Deadly Waves (Hardy Brothers Security Book 23)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Annoying the crap out of me,” Grady replied.

  “Right, Jon Peterson,” James said, licking his lips. “There is one other incident in his past. Six months ago he was dating a fellow teacher at the school. She went missing, too. She was an adult, but all of the records say she looked younger than her age.”

  “That sounds like a preferential predator to me,” Sophie said. “He might’ve picked the legal-aged teacher to cover his tracks.”

  “That’s what I think, too, but we have no proof of that and I don’t want to focus on Peterson to the detriment of everyone else,” James said. “We don’t know that he killed those women. We have no idea if they’re actually dead. We simply know that Peterson has been crime adjacent quite a bit over the past five years.”

  “That’s a nice way of putting it,” Grady said. “How did he end up here?”

  “Well, the school board launched an investigation into him and he tendered his resignation as soon as he got wind of it,” James replied. “As to how he ended up here, I’m not quite sure. He does have one tie to Davenport.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Davenport’s daughter is Peterson’s former student.”

  Grady stilled, the ramifications of what James said washing over him. “You don’t think … .”

  “I don’t know,” James said. “Tabitha is sixteen and full of herself. I have to think that Davenport did his due diligence and ran a background check on Peterson before hiring him. I plan on finding out tonight. I invited Will and Tabitha to eat dinner with us.”

  “She’s never going to own up to anything in front of her father,” Sophie pointed out.

  “Probably not,” James conceded. “She might open up to you guys if you take her for a walk away from grownups, though.”

  “You want us to manipulate a child?” Sophie wasn’t keen on the idea. “That feels somehow … icky.”

  “Not manipulate,” James corrected. “Just listen to her if she has anything to say.”

  “That seems like slippery line there, but okay,” Sophie said. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to talk to Davenport and find out exactly how much he knows about Peterson,” James replied. “I also want Peterson to see us with Tabitha and Will. It’s important that he sees us being aggressive opponents to whatever he’s trying to do. I want him to get nervous and make a mistake.”

  “What do you think he’ll do?” Sophie asked.

  “I have no idea, but that brings up one other point,” James said. “If I unnerve Peterson, he might be apt to attempt to unnerve me. The easiest way to do that is to go after Mandy. If he can’t get to her – and I’ll break him in two if he tries – he might go after one of the other women in my life.”

  “You want them all to stick together tonight,” Grady said.

  “As long as you’re a foursome, no one will dare touch you,” James said, focusing on Mandy. “No one can break apart from the group tonight. You all need to go to the bathroom together and everything. Do you understand?”

  Sophie was affronted. “You’re not my father.”

  “No, but I did promise your father I would keep an eye on you when I talked to him earlier,” James said. “I’m not trying to be a bully, Sophie, but I will keep you safe because I promised Peter I would.”

  Sophie blew out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. We’ll all stick together.”

  “Great.” James was visibly relieved.

  “If I have to hear about Mandy’s new panties all night, though, all bets are off.”

  James smirked as he squeezed Mandy’s hip. “We promise to keep it to a minimum until we find our suspect. When that happens, then the bets are truly off because I don’t want to see you people until our vacation is over with.”

  “I can just feel the love,” Grady teased.

  “You’re going to feel my foot in my behind if you’re not careful.”

  “And all is right in our world again.”

  20

  Twenty

  James trailed behind Mandy as they walked into the dining room. He didn’t miss the fact that she lifted her skirt just far enough for him to see the “Jawesome” panties when she was sure only he could see, causing his heart rate to speed up. He grabbed her around the waist and buried his face in her hair so he could whisper.

  “I need to figure out what’s going on really quickly,” he murmured. “Otherwise you’re going to be the death of me, wife.”

  Mandy stilled at the admission, conflicted. “I’m sorry.”

  “Why are you sorry?”

  “Because I keep forgetting this is still work for you,” Mandy said, her eyes sober. “I shouldn’t be messing around.”

  “On the contrary, I always want to mess around with you,” James said, tightening his embrace. “I’m going to mess around with you so much tonight you’re going to swear I’m superhuman.”

  Mandy giggled. “I already swear that,” she said. “I have to stop for now, though. I need you focused on your job, not me.”

  “I would rather focus on you.”

  “Well, that’s not entirely true and we both know it,” Mandy said, swiveling in his arms and locking gazes with him. “You love your job. You’re good at it. I never want to stand in your way when it comes to work.”

  James’ chest tightened. “You’re more important than my job.”

  “This is not a situation where you have to make a choice,” Mandy said. “I will always be here. You need to focus on what’s happening on this ship tonight. I understand that. In fact, I want you focused on your job because I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you because you were distracted by me.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to me, baby.”

  “We’re going to make sure of that,” Mandy said, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I love you. You can partake of my Jawesome love once you figure out everything. Until then, focus on what’s in front of you.”

  “You’re in front of me.”

  Mandy pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, making James’ favorite expression.

  “Thank you, baby.” James cupped her chin and kissed her. “Never stop making that face.”

  “Find out what happened to Zoe,” Mandy ordered. “I’ll make a lot of your favorite faces when we’re naked and alone if you do.”

  “And that right there is the best motivation ever,” he said, smacking a loud kiss against her lips. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “No, I really love you,” James said, his tone teasing as he mimicked her words from a few days before.

  “You’re a pain in the butt,” Mandy said, swatting him.

  “And yet I still love you,” James said, slipping his arm around her waist as they waited to move forward in the buffet line. “Now, let’s find our suspects, shall we? I want to know where they are at all times tonight.”

  “Gladly.”

  “THANK YOU so much for inviting us to share dinner with you,” Will said, beaming as he settled between Mandy and Ally. He purposely picked his spot before anyone could settle in chairs, directing the two women where he wanted them to be without asking what they preferred. Instead of arguing, Mandy and Ally acquiesced. They knew exactly how to play the game.

  “Oh, well, we just wanted to make sure that we had a chance to thank you for the wonderful time we’ve been having,” Mandy said, placing her napkin on her lap and internally cringing when she realized Will was trying to look down her dress. “Tomorrow is the last night of the trip, and I have a feeling we’re all going to be wrapped up in each other and we didn’t want to miss sharing a meal with you.”

  She sounded perfectly reasonable and truthful, James internally mused. He could read the dislike rolling off her, though. Even though he knew he should focus on their host, he took a moment to marvel at the fact that he knew her better than he knew himself. Somehow she became his best friend, lover, and soul mate over the course of two and a half years. He never s
aw it coming and yet he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

  “How about you, James?” Will asked, drawing James’ attention away from his wife. “Have you enjoyed your stay on the ship?”

  “I have,” James confirmed, working overtime to ignore the adoring glances Tabitha lobbed in his direction. She took her cues from her father and sat between James and Grady without bothering to ask if they were okay with the seating arrangement. Since James wanted to get her talking, he was fine with it. He couldn’t help but dislike the girl a small bit because of her strong sense of entitlement, though. He knew it wasn’t fair because she learned from her father, but she still had an irksome quality that he couldn’t put a name to. “I want to thank you for giving us the job. It allowed me to work and spend time with my wife at the same time. That’s the best kind of job in my book.”

  “Yes, your brother told me about the trouble you had,” Will said, making a clucking sound with his tongue. “That’s terrible. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

  Mandy was caught off guard by the statement. “I … .”

  James shifted a dark look in Grady’s direction. “Really?”

  “I’m sorry,” Grady said, holding up his hands. “I didn’t mean to break the brother code, but he was curious why you two were sleeping on top of each other on a hot day and I thought it was better to explain why you were so clingy rather than let him believe you were random perverts.”

  James scowled as he rolled his neck. “I apologize for my brother … .”

  “No, I’m the one who needs to apologize,” Will said hurriedly. “He warned me about bringing it up. He honestly didn’t mean any harm. I was … confused.”

  “What happened?” Tabitha asked, her eyes keen. “Did you guys have marriage problems and go on a cruise to fix things? I hear stories like that all of the time.”

  “We don’t have marriage problems,” James said.

  “Then what it is?”

  “Tabitha, that’s none of your concern,” Will chided. “They’re adults and it’s their business.”

  “So it is marriage trouble.” Tabitha looked smug. “I knew it.”

  For some reason, the girl’s reaction set James’ teeth on edge. “It’s not marriage trouble,” he said. “If you must know, my wife was almost killed and then she was kidnapped by a crazy person who locked her away in a basement because he was deranged.”

  “James, you don’t have to explain yourself to my daughter,” Will said.

  “Apparently I do,” James countered. “Someone took my wife and she was injured escaping. We caught the man who did it, but yes, we’ve been clingy. Are you happy? Do you think it’s funny?”

  Tabitha was taken aback by his tone. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said, shifting in her chair. “I didn’t realize … .”

  “James, leave her alone,” Mandy ordered, giving him a firm head shake. “She couldn’t know. She’s young. She didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Tabitha shot Mandy a grateful smile. “Thank you. I … was it scary?”

  “Being married to James? No. It’s very rarely scary,” Mandy said, making a lame joke to smooth James’ nerves.

  Tabitha snorted. “No, was it scary being kidnapped?”

  “Oh.” Mandy wasn’t sure how to respond. “Yes and no. It was a weird situation because I knew the man who took me and while I was terrified he would do something to me, I was also angry and focused on getting back to James. I’m not sure how to explain how I felt as it was happening.

  “On one hand I knew that I was going to find my way back to James, even if I had to die trying,” she continued, ignoring the low growl erupting from James’ throat at the words. “On the other, I didn’t know what to expect because I thought I knew the man who took me and I clearly didn’t because he was barely recognizable by the end.”

  “Did he rape you?”

  The question was so blunt it caused Mandy to suck in a breath.

  “Tabitha!” Will was appalled.

  “What is wrong with you?” James challenged. “Why would you ask that?”

  Tabitha shrugged, seemingly unbothered by his tone. “Isn’t that what happens when people get kidnapped?”

  “Not in this case,” James replied, moving his hand to the back of Mandy’s neck so he could soothe her. “Don’t ask things like that.”

  Unlike his brother, Grady adopted a calmer demeanor when addressing the girl. “Tabitha, the man who took Mandy was … sick,” he said. “He convinced himself that she would fall in love with him if he gave her time to adjust to being held captive. He didn’t understand that wasn’t possible.”

  “How was he sick?” Tabitha asked. She seemed genuinely curious. “Do you mean in the head? Is he in a hospital now?”

  “He’s in the county jail,” Grady answered. “He’s been charged with numerous things – including murder – but it will probably take a long time for his case to wind its way through the courts.”

  Tabitha was a fountain of questions now that the subject had intensified. “Who did he murder?”

  “My friend,” Mandy replied. “He killed her to get my attention.”

  “How did he kill her?”

  “Tabitha, I don’t think this is proper dinner conversation,” Will admonished. “The Hardys are clearly uncomfortable talking about the situation.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Mandy countered. “It’s … fine. I was walking outside of the courthouse where I used to work – I was a clerk but have since left my position – and my friend was shot in front of me. This … man … did it because he was delusional. She died right there.”

  “That’s freaky,” Tabitha said, shaking her head. “Was it bloody?”

  “Okay, that’s enough of that,” James said, shaking his head as he rested his hand on top of Mandy’s. “Your father is right. This isn’t proper dinner conversation. We should focus on something else.”

  “That seems like a marvelous idea,” Will said. “Um … have you found anything during your search for Zoe?”

  “I guess that depends on how you look at it,” James replied. He was happy to get off the topic of Mandy’s kidnapping and focus on something more immediate. He’d promised to let the guilt go – and he meant it – but that didn’t mean he could simply push all of the memories out of his head at will. That would still take some time. “We’ve been running background checks and I have a few questions.”

  “Background checks?” Will’s face was blank. “On who?”

  “Your employees.”

  “But … why would you do that?” Will asked. “Surely you don’t believe one of the workers had something to do with Zoe’s disappearance? It had to be one of the guests. That’s the only logical conclusion.”

  Either Will was being purposely evasive or he was legitimately out of touch with reality. James couldn’t decide which. “We’re not ruling anyone out,” James said, choosing his words carefully. “As for these employees, I was hoping you could answer a few questions to clear them. We’re not trying to railroad anybody.”

  “I … well … of course,” Will said, shifting in his chair. “I’m willing to answer anything you wish to ask. You should know that I have full faith in my employees, though. I wouldn’t have hired them otherwise.”

  “We’re not making accusations,” James said. “We’re looking for clarification.”

  “Okay, well, that seems fair.”

  “Let’s start with Jon Peterson.”

  “What about him?”

  “Did you know that rumors of sexual impropriety have plagued him for years?” James asked, refusing to mince words. “Did you know that he was rumored to have impregnated one student and another girl who named him as a sexual partner went missing and was never heard from again?”

  Will balked. “I … um … what?”

  “That’s not true,” Tabitha snapped, taking everyone by surprise with her fortitude. “Mr. Peterson is a good man. He was a great teacher. He got railroaded out of the school. That’s w
hy my father hired him.”

  James studied the girl’s features for a moment, trying to ascertain if she really believed her teacher was innocent or was simply covering up for something else. “Tabitha, your former teacher had close ties with a missing teenager and a teacher who appears to have fallen off the grid. That’s on top of the other student from five years ago.”

  “I’m familiar with that story,” Will said, licking his lips. “My understanding is that the girl named the father of one of her friends when it came to paternity.”

  “That is certainly true,” James said. “That man hung himself in prison, but a paternity test was run after his death and he was not the father. She accused him and later recanted. It’s in the depositions.”

  “That’s horrible,” Will said, horrified. “That doesn’t mean Jon is guilty, though.”

  “No, it’ doesn’t,” James conceded. “There was other testimony buried in those depositions from classmates, though. They said there was a rumor about the girl hooking up with Peterson. She never had another paternity test done after that, though, so we can’t know if he’s the father.”

  “Listen, I admire how much work you’ve done on this, but I can’t believe Jon Peterson is a predator,” Will said. “I’ve known him for years. He was a wonderful teacher to Tabitha.”

  “That’s right,” Tabitha said, all pretense of being flirty and sweet gone. “All of the girls in the school had a crush on Mr. Peterson and he didn’t show special attention to anyone. If he was a pervert, wouldn’t he have jumped on one of those girls?”

  “I have no idea,” James answered. “We don’t know if Peterson had a specific type … or learned his lesson … or ultimately was innocent all along. This isn’t about assigning blame. It’s about getting to the truth.”

  “Well, that’s not how it feels to me,” Tabitha said, balling up her napkin and throwing it on top of her uneaten dinner. “Mr. Peterson is a great teacher and he lost his job. I asked Dad to give him one on the ship because I hate what was done to him. You should be ashamed of yourself for accusing him of something so horrible.”

  James ran his tongue over his teeth as he regarded the girl. Her chest heaved and her eyes were dark as she stared him down, no hints of the crush she harbored for days remaining in the green flecks of her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”