Burning Bed

by Jen Talty

  However, Sandra had managed to get me a list of names from the party.

  I got a hold of a junior associate, Eddy Green. He had nothing to say. Nor did a copywriter named Finn Tor and of course, Moore, his daughter, or Lisa’s husband, Jeff Bellen, the Assistant District Attorney, wouldn’t speak to me.

  The day I after I spoke to both Finn and Eddy, someone broke into my home. I don’t know how they got in, but my desk had been ransacked. All the drawers open. Papers missing. Thankfully, my computer goes with me wherever I go, and I hadn’t left one piece of paper regarding Ashley or my thoughts on how she died.

  The cops did nothing. Officer Riley and Dani had been the ones who arrived about ten minutes after I called. They dusted for prints. But found no forced entry anywhere and asked if maybe an ex-girlfriend or someone with a key could have come in and did this out of spite.

  Yeah. Probably Moore, since I suspect he’s the one who made sure there were peanuts in Ashley’s food, but I didn’t say that, and he didn’t have a key, obviously.

  Though Ashley had one.

  I made more phone calls to the people on the list from the party, but no one would talk to me.

  A couple of weeks ago, I got a phone call from Kelly Rines, that’s Sandra’s roommate. She said she found something and would bring it to me. I met her at a diner, and she gave me a folder. Inside were copies of ledgers and billings that didn’t seem to add up. Ashley had made notes, showing all the discrepancies, but what jumped out at her had been a company named HCV Limited, a heating and cooling company owned by Rocco Tias, a known drug dealer, who had just recently been arrested and then two days later, his case tossed out on a technicality. I did a quick search, and he’s been arrested four times in the last two years, all tossed out.

  That seems odd.

  Then I got a message in my email. It came from JB0857@aol.com. I have no idea who that is and thus far, I haven’t been able to figure it out.

  Here is the email, for the record:

  I strongly urge you to back off your investigative piece into Ivan Moore. If you don’t, you’re putting yourself in grave danger. You’ll understand in due time.

  I have to say, that’s an oddly worded threat, however, it’s a threat nonetheless.

  In this folder, I have scanned all the documents.

  Tabitha, I wouldn’t take this to the local police. Or the District Attorney’s office. Take it to someone you trust. Someone who might have connections. And then walk away. Don’t look back.

  Love,

  Your pain in the ass little brother.

  “That’s a lot to take in,” Garret said.

  “And it doesn’t sound like its coming from a man addicted to heroin, does it?”

  He nodded. No arguing that point.

  Garret clicked on the scanned PDF with all the handwritten notes, then looked at the email.

  He lowered the top of the computer. “Do you know if he talked to anyone else about all this?”

  “No idea,” she said.

  “You said he was here two days before he died. What exactly did he tell you?”

  “He thought someone was following him. When I asked him why, he said he couldn’t tell me, but to watch my back and of course, that ominous statement about if something happened to him, it wouldn’t be an accident.”

  Garret pushed back his chair, took his wine, and moved across the room, knowing she might actually toss something at him for his next question. “Is it possible he was on something? Was he acting unusually paranoid?”

  “Not on something, but definitely paranoid,” she said behind gritted teeth. “He was freaked out.”

  “Then why didn’t he tell you about all this stuff?”

  “I’m thinking he wanted to protect me. Hell, two people are dead.”

  That didn’t make for murder, but he’d keep that thought to himself. “When he came over that day, did he have a bag? Did you see him go into your room?”

  She shook her head. “We sat outside. He was always looking over his shoulder, and every time he heard a car, he jumped. He didn’t go in the house.”

  Garret arched a brow. “Then how the hell did that,” he pointed to the computer, “get under your bed?”

  “My brother had a set of keys. He could have put it there anytime.”

  “Well, at least we changed the lock on the back door.” He glanced at his watch. “The hardware store is still open. I can run down and get a new lock for the front door tonight.”

  “You don’t have to do that, but does it mean you believe me?”

  “To be frank, I don’t know what I believe. Your brother has gotten some bad press and some of it is true. An autopsy doesn’t lie, and the evidence is pretty damning with the amount of drugs they found in his body and in his house.”

  Her eyes narrowed to tiny, little slits as she opened her mouth.

  He wasn’t about to let her ream him out again.

  “Let me finish. Even if all the stuff about your brother is true, it doesn’t change the documents he has that clearly point out some miscalculations with Moore’s business and the ties between the two dead girls. We’ll need to call someone to help us figure this out.”

  “Are you nuts? We call the cops, and we’re both probably dead.”

  He bit his tongue. Part of him knew there was something to the information, but it was above his pay grade, and he didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was. “A friend of mine that I grew up with, her husband is Delta Force and his connections reach far and wide. I’d like to call him and forward this information to him. He doesn’t have any skin in this game, he’ll be impartial, and dig where no one else can.”

  “Oh. I see.” She gulped her wine. “By all means. Thank you.”

  Closing the gap, he rested his hand on her shoulder. “I need you to promise me two things if I’m going to ask my buddies to help me poke into this.”

  “What’s that?”

  He held up his index finger. “First, you will stay out of it. No detective work on your part at all. If even a little bit of what you say is true, or what your brother thought happened to his friend, then you could be next.”

  She opened her mouth, but he pinched it closed with his fingers, leaning over. “And second, if something weird happens, or you think someone is watching you, anything, you call me straight away, day or night. Got it?” He dropped his hand to his side.

  “I can live with that.”

  “Good. Want to come with me to the store and pick out the kind of lock you want?”

  “Actually, I like the one you got for the back door, can you just pick up something like that?”

  “Sure, but make sure you lock the door. I’ll be back in a half hour.”

  He stepped outside and let his mind go over the documents he’d scanned on Steve’s computer. He had to admit, the paperwork looked fishy, but they were talking white-collar crimes. The addition of Rocco Tias, well that made murder less of a stretch.

  But the lead fire investigator for the fire at her brother’s house had been Wesley Armond, a former Fire Protection Specialist for the Air Force.

  No way would he compromise evidence.

  So, where did that leave Garret and his quest to help Tabitha find the answers she wanted?

  He let out a long breath. Talk about a lose-lose situation.

  Chapter 4

  Garret twisted the deadbolt, satisfied the front door would be secure. He handed Tabitha two keys. “Keep it locked, and don’t leave the spare key outside anywhere. That’s just asking for trouble.”

  She snagged them from his hand, smacking him so hard it stung. “I never have, and I wouldn’t start now.” Her feet scuffed as she crossed the foyer, making a loud clicking noise with her sandals.

  He followed her into the kitchen, watching her open a cabinet, tossing one of the keys in a bowl. She turned and leaned against the counter with her hands folded across her chest.

  “Are you mad at me?” His inability to understand w
omen and their moods had to be one of the biggest reasons he behaved like a moron around them.

  Not to mention why he didn’t have a girlfriend.

  However, he normally didn’t ask such questions, partly because he didn’t know why and partly because he wasn’t sure it was worth making an ass of himself.

  Everything was potential embarrassment when it came to Tabitha, and he wasn’t going to screw up a chance with her just because he couldn’t string together an intelligent conversation with a woman unless it had to do with firefighting, the Air Force, or trucks.

  “Ya think?” She cocked her head and smiled at him with a sarcastic grin. “What gave it away?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s the way you shuffled across the floor like a kid who just got scolded and now you’re being—”

  “I’d stop right there if I were you,” she said, running her fingers through her shiny, dark hair. The strands flopped back over her shoulders. “It would serve you better to take a step back, think about why I might be mad, and address that, instead of mocking me.”

  He positioned himself next to her, his hip rubbing gently against hers. “I don’t mean to mock, so I’m sorry about that. But you went from let’s have a drink to slamming cabinet doors like I insulted you…oh.” The lightbulb went off in his head. “You didn’t like me telling you not to leave a key outside.”

  “Bingo.”

  “I was just looking out for your safety. Honestly, it’s a hazard of the job. My mom gets pissed when I come home and immediately check all her fire detectors.” He glanced to the ceiling, looking at hers.

  “Want to test it?”

  He shook his head.

  She let out a long breath. “Have you heard anything?”

  “I’m waiting for my buddy, Fletch, to get back to me. I gave him the list of players and as I told you, he’s got friends in high places, and a few low places. If there is something to find, he and his buddies at Delta Force will find it. I also contacted Harper. I don’t know if you ever met Brodie, but she’s his wife. She’s an Air Force investigator. She’s got a million more resources than I do. Until we hear back from them, I think you should act as if you’ve accepted what happened to your brother—”

  “But I haven’t accepted it, and I won’t.”

  He pressed his finger over her warm, plump lips, resisting the urge to trace their outline then slip his tongue between them. He’d felt desire before. He’d seen a woman and wanted her so bad he’d trip over his tongue a dozen times trying to get her into his bedroom.

  But never had a woman had him seeing a future filled with a life of love and happiness. The more he got to know Tabitha, the more he knew deep down, she was the kind of person he wanted to be with.

  And that included her directness and sarcasm.

  “If someone tried to break into your house, and if someone did murder your brother, then it’s only going to make whoever is behind this come at you harder. If they think you have something on them, then you could end up like your brother.” He looped his arms behind her back and tugged her from the counter. With both hands gripping her waist, he stared intently into her captivating, but questioning eyes. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, and looking at what your brother has on his computer, it’s got me on high alert.”

  “Once again, I ask, do you believe me?”

  He blinked his eyes closed for a long moment while he took a deep, cleansing breath. “Without a doubt, I know it’s what you believe. I deal in facts and right now, the facts surrounding your brother’s death are pretty solid.” Before she could open her pretty, little mouth and spout off a dozen defenses, he swiped his lips across hers in a swift, but powerful kiss. “But what’s on your brother’s computer is disturbing and absolutely worth exploring. Only you need to leave the probing to me.”

  She cocked her head in that confident demeanor she always had, and he adored that about her. She went through her day as if there wasn’t anything she couldn’t tackle. It had been one of the first things he noticed about her the day they met at a neighborhood block party.

  “Probing?” she asked with a laugh. “Did you really just say that?”

  He really needed to learn to hear how things sounded in his head before he opened his mouth in front of a woman.

  “Look into?”

  “That’s less sexual, but honestly, I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.”

  “That I don’t doubt. Not for one single second. But I think in this case, it’s best to think as though we’re dealing with hardened criminals, and neither one of us are equipped to deal with them.”

  “But you’re in the Air Force. I’d say you’re equipped to deal with just about anything.” Her hands landed on his shoulders, rubbing gently, sending a message to the rest of his body that maybe he hadn’t crashed and burned.

  Yet.

  “I’m pretty good with a weapon, but the only missions I’ve ever been on have been related to fighting fires. Might be dangerous, but my weapon of choice is a hose filled with—”

  “Oh. My. God. Stop before I pee my pants.”

  “I was going to say water. You know, the substance that is used to put out things that are burning.”

  “My mind is still going to the down and dirty.” Her chest heaved with an intake of breath, pressing against his in a sensual act he had a hard time ignoring. He should discount any pretense of sexual aggression on her part.

  Or on his, for that matter.

  Things had taken an odd turn with them the day her brother died.

  And there was the grief that still had to swell in her heart. He’d seen it the day he’d gone to the wake and stood in that line, waiting to express his deepest condolences. She’d been distracted that day, which he had anticipated. He certainly didn’t expect her to spend any time with him. But she had cornered him with her questions and accusations, then demanded his help.

  “You’re just using it to avoid the subject. I know you want to push the cops—”

  “You don’t think that me talking to anyone who is willing to listen will get people in power to reopen the case?”

  “I know it won’t.” He curled his fingers together behind her back, pulling her closer. “It will put them on the defensive, and they will find every negative thing they can dig up on you, your brother, and anyone else you love, making it their mission to destroy you. It will become a shitstorm that will hurt you in ways you might not recover from. I fear you’ve already done some damage with how vocal you’ve been.” Her body molded against his as if he were the sand and she were the ocean waves, rolling in, taking little pieces of him, only to bring them back with another kiss.

  “You think I should just hush my mouth. Walk away with my tail between my legs. Let my brother’s death be in vain.”

  “You know that’s not what I’m saying. I’m trying to protect you and help you. Why are making this so difficult? I’m on your side.”

  “I want to believe you, but you know the fire investigator and you know some of the cops—”

  “If what you say is true, this happened long before the first responders showed up on the scene. That means that what they found and reported on were the facts as they saw them. It doesn’t mean something different didn’t happen.” He ran his hands up her arms and cupped her cheeks. “Look. I will be totally honest. I believe the reports I’ve read. The fire investigator. The police report. The autopsy. But I struggle with some of the things your brother mentioned, which makes me wonder. So, I will use the resources I have to help you find answers. But I need to know you’ll accept whatever we find. Good or bad.”

  “I can do that as long as I know your friends are looking into the matter without blinders on. That they are at least willing to consider that someone arranged my brother’s death to look like something it’s not.”

  “I can guarantee that they will do that. I just need you to trust me. Do you trust me?”

  She raised up on her tiptoes, her lips scant centimeter
s from his. “Can I trust you with my life?”

  Trust? Did she really trust Garret? Anyone?

  Thus far, most people she’d known in her life destroyed her faith in them like pressing the delete key on a keyboard.

  “My buddies and I will look at everything with an open mind. No pre-judgements based on what anyone is saying, but—”

  “I know. If you find that he really did die as the autopsy said, then I have to accept it. It won’t be easy, but as long as I know people are taking this seriously—”

  “I wouldn’t be here, nor would I have made the phone call if I didn’t genuinely understand where you’re coming from.” Garret held her tight, but his hands caressed her muscles with a tenderness that she hadn’t had in a long time.

  If ever.

  He had a way of making her feel desired. Wanted. Cared for.

  Even when he’d first given her an odd look when she’d gone to him with her thoughts about her brother’s death, he still seemed as though he cared.

  And who spends their day putting on new doors and locks when he should have been sleeping after a twenty-four-hour shift?

  Someone who either cares or wants to get into her pants.

  Or both.

  God, she really hoped it was both. Part of her might be using his body to help soothe the pain and shut out the images of what she thought her brother’s last moments had been. However, the rest of her really enjoyed Garret’s company. She loved that he took time to get to know her before even making a move and even then, he didn’t expect anything from her at the end of their date. Who does that anymore?

  “You did lock my front door, didn’t you?” she asked, swallowing the nerves that had fluttered from her stomach to her throat.

  He nodded, a smile spreading across his face, his fingers across her lower back.

  She’d always been more than comfortable in her own skin, and she’d never been shy a day in her life. Even though her confidence stumbled a few times with Garret, she wanted him more than she’d wanted anything in a long time. “I thought maybe we could take a bottle of wine upstairs,” she whispered. Her cheeks flushed, which was unusual for her when it came to men.