A car whizzed by and Cade snapped his fingers to bring Townsend a bit closer to heel. They were on the sidewalk between the perimeter of the expansive grounds and the very busy streets of the city.
When Ryder had called at an early hour, Cade had agreed to meet but away from his office. The deputy marshal could no more hide his military bearing than Townsend could shed his canine nature. Roland Walker’s death had left everyone on edge and Cade needed their attention focused on the event and not the investigation that swirled around them. Distraction made for mistakes and mistakes made for failure and sometimes injuries. The contestants had worked hard to get here. They didn’t need to meet with inefficiencies in the event staff.
“Deputy Armand is twenty-eight years old and looks ten years younger. She’s been around horses all her life. You’ll introduce her with intentional vagueness as some veterinary student who is kin to one of the city officials. You’ve just been advised she’s always given part-time work at any large equine events in the area. She’ll take care of the rest of her disguise and her investigation.”
“You want me to lie to my team.”
“Damn it, Delaney. You’ve got one dead body here. You’re just as likely to have another. But those are the bad guys and I’m not real concerned with their well-being. So, yeah, I want you to lie to your team if it will help me nail the guilty and protect the innocent.”
Cade rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the pressure of what he was being asked to do stack up with the pressure inherent to directing an event that was the culmination of a year-long effort for the finalists. He and his team were dedicated to ensuring the event itself created no hardships that might hinder their drive for success. But Ryder was asking him to help with something that could put a murderer behind bars and more. Ryder’s investigation couldn’t prevent, but it might at least slow, the distribution of drugs and the untold suffering that came with that distribution. And if it were guns, rather than drugs, the stakes were even higher.
Hell. “Alright. Send her.”
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Aleta. Hopefully not with a problem. He turned away from Ryder as he answered.
Aleta went straight to the point. “There’s a plain-clothes officer here. I verified his credentials. He’s in your office.” He heard the hesitation in her voice as she added, “He’s got Malone Summers penned up in there, apparently planning to grill her. He asked me to wait about thirty minutes before calling you to meet with him.”
Good for her Aleta and her unswerving loyalty. “Thank you for not waiting. I’m on my way.” All sides of law enforcement were on the job early today. He turned back toward the show grounds and Ryder fell into step with him.
“Problem?”
“Nothing unforeseen. Our local investigating officer has shown up.”
Ryder grinned unexpectedly. “He wouldn’t be happy to see me here. The locals get a bit touchy about jurisdiction.”
“Aren’t you going to need any information he can gather?”
“Not much for him to find, is there? No weapon, no trace, not even potential fingerprints. Possible DNA under the victim’s fingernails, if he had a chance to fight, but nothing to match it with. But, yeah, I’ll want to see what he comes up with but desk jockeys can deal with transfer of information. I’ll be on my way for now but I’ll be in touch.” When they reached the parking area, the marshal simply stepped away between the rows of trucks and trailers.
Cade wondered wryly if the man had intended that last comment to be reassuring. It was anything but. Cade supposed he could add juggling two opposing law enforcement agencies to his tension level.
Keeping his stride long but easy, Cade made his way across the grounds, threading through and greeting contestants and staff but not stopping. He wondered if any of the familiar faces hid ugly secrets that would come to light in the next few days. It sickened him to think that people he knew and trusted might be involved in hauling drugs or, even worse, guns. He’d worked with most of the riders, competitors, and stock haulers for years. He liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, but drugs ruined lives and guns ended them. If anyone he knew was caught up in Ryder’s web, he’d help expose them if he could but he prayed it wouldn’t come to that.
Aleta gave him a concerned look as he stepped behind the counter of the outer office. Seeing her distress, he gave her a slight nod and a reassuring wink. He didn’t feel the least surprised when Trouble stood up from a curled position on the counter and muttered at him.
Without hesitation, he opened his office door and stepped in, focusing on Malone’s expression and ignoring that of the plainclothesman who stood as he entered and snapped, “You’ll need to give us a while here.”
Cade tamped down his anger at Malone’s haunted look and said “You’re in my office.” He kept his voice easy but added, “Uninvited.” He held out his hand, “Cade Delaney, Director of Operations for Twin Circuit Rodeos.”
The officer squared his shoulders and pulled in his slight paunch as he shook Cade’s hand but retained his officious expression. “Detective Hendrix.”
Careful to keep the upper-hand, Cade invited the detective to be seated, gesturing to the other side of his desk. He was pleased to see that the man, who looked to be near retirement age, wouldn’t stand out in any crowd, medium height, average weight, ordinary features. His shirt and slacks were neat but not crisply tailored. He’d blend in anywhere, a typical Joe.
“What can we help you with?” He aligned himself with Malone and allowed himself a sideways glance at her. Although her lips were no longer compressed into thin lines, she hadn’t relaxed into her chair but kept the same faultless posture with which she sat a horse.
Hendrix sighed. “I was just having Ms. Summers walk me through finding the body.”
“For the third time.” Malone’s impatience was clear in her voice.
Cade swung his gaze to her and kept it there a moment. There was the faintest hint of humor in her eyes and that relieved him. He turned back to Hendrix. “And did you learn anything different during the second and third round?”
“You don’t want to interfere in this investigation.” The detective added a scowl to his words.
“I don’t. A young man who should have been safe in this city is dead. I’ve got a rodeo grounds full of contestants who should feel safe at this facility and now they don’t. When the city council approached me about moving this event from Little Rock to Montgomery, I was assured this was becoming one of the safest cities in the south. I expect your department to be quick and efficient in making an arrest.”
“Even if that person is associated with your organization?” Hendrix jabbed.
Cade pierced him with a deadly cold look. “Even if.”
As if sensing he’d met his match and even been slightly bested, the other man took the seat he’d been offered, not bothering to ask Malone to leave when he told Cade, “I’ll need your statement and as much as you can recall of last night’s events.”
“Certainly.” And Cade talked him through every aspect of the evening except the moments he’d waltzed with Malone, holding her close as he’d once given up all hope of doing.
Hendrix had fewer follow-up questions than Cade expected. Either his own observations from the previous night had filled in any gaps that Malone’s had left or their memories were so aligned, the detective couldn’t find any gaps to close.
He looked dissatisfied but resigned when he closed his notebook and put away his pen. “I need to talk with Luke Roberts and, yeah, I know his father needs to be present. Maybe the girl, too. I don’t have her name but the one that witnessed the two fighting.”
Cade got to his feet. He had no intention of allowing Joss to be questioned but he’d fight that battle if and when it came to that. “I’ll have my assistant contact Mr. Roberts and Luke and bring you some coffee. Feel free to wait here. It may take a few minutes for her to get in touch with them.”
As a surprised Hendrix murmured his appreciati
on for the offer of coffee, Cade stepped around his desk and held out a hand to Malone who took it and rose gracefully from her chair.
When he opened the door, Cade noted that Townsend moved to stand beside him but Trouble simply stared at Cade and blinked. Apparently, the cat preferred to sit and listen to the next exchange. For a moment, Cade’s total acceptance of Trouble’s unique characteristics struck him with amazement then he mentally shrugged. He couldn’t ignore what he’d observed and experienced with the cat so far.
He glanced at his watch. Barely lunch but close enough. With any luck, he’d convince Malone of that. As they walked out into the reception area, he said her name before she could slip away and she turned to look at him. “A minute?” The hesitation in her eyes was evident but she nodded and stayed close to the outer door as he spoke with Aleta.
“Hendrix wants to talk with Luke. I’ll need you to call Frank to bring Luke over to meet with him. I told the detective I’d make sure he got some coffee so I’d appreciate your help with that. Make it a full carafe.”
Aleta nodded. “Why don’t I send someone to the deli to pick up lunch for all three of them?”
“That’s a good idea. Do you have someone you can spare?”
At her nod, he said, “Get enough for you and your team, then. Maybe a few platters of cookies to set out for any of the contestants who drop by this afternoon.”
His assistant was smiling as she turned away. The stream of contestants with requests – some urgent, some petty – was never-ending. Cade knew his staff would be appreciative of the lunch as a small gesture of thanks for their patience and something as simple as an offer of a cookie could take the edge off a contestant’s irritation or complaint.
He felt a little guilty that he’d withheld a part of this morning’s conversations from his assistant but it would work to Aleta’s advantage in the end. He’d allow Ryder to ensconce Deputy Armand in his team before he told Aleta she was an undercover agent. That would ensure Aleta’s initial reaction to an unexpected staff addition was natural in front of the others. He didn’t suspect any of the office staff of wrongdoing but he could take nothing for granted.
He didn’t keep secrets from Aleta, but neither Ryder nor Armand needed to know that. Aleta he would trust with his life and anything told her in private would go with her to the grave.
He planned to tell Malone over lunch. If she would go with him. Big if.
CADE HELD the door open for Malone and she walked out into a day that seemed far too bright and beautiful. A man had been murdered in a violent, ugly way. Somehow it felt wrong that the sun was shining and the air crisp and cool. Yesterday’s overcast sky would feel more appropriate.
Cade was silent as they left the office but, when she angled toward her trailer and the next task on her mental list, he took her hand and tugged in the opposite direction. “I was going to the café a block over for some lunch. Come with me. Please?”
For a moment she had that same swept away feeling as the evening before, when he’d taken her with him into a cowboy’s waltz. Instinctively, she started to resist then thought, why should she? After all, they’d been best friends once upon a time. It wasn’t inconceivable that they could be again. “Is it lunch already?” she asked, admitting to herself she might be stalling a bit. It had been so long ago, that time when friendship had turned to a crush, a silly school girl crush. She didn’t know him now at all. And he didn’t know her.
“I missed breakfast so anywhere in between works for me.” But the searching look in his gaze told her his thoughts weren’t on food any more than hers.
It could be a mistake, she knew, but she nodded and fell into step with him. Some clocks couldn’t be turned back. And she was not nearly as brave as that young girl Cade had once known. But she was content and at peace, a hard-won peace at that. Even more, her life, everything about it, made her happy. Would she be willing to risk that? Maybe not, but neither was she quite ready to reject the possibilities.
The walk to the café was short. Cade signaled his beautiful Australian Shepherd to wait at the door as they went inside.
As soon as they were seated, Malone felt uncomfortable and wished she hadn’t come with him.
Cade seemed to sense her shift in mood and smiled at her. “Relax. It’s just lunch.”
“This is awkward for me.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
“We’re not the same people.”
“Thank God for that.”
His fervent comment drew a soft laugh from her that caught her by surprise and some of her tension slipped away.
“Were we as bad as all that?” she asked.
“You were hardheaded as hell and I was arrogant as hell. So, yeah, pretty much we were.”
The arrival of a waitress to take their order provided a brief interruption and just long enough for Malone to decide not to evade the conversation.
“I wanted you to believe in me,” she said softly.
Cade leaned forward, resting his forearm on the table. She wasn’t sure how eyes the color of a frozen lake could hold so much heat. “Malone, I did believe in you. You were bright and talented. I didn’t doubt you could do anything you set your mind to but you were only seventeen and there were so many possibilities in front of you. I wanted those possibilities for you.”
“You never said.”
“No. I said all the wrong things.” He checked them off one finger at a time. “You were too young. You were acting like a brat. You didn’t know what you were doing. You were dumb as dirt to walk away from a full scholarship, that rodeo would be waiting.”
“Seventeen-year-olds aren’t known for their patience. I didn’t want rodeo to be waiting for me. I wanted it right then, right there. So, I went after it.” With Tyge. And left Cade far behind.
Cade leaned back in his chair, some of the intensity leaving his expression. “And maybe you were right to go.”
His admission surprised her and she wasn’t quite ready to explore what he meant by the words. “Grandma knew I was leaving. I don’t know how she suspected and I don’t know if she told Grandpa. She came into my room while I was packing what little I took and gave me two hundred dollars. Probably that week’s grocery money. I was just selfish enough to take it.”
“She would’ve been heartbroken if you hadn’t. And your grandpa knew. He was the one who told me not to go after you – that the time wasn’t right for us then, maybe someday, but not then. He said if I went after you as angry as I was, I’d break the bond we had. Possibly forever.”
The revelation stunned her. “I never knew you and he had even talked about me leaving ... about us.” The us that had never really been.
“He was disappointed in some regard but he was proud of you, too. Said you were strong and knew your own mind. Told me to let you go until you were ready to come back.”
But she never had. In fact, she’d fought against even the idea of it.
She shied from that thought, from the look on Cade’s face. “I always felt bad, afraid that my dad would blame my grandparents for not keeping closer watch on me that summer. If he ever figured out they’d known and let it happen, he would have gone on a rampage. And I missed them horribly.” She’d missed Cade, too, but she wasn’t ready to tell him that and knew she might never be. The first time she’d clocked a major win at a professional rodeo, she’d thought of Cade, longed to tell him. Not once had she considered he might be thinking of her too. And maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he’d put thoughts of her aside until their paths had crossed on their upward climb through the world they both loved. But she wasn’t going to ask him. Not yet. Maybe never.
It was almost a relief when their lunches were served.
Malone kept the conversation light as they ate and Cade followed her lead.
When they’d both declined the waitress’ temptation of dessert, Cade paid the bill. “I’m glad you came with me. We said some things that needed to be said.” He took her hand as she rose to stand besid
e him. “But not everything.”
It sounded like a challenge but she left that one alone. She knew some words were best left unspoken. “But, for now, I have things to do and so do you.”
“True. My event director is efficient but I don’t like being away from the arena once the morning rounds start. This investigation has taken too much of my attention.”
Malone felt a pinch of guilt as well because every competitor was expected to be at the arena when the colors were carried in. Even the fact that she’d been hemmed up by Detective Hendrix didn’t dispel that sense of being somehow truant through the national anthem and invocation.
Only when they were halfway back to the grounds, did Malone recall the questions she should have been asking Cade during lunch.
“The marshal – Ryder – what’s he investigating?”
“Murder, for one thing.”
“And before the murder?”
“I’m surprised you let those questions go unanswered as long as you did,” Cade admitted.
“Might be a little of that patience you thought I’d never learn,” she said lightly, even a little teasingly.
And, there, on the open city street, Cade did what he’d never really done, what she had longed for him to do all those years ago. He gathered her into his arms and he kissed her, long and hard and deep. And she really, truly wished he had not, for there went the friendship hypothesis. Beyond that, her response had been too swift, too intense, too obvious. At least to her.
Cade’s release was as slow and reluctant as his embrace had been swift and urgent. He rested his forehead on hers and said, “It appears you gained what I lost. I meant to wait on that, to go slow and not scare you away.”
Malone thought of all the things she could say in that moment, and all that left her lips was, “I’m not afraid.” But she was also wiser than she’d once been, wise enough to know she needed time and space. “I’m also not forgetting the question I asked. What is Ryder investigating?”
Turning for Trouble: Book 7 of Cat Detective Familiar Legacy mystery series Page 11
