Blazing Summer (Darling Investigations Book 2)

by Denise Grover Swank

  Teddy launched toward him, but Luke appeared out of nowhere and jumped in front of him. “Don’t do it, Teddy. He’s goadin’ you, and it’s workin’.”

  Teddy still looked like he was about to rip Ryan Dixon limb from limb.

  “Get him out of here,” I said to Luke, sounding more in control than I felt.

  “Dixie!” Teddy called out as Luke dragged him out of the room. “We’ll get you out of this.”

  “I’m okay, Teddy!”

  I turned to Dixie. “Don’t you say a word to anyone, you hear me? I’ll get you the best damn lawyer in the state, and we’ll get you out of this, but keep your mouth shut. Got it?”

  She nodded, her eyes brimming with tears.

  I grabbed the back of her head and brought our foreheads together. “I’m here this time, Dixie,” I whispered, “and I’m not goin’ anywhere, got it?”

  She nodded, tears tracking down her face. “Got it.”

  “You need to leave, Ms. Butler,” the deputy said.

  “I love you, Summer,” Dixie said, starting to sob.

  “I love you too.” All I wanted to do was hold her close and tell her everything would be all right. But that wouldn’t make it true. I had to go out and make it right myself.

  I kissed her forehead and walked around the bed to leave. The satisfied gleam in Deputy Ryan’s eyes made me sick. “There’s a special place in hell for people like you, Deputy.”

  “What? For making the world a better place?”

  “Is that what you think you’re doin’?” I asked in contempt. “Once again, you’ve gotten it wrong. Maybe you should go to detective school and learn how to solve a case.”

  A derisive laugh bubbled in his chest. “Like you do on your TV show?”

  I jutted my head back with a smirk. “My track record’s beatin’ yours, so maybe you shouldn’t look so smug.”

  I headed for the door, where Luke was watching us with a dark look.

  “You shouldn’t have antagonized him like that,” he said, falling into step with me as I marched down the hall. “You could make it worse for Dixie.”

  Dammit. He was right, but it was too late to do anything about that now.

  “I found out that Dixie was unresponsive when Dixon found her, but the ambulance gave her Narcan, and she came around on the way to the hospital. They want to keep her overnight to keep an eye on her, so she’ll stay here until her arraignment tomorrow morning at nine.”

  “Where’s Teddy?”

  “I don’t know, but he took off, mutterin’ something about Rick Springfield.”

  I came to a full stop. “What?”

  “Is Teddy goin’ to see him?” Luke asked, sounding concerned.

  “I don’t know. Maybe.” Probably.

  “You have to call him off, Summer. Rick Springfield is nearly as crazy as Elijah Sterling.”

  “This town is overrun with lunatics.” I shook my head. “You’re right, but nothing I say will call Teddy back.” Even though I knew I’d stew until I heard from him. “Dammit.”

  I walked out to the parking lot as fast as I could, but sure enough, Teddy’s truck was already gone. “He left me.” But I was more worried about him facing Rick on his own than about finding a ride.

  Bill must have driven my car to the hospital, because my crew was sitting on the hood, and they jumped to their feet when they saw me come out. “How’s Dixie?” Bill asked.

  “Luke wouldn’t tell us anything,” Chuck said.

  “Dixie overdosed on heroin, but she’s awake and scared.” I scanned their shocked faces. “She didn’t do this to herself. Someone did this to her, and if you believe otherwise, pack up your stuff and go work for Connor.”

  All three looked solemn, but Tony said, “We all know she was kidnapped. The important thing is that she’s okay. We all want to find out who did this to her.”

  “Thanks,” I said, taking a moment to get myself together. “They’re arresting her for drug possession, but they found things in the trunk of her car that set her up for the murder and the fire. She doesn’t remember anything, but she did fill us in on some more information about the party. Did Teddy say anything before he took off?”

  “No,” Tony said. “We asked about Dixie, but he didn’t answer. Then we asked if he wanted a camera crew to come with him, and he said just said no and drove off.”

  “What do we do now?” Bill asked.

  I took a good look at them and realized they looked as exhausted as I felt. This had to be the longest day ever. “We’re done for the night. Go back to your hotel and get some sleep, but be at the office by eight so we can get going early.”

  “Where do you plan to start?” Tony asked.

  I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed. “I don’t know.”

  Luke wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I think Summer needs a good night’s sleep too. Y’all can start fresh tomorrow.”

  Bill shot Luke a glare. He obviously still held a grudge over Luke walking out earlier.

  “He’s right,” I said. “We’re exhausted, and I can’t think straight. Hopefully we’ll have some ideas in the morning.”

  “Okay.” Bill opened the car door and pulled out his laptop. “I didn’t want to leave your car, so the guys and I drove over here separately. I’ll get my things out of here and catch a ride with them.”

  I took the necklace and handed it to Tony. “Make sure this is charged. I have a feeling I’m gonna need it tomorrow.”

  He gave me a curt nod. “Consider it done.”

  I walked over to Luke’s truck with him. “Thanks for gettin’ us back to see Dixie.”

  He rested his hand on my shoulder. “She needed you. She needed to know she has your support.”

  I nodded, then lowered my voice. “She told us more about the party. Information that might help us figure out who really did it.” I heaved out a sigh. “I’m going home. I’m tired, and even if I came into contact with the real killer right now, I’d be too exhausted to ask the right questions. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He held on to my shoulder. “You’re not ditchin’ me yet. I’m comin’ home with you.”

  “Why?” I asked, feeling edgy all over again.

  “Because you’re gonna need help tellin’ your grandma.”

  Oh. Crap. How had I completely forgotten about breaking the news to Meemaw? She wasn’t going to take it well. This could be the straw that destroyed our family.

  Luke could read my emotional turmoil. “I’m gonna help you break it to her, so why don’t you ride with me? We’ll pick up your car tomorrow.”

  I started to say no, that I didn’t want to be stuck without a car, but then I remembered that I’d left the truck out at the farm. “Okay. It’s probably a good idea for me to ride with you. Then I can tell you everything I found out at Trent’s. It might help us break the news to Meemaw.” Although I knew how much it was bound to hurt Luke, he needed to know.

  By the time Luke parked in front of the farmhouse, I’d told him everything—about Trent’s confession (which put a pained grimace on his face), my encounter with Elijah, and what Dixie had told Teddy and me while he was checking with the hospital staff.

  He turned off the engine and turned to me. I braced myself for a lecture about Elijah, but he just looked worried. “Are you really okay after your encounter with Elijah? Are you sure you didn’t leave anything out?

  “I told you everything.”

  His gentleness fell away. “I need you to file another report.”

  I shook my head. “No. Elijah and I are at a stalemate. We both hold the power to destroy each other . . . which he wouldn’t have if I’d kept my temper.”

  “If you tell anyone I told you this, I’ll deny it to my dying breath, but I’m glad you pushed his precious baby into that pond.”

  That got a grin out of me, but it quickly faded as I turned to face the house. My stomach flip-flopped at the prospect of repeating all this to Meemaw, but something told me it wasn’t time just ye
t. Luke was still stewing over the big news about Dixie’s past. I needed to give him a moment to work through it.

  “What are you gonna do with Trent’s confession?”

  Anguish filled his eyes. “I sent her to jail, Summer.”

  “You didn’t know.”

  “I should have investigated more. Asked more questions . . . but I was young and had only been doin’ this for a year or so, and my boss agreed that it was clear-cut . . .”

  “Luke.”

  He stopped but wouldn’t look at me. “The thing is, if it happened to someone else now—the exact same way—I’m not so sure I would do anything different. All these years of experience, and I’d probably make the same mistake.”

  “It looked so obvious. I can see why you didn’t search more. It’s the whole don’t-look-for-a-zebra-when-it’s-likely-a-horse thing.”

  He picked at a flake of loose leather on his steering wheel. “Yeah.” But he didn’t sound convinced.

  “Dixie won’t blame you for what happened. And I don’t either. You did the best you could.”

  He shook his head. “Teddy must hate me even more.”

  “You’re human. You made a mistake.”

  “A mistake that ruined Dixie’s life.”

  “Not ruined. She’s okay.” But we both knew it had affected her in more ways than either of us probably realized. “When this is all said and done, I want to make this public,” I said. “I’m sick of hearing people make ugly comments to her.”

  He swallowed and then nodded. “Agreed. I’ll figure out a way to make it happen.”

  “You don’t have to think too hard,” I teased. “You can just tell Maybelline and let her post it on her Facebook page.”

  “Dixie deserves better than that. And I suspect the Dunbars have done some behind-the-scenes work to make sure it stays buried . . . case in point, Elijah Sterling.”

  “I can’t help but wonder if Roger Dunbar played some part in getting Elijah hired.”

  Luke made a face. “I’m pretty damn sure he did. I didn’t mention it to you before, but rumor has it Elijah spent a shit ton of money on his new truck. The Sweet Briar Police Department salary is barely enough to live on, so where did the money come from? What if Roger Dunbar paid him extra to help protect this son?”

  So we needed to prove Elijah had been paid off too. My to-do list just kept growing.

  Luke shook his head in self-disgust. “What’s done is done. I can’t take back the time she lost, but I can try to make it right.” He took a deep breath. “All right, it’s time for me to go in there and convince your grandmother that I fucked up ten years ago and that Dixie’s innocent now.”

  “If anyone can do it, you can. She loves you.”

  He opened his door. “We’ll see if she still loves me when we’re done.”

  Meemaw was watching TV when we walked in, and if she was surprised to see Luke, she didn’t let on.

  “Miss Viola,” Luke said, “I need to talk to you.”

  “Is this about Dixie?” she asked, her gaze still on the TV screen.

  Her disinterest hurt my heart. “So you heard?”

  “Irma works in housekeepin’ at the hospital and couldn’t wait to tell me,” she said in disgust.

  Luke walked over to the TV and held his hand over the “Power” button. “May I?”

  “Do whatever you gotta do, then turn it back on.”

  “How can you be like this?” I asked in dismay. “Dixie’s in trouble. Don’t you care?”

  Her gaze lifted to mine. “I cared a decade ago, until that girl stole half my family from me.”

  “And then you chased me off too,” I said, my anger rising. “You alienated me and Dixie and nearly ran Teddy off too, and all because of your stupid pride!”

  Fire filled her eyes as she got to her feet. “Don’t you be talkin’ to me about runnin’ off, Summer Lynn Baumgartner! You know a thing or two about that, don’t ya?”

  Tears filled my eyes, but I reminded myself this wasn’t about me. It was about Dixie. “Well, you wrote her off for absolutely nothin’!” I shouted. “Because she didn’t do it, and instead of bein’ there for her when she needed you the most, you abandoned her!” I broke into a sob.

  Her anger softened a bit, but she still looked irritated. “What are you talkin’ about?”

  “Summer.” Luke’s tone was gentle as he gripped my shoulders and bent at the knees to look me in the eye. “Why don’t you go get a drink of water and let me tell her, okay?”

  He was right. I was handling it all wrong. I nodded and headed to the kitchen, taking deep breaths in my attempt to calm down.

  Why had I attacked Meemaw like that? It hadn’t helped anything. Then the cold, hard truth hit me—I was angry with myself, and I was takin’ it out on her. I’d abandoned Dixie too, but it was easier to put all the blame on my grandmother.

  Oh, Dixie.

  Five minutes later, Luke walked in looking like he’d been through an emotional wringer.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “And Meemaw?”

  “She went to her room. She wants to be alone.”

  I nodded.

  “Feel like takin’ a walk?” he asked.

  “Sure.” After grabbing a flashlight on the kitchen table, I opened the back door and held it open.

  He glanced down at my feet. “You sure you don’t want to change shoes first?”

  I realized I was still wearing my new boots. “Nah. I think this makes me more of a Baumgartner.”

  He followed me outside and captured my hand in his. “For what it’s worth, there’s no question that you’re a Baumgartner, whether you’re wearing cowboy boots or not.”

  I gave him a tight smile. “Thanks.”

  We walked in silence for nearly five minutes before the surveyor’s house came into view.

  “Mind if I check it out?” he asked.

  I knew what he was doing. He was going over the events of that night, trying to see what he’d missed, even if any clues from the night would be long gone by now. I almost told him not to beat himself up over it, but then I realized how patronizing that would sound. I needed to let him work through his demons. He needed me to support him through it.

  “No. Of course not.” I handed him the flashlight.

  We continued in silence until he reached the house. He walked around the outside, shining the flashlight beam at the base of the house, then checked the area all around it.

  “Is it okay if I go inside?” he asked.

  I looked up at him and kissed him on the lips. “Of course.”

  I wasn’t surprised to find the front door unlocked. I flipped a light switch by the door, surprised that a lamp turned on, and equally surprised to find that the inside was in much better shape than the outside.

  It was a tiny house, built in the late 1800s and intended to house a single man. The kitchen was archaic, but there was a dorm-size fridge next to the potbellied stove. Someone had moved an older sofa inside, and there was a bed in a small room off to the side.

  “Someone’s been stayin’ out here,” I said to myself.

  “Dixie,” Luke said, peering into the bedroom. “She mentioned that she’s stayed out here from time to time after you left.”

  “When we were kids?”

  “No. Back in May.”

  That caught me by surprise, but I kept it to myself. I could see how staying in the house with Meemaw might be unbearable at times. In fact, while I wanted to live in close proximity to my cousins, I wondered if I should consider moving out. We were grown adults practically living on top of each other.

  “Maybe I should redo this place,” I said, opening a cabinet door. One hinge was unscrewed, and the door went catawampus. “Dixie and I can move out here together.”

  “Can you afford it?”

  “I have a little money left from last season, and I’ll get paid for this one.”

  “Maybe you’d rather put the money toward y
our own land.”

  “This is my land.” I stared out the window at the cotton fields, the white flowers filling me with a sense of contentment. “This is why I came back. This is what I was fighting for all those years.” I turned back to face him. “Plus, as stupid as it sounds, I want to be close to Teddy and Dixie.”

  “It’s not stupid, Summer. I get it. But what about your grandmother?”

  I shook my head. I didn’t want to think about her. It only added to my own guilt.

  “For what it’s worth, she’s not taking this well.”

  “She turned her back on her own granddaughter. When Dixie needed her the most.” I had too, but at least I was supporting her this time.

  “I’m not sayin’ what she did was right, but she lost her husband and her son. She was hurtin’ too.”

  “Still . . .”

  He pulled me into his arms. “You can’t judge her for bein’ the way she’s always been, Summer,” he said softly.

  I sighed. “You’re right. But I can hold a grudge for how much she’s hurt Dixie.”

  “You Baumgartners are famous for your grudges.”

  I grinned and looked up at him. “But some of us are more forgiving than the others.”

  “Thank God for that.”

  He kissed me. His lips were soft and tender, but then he became bolder, and something stirred inside me, a deep craving for more. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.

  He groaned, and his arm slipped around my back, pulling my body flush with his. His tongue parted my lips, coaxing mine into a passionate kiss.

  I slipped my hands up his shirt, letting my hands explore his back. His free hand landed on my waist and then slid upward, cupping my breast over my dress.

  I moaned and pressed myself into him, frustrated and needing more.

  His head lifted. “I want you, Summer, but I know you want to wait—”

  I cut him off with a kiss as I moved my hands down to his butt and pulled him even closer. “I don’t want to wait. I need you.”

  He stilled and searched my eyes. “I’m in no hurry. We have the whole rest of our lives to sleep together.”