Fire Storm

by Marlow Kelly

  “Back then she was a very beautiful woman. Booley threatened to tell her husband if she didn’t sleep with him, too.”

  Bile rose in Dana’s throat. “That’s awful.”

  “The Andersons had been living separate lives for a while by then. He was a gambler, couldn’t be trusted with the grocery money. So Victoria told Booley to tell him. She loved Ben and didn’t care who knew.”

  Dana stood in front of Shelly and Xavier, her hands on her hips. “It sickens me to know that a police chief of Hopefalls was blackmailing someone in order to extort sexual favors from them.” She addressed Shelly. “How did you work for him for so long?”

  “I’ve been collecting information and sharing it with the council, but I never could find anything that would lead to criminal charges.”

  “What about the husband? Where is he now?” Dana asked.

  “He’s dead. They reckon he killed himself over his debts.”

  “When was this?

  “Ten years ago.”

  That dismissed him as a suspect. “Why didn’t Victoria and Ben ever marry?”

  “She never said, but I suspect they were both set in their ways.”

  Victoria hadn’t mentioned her relationship with Ben. Did she feel sorrow over his death? Did her affair give her a motive to murder him?

  And then there was Booley. The man was an abomination. She squared her shoulders. She didn’t care if Booley knew he was fired or not. She was the head of the Hopefalls Police Department, and he would be charged.

  “Shelly, we need to make finding Booley and Harris a priority. Can you ask the volunteer search and rescue to help us with this? Also, can you put out a call for volunteers to go door-to-door in Hopefalls? That’ll help us cover more ground.”

  Shelly walked to her desk. “On it.”

  Xavier stood. “What do you want me to do, boss?”

  “Has Mrs. Harris filled out a missing person’s report?”

  He shook his head. “No, the only reason we think he’s missing is because we can’t find him for town business. We haven’t heard a peep from her.”

  “Okay, I’ll follow up with her and then join the people searching door-to-door. I’ll also see if I can narrow down the last place and time they were seen. Once we have a timeline, we can go from there.”

  Dana picked up the keys to Xavier’s cruiser and shoved them into his hand. “Go home and get some sleep. You’re no good to me in this condition.”

  He gave her a weak smile. “On it, boss.”

  The minute the door closed behind him, the phone rang. Dana grabbed it. “Hopefalls Police.”

  “This is Joe Freeman.”

  She remembered the postmaster demanding Booley’s arrest on the night of the town meeting. “What can I do for you?”

  “I just saw Booley heading west on the Hopefalls Highway.”

  “Towards Wind Valley Ranch?”

  “Yep.”

  Butterflies erupted in her stomach when she pictured Tim, tall and sexy-as-hell. There was no way he would put up with any more intimidation from Booley. If he were forced to protect himself, he might end up on the wrong side of the law, and she couldn’t allow that.

  “Thanks. I’ll check it out.” She disconnected and then told Shelly about the call. “So now we’re only looking for the mayor. I’ll deal with Booley. I need my weapon and a set of cuffs.”

  “They’re in the chief’s desk along with your badge.”

  Dana opened the door to the small office and stopped. All the files and papers from Booley’s desk were sprawled over the floor. The laptop that normally sat on his desk was gone. “Shelly, has anyone been in here?”

  The older woman peeked over Dana’s shoulder “What the hell happened?”

  The drawers of the filing cabinet were wrenched open, file folders sticking out. The room had been searched, but by whom?

  Dana stuck out her arm, preventing Shelly from entering. “Was this door closed when you arrived this morning?”

  Shelly nodded.

  Dana grabbed a pair of latex gloves from her desk. “Call the state police. Tell them what’s happened. We need a forensic team to go over his office. I called them yesterday, so they probably have a detective on the way.”

  “Are you going in there?” Shelly asked as she grabbed the phone.

  “I have to get my badge and gun. Then I’m going to Wind Valley to stop Booley.” The idea that Booley was going to harass Tim further filled her with rage. There was no way she would allow this persecution to continue.

  She tugged open a drawer and found her badge, a set of cuffs, and her SIG Sauer. “First time’s a charm.”

  It was a reflection of the ex-chief’s state of mind that he hadn’t bothered to secure her handgun in the weapon’s locker. She closed the door behind her and headed out of the station.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Dana’s heart beat hard against her ribcage as she negotiated the long, bumpy trail that led to Tim’s house. She was nervous after yesterday. She’d had sex with Tim because she believed it would rid her of her core-deep lust, a kind of face-your-fears strategy. The pulsating need that reverberated through her body told her it hadn’t worked.

  The road curved. The white-capped mountains, the yellow fields, and the lush green forests came into view. They were jarring in their beauty. She remembered the photo of Tim on Jack’s wall. His childhood had been happy, probably idyllic, until Booley had ruined everything.

  Tim walked out onto the deck as she parked in front of the house. His hair was mussed from sleep. He yawned and scratched his flat stomach, an action that drew her eye to his shirtless torso. She almost moaned as she remembered running her hands over his hard muscles, her fingers exploring his bullet wound. There were other scars she hadn’t noticed yesterday. A knife wound to his right shoulder and another near his left hip.

  “I’m here in my official capacity,” she said as she climbed the porch steps.

  He blinked sleepily. “Are you here to arrest me?”

  She imagined him in bed. Her skin heated at the idea of cuffing him to the bedpost. She pushed the thought away. “No, Booley was seen heading out this way. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t causing any trouble.”

  The rat-a-tat-tat of gunshots punctuated the air.

  Dana’s hand automatically went to her weapon. Another round of shots rang out. She drew her SIG and followed the sound.

  “No, wait,” Tim called after her.

  She ignored him, racing to the left side of the house. With her SIG aimed, she marched toward a man with shoulder-length black hair. He wore earmuffs. His right hand held a firearm, aiming at a target, which was tied to a bale of hay.

  “What the hell?” Dana stared at this new person. She’d imagined Tim was up here alone. He wasn’t. She’d thought she’d gotten to know him in the last few days, but she’d been wrong. She didn’t know him at all. She was aware of the facts of his past, but that was all they were—facts. She wasn’t privy to the day-to-day details that made up his life.

  The dark-haired man put his Glock 19 on the table in front of him, which held six handguns, neatly lined up in a row, along with boxes of ammunition. Then the stranger turned and smiled at her, one hand holding onto a cane the other up in a show of surrender.

  Tim stood by her side. “I’d like you to meet Michael. He’s staying with me for a few days.”

  She stuffed her gun into her holster. She had reacted, with no hesitation, no doubt. She’d believed Tim was in trouble and she’d responded. She’d also reigned in her reaction when she’d realized there was no danger. And she didn’t feel shaken or traumatized. Come to think of it, she did feel more centered, as if she had found herself again. But why and how that change had occurred she couldn’t say. Maybe it had something to do with standing up to Booley. At the town hall, when she’d thrust her badge at Booley, she’d known exactly who she was and what she stood for.

  Michael distracted her when he tugged the earmuffs from his head
and placed them on the table. He held out his hand. “You must be Dana.”

  Tim’s brow furrowed. “How do you know her name?”

  “Finn told me.” Michael grinned, revealing a set of perfect, white teeth. He was an exotically handsome man with high cheekbones, a tanned complexion, and straight black hair.

  Tim rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. “I need coffee.”

  “Good idea. It should be brewed now.” Michael limped toward the house, using his cane for support.

  Dana slowed her stride to match his. “What happened to you?”

  “I was hit by a car.” Michael kept his gaze on the uneven ground in front of him.

  Dana grimaced but said nothing.

  Once they reached the house, Michael hobbled through the kitchen, making a beeline for the couch where he gently lowered himself into place. “The soft cushions are easier on my butt.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” Dana stood in the kitchen. The first floor of the house was one large room with the spaces divided by the furniture rather than walls. There was also a wide archway that marked the divide between the kitchen and living room. She’d expected the interior walls to be made of log, but they were plastered. The living area had been painted white. The color, along with the picture window that faced the valley, gave the room a bright, open feel. The same couldn’t be said for the kitchen. The cabinet doors were nicked and scarred with age. Wallpaper covered in citrus fruits was yellowed and peeling.

  Despite the disrepair, the room was neat and clean, a lot cleaner than her place.

  “Why don’t you join me in here,” Michael called. “Tim will bring us coffee.”

  She glanced back at Tim, mainly to see if he was okay with Michael’s order.

  He smiled and nodded. “You might as well get it over with. Just to warn you, there’ll be questions.”

  Dana made herself comfortable in an overstuffed, brown leather armchair with brass studs running down the front seams.

  “That’s Tim’s chair,” Michael said as he shifted in his seat to lean on his right side.

  Dana just smiled. If Tim had said that, she might have moved, but she had the feeling Michael was testing her. Why he would do such a thing was beyond her, but she always listened to her gut when dealing with people.

  “So, Finn tells me you’re a cop,” Michael began.

  “Yep.” She decided to keep to one-word answers.

  “And you’re investigating Tim.”

  “No.” That was the truth as far as it went, although, Tim was still a suspect.

  “Finn said you were smart.”

  Dana just shrugged. It was a statement that didn’t require an answer.

  “Are you going to answer me?”

  “I have.”

  Michael smiled. “Tim, your girlfriend won’t talk to me,” he called.

  Tim appeared in the archway. “You mean she won’t let you interrogate her.”

  Michael looked sheepish and then grinned at her. “You handled yourself well.”

  It was a game with no malice or spite intended. Michael might be hurt, but he still wanted to protect his friend. Tim had been dealt a lot of hurt by the Hopefalls Police Department, so she couldn’t blame him. “Actually, I’m here because I got a call that Booley was heading in this direction and I wanted to stop him before he caused any more trouble. Have you seen him?”

  Michael shook his head.

  Tim put a tray on the coffee table. It contained three mugs of steaming coffee, a jug of cream, and a plate of muffins. The muffins looked a little too healthy for her liking. They were small bits of carrot and some kind of green stuff in them. She took a sip of coffee. It was rich, aromatic, and exactly as coffee should taste, unlike her blend of tar with cream and sugar.

  “Good muffins.” Michael licked his fingers. “Try one.”

  Dana took a small bite. The muffin was moist, sweet, and delicious. “Umm, did you make these yourself?”

  Tim opened his mouth to speak, but Michael interrupted. “Yes, he’s a great cook. If fact, he’s the homemaker of our group. He makes a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. We always spend holidays at Tim’s.”

  “Who do you mean by we?” Dana had no idea Tim had friends, and a social life she knew nothing about.

  Michael opened his mouth, but it was Tim’s turn to interrupt. “You’ve met Finn, and David was at the police station with Marie. Then there’s David’s twin sister, Sinclair. She works for Child Seekers International, so she doesn’t get home much. I think that’s it.”

  “He’s forgetting me.” Michael gave a mock bow from his seated position.

  Dana laughed. “I think he’s ignoring you.”

  Michael shrugged. “My point is that Tim here”—he waved his arm at Tim, who rolled his eyes—“is an excellent cook, and he cleans up after himself. He’s perfect husband material.”

  Dana felt her cheeks burn.

  “Shit, Mike.” Tim shook his head.

  Michael’s demeanor changed. His gaze was hard and steady. “Don’t call me Mike.”

  Tim grinned. “You earned that one for embarrassing Dana.”

  Dana’s face grew hotter.

  The phone rang in the kitchen, saving her from further awkwardness. Tim answered it. “Dana, it’s for you.”

  Dana glanced at her cell phone as she walked to the kitchen. No signal.

  “We need to talk to you.” Even on the phone, Mrs. Anderson’s voice made her stand to attention.

  “I got a call that Booley was heading out to Wind Valley, so it’ll take me a while to get back.”

  “I know where you are. I called you.”

  Dana rolled her eyes. Dear God, could she get any more stupid? Thanks to Tim, no sleep, Booley running amok, a missing mayor, and a strange, injured Native American, she’d become completely distracted. She needed to tackle one thing at a time. First on her list—deal with Mrs. Anderson. “Is this an emergency?”

  “No, we would like to talk to you about your swearing-in ceremony and the mayor’s absence.”

  “I’m on my way.” She needed to make her position official if she was going to get stuff done.

  Tim was waiting by the door with a to-go mug as she hung up. He still wasn’t wearing a shirt.

  She placed a hand on his chest, giving into the urge to touch him. “Walk me to my car.”

  He held her hand as they stepped outside.

  She stopped and gazed into his hazel eyes. “About yesterday—”

  “I know you think it was a mistake, but it wasn’t. At least not for me.” A muscle in his jaw twitched. She got the impression he wanted to say more.

  “I just-just…” Just what? She’d enjoyed every minute of it, but what now?

  He stood, staring at her, waiting for her to gather her thoughts.

  Finally, she said, “I got carried away. Everything’s going so fast.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into his embrace. “Don’t worry, next time we make love, I’ll take it slow.” His lips brushed against hers.

  It wasn’t what she meant, and he knew it, but talking about it wasn’t going to change what had happened. She reached up, burying her hands in his hair and tugged him closer, deepening the kiss, exploring him with her tongue. Once again, she was hit by a jolt of passion so strong her knees almost gave way.

  It wasn’t just his mouth that caused desire to penetrate so deep she was almost drunk with it. It was the feel of his hot, hard body pressed against her. Her breasts tingled as she rubbed against him in a mimic of lovemaking.

  When she brushed his nipple with her fingers, he gasped into her mouth and thrust her up against the car. Breaking the kiss, he trailed kisses and licks down her throat.

  “I wish you didn’t have a house guest.” She arched her neck to give him better access.

  “He’s only here for a few days, then he’s moving on.” His hands stroked her butt, sending quivers of pleasure to the apex of her thighs.

  “Good.”
Dana placed her hand flat on his chest, forcing him back, his heart beating against her palm.

  He tilted his head to the side. “Actually, I thought your place might be better. It takes too long for you to drive out here.”

  “What about Logan?” She couldn’t have her son come home to find her in bed.

  “He goes to school, doesn’t he?”

  A warm hum tingled down her spine at the thought of Tim in her bed. “It would have to be on my lunch break.” That way Tim would be long gone before Logan got home.

  He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Everyone would know. There are no secrets in a small town. Would you be okay with that?”

  Unsure of her answer, she directed her gaze to the yellow fields. She wanted to continue to see him, wanted more sex, but as far as she knew, he was still a suspect in a homicide investigation. But she didn’t believe he’d killed Ben. If she thought for one minute he’d committed a crime, she never would have made love to him, but would the residents of Hopefalls feel that way? If she only had herself to consider, she wouldn’t have cared, but she had to think about Logan.

  He hooked her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I’ve already told Logan that our relationship won’t lead to marriage. My finances are a mess, and I don’t want you to take that on.”

  She poked his chest, shoving him back a step. “You talked to Logan about marriage?”

  His mouth fell open. “Yes, I thought it would be good to be honest—”

  “Did it occur to you that I might have some input?” How could they discuss something this important without her?

  “Logan and I were having a man to man—”

  “Who cares? I’m the one who has to put up with you, not him.” She was all but screaming now.

  Tim seemed genuinely surprised by her reaction. “I was just trying to—”

  “Trying to what? Undermine me. I’m an adult. You don’t get to choose for me, and neither does my son. I’ll decide who I marry, not you. And if our relationship…” She used air quotes for the word “relationship” because she had no idea what was happening with Tim, but they weren’t at that stage, yet, no matter what he said. “If it gets to the marrying stage, then I will determine whether or not to take on your debts. Got it?” She was a firm believer in the old saying—start as you mean to go on. If there were any important decisions to be made about her life, she would be the main contributor.