Sophie was generally more controlled than the other women, but even she looked blitzed as she slung an arm over Grady’s shoulders and leaned into him. “Let’s go home and have sex.”
“We’re going home and you’re going to drink a gallon of water and hopefully not puke,” Grady countered, following James down the sidewalk. They’d parked close to one another. “What brought on party mode?”
“I told Ally what happened because I knew she was going to find out eventually,” Sophie answered, guileless.
“Oh,” Grady said, brushing Sophie’s hair away from her face. “Are you okay?”
“I feel great,” Sophie said. “Although … there’s a good chance I might throw up.”
Grady laughed despite himself. “I’ll take care of you.”
He piled Sophie in the passenger seat, making sure to fasten her seatbelt, and he found James doing the same when he moved to the driver’s side of the car.
“Are you good?” Grady asked.
“Ask me that when she wakes up with a hangover and blames it on me tomorrow,” James said. “I’m fine. Take care of Sophie.”
“I will,” Grady said. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
James nodded and Grady had to bite his lip to keep from laughing when he heard Mandy’s parting shot to James before he shut the door.
“We should watch sharks tonight. I’m feeling frisky.”
“You’re feeling drunk, wife, and you’re going straight to bed,” James countered. “We’ll play the frisky game tomorrow.”
Sophie was half asleep when Grady climbed in beside her, and he was convinced he would have to carry her inside once they got home. For her part, Sophie was so lost in her busy mind she almost didn’t notice the man leaning against a car three parking spots down. He was watching her. She recognized him from somewhere, but her mind was too fuzzy to grasp where.
“Are you ready for bed?” Grady asked.
Sophie didn’t answer. She was already asleep.
20
Twenty
“I feel like poo on toast.”
James glanced up from his newspaper as Mandy trudged into the kitchen the next morning. He would never say it out loud, but for a change, she looked as bad as she felt. “Oh, yeah? I wonder why.”
“Ha, ha.” Mandy’s sense of humor was missing. She had a feeling she’d left it at the bottom of a martini glass – or perhaps the bottom of six glasses – the previous evening. “I guess it’s good it’s Saturday, huh?”
“It is indeed,” James said, taking pity on his wife and getting to his feet so he could pour her a mug of coffee. He wordlessly watched as she padded to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water, fighting the urge to laugh as she guzzled it down – a little water escaping the sides of her mouth and running down her chin to land on her tank top – and then reach for another bottle. “Thirsty?”
“James, you know I love you, right?”
James nodded.
“Now is not the time for games,” Mandy said. “My head is killing me.”
“There’s aspirin on the table and I ordered breakfast from that diner you like around the corner,” James said. “I had to bribe the owner with a fifty-dollar tip to get him to deliver it, but it should be here in ten minutes.”
“Well, now I really love you.”
Mandy settled at the table next to James, nursing her coffee as he went back to his reading. Finally, she couldn’t take the silence a moment longer.
“Aren’t you going to yell at me for getting drunk last night?”
James glanced over the top of his newspaper. “Do you want me to yell at you?”
“Not particularly, but you’re generally not thrilled when I get drunk and you have to pick me up.”
“Well, since that happens about once every three months and isn’t a regular habit, I don’t feel the need to yell,” James said. “Besides, Sophie let it slip that she told Ally what happened last night and I figured you all drank to put it out of your minds.”
Mandy nodded. “Did you know it was the foster brother who did that to her and not the father?”
James stilled, surprised. “No. Did she tell you that?”
“Yeah. She said the foster father covered for his son and went to prison. I guess the mother did, too.”
“Well, I’m not sure what to say about that,” James said, lowering the newspaper to the table. “In some ways that makes it worse. The parents watched what he did and didn’t stop him. Something tells me that kid probably grew up to be a righteous pig.”
“Maybe karma got him and he’s dead.”
James lifted an eyebrow. “Wow.”
“I’m sorry,” Mandy said, shaking her head. “That was a horrible thing to say, but when I think of what they did to Sophie I can’t help but be angry.”
“I’m right there with you, baby,” James said, reaching over to gather her hand. “Sophie seemed fairly relaxed last night. I think drinking with you and Ally was probably good for her. It relieved some of the pressure.”
“Yeah.”
This time, the silence the couple lapsed into was more comfortable. Since the effects of last night’s alcohol binge dulled Mandy’s mind, though, it took her a few moments to gather her thoughts.
“Did anything happen with the Foley case? Sophie was really upset the sheriff dodged her, but then we kind of forgot about it.”
“Things are at a standstill,” James replied. “Grady, Jake, and I spent the afternoon going through Foley and Humphrey’s campaign finances, and we found a few interesting things. We got sidetracked when our women dumped us for the night, though.”
“Oh, suck it up,” Mandy said. “You’ve dumped me for pool tournaments with your brothers a few times. Have I complained?”
“No,” James said. “You have, however, taken naughty photos of yourself and texted them to me to get me to come home early.”
Mandy snorted. “That always works like a charm.”
“You know, if something ever happens to one of us, law enforcement is going to look at our texts and think we’re perverts.”
“I don’t care,” Mandy said. “Once I put this hangover behind me, I plan on dragging you out to the guesthouse to watch sharks and be perverted all afternoon.”
“And that right there is why I love you more than anything in this world,” James said, leaning over and rubbing his nose against Mandy’s. “I would kiss you, but you haven’t brushed your teeth yet.”
Mandy made a face. “The love comes and goes, huh?”
“No. The love lasts forever. The kisses need fresh breath.”
“Ugh.” Mandy rolled her eyes. “I’ll go do it now. I plan on kissing you senseless after breakfast.”
“The love is definitely back, baby.”
“CLOSE the blinds.”
Sophie dragged the comforter over her head in an effort to block out the morning light. Grady considered closing the blinds again, but ultimately decided against it.
“Get up, sugar,” Grady instructed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I made blueberry pancakes and have a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen. You need to get up to enjoy it, though.”
“I think I’d rather stay here and die.”
“Nope,” Grady said, reaching under the covers and snagging Sophie around the waist so he could drag her off the mattress. “I’ve got aspirin, juice, and water waiting, too. I promise you’ll feel better if you get up.”
“Fine,” Sophie muttered, slapping Grady’s hands away as she shakily got to her feet. “You’re not my favorite person right now, just for the record.”
“You’re always my favorite person.”
“I can’t even be irritated with you when you say sweet things like that,” Sophie grumbled, padding out of the bedroom and into the living room with Grady trailing behind her. “What time is it?”
“It’s almost ten,” Grady answered. “I was going to let you sleep a little bit longer, but I figured ten hours was enough and you need to
start hydrating or we’re going to lose the entire day.”
“I guess, although a day in bed sounds fun to me.”
“It is fun when you’re healthy enough to enjoy it,” Grady said. “You, my love, are not.”
“Well, hopefully breakfast will perk me up,” Sophie said. “I … .” She pulled up short when she saw the vase of roses on the kitchen table. They were expensive blooms – the same ones James got Mandy, only in orange, green and yellow – and they sat on the table as if they always belonged there. “Did you buy those for me?”
“Well, I didn’t buy them for anyone else,” Grady said, urging Sophie forward with a hand at the small of her back. “I bought them yesterday. You didn’t get a chance to see them because you went straight to the bar after work and were asleep when I carried you inside.”
“Grady, they’re too expensive,” Sophie said, her voice cracking as she reached out to touch one of the roses. “They’re beautiful.”
Grady swallowed the lump in his throat at the sight of Sophie’s glassy eyes. He made a mental note to buy her flowers more often. He never thought of her as a woman who liked flowers, but he was obviously wrong.
“You’re beautiful, sugar,” Grady said, regaining control of his emotions. “Now sit down and eat your breakfast. I’m hopeful that you’ll be up to doling out my punishment later this afternoon, or at least the first few tasks. Your chocolates came, by the way. The delivery guy dropped them off right before I woke you up.”
Grady was stunned when Sophie turned to him instead of sliding into her chair. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in the hollow of his neck. “I love you.”
“Oh, Sophie, I love you,” Grady said, rubbing her back. “These are just roses, though. I got them because I knew you liked Mandy’s. I obviously should’ve bought them for you before this, though.”
Sophie wiped her leaky eyes with the sleeve of her shirt as she pulled away. “You’re the only guy besides Peter to ever get me flowers.”
Grady’s heart rolled at the admission. He understood what James meant when he said the roses had some magical property. “Well, get used to that,” he said. “I’m the only one who is going to keep buying you roses.”
Sophie’s smile was small and heartfelt, and when she finally sat in her chair she focused on her breakfast plate. Grady was convinced it was because she needed to gain control of her emotions, so he didn’t push her for conversation.
After a few moments Sophie was collected and ready to apologize. “I’m sorry we got so drunk last night,” she said. “I knew it was a bad idea, and yet when Ally suggested it, I jumped in with both feet.”
“It’s okay,” Grady said. “I think cutting loose was probably good for you. You might’ve been better off stopping two drinks before you did, but there was no harm done. My understanding is that Jake had to wander through three parking lots – eventually carrying Ally – before he found her car. Things could’ve been worse.”
Sophie giggled, the sound warming Grady. “She was so funny last night,” she said, spearing a forkful of pancake goodness. “She calls Jake a boatload of hilarious names when she’s drunk.”
“Like what?”
“Lambkins. Love muffin. Snookums. I asked her if Jake minded the names and she said only if someone else mentioned them.”
Grady grinned. “I can’t wait to mention them.”
“Don’t you dare,” Sophie warned, wagging a finger. “Leave it alone. Jake has his hands full as it is.”
“We’ve all got our hands full,” Grady countered. “Except Finn. I noticed Emma wasn’t out cavorting last night.”
“Emma is a new mother who is breastfeeding,” Sophie said. “She can’t cavort. No one thinks a drunk baby is funny.”
“I had not even considered that,” Grady said. “Well, as soon as she’s done with that, you guys can have another girls’ night. We’ll take care of the kid and provide transportation.”
“I think I’m off alcohol for a little bit,” Sophie said. “Has anything happened with the Foley case? I didn’t miss Morgan making a statement about changing his mind, did I?”
“No, but I have information about that,” Grady said. “I know a guy in the department and I called him to ask about the rumor. He refused to go into a lot of detail, but he claims Morgan was pressured by Humphrey and Foley into doing what he did.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I do. Don’t you?”
“I thought that’s what happened from the start,” Sophie replied. “Don’t get me wrong, I think Morgan has a few … personality … issues. I also don’t think he’s necessarily a bad guy at heart. I do think he’s in over his head, though.
“The truth is, John Madison was the real brains behind that operation for most of Morgan’s tenure,” she continued. “He made most of the decisions and then sent Morgan out to put a pretty face on the words and deeds.
“When all of the bad stuff came out about Madison and he tried to kill me, Morgan was left scrambling,” Sophie said. “He can’t afford a misstep right now. He knows it. He knows we know it. He’s had enough dealings with us to know we’re not going to let it go.”
“So you think he’s going to give in sooner rather than later, don’t you?”
“That’s exactly what I think,” Sophie confirmed. “He’s feeling pressure from Humphrey and Foley, but it’s nothing compared to the pressure he’s probably feeling from all of the angry potential voters speaking out about this case.”
“When do you think he’ll break?” Grady asked.
“Soon,” Sophie replied. “I just hope it’s soon enough to give the families of the other victims a little peace.”
“Sugar, you can only do what you can do,” Grady said. “I love you, but sometimes you get overzealous with this stuff. We’re going through all of Humphrey and Foley’s financials, but it’s going to take a little time. We’re going to find something to help you if you have a little patience, though.”
“Well, today I have nothing but patience,” Sophie said. “I’m going to eat my pancakes, swallow my aspirin, and drink a bunch of water. Then I was kind of hoping we could curl up on the couch and spend an entire day together with nothing to do but each other.”
Grady grinned. “Now that’s my type of day. Eat up, Sophie. You’re going to need the fuel for what I have planned for you.”
21
Twenty-One
By the time Monday morning rolled around, Sophie was ready for action. A weekend spent curled up with Grady was exactly what she needed. She felt in sync with him again, and she had no idea how much she missed their easy camaraderie until she felt it slipping away.
When Sophie walked into the kitchen to eat breakfast before work, she found James and Grady at the counter with their heads bent together.
“What’s going on?”
“Hey, Sophie,” James said, not bothering to look up. “I’ve found some interesting information on Chuck Foley.”
Sophie was intrigued. “Finally. What have you got?”
James arched an eyebrow. “Finally? I’ll have you know I gave up my weekend to work on this.”
“Mandy texted and told me about the little dance you did to the Jaws theme song Saturday night while you guys were playing games,” Sophie said, her smile wry. “I don’t think you gave up too much of your weekend.”
James scowled. “That woman has a huge mouth.”
“What kind of dance did you do?” Grady asked, smirking. “Did you wear a coconut bra? I mean, it was a shark themed event. A coconut bra sounds like it would fit right in.”
“No,” James said, his eyes lighting up. “Now that you mention it, though, I think Mandy would look smashing in something like that.”
“You’re such a fool for love,” Grady teased.
“I’m fine with that,” James said. “Anyway, I found exactly what we’re looking for. I just didn’t realize what I found until I did a more thorough check.”
“I’m w
aiting with bated breath,” Grady deadpanned, frowning when Sophie lightly cuffed him as she joined them at the counter.
“Okay,” James said, pointing to the documents on the counter. “So, when John Madison worked for Sheriff Morgan he had his own account. I’m sure you remember that he was diverting funds from the department budget for his own personal gain – and that was on top of getting his crazy son a job with animal control.”
Sophie nodded.
“Madison was caught because he took too much money and it dinged when it came time for the audit,” James continued. “He’d been shuffling funds around between the smaller departments to cover the shortfall, and he managed to keep his secret for years by making it a big Ponzi scheme and shifting funds to cover whenever necessary.
“Now, what most people don’t know is that after his arrest, Morgan found the account where Madison hid the money and instead of returning it to the county so it could be doled out again, he put it back in the sheriff’s department’s coffers,” he said.
“How do you know that?” Sophie asked, curious. “That should’ve been made public.”
“I heard rumors and I confirmed them late last night when I made a call to a guy I know who works for the sheriff’s department,” James replied. “And, no, I’m not going to tell you who it is. Then he’ll never help us again.”
“Fair enough,” Sophie said. “Continue.”
“On a hunch, I ran the numbers from Madison’s account to see if it was closed down after he was sent to prison,” James said. “I figured Morgan would’ve insisted on it to put the final nail in Madison’s coffin, so to speak. Instead, I found the account still in operation, only it was under another name.”
“You spend too much time with Ally and Mandy,” Grady said, shaking his head. “You get this dramatic storytelling thing you do from them.”
“Don’t talk badly about my baby,” James said, flicking the end of Grady’s nose.
“Don’t talk badly about your sister either,” Sophie added.
“Ugh. Women always stick together,” Grady lamented. “Yes, James, I’m including you in that statement.”
“Here is where things get interesting,” James said. “The account now belongs to Jenna Barone.”
Deadly Memories (Hardy Brothers Security Book 18) Page 16
