She nodded, then ran her tongue over her dry lips. “I’ll meet you out front.”
Lily shut and locked the metal door, left the vase, and picked up Leo. “Did that awful person hurt you before? I heard you yelp. Are you okay, boy?”
Leo reached up and licked her face. She gave him a quick once over with her eyes and hands, and deciding that he seemed okay, put him down, stole the phone from her bag on her desk, and raced down the hallway glancing at her phone.
She called the chief directly. As she waited for him to pick up, she spotted the man who claimed to be Jake standing at the front entrance of her shop, his ID plastered against the glass. He waved her over. She held up her pointer finger, signaling she’d be right there.
The chief picked up on the second ring. “Lily. What’s wrong?”
“Someone broke into my shop. He got away.”
“What do you mean? Someone broke in while you were there?”
She told him about her early delivery and the alarm being off when she got there. “I guess I scared him away, but not before he knocked the wind out of me.”
“Are you hurt?”
Lily assured him she wasn’t. “None of my employees are here yet. It’ll be a couple of hours before they come.”
“I’ll be right there. Hold off on calling anyone. Let me determine the situation first.”
Jake rapped on the window, reminding her of his presence.
“Oh, and Chief, this guy turned up seconds after the intruder left. He claims to be the man who rented the bait and tackle shop next door. He’s standing outside my front door with his ID. I wouldn’t let him in.”
“That’s my girl. Always keep your antennas up. Let’s see, Jake Ward is thirty. Six-two. White, dark-brown hair, dark-brown eyes. Medium build. New York accent. This guy look like that?”
“Uh, yeah I guess so.” She would have added a few things like he’s sexy as hell with an incredible smile. Even through the fog, she could see that he was drop dead gorgeous. She had a feeling he was the kind of guy who could make a girl forget all her problems.
As she played with the simple diamond stud earring in one ear, she clasped the phone to the other. Lily swallowed, glad the chief couldn’t see her through the phone. A heated flush crept up her neck and she didn’t need a mirror to tell her that her pale skin developed blotches.
“Go to the window and check his ID while I’m on the phone,” the chief said.
Lily did, hoping Jake wouldn’t notice her blush.
Jake held up his New Jersey license. The picture matched the face of the man before her. “It seems to be legit,” she admitted to the chief, and for the first time, she noticed that Leo had stopped barking.
“Look outside in front of his place. See a black pickup truck? Kind of beat up?”
She went to the other window and stretched her neck. A faded, rusty, and dented truck shipwrecked itself against the curb. Must have been the car door she had heard slam earlier. She nodded, then realizing the chief couldn’t see her, added an affirmative.
“Let him in and put him on the phone.”
His command struck her as odd, but she trusted the chief like a father, so again, she did as he asked. Jake rushed in and she pushed the phone at him. “The chief wants to talk to you.”
Jake took the phone. “Chief?” Then after a few grunts and “yes sirs,” he handed the mobile back to Lily. “He’s on his way.”
Jake started to walk toward the back of the store.
“Where are you going?”
“Chief wants me to stake out the place, make sure it’s clear. Stay here.”
“Wait a minute! You can’t go back there!”
Jake didn’t wait and headed toward the rear of the shop where she stocked her dresses.
Lily followed on his heels, but then heard the distinct sounds of a truck’s brakes stop in front of her shop. “Hold up! My delivery just arrived. Jake!”
He stopped and turned back. “Right. Chief said something about a shipment. Can you put the boxes in your van? That way they won’t become part of the investigation.”
Jake turned around and didn’t give her a chance to respond.
“What do you mean, part of the investigation?” she said to his back, but he continued on as if he couldn’t hear her. Lily shook her head in exasperation and blew out a long breath.
The delivery guy waited at the door, grinning and holding up his clipboard. Leo woofed at him. She recognized him from past deliveries and signaled for him to come in.
“Hi, I have some large boxes for you Miss Becker. Can you sign here?” Again he gave her a friendly nod, but under the circumstances, no matter how hard his effort, his pleasantries had no effect on her. Leo, on the other hand, sniffed at his legs, and approving of his presence, sat down next to Lily.
She nodded and signed on the computerized LCD screen. “Thanks, Alvin.”
“Where you want them?” he asked, again in a cheerful voice, which seemed particularly out of place after what had just happened.
After Jake’s comment, the best place would be her vehicle. Maybe after the chief finished looking around her shop, he could help her bring them back in. “Um, how about my van?” She pointed outside. “On the side street. Let me get my keys.”
“Sure thing. I’ll drive around.”
She raced down to her office, Leo at her heels, and Jake nowhere in sight. She groaned in irritation but fetched her keys and met Alvin. He went to his truck, lifted a box with both hands, and heaved it into her van. “Everything okay?” he asked as he strode past her to retrieve the other one.
She had Leo in her arms and rubbed the top of his head. No, someone broke in and scared me half to death, but other than that, I’m great. “Of course, why?”
“You’re unusually quiet, and well, you look like you saw a ghost or something.” He chuckled. “Maybe I have that same expression. I couldn’t see a dang thing with the fog that rolled in here this morning. I almost hit a reporter getting out of a news van.”
She offered him a weak smile. He was trying to be nice to her. “Now that would have been some interesting news. I guess the possibility of a storm brought them all back out of their studios.” A shiver ran up her spine. “The fog creeps me out sometimes.” She couldn’t possibly tell him the truth.
He lined the second box up next to the other one. “Don’t you worry, Miss Becker. Fog’s rolling out and it’s going to be a beautiful day. You’ll see. We lucked out that the last storm wasn’t too bad. How’s Chrissy? Is she here?”
Lily furrowed her brows at his familiarity with her sister’s name. “Uh, no.”
His cheerful smile slackened. “Oh. Tell her I said hello, would you? Have a great day!”
As he rode away in his truck, she locked up the van. Back in the shop, she called out, “Jake, where are you? Let’s wait for the chief!”
She made her way down the hall, peeking into the two dressing rooms, the simple staff kitchen and bathroom. No Jake. When she reached the inventory room, she flicked on those lights. If he was in there, how did he see his way in the dark? Lily pushed through the racks of bridal gowns.
The room was deceivingly vast, but she could hear Jake talking to someone. She followed the voice. “Who are you talking to?”
“Lily, don’t come back here. Stay where you are.”
She stopped short and gasped. “You’re bleeding!” Lily pointed, avoiding looking directly at the red stuff oozing from his forehead.
“I smacked into a metal rack. It’s nothing, don’t worry.”
She was worried. About her inventory. And about fainting, a weakness she had had ever since childhood. Couldn’t look at the tiniest bit of blood before her vagus nerve would betray her. “Don’t get blood on my dresses!”
She t
urned away from the crimson secretion and ran to grab some tissues for his cut, which appeared minor.
This guy had gall. As of ten minutes ago, she had never laid eyes on him and now he barked orders at her. In her own shop! Even before she had met him, she’d disliked him because he had reopened the bait and tackle shop next to her bridal shop. That initial detest may have been unfair, but the news had devastated her. She and her sisters had hoped to buy the place and expand. But after meeting Jake, she was right. He stuck his unwanted nose in, and she didn’t feel the least bit guilty about her negative feelings toward him. If he gets blood on my gowns . . .
A minute later, tissues in hand, she found Jake farther in the back. He hovered over a woman lying face down, sprawled on the floor fully dressed in a strapless, corseted white bridal gown that Lily recognized as one of her best. The woman had arms splayed, blood seeping through the top of the veil.
Lily’s hand flew to her mouth to stifle a scream. “Oh, my God!”
“Lily, Jake, where are you?” The chief’s heavy boots stomped through the racks.
Lily couldn’t find her voice to answer the chief.
Jake called out, “Back here.”
She stared at the person on the floor. The large woman didn’t move. Lily tiptoed closer and pointed to the body. “I don’t think she’s breathing.” Lily squinted in confusion. How could this be? She broke out in a cold sweat and the room began to spin.
“Don’t get any closer, Lily,” the chief ordered. “And pick up Leo.”
Despite his hefty physique, the chief flew to the woman’s side, got on his knees and pushed the veil aside to check her pulse on the side of her neck. Then he lifted her thick arm and placed his fingers on her wrist. A row of tiny buttons down the back of the gown flapped open, exposing the bulky woman. Then he turned to Lily and shook his head.
Lily sucked in her breath. “She’s dead?”
The chief nodded. “I’m afraid she is.”
Upon further inspection of the body, he scratched at his head. “Only she’s not a she. She’s a he.”
Chapter 2
At the sight of the dead body, Jake saw Lily tremble. Her face paled as she cried out, “I don’t understand. Who is she? I mean he? And how did this happen? Why?”
The chief lifted the veil a bit more. “Jake, take Lily out of here.”
Jake put his hands on Lily’s tense shoulders and attempted to lead her out. She shook him off.
Her voice rose to an unnatural pitch. “Chief? Who is that? I’m not going anywhere until you tell me.”
She widened her stance, locking in her position.
“Lily, you look like you’re about to faint.” The chief ran his hand across his bald head and then nodded. “Okay, promise me you’re not going to pass out. What I’m about to tell you is going to be a shock.”
Lily bit her lower lip, then wrapped her arms around Leo and gave a small, but determined nod.
The chief shot Jake a look that said get ready to grab her. Jake went behind her again. He wanted to put his hands on her shoulders, concerned that whoever the victim was, Lily knew him. From his past experience, he predicted she’d fly to the victim’s side out of grief or shock, and that might contaminate evidence. But if he hovered over her, she might get annoyed. He braced himself just in case.
True to his word, the chief said, “It’s Sam.”
“Huh?” She stepped forward, and Jake pulled her back, her shoulder muscles locking under his fingers.
The chief lifted the veil slightly away from the face, enough that Lily could see the profile compressed into the tile floor, but not so much as to disturb the crime scene.
Lily’s hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. “Sam?”
Jake caught her in a hold before she could bolt toward the body.
She struggled in his arms. “Let go of me!”
Leo growled at Jake, but Jake held on fast. Lily’s whole body stiffened and began to shake. Jake knew Leo might bite him, but he couldn’t allow Lily to touch the body.
“I still don’t understand. What’s he doing here? How’d he get in? And why is he dressed in one of my best gowns? Oh my God, that’s Giselle’s gown!” Her voice broke.
Jake had seen this shocked reaction many times before from victims’ loved ones, and he feared she might pass out. He slipped his arms tighter around her slim frame and claimed her against his chest.
“Who’s Giselle?” the chief demanded.
“One of my brides. She flew in last night to see that gown. Chief, what’s going on?” Confusion bled along with her words.
“That’s what I’m going to find out. You two wait out front while I look around.” The chief lifted his phone to his ear and barked some orders. “My guys are on their way. Lily, start calling customers to cancel appointments and put a closed sign on the door. This is a crime scene now.”
When Lily didn’t move, Jake suspected she was in disbelief, and he gently took hold of her arm and led her out. She said nothing, and soon they were in the front waiting room.
He pointed to a blue sofa and coaxed her to sit with Leo still in her arms. She hugged the dog to her chest.
“The chief’s going to get to the bottom of this. He’ll have some questions for you for sure. He’s assessing the scene right now.” Her pale complexion concerned him. The slight sheen indicated a cold sweat. “Are you okay? Put your head between your legs to get the blood flowing.”
She crinkled her nose at him and eyed him suspiciously. “Sam is lying dead in my shop dressed in a gown. A gown a bride and her family traveled miles to see. So no, I’m not fine. And the sight of blood freaks me out. I’ve been known to pass out.” She barely took another breath before she came gunning for him. “Let’s get back to you for a minute. You and the chief seem awfully chummy, considering you just came to town. And you don’t act like a fisherman.”
He took a mental step back at her reservations. Check yourself before you give away the real reason you’re in town. Plenty of time to tell her why he and the chief had an instant camaraderie. Right now, he needed to confirm the dead guy was the man he was hired to find. No denying the strong resemblance.
Jake hitched his thumb toward the back of the store. “So tell me about Sam.”
Tears started to well in her blue eyes and her lip trembled. Jake leaned over and grabbed a tissue for her from the box on a glass table. Leo reached out with his nose and sniffed Jake’s extended hand.
Lily dabbed at the corner of her eyes. “Sam Austin was my ex-fiancé.”
Sam Austin. The same initials as the guy he had been tracking, which led him to this town. From what he could see of the victim, they could be one in the same. If so, his first case involved this woman’s ex-lover. Interesting development. And yet . . .
From his client’s point of view, the guy was scum. Even though Jake had just met the chief and Lily, he knew these kinds of people didn’t hang with the type of person his client described. “You were going to marry that guy? When? What happened?”
“A little more than a year ago. We were going to have a beautiful fall wedding in October. Here on the beach. Right before the storm hit.” Lily looked down and played with her crumbled tissue.
Jake put his hand over hers when he sensed her hesitation. They were ice cold, almost purple. “Go on,” he said as he attempted to transfer the warmth of his body to hers. For some reason, her discomfort bothered him and his protective nature surfaced.
She studied him through tearful, wary eyes then drew in a deep breath and sighed.
“I might as well tell you. You’re going to hear sooner or later anyway. This is a tight community and gossip travels quickly.” She sat up a little taller as if preparing to read a statement. “Sam left me at the altar.”
Jake’s jaw muscles clenched. “Y
ou mean he literally left you standing there? All by yourself?”
Again, an inexplicable desire to protect her reared its head. What kind of a creep would do that to a beautiful woman? His frown deepened. Unfortunately, he knew the answer. The kind his client had described.
She nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but the chief cut in. “That’s right.” Anger coated his words.
Jake had been engrossed in conversation with Lily, and hadn’t even heard the big guy come in. Maybe he was losing his touch. Or maybe his sharp skills dulled in her presence, and she had bewitched him, as his grandmother would say.
Usually his senses were always on the alert. A couple of years of downtime may have caused him to get soft. That was a trait he couldn’t afford. He tore his attention away from Lily. No time for sympathy. He had a job to do and he wouldn’t let his first client down. Nor himself for that matter.
The chief continued, “The jerk never showed up at his own wedding. At first, we thought something happened to him, but later we found a letter addressed to Lily in his apartment. He blamed it on cold feet. At least he had the decency not to show his face around here after that day. Until now, that is.”
The chief stopped for a minute. A pained expression dragged across his face. “I should’ve checked him out more carefully, Lily. I’ve given myself a few good kicks in the ass over it. If I had been more thorough, maybe I could’ve prevented all the heartache he caused you. Your father would have been on top of it.”
Lily put Leo down on the floor and stood up. “It’s not your fault, Chief. I should have known not to fall for a summer lifeguard. Mom was right about him.”
At hearing the word lifeguard, Jake also stood up. That was one of the occupations listed for his guy.
She rubbed at her brow, and a pained expression remained as Lily gave further details. “The chief and my dad were best friends since they were kids. They grew up together in this town. Dad passed away a few years ago from a sudden heart attack.” She slipped an arm through the chief’s, and he kissed the top of her head. “We all were devastated, but Mom took it hard. We think that’s when the cancer hit her. She didn’t have the strength to fight it.”
Forever Hold Your Piece (The Becker Sisters Bridal Series Book 1) Page 2
