“I’ll stay as long as you need. You might want to call Axe before you visit Zach. The doctor’s on his way to sign Zach out.”
“Is that my phone ringing?” I dug through the junk in my purse to find it. Good thing the screen lights up.
“Madison, this is Kevin,” he said. “I need you to come to The Cottages.” The tone of his voice made me feel sick. “Are you calling about yesterday?”
“We have a few questions we need you to answer.”
“I’m going to the hospital to check on Zach.”
“You have to come now.”
Why was he being so evasive? “Is there a problem?”
“Come to The Cottages first,” he demanded. “If you need me to, I can pick you up.”
“I’m on my way.” I turned to Fab. “What an odd conversation. Kevin wants me to go over to The Cottages right now, but he wouldn’t say why. Yesterday, he couldn’t have been nicer. When he came to investigate the shooting, he took charge, and various departments of law enforcement showed up in minutes. Today, he’s a different person. Cold and distant. All business.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“I’ll be fine. As soon as I’m finished, I’m going to go and see Zach.”
Had Miss January died? Two sheriff’s cars and a coroner’s van were parked at The Cottages. I hurried across the parking lot. Kevin met me with an older man in a suit who definitely had the look of a cop. “This is Detective Harder,” he said.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Come over here,” Detective Harder directed. “Where did you go after you killed Cooper yesterday?”
My knees went weak. “What’s this about?”
He gave me a cold stare. “Did you think of other options before you pulled the trigger?”
“Is this about Neal Cooper? It was self-defense.” I really disliked this detective, and I was very confused.
“Where were you yesterday?” he spoke slowly, as though I might not understand.
“I went to the hospital, and then a friend took me home and stayed with me all night.”
“Does your friend have a name?” he sneered.
“Fabiana Merceau.”
“For someone new to town you associate with an interesting group of people. All of them criminals,” he snorted.
“Is there a reason I’m here?” I started to shiver under the hot summer sun.
“We found a dead man in Cottage Nine. I need you to come with me, and identify the body.”
“I’m not looking at a dead body,” I stammered. A dead man? Who could that be? Hopefully, not someone I knew.
“You’ll do what I tell you or you’ll be arrested and taken to jail. You should be used to this.”
“I want to call a lawyer.” I tried to sound forceful.
“Of course you do,” he snickered. “But first you need to make the identification and answer a few questions.”
“I want to call my lawyer now,” I insisted.
“Can you explain how you end up connected to two dead bodies in two days?”
I glared at him.
“Why didn’t you let Zach and Neal deal with their differences? They both might be dead today.” He barred his teeth into a smile. Then the detective fixated on something over my left shoulder: Zach, limping up the driveway on crutches. “What’s going on here?” He put his arm around me.
“This is an official investigation, and you need to leave,” Harder said to Zach.
“He won’t let me call my lawyer.” I sounded whiny, but I didn’t care.
“Did I say you couldn’t call your lawyer? No,” he said loudly. “The law says you can make one phone call.”
“He said I had to identify a dead body, and answer questions first,” I leaned further into Zach.
“Call your lawyer,” Zach said.
Tucker Davis was my last choice, but he was also my only choice. It surprised me when he picked up the phone. “Tucker, this is Madison Westin. I’m here at The Cottages. The police found a dead body and are asking me questions and I don’t want to say anything without a lawyer present.”
“I heard you blew away Neal Cooper yesterday. Did you kill this one too?”
“No, I didn’t. Are you coming here or not?”
“I’ll be right there. Who’s the investigating detective?”
“Detective Harder.”
“Don’t say anything until I arrive.” He hung up.
Harder laughed. “You called Tucker Davis? Are you aware his clients are always guilty? Good choice in your case.”
“He said he’d be right over, and he told me not to say anything until he gets here.”
“Kevin, put Miss Westin in the back of the car until Tucker gets here. You need to leave,” he said to Zach, “before you get arrested for interfering with an investigation.”
“You’re a real asshole, Harder. I’m not going anywhere until Tucker gets here.”
Kevin led me to his sheriff’s car. “I called Zach as soon as I found out Harder had been assigned to the case,” he confided. “I thought you could use his support. Besides, I knew he’d look out for you.”
“Thank you,” I said. “What the heck is going on?”
“An anonymous call came in about a horrible smell. We found a young guy murdered in Cottage Nine.”
“Anybody you recognize?”
“Never seen him before. Once Tucker gets here, he’ll put an end to this, and you’ll be on your way. Then get a new attorney.” He shook his head.
From the car window, I could see Harder standing by Joseph’s cottage, talking on his phone, laughing, and looking my way. What was he up to?
Zach waited in his car; his support meant a lot to me. I wanted to close my eyes and forget about the last couple of days. It seemed liked I had been sitting here forever and Tucker still hadn’t shown up, and I was beginning to think he’d never had any intention of coming.
About a half hour later, Harder walked to the car and opened the door, “You’re free to go.”
“Where’s Tucker?”
“Busy. He called me to discuss some of the details of the case, and he arranged to bring you into the station for an interview tomorrow.”
“How long ago did he call?”
“A few minutes ago.”
You bastard. I’ve been watching you, and the only time you talked on the phone happened a good while ago. I got out of the police car, walked across the parking lot, and got in Zach’s car.
“Where’s Tucker?” he demanded.
“He never had any intention of coming.” I shook my head. “He called Harder and made arrangements for me to go into his office tomorrow.”
“Screw him. You’ll have a new lawyer by tomorrow. Cruz Campion is a friend of mine. He’ll handle this for you.”
“Do you know any of the details?”
“Not much. They found a man murdered, and haven’t identified him yet. He’s been dead for several days.”
“Why would Harder want an alibi for last night if this guy has been dead for days?”
“He’s jerking you around, furious I wasn’t the one to die. Great shot, by the way.”
“You were unarmed. What was I supposed to do? Besides, once you were dead, who’d protect me?”
“I’m happy we’re both okay,” he said as he hugged me. “How did you find my gun?”
“Crazy luck.”
“Did I say thank you?” he whispered in my ear. “I mean really, thank you,” Zach pulled me closer and gave me a long kiss. He drove me home, using his good leg to drive. “I need to go by the office and make some calls, find out what’s been going on here in the last few days. All my guys have police connections, so whatever information Harder has we’ll find out. I’ll come by and check on you later.”
Chapter 24
I woke up the next morning in a strange bed before I remembered I’d stayed the night at my mother’s house. Jazz slept soundly beside me. I hadn’t wanted to stay at home alone. I grabbed an overnig
ht bag, packed up Jazz and flew out of the house.
Damn. Zach told me that he might stop by, and I’d completely forgotten about him. He hadn’t called, so he must’ve gotten busy. My phone was dead. I left the charger on my kitchen counter and I’d gone straight to bed to escape my mother’s million and one questions.
I didn’t have the emotional energy to tell her I killed a man, or why I’d been at Zach’s in the first place. Much less add that a dead body had turned up in one of the cottages. And then that the lead detective was treating me like a person of interest, which had me freaked out.
There would be hell to pay if she found out from someone else, but I wasn’t telling her today. I needed one day to catch my breath and not be afraid. Tucker had called on my way to Coral Gables, and informed me that Harder had rescheduled the interview, and would call with a new day and time. Tucker also told me that if I’d been a serious suspect Harder would’ve taken me into custody last night. I should consider the postponement as a good sign. I didn’t like Harder or Tucker. I was now agreeing with those people that told me I needed a new attorney.
“I was beginning to wonder if you would sleep the day away,” Mother said as I walked into the kitchen. “I got your favorite – pecan rolls.” She pulled out a pink bakery box.
“I’m surprised Jazz isn’t in here bugging you for food.” I noticed Jazz was sound asleep in a chair.
“Your cat doesn’t like me.”
“It’s because you call him ‘hairball’. He’s sensitive, and doesn’t like being called names.”
My mother rolled her eyes. “I invited your brother to dinner tonight. How long are you staying?”
“One more night. I’ll be leaving in the morning.”
She came across the kitchen and gave me a hug. “Don’t hurry. You can stay as long as you want.”
“Thanks. I’m going to eat this roll and go take a nap.”
“You just got up,” she said.
“What time is Brad coming? I’ll be dressed and ready for company by then.” Disappointment was written all over my mother’s face, but I couldn’t take the chance she’d start asking questions again.
“Brad said late afternoon.”
I retreated to my bedroom. My plan was to hide until Brad arrived. I smelled some sort of ambush by the two of them. I turned on the television and fell back asleep.
* * *
I woke up, dragged myself into the shower, still woozy and emotionally wrung-out from one of the pills Doc Rivers had given me.
I made a half-hearted attempt at my appearance. No need to impress my mother and brother. What I needed was to figure out how I was going to tell them about the shooting and the dead guy. Shocking news isn’t always a good conversation starter.
As I walked into the living room, I reviewed my options. Guess what? I have good news, bad news. The bad news, I shot and killed someone. The good news, I saved Zach’s life. Oh and more bad news. A dead body was discovered at The Cottages. That was enough to make up my mind: I won’t tell them today.
“You never sleep this much. Are you sick?” Mother reached out and touched my forehead.
Saved by the doorbell. “Why is Brad ringing the bell?”
“Stay there, I’ll get it.”
If I hadn’t been sitting on the couch when Zach walked in, I’d have fallen over. “What are you doing here?”
“Madeline invited me to dinner,” he smiled.
No, she did not. “When?” I whispered as he bent down to kiss me.
Mother had gone back into the kitchen. “When I called this morning.”
“Nobody told me you called.”
“Didn’t I tell you I’d be coming over last night?” he sounded annoyed.
“Honestly, I forgot. When I got home, the thought of being there alone had me running back out the door. I remembered on the drive over, and planned to call when I got here and instead went to sleep. My mother doesn’t know what happened,” I whispered.
“When I called and it went straight to voice mail I got worried about you.”
“I took one of the pills Doc Rivers gave me, and I was asleep when my head hit the pillow. I didn’t realize until this morning my phone had gone dead. How’d you find me here?”
“I’m an investigator. A good one,” he pointed out. “I went to your house and, when you didn’t answer the door, I went inside.”
“Are you telling me you knocked on the door?”
“Funny. I walked around, and realized you’d packed up Jazz and left. I figured there weren’t many places you could go and take your cat. I called this morning, Madeline confirmed you’d arrived last night, and here I am.”
“You should have asked to speak to me.”
“Why would I do that? You wouldn’t have invited me over.”
“I could’ve warned you. Brad’s coming to dinner.”
“I want to meet your brother.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you remember the last time you had dinner with Mother? Expect that times two.”
He sat down next to me and pulled me into his arms. “I figured Madeline had an ulterior motive. She’s your mother.” His hand found the deep slit in my dress, and he ran his fingers over my butt. “I can protect both you and me. Trust me.”
“I hope so. My mother isn’t one of your criminals. She’s really good at getting information out of her children.”
“I like this dress,” he grinned, pulling on the neckline and peering inside.
“Stop that! What if my mother sees you?”
“No underwear. Very nice,” he chuckled. “I may not be able to protect you from your mother and brother after all. I’ll be distracted with other thoughts. How far do you think I can get my hand up this dress?”
“You definitely don’t want to get caught,” I laughed.
Mother walked back in carrying a tray of fresh shrimp, and cut-up fruits and vegetables.
“What happened, Zach? Why are you using a cane?”
The front door opened. Thank goodness for the diversion. “Brad’s here,” Mother smiled at him.
“I apologize in advance,” I whispered in Zach’s ear.
“Hey sis.” Brad looked at Zach. “Mike isn’t it?”
“Mike? His name is Zach,” I said.
“Whose cane?” Brad asked.
“It’s Zach’s. I was just asking him about that,” Mother said.
“Minor leg injury,” Zach answered.
“Ah. The boyfriend,” Brad gave Zach the once over. “Don’t you two think the boyfriend -girlfriend thing is a little soon? How long have you known each other? Five minutes?”
“You’ve been in love, haven’t you?” Zach baited him.
“Love,” Brad snorted.
Zach and Brad ramped up with the testosterone talk, marking their territory.
“First of all, big brother,” I interrupted. “My love life is none of your business. If you and Mother have some sort of good guy, bad guy scheme cooked up, forget about it.”
Brad stared at me. “With your history, we just want to make sure he’s not a total jerk.”
“With my history,” I snorted. “What about yours? Let’s talk about psycho Patty. Didn’t she end up doing a stint in the nut house?”
“Behave. Both of you,” Mother said loudly.
“Let’s change the subject,” I said.
“What’s happening with the estate?” Mother asked.
“Tucker, Will, and I had a meeting, and discussed plans for a smooth transition,” I lied.
The buzzer sounded on the stove and Mother disappeared into the kitchen. “Do you need any help?” I called out.
“Brad can help me.”
I laughed at Brad as he left the room, and he glared back.
“Come here,” Zach said, pulling me into his arms. I leaned against him, hungry for his kiss. And more. “How much of what you said about The Cottages is the truth?” Zach whispered, nibbling on my ear.
“None of it.”
“Yo
u lied to your mother?” he asked, trying to sound shocked.
“Don’t go there. If those two had any idea I was having problems, they’d want to micromanage.”
His hand slipped inside my dress. His fingers moved up and down my back.
“Hey sis, have you forgotten you’re at your mother’s house?” Brad asked.
“Is dinner ready?” I responded.
“Food’s on the table if you two can separate yourselves.”
I stood up and handed Zach his cane. He got up slowly. “We haven’t talked since Neal Cooper,” he reminded me. “Come home with me tonight.”
“I can’t. I told Mother that I’m staying overnight. I’ll be back late in the morning.”
Zach sat next to me and across from Mother, which I thought would be safer than him having him sit next to or across from Brad. I hoped everyone would be too distracted by Mother’s barbequed salmon for anything more than small talk. Secrets were hard to keep in this family. The less talk, the less chance anything would slip.
“I found a guy to work on Elizabeth’s boat,” Brad told us.
“That’s good news,” I said. I was excited that the boat would be running again.
“Was Mr. Spoon able to recommend someone?” Mother asked.
“Spoon?” I said and turned to Brad. “You know Spoon?”
“Never met him. Madeline gave me his number.”
“Why does he get to call you Madeline and I don’t?”
“He doesn’t either,” she frowned at him.
“Spoon referred me to a man named Moron, who’d worked on the boat for Elizabeth.
“Moron?” I said. “That’s awful.”
“You know how Spoon has a gift when it comes to cars? Moron has the same talent with boats,” Zach spoke up. “Moron is a nickname from elementary school. His name is Angelo Marone. The kids teased him unmercifully. First they called him Angie, and after a couple of fistfights, it changed to Moron. Trust me, there’s nothing stupid about the man.”
“Moron asked me how solid your relationship was with Zach here,” Brad eyed me.
“Why would he ask about me?” I asked. “I’ve never met him.”
“Well he seemed to know all about you. He did say he hadn’t actually met you, but that he’s looking forward to it.” He glared at me.
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