Crossing Danger: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  Blake studied me with narrowed eyes. “Yes...for now. I got the thumb-drive from Harris. Maybe we can talk after I have a chance to look at it.”

  “Sure. I’d be happy to.”

  “Good. I’ll be in touch.”

  I exhaled as he turned away from me and leaned back against the car, shoving my hair away from my face.

  “Babe,” Ramos said, coming to my side. “You did great. Did Blake say something to upset you?”

  “Oh...a little, but I handled it.” I smiled at him, not about to tell him about the interrogation part, or the fact that I was helping Blake with the investigation into the attorney general’s office. Who knew what he might do?

  His right brow arched. He thought I was hiding something but let it go. “I’m going back to the office for Manetto’s car. Do you want to wait for me to get back, or would you like to go with me on the bike?”

  My heart surged with happiness. “Holy hell, yes!”

  Ramos chuckled. “Okay then. Let’s go.”

  I’d probably overdone it with the holy hell part, but I was so relieved that it just slipped out. Maybe it was starting to become a habit? That wasn’t good, but now that I knew, I could stop...only I kind of liked saying it. What was up with that?

  I grabbed my purse from the limo, making sure my stun flashlight and phone were inside, and hurried to the bike, slinging my purse over my shoulder.

  Ramos unclipped my helmet from the back of his bike and handed it to me. “I brought it just in case,” he said with a wink.

  My heart melted a little, and I put the helmet on to hide my blushing cheeks. He got on the bike and started her up, then I got on behind him. As I settled onto the seat and put my arms around Ramos, I figured that if being targeted by an assassin had a silver lining, this was it.

  The ride back to Thrasher took a little longer than it should have, mostly because Ramos left the freeway behind and took the side streets instead. He did it for my benefit, and I appreciated the time to unwind and enjoy myself. Plus, it didn’t hurt to have an excuse to put my arms around him.

  By the time we pulled into the parking garage, I was back to my old self and feeling good. I dismounted and pulled the helmet off my head. “Thanks Ramos.” I handed it to him. “That was awesome.”

  He took it from me with a smile, popping open the trunk to his car, and setting both helmets inside. “I guess I’d better get back, but I’ll walk you to your car.”

  I nodded, and we walked slowly to my car. “I’m glad that went okay. You were right that something could go wrong. Who would have thought he’d plant all those bugs?”

  “Yeah...it was a good thing you were there.” We stopped at my car, and our gazes met. His desire to hold me in his arms washed over me. My knees went weak, and my breath caught, but he held back at the last minute. A slow smile spread across his lips. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  I could only nod and watch him walk away. With a deep sigh, I turned around and got in my car. I didn’t remember driving home so, when I pulled into my garage, I was grateful I hadn’t run any red lights or caused an accident.

  The kitchen surrounded me with warmth. Being home, safe and sound, filled me with gratitude. It was nice not to worry about an assassin coming after me. Even if I’d only known about him for a few hours, it still took a toll.

  Laughter bubbled up from the basement, and I smiled. Josh and Savannah were actually having a good time together. Would wonders never cease? Then I realized how crazy that sounded and listened more closely. Nope...that wasn’t Savannah down there.

  “Hey!” I yelled. “I’m home!”

  The laughter immediately stopped, and Josh called, “Oh...hey mom. Uh...Chloe’s here. We’re just watching some TV.”

  “Where’s Savannah?” I asked.

  “She’s at Ashley’s house.”

  I heard some whispering, but I knew it was Chloe telling Josh they ought to go upstairs and talk to me for a minute. I thought that was a good idea, so I took my jacket off and hung it in the closet while they headed up the stairs.

  “Hey Chloe. How are you doing?” I asked. “Did you go back to school today?”

  “Yeah...but just for half of the day. I found out how far behind I was, but Josh said he’d help me catch up.” She glanced at him with a smile, and he turned a nice shade of red.

  “That’s nice,” I said. “Well, at least it’s Friday, so you have lots of time over the weekend.”

  “Yeah, really,” she agreed. She bit her bottom lip, trying to decide if she should ask me something about the dead cop she didn’t understand.

  “Is there something you wanted to ask me?” I prompted.

  She caught her breath and glanced up at me. “Yeah...actually there is. I was just wondering...did you ever find out how that cop knew I was staying at Aunt Holly’s house?” She’d worried that the police had let it slip, and she felt betrayed. Worse, she’d spent a lot of time wondering what might have happened to her if she had opened the door. Would he have killed her?

  “No. I can only guess that he overheard it. But I don’t think he was going to kill you. I think he was trying to work things out, and probably wanted to take you someplace where you’d be safe until he found a way to deal with the threat.”

  She nodded, liking the sound of that scenario lots better than the one she’d thought of. “Really? That’s good to know. Thanks for telling me.”

  “You bet,” I said.

  “We’re going to work on our homework now,” Josh broke in, thinking about studying in his room so he could show her his cool videogame posters.

  “Okay,” I said. “Why don’t you go in on the dining room table? There’s plenty of room there, and you can spread your work out.”

  “Sure,” Chloe agreed. “My backpack’s downstairs. I’ll go get it.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Josh said, thinking he could still show her his posters. Then he thought about his unmade bed and all of his soccer equipment scattered on the floor and changed his mind. “I want a soda from the fridge. Do you want one?”

  I smiled at his quick thinking and escaped to my room to take off my shoes. I was exhausted. My day had started at six-fifteen with Dimples’ phone call about Pete’s death, and so much had happened since then that it made my head spin. I wanted to lie down for a minute and regroup, but decided I’d better not with two hormonally-charged teenagers downstairs.

  I came back to find them busy working at the table and breathed a sigh of relief. Watching them with their heads together was going to take some getting used to. Josh and a girl? At fourteen? I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.

  An hour later, Chloe’s mom came to pick her up. While Chloe got her stuff together, I took the opportunity to ask Kira a few questions. “So how are you holding up after all this?”

  “I’m so relieved it’s over,” she said. “It made me realize how awful our relationship was. I want to fix it, and that means giving her more time with her dad. But that’s okay.”

  “Yeah...kids need both parents in their lives. Um...I was just wondering...did you tell anyone where Chloe was staying? It’s just been bothering me that the cop found out.”

  Guilt washed over her, but she shook her head. “No, it wasn’t me. Someone in the police department must have told him.”

  “Oh...yeah...of course. I’m sure that’s what happened.”

  “Come on Chloe, let’s go.” Chloe came to her mother’s side, worried about her mom’s defensive tone of voice.

  “Thanks for letting me come over,” she said. “Bye Josh.”

  I closed the door behind them, and a huge weight hit me in the chest. She’d only told one person, and that was her lover, Matt Swenson. If he was the leak, what did he have to do with this? I tried to remember everything I’d heard about him, but the only thing I came up with was that he and Scott were friends. I’d have to call Scott and find out what he knew.

  I could also check him out on the Internet, but Chris came home from work b
efore I could, and I was grateful for the excuse to put it off.

  After holding Chris in my arms a little longer than normal, he pulled away and glanced at me questioningly. “What’s going on?”

  “You won’t believe the day I’ve had,” I began, and I told him the whole story. I even told him the assassin part. I knew he wouldn’t like it but, in this case, it wasn’t right to keep it a secret, especially since everything turned out so well in the end. I couldn’t always say that.

  By the time I got done, he was sitting down at the table and shaking his head. “How do you do it?”

  “Do what?” I asked.

  “Get into so much trouble?”

  “Hey...I saved the day, don’t forget that part.”

  “I know...I know...it’s just a lot to take in.” He was wondering how this was all going to turn out.

  “Yeah, me too,” I agreed. “But I think with Blake on the case, he’ll help out a lot. I just need to look into Matt Swenson and see if he’s involved or if it was just a fluke.”

  “Uh...can you do it tomorrow?” he asked, checking his watch. It was almost seven-thirty. “I’m starving. What’s for dinner?” He was thinking he’d had a pretty big day himself. One of their high-profile clients was getting sued, and he had to go into the office tomorrow.

  “Hey...since you won’t be here tomorrow, how about we all go out to dinner tonight.” I hadn’t cooked anything, since going out to dinner was my plan all along, and he’d just given me the perfect excuse. “Go change, and I’ll get the kids.”

  Later that night, I snuggled beside Chris, but I couldn’t fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Pete’s bullet-riddled body in my mind, then it morphed into Tom’s blood-soaked body and then back to Pete’s. Had I missed something? The only thing I knew for sure...whoever had murdered them was a cold-blooded killer with plenty of secrets.

  I hoped that talking to Matt Swenson would help me put the pieces together, but there was a possibility that he had nothing to do with it. I also worried about what Blake would find on the thumb-drive. Especially since I was pretty sure one of the companies I’d seen receiving a regular payout was PLM Investments. He’d asked Uncle Joey about that before he got the thumb-drive. So what did he know? And how was Uncle Joey involved?

  With all that on my mind, it was no wonder I had nightmares.

  ***

  After seeing Chris off to work Saturday morning, I got Savannah up, and we attended our Saturday-morning Aikido class. We had so much fun throwing each other around that we stayed for two and a half hours. I knew I’d be stiff the next day, but practicing my new moves seemed like a good idea.

  Everyone at Aikido was happy to know Billie was going home from the hospital today. I picked up from one of them that it was too bad she couldn’t have used her mad Aikido skills against the intruders but, with a gun involved, a bullet was hard to fight. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that it was her own gun she got shot with.

  I spent the rest of the day doing laundry and all of the other housework I’d neglected during the week. The leaves were falling, and I enjoyed going outside in the crisp fall air and raking them up, especially once I got my kids to help.

  Later, I called Scott about Matt Swenson and found out he owned a realty company, but he also did some consulting work for an investment firm.

  “Oh, yeah? What’s the name of his realty company?” I asked.

  “It’s called Countrywide Homes. You’ve probably seen their signs. They’re all over the place.”

  My breath caught, and a chill went up my spine. That was the realty company on the billboard by the freeway where both Tom and Pete had been killed. It couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?

  “Uh...Shelby?” Scott asked. “You still there?”

  “Yes, sorry. I got distracted. Thanks so much for the info, I’ll chat with you later.”

  I disconnected and sat heavily on my couch. With this new information, Matt had just become my number-one suspect. But how was he tied to all this? I knew Billie was probably home from the hospital by now, so Dimples was with her and I hated to bother him, but this just couldn’t wait. I pushed his number and waited for him to pick up.

  “Hey Shelby,” he answered. “What’s up?”

  “A lot,” I said. “Do you remember Kira’s boyfriend? Matt Swenson?”

  “Yeah, sure. Why?”

  “I think he’s involved. He might even be Pete’s partner...and probably Tom’s killer too.” I explained that Kira had told Matt where Chloe was staying. “He probably told Pete, and that’s how he knew. And get this...he owns the realty company, Countrywide Homes.”

  There was silence on Dimple’s end before he spoke. “Okay...the leak I get, but what does Countrywide Homes have to do with anything.”

  “Oh, that...well,” I stammered. How could I be such an idiot? Of course he wouldn’t get that part since I hadn’t told him. “You might find this hard to believe, but I really do get premonitions once in a while...must have come with the knock on the head. Anyway, remember the billboard we were looking at under the freeway? It said Countrywide Homes on it...and I just had a feeling that the killer was tied to that sign. So...now that we know he’s the owner of Countrywide Homes, it makes sense. At least to me.”

  “Hmm...yeah. Okay,” he said.

  “So what should we do?”

  “Um...hang on.” I heard some rustling noises in the background followed by voices, then he came back on the phone. “Sorry about that. We just brought Billie home, and I’m helping her get settled. She says ‘hi’ by the way.”

  “Oh...right. Tell her ‘hi’ back.”

  “I will. Okay...obviously you need to talk to Matt. You can ask him some leading questions and then you’ll know exactly what he’s...

  “Stop!” I shouted, cutting him off. “Is Billie listening? I don’t want her to know my secret.”

  “Uh...right, sorry.”

  “Look. How about this? I’ll call Matt’s office first thing Monday morning and set up an appointment to chat. After I talk to him, I’ll call you, and we can decide what to do from there.”

  “All right, but maybe I should come with you,” he said.

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Having a detective snooping around might tip him off. I think I’d better go by myself.”

  “But will you be safe? I mean if he’s the killer...”

  “Hey...I’m not going to go in there and accuse him of murder. I’ll just ask a few questions. I’ll be fine.” I said that quite forcefully, so he’d know I wasn’t an idiot.

  “Uh...sure. Okay...good.”

  “If you think of anything before then, just let me know...and tell Billie I’m glad she’s home. Oh...and that everyone at Aikido was asking about her, and they’re glad she’s all right.”

  Dimples said he would, and we disconnected. Guilt swamped me that I may have been a little hard on him, but he was an easy-going guy; he’d get over it.

  I spent the rest of the weekend trying to figure out what to say to Matt without giving myself away. Chris helped calm me down, telling me I was good at getting people to talk, and not to worry so much. Then he reminded me that even if I found out Matt was the killer, we needed some kind of evidence or we were never going to prove it anyway.

  “You’re right,” I agreed. “But maybe he’ll think of something that will point to some hard evidence.”

  “Yeah...that could work,” Chris said. His brows furrowed with worry, and he gathered me in his arms. “Just promise me that you won’t say anything to provoke him or tip him off. Otherwise, I can’t go along with this.”

  He was remembering how I sometimes said things without thinking, and he didn’t want me in a bad situation. It killed him to think I’d be talking to a potential murderer anyway, but he also knew he couldn’t ask me not to do it.

  This was the part of my life that he both hated and admired. Hated because of all the close calls I’d had, and admired because I was helping peo
ple and solving cases that wouldn’t be solved otherwise. It put him in a hard spot.

  “Oh...Chris, I won’t. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m not going to give myself away. You don’t have to worry. Besides, Dimples will be in on everything. I won’t make a move or say anything that will get me in trouble.”

  “I know you mean that, but Shelby...” His intense gaze caught mine, and his hands tightly clutched my upper arms. “I don’t like how many times you cross over the line. I’m doing my best, and trying to be supportive, but it’s hard. Just... please don’t let this be the one time that ends up with you dead. Okay? Promise me?”

  I swallowed, sorry that I worried him so much. “Of course I promise...with all my heart. Don’t worry, Chris. It will turn out just fine. Besides, he might not even have anything to do with it.”

  He nodded, relieved by my assurances, but couldn’t stop the small wisp of fear he tried to ignore in the back of his mind.

  “You shouldn’t worry so much,” I said. “Now it’s making me worried.”

  “Hmm...well if that’s the case, I’ll have to see what I can do about putting it out of your mind.” His mischievous, but totally sexy grin spread across his face.

  “Oh yeah?” I raised my brow in challenge. “How do you plan on doing that?”

  He pulled me close and nibbled on my ear until my breath hitched, then deftly trailed kisses to that sensitive spot on my neck. Next, he rained kisses up to my chin, finally capturing my lips with soft, teasing caresses. My heart began to race, and my breath came in little moaning gasps.

  “How’s this working?” he asked, pulling away just enough to let me answer.

  “Pretty good, but I think I need a little more passion to take my mind off it entirely.”

  He chuckled, but instead of kissing me like I wanted, he started tickling me like a madman. I yelped with laughter until I thought I would die. Then his lips found mine. This time all my worries went right out the window.

  Chapter 14

  Monday morning dawned with gray overcast skies and a chill in the air. With intermittent rain forecast, gusts of wind pulled more leaves off the trees, sending them rustling into bushes and fences. At eight a.m. sharp, I called the realtor’s office to make an appointment with Matt Swenson, but the receptionist told me he wasn’t in.