by Jenny Penn
“Yeah, I know. I told her to stay the hell out of this mess. So did Amanda.”
“And are you expecting her to listen?” Because Jack would call the man a fool if he was.
“No,” the sheriff admitted. He fell silent for a minute, clearly considering his options before adding on to that. “But I’m betting you will. I want you stay the hell away from Kathy.”
“No can do.” Jack wouldn’t agree to that no matter what the sheriff threatened. The big man had some leverage, though. He didn’t hesitate to use it either.
“You know, I do have a lot of friends, friends that tell me things, things about money runners being kidnapped from federal safe houses, about a case gone to hell and an inside man who has a lot of blood on his hands. Only problem is nobody knows who that is, do they?”
The sheriff met Jack’s stare dead-on, each word ratcheting up the tension holding Jack’s shoulders stiff. “Hell, it could be you.”
“Excuse me?” Jack let the anger that was infusing his blood sharpen his words to a lethal edge. “Would you care to repeat that?”
“I’m just saying. The only thing we both know for sure is that I’m not guilty and neither is Kathy.”
“On that, at least, we can agree.” It took an act of supreme willpower to let the sheriff’s insult go, but Jack managed. He knew the man wasn’t actually accusing him but making a point, a very dangerous point.
“It must have been one hell of an assault, and don’t insult my intelligence by claiming it was the cartels. If those assholes had anything to do with it, the whole thing would have been a bloodbath. Nobody would have escaped, especially not the primary target. Somebody else did this, and when you look around here, I know what you’re looking for.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?” Jack would sure like to know because somewhere along the line he felt like he’d lost all direction.
“For some crackpot paramilitary group that has delusions of grandeur, and you’re looking at Kathy because you’re thinking she’s your ticket into the paranoid underground, and don’t deny it.”
Jack blinked, uncertain of how to handle that accusation. The sheriff didn’t have it completely wrong. Hell, he couldn’t have articulated Tagger’s goal better if he’d tried. Jack, on the other hand, had something far more lewd in mind when it came to Kathy, not that he expected that would soothe the sheriff’s temper.
“I think Kathy’s halfway to getting herself killed, and I’m not going to let that happen.” Jack finally decided to go with the one thing he knew Tony Black would agree with. “I don’t want her to be my ticket anywhere. I’m just hoping to be hers to a safe future. You got the time to be that?”
“And your buddy?” Tony asked, clearly not impressed with Jack’s heroism.
“What can I say? It’s a two-man job keeping that woman safe.” Jack shrugged and threw the rest of his beer back. Slamming the empty can down on the trunk, he offered the sheriff his biggest smile. “And happy.”
“I’m going to let that go for right now,” the sheriff allowed, though Jack could see it cost him. “Later, when you hurt her—and we both know you will—we’ll be visiting that conversation again. Got me?”
“I’ll remember to wear a cup.” Jack shoved out of his seat. “If that’s settled, I—”
“I don’t intend to kick you in the balls,” Tony corrected Jack, following his lead and straightening up. “I intend to shoot you in them. Just so we’re clear on that.”
“Okay then.” Jack accepted that because there was nothing else he could do.
Kathy might be aggravating and causing him no small amount of needless problems, but she also stirred barbaric, primitive instincts within him, making him feel alive in ways Jack hadn’t believed existed. She was like a drug to his senses, and now he had to pay the price for becoming an addict. Like any junkie, he’d pay just about any price for a fix, and right then he was late for his.
“So now that we have that cleared up, I’ve got someplace I need to be.”
“Sit your ass back down,” the sheriff snapped. “We’re not done. We’re not even started. I want to know truth about what the hell you boys pulled out of Eddie’s shelter.”
* * * *
Marion paced anxiously up and down the length of the patio, her teeth grinding harder and harder with each ring of the phone. Finally Dennis’s voice mail picked up. His cheery tone boomed over the line, making Marion curse and snap her phone closed. The bastard expected her to be at his beck and call but could barely find the time to say “hello” when she needed his damn help.
Flinging the phone onto the iron-and-glass table set up in the dead center of the circling paver stones, Marion dug into her purse for the silver cigarette case buried at the very bottom. Menthol light one-twenties, the long, thin cigarettes couldn’t provide enough nicotine to even dent the anxiety gripping Marion’s nerves. A pill or two would have helped, but she’d run out. Until Dennis answered, she’d be out.
“Everything, okay?” Millie Sanders cast a concerned glance in Marion’s direction as she stepped through the French doors. A maid trailed in her wake, darting around to set the tea tray she held down on the table.
“Life couldn’t be finer.” Marion forced a smile for the young servant’s benefit. Settling down in the seat opposite Millie, she continued to prattle on as the maid set about serving them. “George is actually talking about taking a true vacation over the holidays. Now that the children are all gone, he’s finally willing to consider Christmas in the Alps.”
“You mean he’s finally grown tired of putting up and taking down all those decorations and sees the wisdom in actually relaxing over the holidays.” Millie chuckled, a false and hollow sound that Marion recognized all too well. It faded as the maid carried the tray off, taking her leave at the wave of Millie’s hand.
“So, how is everything, really?” Millie’s tone sharpened as her gaze narrowed. In an instant, she took on the hard, watchful look of a woman well accustomed to surviving scandal and chaos.
“I miss Will.” Marion sighed, feeling more depressed than she could describe. The words that came to her simply couldn’t do justice to the wealth of feeling brimming inside her. “He was so much fun and now…”
“He was entertaining,” Millie agreed, a smugly satisfied smile pulling at the edge of her lips for a second before straightening back out. “But he wasn’t worth any grief.”
Millie didn’t understand. For her, Will had simply been a seasonal fad. Now she’d go back to screwing her gardener, or her husband’s accountant. Unfortunately, Marion’s gardener called her “ma’am” and had a girlfriend who he worshiped. Marion remembered those days. Back before George, she had looked at Dennis with the same starry-eyed devotion. That hadn’t lasted long.
“Come now, Marion.” Millie offered her a cajoling smile as she reached out to squeeze Marion’s hand. “This is about more than Will. Isn’t it?”
“I think I just need a vacation.” That, actually, wouldn’t be a bad idea. She could transfer some money and just disappear. She could leave Dennis and all her problems behind. “Maybe to a tropical island.”
“That does sound heavenly,” Millie agreed. “Just—”
The shrill ring of Marion’s phone cut Millie off, making the older lady’s gaze jerk toward the sound even as her gaze narrowed in annoyance. Knowing Millie thought her rude for leaving the thing on didn’t stop Marion from answering it and earning herself an even darker glower from her companion.
“I’m sorry. I have to get this,” Marion offered up that pithy excuse as she shoved away from the table to take the call in the privacy of the far corner of the patio. Still she kept her tone low, barely above a whisper as she lifted the phone to her ear. “Hey, baby.”
“Did you clean out Eddie’s house like I asked?” Typical Dennis, he didn’t even bother with a greeting.
“Of course.” Marion would have been affronted that he asked, but her indignation would be wasted on him. She didn’t have th
at much time to spare. “I need—”
“Because Sheriff Black called with an update that said their investigation had shifted to your brother. Things may get rough over the next few weeks.”
“Well, then what I really need is—”
“To stop calling me,” Dennis filled in for her, cutting his words with a hard command that had Marion stiffening.
“But—”
“I’ll call you when it’s safe.”
The line went dead with a finality that shocked Marion. In all her years, the one constant had always been Dennis. He knew her as well as her shadow and had always been just as reliably there. Or had been. That thought sank in, unfurling a cold tendril through Marion as she considered her new reality. She was alone.
Chapter 21
Collin watched Kathy dance away from the dinner table as she answered her phone in a far-too-cheery tone. Something was up. Then again, something always seemed to be up with Kathy. The real question was, what was it this time? Collin had a feeling he wouldn’t like the answer, given how quiet and tense Kathy had been all afternoon.
His first guess for her down mood had been that she felt guilty over lying to him, but given how excited she appeared now and how quick she was to rush out of hearing distance, Collin had to reevaluate his opinion. Even so, he still figured her suspicious behavior had something to do with what had been missing from Eddie’s mantel.
A heavy thump on the back door drew Collin from his attempt to strain and catch part of Kathy’s conversation. It didn’t shock him to glance over his shoulder and find Jack scowling at him through the glass as he waited for Collin to come unlock the door. No doubt he’d come to chew Collin out, a fact that had Collin dragging his feet as he got up to let Jack in. Jack didn’t even wait for him to turn the knob. The second Collin threw the deadbolt back, the door swung open and Jack came storming in, snapping at Collin as he did.
“What the hell do you think you were doing today?”
“Shhh!” Collin waved away Jack’s heated tone as he headed back to the table. “Kathy is on the phone, and I’m trying to hear what she’s saying.”
“What?” Jack followed Collin, glancing toward the living room. “Is she up to something?”
“Is she breathing?” Collin retorted, quickly forcing a smile as Kathy turned and caught them both staring at her. She shot them a dirty look and turned to head for her bedroom. The loud slam that followed made its own point. “And she’s a little testy right now, too.”
“It must be something in the air,” Jack retorted, settling down into Kathy’s abandoned seat and helping himself to her barely touched plate. “So you going to answer my question?”
“It wasn’t my fault,” Collin defended himself, knowing what had Jack all riled up. His friend, though, could put the blame where it was due. “Did you really want me to let her go into Eddie’s place alone?”
“No,” Jack retorted, “but you could have not fucked where Tagger’s men could get it on film.”
“I had to make a point.” Collin shrugged, not particularly worried who saw them. He didn’t care if the whole world watched. All that mattered to him was that Kathy enjoyed herself, which he knew she had. Jack, though, still sounded grouchy as he pressed Collin.
“That point being?”
“Something was missing from Eddie’s mantel. It unnerved her, but she wouldn’t tell me what.” Collin paused with his fork halfway to his mouth to pin Jack with a pointed look. “I managed to get an answer out of her, but I’m thinking she lied.”
“She’s breathing, isn’t she?” Jack managed an actual smile with that question as he glanced at the bedroom door. “I guess you didn’t push far enough. We’ll just have to right that wrong after dinner.”
“We will?” Collin lifted a brow at that.
“I will.” Jack corrected himself, seeming more than happy about the current situation. Collin, on the other hand, didn’t feel so exuberant about the idea. “Why you shaking your head? You got a better idea?”
“Yeah, or at least one that hasn’t already failed twice.” Collin hated to burst Jack’s bubble, but they needed to make progress. “Face it, man, the woman is not deterred by punishment, nor is she broken by it.”
“Yeah, but it’s so much fun.” Jack looked as hopeful as Collin had ever seen as he came as close to begging as Collin had ever heard. “And I’ve had a really shitty day.”
“You can punish her,” Collin assured him. “Hell, I’ll take a piece of that action, but that doesn’t mean we should confuse the issues. There’s business and then there is pleasure. Everybody knows what happens when you mix the two.”
“Fine,” Jack sighed, caving in with ill grace. “But if we’re not going to make her beg to tell us what’s up, how we going to get her to talk?”
“It’s really simple.” Collin paused, waiting for Jack to look up before hitting him with the concept. “Guilt.”
“Guilt?”
“Same damn thing your mama used to use to keep you in line.”
“Used to?” Jack grunted. “You’ve met my mom. You know there’s no ‘used to’ about her. The woman is as fresh as ever.”
Collin chuckled at that, knowing exactly what Jack meant. Short and fiery, Jack’s mom ruled her family with absolute authority, using any and all weapons at her disposal. He wouldn’t dare say it, but Kathy actually reminded Collin a little of Jack’s mom.
“Then you must be the expert,” Collin pointed out instead. “I guess I should follow your lead.”
“Shit,” Jack snorted, looking uncomfortable with the whole conversation. “This is never going to work, because unless you failed to notice, we’re not women.”
“That’s a negative attitude, man,” Collin warned him. “And you know where that gets you.”
“Locked in my own bunker?” Jack retorted, taunting Collin with the fact that he knew about more than Kathy and Collin’s trip to Eddie’s house. That also meant Jack’s people had already busted into Eddie’s old bomb shelter.
“So?”
“So?”
“So you going to tell me what you found in that asshole’s bunker or you going to give me another lecture about teams and stuff?”
“I should give you the lecture,” Jack retorted, hesitating with a clear threat to do just that. In the end, he shrugged his own threat away. “Not like it would do any good. Half the town probably already knows we pulled Eddie’s charred remains out of that bunker.”
“Damn.” Collin lost his smile at that bit of news, unnerved by the thought of Kathy making such a discovery. “That isn’t good.”
“Yeah,” Jack sighed. “The sheriff didn’t think so either. He doesn’t want to admit that somebody in this town could do such a thing, but can’t deny that there is no way anybody with the cartels got down there.”
“No, it either had to be somebody who knew the old combination or somebody Eddie would let in.” It also meant that there was a good probability that Kathy knew the person. “I wonder if there’s any way to get her to give us a list of suspects before she finds out about Eddie.”
“How many ways do I need to say it, man? There is no us.” Jack tried to hammer that point home with a hard look, but Collin could see beyond Jack’s bluster to the real problem agitating his friend. It wasn’t Collin. It was guilt. That couldn’t be good.
“Oh, shit,” Collin groaned. “You know something, don’t you?”
“What?” Jack straightened up in his seat, a clear sign that he was more alarmed than annoyed.
“What else did they find in Eddie’s bunker? And don’t tell me that I’m not part of your damn team,” Collin cut off Jack’s reflexive denial. “I’m part of the team looking to keep Kathy safe. What team are you part of?”
That shouldn’t have worked. That should have had Jack snorting and responding with some crass and brutal putdown. He didn’t, though. Instead Jack glanced toward the door Kathy had disappeared through and sighed.
“You know I’m the sam
e man I was when I was your partner,” Collin pressed. “I still have the same values, still believe in truth and justice.”
“It stays between us.” Jack’s gaze slid back to meet his as he clarified his blunt point. “Not Amos. Not Kathy. Not anybody else.”
“Nobody. I got it.” Collin nodded, remaining silent even when Jack failed to instantly respond. As Collin figured, that’s what his buddy waited for. With one last glance toward the door, Jack leaned in close.
“Eddie had a big hole in the back of his head that no fire could disguise.”
“And, given he was found in his own bunker, that could only mean the murderer was trying to hide something else.” It didn’t take Collin even a second to reason through that problem. “They must have struggled and he wanted to get rid of any forensic evidence.”
“More than that,” Jack corrected him. “It wasn’t just the body that was burned, but the security system as well.”
“Well that explains why the door wouldn’t open.” Collin kept his tone as low as Jack’s, aware of the sound of Kathy’s voice chirping happily away in the other room.
“Yeah,” Jack agreed easily enough before slowly expanding his answer. “The security system controlled more than the lock on the main door. Apparently there were cameras and other surveillance gear.”
“That might have picked up the image of the killer.” They could wish to be so lucky. Even as Collin offered up that hope, Jack killed it.
“If it’s there it’s going to take a while to find. Whoever set that place on fire used some kind of homemade napalm.”
“Napalm?” Collin scowled over that detail. “And strategic assaults on federal safe houses add up to people with military training.”
“No. Really?” Jack snickered as he shook his head. “That never dawned on me. Guess it’s a good thing you’re around, huh?”
Before Collin could respond to that piece of wisdom, Kathy’s bedroom door flew open and she came storming out. Jack shared a look with him as she muttered her way back to the phone base and slammed the receiver into it. Already irritated for whatever reasons, Kathy’s scowl didn’t lighten when she turned to find Jack sitting in her seat.
