by Jana DeLeon
And that’s just where it belonged.
He strode into the bathroom and turned the cold water on full blast. Any and all thoughts about Josie Bettencourt that didn’t have a direct bearing on the case had to go. He wasn’t about to disappoint his brothers by screwing up his first case.
Making a fool of himself wasn’t on his list of things to do, either.
* * *
JOSIE WAS UP BEFORE DAWN and out the door to check on her horses. Although she’d agreed with Tanner’s assessment that the vandal wouldn’t return that night, she was still relieved to see everything was in order in the barn. She doled out feed, hay and head rubs to all four of her beauties, then headed back inside to clean up and get ready for the breakfast conversation she’d tossed and turned about all night.
She pulled off her boots in the utility room, put coffee on to brew and hurried upstairs for a quick shower. By the time she came back to the kitchen, Tanner was already standing at the back windows, looking out across the lawn and drinking coffee.
He turned when she came into the room and raised his cup. “I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself.”
Despite all the stress, Josie found herself smiling. It was hard to be overwrought with worry when there was a sexy man in your kitchen drinking coffee.
“Please help yourself to anything when you want it,” she said.
Tanner smiled and she felt a flush run up her chest when she realized the double meaning of that statement. She turned to pour herself a cup of coffee, trying to convince herself that if he took her up on that offer, she’d have the strength to turn him down. She wasn’t quite successful.
“You might be here awhile,” she said, trying to correct her earlier faux pas. “You should treat my house as if it’s yours. I keep the kitchen stocked well with eggs, sandwich stuff and makings for salad. It’s not the Ritz, but I don’t usually have much time for meals.”
“I’m not much of a five-course meal guy myself. I eat most of my meals in front of the television or standing over the sink.”
She smiled. “You can use a chair and table here, if you’d like, or the television in the den. I hate to admit, there’s television trays next to the couch. Sometimes that’s the only time I can catch up on the news.”
“A kindred spirit.” He crossed the room to the refrigerator and pulled out a package of bagels and cream cheese. “Bagel?”
“I can make some eggs—”
He waved one hand. “Is that what you’d do normally? Or would you toss one of these in the toaster and rush out to take care of your work?”
“You got me. Toss one in the toaster for me. I’ll wash up and rinse off some fruit.”
She pulled some strawberries out of the refrigerator and rinsed them in the sink, then carried the bowls of fruit to the breakfast table as Tanner placed the toasted bagels and cream cheese in front of two chairs across from each other, with a side view of the lawn.
“Go ahead and take a seat,” he said, and grabbed the coffeepot to refill both their cups.
She slid into her chair, trying to get a grip on her nerves. All night, she’d dreaded this conversation. A million times she’d run through it in her mind but still hadn’t come up with a way to say it without sounding egotistical and airheaded.
Tanner took a seat across from her and reached for the cream cheese. “How come you don’t have a dog?”
Josie blinked. That wasn’t the question she’d been expecting.
“Oh, well, we had a hound dog forever, but he passed away a couple of years ago. I thought about getting another when I came home, but I haven’t had the time to devote to a puppy. Why do you ask?”
“No reason in particular. I was just thinking that a dog might be good for security.”
She nodded. “I guess that’s something to think about.”
“So,” he said, “last night you said you had an idea about who might be doing this?”
She took a sip of coffee to wash down the bagel that seemed to be lodged in her throat. “I thought so at the time, but I think I was just stressed over the situation. Now my thoughts just sound stupid.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
He looked expectantly at her and she took another sip of coffee. “I’ve lived here my entire life,” she said. “In high school, I was one of those popular girls, but I had big plans that included getting far away from the town of Miel and the Honey Island Swamp.”
“Why?”
She blinked. “I...I don’t know. I mean, I haven’t thought about it in so long. I remember thinking this place was so small and slow that I felt like I was slowly smothering, and I desperately wanted the fast pace and glamour of big cities and other countries. It all sounded so fabulous.”
“But it wasn’t?”
She frowned. “No. I mean, parts of it were. There are some simply breathtaking places in this world, and I feel fortunate that I got to see so many of them.”
“But?”
“But it was hard. I was a model and that business is rather cutthroat. You can’t spend much time enjoying everything around you. You’re too busy looking over your shoulder for the next person trying to stab you in the back. It just wasn’t for me. Then my dad got sick, and it seemed like the perfect reason to come home.”
“But there was no reason to stay after he passed. There’re other jobs besides modeling. You could have sold all this and started over.”
She nodded. “I could have, and I thought about it. I thought about it a lot. But when I returned, it felt different. It didn’t feel small any more. It felt comfortable. I knew my real passion was horses, not modeling, and I couldn’t ask for a better setup to breed and train. I just need to establish another form of income to support myself while I work on that.”
“Makes sense. With the weather here, you can train outside year-round and have plenty of room to grow your own hay. It is a beautiful piece of property, and it only took a glimpse of your horses to see you’ve got some fine stock....”
“But?”
“But apparently, you think your choice to maintain your roots in Miel didn’t make everyone happy.”
She blew out a breath. “No. Like I said before, I was part of the popular crowd in high school, but since I’d always planned to leave, I didn’t bother establishing close relationships with people. I just hung out with large groups, but it was all very shallow, really. Some boys called me a snob because I wouldn’t date them seriously, but it wasn’t personal. I didn’t have any close girlfriends, either. I just wanted it to be easy when I left, you know?”
“So some people think you’re a spoiled snob.”
“I didn’t say ‘spoiled.’”
“The spoiled is implied given the family money and the fact that your dad probably doted on his only daughter.”
“You’re probably right. I’ve already heard the snide remarks about my dad’s bragging over my modeling jobs.” She sighed. “Which explains the less-than-stellar welcome, but how does that lead to vandalism? It’s a serious leap from high school pettiness or even adult annoyance to illegally damaging someone’s property. Which is why the more I thought about it, the more I figured it was a stupid idea all the way around.”
“Not just illegal damage. This is criminal damage.”
She shook her head. “I’d never manage criminal charges. Civil is about all I can hope for.”
“Not necessarily. A good prosecutor could make the argument that tearing down the fences might endanger the people living within the boundaries of the fences.”
“Maybe, but I’d have to get someone arrested before that could happen, and given my relationship with the sheriff, that’s not possible.”
“The report Alex typed up says you told him about the vandalism and he blew it off. What’s his problem?”
“Me, among many other things. He asked me out once in high school and has hated me ever since I turned him down. He spent our entire senior year playing juvenile practical jokes on
me. I’d thought after all these years that he’d have let it go, but apparently, he’s determined to hang on to that teenage angst.”
“Okay, anyone else you think is holding a grudge?”
“Mack Prevett is buddies with the sheriff. He owns the local bar. I’ve heard he and my dad quarreled over property lines, and Mack had to move construction of his fishing cabin further down the bayou. I asked Emmett about it, but he said it was old news. But my friend Adele told me Mack had already started construction and was mad as a hornet to have to start over.”
Tanner nodded. “So he has a couple of reasons to hold a grudge.”
“He was downright blatant with his dislike for me the one time I dared go in there with Emmett for a beer, but then, he wasn’t overly nice to Emmett, either. Emmett just ignored him, of course, as only Emmett can manage.”
“Having a beer with Emmett, huh? Given your conversation yesterday, I’m having trouble picturing you two socializing.”
“We were picking up supplies in town. Emmett left and went across the street to the bar. I went in after him, but didn’t want to make a scene ordering him out. The man is old enough to be my father. So I passed it off as needing a break, hoping he’d take the opportunity away from the house to tell me what’s up with him lately.”
“I take it he didn’t?”
“No. He barely spoke, which is typical. It wasn’t a problem when he wasn’t being so secretive and obstinate, but now...I don’t know what to think.”
“Don’t worry,” Tanner said. “I’m going to look into all options. That’s my job.”
She sat back in her chair, feeling some of the tension in her neck releasing. That hadn’t been near as mortifying as she’d thought it would be. He hadn’t smirked or done anything else to indicate he thought she had an overly inflated ego.
“So, what do we do today?” she asked.
“First, I’m going to contact my brother and have him start running some background checks on the people you’ve mentioned.”
“Did you look at the personnel files last night?”
“Yeah, and Max already did a quick check on everyone. All the workers are clean, including Emmett—with the law, anyway. I also talked to my buddy at Wildlife and Fisheries.”
Josie stiffened a bit. “Did he find out anything?”
“The blood on the post was rabbit. And my buddy’s take on the print is the same as what they told you before—bipedal, over six feet tall and roughly two hundred fifty pounds.”
“So we still have nothing.”
Tanner smiled. “If it was going to be that easy, you could have figured it all out without my help. We’ll dig deeper until we find something. All this means is that someone is being careful, and that takes planning.”
“Or the creature is real.”
He raised one eyebrow. “I suppose anything is possible.”
“So, what now?”
“I’m going to head out into the swamp and see if I can track down your monster.”
“Okay. What do you want me to do?”
“Whatever you would normally be doing if none of this were going on.”
A wave of disappointment washed over her and she struggled to keep it from showing in her expression. After all, she could hardly expect Tanner to take her with him to track the creature. He was a professional. She’d only slow him down or get in the way or both.
“If you can,” he said, “I’d prefer it if you stayed close to the house.”
“You don’t think he’d try something during the day, do you?”
“I don’t think it’s likely for anything to happen during the day and right here in clear view of others that may be working around the property, but I don’t want you going into the swamp alone.”
“Not even to check on my men?”
“Vernon can check on your men. That’s his job.”
“And if he doesn’t do it?”
“I’m going to have a talk with him before I head out tracking. I think we can work something out.”
He took a bite of the bagel and stared out the window across the lawn. Josie bit her lower lip and hoped Tanner had some magic words to say to her foreman, because she was all out.
Chapter Five
Tanner was momentarily surprised when his brother Holt answered the phone on the first ring.
“I thought you were busy,” Tanner said. “Instead, you’re sitting on top of the phone.”
“Ha. I happen to be waiting on a call from the morgue. Not exactly my favorite way to start a Tuesday morning and certainly not the way I’d prefer to solve my current case, but that is unfortunately the business we’re in.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make a tense situation worse.”
“You didn’t. It’s part of the job. You learn how to deal with it. The waiting’s sometimes the worst part. What’s up with you? You ready for me to send National Geographic your way?”
“As I did not discover a new species overnight, I’d hold off on contacting the media just yet.”
Holt chuckled. “All right. I’ll give you at least two days. So, what’s up?”
Tanner filled Holt in on the situation with the horses the night before.
“That’s not good,” Holt said. “I don’t like that this has escalated so close to the house.”
“Me, either.”
“How did Josie take it?”
“Once she was certain all the horses were fine, she calmed down a lot. She’s got some backbone. Came out after me, gun loaded. I don’t think she would have hesitated to fire it, either.”
“It’s good to know she doesn’t panic. We don’t want the clients in the middle of hard-core action, but it sometimes ends up that way. Better for you if the client is someone you can rely on to back you up. Is there anything I can do to help from my end?”
“I need Max to run some names for me.” Tanner read him off the list of names he’d compiled based on his conversation with Josie.
“Anything in particular to look for?”
“No. I’m just trying to get a feel for who’s here and what their motives might be beyond the norm. Animals are a lot easier to figure out than humans.”
“Got that right.”
Tanner hesitated for a moment, not sure he should say what was on his mind, but he took a breath and forced it out. “She’s lying. Josie, I mean.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know yet, but I can tell she’s hiding something from me.”
“Do you think it’s relevant to the investigation?”
“I don’t think she thinks it’s relevant, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t.”
Holt sighed. “I wish I had some magic words that would make people air their dirty laundry, but I don’t. I deal with the same thing on every case. Some are worse than others.”
“Does what they’re withholding always affect the case?”
“Hard to say. Sometimes the information could have led us down the right avenue of investigation. Sometimes it could have prevented us from going down the wrong one. But sometimes, what they’re hiding is simply some embarrassing family secret.”
“Maybe Josie is hiding something about her father.”
“Maybe. She wouldn’t be the first person to feel embarrassed or guilty over things her parents have done.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Tanner mumbled. He’d spent most of his life trying to hide the fact that he was Walt Conroy and Margaret LeDoux’s son, which is why he’d changed his last name as soon as he’d been legally able, just like his brothers had done. That bit of information carried way too much baggage for any one man to find tolerable.
Holt was silent for a couple of seconds, and Tanner knew his half brother got the meaning of his disgruntled statement.
“Sometime soon,” Holt said, “Max and I need to talk to you.”
“You just talked to me the other day. Now I’ve changed professions, I’m tracking a mythical swamp creature and living with a lying woman. The wa
y the first conversation turned out, I’m not so sure I want another one with you and Max.”
Holt chuckled. “I can’t exactly argue with you. But still, when you feel up to tackling some old issues, there’s something Max and I need your help on. I’ll start these background checks this morning and give you a call as soon as I have some information.”
“I’m going tracking as soon as I get off the phone, so leave a message if you don’t get me,” Tanner said, unable to keep from wondering what else his brothers had in store for him.
“No problem. It might be afternoon before I finish enough of them to warrant taking up your time with a call.”
“I won’t be back until I find something or the light runs out.”
“Be careful, Tanner. Whatever reason someone has it in for Josie, they’re not going to appreciate your butting in. Watch your back, especially in the swamp.”
“I will.” He disconnected the call and looked out his bedroom window across the lawn. Josie was leading a stallion out of the barn to work him. The stallion’s sleek black coat seemed to shine over his rippled body. Tanner knew enough about horses to know he was looking at a prime Arabian specimen worth some serious money.
Josie started working him on the lead and Tanner paused a minute more, thinking what an incredible sight the two of them made. Finally, he tore himself away from the window, grabbed his backpack and headed outside.
He’d seen Emmett Vernon head to the swamp on the south side of the property when they’d been eating breakfast. First thing, he was going to track the man down at the work site and ask him some questions. Then he was going to spend the rest of the day attempting to prove that the Honey Island Swamp Monster was nothing more than a myth used to sell swamp tours and hotel rooms.
* * *
THE VANDAL WATCHED THE woman and the horse from the dense undergrowth of the swamp. She didn’t appear troubled, much less scared. The work crew had reported what they’d seen, but apparently, Josette Bettencourt was as stubborn as her father.
