Body Heat

by Brenda Novak

  But Rod was right about the level of Gary’s motivation. Everything he had, everything he purported to be, was at stake.

  She chewed her lip as she waited to see what would happen next. “Any sign of the Escalade?”

  “Not since it came by the last time.”

  “How do you suggest we get out of here?”

  “Very carefully.” He got his flashlight and motioned for her to do the same. Then he pulled his handgun from his waistband.

  She stopped him before he could turn off the lights. “I have to make a copy of this before we go.”

  “What is it?”

  “A ledger of some kind. Maybe answers, evidence.”

  The fact that he didn’t press her for details told her how anxious he was. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not worth your life.”

  “It’ll just take a minute.”

  She thought he might argue with her, but he didn’t. While the copier whirred, he slipped out on his own. She thought she heard him heading to the back room. What he was doing there she had no idea. The area was mainly for storage, so he had no way of seeing outside.

  When she finished, she returned the ledger to the file drawer, turned off the lights and joined him with her own flashlight. He’d cracked open the back door and was waiting, listening.

  “I got it,” she whispered. “We’re good to go.”

  He held up a hand to stop her.

  “Don’t tell me my stepfather’s Escalade is in the lot.”

  “No.” Closing his eyes, he breathed in. “Don’t you smell it?”

  “Smell what?”

  “Cigarette smoke.”

  The minute he said it, she caught the scent, too. It was just a wisp but it was enough to bring back the memory of Rod finding that cigarette butt at the scene of Benita’s and José’s murder. Her knees went weak.

  Closing the door very softly, Rod took her by the arm and propelled her to the front.

  “What are we doing?” she asked.

  “We’re going out the main entrance.”

  “But that opens onto the street! And my stepfather has already driven by twice. What if he sees us?”

  “I’d rather face him than what might be waiting in the alley.”

  Because of that scent of cigarette smoke, Sophia agreed. What they’d learned, and what they might be perceived as knowing, put them in a very dangerous position, especially if all the partners were as involved as her stepfather seemed to be. According to the payoffs listed in that ledger, even Mayor Schilling was on the take. Apparently, the corruption in Bordertown extended much further than Leonard Taylor extorting sex from a Mexican national.

  When they reached the front window, Rod shielded her with his body, keeping her out of gunshot range. But she was a police officer, not some frightened civilian. Determined to pull her own weight, she slipped around him and moved to the other window.

  “Looks clear,” she said. “I say we go for it.”

  “I shouldn’t have let you come with me,” he muttered.

  “Stop it. We can get out. And—” she checked the street again, saw no one “—this is our chance.”

  He nodded and turned the bolt. “Ready? Remember. Stay behind me.”

  Sophia focused on the comforting weight of the gun strapped to her calf. She wanted to draw it, but there was still a chance they were merely spooked and overly cautious. She didn’t want to scare some random citizen she might bump into on the street. “Ready?” She began to go out first, but he grabbed her by the shirt. “I go first,” he said. “Once we’re out, cross the street immediately and head down the other side toward the Hummer.”

  “Got it.”

  “And if anything happens to me, whatever you do, keep running.”

  The vision of Stuart slumped over his steering wheel appeared in Sophia’s mind and suddenly she couldn’t make her feet move. Especially when her imagination created a slow-motion scene of Rod being shot in the street and crumpling to the pavement.

  He made a move to duck out, but this time she stopped him. When he turned to see why, she slipped her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely. She didn’t care what he thought, whether or not it revealed her true feelings. Stuart certainly hadn’t expected to die.

  “Don’t let anything happen to you,” she said. “Because I will stop. I won’t go on without you.”

  Tenderness softened his expression as he touched her cheek. “I shouldn’t have brought you,” he said again.

  “You didn’t have any choice,” she told him and, despite her earlier reluctance to brandish a weapon, drew her gun as she followed him outside.

  28

  They didn’t go down in a hail of bullets as Rod half expected. No one chased them, fired a single shot or yelled for them to stop. They didn’t even see Gary’s Escalade. They walked swiftly, keeping to the shadows of the store-fronts until they reached the Firelight’s parking lot. Then, just as Rod popped the Hummer’s locks and was coming around to the driver’s side, Bruce got out of a vehicle parked close by and approached him.

  Rod couldn’t tell if his father was drunk, but he was leery of this meeting all the same. Bruce had obviously been waiting. For him.

  “There you are,” he said.

  “What are you doing here?” Rod asked.

  “When I couldn’t find you inside I didn’t know where else to look, but I assumed you couldn’t be too far if your car was here. I was just about to give up.” His eyes flicked toward Sophia. “I thought maybe you’d gone home with someone else….”

  “What do you want?”

  “Can I have a word with you?”

  Conscious of the photocopies tucked under Sophia’s shirt and what they signified—she’d mentioned the mayor and a city council member, both of whom were receiving payments from Gary—Rod was tempted to refuse. They were onto something, and it was big. But Bruce’s daughter-in-law was a limited partner in the safe house they were investigating, which meant the Dunlaps could have more bad news coming. For whatever reason, Rod felt bad about that. And, as much as he disliked Edna, he wanted his father to know he hadn’t harmed Stuart or anything else Bruce loved. Under the circumstances, that was probably stupid, but there it was. Whatever connection he had to his father could not be destroyed, no matter how hard Rod tried. Perhaps because there were aspects of Bruce’s personality that he’d always secretly admired.

  “I didn’t shoot Stuart,” he said. “I know what Edna has to say. She and Patrick already told me to my face at the Rockin’ Rooster. But…it’s not true. None of it.”

  “I know. I—I’m not here about that. Well, I guess it is about that, but only because I’ve found something I think you should see.”

  This threw Rod. What could his father be talking about? Judging by his manner, this wasn’t an errand he relished. With his hands shoved in his pockets and his shoulders rounded in a sort of sick resignation, he looked miserable.

  “What is it?” Rod asked.

  Bruce glanced around them. “I don’t want to talk about it here, out in the open.” His gaze shifted to Sophia, who was sitting in the Hummer. Turning his back to her, he lowered his voice. “Right now I can only talk to someone I trust.”

  Rod never would’ve guessed his father trusted him. Didn’t Bruce believe what Edna believed? “And that’s me?”

  “That’s you. Regardless of the past, you’re my son. My blood. Will you be there for me when it really counts? I know I don’t have the right to ask, but…I need you. I need you to—” his voice cracked “—to help me get through this.”

  The pain Bruce felt showed in the lines of his face and the muscle that twitched in his cheek. Such evidence of suffering was to be expected from a man who’d just lost his son. But he seemed to be talking about something else. What more could there be? Had he discovered Carmelita’s involvement in the smuggling ring? Did he suspect Stuart had been a participant, as well?

  Or was this an attempt to exact retribution for an act Rod didn’t commit? I wo
n’t rest until I see him six feet under, like my boy…. That was what Edna had said at the Rockin’ Rooster. Had she convinced Bruce to try and undo the mistake he’d made thirty years ago?

  Rod knew she’d like nothing more. “What is it you want me to do?”

  “Will you come with me?”

  “Now?”

  “Please.”

  As much as Rod had always wanted his father to love him, even a fraction as much as his half brothers, Bruce had never been capable of it. Rod owed him nothing. Leaving with him wasn’t smart. But if Bruce was sincere, maybe some good could emerge from the tragedy of Stuart’s death. Maybe they could finally make peace with the past and establish at least a cordial relationship. That had to be better than continuing to grapple with the resentment he’d felt for most of his life, didn’t it?

  The problem was, in order to form a more positive bond, they had to put some trust and faith in each other. His father seemed ready to do that, had seemed ready for a while. But it wasn’t until now, until Stuart’s death had torn away the shield of bravado Rod had erected, that he’d become open to the idea.

  “Sure,” he said. “Just give me a second to talk to Sophia.”

  Rod watched Bruce walk back to his truck; then he opened the door of the Hummer and leaned in.

  “What’s going on?” In the cabin light Sophia’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

  “Will you be okay on your own for a while?” Since no one had accosted them as they were leaving the store, it was easy to believe he’d overreacted to seeing that pearl-colored Escalade. Maybe Gary and Anne had an argument and Gary had gone out for a drive to cool off. Or maybe that hadn’t been his Escalade at all. Thanks to the UDA killings and all the press they’d generated, there were more strangers in town than usual.

  “Of course,” she said. “Why? Where are you going?”

  “Bruce has something he wants to show me.”

  “What is it?”

  “He wouldn’t say. But I’ll call you as soon as I have some idea.”

  She nodded, then reached for his hand. “Be careful.”

  “You, too.” He gave her the keys and started toward Bruce’s truck but turned back at the last second, catching her as she got out of the Hummer to switch seats.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing really.” He was just hesitant to leave her. She was the chief of police, she had a gun and she’d managed on her own for all the years he’d been gone. But what they’d discovered at the feed store was dangerous, and with all the killings… “I was hoping you’d do me a favor.”

  She studied him for a second. “What kind of favor?”

  “Will you stay at the Boot and Spur until I get back?”

  “You mean the dude ranch west of town?”

  “That’s it. I rented a room there earlier, but no one except the manager knows it. I doubt anyone would look for you in such a remote location, especially since it’s closed for repairs.”

  “You think it’s too dangerous for me to go home?”

  “It could be dangerous to go anywhere you normally go.”

  He knew she had to agree. There was a risk. “What’s your room number?” she asked.

  He pulled the key from his back pocket. “Thirteen.”

  “All right. First I’m going to swing by Charlie Sumpter’s ranch. I’ll meet you there after, okay?”

  He didn’t want her anywhere besides the Boot and Spur, but with Charlie out of town, no one would expect her to go to his place, either. And if Charlie’s house was locked up, Rod was sure she wouldn’t stay long. Not at this time of night. “Okay,” he said, and rested his hands on her shoulders as he dropped a kiss onto her mouth.

  She blinked up at him as if the action surprised her, and he could understand why. It’d surprised him, too. He hadn’t planned on making his affection for her a matter of public record. That kiss had been spontaneous.

  But somehow he didn’t mind.

  “See you soon,” he said, and heard her start the engine as he walked away.

  “Where are you?” Gary wanted to know.

  “In the parking lot behind the feed store.” Leonard held his cell phone to his ear with his shoulder as he squashed his fifth cigarette into the dirt. Since he wasn’t used to smoking, the nicotine no longer had a positive effect. It wasn’t calming; it was sickening. But he was so angry he didn’t know what else to do. At least smoking kept his hands busy.

  “So…did you do it?”

  “No.”

  There was a drawn-out silence. “You can’t be serious.”

  Tilting his head back, Leonard let his breath seep out as he stared at the sky. “You are serious,” Gary said when he didn’t respond. “What happened?”

  Leonard massaged his temples to ease the headache that was beginning to pound behind his eyes. He was too obsessed with getting his old life back to slow down and sleep, and his body wasn’t happy with the situation. He couldn’t keep up this pace, couldn’t work all day in the hot sun and stay up all night following Sophia. But he’d been so sure it was almost over. “I waited, but they never came out.”

  “They’re still there, then! It’s not too late!”

  “No. They’re gone.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I checked. The place is locked up and empty.”

  The string of curses that came out of Gary’s mouth surprised Leonard. Gary wasn’t typically foulmouthed. But then, there’d never been so much at stake.

  “You said you’d take care of it! You said I could rely on you!”

  Straightening, Leonard began to pace. “It’s not my fault. They didn’t come out the back. Something must’ve tipped them off. That’s all I can imagine. Why else would they go out front onto the main street when there’s a nice quiet alley in back?”

  “This can’t be happening,” Gary muttered.

  “Rod’s a former Navy SEAL. I expected stealth.”

  Gary didn’t seem to hear him. “I’m dead. She’s got me this time. There’s no avoiding it. Do you know what’s in my office? Everything.” He seemed to grow more lucid. “But if I go down, you’re going down with me. I promise you that.”

  “It’s not over yet. Maybe—” Leonard pivoted and headed toward the backhoe he’d used as cover while waiting for Rod and Sophia to leave the building “—maybe they never even came here.”

  “They were there, all right. I called the company that monitors my alarm. They said the system was tripped at eleven-fourteen by my stepdaughter.”

  Leonard’s boots crunched on the gravel as he made another pass. “How do they know it was your stepdaughter?”

  “Because they called the store to verify whether it was a false alarm, and she answered. She identified herself as my stepdaughter and as the chief of police. That’s why they didn’t call me at home when it happened. Can you believe it?”

  “She’s got balls, that’s for sure.”

  “I tried to let you know, but you wouldn’t pick up your damn phone.”

  Leonard resented the accusation in his tone. “Because I had it turned off. I didn’t want it to ring when I was trying to sneak up on two people with a rifle, if you know what I mean.”

  “Keep your voice down!”

  There wasn’t a soul around, but Gary was right. He was overreacting. He had to reel in his emotions, figure out the best way out of this before everything went to hell. “Look, they might’ve found some evidence to back up their suspicions, but they won’t be able to use it against you.”

  “Why not?”

  “They didn’t get it with a warrant. They have a lot of work to do before they can act on what they found. That buys us some time.”

  “They can talk, make other people suspicious.”

  “They won’t talk because they won’t want to tip you off. Why give you the chance to prepare a defense before they’re ready to spring their trap?”

  “You never know what they’ll do. We have to stop them both right away.
Tonight.”

  Leonard agreed. They could still contain this thing if they acted quickly. But what should he do next? He’d bugged Sophia’s house, her office and her cruiser, but he hadn’t had access to Rod’s Hummer. And that was what they’d driven to the feed store. Sophia’s cruiser was still sitting in her driveway.

  “Maybe they’ve gone back to her place,” he said. “I’ll check and tell you what I find out.”

  “I’ll be at the store. I already drove by a couple of times, but if they were in my office they must’ve closed the door because I couldn’t see any light from the street and I didn’t dare get any closer.”

  “You’re not at home? What about Anne?”

  “I told her the alarm went off at the store, that it was probably vandals but I had to go check that it was secure.”

  Leonard was walking to his truck. “Fine. Wait at the store—do anything you want. I’ll call you when I’ve taken care of the problem.”

  “You’re sure you can take care of it?”

  Leonard wasn’t sure at all. Now that Sophia was with Rod, she wasn’t half as vulnerable, and her actions were much less predictable. It was a crapshoot. But they couldn’t be far. He had that going for him. Bordertown wasn’t big. “I got it.”

  “The quicker you handle it, the better.”

  “What happened to wrestling with your conscience?” Leonard asked dryly.

  “I just want it to be over. For good.”

  The pressure was getting to Gary. But this kind of thing was never over. Killing became a lifelong secret and wasn’t an easy one to keep.

  Too bad Sophia had boxed them into a corner.

  As Sophia drove away from the Firelight, she wasn’t thinking about murder. She was grinning like a silly schoolgirl with her first crush. That brief kiss of Rod’s had absolutely no sexual intent behind it, but that was precisely why it made her so happy. The slightly possessive way he’d gripped her shoulders and his concern for her safety made her believe he cared about her as much as she was beginning to care about him.

  Was she crazy to go with it? To take such a chance with her heart? She’d always managed to recover from past breakups. But she knew instinctively that greater heights meant harder falls. And there were more practical issues to consider. Even if Rod could somehow disassociate her with the pain of his past, there was no way they could stay together. He wouldn’t move to Bordertown. He hated it here. His life, his job, was in L.A. And she couldn’t leave Arizona, not as long as Rafe needed her.