Don’t touch it. Kenton jerked his hand back so quickly that he nearly hit the camera man. Have your brother do it. And tell him to be careful. I think the murder weapon is close, or even in the bag.
Since he’d not been able to tell what the man had died from, he wasn’t sure how she would know, but then, the things that they could do now over just a year ago was a great deal. So, while Lewis held the money in his hand, Kenton called Dalton over and explained to him what he’d seen, as well as what Raven had told him.
“This is some messed up shit, Kenton. I’m just a cook. Not a murderer investigator anymore. But this, I think this was well above my paygrade even when I was.” Kenton asked him what he wanted to do. “I’m not sure. I mean, Vance said this wasn’t a big deal, and I believe that he would have the best handle on this, but shit, this is a murder that is older than all the years I have been out of college.”
“I can tell you more when the body is moved, but Raven said that the murder weapon is there. It would go a long way in telling me a lot of things that might help. Not to mention, Clayton. What is his part in this? Just the money? Did he see the body?” Dalton told him if he did then he was in deep trouble too. “Because of what?”
“Hindering a police investigation. Messing with a known crime scene. Not reporting a crime. There is a list a mile long that he messed up on.” Kenton couldn’t help it, he laughed. “What the fuck is so funny about that?”
“He wanted the money. The building was only secondary. And now that you know why and what he did, he’s never going to bother us again.” When Dalton laughed, he felt better too. “The things people will do for some cash.”
“Guys? I think I might have something here.” They both moved to where Lewis was. He looked pale. “The guy didn’t rob anything. Nor will you find that this money came from any kind of crime. He hoarded it from his family, including his parents when they passed away. Every time the business would have a good day, he’d bring the extra down here, hide it away in the trunks, then seal it up. He did that without his wife or anyone else knowing. And it got him killed.”
“Do you know who did it?” Lewis nodded at Dalton, but didn’t say anything more. “Lewis, I’m having a really shitty day, and I still have to go back and bake biscuits today, as well as a cherry cobbler. Tell me before I have to pistol whip you.”
“You’d do that?” Dalton shook his head at Kenton. “Good. I mean, I can stitch him up, but I’d be more afraid of Raven should you hurt him. She’s scary.”
“He was murdered by his wife. She came down here, thinking the man was having an affair, and he was with all this cash. When he explained to her it was for them, she stabbed him in the throat. The reason is, the power at their house had been turned off and their child had gotten sick, and was even then in the hospital. Sadly, the wife took her own life too when her little girl passed away.” Lewis looked at the trunks of money. “Greed. He had no reason to hoard this money, only that he was greedy. And now he’s dead, his family is gone, and here it still sits with no one the wiser, and still in the trunks.”
“Lewis, what do you want to do with this? The money is rightfully yours. The murder won’t be solved, not by any means that we can prosecute anyone. And even if there was someone around that might want to cash in on this, you know as well as I do that there will people coming out of the woodwork on this.” They both looked at the man holding the camera on them. “Don’t worry about him. Your wife, she said that we could talk. The camera is off, and the film has been erased. It’s better for everyone that way.”
“We just bury him, put him in an unmarked grave and be done with it?” Lewis looked at Kenton. “Can you get on board with this?”
“Yes. I mean, so long as you don’t do the same with the money. I think it could go a long way in helping out a lot of people. None of us need it. We could, I suppose, put it in the bank, but that would just raise more questions.” He asked about Clayton. “Sell him the building, but take out the body and the money, and sell him the building. It’s no less than he deserves for what he’s done.”
Lewis looked around the place, then at him. He wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but waited. Lewis was a thinker, a relaxed sort of one too. When he had something to work out, he usually just talked and talked until he was finished with it. But this time, Kenton had an idea that he was talking to Raven. Poe moved from his brother’s shoulder to where the weapon was.
“All right. Raven said that we’ll give him a proper burial and a headstone to mark his passing. The money we’ll donate, in small amounts, to the local high school so kids can use it to go to college. To the shelter, as well as enlarging the clinic for the pack. Yes, I’m okay with this as well.” Kenton was glad for it. “I’ve never used my dragon.”
“You’ll need to clean this place out after we get everything out of it. All right?” He nodded and looked at the trunks again. “What are you thinking?”
“Leave the trunks here. Take the money, of course, but leave them here once the place is cleaned out.” Kenton laughed and so did Dalton. “I want him to think he’s pulled one over on us. I mean, it’s not like he can go talking about the missing money near a body, right?”
The guy with the camera just left them…laid it down on the floor and left. Kenton supposed that Raven had something to do with that, and when they heard the car start, Kenton picked up the camera that had been used and crushed it in his hands. Christ, this magic stuff was helpful.
Once they had the body removed, the pack coming in and helping with that, they planned to have him put to rest on the back of their land. The money that they were going to donate to the pack was going to go a long way in helping them out, and they were glad to help.
Within two hours, much quicker than they thought it would work out, they had the entire basement cleaned out of anything to do with the murder, as well as the money. Raven showed up just as they were loading the last of the cash into the trucks. She told them what she’d done to help out.
“The young man that was here with you, he’s gone home. He has a very bad cold, and won’t be to work for a couple of days. No one seems to mind, as they don’t have a lot of things going on right now. The camera and anything else he might have taken from the station are no longer on their books.” Lewis thanked her. “I’ve also had the faeries find the dead man a nice spot on the land we were to use, and they’re taking care of that.”
“Lewis is going to clean up down here, then the trunks will be brought back in.” Kenton looked around before continuing. “I can’t wait to see Clayton’s face when he figures out what has happened here today. No one will believe him, not after this is done. And if he makes a big stink of it, I might buy the building back from him for about half the price he paid.”
He was still laughing as they exited the building. He and Dalton could have helped…they were used to their dragons, but Lewis was sure that he could control the burn so long as they were close by in the event that he had some issues. Kenton didn’t think he’d have any trouble at all.
Chapter 7
Lewis wasn’t entirely sold on this idea. It wasn’t like they were covering up a murder that any of them had committed, but it still seemed wrong to him. Raven wrapped her arms around him and looked up at him. He smiled when she did.
“Do you know what will happen to this should the county or government be involved?” He nodded…he’d seen that too when he’d touched the money. “They’ll put it in a box, one that will do nothing for the people here, and forget about it. Then after several years, someone will remember it and start to spend the money, on things for themselves. And no one, not even the man who takes it, will benefit from it. We can do that should you want, and I’ll be behind you every step of the way, or we can help this town.”
“You’re making a good argument for the town.” She kissed his chin. “I agree with you, on all of it. And getting Clayton in the end is something that I’m looking forward to. He should have said something.” She agreed
with him. “I’m going to use my dragon to clean up. Until Kenton mentioned about burning away the evidence that might be here, I’d not thought about him once. And Warrior hasn’t been as talkative either.”
“I think that is Caelin’s doing. He told him not to be so bothersome when it came to you guys. To keep you informed, but there is no reason for him to tell you every little thing he discovers about himself.” Lewis told her that he sort of missed that about him. “Yes, well, you might take that back now that he knows.”
I’ve missed you too, my lord. And should you ever find a need to speak to me, I am forever here for you. They both laughed. Now, let us get this cleaned up. I have looked into the death of this man, and you should know, he was not a nice person. He would have his own family do without food and other needs when he had the funding to take care of them. Even going so far as to go to the food lines when they had more money than the agencies that put them out there.
Lewis took a step back from Raven. Poe said that he would return—fire scared him—and Lewis let his dragon take him. It was and would forever be the scariest and most fun he’d ever had, he thought. When he noticed that his head bumped against the floor above him, he asked Raven if he was that much taller. She put her hands on his chest and moved them up to his shoulders.
“I would say that you are at least ten or so feet tall. I don’t.... Wait, the blocks here. Let me count them.” When she was finished, counting the block of walls as she moved her hands over them, he was almost afraid of her answer when she laughed. “You are nearly fourteen feet tall, and with your wings close to your body, you are about ten feet wide. I’ve not seen the others, but I think you to be bigger, from what I’ve heard. Also, I can almost see the information of your family’s past. The women that had come before us, the men and how they died. I believe that was what the brooch was to bring you, the details of the past. My goodness, Lewis, it’s been so long since I’ve touched a dragon. You are very handsome indeed, simply because you are my dragon.”
He bowed before her and then looked around the room. The advice from Kenton was, start very small and work around the room. He wasn’t sure how to start small when he didn’t even know his own fire, but he opened his mouth to take in air. Letting out a small stream of fire from his nose felt odd but it didn’t hurt, so he let a little more of it go.
You’re doing very well, my lord. He thanked Warrior, and then asked him how he was going to put this fire out now that it was burning. You only need to stomp on the smaller embers. Your feet are made for that, tough like they are.
Once he was finished, the room only a darkened mass of soot, he, with the help of Raven, walked around the room and stomped out any embers that might catch. Kenton and Dalton did the same; their dragons were smaller than his, but not by much. He wondered at the difference until Warrior mentioned that he’d brought to them the knowledge of all the McCades before them, and it would take a day or so for them to receive it as well. The magic, apparently, made them larger each time. Not that the knowledge was to make them bigger, these memories, but they’d need their size to keep that safe as well. All in all, he thought it a good morning. But he had a great deal yet to do.
Bringing the trunks back in, setting them up in the room where they’d been, was easy enough. The garbage was all gone, the newspapers that they could preserve had been taken out to donate to the locale library to see if they wanted them. If not, then he thought that there were people in town that might enjoy reading them. Some of them were nearly seventy years old.
Just as they were ready to leave, Raven went to one of the trunks and dropped a penny inside. Saying nothing, she left the three of them there and Lewis laughed.
“He is going to be so pissed off. I think I might put in some cameras, so we can have a look at him when he finds out he’s been had.” Dalton said it was no less than he deserved, as he’d planned to do the same to Lewis. “Yes, but I’d have not known about it. He was fully aware of taking me to the cleaners, so to speak.”
Going to the restaurant felt better to him. He did have a lot to do, but he felt lighter for it. And having Warrior to speak to felt like he’d been reunited with an old friend. They talked for hours while he got things ready. And by dinner time he was set. Not only were things on trays to put in the oven when the time came, but he had a menu sorted out for his grand opening as well. Simple was best, he’d thought, and his first night was going to be two things…chicken and beef.
Dropping the menu to be printed up, he walked to the diner to have dinner with Raven. Her day had been messed up by a couple more things than the building, and he decided that when he got her home, they were going to hit the hot tub then the bed. Making love to his wife all night was something that he was really looking forward to.
“Hello, Lewis. I see that you’re about ready to open the Dragon’s Lair. I bet that set you back a pretty penny.” Clayton sat at the table next to them as he spoke. “I don’t suppose you’d let me buy that building off of you now, would you? I mean, you could probably use the capital about now, I’m thinking?”
“If I sell you this building, will you leave me the fuck alone?” The greed on Clayton’s face made him ill. Lewis had never liked the man, and he was sure that no one else in town did either. “I’m sorely sick to death of you coming to me every day about it. If I do this, will you shut the fuck up and never bother me again?”
“Deal. How much do you want for it? Now, I want you to know that I know how much you paid for it. And while the area is coming together, it’s not at the end, where this place is. So, let’s be fair about it.” Lewis looked at Raven, and she nodded as if they had talked about a price. “You sell it to me for a good price and I’ll never come to you again.”
The burble of laugher startled him, but Lewis said nothing. The man was stupid if he thought this was going to be an easy sale for him. So, knowing what the man wanted out of it, and knowing too what he wasn’t going to get, he named his price. Clayton put out his hand and asked if they could go to the bank today.
“I should go and see if there’s anything in it that I might want, don’t you think?” Clayton actually looked like he was going to hit him, but only shook his head. “Oh well, I guess if I haven’t gone to find if there was anything in it by now, then I guess I didn’t really want it. Okay, bank it is. I’ll just make a call and see if Colin can come here. My wife and I have just ordered.”
In less time than it took for their food to arrive, Colin came to their table with all the paperwork, as well as the deed to the building. Lewis was making a good deal of profit, even not counting the money they’d found. He’d only paid a buck for it ten years ago when the town was trying to spruce up the area. That, like a lot of projects, had gone by the wayside when they couldn’t get anyone else but his family to purchase the buildings.
As soon as they signed the deed over and had it notarized, Lewis had a bad moment. He didn’t know why, but as soon as it was there, it was gone again, so he let it go. While they ate their dinner, letting Colin and Clayton join them, all he could think about was now that this was done, he just wanted to take a nap, for about a month.
“I heard that your brother had a good show in Paris last month.” Lewis told Colin that it had been fun for them all. “That woman that is in there with him, Harper, she sure is a hoot. Came into the bank the other day, and was sort of embarrassed to be putting that check she had in her account. I assured her that it was fine, that we dealt with Jorden too, and she gushed over him like he was some big star. When all the while, I was thinking how big a star she is.”
“They are both in awe of the other. It’s funny to see them together. They’re like a couple of teenagers that have seen their first artist.” Lewis related the story about a family dinner and how they were around each other. “I tell you, it was all we could do not to point out to them that they were both equally famous, and to get over it.”
After dinner and dessert, Clayton left. Lewis knew that he couldn’t go into
the building until tomorrow—the paperwork needed to be filed—but he was nearly dancing when he left them. Colin didn’t say anything…he didn’t have to. They all knew that Clayton was going to go there anyway. It was only a matter of time before he came around again. When Colin left them, with the assurances that he’d see them at the wedding tomorrow, Raven leaned against Lewis as they enjoyed some tea. Brew. They enjoyed some brew.
“Do you suppose this will end with him?” Lewis told her not until Clayton got himself in trouble over it. “Yes, you and I both know that he’s going to get himself in deep over this.”
“My mom can handle herself.” They knew that as well, and why she would need to. “I won’t warn her—I don’t think that would help—but I would like for Poe to keep an eye on her for us. She’s immortal, but she can still be hurt.”
“I’ve sent him to her…he does like her. She’ll know he’s around, of course, but she won’t know why. I agree with you, this is the best way to handle this.” He and Raven made their way to his truck. He didn’t know how she’d gotten into town, but she rode home with him. Magic, he supposed.
The hot tub seemed to call to him. Asking Raven to join him, they undressed in the house and made their way out to the deck. The night was cool, cooler than it had been in a while, and they sat on either side of the tub enjoying the night. When Raven moved to sit on his lap, he helped her slide over him. Having her this way was better than he could have imagined.
“The way you touch me…do you have any idea how that makes me feel?” She moved her hips and he moaned as he held her. “Lewis, I want you to let me come like this. To ride you until I have my release.”
“Honey, whatever you want, I’m here for you. But I don’t know if I can just let you come without me joining you.” She giggled, and he held her tighter. “You are so beautiful. I don’t think I tell you that enough. Nor how much I love you.”
Lewis: The McCade Dragon –Erotic Paranormal Romance Page 8
