Without Warning

by Lynette Eason

  Martin nearly choked on his mouthful of burger. He shook his head. “Not me. No way, no how. I’m a landlubber. No flying for me.” He swallowed and wiped his mouth.

  She shot a smirk at Martin. “On second thought, since I was asked, I’ll go ahead and voice my opinion on your eating habits. I agree with Daniel.” She laughed at Martin’s look of dismay. “You know he’s right.”

  Martin shook his head as though he felt sorry for the two of them. “I work it all off playing in my sandbox.” Sarah made her way over to another customer and Martin stuck a straw in his shake. “But the food and the exceptional company aren’t the only reasons I decided to drop in.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Nope.”

  “What other reasons could you possibly have?”

  Martin took a huge bite of the burger and chewed. Slowly.

  Daniel scowled. “You do that on purpose.”

  His friend swallowed and grinned. “Yep.” Then took a large swig of his shake.

  “Seriously, dude?” Daniel rolled his eyes.

  Martin laughed. “Okay, okay.” He leaned closer. “I found something.”

  “You dig in the dirt, you’re always finding something. What’s so special about this time?”

  Martin glanced around the nearly full restaurant, then reached into his pocket to extract a clear plastic baggie. A small coin rested in the bottom right corner.

  “Cool.” He tried to pull the bag in for a closer look, but Martin snatched it back, hovering over it as though it would disappear if he let it get too far from his person.

  Once again, Martin’s eyes darted from patron to patron, table to table before coming back to rest on Daniel. “It’s a coin. A rare coin. If I’m right, there were only fifteen ever minted.” He slowly slid it toward Daniel, who stared at the coin.

  “1804? Wow, that’s old.”

  “Yes, but they weren’t actually struck in 1804, they were all minted in the 1830s or later. If I’m right and it’s not a counterfeit—which I’m 99 percent sure it isn’t—do you know how much it’s worth?” he hissed.

  “No, but I’m guessing you do?”

  “The Bust Dollar, Class I—last sold at an auction for 4.14 million.”

  Daniel nearly choked. “What?” He straightened and let out a low whistle. “No kidding.”

  “No kidding. Edmund Roberts distributed the coins in 1834 and 1835. They were created to be special proof coin sets and were supposed to be diplomatic gifts during his trips to Siam and Muscat.”

  “How did they get all the way over here in North America?”

  “I have no idea. I’m guessing that one of the Civil War soldiers had it with him. Maybe passed to him from a father who traveled widely. It wasn’t just poor kids from the wrong side of the street that fought in that war. There were some rich kids too. Frankly, I don’t care. I just know it’s going to make me famous,” he whispered.

  Daniel thought the man might cry, he was so excited. “That’s some serious stuff. What are you going to do with it?”

  “Like I said, I’m going to let it make me famous, my friend.” He let out a laugh and Daniel smiled. Martin finally seemed to be happy, to be in his element. “But,” Martin said, “I’m going to keep it a little secret for now. I want to see what else is down there before I bring in the media.”

  “Good for you, Martin. That’s incredible.”

  The man’s eyes gleamed with the same glee as when Sarah had placed his food in front of him. “Indeed.” He turned his attention back to the plate in front of him. Within minutes, he’d cleaned it off and downed his shake. “I gotta go. I’m spending the night at the dig.”

  “Are you crazy? It’s freezing out there.”

  “I’ve got a space heater or two. I’ll be fine.” He rubbed a hand down his unshaven face. “Might need to stop by my house and reacquaint myself with a razor, though. Can’t stand it when the stubble gets dirt in it. Itches like crazy.”

  “Good idea.” He glanced around, mimicking Martin’s subtle glances from earlier, then nodded toward his friend’s pocket. “Do you have someplace safe for that?”

  “Safe-deposit box, but can’t get there until Monday.”

  “Well, don’t flash it to anyone else. People have killed for less.”

  Martin paled. “I know. I know.”

  “You want me to put it in my safe at home until Monday?”

  “No way. I’m not letting this baby out of my sight.”

  “Does anyone else know about it?”

  “No. I probably shouldn’t have shown it to you, but you’re my best friend. I trust you and I had to tell someone. I just can’t get over it. I found it, man, I found it.” His hands actually started to shake. “Do you know what this means? This is my big break and it’s all I can do to contain myself.” He sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Okay, I’m out of here.” And then he was gone like mist on the wind.

  “Daniel?”

  He yanked his eyes from the door and turned to find Katie standing next to his chair. “Hey there.” He stood. “How are you?”

  “I’m doing well, thanks. How are you?”

  “Recovering.” He waved a hand to the chair Martin had just vacated. He pushed aside the dirty dishes and they both sat. “Can I get you something to eat?” he asked. “It’s on me.”

  “I’m not hungry, but I’d love a glass of strawberry tea.”

  “You got it.” He waved Sarah over and she took the order. “How did you know I’d be here?”

  “Riley told me.”

  “You talked to Riley?”

  “A little bit ago. She’s worried about you.” Sarah returned with the tea and Katie took a grateful sip. “Thanks. That’s wonderful.”

  He nodded. “Glad you like it.” He sighed. “Look, I’ll admit, things were intense last night. Crazy. Unbelievable even. But—” he shook his head—“I don’t think Riley needs to worry. I’ll talk with her again when I get home.”

  She leaned forward, her dark eyes capturing his. “I don’t think you understand just how afraid she is of losing you.”

  Daniel stilled. “Why do you say that?”

  “She called me and wants to hire me to be your bodyguard.”

  That sentence packed a hard punch. “Oh man.”

  “Yeah.” She hesitated.

  He frowned. “What else aren’t you telling me?”

  She tapped her lip, then linked her fingers together and rested her hands on the table. “Riley said there was a car sitting outside your house last night. She thought it was me and didn’t think anything else about it. She went to bed and asked me about it when we talked earlier.”

  His frown deepened. “But it wasn’t you.”

  “No. And the police officer Quinn had posted to drive by your house on a regular basis last night remembers the vehicle but said he never saw anyone inside.”

  He stood. “So Riley could be in danger. I’ve got to go.”

  “No, she’s fine. Olivia’s with her. I asked her to stay with her while I tracked you down. And another officer is also driving by frequently.”

  He slowly took his seat again. “Okay. Thanks.” He took a swig of water. “So. The officer who drove by my house last night . . . You talked to him?”

  She nodded. “I called him a little while ago. Riley asked me to look into it.”

  He rubbed a hand down his cheek and studied her. “Seems like Riley’s asking an awful lot of you.”

  “Not at all. She’s a friend and I’ve grown to care about her over the last year she’s been in my class.”

  “Riley’s mentioned the time you’ve spent with her, drinking coffee and talking. I appreciate that. She really admires you.”

  The sudden pink in her cheeks endeared her to him. Sarah refilled Katie’s empty glass, and Katie thanked the woman. “I think it’s important to mentor young girls, to share the wisdom the years have imparted.” She gave a self-conscious chuckle. “Such that it is. But Riley’s a great girl
with a good head on her shoulders.”

  “Thanks, I think so too.” He cleared his throat. “The officer didn’t happen to write down the plate number, did he?”

  “Yes, actually, he did. He took note of all the vehicles on the street and ran checks on them. Nothing came back as a red flag, but I’m interested in tracking down the vehicle that caught Riley’s attention.”

  Daniel looked away from her, his gaze on the now-black computer screen. “I don’t understand this.”

  “What?”

  “Any of it. Who would do this or why. And I don’t like it when I don’t understand something.”

  “I can understand that.”

  He gave her a small smile.

  She grimaced. “Okay, that was bad, sorry. It was worth a try.” She sobered. “Look, the investigation is going to take some time. I know that you’re experienced in taking care of yourself and don’t need me, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to have someone watching your back.”

  He tilted his head. “I’d agree with most of that.”

  She lifted a brow. “Most of it?”

  “You’re right. I can take care of myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize my limitations. I’m not invincible.”

  “So, do you mind if I just kind of hang around and keep an eye on your back—and Riley’s?”

  He studied her for a moment. “You want me to agree for Riley’s sake, don’t you?”

  She gave a slight shrug. “It couldn’t hurt.”

  “And it would offer her some reassurance,” he said with a sigh.

  “Yes.”

  He pursed his lips and gave a slow nod. “You can hang around . . .”

  “But . . .”

  “But if this guy comes near Riley with the intention of hurting her, he’s a dead man.”

  [6]

  Katie nodded. “I can live with that.” She stood. “Do you mind if I take a look at the basement?”

  “Why?”

  “I just want to take a look. When you and Quinn are talking about the area, I come up with nothing to visualize. It’ll help to have a picture in my mind of the place you or Quinn refer to. Have you been back down there since everything happened?”

  “Yes. This morning.”

  Of course he would have. He’d have checked every nook and cranny after the detectives and CSU left and the scene was released. “Did you find anything?”

  “No. Just cleaned up all the residue left by law enforcement and swept out some dirt that had been tracked in.” He gestured toward the back of the restaurant. “But I’m more than happy to take you down.”

  “Thanks.”

  She followed him through the restaurant, then down the stairs, taking note of the fine décor detail. The brick steps, the wooden banister, the old pictures on the stairwell wall. “You like history.”

  “Love it. It fascinates me for some reason. I like to think that if I know the mistakes made by others before me, I’ll be smart enough to learn from them.”

  “Hmm. I know what you mean.”

  At the bottom of the steps, she stopped and looked around. Full wine racks, storage shelves, and containers. “You’re very organized.”

  He laughed. “You can thank my manager for that. She’s amazing.”

  “You’ve got some good people working for you.”

  His eyes clouded. “And maybe some not so good.”

  “The woman who misrepresented you to Quinn?”

  “Yes. I wonder if that was deliberate or if she just really misunderstood what I said to Maurice.”

  “I’d like to know that too. Can you think of who it might be?”

  “No. Unfortunately. As far as I’m concerned, I have a good working relationship with all of my employees. I have about a hundred people working for me—just with this restaurant alone. Another hundred at the restaurant that burned. A mixture of full and part time. I don’t know them all on a personal level, of course, but I have met each one at some point over the course of the time they’ve worked for me. I checked the records of those who were working that day. This is a large restaurant. We stay busy. Sometimes I have fifty people on duty. That day there were forty-three workers.”

  “Wow. It would take a while to question them all.”

  “Yes. Even going over the list, no name jumped out at me.”

  “It might not be important. If Quinn thinks it is, he’ll work on it.”

  “Like a dog with a bone.”

  She laughed. “Exactly.” Katie ran a hand down the interior wall. “What was this place before it was a restaurant?”

  “An old inn. The second floor above the restaurant used to be living quarters. I plan to restore them with profits from the restaurant and then rent them out.”

  She nodded to the floor. “Looks like you didn’t get all the dirt.”

  “What?” He walked closer, looked where she pointed, and placed his hands on his hips. “Huh.” He went to a small closet on the other side of the room and came back with a broom. She opened the basement door and he swept the dirt out. “That’s weird. Maybe one of the staff came down here after I did and had dirt on his shoes or something.”

  A thud at the back made him look up. “What was that?”

  Katie shook her head. “I don’t know. I think it came from back here.” She looked around. “Or upstairs.” She walked toward where she thought she’d heard the noise and placed her hand on the wall. “What’s back there?”

  “Nothing. Just storage. The access door is around here.” He led her to the other side of the U-shaped section. He twisted the knob. “Locked.” He knocked on the door. “Hey, is anyone in there?”

  No answer.

  “You have the keys?”

  “Of course.” He pulled a set of keys from his pocket. He started to open the door when a loud crash shook the floor just above them. “What in the—” He raced to the steps and Katie followed behind him at a fast clip. At the top, just inside the restaurant, he rushed over to the small crowd gathered around their waitress. Sarah, he’d called her. Katie watched him wade through and take Sarah’s hand. “What happened?”

  “I’m sorry, Daniel,” Sarah said.

  A pitcher lay shattered on the floor, with pieces of glass swimming in the tea. “It’s fine,” he told her. “Really. Don’t worry about the pitcher. Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I’m fine, just stupid. One of the customers grabbed my rear as I walked past, and even through all the layers of this silly dress, it startled me so bad I dropped the pitcher.”

  Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “Where is he?”

  Sarah waved a hand. “He left.” She indicated his overturned chair.

  Daniel righted it and slid it under the table. “Is he a regular?”

  “No, I’ve never seen him before.” Two other waitresses appeared with towels and a broom and began to clean up the mess. Sarah smiled at them. “Thanks, ladies.”

  Daniel walked to the door and looked out. Stiffened. “What was he wearing?”

  “A flannel shirt and I think he pulled on a brown coat. But—”

  Daniel strode out and Katie hurried to follow him. “Daniel?”

  He kept going until he came face-to-face with a man who was wearing the clothing Sarah had described and getting ready to get into his white Buick. “You just assaulted one of my waitresses.”

  The tall man turned. Katie stood back, ready to jump in and help if Daniel needed backup. Bare hands against a gun or a knife sometimes ended badly for the unarmed person. Then again, Daniel had his gun on him but she was fairly certain he wouldn’t pull it unless his life was in danger.

  “I didn’t assault anyone,” the man sputtered. “What are you talking about?”

  “Are you denying you placed your hand on one of my waitresses? That you grabbed her?”

  The man bristled. “I didn’t touch anyone, and if she says I did, she’s a liar.”

  “What about the video footage I’m getting ready to pull up from my security camera? Is that
going to lie too?” Daniel’s soft voice belied the deadly intent displayed by his body language.

  The man slammed his car door and swore. He faced Daniel, fists clenched at his sides. Katie shifted into a better position to watch his hands.

  “What’s your name?” Daniel asked.

  “John Doe.” The man sneered. “And I didn’t grab anyone. You look at your video and see I’m telling the truth.”

  “If she said you did, you did. She’s playing the part of a southern belle in an historical restaurant. And if you’re a gentleman, you keep your hands to yourself. You’re not welcome here again. I’ll be getting your face from the video footage and making sure my staff knows it. You show up here again and you’ll be charged with assault.” He paused. “If she doesn’t decide to press charges today.”

  “She’s crazy! She brushed up against me, I didn’t grab her!”

  “Then why are you running?”

  “Because my marriage is already on the rocks, and if this gets back to my wife, I’m done, you understand? I can’t let that happen. And you sure don’t have to worry about me coming back. I’m getting out of here before this day gets any worse.” The man let out another string of choice words, opened his car door, and climbed inside. Within seconds, he was squealing from the parking lot.

  “You get his plate?” Katie asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Me too.”

  When he turned, a slow anger burned in his eyes. He looked past Katie. She turned to see Sarah standing in the doorway looking regal and southern—and a bit teary-eyed. “Thank you, Daniel. No one’s ever done anything like that for me before.”

  He scowled. “Guys like that are creeps. Are you going to press charges?”

  She flinched. “No. I just want to forget it happened.”

  “You could teach him a lesson.”

  Sarah shook her head and backed up. “No, I think you might have been the better teacher in this instance.”

  “Still think you should press charges.”

  She hesitated, then shook her head. “No.”

  “Fine. But next time, bash the pitcher over his head.”

  Sarah gave a short bark of laughter. “Good idea. Hopefully there won’t be a next time.”