A Nash Mystery Box Set

by Vella Day

  “Oh, my,” she blurted. Kane was dressed in black slacks, a crisp white shirt open at the throat, and polished loafers. Whoa. “You fix up good.”

  His pupils dilated. “So do you. You ready?”

  “Absolutely.”

  On the way out, she grabbed her leather jacket, hoping it didn’t still smell from the morgue. A cool breeze and bright sunshine greeted her. “How did this person know to call you?”

  Kane opened the passenger side Jeep door and she slid in. “I stopped by the station to find the location of all the local factories within a thirty-mile radius of Page.”

  That’s when Harriet, the traitor, must have interrogated him. “And?”

  He jammed the key in the ignition and started the engine. “I called everyone on the list and asked them to let me know if any of their employees spotted Overton. This morning, I received a call from someone.”

  That was highly resourceful of him. “Did you show this person a photo to make sure he identified the right guy?”

  “Yup. My contact, General Stentfield, emailed one to my phone.”

  He backed out of her drive, and when he sent her a knowing smile, heat rushed up her face. Her body was one big traitor.

  After a fifteen-minute drive, the air inside his Jeep overheated, and she rolled down the window. The sweet smell of something burning blew in, forcing her to glance to the horizon where a dark plume puffed off in the distance.

  She faced Kane. “What would the Senator be doing at a perfume factory? Does he collect perfume bottles or did he need to shop for his wife?”

  “I’m not sure. The manager merely spotted him. I’m thinking he might have taken one of the tours.”

  “I thought you said Overton came to Arizona on official business.”

  Kane turned into the factory’s parking lot and pulled to a stop. “That’s true, but from the looks of this place, there’s nothing top secret about it, so maybe he decided to take a break.”

  Sky waited for Kane to do his gentlemanly thing again and open her door. “Thanks.” She’d never been treated so well.

  The Fleur de Paris perfume factory was a large square building with five huge air conditioners on the side. Off to the left stood four greenhouses. She’d lived in Savory for over twenty years, yet had never been inside this place. In fact, she hadn’t realized the factory was even open on the weekends. Then again, if they catered to tourists, it made sense.

  Kane escorted her into the building where the aroma of sweet orange and sugar filled the air, and everything looked expensive. One whole wall contained a display cabinet filled with perfume bottles, all of which were beautiful and exotic.

  “May I help you?” A tall thin brunette, dressed in an Armani suit and Jimmy Choo shoes approached them. Wow.

  Kane glanced at Sky, forcing her back to the moment. She pulled out her badge and hoped the woman wasn’t up on her area of jurisdiction. “Mr. LeFloch called about Senator Overton.”

  “Oh, yes.” Her gaze shot to the side before looking Sky in the face. “Please follow me.”

  To Sky’s surprise, Kane didn’t give the woman a once over despite the fact that she was gorgeous. They followed her down a long corridor, her tall heels clicking on the tile floor. As they rounded the corner, a group of tourists huddled inside a room, the chitchat echoing off the walls.

  “They’re on one of our tours,” Ms. Jimmy Choo shoes said. “You two should definitely take one. The history of perfume making is so interesting.”

  “We aren’t here to sightsee,” Sky said in her most professional tone.

  The brunette’s brow rose for a fraction of a second. “Here we are.” Her nose high in the air, she knocked on Mr. LeFloch’s door before pushing it open.

  A short, reed thin man seated behind a large mahogany desk stood. “Come in. I trust you’re Mr. Cornell.” He turned to her. “And you are?”

  “Sky Nash.” She flashed her badge. “Savory PD.”

  His lips thinned for a second, and she could have sworn his pupils dilated, a sure sign he was uncomfortable. He straightened his perfectly neat tie and adjusted his too large black glasses. When he tilted his head, the light from the window showed a slight bead of perspiration on his brow. “Please sit.”

  Kane did so and then leaned forward. “Can you give me any details about the Senator?”

  “I was checking the greenhouses when I saw Alan, our horticulturist, with the Senator.” Mr. LeFloch pressed his lips together.

  “That drew your attention for a reason. Was that a problem?” Kane asked.

  “Alan isn’t supposed to take visitors in there. In fact, we’ve installed fingerprint biometric sensors to prevent unauthorized access. Besides me, Alan is the only other person authorized to be in there, and only during regular business hours.”

  Sky found it odd that someone would need to put such hi-tech scanners on a greenhouse. “Are the flowers that rare that someone might steal them?” Sky asked.

  His stare looked a million miles away. He blinked before turning back toward her. “Yes. What we do here is secret. The recipe for making our perfume came from my family in France. We’re from Eze.” He said it with such reverence that she almost laughed.

  She’d never heard of the place. “I guess you wouldn’t want your competitors to find out how you mix the fragrances.”

  He smiled like a priest beaming down at a new parishioner. “I see you understand.”

  Kane tapped his foot. “If no one is allowed in the greenhouse, why was the Senator inside?”

  “I asked Alan about that. He said he didn’t see any harm letting the Senator inside since he’s a government official.” From the way Mr. LeFloch’s lips pursed, he disagreed.

  “Do you have any surveillance videos of the area? I want to make sure the Senator didn’t go inside under duress.”

  Mr. LeFloch’s mouth opened, and he slapped a hand to his chest. “Heavens no. Someone might get a hold of the tapes and learn how we work.”

  So his outrage wasn’t over concern the Senator might have been taken against his will, but rather that company secrets might be revealed. She’d have to see what Kane thought about Mr. LeFloch dodging the duress angle.

  “Thanks for your time, Mr. LeFloch.” They both rose, and Kane shook the manager’s hand. Interesting how LeFloch wouldn’t even make eye contact with her.

  She wanted to see if he would acknowledge her, so she remained still. When she made no effort to leave, Kane slid a hand around her waist and escorted her out. It was no love hold by any means since his fingers were pressed firmly around her waist. Guess he could tell she wanted to make LeFloch uncomfortable enough to slip up and say something.

  Once in the hall, he lowered his arm, and the lack of contact unsettled her. She had never been attracted to the aggressive, must-be-in-control type, yet when he broke contact, she missed it.

  Focus. “What do you think?” She failed once again to get a read on Kane’s thoughts.

  “About?”

  “The fact that he’s lying.”

  Kane said nothing as he walked outside and headed straight to his Jeep. “Are you thinking he didn’t spot the Senator?” He held open the door.

  She slid into the passenger seat. “No, I believe he saw him, but from the way he didn’t maintain eye contact, he was hiding something.”

  “I thought that too. You’re the law. Perhaps you can help me find out more.” Once inside his vehicle, he sped out of the lot.

  She twisted in her seat. “This property isn’t on the Reservation, which means I have no authority here.”

  “You never told me.”

  “I guess I forgot.”

  His brows rose, clearly not buying her story. “I think LeFloch thought you did.”

  “From the way he dodged your question about Overton being in the greenhouse by force, I agree with you. On a slightly different note, didn’t you find it strange that a building that couldn’t be more than thirty thousand square feet would have such a mass
ive air conditioning system? I know orchids and other flowers need a specific temperature, but why all the exhaust fans?”

  “You tell me.”

  “I wish I knew.” She faced front. “And why would someone build a perfume factory in a desert?”

  He shrugged. “The land’s cheap. The labor’s probably cheap too. Besides, greenhouses are self-contained and prevent the outside air from getting in. Add in Arizona’s abundant sunshine, and it makes sense.”

  She wasn’t convinced. “Perhaps Mr. LeFloch grew up here.”

  “He said his family comes from Eh-ze.” He drew out the name of the little French town. Kane glanced over at her with a small lift to his lips.

  She chuckled. “His accent was very slight, implying he could have come here as a child.”

  “Good point again. Since I roused you out of bed so early and never thanked you for taking me around the caves, can I at least buy you lunch?”

  Her heart nearly stopped. “You have time? I thought you had to track down the Senator?” Or was he a polite man needing to pay his debts?

  “For you, I’ll make time.”

  Chapter 9

  Sky had an amazing lunch with Kane. They discussed possible explanations for Mr. LeFloch’s nervousness but were unable to come up with any definitive conclusion. Then not only did they talk about some of his cases, he asked about her work too. It was refreshing to have someone understand what she went through on a daily basis.

  On the drive back to her house, they discussed, or rather disagreed, whether aliens existed. They even stayed in the car for close to an hour talking about all the possible government conspiracies, and she had to admit it had been a while since someone had valued her opinion so much.

  Their time together seemed to fly, and when Sky finally said goodbye, she was so invigorated by the exchange that she cleaned the house from top to bottom and then called her dad to tell him she couldn’t make it to dinner because she had to make an airport run. He said he understood.

  By four, she was ready to pick Chris up at the airport. She put on makeup and even curled her hair the way Chris liked it. To be honest, she thought she looked good without the changes, but old habits die hard.

  Sky took one final look in the mirror. She bet Kane would scowl at her heavy-handed attempt, whereas Chris always said makeup enhanced her face and made her look pretty. Damn. The two men were like night and day. Kane was reckless and rugged, whereas Chris was…safe, probably because they’d known each other for so long.

  Stop comparing them.

  Time to go. She threw on her jacket and headed out, wishing she could have picked Chris up in the new cruiser instead of her beat up VW. It took her fifty minutes to get to the Page airport, and by the time she parked and rushed inside, Chris was at baggage claim waiting for her. When he saw her, his face broke into a smile.

  “Sky!” He hugged her hard and swung her around. “Let me see you.” He set her down and held her out. “You look fabulous. I love what you’ve done with your hair.”

  Heat rushed up her face. “Thanks.” She hadn’t cut it since he left, anticipating he’d like it longer. She gave him a quick kiss and checked him out. His silk tie went well with his fitted navy blue suit and his starched beige shirt. “I see you have a new haircut too.”

  “Styles are shorter in New York. You like?”

  “I like.”

  Chris lifted his carry-on over his shoulder then faced her. “I’m starving. How about dinner at Bonkers?”

  “I’d love that.” It was only the most romantic place in Page. He must have decided he couldn’t live without her. When the anticipated rush failed to materialize, she pushed it aside. She nodded to his one bag. “You don’t have any other luggage?”

  “Nope. Just this.” He tapped the side of his bag.

  They maneuvered their way to the parking lot. “How long are you staying?” Perhaps they could spend a day or two at the lodge overlooking the South rim of the Grand Canyon, though the overnight bag implied he wouldn’t be here for long.

  “I have a flight out at six tomorrow night.”

  Even though he said he was here for his mother’s birthday, she thought he might have come to rekindle their relationship. Guess she’d been wrong. “Why such a short trip?”

  “I wanted to take a week off, but to keep my job I have to make sure my clients stay happy.”

  “I understand.” Liar.

  “I appreciate you giving me some slack.”

  Did he think of her as a friend now or still as his girlfriend? When they reached her car, she popped the trunk.

  “You drove that?” he asked.

  “The cruiser’s in the shop.”

  He tossed her an irresistible smile. “I didn’t mean to make fun of the old heap. It doesn’t matter what you drive.”

  She waited for him to open the car door after he placed his carry-on in the trunk, but instead, he climbed in the passenger side. Oh, well. His mind was probably on all those rich clients. She slid in and was thankful when old reliable started on the first try.

  Ten minutes later, Sky pulled into the restaurant parking lot. Chris leaned over. “Stay here. I want to give you something that I have in my case.” A moment later, he returned and handed her a box wrapped in gold paper. “Just a thank you for putting up with me. I know I should call more often.”

  Why? They weren’t dating.

  Excited at the gift, she tore off the paper, opened the lid, and gasped. Inside was a bright blue Donna Karan silk wrap blouse. “I’m speechless.”

  “I’ll be the one without words when I see you in it tomorrow at Mom’s birthday party.” He smiled. “Let’s go in.”

  Suggesting she wear this particular blouse was a bit controlling, but she would have chosen it anyway. Inside, about eight couples were in the waiting area of the full restaurant. Damn. She’d starve before they were served.

  The maître d’ motioned them to a table. “Right this way, Mr. Renford.”

  She leaned over to him. “You made reservations?”

  “I didn’t want my pet to wait. I know how hard you work.”

  Pet? She bristled at the demeaning name. His mixed signals were throwing her off, but discussing their relationship in a restaurant wasn’t cool. As soon as they were alone, she’d ask him.

  During the meal, Chris regaled her with wonderful stories of New York City and the high profile people he’d entertained. He reached across the table and took her hand. “I have something to tell you.”

  “Yes?” Too many conflicting emotions prevented her from becoming too excited.

  “I received a promotion that will earn me an extra twenty grand a year.”

  It was not what she’d expected him to say, but she knew how much success meant to him. “That’s fantastic.”

  “Oh, Sky. You should come to New York. We’d have so much fun. We could see Broadway plays, go to museums, and eat like this.” He waved a hand around. “And I could really use your help decorating my bachelor pad. It’s a sad little place without a woman’s touch.” He turned his lips into a frown.

  Did he want her to fly out to New York so he could show off the city and just lend a hand decorating? “I’m sure women are beating down your door to help.”

  Chris was acting strange. She had a brain, but he didn’t seem to care about that—only Kane did.

  “That’s not—” His cell rang, and he held up a finger. “Just a minute.”

  For the next ten minutes he talked to the caller about interest rates, PE ratios, earnings, and other financial gobbledygook to someone who she guessed was a client.

  He mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

  She nodded, placed her napkin on the table, and headed to the bathroom, figuring he wanted privacy. When she returned, he’d finished his conversation.

  “Babe, I’m so sorry. We have so little time together, and I don’t want to spend it on work. So tell me how you’ve been doing?”

  The old Chris had returned. “Good. I’m
working on a case that might be related to my house break-in.”

  He leaned forward. “Jesus. Why didn’t you tell me you were burglarized? Did they take anything?”

  She had called to tell him, but when he didn’t answer, she didn’t want to leave a message. “No.”

  “Good.” Chris checked his watch. “Damn, babe, we gotta go. I want to get to Mom’s before she heads to bed.”

  Sky slumped in her chair. Wasn’t he curious as to why someone would break into her house and not take anything? “I thought maybe we could have some quiet time at my house before you saw her.” She needed to ask him if he even wanted to be together. Right now, Sky wasn’t sure she did.

  He tilted his head and pulled her hand into his. “I would like nothing more than to spend all night with you, massaging your feet, adoring your supple body, but I came here for Mom’s birthday.”

  And not for her. If that wasn’t clear enough, she didn’t know what was. “She’s taking your dad’s death hard. She’ll be so happy to see you.”

  “I know.” He motioned for the check. Chris signed the bill and walked her out, the cool air biting into her skin. She shivered, and he wrapped an arm around her lightly.

  The drive back to his mom’s was strained because Chris talked the whole way and never gave her a chance to voice an opinion, but she understood he was excited to share his adventures with someone.

  When she drew to a stop in front of his mother’s house, Chris rubbed her shoulder. “You want to come in?”

  Not really. His mom usually ignored her, and she’d have to listen to Chris tell his mom how successful he was. “I’ll let you two have your reunion in private.”

  “Don’t forget. The party is at one tomorrow. Wear the blue blouse.”

  He was out in a flash. Once he grabbed his overnight case, he was at the front door before she’d even pulled out of the drive. Sky shook her head. She’d been such a fool in believing he’d wanted to get back with her. Chris only cared about himself.

  She wasn’t halfway home when her cell rang. The caller I.D. read Cornell, and a blast of unwanted lust raced through her. She couldn’t imagine why he’d call at 8:00 at night, but there was only one way to find out.