by Rebecca Deel
“I’m here, sweetheart.” Now where did that come from? He never called Del Peterson anything like that. If it made her more comfortable with him right now, he’d call her every sweet name he could think of. “Talk to me. What happened?”
She shuddered. “Judge Reece.” Swallowed hard.
Josh’s eyebrows rose. “What about him?”
“He’s dead.”
He stood. “Can you show me where he is?”
Del nodded, her hair rippling with life in the waning light from the window, and rose to stand in front of him.
“Ivy, wait for the ambulance. It should be here soon.” Slipping an arm around Del’s waist to steady her, Josh walked his favorite bookseller down the hall. Within a few feet of an open door on the left side, tremors started to ripple through Del’s body. “Easy, Del. You don’t have to go inside the room. Just show me which one. This place is big enough to get lost in.”
He didn’t think she paid attention to anything he said beyond not returning to the room with the judge’s body. She leaned harder into his side. “Where do I go from here, beautiful?”
Her eyes darted toward the room nearest them.
Josh noticed a desk with a computer sitting on top of it. Looked like an office of some kind. “In there?” After getting a nod, he steered her back to a nearby chair and eased her to the cushion. “Stay here.”
He scanned the office as he stepped through the door, noted the shoes sticking out, rounded the desk. Josh blew out a breath and reached for his portable radio. “Dispatch, this is Unit 6.”
“Unit 6, go ahead.”
“ETA on ambulance?”
“Three minutes.”
“Copy. I need a detective and the crime scene team to 3365 Morningstar Lane. Also notify Chief Blackhawk.”
“10-4.”
Josh took a minute to study the scene and body visually before heading back to the woman with her face buried in her hands. He needed to secure the crime scene and that meant getting Del and Ivy out of the house. “Del, come with me.”
She raised her head to stare at him. “Don’t we need to wait for the ambulance?”
“We’ll wait in my vehicle.” He held out his hand to her. “You’re my priority right now.” No one could help Judge Reece.
Del stared at his hand a moment, then reached for him. Josh helped her stand and walked her through the front door and down the steps to his SUV. He seated Del in his front passenger seat and motioned Ivy over. “Stay with her.”
Knowing Del needed a blanket despite the July heat, Josh opened his hatchback and pulled out a blanket which he wrapped around Del, and cranked his engine to get the air conditioning going for Ivy.
The approaching sirens grew louder until they were silenced at the entrance to the Reece driveway. The ambulance pulled in followed by another police SUV. The driver’s door popped open and a lanky red-haired detective crossed the pavement to meet Josh at the back of his SUV.
Josh nodded to his other brother-in-law, Rod Kelter, and motioned the ambulance attendant toward Del and Ivy.
“What’s the situation?” Rod pulled off his mirrored sunglasses and slid them into his pants pocket.
He glanced at the open door of his SUV and moved out of hearing range of the women. “Del found Judge Reece’s body in the office.” Josh rubbed the back of his neck and turned his gaze toward Del. “Rod, it looks like he was assassinated.”
CHAPTER TWO
Rod blew out a quick breath. “Great. I planned to take Megan out of town this weekend. A surprise trip to Florida.”
“Good luck with that. If it’s not your job, it’s hers.” Josh’s sister, Megan, was editor of Otter Creek’s local newspaper, though she’d sold off the quirky printing presses a few months back and gone to online subscriptions and for those die-hard paper-and-ink readers, a neighboring town’s paper did the print run. “You could foist this off on Nick.”
The detective grinned. “I’ll tell him you volunteered his services. I’m sure Madison will be glad to cook for you in appreciation for your thoughtfulness.”
Josh grimaced. “You have a mean streak.” Madison was well known county-wide for her culinary skills. More often than not, her cooking efforts ended up in a visit from the fire department. His long-suffering brother-in-law Nick had pretty much banished the woman he adored from the kitchen except to operate the microwave.
More sirens cut off as cruisers swung into the drive and parked at odd angles. Rod waved over another patrol officer. “Don’t let the women out of your sight. Don’t let them talk about what they’ve seen, not to each other or anyone else. Ethan should be here soon. Send him in as soon as he arrives. Josh, let’s go.”
Another glance assured him the EMT was still working with Del and Ivy. The thought of leaving them with another officer left him uneasy. He followed Rod inside the stone mansion.
“Which way?” Rod asked.
Josh inclined his head toward the hall. “Straight down the hall. Third door on the left.”
“Did Del say anything about what happened?”
“I didn’t ask. I had her show me where the judge’s body was located and hustled her and Ivy out of the house.”
“I don’t think I’ve met Ivy. Who is she?”
“Del’s cousin. She’s working at the bookstore until she starts teaching at the community college in the fall.”
Rod paused in the doorway of the Reece office as Josh had done when he first crossed the threshold.
“Do you know who’s been in here?”
“Del and me for sure. The killer. I don’t know about Ivy. Probably not, though, considering she’s hyper.” Not like Del. He’d never seen her almost incoherent. He didn’t like it. His jaw tightened. He’d like to have an up close and personal discussion with the person who’d caused her so much fear. That was unlikely, though.
Rod stepped further into the room and stared at the body of Judge Reece. “No weapon?”
“No.”
“Killer probably took it. I’ll ask Del if she saw one or maybe picked it up.”
“Be careful with her. She’s pretty fragile.”
Rod shot him a glance, eyebrows raised. “Have you ever known me to be abusive with a witness?”
Josh’s face heated in the air conditioned room. “Sorry. Del’s a friend.”
“I like her too, but I don’t think in the same way you do.”
“It’s not like that,” Josh said. Not that he wasn’t interested. Timing hadn’t worked out to pursue it yet.
“If you say so.” Rod’s tone indicated a clear disbelief in his statement. Great. No doubt his reaction to Del would end up fodder on the family grapevine in the near future. He’d have Serena and Madison on his doorstep in the next few days if they resisted the temptation to harass him over the phone. His mother wouldn’t be far behind them.
Footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor. He turned and eyed Police Chief Ethan Blackhawk as his long strides ate the distance between them. His brother-in-law didn’t look happy. “Do I earn brownie points for calling you away from the mayor?”
“Oh, yeah.” Ethan scowled. “His Honor was on a roll today. His nephew is earning a steady supply of speeding tickets lately and racking up more than his share of DUIs on the weekends.”
“Must be police harassment,” Rod said, his tone dry. “Did he want you to wipe the record clean?”
“Why else would he pull me aside after a town council meeting? I’m not his favorite person.”
“What did you tell him?” Josh asked.
“His nephew could get in line behind Megan to pay the speeding tickets and if he got pulled over for another DUI, I would personally throw him behind bars.”
Rod whistled. “Better watch your back, Ethan. His Honor is likely to start up another campaign to replace you as police chief.”
“He did mention that possibility. So what do we have?”
Rod stepped aside and motioned Ethan further into the room. “John Reece. Federal ju
dge. One shot to the forehead. No other signs of trauma. Del Peterson found the body.”
“Josh, what do you see?” Ethan asked, his dark gaze probing.
He snorted. “Light switch shot. Close range.”
“Light switch?” Rod’s gaze shifted between Ethan and Josh. “What is that?”
“One shot between the eyebrows turned off his lights. Permanently.” Josh said. “Sure kill shot.”
“Did you talk to Del?” Ethan asked.
“Enough to find out where the body was and to get her and Ivy out of the house.”
Ethan sighed. “This is going to get messy, fast. Federal judge’s assassination means we’ll have the feds breathing down our necks. U.S. marshals will be all over this case since it’s their jurisdiction. The FBI will be right behind them. They won’t be able to resist sticking their nose into everything.”
“And messing it up,” Rod muttered. “Craig Jordan will be in our faces in the next 48 hours.”
“Sooner, I’d say.”
Josh grimaced. He’d heard stories about Jordan, none of them good. The fed made no bones about using anyone and anything necessary to achieve his objectives and close his cases. Two of those cases had involved Serena and Megan. The special agent was not a favorite of the Otter Creek Police Department.
“Let’s get the coroner out here so our crime scene unit can get started. Anything you learn, I want to know about yesterday. Clock’s ticking, Rod.” Ethan turned to Josh. “Let’s go. I want to check on Del, then return to the office and clear up paperwork before the feds descend.”
Josh trailed the police chief to the driveway and his SUV. The EMT was putting away his medical gear in the ambulance. Ethan walked up to Del and knelt, putting him at eye level with her.
“How are you feeling now, Del?” He clasped her hand in one of his. “Better?”
She nodded. “Oh, Ethan. It was terrible. Poor Judge Reece.”
“I know. I’m sorry you saw that. Look, Del, trauma affects people in different ways. If you need to talk to someone, I have several counselors we recommend.”
“I’ll be okay.” She gave him a ghost of a smile.
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “Call if you need me.” He stood and strode back to Josh, glanced at his watch. “You off shift?”
“Yes, sir.”
“It will be a while before Rod can talk to Del and Ivy. Someone needs to stay with them. Do you want me to assign the responsibility to one of the other patrolmen?”
Josh’s gaze returned to the bookseller. Something inside him rebelled at another officer being responsible for Del’s safety. If he stayed, he could listen to Rod’s questions and Del’s answers. “I’ll stay.”
He nodded. “Good enough. When do you go back on duty?”
“Not until Sunday night. I’m on third shift next week.”
Ethan clapped him on the shoulder, spoke to another officer, and left.
Josh returned to his SUV and knelt beside Del, gaze scanning her face. “It will be a while before Rod shakes free. Would you and Ivy like a cold drink?” He figured sugar and distance from the crime scene would help her recover. Waning daylight hadn’t done much to negate the brutal heat, but he suspected the gentle bookseller would prefer to be outside than near the office where she could see and hear the crime scene people.
“We would appreciate that as long as it won’t be too much trouble.”
“It’s no problem. I could use something myself.” His black uniform drew heat and he was sweaty all over, especially under his bullet-proof vest. Josh stood and, stepping away from his vehicle, called one of the units nearby and put in a request.
Ten minutes later, a patrol car rolled to a stop. “Order’s up, Cahill.” Swanson grinned and handed over the sweating six pack of Coke.
“Thanks, man.” He bumped fists with his friend and the prowl car eased around the drive and back to the street before taking off in a cloud of dust and swirling lights.
Josh retraced his steps to Del and Ivy as the coroner’s van pulled to a stop behind the ambulance. “You may not drink the real stuff, but you need sugar to combat shock.”
“It’s fine,” Ivy said. “As long as its cold.”
“Thank you, Josh.” Del’s gaze connected with his for a heart-stopping moment.
He gave a nod and moved a short distance away, enough to give them privacy yet still be within his hearing so he could monitor their conversation. He quartered the area. Nothing. Somewhere nearby, though, a killer walked among them.
Del sipped the last of her Coke, glad the shaking had stopped. Though he hadn’t said much to them since arranging for the cold drinks, Josh hovered nearby, watching everything. His stance and constant visual scanning told her he was still on alert. His vigilance made her feel protected, cared for.
Just doing his job, she reminded herself. Don’t read anything into it. Wishing she wasn’t just a job to him wouldn’t make it so.
Activity near the front door drew his attention for a second. He turned and approached them. Kneeling so close she could see multiple colors in his hazel eyes, Josh studied her face for an instant. “You look better.”
“A cold Coke cures everything. Didn’t you know that?”
Humor sparked in his gaze. “Can’t say I’ve heard that one. My mother and sisters swear chocolate cures all ailments. I’ll make a note of your preference.”
More activity drew her attention from his gaze until his hand cupped her cheek and turned her face back to him. His action shocked her. He’d never touched her beyond accidental brushes that happened when people were in the same vicinity, occupied the same retail space and shared lunches with his family. “Josh?” she whispered.
“Look at me, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Ivy, eyes on me. Tell me how my favorite bookseller is as a house mate.”
Ivy laughed. “Before or after her morning cup of green tea?”
“Oh, man.” Josh grinned, his gaze fixed on Del. “Another tea drinker. No wonder Serena loves you. What do you have against a good cup of coffee?”
“Too bitter for my taste.”
“Maybe I can change your mind about that. What else, Ivy? Any secrets I can use for blackmail?”
“She has a weakness for apple pie and ice cream of any flavor. She likes chocolate, but her favorite food is Mexican. She’s not really into flowers.”
Josh’s eyes widened. “No flowers? That’s a surprise.”
Del’s cheeks burned. “The scent gives me a headache.”
“Guess that’s why you don’t wear perfume.”
She didn’t think he’d noticed her at all, yet he paid enough attention to notice that? “You don’t wear cologne, either.” A noise behind him made her jump.
Josh brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Right here,” he said. “I dropped the cologne habit in the Army. Didn’t want to announce my presence to the enemy. Ivy, what does she collect? My sisters and mother all collect something different. What’s Del’s thing?”
Her cousin laughed.
“No,” Del said. She couldn’t shift her gaze or face toward her cousin to warn her about keeping her mouth shut. Josh had both hands on her face now.
“Another minute, okay?” His gaze drifted from her eyes over her face to her mouth. Del fought against the instinct to wet her lips, but oh, man, she wanted to something fierce.
Desperate to get attention off her and her preferences, she said, “Tell me something about you.”
He grinned. “I like to read.”
“Something I don’t already know.”
“My drink of choice is coffee. Plain. No fancy stuff like Maddie tries to shove on me. I’m a night owl.”
“Favorite food?”
“Mexican, but the Army taught me to eat anything that doesn’t eat me first.”
Ivy laughed. “Perfect. Maybe you two should go to dinner together.”
Del’s cheeks burned hotter. “Ivy!”
A couple vehicle doo
rs slammed nearby. Josh glanced over his shoulder and, with a brush of his thumbs over her cheeks, stood and moved back. Out of the corner of her eye, Del noticed the coroner’s van moving, the ambulance close behind. Her gaze darted to Josh. He winked at her and turned to survey the surroundings once again. So what was that about? While she wanted to believe the handsome cop saw her as something more than a friend, she knew better than that.
Rod Kelter approached the SUV at a fast clip. “How are you now, Del? Able to answer a few questions for me?”
She nodded, shrugged off the blanket Josh had draped around her shoulders.
“Good. Let’s go inside, ladies. You could fry an egg on the sidewalk today.”
Del stood, surprised to find her legs shaky. She grabbed the car door to steady herself.
“You okay?” Josh shifted closer.
She straightened, forced herself to release the metal frame. “I’m fine.” One step after another, Del made her way to the mansion’s entrance. The closer she drew, the more dread curled in her gut. She didn’t want to be in the same house with Judge Reece’s body. Stupid. Not like a dead body could hurt her. But the visual she couldn’t get out of her head made her want to vomit.
One step inside the doorway and tremors wracked her body.
“Del.”
Josh waited until her attention centered on him rather than on the beehive of activity down the hallway in the study. “The coroner took the body with him.”
She closed her eyes a moment, relief flooding her system, calming the tremors. “You distracted me.”
“You didn’t need another memory to deal with.”
“Nice work,” Ivy said.
Del blinked away the forming tears. “Thanks.” He was right. Seeing the body wheeled down the stairs would have added more sleepless nights to what she feared already would be a string of them.
“Let’s go to the living room,” Rod said. “Might as well be comfortable while we talk.” He lead the way into the gorgeous room and dropped into a brown leather recliner near a matching couch. The detective pulled out a small notebook and pen. “Why don’t you start at the beginning, Del? When did you arrive?”
