Instinctively, Linc moved to Brie’s elbow in defense of her. “Mr. Carter, I don’t think you have anything to get upset about.”
Carter glared at him. “I sell fuel oil, not hazardous chemicals. The fire marshal’s office ought to be more interested in the chemical companies up the river from me than my small company.” Out of frustration, he looked at Brie. “Don’t you think this is ridiculous? Every three months you drop in here unannounced?”
Brie held on to her patience. “We realize fuel oil is low on the hazardous material list, but we’d like to check out the trucks, just to make sure they aren’t leaking any oil, Mr. Carter. It won’t take long.”
Disgruntled, the owner turned to his office manager. “Earl, go with them. I’ve got too much work to do to play these silly games with the state.”
Earl, who was bald and fifty, nodded and quickly got to his feet. “Yes, sir, Mr. Carter!” He gave Brie a smile and hustled his rotund form around the counter. “Come with me, Brie. I’ll take you over to the garage where we keep the trucks.”
They crossed the hard-packed dirt yard and out of earshot of Earl, Linc asked, “Isn’t Carter a little rabid about us checking his trucks?”
Shrugging, Brie said, “No, because every company we visit gets upset. They’re afraid of the fines we might levy.” She gestured at the fenced-in area that contained several buildings and trucks. “He’s right. Fuel oil companies are low on our list of concerns, but Carter’s business is on our way to two chemical plants on the Ohio River.”
Linc smiled. “Luck of the draw, eh?”
“Yes. Carter’s got a clean record, but it doesn’t hurt to keep fuel oil companies on their toes. Sometimes a truck will have a leak, and they get lazy and won’t fix it. Oil on a road can create an auto accident.”
A huge German shepherd came trotting over, wagging his tail in a friendly fashion at Brie. She leaned down, murmuring words to the animal. Linc remained alert, looking around, mentally making notes that he’d later put into his own notebook of evidence.
* * *
Just as Brie and Linc were ready to leave the office of the second chemical company, at the close of the day, Brie’s beeper went off. She asked to use the phone, and the secretary nodded. Giving Linc a frustrated look, Brie muttered, “Beepers going off usually mean a major haz-mat incident.”
Linc nodded. “Calling the FM?”
“Yes.”
Brie heard the line connect and the chief answer. “Chief? It’s Brie. What’s up?”
Saxon’s voice came across worried. “Brie, is Linc Tanner with you?”
Confused, Brie said, “Yes, he’s here.” The unspoken why was left in the silence between them.
“Let me speak to him, please?”
She held out the phone to Linc. “Chief Saxon wants to talk to you,” she said, sliding out of the booth.
Linc’s scowl deepened, surprise flaring momentarily in his eyes. “Me?” Saxon always talked to Brie whenever a haz-mat spill was reported. “What’s going on?” he muttered, gripping the phone.
Linc’s grip tightened on the phone. Something was up. His gut knotted instinctively, and he glanced at Brie, who stood beside him with her arms crossed, eyes reflecting suspicion as to why the call was for him.
“Linc?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I want you to get over to Carol Holcomb’s residence right away. I just got a teletype message from your office in D.C. via the Canton police that her house has been torn apart. It appears that it was broken into while she was gone.”
Grimly, Linc listened. “I see. Burglary?”
“Not according to the Canton detectives. Nothing is missing. Carol Holcomb called in tears to report the break-in to the police department. The house is apparently a shambles. It appears as though three or four people were looking for something. Just thank God she and her daughter weren’t there when they broke in.”
Linc broke into a cold sweat, his eyes never leaving Brie’s face. His instincts were screaming danger so loudly. “When did this happen, sir?”
“Carol Holcomb left for the grocery store at four o’clock this afternoon and returned an hour and a half later. The police were called, and after a preliminary investigation, they sent a report to your office, as they had been instructed earlier when the ATF made their initial contact with them. I was then informed via the FM as to who you were. Your boss, Mr. Cramer, wants you to get over there and investigate. Talk to Mrs. Holcomb and see if you can find anything out. Then contact a Detective Brad Gent at Canton police. He’ll let you read their reports. When you’re done, contact Cramer and me. I want to know what the hell is happening. I’m not so sure Mrs. Holcomb’s residence being broken into is a fluke. I want Brie protected. Her house could be next. We just don’t know if this is an isolated incident or not.”
Linc’s jaw tightened. “Yes, sir. I’ll do what I can. Goodbye.” He hung up the phone, staring at it for several seconds before turning to face Brie and her questions. She couldn’t know who he was. Not yet…
“The chief wants us to get back to Canton,” Linc said, putting his hand on her arm and leading her out of the office. Outside, he said, “Carol Holcomb’s house has just been broken into.” The color drained from Brie’s face. For a fleeting second, he wondered if Brie knew something about it. He opened the door for her. She stared numbly at him.
“What do you mean, ‘broken into’? Are Carol and Susie all right?”
He nodded patiently, coaxing her into the seat. “They’re fine. Tighten up that seat belt,” he warned her.
The hour it took to get to Canton was reduced to forty minutes. Her fists were tightly clenched in her lap as she wondered how Carol really was. This was all they needed six months after John’s death. Her brow furrowed as she looked at Linc’s blunt features. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him why the chief had called and asked for him. Why discuss the break-in with Linc and not her? She was too upset to think clearly and pushed the questions aside for now.
Brie’s brows drew down as they approached the street she lived on. “Linc, what are you doing? I thought we were going over to Carol’s house.”
“We will. First I want to check something out.”
Confused, Brie stared at him. He had been silent all the way back. The way he had driven, like a professional race-car driver, he had to devote all his concentration to the task. Why was he going to her house? Brie became even more confused when he made the van move very slowly up the tree-shrouded drive. Impatient, she rubbed her brow.
Linc’s eyes narrowed as the house came into view at the end of the curve. There were no cars in the driveway other than Brie’s Toyota. Everything looked peaceful and quiet. He’d know in a few minutes if someone had broken into her house. Casting a glance out of the corner of his eye at Brie, he realized she was fuming. He stopped the van.
“What are you doing parking this far from my house, Linc? What’s going on? You’re acting odd.”
He took her impatience in stride, never allowing his gaze to leave the house. All the windows looked closed. The front door didn’t look jimmied or tampered with. Maybe if they were lucky, her house hadn’t been touched. “I want you to stay here, Brie,” he told her, opening his door.
“What? Linc—”
He snapped his head to the right, pinning her with his narrowed cobalt gaze. “Stay here,” he ordered in a low tone. “I don’t want you out of this car for any reason unless I say so. Understood?”
Brie blinked, stunned by the coldness emanating from him. Her lips parted in shock, and she nodded. “All right.”
A twist of a smile touched his mouth. “Just trust me.”
Trust him, Brie thought, sitting like a caged tiger in the idling van. Why was Linc acting so odd and distant? She watched as he approached the back door to her house. The way he walked, the way he carried himself was entirely different from what she’d seen. Brie sat there, feeling stunned, getting more and more upset by the minute. The way Linc
slowly opened the screen door and carefully unlocked the back entrance made her take whatever he was doing seriously. Her heartbeat picked up as he slid like a shadow through that slit and disappeared inside.
She fidgeted. Linc came out five minutes later, some of the harshness gone from his unreadable face. As he got into the van she couldn’t help snapping, “Look, I want to get over to Carol’s. I don’t know why you stopped here. Now if you’re done, can we go?”
Linc shot her a look and said nothing, turning the van around. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.” Brie’s home had been untouched.
* * *
Carol gave a cry when she saw Brie at the front door. Making her way through the litter of debris on the floor, Carol said, “Brie, thank God, you’re here!” and threw her arms around Brie.
Brie returned the embrace and felt shock go through her as she surveyed the living room. She was barely aware of Linc coming in after her.
“My God, Carol,” she stammered, releasing the blond woman, “what happened?”
Carol rubbed her reddened eyes, streaked with mascara, and made a helpless gesture. “You tell me. The police have been here for hours questioning me.” She sniffed. “Come on in, although I don’t know where you can sit.”
Brie’s heart contracted when she realized Carol was trying to make a joke of the situation. “This is awful,” she said, seeing the strain in Carol’s pale face. “What about Susie?”
“As soon as I saw this, I called her grandmother. She came over and picked Susie up. I just couldn’t let Susie see how badly the house is torn up.” And then Carol sobbed. “Oh, Brie, this is frightening! First John’s death and now this…this evil thing. What have I done to deserve all this?”
Linc remained in the background, watching Brie closely as she comforted Carol Holcomb. His instincts had taken over, and he moved through each room, cataloging all that he saw. Whoever had done the dirty work knew what they were doing. There wasn’t a drawer unopened and turned over to spill out its contents, a closet not empty of clothing, shoes or toys. Mattresses were yanked off beds, baring the box springs. Pillows had been slit open with a very sharp knife, the goose feathers sprinkled throughout the bedrooms. He stood in the master bedroom, surveying the professional search that had taken place. What were they looking for? Did Brie know about the break-in? Or Carol? He turned and went downstairs, his face grim.
Brie looked up from the couch where she sat with an arm around Carol’s shoulder. A thread of relief flickered through her. Linc looked so capable that she automatically felt safer in his presence. He came and knelt in front of Carol.
“Look, how about if we take you out and get you a cup of coffee or something, Mrs. Holcomb? Let’s get away from this place for a while. Afterward, we’ll bring you back, you gather up whatever you need for the next couple of days in the way of clothes and I’ll get this place back into order for you.”
Carol’s face sagged with relief and gratefulness. “I couldn’t let you do that, Mr. Tanner—”
“Call me Linc. And I think right now, after all you’ve gone through, you don’t need to try to get this house straightened up by yourself.”
Brie’s grip on Carol’s shoulder became firmer. “He’s right, Carol. We’ll call the chief and request tomorrow off. We can clean this up for you.” She wanted to cry because of Linc’s generosity.
Linc saw the sunlight in Brie’s wide eyes, and he managed a slight smile for her benefit. The house was a disaster area, and Brie looked so damn beautiful and untouched in it. A cold blade of terror crept up his spine. This could have happened to Brie’s house. Or was Brie a part of this?
“Come on, let’s get you that cup of coffee and we’ll discuss what can be done to help you,” he murmured, helping Carol stand.
* * *
Brie sat beside Linc in the restaurant booth, their legs brushing occasionally against each other. Linc had been right, the coffee was a good idea. Brie hadn’t realized how upset she was until she felt her fingers tremble when she picked up the spoon to stir the cream and sugar. Linc saw it, but said nothing.
Carol gave them a grateful look. “I think I will take your offer of help. But I can’t let you two do it by yourself.”
Linc nodded. “Are you sure it won’t be too upsetting?”
She shook her head. “Compared to John’s death, nothing could ever be that upsetting,” she murmured, “not even the house being ransacked.”
“Carol,” Linc began, “do you have any reason to suspect why someone might want to do this to you?”
“None. None at all. I just think it was a vicious gang of vandals. At least, that’s what the police are saying.”
They’re lying through their teeth, Linc thought. He kept his voice low and coaxing. “Did John have any enemies?”
Carol gave him a weary look. “The police asked me the same thing. John was a good man. Just ask Brie. He loved her like the sister he never had. John didn’t ever make enemies. He always made friends.”
“That’s true,” Brie volunteered, looking at Linc’s harshly set features. “I was always the hard nose collecting the enemies. He wasn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
Brie didn’t like the edge in Linc’s voice or his sudden interest in her statement. “Nothing, really,” she muttered. “No, what did you mean?”
Her nerves were frayed. “When I first started in hazmat, I was uncompromising with chemical companies who were breaking the law. Over the years, John taught me how to be less abrasive with the people we had to deal with, that’s all.”
“Any names pop into your head who might have a reason to get even?” Linc held his breath.
Brie shrugged. “A few, like Bach Industries. Like I said, John smoothed the situations over and got the same things accomplished as I did, only with less abrasion. The ones that were guilty were heavily fined by the state.”
Linc turned his attention to Carol, who was looking extremely fatigued. He looked at his watch. It was nearly eight o’clock. “How about if we get you some overnight clothes and you can drive to your mother’s house? Brie and I can start on the cleanup tonight, and you can join us tomorrow morning.”
Carol reached out, touching Linc’s hand. “I think it’s a great idea. Frankly, I’m so washed out by all this that I’m ready for some sleep.”
Brie’s face softened. “Come on,” she said, scooting out of the booth and rising, “let’s get going then.”
Chapter Six
It was almost one in the morning when Brie staggered into the cleaned-up living room and flopped down on the couch. The house was quiet except for Linc working upstairs. He had asked her to put down the names of those companies who bore a grudge against the haz-mat office. Brie wrote for a short while, then gazed around, exhaustion pulling at her. She buried her hands in her face and took a long, deep breath.
That was the way Linc discovered her when he walked silently to the entrance of the room. Brie looked broken, her shoulders hunched, face buried in her hands, elbows resting on her knees. Did she know something she was hiding, and was it eating at her? He had claimed the opportunity to go through each room in the Holcomb house, looking at everything closely. Thus far, he had found nothing that indicated John Holcomb had something to hide. What about Brie? Did she know something John knew, and was it their secret? Grimly, he walked up to her and knelt in front of her.
“Hey,” he called softly, pulling Brie’s hands from her face, “let’s go home. You’re whipped.”
Brie offered him a weary smile, strengthened by his attention and unexpected tenderness. He had been so hard, cold and efficient since returning to the Holcomb house, saying little, as if he were in a totally different world as he sifted through the debris. “You’re right. I am.”
“Come on, let’s lock this place up and call it a night.”
Brie pushed away from the couch. “I hope we have a quiet night.”
“So do I,” Linc said. If an emergency arose, their day off co
uld disappear.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to grab a shower when we get home,” Linc said.
“Fine. I’ll feed Homer, then go to bed.”
Linc managed a slight smile. “Sounds good.” Right now, his focus was elsewhere. He was staring at the sheet of paper Brie had written on. Later, he would take that list to the Canton police, use their computer facilities and tie into the ATF terminal.
It was nearly two o’clock when they arrived at Brie’s home. She was the last in the door and shut it behind her.
“I told you to keep that door locked, Brie. Anybody could just walk in here.”
Stung, she felt her cheeks flush with anger. Linc placed his canvas bag on the floor in the kitchen and walked over to her. He hadn’t meant to rip her head off as soon as he got in the door. He settled his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
Brie resisted, holding his stormy gaze. “Why are you upset, Linc? I don’t understand why you’re so jumpy. Ever since Carol’s house was vandalized—”
“It wasn’t vandalized,” he ground out, releasing her. It hurt that she resisted his apology, but what else could he expect? How would he react if she had walked in the door and jumped on him? He pushed his fingers through his hair, walking around the kitchen like a caged animal.
Brie crossed her arms, watching him. “What are you talking about?”
Linc halted at a chair and glanced at the table. A sharp ache centered in his chest. There was no way Brie was going to become a casualty in this case. He said, “First, John’s suspicious death. Now John’s house is torn apart. Why? What was he hiding?”
“Linc, John was hiding nothing!” Brie’s voice grew strained as she stared at his hard, implacable features. “I don’t know why you keep digging at me with that angle. He had nothing to hide! He was always aboveboard.”
“All right,” Linc continued in the same tone. “What about Jameson Chemical, Cordeman Transport or Bach Industries?”
She blinked. “Those are names from the list I gave you. They’ve all been fined by John and me. What about them?”
Come Gentle the Dawn Page 11
