He handed the photos back to her. She looked up at Cody. “I guess I got what I came for.”
Cody rubbed her arms. “Sure you don’t want to try out a room? Mano y mano? I mean reporter to reporter?” His chuckle shot down her throat, straight to her pussy.
“You’re a laugh a minute.” His eyes turned a darker blue, and her whole body vibrated. “Let’s get out of here.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as if they’d been a couple forever. What was his game? Was he trying to see how far he could push her?
The big question was how far did she want to go? Her goal was to get him into bed. The chase was part of the fun, but Cody seemed to be moving pretty fast and was way too willing.
Being confused about what she wanted rarely had been her issue. She’d spotted something she desired and went for it. With Cody and Shane she hadn’t expected the path to be so fraught with potholes that made her trip over herself.
As soon as they stepped outside, she squinted against the bright light.
“So, you going with the Colombian drug cartel theory now that you’ve eliminated kink?”
“You got a better theory? I’m open to anything you can think of.”
Whoops. From the twinkle in his eye, he took her comment the wrong way. She didn’t mean to imply she was into kink herself. She would never submit to neck collars or caning. Nor would she agree to be put in a pillory whereby she’d be naked and helpless. With her hands and head constrained in the wooden stocks, a man could lick and probe her anytime he wanted. Couldn’t have that!
Her damn pussy squirted out some juices thinking about that. Traitor.
Cody tapped her shoulder. “Jessie. You okay?”
She looked up at him. His brows were pinched and he seemed to be searching her eyes.
“Sure. Why?”
“You were just standing there, staring into space.”
Oh, shit. She knew he couldn’t read minds. If he could, he might suggest they go back inside. She shrugged as casually as she could despite her heart firing rapidly. “Just thinking.”
He held open the passenger side door for her. “Before I draw any conclusion, I’m going to wait for Shane’s lab results to come in.”
Smart. “Does Shane send his evidence to Cheyenne?” She figured Intrigue was a bit too small to have its own crime lab, and Cheyenne was the capitol.
“Yes, but the police department has some capabilities.” Cody glanced at his cell. “It’s a bit early, but do you want to catch a bite to eat?”
“I wish I could. I have to follow up on some bike thefts at the local elementary school.”
He laughed. “You’re kidding. Walt has you wasting your time on that kind of story?”
That piqued her interest. “What do you know about the stolen bikes?”
“Not much. They’ve interviewed a few people but have come up short. There’s no story there. Besides, the bikes were taken over a week ago.”
What was Walt trying to pull? Was he subtly trying to pull her from the Tanner case? “I’ll head over anyway. We’ll do lunch some other time, if that’s okay with you.” She probably should have accepted, but she needed some distance to get her head on straight.
“Sure.” Cody parked in the back parking lot of the newspaper office. “If you change your mind, call me.”
“I will.” She smiled and slid out. What was wrong with her? As soon as she stepped into the sex club, the reporter part of her brain had disengaged. It was all Cody’s fault.
No sooner had she gotten into her car when her cell rang. It was Shane. Now that was a nice surprise. “Hey, Shane.”
“I got some more information on the fire, but I’d rather not tell you over the phone.”
Her senses shot to alert. Did he think someone was listening in to the conversation? “I can meet you.” She bet when Cody learned she’d ditched a lunch offer to meet with Shane, he wouldn’t be too happy.
“How about Hooper’s Park?”
If someone were listening, they’d know where they were going, but eavesdropping would be more difficult in the open. The park he chose was where all the high school kids used to hang out. It also was close to the elementary school, so that worked out well for her. “When?”
“Ten minutes work for you?”
“Sure.” She’d actually be there sooner than that.
When she arrived, the park was mostly empty, which was probably why Shane wanted to meet there. While there were a lot of picnic tables, she chose one of the benches under a tree, not too far from the parking lot.
Less than five minutes later, Shane got out of his truck and came toward her. She loved how his broad shoulders didn’t move as he strode closer. His compact motion spoke of a highly tuned machine. What she wouldn’t give to see his engine up close and personal.
Stop it. You’re here for work.
Her lips seemed to turn up on their own when he sat down.
“Thanks for coming.” He placed a hand over hers, and it was like a bolt of electricity had shot through her.
She cleared her throat and slowly pulled her hand out from under his. He didn’t seem to notice. “What did you find out about the fire?”
“The police department was able to test the cigarette paper I found. It was wrapped around marijuana.”
She had to think about what that meant. “Are you thinking they got so stoned that when the bed caught on fire, they didn’t move?”
He shook his head. “While I’d never seen either Greg or Rhonda smoke, I know for a fact they’d never do marijuana.”
“How can you be so sure?” She kept her voice neutral. If he thought she was questioning his integrity, he’d clam up quickly.
“Greg’s brother was into drugs and died a few years back from an overdose. That prompted Greg to work part-time for a nonprofit organization to help those who were dependent.”
While she never had any siblings, if she had, she couldn’t imagine losing one of them and not being able to help. “If they absolutely wouldn’t have been smoking a joint, are you saying someone deliberately set the fire using a marijuana cigarette?”
“It’s possible. There are some horrible people out there, but I can’t draw that conclusion without more proof.” He glanced around, almost as if he expected to see someone lurking.
Did Shane really think someone might want to shut him up? “Is there something I can do to help?”
“I thought maybe you could do a bit more research on Rhonda at Harman Security. They’re not local, so I don’t know much about them.”
“It’s hard to believe a security company would be unsavory. That would be like saying the police were dirty. Why not look into Greg’s background, too?”
“He worked at the local feedstore. I’ve known the owners for years. They’re upstanding folks.”
“Call me cynical, but sometimes even the nicest people can be crooks.”
“True.”
Shane edged closer, causing her senses to shoot to high alert. The birds were making a racket nearby, and she saw a mother push a baby in a carriage, but she wasn’t sure why they were having this clandestine meeting. “Why did you want to meet in the park?” Was he in danger? She prayed he was overreacting.
“So I could do this.” He leaned over, cupped her face, and kissed her.
Her body lit up. She’d dreamed about kissing the dark-haired, sexy Shane McKee for too many years. He totally lived up to the hype. Jessie leaned into him and opened her mouth a bit to test whether he wanted to deepen the kiss. She squeezed his muscular arms for balance. Shane took her up on her invitation and ran his tongue along her teeth before exploring her mouth. A whirlwind of emotions electrified every cell. Touching Shane made one of her dreams come true.
When his thumb brushed against her breast, she pulled away. “Okay. I didn’t see that coming.” Her breath came out in pants.
Shane’s expression was totally unreadable. Oh, shit. Had she offended him? In truth, she was confused by the sud
den interest.
He ran a hand down her arm. “You didn’t seem to mind.” His tone came out lighter than she expected.
“No.” In fact, if they hadn’t been outdoors, she might have let herself go with the flow and test more of his talents. They locked gazes, and she instantly pictured him naked on top of her. She scooted back and stood. “I guess I better go and see what I can uncover.”
He chuckled. What was up with these two men? Had they decided to gang up on her? No, she’d called Cody, not the other way around.
Shane got up. “I’ll walk you back to your car. Let me know if you learn anything.” He was back to the reserved man she’d seen at the scene. He slid a hand over his head. “If I say the fire was an accident, the Tanners will never get any justice, and Andy will always wonder if there was anything he could have done to help. I need to find proof this wasn’t their fault.”
The sudden change in the timbre of his voice took her by surprise. Then she remembered hearing that Shane’s mom had died when he was young, but she never knew any of the details. “I’ll do my best.”
Shane was holding open her car door when he got a call. He pulled out his cell and held up a finger. “The ME.”
He listened for a bit, asked a few questions, and discontinued. “The Tanners died from smoke inhalation.”
“I thought that’s what you always believed.”
“I was hoping for a bullet through the heart. That at least would explain why they were in bed. Now I know they were alive when the fire was started.”
Oh, God. “That’s more tragic.”
He nodded. “The medical examiner said they had a significant amount of cough suppressant in their bodies. About five times the recommended dose.”
Her mind spun, trying to put the facts in order. “If we assume they were so drugged up that they slept through the fire, they wouldn’t have been able to light up a joint.” Which was the same argument she’d used for them not tying each other up.
“My point exactly.”
“Can you claim someone murdered the Tanners based on that conclusion?”
“No, which is why I need you.”
“I’ll do everything I can to help.” If this story had broken in Denver, she might have been afraid to ask questions. Reporters who got close to arsonists often got burned.
Chapter Four
Jessie made no headway in getting to speak with Rhonda’s bosses. She couldn’t exactly come out and ask if Rhonda Tanner had found out some deep, dark secret bad enough for someone to want to kill her. Jessie did, however, get the number for Rhonda’s mom from Wanda, Cody’s obituary writer. Jessie hoped that if something bad had gone down Rhonda would have told her mom about her suspicions. Jessie had tried to contact her, but now had to wait for a return call.
Ichabod silently floated to her desk. The man must have worn super rubber soles. “You find out about the bike thefts?”
Shit, she hadn’t had time. “Not yet, but I’m working on it.” She smiled as sweetly as she could.
“I didn’t see anything online from you today.”
She had to cover at least one story a day or chance losing her job. “Nothing else I found out seemed newsworthy, but I’m still working on the Tanner case.”
His eyes brightened. “Did the arson report come back?”
She thought he wanted her to drop the case. “I spoke with the investigator in charge, and he’s on the fence about the cause of the blaze.”
“Hmph.” Ichabod spun around and floated back to his cave.
She wondered how he expected her to write a story with no crime. She couldn’t exactly ask someone to break into a jewelry store and steal some diamond necklaces so she could write something any more than she could anticipate who would be the next hero. In Denver, there was never a shortage of news.
She’d hoped that when she came to Intrigue, she’d be able to focus on one story and see it to its completion, but she understood people’s attention spans were short.
Once more, she scooted out of the building, determined to find some scrap of information on the bike thefts. Maybe she should start at the police department.
While it was fun to catch up with Police Chief Randy Strong, who she remembered from high school after he gave a speech to the kids about drugs and drinking, he provided no more information than what Cody had told her. Tomorrow, she’d have to scour more police reports for more crime. Exhausted from a day of running around in circles, Jessie wanted nothing more than to soak in the tub.
Too tired to even cook, she picked up a pizza from the shop across the street from work and headed home. The police scanner was on, but there wasn’t a fight in sight. Maybe there was just too much love in this town. Having to resort to writing stories about lost dogs and Peeping Toms wouldn’t keep her attention for long, or her viewers’.
As soon as she ate, she headed into the bathroom for a good soak. The warm water partially revived her. There was nothing like lavender bath salts to get a girl’s libido going. She wished for once, she could turn off her brain. Too often, she’d be thinking about how to word something when the image of Cody or Shane would pop up. That didn’t help when trying to write good copy.
Even when in the tub, she kept hoping for the cell to ring, thinking maybe one of her two heartthrobs would call her. No one did, not even her mom. At least her mother had an excuse. She worked two jobs and was busy.
Jessie would have a late night tonight making sure she hadn’t missed any crimes. Chief Strong had provided her with the last few months of police activity. There might be a follow-up story if she looked hard enough.
As soon as she got out of the tub, she spread out the reports on the dining room table. The Callen name jumped out at her right away. She was shocked to read that Samantha Callen had been shot by rustlers. My God. Why hadn’t Cody mentioned this? She prayed Sam was okay. The follow-up reports mentioned there had been a fire at her ranch. Jessie scanned the reports for more information. Finally, she saw the men responsible for the fire, the shooting, and cattle thefts were brought to justice. She’d have to give Sam a call to see how she was doing.
Nothing else in the reports seemed to warrant further investigation. Damn.
By the time she fell asleep it was past 2:00 a.m. No sooner had she closed her eyes than her alarm clock sounded. After dragging herself out of bed and pouring coffee down her throat, she drove into town. She had just gotten in her car when her phone rang. It was Cody.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Got a story for you.”
She perked up. “What about?”
“I have it on good authority there’s a health issue over at Burger Haus. I know you’re having trouble finding good leads.”
It was a crime not to be enforcing the health laws. “I think I’ll pass.”
“That’s not the go-getter woman I know.”
No, it wasn’t. “Here’s the problem. Burger Haus is one of KRPT’s sponsors.”
“So? When did that ever stop you?”
“You don’t understand. That’s what got me into trouble in Denver.”
“Are you saying you value your job over doing what’s right?”
When he put it that way, it made her sound shallow. “No. I just know a good story when I hear it, and this isn’t it.”
“That’s such a cop-out. I guess I’ll just have to check it out myself and break the story wide open.”
He wouldn’t dare. “You’re right. Absolutely right. I’ll go check it out right away.” She’d find nothing. She’d make sure of it. She turned left onto Euclid and spotted Burger Haus on the left. “I’ll absolutely take a look. No need for you to come.” And ruin everything.
“If you’re sure. Let me know what you find out.” She swore he chuckled.
An empty spot appeared next to a cop car in the parking lot. She parked next to it and peeled out of her seat. She exhaled, getting ready to do a fake story. If any of her Denver coworkers could see her now, they’d laugh her out of
town.
She heard the shouting before she reached the door. What the hell was going on? Her pulse raced.
As she pulled open the door, she dragged out her iPhone in case there was a real story here. Inside two women were shouting at each other. One was a customer and the other a worker behind the counter. Before she started recording, she asked someone who looked like they knew the shouting woman, the irate woman’s name and what happened.
The friend gave her a word-for-word replay of what went down. Holding the phone at arm’s length, Jessie pretended this was live coverage. “This is Jessie McCallister coming to you from the Burger Haus where Bessie Johnson purportedly ordered curly fries and instead was given straight fries. Let’s listen in.” Dear God, did I just say that?
The policeman was restraining the complaining woman. “I’m telling you, this fat pig gave me the wrong item.” The loud shouting might come out distorted on the recording, but that couldn’t be helped.
The woman behind the register leaned over the counter. “I did not. She asked for straight fries, and that’s what she got. I can show you right here on the receipt.” As she opened the register, a large roach crawled over her hand.
Jessie expected the worker to scream. In fact, Jessie wanted to scream herself but didn’t. The worker waited until the roach crawled by before she stuck her hand in the drawer. She handed a copy of the receipt to the cop.
The poor policeman’s eyes had widened significantly, but he probably figured his job was only to subdue these two women, not report a health violation. The altercation continued, but Jessie couldn’t listen to any more of the fight. The whole thing was ridiculous. She held the phone to face her. “Well, there you have it, folks. Make sure you repeat your order so mistakes don’t get made. This is Jessie McCallister reporting from the Burger Haus.” She stopped the recording.
Cody was right. Damn. This place was a walking violation.
She got out of there fast. Could this day start off any worse? She needed breakfast, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to order anything from here. She got back to the office and wrote up what happened. She needed to pass it by Ichabod even though she knew he’d kill the story. Stepping on sponsors’ toes was always bad for business.
Monroe, Melody Snow - Truth and Seduction [The Callens 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 4
