Murder in Paradise Bay

by Talty, Jen

  Gregory smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant one. More like a sarcastic grin. “You know what they say about State Troopers?”

  Jared laughed. “Triple A with guns. Yeah, heard it a million times.” He pushed himself from the car, then widened his stance, matching Gregory’s. “I could play this chest-pounding game with you, but I’m too old for that crap. We both have a job to do. We can either work together, or not. But the latter only causes problems.”

  Stacey kept her gaze on Gregory, but focused on Jared’s calm voice.

  “I’ll work with State. No problem. But Sergeant Sutten has a conflict of interest in this case. Now, if you want to risk screwing with her career, go ahead. Bring her around. But I’ll come after her badge if she does anything to screw with my case.”

  Stacey bit down on her lip.

  “That would not be too bright,” Jared said. “Let’s go, Sutten.”

  Stacey turned on her heels, then got in the passenger side of the patrol car and slammed the door. “Fucking douchebag.”

  “I honestly can’t believe some of the things that come out of your mouth,” Jared said, “but I also have to agree with you.”

  “The guy has an attitude the size of Texas.”

  “I think that’s being kind,” Jared said, “but if tries to come after your badge, you just might hear a few choice words come out of my mouth.”

  “That would be the day,” Stacey said. Neither her father nor Jared had ever been the type of men to cuss, but she suspected they both had it in them.

  By the time Stacey got home, it was nearly ten. An unfamiliar car was in the driveway. Crap. She’d forgotten about the Reese’s P.I. buddy stopping by. Things were just getting weirder and weirder.

  Chapter 6

  STACEY LOOKED in the rearview mirror. The circles under her eyes had grown darker and deeper. She’d stayed up way too late between Bill’s break-in, the P.I., and talking with her father about his meeting with Jillian. It was good that he’d done that; because it gave her some bookends about Doug’s life and marriage to Mary with which to frame her own investigation.

  Gregory had been given point, and the other detective seemed to have disappeared from the case. No way did they have enough for an arrest, but everyone was starting to believe the sheriff’s office was building a case that would make Douglass Tanner out to be a jealous man who, in a fit of rage, killed his wife and dumped her at the bottom of Paradise Bay.

  Then there was the missing boyfriend. The dive team was doing one more search today, then calling it quits. The amount of blood found on the boat was significant, but not enough to make an assumption that the man was alive or dead.

  The sun was barely peeking out from behind the mountains as she rolled to a stop behind Reese’s truck at the Residency of the Heritage Inn.

  She stepped from the car, shaking her head, trying to get rid of the negative thoughts. Jared had told her those thoughts were normal, and she should run with them. Think like a cop. Turn over everything a cop would. Oftentimes, trying to prove someone was guilty only proved them not guilty.

  Jared and his stupid devil’s advocate rule.

  Luke Cameron, the P.I., had told her the same thing while he grilled her and her father. She understood he was just doing what any good P.I. would do. In general, P.I.s didn’t care what they dug up. Their job was to dig up everything, good, bad, or indifferent, and then spin it. It was the spin that worried her.

  Reese’s house was dark, except for the back porch light. She had been surprised he was awake at five in the morning when she texted him. Even more surprised that he told her to come over. As she walked toward the house, she realized he was sitting on the steps, holding two mugs of coffee. “No uniform?”

  “In the car.”

  “What do you know this morning?” he assed.

  “Prelim autopsy suggests strangulation. I think you know all the rest.”

  “Get a list of what was taken from Bill’s cottage?”

  She shook her head. “I’m sure I won’t be able to see it.” Stacey took the coffee mug then sipped. “Gregory threatened Jared that if we keep poking around, he’d come after my badge.”

  “He’s blustering, and Jared won’t let that happen.”

  “I think he’s worried my mouth will get me in trouble.”

  “He has a right to be worried there,” Reese said. “And I do think we need to brace for the worst possible outcome.”

  A faint glow of morning lightened the sky. “I don’t like this pre-emptive attitude. I’d think we had something to hide if I were working the case.”

  “You have no idea what you’d think if you were looking at everything you’d collected, and you’re too close. This is personal.”

  She knew he was right, but wasn’t going to comment on it. “Your P.I. buddy was a bit on the harsh side.”

  Reese arched a brow. “Think like a cop, not a bony-assed little girl who has a crush on her father’s business partner, who might be a suspect in a homicide.”

  “Don’t be an asshole.”

  “I’m serious,” Reese said. “I told him he needs to think about public perception. You know how stories like this can go downhill very fast, even if it is false. False still causes damage to things like a business or someone’s career. Damage that can’t be fixed.”

  “You shouldn’t have said anything to him. It’s none of your business, and it’s just going to make him feel worse.”

  “You’re missing the point,” Reese said. “I talked to Jared. I know Gregory has some issues with you just because you’re a woman, and he’s decided Doug is guilty. People talk, and they will talk about you and Doug.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “What is? That someone would think you were having an affair, or that you were having an affair?”

  “You know we weren’t.”

  “I know,” Reese said. “But the last couple of months, people have been speculating about it.”

  With that statement, Stacey sat down. She and Doug had known each other for a very long time. They were close. Very close. Even flirty, at times. But until the other day, there had been nothing between them. How could anyone be speculating about their relationship or feelings when they barely knew, themselves? “You’ve been talking about me and Doug like that? To other people? Gossiping about us?”

  “No, I haven’t,” Reese said. “But other people have, and you know where that is going to lead the cops. Right to your door.”

  “That’s bullshit.” Stacey downed the rest of her coffee, feeling the burn all the way down to her gut. She got the implications. And the complications. But there was no way she could stop this freight train. She didn’t want to put herself or Doug in the line of fire, but there was no denying the physical and emotional chemistry that just exploded between them.

  “It’s not, and you know it.”

  “So you’re saying Doug and I should ignore our feelings. Stop exploring what we meant to each other.”

  “Not at all,” Reese said. “Just be very aware of the courtroom of public opinion…and keep that mouth of yours quiet if and when someone hits a hot button.”

  She shook her head. “Then we better find out who killed Mary, or at least point this douchebag detective in the right direction before I shove my boot up his ass or do something really fucking stupid.”

  “That’s my partner,” Reese said. “Glad you said ‘we,’ because I’m working for Luke now.”

  “Oh, Patty isn’t going to like that.” But Stacey sure as shit did.

  Reese laughed. “She’ll be fine because she likes Doug. Nana, on the other hand, might try to ground me.”

  Stacey smiled. She didn’t feel better, but she felt like they had a plan. “I’m on Thruway duty today, but I’m going to try to stop at the morgue.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Reese said, “but I’m not going to tell you not to.”

  “Jared said if I go, he’s coming with me, and I’m okay with that.” She
looked over her shoulder, then at her watch. Doug was an early riser, so at six, she would expect him to be out of bed. “I’ve got an hour before I have to head to work.”

  “Go,” Reese said. “Just remember what I said.”

  “I’m not going to stop being his friend.”

  “Not asking you to.” He gave her a little pat on the leg. “I’m not even telling you to try to stop whatever is going on. I’m just saying you need to be aware. You should be gone before any of the work crew shows up.”

  “I will. What room?”

  “Top of the stairs, second door on the left.”

  “Thanks.” Stacey entered the kitchen, then quickly poured herself another cup, along with a cup for Doug, before heading up the stairs. She stopped at the door, looking down at the two mugs in her hands, wondering how she was going to knock or open the door.

  She didn’t have to do either.

  * * *

  The last person Doug expected to see at six in the morning at Reese’s house was Stacey, but there she stood, with two cups of coffee in her hands. And there he stood in a towel, on his way to take a shower.

  “Good morning.” The timbre of her voice glided through his body like a gently wave rolling to shore. Her smile melted his heart. He was painfully aware of how naked he was under his towel. He kept trying to tell himself he was always naked under his clothes, but that didn’t help. “That extra mug for me?”

  “Yep.”

  His fingers glided across her soft, supple skin as he took the mug. He let them linger a bit longer than they should, holding her gaze longer than would be deemed appropriate for a man and woman who were just friends.

  “Come on in.” He set the mug on nightstand, he found his jeans, turned his back, then carefully pulled them up under the towel, securing them before dropping the towel to the floor and sitting on the edge of the bed. Stacey was already sitting on the other side of the bed; her legs tucked under cross-legged, her coffee mug on the dresser on the other side of the room. “How are you doing?”

  “Well enough,” she said. “Why didn’t you want to stay at home last night?”

  He could always count on her to be blunt and direct. He owed her the same. “I needed space.”

  “From what?”

  He could tell from the way she looked everywhere but directly at him that he’d hurt her feelings somehow. “I wanted time to process Mary’s death and everything that is going on, and it would have been hard to do that with you in the next room.”

  “Why?” She looked up; her milk chocolate eyes carried the weight of the world. She tore right through to his soul.

  “I’m in this weird limbo place between the past, present, and future. I need closure. Mary’s death has turned that upside down. It’s hard sometimes to be around you.”

  She opened her mouth, but he gently placed his finger on her full lips. “It’s only hard because things are different. Good different. I needed a night to collect my thoughts. Deal with my feelings about Mary’s death. I can’t move on if I don’t. I hope you can understand that.”

  “I can,” she said. “I’m always here for you.”

  “I know.” He touched her cheek gently. “Did you sleep at all?”

  “So, I look like shit, eh?”

  “You always look beautiful,” he whispered.

  She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her nails, then looked up at him, meeting his gaze head-on. “Did you know about the rumors? About us?”

  “Didn’t really think about them until Reese pointed them out last night.” He inched closer, resting his hand on her thigh. “It bothers me people would gossip like that.” He moved in even closer, turning her body so her back was to him and he could lean her against his chest, burying his face in her long blond hair while she pulled her knees to her chest and let her head rest on his shoulder. “And a few months ago, they were just rumors. But now? Things are different with us. I want to explore it without the microscope of everyone else, but that is pretty hard right now.”

  “I know,” she said. “Everyone has an opinion. Judgment.”

  “Sometimes people are right, like with Mary. I knew I was making a mistake by getting married. I did it anyway, even when my closest friends told me I should slow down and think it through.”

  “You did it because she was pregnant with your baby. Because you’re a good man.”

  “Not what you said when I told you I was getting married.”

  “I could have said it differently,” she admitted. “I know how much having a family means to you.”

  He closed his eyes. He had wanted a family. Still did. “Not a reason to get married, and you know that better than anyone. Look at your parents.” She didn’t say anything, so he continued. “Mary and I should have split then. You and Todd should have split when you went to the Academy, and you know it.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “This, right here, is why I didn’t want to be home last night.” He put his index finger under her chin and turned her head. “It’s easy to be with you, but I don’t want to rush. And I certainly don’t want all this crap hanging over our heads while things with us are so new. I don’t want the bad shit to cloud or ruin what is good.”

  She took his hand and rested her head back against his chest. He eased back against the pillows, spreading his legs out on either side of her. She felt perfect in his arms. She fit like his favorite tool belt. Just new enough that he wanted to wear it all the time. Worn in just enough that it was part of him.

  “This crap will go away soon.” She rolled to her side, her one leg over his, her head in the cradle of his shoulder as if they had just woken up. As if this were any other normal day in their normal lives. “You will be taken off the person of interest list, and we can all go about our business.”

  “But at what price?” He kissed her temple. “The longer this goes on, the more it will hurt the business. The last thing I want to do is hurt you or your father.”

  “You’re not going to.”

  “You don’t know that,” he said. “People are talking. It seems everyone is also talking about how, just maybe, I could have done it. That hurts the business. That hurts your father. And you.”

  “You’re projecting.”

  “Maybe, but it weighs on my mind.” He caved to every physical and emotional feeling he had by rolling her onto her back, separating her legs with the weight of his body, and she welcomed him like a fine pair of driving gloves. His lips hovered over hers. Her eyes pierced him with a combination of something so deep and profound it sucked the wind right out of him. “Another time, another place, I’d throw caution to the wind.”

  She smiled. “I think my legs wrapped around your waist in a king-sized bed is throwing caution to the wind.”

  “Well, we’re in a private place, so…” He groaned, then tilted his head as her lips parted, welcoming him into her world, and he didn’t hesitate. Her tongue greeted him earnestly. Her body totally relaxed under his weight. Her ankles linked firmly at the base of his ass. His only regret was that he had opted to put his jeans back on.

  “Doug,” she whispered.

  “What?”

  “Reese is at the door.”

  “Oh,” Doug said. “I guess our private moment just got interrupted.”

  She pressed her mouth against his, swirling her tongue in a hot dance that said she didn’t welcome the interruption either, but she pulled away just as quickly. “What?” she yelled.

  “Time to go,” Reese yelled back.

  “He’s right,” Stacey said. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  “On that note, I need to go shower.”

  “Think of me.”

  “Oh, you are a bad girl.”

  “You have no idea.”

  Doug groaned.

  * * *

  The morning crew had shown up at 7:30, about a half hour after Doug had already started. He had started early because he needed to take his mind off the vision of beauty that had vis
ited him this morning. Doug didn’t know what scared him more, the idea he was a suspect in the murder of his wife, or his growing attraction to Stacey. The hard part about the attraction was, it wasn’t just physical. She had affected him at his core.

  Everyone on the crew gave Doug their condolences, though some did so with questioning eyes. One even asked why he wasn’t taking a few days off, considering his wife had just died. He told everyone he needed to keep his mind off things, which was true. His feelings for Mary’s death were real, but he’d have been lying if he said he didn’t feel relief that his sham marriage was over. He wouldn’t have cared what other people thought about his budding romance with Stacey, except that it would make him look bad right now, and wouldn’t help his business with Jim or Stacey’s career. So, for now, they’d just have to keep things between them. Of course, he needed to talk more candidly with Jim. He owed him that. But not until this shit storm disappeared.

  Working, either on a blue print, or getting his hands dirty, had always been a way for him to relax and get outside himself. How many people were paid to do something they loved? He hadn’t known he had an aptitude for it until he met Jim. He remembered one time he had to hide in the house while Jim was there working, terrified Jim would find him. Doug had watched as Jim worked. Stacey had been playing next to her father, holding up his tool belt, handing him whatever he needed. Jim didn’t bring her to work often, but when he did, Doug often wished he could be there too, working side-by-side with him. A couple of times, Jim had left a hammer and some other tools behind. Doug found some scraps and made a birdhouse. He’d been very proud of that first birdhouse, but it disappeared one day. A few weeks after Jim brought Doug to live with him, he’d pulled out that old birdhouse and shown Doug exactly what he’d done right, instinctively. Jim never focused on the things that were wrong—just what was right—then asked Doug to see if he could draw another one out on paper.

  Doug made and sold thirty-five birdhouses before Christmas. Jim took that money as rent. Jim always made Doug feel like he was pulling his weight, and never treated him as if he were a child. Jim even confided in him as he grew older, about various business and personal things.