice. “I never know when I’m being watched or when he’s listening to my conversations, Jamie. Even talking to you here might be putting the people I love at risk.”

  She let out a long sigh and surveyed the room a moment. “You have no idea who’s behind this?”

  I shook my head. “No idea.”

  She suddenly sat up straighter and tapped her nails against the table. “I can help you.”

  I shook my head again. “What if helping gets you killed? I couldn’t live with myself.”

  “This is what I want to do. It’s not a Holly decision. It’s Jamie’s choice, so there’s no not living with yourself. Let’s just make that clear. Now, I want you to write down everything you know and send it to me.”

  I wanted to argue, but I knew I’d be wasting my breath. “I don’t trust that anything on the computer won’t be intercepted.”

  “That’s why I want you to handwrite it.”

  “What?” Coffee jostled from my cup at my exclamation.

  Jamie nodded. “I know it’s old school, but old school is just what we need here. After you write it down, stuff it in the book that I let you borrow.”

  “Which book?”

  “The one on coconut oil.”

  “Oh, that one.” She had let me borrow that. I’d have to try and find it, I supposed.

  “Give it back to me, and no one will be the wiser.”

  I chewed on the idea for a minute before nodding. Maybe she was onto something. It was better than any plans I had come up with so far. “I have to admit that your plan is simple but brilliant.”

  “Girl, you can always count on me. Never forget that, okay?”

  I nodded, grateful for my friend. “I won’t, Jamie. Thank you.”

  “Anytime.”

  “There’s one other thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You have any plans today?” I asked her.

  “Not really. Only to aggravate my brothers. You have something in mind?”

  I smiled. “I do. But only if you’re up for an adventure.”

  CHAPTER 17

  We took Jamie’s Ghettomobile—her name, not mine—toward the east side of town. Her vehicle was actually an old minivan her parents had given her last year when they’d upgraded. It wasn’t much to look at, but it got her from Point A to Point B.

  “Turn here,” I told her.

  As we traveled, my cell phone rang. It was Ralph. I tried to sound normal as I answered. “What’s going on, Bro?”

  That was my first mistake. I never called my brother Bro.

  “Uh, not much. How about you, Sis?”

  I had to smile. “Just hanging out with Jamie.”

  “Listen, I know it’s Sunday and you’re not officially working. But I wondered if you could swing by our new office for a minute.”

  “Really? You want me to come by the office on a Sunday?” I needed to talk with him about boundaries sometime.

  “Yeah, really. It won’t be long. I promise.”

  I glanced at Jamie, and she shrugged. “Fine. But just a few minutes.”

  “Great, I’ll see you then.”

  I hung up, thankful the address where we were headed was in the same basic direction.

  “What was that about?” Jamie asked.

  “Not sure. But I need to swing by work for a minute.”

  “Your family wants you to be just like them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They want you to be married to your work, to your causes.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  “Part of the beauty about you is how much you focus on people, and on not having your life so scheduled that you don’t have time for relationships and unexpected moments. Isn’t that what you want? You talk about going back to simpler times.”

  I frowned. “That is what I want. Life seems to get in the way sometimes.”

  “I just want you to be careful.”

  I nodded. “I will be.”

  We pulled off the interstate and drove to the office building. I left Jamie in the van listening to music and singing along at the top of her lungs. Then I hurried inside and found Ralph.

  “That was fast. Thanks for coming. Have a seat.”

  I sat across from him, anxious to get out of here. “So what’s up?”

  “I want to organize some peace talks.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Because of the riots. I want to try and get leaders from both sides together to talk through a plan of action. I think it could be a really good PR opportunity, not to mention good for the city.”

  “I don’t know if that’s something we’re equipped to handle, Ralph. The idea is nice. I want to help find a solution here also. But . . .”

  “I want you to make this first priority, Holly. I think this is important to our constituents. It could show the community how much this office cares about their well-being.
That’s why I want to move back into our downtown offices also. If we show fear, so will the rest of the businesses here. It just looks bad.”

  “Ralph . . .”

  “I’ve thought a lot about it, Holly. This is my choice.”

  I subdued my sigh. “Did you talk to Chase and get his opinion on all of this?”

  Ralph froze and stared at me. “Have you?”

  I pressed my lips together, knowing this argument was over. His words felt like a verbal slap. Of course I hadn’t talked to Chase, and Ralph knew that. He’d also made his opinion very clear about how he felt concerning our breakup.

  “I’ll get right on that, then, Senator.” I said the word with a little too much emphasis. Before I could see his expression, which was bound to convey irritation, I turned and headed toward my desk. I needed to grab a few things for my impromptu assignment.

  “Politics can be a hard life,” someone said beside me.

  I knew who it was. Henry. Why was he here? And why was he talking to me still?

  The man hadn’t given me the time of day up until last week, and I was fine with that. Our personalities didn’t connect, and being civil with each other seemed good enough. Now all of the sudden he wanted to be chatty?

  “Why would you say that?” I looked up and saw Henry’s floating head peering over the partition.

  “I overheard a little of your conversation with Ralph. I wasn’t trying to, I promise. But his office is close to my desk. Your voices carried.”

  “That’s just splendid.” I stared at the blank piece of paper in front of me, a paper I would soon need to start jotting ideas for Ralph’s so-called peace talks between the police and those who felt wronged by law enforcement. It sounded like a disaster in the making, a disaster I was going to have to insert myself in the middle of.

  “Remember this, Holly. Politics always requires compromise. Always. Don’t let anyone ever tell you differently.”

  Compromise? I knew, in some circumstances, finding middle ground was a good thing. But I didn’t believe in compromising my convictions. And nothing that anyone ever told me would change my mind on that.