a Touch of TNT (An Everly Gray Adventure)

by Charles, L. j.

I shot a look at her house. Dark.

  I searched for a collar. Yep, there it was. I picked the little guy up, pulled the tag free from his fur, and read the information. “So—” I held him at eye level— “says here your name is Merlin. What do you think of that?”

  He stretched to lick my face. Unsuccessfully. I tucked him against my chest. Truth be known, I wasn’t good with dogs. Never had one as a kid. Never wanted one. Although Merlin was pretty cute, and he felt warm and cuddly snuggled against me.

  “How’d you get out here?” I stepped out of the car and set him on the ground.

  “Woof.” He butted his head against me, then jumped to rest his front paws on my leg.

  Being a sucker for big, black eyes, I picked him up again. He nuzzled against my neck and tickled me with a few licks. “You’re about as big as a minute,” I said, scratching his ears. “And you have about as much fur as I do hair.”

  What the hell was I supposed to do with a dog? Technically, I wasn’t even here. Damn, why did these things always happen to me? I set Merlin down, slung my bag over my shoulder, and closed and locked my car door. Somehow I had to get him safely back to Marcy. Without her finding out.

  Merlin jumped up again brushing my legs with his front paws, gave my toes a lick, then took off across the street. I followed, hoping I could let him in a back gate and that would be the end of it. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if I was following, then ran ahead, back toward me, then ahead. Obviously this was a game, and I wasn’t playing my part very well.

  He led me between the neighbor’s houses a few doors down. Everything remained quiet. Just goes to show—miracles sometimes happen. Merlin scampered along the edges of the yards, most of them with hedges I could use as cover if someone showed up. Merlin headed straight for Marcy’s back door. I lagged behind, concerned she’d show up to call him in, and I’d be left hanging in the breeze with no recourse but a guilty expression.

  I kept a watchful eye on her back door as Merlin bounded up the steps, skidded to a stop, and plopped his fanny, tail still wagging, on the stoop.

  “Woof.”

  His tongue lolled in a big doggy grin. I made a few shooing motions, hoping he’d get the hint and scratch the door, or whatever he usually did to gain entrance to his abode.

  I scanned the backyard for a doghouse. Nothing. There were some landscaped areas, but no place for Merlin—not even dishes for food or water were on the porch. What was she thinking leaving him like this?

  He left the porch at a full run, covered the expanse of the backyard in milliseconds and jumped into my arms. I stumbled with the force of his landing. Good thing he only weighed a few pounds or we’d both be rolling on the ground. I scratched his ears, then set him down with a firm pat on the rump. “Go home, Merlin. Scoot now.”

  He ran back across the yard, took the steps at breakneck speed, and skidded to a stop in front of the back door.

  And then he nosed it open and disappeared inside.

  Nosed it open.

  Marcy’s back door hadn’t been closed. Strange.

  Probably because she’d let the dog out.

  Not my problem. Merlin was safely where he belonged and no one was the wiser about my minor trespass across several neighbors’ yards. As I turned to leave, Merlin’s little black nose poked out the door, pushing it open several more inches as he wiggled through. He headed straight for me.

  It was all I could do to keep from running. For sure he’d chase me, and Marcy would have me arrested on dognapping charges. I held my ground. He stopped halfway across the yard, then turned and ran back, pushed his way inside.

  This was beyond odd. But I needed to get out of the neighborhood, or at least back to my car. Where the hell was Marcy? Surely she knew her dog was loose, and her back door was open.

  I scanned the exterior of Marcy’s house for a motion sensor light. All I needed was to be caught in a spotlight—trespassing. Adam would never let me forget it. Especially if I messed up his case. Okay. That got me moving. I made tracks for my car, sticking to the shadows as much as I could while traveling at warp speed.

  When I got to the sidewalk, I slowed to a normal pace, but didn’t click my car door unlocked. I didn’t want my headlights to flash. No point pushing my luck since I’d already hung around Marcy’s neighborhood way too long.

  Right on cue. Just as I slid my key into the lock, Merlin bounded up next to me.

  Headlights flashed onto Marcy’s street. An engine roared and panic screamed through me.

  I scooped Merlin out of the path of the oncoming vehicle, and jumped into my car, slamming the door.

  “Woof.”

  “Hush,” I whispered as I hunkered down behind the steering wheel, hoping to become invisible. The car came abreast of us, slowed, then passed by.

  “That was close,” I said, ruffling his fur as I checked the license plate in my rearview mirror. It was clearly visible—but useless since I don’t read mirror.

  “Okay Merlin, what now?”

  Marcy’s house was still dark. No car in the driveway. Didn’t mean she wasn’t home.

  My body was doing a twitchy dance. Only one thing I could do—carry Merlin to the front door, ring the bell, and ask if he belonged to whoever answered. If it was Marcy, I’d act surprised. This was way beyond my limited knowledge of how to run a covert operation.

  I tucked Merlin under my arm, strolled to the front door, and rang the bell. I didn’t start shaking until I took my knuckle off the button. I never, ever ring a doorbell with my fingertip. No telling who might have touched it last.

  No answer.

  Puppy licks covered my trembling fingers.

  I rang again, then pressed my nose to the closest window and cupped my hand around my face to shield my line of vision from the streetlight glare. Couldn’t see anything. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t home. I could go to the neighbor’s or I could walk around back and—whatever. I headed for the back door, leaving my common sense on the front porch.

  The closer we got, the harder Merlin struggled to get down. “Hold on, little guy. We’re almost there,” I crooned, not sure if my words were meant to comfort him or me.

  I rapped on the door. “Hello. Anybody home?” I called as Merlin gave one final twist and jumped to the ground. He bounded inside, pushing the door open wide enough for me to get a clear view of…what used to be the kitchen.

  TWENTY-ONE

  I dug my phone out of my back pocket and punched speed dial for Adam. He answered on the first ring. “Yeah. Stone.”

  “It’s El. I’m at Marcy Blaine’s house—”

  “What the—” he snapped.

  “Hold the lecture until later. There’s been a break-in.” I glanced around frantically. No sign of Marcy.

  “Things are torn apart, Adam. Merlin is loose. There’s been damage.” I wasn’t coherent, but couldn’t seem to stop the flow of information.

  “Who the hell is Merlin?”

  “Marcy’s dog. Cute as—”

  “Hang on.” The phone clattered in my ear. Sounded like he’d dropped it on his desk. I could hear him against the background noise of the cop shop, snapping out Marcy’s address. Guess he had it at the ready. Definitely a good sign.

  He came back on the line. “Where exactly are you, El?” he asked. Voice flat. All cop. I’d never heard him sound like that, and a chill passed through my body.

  “At Marcy’s back door.” I bent to scoop Merlin away from my Jimmy Choos. Licking my toes was one thing—the shoes, definitely not okay.

  “I haven’t gone in the house. Should I? Do you want me to see if she’s…here?”

  “No. Go to your car and stay there. Lock the doors and do not move.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. “On my way,” I said to the dial tone. I gave the room a final inspection, then balanced my over-sized handbag across one shoulder, a squirming Merlin under my other arm, and headed back to my car. Graceful it was not.

  I opened the car door, scooted M
erlin across the console to the passenger side, slid in behind him, and slammed my finger against the lock button. It was a full fifteen minutes before the first black and white showed up, another five before a detective joined the officers. I knew he was a detective because of the suit. What sane man would willingly wear a suit? In North Carolina? In July? Only those of questionable sanity. And then there was me. Just the person to be questioning other people’s sanity.

  While they checked out the crime scene, I slurped down an entire bottle of water, except for what I poured into the cup holder for Merlin, and kept my eyes on Marcy’s house. Nothing changed. No lights went on. Nothing moved.

  Someone knocked on my window. Adrenaline rush. Heart pounding out of chest. Then I noticed the uniform. Deep breath. He looked about sixteen with sandy blond hair and blue eyes framed with the longest lashes I’d ever seen. Bet the bullpen razzed him about that. I cracked my window, not wanting to give Merlin enough space to jump out.

  “Everly Gray?” he asked, pulling out his cell, punching in some numbers. “I’m Officer Cavanaugh.”

  I nodded and wrapped Merlin in my arms. “And this is Merlin.” I sank my fingers into his fur and rubbed his ears.

  “Yes, sir. I have her,” he said into the phone. “And a canine. Yes, sir.”

  The color drained from his face, and his freckles blossomed into stark relief.

  “Bet he told you to watch me.”

  Officer Cavanaugh stepped back and assumed a wide stance, hands resting on his belt. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Merlin licked my chin, his little body quivering with pent-up energy. I rolled him on his back and rubbed his belly—thought it might calm him down some. Didn’t do much for him, but my heart stopped racing, and the tension in my chest eased. All that happy puppy energy gave me something to focus on besides Adam’s temper.

  His Crown Vic spewed gravel as he pulled into Marcy’s driveway. He shot me a glare as he jogged up the front steps to meet the detective who’d just stepped out of Marcy’s house.

  My fingers curved around the door handle, but Officer Cavanaugh shook his head. Damn. I could have attempted an escape, but getting out of the car held repercussions I probably wasn’t ready for. Marcy could show up any minute, and facing her tonight—not a happy thought. ’Course she could be in the house, injured or dead. I shook my head. Nope. The paramedics or coroner would have showed up by now.

  Not more than thirty seconds passed before Adam strode toward my car, his expression grim. I sucked in a deep breath to prep for the onslaught of his temper.

  Officer Cavanaugh kept his eye on Adam, backpedaled in double time when he got a tight nod in response.

  The car door flew open. “Out,” Adam barked.

  I didn’t even think about it, just grabbed Merlin and stepped onto the pavement.

  “What the hell?” He pointed at the mop of gray fur in my arms.

  “Merlin,” I explained, rubbing the little guy’s head, then chanced a glance at Adam’s face. Still grim. Adam doing grim was not a sight for the faint of heart.

  I hugged Merlin tight to my body and buried my nose in his soft fur. “Marcy’s dog,” I mumbled.

  Adam shook his head and ran his hand along the back of his neck, loosening his collar. “Follow me.” He spun on his heel and marched toward the house.

  I had to do a combo walk-jog to keep up with him.

  “Adam, I—”

  He held up his hand to stop my chatter and kept walking.

  I followed him onto Marcy’s porch. The proximity of possible food had Merlin lurching out of my arms and toward the front door. Adam caught him in a single swoop, glared at me and shook his head.

  “I have to bring you in, El.”

  My knees went rubbery. “You’re going to…arrest me?”

  “Huh,” he grunted as he ran his hand along Merlin’s back. “Why would I arrest you? You do something illegal?”

  My hands went to my hips, and a flash of attitude poured strength down my spine. “You just said you have to bring me in.”

  “Into the house, Everly, not the station.” He tucked Merlin under his arm and angled his head toward Marcy’s living room as he held the door open for me.

  The inside of the house was battered, bruised, and bleeding from internal injuries. The living room was littered with remnants from Marcy’s life. Sympathy hollowed my belly. Even if she was trying to kill me, I hated that someone did this to her home. That she’d see it looking like a grenade had exploded inside. “Who did this?”

  Adam huffed. “That’s what you’re gonna tell me.”

  I shook my head at him and took a few steps back. The sofa had been shredded, pictures ripped from walls, and pages from her books were strewn around the room. That last observation about did me in. I have a deep and abiding respect for books. Nancy Drew got me through childhood, and my current to-be-read stack grew with the proclivity of baby bunnies, not to mention the hundreds of novels I had stored on my iPad.

  Adam dug in his pocket, pulled out a crisp, white handkerchief, and handed it to me. “El? What the hell is the matter with you? I need you in working order. Now.”

  “Working order,” I stammered, trying to figure out where the tears had come from. I rubbed the handkerchief over my cheeks and tucked it in my pocket.

  “Yeah. Why’d you think I brought you in here?” he asked, tossing me a pair of latex gloves. “Touch something.”

  “Touch? You want me to touch—”

  “Now,” he cut in, switching Merlin to his other arm. “We have Marcy at the station, but Monty can’t keep her there without reason.”

  “Monty?” Probably one of the officers working with Adam. I shook my head, and pulled the tight latex over my fingers. He wasn’t making sense. I reached for Merlin, snuggled him against my chest, and headed for the kitchen.

  Adam grabbed my arm. “What the hell?”

  “Merlin needs food. I’ll touch things as soon as I feed him.”

  “Merlin,” he said, hot on my heels, “can wait. I have to get you out of here before somebody starts asking questions I don’t want to answer.”

  I located what was left of Merlin’s kibble, poured it in a pile on a relatively clean section of the kitchen floor, and turned to face Adam. “Okay. I’m ready now. You just want general impressions of who did this? Right?”

  “Yeah,” he said, his gaze moving back and forth between Merlin chowing down his dinner and me standing there in complete control of myself. I didn’t bother to explain how important a single act of normalcy was to my psyche after I’d been hit with too much adrenaline.

  I made a slow circle of the kitchen until I reached the back door, and then rested my fingertips against the doorknob. “Adam?”

  “Yeah.” He pulled out a small, spiral bound notebook and pen. “Whatcha got?”

  I ran my fingers along the door, some of the broken shards of glass, and fragments from the cupboard doors. “Okay.” I faced him and sorted through the images in my mind. “There were four guys—make that four people. I can’t be sure of gender because they wore ski masks, but their body language and size indicate guys.”

  “Dress?”

  “Jeans, t-shirts, sneakers. Nothing remarkable.” I slowly made my way down the hall and into the bedroom.

  “Any of them seem familiar?”

  I rested my fingers against the shredded mattress. “No. There’s nothing familiar, but—”

  He stopped writing, met my gaze. “But what?”

  “There’s no anger.”

  He looked around, mouth open. “Did you look at this place? Took a lot of pissed off to do this much damage.”

  “Yeah. But there’s no anger. These guys were doing a job. Following orders. There is absolutely no emotion coming through with the images I’m getting.”

  Merlin ran into the bedroom and circled around my feet. I picked him up and was rewarded with a couple sloppy puppy kisses.

  “You’re telling me this was a professional hit.”
>
  “What?” I handed Merlin to him. “Hold on to Merlin. He shouldn’t be running around in this mess. Could cut his paws.”

  Adam sighed. “Pay attention. If there’s no emotion, this had to be a hired job.”

  I nodded, my mind already in the living room. The shredded books triggered another flood of emotion, as memories of spending hours alone with Nancy Drew surfaced. Okay then. Another trip to my childhood home was in order, and I really needed to finish going through my parents’ papers. This emotional stuff was getting old, and it cropped up at the worst possible times.

  I didn’t find anything new as I touched my way through Marcy’s living room. Shortly after that, Adam called it a night and walked me to my car. “We’re not done with this,” he said as I slid behind the wheel. “I expect an explanation as to why you’re here. Tomorrow morning. Seven sharp.”

  I nodded. Couldn’t argue with him since he was right. It’s such a pain when that happens.

  As I pulled away from Marcy’s house, I grabbed my cell and punched in Adam’s number. Busy. I counted to ten and tried again. “I just got rid of you,” he answered in his best big brother voice. Made me smile. He wasn’t all that angry with me.

  “What’re you gonna do with Merlin?”

  Silence. “Merlin?”

  “Marcy’s dog,” I said, impatiently.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

  “Woof.”

  “You’re still holding him.”

  “Uh. Yeah. Like you said, lots of glass on the floor. Marcy’ll be in a hotel tonight, so I’m gonna drop Merlin off soon as I’m done here.”

  “Okay. Just wanted to be sure you weren’t leaving him there by himself.”

  “Right. Seven a.m. My office.” The dial tone buzzed in my ear.

  I tapped End, and the phone rang immediately, flew from my hand, and landed on the passenger seat. By the time I grabbed it and pushed Talk, I was a little testy.

  “Bad time, Sunshine?”

  Mitch. I immediately pulled to the side of the road and shut off the engine.

  “No. Just a long day.” I filled him in on everything that had been going on, censoring my part in certain events.