Forbidden Secrets

by Morgan Kelley

  “What’s your opinion?” Hart asked.

  “The Easton family liked to play hard and live on the edge. There are stories of some orgies going on at the estate. The men in the family were notorious for having huge sex parties.”

  Hart choked on his coffee.

  Julian patted him on the back.

  “Sex orgies?”

  Silver laughed. “Son, do you know of any other kind? If you do, clue me in. I don’t think people have tea orgies, or cookie orgies.”

  Julian began laughing. “Don’t mind my associate here. He was a cop a few weeks ago. He’s green.”

  “Hey!” he objected.

  He was far from green.

  In fact, he was on the other side of the color spectrum. He was more red than green, simply because, at that moment, he was thinking about sex and Lennox at the same time.

  That was an issue.

  Silver dropped his boots onto the corner of the desk. “I totally get it. Anyway, about the Easton family—didn’t the grandmother die falling from a horse?” he asked, trying to reacquaint himself with the last few years.

  Julian nodded. “Yeah, she broke her neck.”

  “That’s pretty common, don’t you think? I remember the call. She was old, she fell, and the family found her half eaten the next day. Coyote, I believe.”

  “Yeah, that’s what we hear.”

  “That doesn’t exactly sound like foul play. Then you have the brother. If memory serves me right, I think he died driving like a fool. He liked fast cars and loose women. I wouldn’t be shocked if he just got sloppy and missed a turn.”

  Julian knew what the man was saying because on the surface, it looked like that. With Tori’s gift, they had confirmation something was going on there.

  He trusted his wife.

  “What about the father, Orwell. What do you know about him?” Hart asked.

  The sheriff sat back. “Well, that was eight years ago, and I wasn’t exactly familiar with the family back then, but I do believe I heard that he was nothing short of an asshole. He was a business barracuda. He was buying and selling anything he could get his hands on to make more money—as if they needed it.”

  Hart said nothing.

  It wasn’t easy.

  “There were people here in town that lost their homes due to some shadiness on the Eastons’ behalf. That made for some interesting grudges.”

  The more Hart heard about the family, the less he liked the sound of them. That made him think about Lennox and if she fell far from the bad tree.

  “Now, the mother…,” Julian said, setting the sheriff up to give him some information. Since the man was chatty, he wasn’t going to waste this resource.

  He liked to be thorough.

  “Yeah, she tumbled from a cliff. That had to suck,” Silver Byrd stated. “From what I hear, she slipped off the edge as she was walking. She was probably not paying attention. You know how it is. You get in the zone and before you know it…”

  “She used that trail all the time,” Hart offered.

  “Yeah, and when you become complacent, you don’t pay attention. I’ve seen people die in stupid ways, simply because they weren’t paying attention to the things going on around them. Just last month, we had a teenage girl walk in front of a car and die. Why? She was texting and walking.”

  He had a very valid point.

  Julian kept going, trying to get insight on all of the dead family members.

  “What about the uncle? Was he shot in a hunting accident a while back?”

  The sheriff laughed. “Yeah, he was, but I don’t think it was anything surprising. During hunting season last year, I had three people shot by other hunters. It happens.”

  Julian didn’t mention that the picture didn’t match up with the story. If the sheriff wasn’t smart enough to pick it up, he wasn’t going there—not until they found the person behind it. Teaching the man basic forensics wasn’t his job.

  Trying would be crossing a huge line.

  Apparently, being Native didn’t mean the man was good at his job. Julian smelled something foul going on around the family, and they were going to chase it.

  Sheriff’s assistance, or not.

  “I really don’t see why you’re working this,” he offered, “but I’ll help anyway I can. If you need a few deputies, all you have to do is ask, Mr. Littlemoon.”

  “Julian. I appreciate your help and forthcoming attitude. It’s refreshing. If you really want to help, there is something we need, and you’re the only person who can give it to us.”

  The man dropped his boots and sat forward. “What is it?” he asked.

  “I really could use a peek at the police reports. If you don’t mind, that is.”

  The man smiled. “I can do that.”

  “And the autopsies.”

  His smile vanished.

  “What? Too much too soon?” Julian asked. He knew he might be pushing his luck, but he had to try.

  “Well, that might be a little harder, Julian. The ME has control of those, and I don’t get copies unless we call it criminal. All five of those deaths were ruled accidental. I can ask him if he’ll share them, but I can’t force him. I shouldn’t even be giving you the police reports.”

  He was aware.

  The man was taking a huge risk. The media would crucify him if it got out, and a sheriff was only an elected official.

  “If you can ask, I’d appreciate it. We want to do this the right way and not sneaking around. I’ll be willing to keep you in the loop, and if there is something there when we solve it, you can take the credit. We like to stay on the down low, if you know what I mean.”

  The man smiled.

  “That would be really nice of you, Julian. I have an election coming up in two years. I can use a few solved cases under my belt.”

  He figured as much.

  “It’s the least I can do if you keep the reporters off my back.”

  “Yeah, I bet the media makes you insane. I hate dealing with them on a normal basis. I can’t imagine them following me around.”

  Yeah, Julian was aware.

  It sucked.

  “The reports?” Hart asked, getting the man to focus.

  “Sure thing,” Silver said, turning in his seat to print them out. He hit a couple buttons and waited for them. As he was sitting there, he was focused on the screen.

  Something was obviously off.

  The man’s face said it all.

  “Two things,” Silver stated.

  “What?”

  “Remember that you didn’t get these from me, and I can’t give you Mariah Easton’s report.”

  “Why not?” Julian asked.

  “We converted from file to electronic right after her death, and apparently, it’s MIA. Someone must not have scanned it. I can send a deputy to check for it, if you insist, but you know how lost paperwork is, Julian.”

  Yeah, he was well aware.

  He recalled when his department went electronic. They lost thirty percent of the files. It had been a huge pain in the ass to trek down to storage every time they needed something on an old case.

  “If you find it, great. I wouldn’t waste anyone’s time trying to locate it though. We’ll be okay without it.”

  The man smiled in relief.

  “Anything else?” Silver asked.

  “Just a thank you from one Native to another on the help you’re giving me.”

  The man tossed his braid over his shoulder so it fell down his back. “What’s a brother for?” he asked.

  They shook hands.

  “We’ll stop back in tomorrow or the next day about the autopsies.”

  “That will be great. I have a meeting with the ME in the morning. It’s our weekly coffee meeting. He tells me how he hates his job, and I tell him how I hate white man. You know how it is. The crosses we have to bear.”

  Hart lifted a brow.

  That was a little awkward.

  He never looked at Julian and thought
Native. He saw him and thought boss and family. Thank God they came here together. There was no doubt in Hart’s mind that he wouldn’t be leaving with the reports.

  Yeah, no freaking way.

  They headed out together. As they approached their SUV, there was a deputy leaning on it.

  “Uh, can we help you?” he asked.

  “Are you here about Lennox?” he asked.

  Julian lifted a brow. “Who wants to know?” he asked suspiciously. It was odd that the man was asking about their case, especially since he didn’t mention it outside the sheriff’s office.

  “I'm Lincoln Brooks. My friends call me Link.”

  Julian didn’t understand why the man was even introducing himself. “Okay, and?”

  “I went to school with Lennox. If she’s in trouble, I want to help.”

  Julian stared at him.

  So did Hart.

  “We dated for a while, and when we headed off to college, we went our separate ways. I know she’s freaked out about the deaths, and I want to be there for my friend.”

  Hart didn’t understand why that bothered him, but it did. It made him…jealous, and he didn’t understand why. She wasn’t someone he’d date anyway. He didn’t like rich bitches, so…

  Still, it bugged him.

  “I’ve seen you on the news, Mr. Littlemoon. I know what kind of cases you take.”

  “What kind is that?” he asked, expecting one more person to toss out the woo woo shit that was finding its way to his business.

  “You specialize in the serious ones. There is no way you’ll show up here and take her case if you believe it’s BS. I’ve tried telling Sheriff Byrd that there’s something there, but he isn’t buying it. Maybe when you get old, you lose that edge.”

  Julian stared at him.

  Sheriff Byrd wasn’t even forty.

  If anything, the deputy was thirty—the same age as Lennox.

  “If someone is hurting her, I want in. She’s so damn sweet and gentle. Lennox wouldn’t hurt anyone, and she certainly wouldn’t make this up.”

  Hart was intrigued. “Even with what everyone says about her family?”

  “She’s nothing like them. I swear she was adopted. The woman hasn’t a cruel bone in her body. I remember her brother. He was too good to go to school with the rest of us. He went private.”

  “Wait, are you telling me she went to public school?” Hart asked.

  “Yeah, she’d walk to the bus stop. I grew up close to where she lives. We’d ride the bus together.”

  Hart was confused.

  Apparently, she was an enigma. That was the worst thing for him. He knew he was helpless when he found a mystery. He would chase it down.

  Great.

  He was totally screwed.

  “There was never a more genuine person than Lennox. When we were in school, all the hot guys asked her out to go to prom, and she turned them all down.”

  Hart wasn’t shocked.

  “Instead, she went up to a lunch table where this kid was sitting. He was this total geek, and no one talked to him. She sat, had lunch with him, and then went to the prom with him.”

  Hart hated that she was a decent person.

  It was easier to dislike an asshole.

  “No one bothered him ever again. His parents didn’t have any money, and he was struggling. She took care of him. She paid for his college and made sure her father bought his parents a house. Lennox is a gem.”

  Shit!

  Shit!

  Shit!

  He loathed that she was genuine. Now Hart couldn’t be a dick toward her. It was so much easier believing she was a horrible person.

  Great.

  It looked like he was really going to be screwed.

  Julian watched his employee’s face. If he could laugh, he would. It looked like his book analogy was accurate. It appeared that Lennox wasn’t anything like her family.

  This book was a mystery, and one an ex-cop couldn’t help but want to investigate.

  This was going to be fun to watch.

  “If you want to help, maybe you can tell us if anyone had it in for the family. If they were killed, and we can prove it, we need a place to start. You knew her, so who would want to hurt the Easton’s the most?”

  He laughed.

  Where to begin?

  “Everyone would want to hurt the family, but not her. She’s the only Easton that people like. She has her art shows and with the money, she funds the local charities. Last month, she paid all the medical bills of some girl with cancer.”

  Hart closed his eyes.

  Of course she did.

  Why wasn’t he surprised?

  Somehow, with each piece of information they got, he felt worse and worse.

  “I go to the shows to keep an eye on her.”

  That had Julian’s attention.

  That was one hell of an odd statement to throw out there. It was incredibly suspicious.

  “You do realize that what you just told us sounds a little…stalkerish, right?”

  He was aware.

  Lincoln Brooks didn’t care.

  “This is how I know she’s right about what’s going on,” he began. “At a party, three months ago, she was coming down the stairs, and she fell. She broke her arm in two places.”

  “Okay, so she likely was wearing heels and tripped,” offered Julian. “You know how fancy dresses and heels trip a lady up. I’ve caught Tori a few times.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought until we reviewed the video of the party.”

  “There was a recording?”

  The man laughed. “Her art is pricy. The studio keeps it pretty secure.”

  This had Julian’s attention.

  “What was on the recording?”

  “There was a shadowy figure behind her. She said she felt hands shove her. When you watched her at the top of the stairs, she wasn’t moving. She wasn’t walking at the time she began falling. You could see her body moving out, as if something shoved her. Then with the way she came crashing down…that was enough for me to believe it. I’ve seen some bad things happen to her.”

  “Maybe we can get that video,” stated Julian.

  If they could, they’d have irrefutable proof. That might help keep his employee from scowling.

  The deputy shook his head. “Yeah, that won’t happen. I contacted them a week later, after I viewed it the first time, and the owner of the studio erased it.”

  That didn’t sound kosher.

  At all.

  “Hey! You might want to talk to him,” Lincoln offered. “He’s a good suspect.”

  “Why is that?” Hart asked.

  “The owner, Milo Perkins, has a past with Lennox. In fact, she’s complained about him a few times.”

  That was something new.

  Lennox hadn’t mentioned him.

  Julian almost wanted to point out that the man before them also had a past with her, and by his own admissions, he, too, could want to hurt her.

  Again, the information fount was flowing, so he kept it to himself.

  “What has she complained about?” Julian asked. At this point, anything could lead them to a suspect, and they needed to keep everyone on the list until they could narrow down.

  “The owner of the studio is the only one I’ve ever heard her complain about in her life. She really doesn’t like him. You can tell by the look she gets on her face when he’s around.”

  Hart was curious.

  “What do you mean by ‘look’?” he asked.

  Lincoln thought about it. “You know that look women get when they think they’re being sexually harassed or stalked? It’s that fear and wanting to escape.”

  “Yeah, I’ve seen it,” Hart stated, and he had. He’d seen a few victims who had that exact look.

  “She won’t tell me much, but apparently, he once put his hands on her, and not in a loving and gentle kind of way. I wanted to kick his ass, but she needs his art connections to make money for the local ch
arities.”

  Hart was outraged, but again, he didn’t understand why it bothered him.

  “What? He hit her?”

  Lincoln nodded. “I only know so much, but they dated. In fact, he followed her back here after college. He settled in town, and he does just about anything he can to get her attention. It’s unrequited, but he keeps trying.”

  Hart’s jaw ticked.

  All the muscles in his body went taut, as he pictured himself beating the hell out of the man just for being a douchebag. Men should never raise their hands to a woman. If any man ever hit his daughter, they wouldn’t find the remains.

  Ever.

  Julian could see the emotions playing across Hart’s face, and he wanted to laugh.

  Yeah, this was going to be interesting.

  For a man who didn’t like the woman, he was certainly reacting like one who did—and a lot.

  He knew.

  He’d been there.

  “This guy has a hard on over her, and he’s like a gnat buzzing around her. It’s irritating,” Lincoln stated.

  “Anyone else?” Julian asked.

  “That’s all I can think of for now. Anyway, am I in?” he asked.

  “We work alone.”

  Frankly, he didn’t trust the man. It was nothing personal, but when a person hunted you down to give you as much information as possible, or point you at someone else, it was rarely a good thing.

  In his experience, it was suspicious.

  For all he knew, this was the killer cozying up to them to get in on the information. Yeah, they had that happen before when they solved Bethany’s murder.

  Once bitten.

  Twice shy.

  “But I really want to…”

  He cut him off.

  “I have to speak to Lennox. If she says you’re in, then you’re in. Okay?”

  He didn’t look happy, but he didn’t argue either. Julian wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

  “Tell Lennox that if she needs anything, I’m here for her.”

  Yeah, when hell froze over.

  Now Hart was in a pissy mood.

  It wasn’t as if he wanted her—much—and now there was a horde of men trying to get her attention.

  Yeah, he wasn’t happy.

  At all.

  The woman had him tied up in knots, and he didn’t even know why. This whole thing was bugging the hell out of him.

  His head said run.