The Sweetheart Kiss

by Cheryl Ann Smith

  “Our psycho had a crush.” Jess set the journal on the dresser. The book further humanized their sniper and Jess wasn’t ready to see her as anything but a cold-blooded machine.

  By the time they finished tossing the room, they had the photo, journal, and several pictures of the room on their phones.

  “I wish we could find something to link her to the notes,” Jess said and puffed out a breath. “There isn’t a computer or printer anywhere.”

  “I’m going to search for bills,” Sam said. “Someone’s paying the utilities on this place.” A few minutes later, he called back to her that he’d found a bill, and that they should get going back to the airfield.

  Jess tucked the journal under her arm. She did one last critical glance around the room. “Who are you and what do you want with Irving and me?”

  With no further answers, she stepped out, closed the door, and braced herself for the return flight.

  * * *

  The airplane ride back to Michigan was a lot steadier than the initial trip. Chuck had left a plastic bag on the back seat for Jess, having learned his lesson. It didn’t look like she’d need it as long as he behaved. She was not as green as earlier. Sam smiled.

  Sam and Chuck talked quietly while Jess took a nap, her head on a pile of old men’s magazines. Chuck had always been a dope, but a really good guy. He’d washed out of the military from too much drinking, but had been sober for two years now. Sam had checked before ever allowing Chuck to fly them.

  “Where did you find her?” Chuck hooked a thumb towards the back seat. “I thought you preferred women with cup sizes bigger that their IQ’s.”

  Sam snorted. “No. That was you.” Before Chuck killed off most of his brain cells through too much partying in college, he’d been one hell of a first basemen. How he’d ever been accepted into naval flight school was still a puzzle. Yet, through it all, his friend hadn’t changed. He loved women. “You thought women with brains were too much trouble. They didn’t buy your bullshit.”

  Chuck chuckled. “That’s right. You liked the honors chicks. Is that where you found her? At some MENSA meeting?” He hooked his thumb again. Despite the whole boot thing, Chuck didn’t hold the incident against Jess. Not really. He’d had it coming.

  Sam looked back and his heart softened. Her dark lashes fanned out to cover her eyes and she breathed softly in her sleep. “She’s actually a PI. With Brash & Brazen, Inc.”

  Eyes widening, Chuck exclaimed, “Are you serious? She’s one of those hot PIs I’ve seen on TV? I didn’t get a good look at her while she was barfing on my boot.” He spun around when the plane dipped. “Cool. Are any of them single?”

  It was cool. Jess was something else.

  “Sorry. The other two are taken.” Jess was taken, too, at least for now.

  “Do they have a calendar or something?” The pilot was on a roll. “I’d love to see them in bikinis.”

  “No calendar.” Thankfully, Jess was sleeping. She’d been exhausted when they arrived and had passed out almost before they lifted off. If she knew Chuck wanted to see her T&A, she’d twist him into a pretzel.

  Smiling as a small snore escaped her, Sam knew she had great T&A. But foremost she saw herself as a smart and competent professional. He saw her that way, too.

  How far they’d come since the wedding. At this rate, he’d be in love with her before Labor Day.

  God help him.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Sam and Jess dropped the phone bill off to Summer to run down the owner of the cabin, and the two of them returned to the basement. They placed the journal and photo on the desk and took a moment to have a look at the female face under harsh white light. Pale freckles dotted her nose and cheeks. She was a brown haired Pippi Longstocking.

  “Okay, what do we know about her?” Jess said and scrunched up her face. “We know she likes hunting.”

  “And someone name Hughie.”

  “And camouflage.”

  “Don’t forget the grannie panties,” Sam said. “Those were hot.” She punched him lightly on the arm. “What? I already ordered you a case of them from Costco.”

  “You are hilarious.” Her lavender eyes were soft. She’d suffered no ill effects from their second flight. “I thought you preferred leather and lace.”

  His cock twitched. “I do like leather and lace.” He ran a hand down her arm. “I bet I can find you a leather bra and panty set on eBay. To go with the whip I ordered yesterday.”

  Her eyes took on a mischievous cast. “Only if I can buy you a set, too, He-Man. You’d look great in leather undies.”

  He made a face. “Not a chance, Tough Girl. My balls sweat in leather panties.”

  Bright laughter filled the space. “You are such a bad man.”

  Only with her.

  “I try to be.” He pulled her off her stool and settled her down to straddle him. He cupped her hips to keep her in place. She looped her hands around his neck. “There are so many bad things I’d like to teach you,” he said against her neck.

  “Like what?” She sighed when he nipped her jaw. Jess was so damned perfect. He was so damned hard.

  “Multiple orgasms for a start.”

  She weaved her fingertips through his hair and dropped her head back to give him better access to her neck. She liked having her neck nibbled. “I love multiple orgasms.”

  Sam lifted his head, disappointed. There were some things a guy wanted to be first at and that was a big one. “You’ve had them before?”

  Pulling his head to her, she placed small kisses on and around his mouth. She smelled so sweet.

  “No.” she pressed his breasts against his chest. “But I know I’d love them.”

  With a growl, he kissed her long and deep. He was losing his mind, and he didn’t try to fight the feeling. There was just something about her that he couldn’t explain, a force that drew him to her even when she pissed him off.

  Like earlier when she’d asked about his past. Still, it was impossible to stay angry for long. Not when his hands were on her ass and she was grinding against his erection.

  Her phone pinged. “Don’t answer that.”

  “It’s probably Summer.”

  He nipped his across her exposed collarbone. “Summer who?”

  Slowly, she disengaged. “We can’t do this here, anyway.” Jess slid off his lap. “This is a place of business.”

  “There has to be a closet somewhere.”

  “Behave.” After giving him one last long kiss, she reached for her phone and called upstairs. She turned on the speaker so Sam could hear. “Hey, what’s up?”

  Summer laughed. “You know I can see you, right?”

  Sam spun around on the stool. There were tiny camera’s mounted high in two corners of the room. “Shit.”

  “Don’t worry.” Summer said, her voice shaking with laughter. “I cut the feed. Irving won’t know you’re using his workshop for illicit purposes.”

  “Thanks girlfriend,” Jess said, fighting a grin, and staring wickedly at Sam. “I’d hate to have Irving see that. He might have heart failure.”

  Maybe Summer wasn’t so bad after all, Sam thought, despite having not hit it off on their earlier case. She did have Jess’s back. Loyalty was a good thing.

  He rubbed his chin and got back to business. “Summer, what did you find out?”

  “As you know, the cabin is family owned and probably built by the family way back in the forties or fifties. Albert Grimes is currently listed on the deed, but the taxes and bills are paid by his daughter, Prudence.”

  “She lives in St. Paul, correct?” Jess asked.

  “She does. She and her husband have five children, two boys and three girls, all between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five. She works for a local car dealership and he’s a college professor. If they use the cabin, it’s for recreation only.”

  Jess told her about the room. “Someone has used it recently. Tha
t bedroom was cleaner than the rest of the house.”

  Sam and Jess’s eyes met. “Tell us about the girls,” he said, eager to nail down the identity of the sniper. If she belonged to Prudence’s brood, it was a huge step forward.

  There was a pause while Summer clicked around. “Okay. The youngest two, Hailey and Kailey are twins and in high school. They both cheer. The oldest, Olive is twenty-five and dropped out of college two years ago. She was in the master’s program for Agricultural Sciences and getting good grades.”

  “Does it say why she dropped out?” Jess said.

  “There is nothing on her transcript,” Summer said. “The boys, Trent and Burt, are nineteen and twenty-one. They are in college in New York and Ohio. None of the family has a criminal record outside of some speeding tickets.”

  “It’s Olive, the writer of the journal.” Sam reached for the photo. It was hard to imagine the smiling and freckled face as that of a sniper. “It has to be. She’s the only girl who fits. The others are too young.”

  “Then we are back to why?” Jess rubbed her neck. “Why would a girl from Minnesota leave college and come all the way to Michigan to shoot at me and Irving?”

  “Maybe she saw him on TV talking about Brash and became fixated,” Summer said. “Weirder things have happened.”

  “But he was only featured locally,” Jess said. “And it was a late night telecast. It’s unlikely that stations in Minnesota carried the interview.”

  “It might be online. I’ll check.” Summer ended the call and went back to searching.

  Sam passed the photo to Jess. “Her obsession might be with you,” he said. “From a personal connection? Maybe you crossed paths during your cheerleader days?”

  “I guess it’s possible. She is close to my age.” She sighed. “Maybe she doesn’t like women in spandex.”

  “Or she may have tried out for the Mighty Muskrats and was rejected. It doesn’t take much for someone to become obsessed.”

  That was what worried Sam. Without understanding what motivated the sniper, it would be tough to know not only how to protect Jess, and Irving, but to try figure out her next move. “You could have cut her off in line at a coffee shop or failed to hold a door open for her at a football stadium. Anything could be the trigger.”

  Until they found Olive, there would be few answers.

  * * *

  Despite this new information, Jess’s PI instincts still couldn’t get past the theory that Irving was at the heart of this case. The letters had gone to him and he’d been targeted. She felt that she was collateral damage.

  “We’ll need to talk to Irving,” she said. “All these theories are fine, but I can’t shake the feeling that by focusing on me, we’re heading off on the wrong road.” She took the journal. “I think the real Olive is in here. I want to know her.”

  “Do you think Irving could have had an affair that produced either Prudence or Olive? Love and money are the driving forces behind most revenge plots.”

  “Nope.” Jess waved her hand. “Irving was fully devoted to his wife.”

  There was no hesitation there. All hope for happy relationships for the rest of humanity would vanish if she found out Irving cheated on Eileen. Jess had never met her, but the love in his eyes when he spoke of her was all the proof she needed of his loyalty.

  “Even a happy husband can be tempted,” Sam pressed.

  “Not Irving.” Subject closed.

  Sam frowned but let it go.

  “I’ll have Summer check for lawsuits against Irving’s pipe business and Brash,” Jess said and opened the journal. “If it’s financial, that should help.”

  “Good idea. I’ll have my guys run a check for disgruntled ex-employees and others. If Irving ever filed for a protection order or had someone forcibly removed from his property, we’ll look for a connection there.”

  * * *

  It turned out that Irving had settled some small lawsuits, mostly for minor job injuries and one for wrongful termination. The latter was dismissed because the man bragged to an off duty cop at a bar to having stolen several thousand dollars in tools from a job site. There was nothing recent or pending.

  After a food break, Jess refocused on the journal.

  The last entry was dated six months earlier. “Wouldn’t it be nice if she’s written out a game plan for murder or confessed in here? It looks more like her thoughts on her family and friend relationships. But I’ll read it through and see if anything stands out.”

  Summer called. “My contact just got back to me. Irving’s interview was only shown locally and isn’t online. Olive found you and Irving some other way.”

  “She could have an aversion to plaid,” Sam joked as if trying to lighten the tension. “Our next move should be talking to Irving to see if he knows this woman.”

  Jess moved to let Summer go, when her friend piped in,” One last thing. Olive’s grandfather, the owner of the cabin, has gone missing.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “You could have opened with that, Summer,” Jess snapped, heavy on the frustration. “What do you mean by ‘missing?”

  “Okay, Jess. First, I just found out that Albert was MIA about ten seconds ago,” Summer said, tense. “And I wanted to see what I could find before I sent you off to look for a man who might actually be living with his daughter and grandchildren.”

  Realizing how her tone sounded to her friend, Jess took a moment to gain control of her emotions. This case had her running in frustrated circles and she was about to snap. But Summer didn’t deserve to be a target.

  Contrite, Jess’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s just been stressful lately. I appreciate all that you do for me. You are the best analyst and friend ever.”

  Meaning every word, she waited. The last thing she wanted right now was to hurt anyone close to her. At a time like this, they needed to circle the wagons.

  There was not telling who their sniper would target next.

  “Hmmm.” Summer finally replied. “Here’s what I know.” Her tone thawed. “About a month ago, Albert went out on a family visit with Olive and wasn’t returned. The police talked to Prudence and she freaked out. Apparently, Olive didn’t tell anyone that she wanted to take him on an extended vacation. Prudence thinks her daughter will kill him off. He’s too old and frail for such nonsense, she said.”

  “Olive didn’t advise her mother about the trip or where they went?” Sam asked. He rubbed his face. “She had to have told someone. A girlfriend? Her therapist?”

  “According to the police report, Prudence said no.”

  Sniper, kidnapper, all around flake, Olive’s crimes were piling up.

  “Hold on. Let me check for updates.” Summer’s fingernails tapped the keyboard. “Nope. The case is still open.”

  “Can you find us a picture of Albert?” Jess asked and looked over at Sam. “I should have confiscated all the pictures at the house. I bet Albert’s in them.”

  He nodded. “Neither of us thought they’d be relevant. We were looking for a lone wolf woman sniper. Not an old man. We’re both at fault.”

  Summer interjected, “Let me see what I can do.”

  “Thanks Summer.”

  Sam waited for Jess to end the call. “How can an old man and a young woman vanish without a trace, leaving no electronic trail? She must have a phone or computer. I’ll call up to the police handling the case and see what they have.”

  Jess said nothing.

  “Are you home?” he said and nudged her knee.

  She blinked. “Sorry. If Albert is old and requires care, how easy can he be to hide? Olive is harassing me and Irving here in Ann Arbor, so Albert must be nearby.”

  “I’ll have a notice sent to the area nursing facilities.” Sam made the call and fed the person on the line the information. “Start there. Ah-huh. Yes. We’re working on getting a photo. Thanks, Emily.”

  They talked about other places one
could hide a septuagenarian around the city where they wouldn’t draw attention. Olive would want her grandfather close.

  “Knives are poking around behind my eyes.” Jess pressed two fingers to her temples. “I’m going to call my headaches ‘Olive’ because I get one every time I think about her.”

  Squeezing her hand, Sam hated to see her so stressed out. She worried about the danger they all were in. He’d do what he could to help ease some of it.

  “How about we sneak off to the closet where Summer can’t see us and I’ll give you a surefire remedy for an ‘Olive’.

  That killed the strain on her face. She smiled. “For a man I didn’t like at all a couple of weeks ago, you’re turning out to be a cure for many of my aliments.”

  He ran a hand up under her shirt and caressed the soft skin on her stomach. “Like what exactly?”

  One hand slid up the inside of his leg. “Sexual frustration for one,” she said and looked down at his zipper. Holding her other thumb and index finger about a half inch apart, she added, “I was this close to sleeping with Dodger, the Oompa Loompa.”

  “Should I be jealous?”

  Her head tipped to the side and her lavender eyes looked up at him. “Do you care enough to be?”

  That was an excellent question. Yes, the idea of that groomsman seeing her naked did tick him off. However, they didn’t have a commitment so she was free to see other people.

  But a guy named Dodger? He probably couldn’t find her G-spot with a map and compass.

  They were back to skimming the letters when to door to the room opened and Summer walked in, her heels clacking across the floor at a rapid clip. It was her wide eyes and troubled expression that kept their attention as she approached with a printout in her hand.

  “Summer, what is it?” Jess stood. Summer held out the printout and Jess took it. The page was a grainy old black and white photo with two men in button-up shirts, slacks and ties, their arms around each other and big smiles on their faces.