Grayson

by Delores Fossen

  Claude shrugged as if the answer wasn’t important. He responded only after Grayson continued to stare at him. “Erratic behavior,” Claude finally supplied. The man couldn’t have sounded snootier if he’d tried. “I expect impeccable behavior from my employees, and Leon didn’t live up to that.”

  “How so?” Grayson pressed.

  Claude blew out an irritated breath. “If you must know, he used one of the family cars to run a personal errand. I questioned him, he lied about it and I dismissed him. End of story.”

  Grayson matched the irritated breath response. “No. It’s not the end of it. Because the day before you fired him, Leon and your son were photographed with a woman who was murdered.”

  “I can explain that,” Sebastian offered, still sounding very cooperative. “I went to the charity rodeo, and I ran into Leon and the woman. I believe they were lovers.”

  “Lovers?” Grayson again. “Leon was twice her age.”

  Claude flexed his eyebrows. “Then, maybe lover isn’t the right term. I think the woman was a pro. She was hitting up Leon for cash.”

  Since Nina did indeed have a record for prostitution, that could be true, but Eve wasn’t about to believe him. Sebastian almost certainly wouldn’t admit if he’d been the one who hired Nina for her services.

  “Tell me everything you remember about the meeting,” Grayson demanded, looking directly at Sebastian.

  Sebastian took a sip of his drink and gave another nonchalant lift of his shoulder. “As I said, I went to the charity rodeo so I could make a donation and ran into Leon. The woman was with him, and they seemed to be, well, cozy.”

  “In the picture they appeared to be angry,” Grayson fired back.

  “That came later.” Sebastian didn’t hesitate. “The woman’s attitude became less friendly when Leon refused to give her money.”

  Grayson stepped closer to Sebastian. “Did she say what the money was for?”

  Sebastian shook his head. “I didn’t listen to their conversation, Sheriff. The woman was obviously low-rent. Probably high on drugs. Once I realized that, I moved away and let them finish their discussion. I didn’t want to be seen in that kind of company.”

  “Did it seem as if Leon knew Nina before this meeting?” Nate asked.

  “I’m not sure.” Sebastian finished his drink in one gulp.

  “You should be talking to Leon’s friends about that,” Claude interrupted. “I won’t have my family’s good name dragged through the mud for the likes of Leon Ames.”

  Grayson gave him a flat look. “I don’t suppose you have the names of Leon’s friends?”

  Claude’s mouth twisted as if he’d tasted something bitter. “I do not make it a habit of delving into the personal lives of my employees.” He slapped his glass onto the table. “And that’s the end of this interview. Anything else goes through our family attorneys.”

  Sebastian gave an embarrassed smile. “I’ve already told you everything I know.”

  “Not quite.” Despite Claude’s rude dismissal, Grayson stayed put. “When’s the last time you saw Leon and the dead woman?”

  “Probably just a few minutes after Miss Warren here snapped the photo. I left, and I have no idea where they went.” Sebastian checked his watch. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for our guests. We’re having a small Christmas gathering here tonight.”

  “If you remember anything else about the encounter with Nina and Leon,” Grayson said to Sebastian, “I want you to call me.” He extracted a business card from his jacket pocket and dropped it on the glass end table. “I’ll also need you to go to SAPD and give a written statement.”

  Sebastian groaned softly. “Please tell me that can wait until after the holidays. Christmas is only three days away.”

  “And SAPD will be open all day,” Grayson fired back. “A woman is dead, and she deserves justice. I need that statement and anything else you can remember about Leon’s friends.”

  “Of course,” Sebastian finally agreed, but he was no longer so cordial. His mouth tightened.

  Both father and son turned to walk out, but they stopped when the sound of a woman’s high heels echoed through the room. They all turned in the direction of the sound, and Eve spotted a curvy blonde in a plunging liquid-silver dress, who was making her way toward them. She, too, had a drink in a crystal highball glass, and she was teetering on five-inch red heels that were the exact color of the Christmas ornaments.

  “Claude, you didn’t tell me that we had guests.” She clucked her tongue and smiled first at Grayson. Then, Nate. She didn’t even spare Eve a glance.

  “They’re not guests,” Claude snapped. “They’re cops. And they were just leaving.”

  “Leaving?” The woman gave a quick fake pout. “Well, let me introduce myself. I’m Annabel Collier, Claude’s wife.” Her cherry-lacquered smile went south when she glanced at Sebastian. “And I’m his stepmother.”

  Eve hadn’t studied the background info on Annabel, but she was betting that stepmother and son were close to the same age. Annabel was clearly a trophy wife.

  A drunk one.

  “The maid was about to show them out,” Claude reiterated, and just like that, the maid appeared in the doorway of the sitting room.

  “I can do that,” Annabel volunteered. She hooked her arm through Grayson’s, and Eve didn’t think it was her imagination that the woman pressed the side of her double Ds against Grayson’s chest.

  “Isn’t the estate beautiful this time of year?” Annabel babbled on. Some of her drink sloshed onto the floor and the toes of those red stilettos. “I love all the sparkles and the presents. Claude is very generous with presents, you know. I peeked, and all I can say is five carats, platinum setting.” She punctuated that with a drunken giggle.

  Behind them, Eve heard Claude mumble something, but both Sebastian and he stayed put as Annabel escorted Grayson to the door. Nate and Eve followed, and Eve wondered if she could trip the bimbo who was hanging all over Grayson. Since Grayson and she weren’t together, it didn’t make sense to be jealous, but Eve felt it anyway.

  Annabel threw open the door, and the cold December wind poured into the foyer and rustled the shimmering gold wreath. Despite her strapless dress she stepped onto the porch with them. She glanced over her shoulder, and when her gaze returned to them, she was a changed woman. No bimbo smile, and her sapphire-blue eyes were suddenly intense.

  Eve was too dumbfounded to do anything but watch, which was probably a good thing.

  Annabel plucked something from her cleavage and pressed it into Grayson’s hand, which she pretended to shake. “The Colliers have secrets,” she whispered, her bottom lip trembling. “Deadly ones.”

  Annabel giggled again, sliding right back into the persona of the drunken trophy wife. “Happy Holidays,” she told them as she stepped back inside. She gave Grayson one last pleading look, and then shut the door.

  “What was that all about?” Nate mumbled.

  But Grayson didn’t answer. He hurried off the porch and toward the car. So did Nate and Eve. He waited until they were outside the gates and away from the security cameras that dotted the fence.

  Then Grayson opened his hand so that Nate and Eve could see what Annabel had given him.

  Eve stared it and shook her head.

  What the heck was going on, and why had Annabel given them this?

  Chapter Eleven

  Grayson was several steps beyond exhaustion, but he kept his eyes on the road. It was nearly dark, and the temperature had dropped, and the last thing he needed was to wreck another car today.

  “Anything?” he asked Eve again.

  It was a question he’d asked her several times since they’d left San Antonio nearly a half hour earlier. Most of that time, Eve had been using the laptop that she’d picked up from her condo so she could view the pictures.

  Pictures on the tiny memory card that Annabel had given them.

  Grayson had already emailed a copy of the card�
�s contents to the crime lab in Austin, but he wanted to have a closer look for himself as to what Annabel had considered important enough to pass along to a sheriff who was investigating her husband and stepson.

  Eve shifted the laptop to a position so that Grayson could see. He glanced at the screen and saw the thumbnails of the photographs. There were dozens of them.

  “Annabel obviously likes to take pictures, but I think I finally have them sorted,” Eve mumbled. She tapped the ones in the first row. “These are shots taken in what appears to be Claude’s office. My guess is Annabel took them with a hidden camera mounted somewhere in the room because the angle never changes.”

  “Anything incriminating?” Grayson asked.

  “Hard to tell. Claude’s obviously having a discussion with this dark-haired woman, but there’s nothing sexual going on. I think they’re arguing.”

  Grayson agreed. Everything about their body language conveyed anger, not romance. “I need to find out who that woman is.” And the crime lab could maybe help with that.

  “Well, I think we can rule her out as a mistress. Claude seems to prefer women half his age, and this woman looks to be about fifty.” Eve enlarged the photos on the next row, and she made a sound of surprise.

  “What?” Grayson asked. He didn’t want to fully take his eyes off the road, but Eve’s reaction grabbed his attention.

  “There are a dozen or more shots taken in a hotel lobby. An expensive hotel, judging from the decor. And there’s Nina.” She pointed to the next series of pictures. “Nina’s not alone, either. Both Claude and Sebastian are there with her.”

  Eve met his gaze. “That means Sebastian lied about never having seen Nina.”

  Yeah. Annabel had been right about family secrets. Was this what she’d meant?

  “Is a lie enough to arrest Sebastian?” Eve asked.

  “No. With his money and connections, we need more. We need a motive.” Grayson turned off the highway and onto the ranch road that would take him home.

  She huffed and pushed her hair from her face. Eve was obviously exhausted, too. Even with the watery light from the laptop screen, he could see the dark circles beneath her eyes. He could also see how damn attractive she was, and he wondered if there was ever a time he wouldn’t look at her and think just that.

  “Maybe Sebastian and Nina were lovers?” Eve tossed out there. She was obviously unaware that he was sneaking glimpses of not just the photographs but of her. “Maybe Sebastian snapped when he found out his lover also had a romantic interest in his father?”

  Grayson shook his head. “That doesn’t look like a lover’s encounter. Even though it’s possible that one or both had sex with her, and Nina was trying to blackmail them. After all, Claude did say he wouldn’t have his family’s good name dragged through the mud. Maybe this was his way of making sure that didn’t happen.”

  And Claude could have hired Leon to kill a blackmailing Nina.

  But then why was Sebastian in the picture?

  Better yet, why had Annabel given him this incriminating evidence?

  Grayson wasn’t sure, but he intended to find out. He’d already requested a more detailed background check on Nina and all the Colliers, including Annabel.

  “There are some pictures taken at the charity rodeo,” Eve let him know. “Not mine. These are ones that An nabel or someone else shot. High angle, zoom lens. She was probably in the top seats of the stadium.”

  Maybe so that the men wouldn’t notice her, which meant that Annabel probably knew she was snapping pictures of something incriminating.

  “Did she photograph the encounter with Leon, Nina and Sebastian?” Grayson asked.

  He took the last turn to the ranch and could see the lights of the sprawling two-story house just ahead. Sometimes, he took home for granted. But not tonight. It was a welcome sight.

  “Not that I can readily see,” Eve answered, her attention still nailed to the computer screen. “I need to enlarge the photos and study them.”

  “Later.” The pictures were important, perhaps even critical, but he wanted to get her settled into the guestroom first. He’d already called the housekeeper, Bessie Watkins, to let her know they were on the way so that she could prepare the guestroom.

  Eve looked up as if surprised to see they were already at the ranch. “Wow,” she mumbled.

  That reaction was no doubt for the Christmas lights. There were hundreds of them lining the fence that led all the way to the main house. Even the shrubs had been decked with twinkling lights, and there were two fully decorated Christmas trees on each end of the porch.

  “Bessie did this,” Grayson explained. “For Nate’s daughter, Kimmie. It’s her first Christmas.”

  Grayson felt a tightness in his chest. Because it was a Christmas that his niece wouldn’t be able to spend with her mother. It made him even more determined to keep Eve safe. And he’d taken measures to make sure that happened.

  The ranch was huge, over three thousand acres, but it was equipped with a full security system that monitored all parts of the house and property. There were also at least a dozen ranch hands in quarters on the grounds.

  Then, there were his brothers.

  Mason and Dade were still at work in town, but soon they would return for the night. Nate, too, even though Kimmie and he lived in a separate wing of the ranch house. The youngest, Kade, was at his apartment in Austin where he worked for the FBI, but he could be at the ranch in an hour if necessary.

  Grayson hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.

  He stopped the car in the circular drive and looked around. It was pitch-dark now, but there were enough security and Christmas lights for him to see that no one was lurking around, ready to strike. Still, he didn’t want to dawdle. Grayson grabbed the suitcase that Eve had taken from her place in San Antonio. She latched onto the laptop, and they hurried up the flagstone porch steps.

  Other than the Christmas lights, there was no glitz here like at the Collier estate. The porch was painted white, and the rocking chairs weren’t just for show. They used them often.

  “You’re finally here,” Bessie said the moment she threw open the door. And despite the laptop between them, Bessie hugged Eve. “Girl, you are a sight for sore eyes.”

  “It’s great to see you too, Bessie,” Eve answered.

  “I got a room all made up for you.” Bessie caught on to Eve’s arm and led her across the foyer. Not marble, but Texas hardwood.

  The furnishings here and in the rest of the house leaned more toward a Western theme with pine tables and oil paintings of the various show horses and livestock they’d had over the years. One of Dade’s girlfriends had joked that it was cowboy chic.

  Eve glanced around and took a deep breath. She was probably thinking things hadn’t changed much since she’d last been here. Grayson’s thoughts went in a different direction. As always, she looked as if she belonged there.

  Under different circumstances, she would have.

  But it hadn’t been different circumstances since his father had walked out on his family twenty years ago. Since then Grayson hadn’t wanted a wife or a family. Of course, that hadn’t stopped him from having sex with Eve in the woods.

  Later, he’d have to figure out how to deal with that.

  Bessie directed Eve toward the stairs to the right of the entry. “I can run you a bath. And then you can have something to eat. I made chili and pecan pie, your favorites.”

  Eve looked back at Grayson as if she expected him to rescue her. “I need to go over these pictures,” she insisted.

  Grayson took the laptop from her, balancing it in his left hand since he had her suitcase in his right. “The pictures can wait a few minutes. Besides, I’m starving. Take your bath so we can eat.”

  That wasn’t exactly true. Eve and he had grabbed some fast food on the way out to the Collier estate, but Grayson knew he could get Eve’s cooperation if she thought the dinner and bath breaks were for him and not her.

  It worked. E
ve didn’t argue.

  While Bessie chattered away about the Christmas dinner plans, she led Eve into the bathroom of the guest suite. Grayson deposited Eve’s suitcase in the bedroom and went to his suite directly across the hall so he, too, could grab a quick shower.

  Grayson tossed his clothes and Stetson onto the bed and hurried because he wanted to get back to the pictures. He also needed to find out the status of the background checks on Annabel, Claude, Sebastian and Nina. However, he wasn’t nearly as quick as Eve because he had barely dried off and put on a pair of clean jeans when there was a knock at the door.

  “It’s me,” Eve said, but she didn’t wait. She threw open the door just as Grayson was zipping his jeans.

  “Oh, sorry,” she mumbled. Her hair was wet, no makeup, and she was wearing a dark green sweater top and pants. She wasn’t wearing shoes but rather a pair of socks.

  She fluttered her fingers behind her as if indicating that she was about to return to her room so he could finish dressing. But she stayed put with her gaze pinned to his bare chest and stomach.

  She pulled in her breath and held it for a second. “You have a scar,” she whispered.

  For a moment Grayson had thought that breathless reaction was for his half-naked body. It’s a good thing it wasn’t.

  And he was pretty sure he believed that.

  She walked toward him, slowly, leaned down and touched the six-inch scar that started at his chest and ended on his right side. “How did it happen?”

  “I broke up a fight at the cantina on the edge of town. Didn’t see the switchblade until it was too late.”

  Another deep breath. “You could have been killed.” Her voice was suddenly clogged with emotion.

  Yeah. But Grayson kept that to himself. He also caught her hand to move it off his stomach, but somehow their fingers ended up laced together.

  And neither of them pulled away.

  Their eyes met. She was so familiar to him, but those eyes always held a surprise or two. Sometimes they were a misty blue. Other times, the color of a spring Texas sky.

  Grayson cursed that last analogy.