Tessa frowned. “For the Social Security numbers.”
“Yes. The thief left the computers on the other side of your back fence. Aside from the phone call, he had no contact with the caller.”
“So that’s it?” Jamie asked. “That’s all you’ve got?”
“Not quite. I found a cigarette pack on the other side of the fence. We got a print.”
Jamie made an impatient hurry-up gesture. Luke played the coward and held Jamie’s gaze instead of looking at Tessa. “The print belonged to Graham Kendall.”
Tessa gasped. Loudly. But her brothers both just frowned. “Kendall?” Eric asked. “As in Roland Kendall’s son?”
“Yes.”
“Graham,” he muttered. “The guy who runs Kendall Flight. That makes no sense.”
Luke finally dared a look at Tessa. Her face was pale as snow, her lips still parted in shock.
“I know at first glance it must seem like an odd coincidence,” Luke said. “But I have reason to believe that—”
“When did you get that print?” Tessa blurted out.
Luke cleared his throat. “I picked up the print on Wednesday, but we didn’t get a hit until later.”
“How much later?” she pushed.
“Yesterday.”
“Yesterday.” Her mouth barely moved. “You had Graham Kendall’s name yesterday.”
He held her gaze and didn’t say a word.
Eric waved a hand. “What the hell does that matter? I want to know what all this means.”
Luke nodded. “We need to know which of you knew Graham Kendall. How you know him. How much time he’s spent in the brewery.”
“We don’t know him,” Eric insisted. “Well, Tessa ran into him once.”
“I went to lunch with him,” she clarified.
“What?” Eric asked. Luke tried not to assume the same outraged expression.
“It was just lunch. He wanted to discuss that charity event.”
“What charity event?” Simone asked at the same time Eric barked, “When?”
Luke was more interested in the timing question. “When?” he repeated, pretending it had to do with the investigation and not the sharp stab of jealousy in his gut.
“Last week,” she said. Yeah, that was jealousy.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Eric asked, again echoing Luke’s thoughts.
“We spoke about the promotional opportunity. We decided not to pursue it.”
“Don’t you think I should’ve been invited to that lunch?”
“I don’t know, Eric,” she snapped. “Do you invite me to every business lunch you have?”
He pulled in his chin. “That’s not the same.”
“How is it different? I met with him. He was slimy, and he wanted us to make a decision about a $55,000 promotional sponsorship in two days. I told him to take a flying leap.”
Simone spoke up again. “What was the name of the charity event?”
“I don’t remember. It was in California. He sent me an email. I’ll print it out for you if you want.”
Luke nodded. “Was he ever in the brewery?”
Eric shook his head, but Tessa said, “Just once. He stopped by yesterday afternoon. He was never here before the robbery, as far as I know.”
Luke nodded, but he noticed that Jamie’s face had turned a sick shade of gray beneath his tan. “Jamie, you were working that night. Was he here?”
“No.” His voice was raspy with tension.
“But you’ve thought of something.”
He swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward Eric.
“Jamie,” Tessa said quietly, and Luke realized what was going on. The sister. She’d been here. He almost blurted it out right then, but Tessa’s eyes were wide with horror as she stared her brother down. “Jamie,” she said again, his name nearly a whisper. Luke held his breath and hoped he wouldn’t have to force the issue.
“I have to tell them, Tessa,” Jamie said. “You know I do.”
Eric looked back and forth between his siblings. “What the hell is going on here?”
Tessa held up her hands as if she could stop the tide, but Jamie granted her no mercy. “Monica Kendall was here. The night of the robbery. She was here when I locked up.”
That night. Shit.
Eric scowled in confusion. “She came to the brewery? Why?”
Jamie cleared his throat, but Luke’s eyes were on Tessa. Tears turned her eyes to green pools. Her mouth opened several times, but she didn’t speak. He wished he was just her boyfriend, wished it was that simple. But he was here as a detective, and he couldn’t say or do anything that would stop the flow of information. His hands fisted. He dug his fingers into his palms, wishing his nails were long enough to cause pain.
“She said she wanted to try the beer,” Jamie said. “She came by around seven.”
“And she stayed until close?” Eric asked. Luke already knew that answer.
“Yeah,” Jamie said. “She stayed until close.”
Luke stepped in to cut off any more of Eric’s ques tions. “Do you think she could have seen you enter the alarm code? Would she have had a chance to unlock the door after you locked it?”
“Not the back door. Maybe the front, I suppose.”
“And the alarm?”
Luke saw the answer in Jamie’s eyes. Apparently so did Eric. His face had lost its shock and now fury sharpened his features to stone. His blue eyes turned to platinum. “She was here when you locked up. She saw you enter the code, which means she left with you. Right? That’s what you’re saying? Despite everything that was riding on this deal, you fucked her, didn’t you?”
Tessa flinched, but Jamie met his brother’s gaze head-on.
“She said she was feeling tipsy. She asked me to drive her home.”
“And that’s all you did.” There was no question in Eric’s voice. His words dripped with scorn, and Jamie finally looked away.
Tessa drew a breath that caught in her throat, and despite his intention to approach this impersonally, Luke reached a hand out to touch her arm. She jerked away.
Simone stepped forward. “So tell us exactly what happened as you were leaving.”
Tense silence ruled the room for a few heartbeats before Jamie nodded. “There was one table left at closing time. Normal for a Monday. I shooed everyone out, but Monica stayed behind. She said she didn’t think she could drive. Asked if I would drive her home. She’d been drinking sample glasses, trying out the different beers, but she’d had six or seven, and she’s skinny, so I didn’t think anything of it.” His eyes cut to Eric. “If a woman says she can’t drive, I take her at her word.”
“So she stayed behind,” Simone pushed.
“Yeah. I warned her it would take a few minutes to close up. I locked the front door, turned off the signage lights, finished cleaning the front room.”
“Then what?”
“Then I carried the glassware to the back, and turned off the office lights.”
“So she could’ve unlocked the front door then.”
“I guess so. I didn’t recheck it.”
Luke nodded. “The cameras didn’t catch anyone in the front lot, but if someone came from the back and stayed close to the wall, I think they could’ve slipped by the camera.” He gestured for Jamie to continue.
“I was finishing up when Monica came in back to join me.”
“So you didn’t even go back to the front room?”
“Just to turn off the lights and glance around. That’s it.”
“And then she left with you via the back door?”
“Yes. She was…she’d been flirtatious. She was definitely very close when I set the alarm.”
“So she could’ve watched you.”
“Yeah.”
Tessa sounded like she was choking. “This doesn’t make any sense,” she whispered. “They’re rich. They’re successful. Why would they risk everything to steal a few computers from us?”
“I’m
not sure it’s that simple,” Luke answered. He watched her arms cross and hold each other and wished she’d let him touch her.
Simone leaned close. “Monica Kendall,” she whispered. Luke nodded. They needed to interview her as quickly as possible. If they could get the sister to cooperate, Graham would be under arrest soon enough. Luke stepped back to call the station to have a check run on Monica. He avoided the radio, unwilling to let a reporter get ahold of his story before it blew up. As he waited on the phone, Luke watched Tessa lean in and speak in a low voice to Eric, but Eric pushed up from the table and walked away. Tessa followed, but Jamie stayed in his seat, his shoulders relaxed, his face peaceful. He’d obviously wanted to confess, but Tessa looked grief-stricken.
“I’ll grab the print kit,” Simone said, pointing toward the lock high on the front door. Seconds later, a dispatcher informed him that Monica Kendall had no record in Colorado, not even an outstanding parking ticket. He hoped this was her first interaction with the police. She might panic and blurt out a confession before her lawyer arrived. They couldn’t stop a person from incriminating herself if she wanted to.
Simone pulled prints from the lock. Eric disappeared into the offices while Tessa stood looking helpless.
“Let us know what you find out, man,” Jamie said as he slowly rose to his feet and rolled his shoulders back.
“I may have to ask you a few more questions about Monica, but only if the need arises.”
“I understand.” Jamie’s eyes slid toward Tessa. “I’ll be in the back,” he said. Simone packed up the kit and went to wait in the car. They were finally alone. He was surprised when Tessa spoke first.
“I can’t believe you,” she said dully.
“I couldn’t tell you.”
She raised her chin. “Legally?”
“Not legally, per se, but ethically.”
“Then what you’re saying is you wouldn’t tell me.”
He’d been expecting this and didn’t even cringe. “If that’s the way you want to look at it, fine. I tried to warn you—”
“Warn me? With little hints and pretend sympathy?”
“That wasn’t pretend. And I wasn’t sure of anything. If I’d—”
“Just…” She held up a hand, closing her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about this now. I need to go try to save my family.”
“I think you’re overstating the—”
Her growl interrupted him, and Tessa stomped from the room without another word. Luke wanted to go after her, but he needed to work the lead. And perhaps that was for the best, as his impulse was to chase her down and tell her she was being ridiculous and melodramatic. He was better off getting back to work.
When he got into the driver’s seat, Simone shot him a questioning look. He ignored it just as he ignored the painful lurch of his heart as he pulled from the parking lot.
TESSA HEARD THEIR VOICES before she even pushed past the swinging doors. They weren’t yelling yet, and she felt a brief moment of hope that stabbed through her like a knife, but the knife turned when she saw them, squared off in the middle of the kitchen. This wasn’t a friendly conversation. Eric’s hands were fists, and Jamie’s face was twisted into a snarl. Wallace leaned against the door to the tank room, looking as if he were settling in for a long movie.
“Unbelievable,” Eric snapped. “Really, truly unbelievable. How many times did I warn you to stay away from her?”
“I did stay away from her.”
“Oh, really? Then how did you end up between her damn legs, Jamie? Huh? How did that happen?”
“I said I drove her home. Why do you automatically assume I slept with her?”
“Didn’t you?” Eric yelled.
“That’s not the point.”
“It’s exactly the point. Goddamn it, there was a reason I didn’t want you to meet her. You both treated me like I was crazy, but look what happened!”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“Oh, you never mean to. But you never manage to exercise a second of self-control in your life. Not one.”
Jamie stepped into Eric’s face. “That’s not true. I’ve never punched you in the damn face, have I?”
Tessa rushed forward. “Stop!”
“Come on, Tessa.” Eric laughed gruesomely. “Maybe Jamie needs a good ass kicking.”
“Just calm down,” she begged, grabbing both their elbows. “The deal is back on. Nothing was ruined.”
Eric stood straighter, taking a step back from Jamie so he could look at her. “What do you mean, the deal is back on?”
Ice swept over her body. “I meant the deal is fine.”
“No, that’s not what you meant.”
Jamie shook off her hold and stepped back, as well. “Give it up, Tessa. I’m telling him the truth.”
“What truth?” Eric barked.
“Roland Kendall caught me leaving Monica’s place in the morning. He called off the deal.”
A tiny sob snuck past Tessa’s throat when she saw Eric’s face go blank with shock. “It’s back on,” she whispered past the tightness.
Eric shook his head. “When did this happen?”
“Two weeks ago,” Jamie said. “The day after the break-in.”
“Roland Kendall called off the deal two weeks ago, and you two hid this from me? You lied to me? Both of you?”
“I’m sorry,” Tessa rasped.
“Tessa… You…”
“I wanted to fix it,” she explained.
“Fix it? Christ, how could you leave me out of it? All of our plans…our expansion…?”
“I didn’t want you to be mad.”
“Be mad? Jesus, what are you, twelve years old? This is a business!”
“It’s not!” she yelled. “It’s not just a business. It’s our whole family!”
“Oh, it’s nice to know it’s so easy for you to lie to your family, then. Tessa, I’m starting to think I don’t know anything about you.”
Jamie stepped in. “Come on, man. Leave her alone.”
Her panic tripped to a higher level. Now Eric was mad at both of them. Furious. A vein pulsed in his temple. His eyes were pale as ice. Tessa’s heart radiated pain with every beat. She pressed a hand to her chest. “I’m sorry. I wanted to fix it. I did fix it.”
“That’s not the point,” Eric said. “You’ve been hiding this from me for two weeks, going behind my back to Kendall and God knows who else.”
“I’m an owner of this company, too. You conducted the initial negotiations on your own. You can’t fault me for talking to him.”
“Can’t I?”
She pressed her chest harder. “But it’s all good in the end, isn’t it? We don’t even want this deal now, do we? He didn’t sign the contract yet. And now we know the whole family might be insane.”
“Then it’ll be a perfect partnership,” Eric snapped.
“You can’t seriously think we’re going forward with High West.”
“Why not? It’s about money and our future.”
“Money!” she yelled. “Money has nothing to do with our future. We can’t get involved with these people. They’re sick and dishonest, and both Jamie and I saw that. If you’d only talked to us about this plan, we’d never have gotten involved with these people!”
A voice called, “Hello?” from the front room and Jamie cursed under his breath. “Shit, I’ve gotta work the bar. Tessa, come with me.”
“No!”
“I don’t want you two tearing each other limb from limb. Come on.”
Eric let out another ugly laugh. “Don’t worry about it. I’m leaving.”
“Eric, wait,” Tessa started, but Eric was already out the back door, leaving nothing but a flash of bright sunlight echoing through the kitchen.
Jamie cleared his throat. “I told you—”
“Stop!” she yelled. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Fine. We’ll talk about it tonight. All of us.” Jamie grabbed a clean towel from a rack and tossed it over h
is shoulder. “Don’t worry yourself sick in the meantime.”
But Tessa’s tension only got worse. Her shoulders pulled tight, her stomach even tighter. Eric had never walked away from her like that. Never. And Jamie…he acted like he didn’t even care. Even Wallace eventually gave up on the show and retreated into his glass cave.
Tessa walked slowly to her office, grabbed her purse and went home to cry.
MONICA KENDALL SMILED at them from behind the vast expanse of her giant desk. She was pretty, Luke supposed, though there was a sharpness about her that turned him off. Still, she had the type of in-your-face beauty that lots of men admired. Maybe Jamie had gotten caught up in that.
“Did you say you were from the Boulder Police Department?” she asked. Her smile slid even higher, but there was no joy in it. Her fingertips were white where they pressed against the desktop.
“Yes,” Simone said. “I’m sure you heard about the break-in at the Donovan brewery?”
“No,” Monica answered. “I hadn’t heard about that.” She looked only at Luke. It was his turn to play good cop.
He smiled and leaned forward a little, establishing intimacy. “It happened the night you were there.” Her eyes widened, and Luke eased back, giving her psychological room. “With Jamie,” he clarified. “Did you notice anything strange?”
“Oh, no.” She sighed, tension leaving her on a deep sigh. “No, I didn’t notice anything. He locked up and drove me home. That’s all.”
“And when did you make it back to the brewery that night?”
Her smile eased toward flirtation. “I didn’t. Jamie drove my car that night. I dropped him off at his car the next morning.”
“What time?”
“Around seven-thirty.”
Simone interrupted their friendly talk with a far colder tone. “And what about that night, Ms. Kendall? What did you see before you left with Jamie?”
“What do you mean?” She’d already lost her fear. Her natural arrogance had returned, buoyed by Luke’s appreciative look.
“What do I mean?” Simone asked. “I mean I’m going to get a call in a few minutes from the tech unit, and I’m pretty sure they’re going to tell me your prints are on the lock of the brewery’s front door.”
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