Murder in the Presidio (Peyton Brooks' Series Book 6)

by M. L. Hamilton

  “So what’s put you in such a bad mood, D’lightful?”

  “How can you tell?” grumbled Jake.

  Marco glared at him as well. “I’d rather be anywhere else in the world right now.”

  “Ouch. That hurts.” Abe clutched at his chest.

  Marco drew a deep breath and held it, then forced himself to exhale. “Sorry. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

  “Like a promotion to lieutenant that you didn’t take?” said Jake.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I hear things.”

  “Wait. You were offered a promotion and you didn’t take it?”

  Marco shook his head. “It’s complicated.”

  “It’s not complicated,” said Jake. “You just don’t want Peyton to have another partner.”

  “Oh, yeah, that’s it,” said Abe, nodding.

  Marco stared hard at his water glass.

  The waiter returned and began the whole production of letting them taste the wine. “No need,” said Abe, waving him off. “It’s Dom. We aren’t sending it back.”

  “Very good, sir.” He poured out three glasses and set the bottle on the table. “Are you ready to order?”

  “We’ll have the whole chicken,” said Abe, motioning between himself and Jake. “And this brooding hunk of gorgeous will have a plate of rabbit food.”

  “We have a lovely salad with marinated beets, avocado and a coriander dressing. Pared with a bowl of our cranberry bean and tomato soup and you’d have a very filling meal.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “I do have to let you gentlemen know the chicken will take an hour.”

  Marco closed his eyes.

  “Perfect,” said Abe, shutting his menu.

  “May I suggest a salad to hold you over? We’re famous for our Cesar salad.”

  “I’m fine with my Dom,” said Abe, reaching for his glass.

  The waiter turned to Jake.

  “I’m good.”

  “Very good, sirs,” he said and walked away.

  Abe leaned back in his chair and sipped at his Dom. “Oh, this is too good.”

  “It better be,” growled Marco.

  Abe pushed a glass at him. “Try some.”

  Marco lifted it and took a gulp.

  “Savor it, Angel, savor. Like good sex.”

  Marco took another gulp. He wasn’t much of a wine drinker, but he had to admit this was some damn good wine. The bubbles were just enough to give it a light, airy taste and it flowed over his tongue with a clean, sharp flavor.

  “Oh God, if I die tonight, I die happy,” murmured Jake, his eyes closed as if he were making love to his glass.

  “Knock it off!” Marco grumbled.

  Jake opened his eyes and settled the glass on the table. “Here’s why you’re always so damn uptight, Adonis. You can’t loosen up and enjoy the pleasures in life. Like good food and wine, and…” He gave a lusty sigh. “…fine women.”

  “And you do?”

  “I’m learning.”

  “That’s right, Jake. You’re learning.”

  Jake clinked his glass against Abe’s. “You’ve been a mighty fine teacher, sir.”

  “Why, thank you, sir.”

  Marco shook his head in bemusement. “Unfreakin’ believable.”

  “Now, this is why you’re in the mess you’re in. You may be a big, tough cop, but you’re really a coward.”

  Marco clenched his jaw. “I have a gun on me right now, Ryder.”

  “Yep, it gives you a false sense of bravery, but really, you’re a scared little boy inside.”

  Marco gave him a disbelieving look.

  “You have a point,” said Abe, studying the wine in his glass. “I never really thought of it that way.”

  “Let me ask you something, Abe. If you had an intelligent, beautiful woman right in front of you…”

  Abe made a face. “Better analogy, please.”

  Marco gave Jake the death stare. “I wouldn’t continue that if I were you.”

  Jake waved him off. “It’s too crowded in here for you to kill me. Besides it would upset Peyton.”

  “Go on,” urged Abe.

  “If you had a prime piece of property available to you. It was in the best location, had the finest amenities, valet parking…”

  Marco looked at him in bewilderment.

  “And they were practically offering it to you for a song, would you walk away from it because you were afraid you might have to do a little remodeling, maybe retrofit it for earthquakes?”

  “Wait,” said Abe, reaching for the Dom bottle. “Are we talking about a woman or a piece of property?”

  “Piece of property.”

  “Do I already have a piece of property?”

  “No, you don’t. Actually, you’ve been renting out properties for a number of years now, but none of them are right for you. After you’ve stayed with them for a while, you find they just don’t satisfy your needs for a permanent home.”

  “I see. But I sense that I’m reluctant to make a 30 year commitment to a mortgage, right?”

  “Right. And actually, this property is so special, you’d probably be willing to make that commitment, but you’re not sure the property’s ready.”

  “Ah, is the property courting other buyers?”

  “No, not anymore. In fact, the property is really tired of being on the market.”

  Marco slumped down in his chair, rubbing a hand across his forehead.

  “So, what do you think is holding me back? I mean what have I got to lose?”

  “Exactly. It’s mostly an ego thing, I think. You’re afraid of rejection, so afraid that you might let this prime piece of turf get away from you.”

  “You mean the bank might decline my loan.”

  “Right.”

  “Well, seems to me I won’t know unless I put in an application. I’m told that once you own your own home you can never go back to renting again.”

  “That’s true. Besides, I hear home owners live longer than renters, anyway.”

  “Well, that’s a bonus.”

  Marco shook his head. “You wanna stop now?”

  “Sure. I thought we could talk about how smooth Stan was tonight with that gift of his.”

  Abe rolled his eyes. “Could you believe it? Little nerd boy brought his A-game.”

  “Yeah, he did.”

  Marco didn’t care if they were in a fancy restaurant. He kicked Jake’s shin under the table, but unfortunately Jake had anticipated him and moved his leg behind the chair. Pain speared through Marco’s foot and he hunched over, grimacing.

  Jake tsked his tongue against his teeth. “You’ve really got to do something about these dark moods of yours, Adonis.”

  Abe held up his wine glass. “I agree.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Peyton jogged down the stairs of her house, pausing at the bottom. Marco stood in the driveway, his legs braced as he stretched his arms over the back of his head. He turned and gave her a smile, rolling his shoulders to loosen them. She hesitated, marking the way his running jacket strained against his upper body and pulled tight across his chest. No man had a right to look this good in the morning, especially after sleeping on a military cot all night.

  “Happy birthday, partner,” he said.

  “Thank you.” She forced herself to stop admiring him and glanced out at the beautiful September Saturday dawning around them. The sun was filtering through the morning fog, promising a day filled with late summer warmth.

  A motion in the window of the house across the street caught her attention and she squinted at it, but it was just the curtain sliding back into place. Strange, she’d thought the house empty. About four months ago, the family who owned it had moved away and although it had been for sale, eventually it was taken off the market when no one was anxious to pony up the exorbitant amount the previous owners wanted.

  “What’s wrong?” Marco turned to see where she was looking.

  “
Nothing. I think you had an admirer watching you stretch.”

  “Hm.” He turned back and pressed his palms to the wall, focusing on his calf muscles.

  Peyton found herself focusing on them too, and shook herself. Damn, she needed to figure out what the hell was wrong with her lately.

  “We going running or not, Brooks?”

  She made a few half-hearted attempts at loosening her muscles, then began jogging up the street. She really didn’t feel like running today, but it was the only way she was going to get any alone time with Marco. Abe had a big celebration planned and as soon as that was over, she needed to get back to work. They had to solve this Clean-up Crew case before anyone else died.

  She couldn’t stand to watch the news anymore. The Janitor dominated the local stations and she kept fearing it would eventually draw the attention of the national media. The mayor feared the same and pressed Defino for an arrest.

  However, solving the case would take Marco from her for good. Defino had given him until Monday to make his decision about the promotion. She knew they needed to discuss it some more, but he deflected any attempt she made. At some point, she was going to have to force the issue.

  They jogged into the park and Peyton dropped down to a walk. As they did so many mornings, they wandered until they came to Stow Lake.

  Marco nudged her in the side. “Let me buy you a chocolate donut in the café.”

  “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of jogging?”

  “Not on your birthday, it doesn’t.”

  “Okay.” She smiled at him, pushing a stray curl behind her ear. The action brought the previous night to mind, when he’d done the same thing on her stoop. She looked away and followed him into the building.

  He bought her a donut and a cup of coffee for each of them, then they went back outside and sat on the deck, watching the ducks and geese on the lake. She braced her elbows on the table and held her coffee in both hands, enjoying the warmth of it. She felt his eyes on her, but she just wanted to sit still for a moment, enjoying the quiet before they had to talk about everything that was changing around them.

  “So, how was your date?”

  The rumble of his voice was as familiar as her own, but there was an edge to it she didn’t remember noticing before. She glanced at him over her shoulder. “It was actually fun.”

  His brows rose at that. “You make plans for another one?”

  “No.” She rubbed her chin against the fabric of her jacket. “He told me I wasn’t his type.”

  Marco frowned. “I find that hard to believe.”

  She shrugged. “That’s pretty much what he said. How was your date?”

  “Jake ordered Dom Perignon.”

  “Dom Perignon? How the hell much did that cost?”

  “Two hundred dollars.”

  “Jake doesn’t have that kind of money.”

  “Obviously.”

  “You don’t either.”

  “It was the only way to get Abe to stop bitching about the wine.”

  “Oh, yeah, Abe doesn’t like wine.”

  “Yeah.”

  Peyton gave a laugh. “How much was your dinner?”

  “Don’t ask.” When she gave him a speculative look, he shook his head in amusement. “Abe split the bill with me.”

  “Did Jake pay?”

  “No, apparently it was my punishment for making him come with us. Oh, and for trying to kick him.”

  Peyton laughed again. “You tried to kick him? Why?”

  “He was being Jake.”

  “I see. Sounds like your date was more fun than mine.”

  “Well, my date was Abe.”

  “Point taken.”

  He nudged the donut at her. “Are you going to eat your birthday breakfast?”

  “Only if you have some too.”

  “Okay.”

  She split the donut and passed him half on a napkin, then she placed a bite in her mouth. How many time had he brought her something sweet over the years? How many times had he gone out of his way to surprise her with some little something? And all that would be ending soon.

  She pushed the plate away, fighting the sudden rush of tears.

  “Not hungry?”

  She drew a deep breath, holding it until she could get control of her emotions. “You know you have to take that promotion, right?”

  He settled his coffee cup on the table. “Look, let’s not talk about this today, okay? Let’s just enjoy the day without worrying about our jobs.”

  “Today is Saturday. When are we going to talk about it?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “You can’t keep putting it off, Marco.”

  “Peyton, do you realize that our whole lives revolve around our jobs? How many weekends have we spent working a case? How many nights have we stayed at the precinct until it became the next day? We’re letting it consume us.”

  “We work homicide, Marco. Other people depend on us to do this job.”

  “To what end? We’re both thirty now. Neither one of us has a life outside of work. How many more years do you think we can do this? Shutting out everything else?”

  She searched his face. God, he was right. The job was eating her alive. She spent every moment away from it feeling empty and lost and alone.

  “No matter how hard we work, how many hours we dedicate to it, there will always be one more homicide to solve. One more murderer to arrest. One more victim to get justice for. Every single day we concentrate on death. Can’t we just take one day to enjoy life?”

  She smiled at him, tamping down the sadness, the agony of knowing how much she was going to lose without him as her partner – the days spent together, the hours of knowing he was there, always a step away.

  He wanted one day and she was determined to give it to him. She could block the worry, the fear, for that long. She could pretend that everything was going to be okay and she wasn’t losing him.

  “So, is Abe getting me a stripper?” she said.

  He visibly relaxed. “God, I don’t know, but if you see an abnormally large birthday cake, I think I’d run.”

  Laughter bubbled up inside of her and she reached for another piece of donut, placing it in her mouth.

  * * *

  Maria smoothed the lines of the dress yet again, then stepped back beside Abe and gave her a once-over. “Not bad.”

  “Not bad? She’s gorgeous,” said Abe. He came forward and kissed Peyton’s cheek.

  Maria swatted him. “Don’t. You’ll ruin her makeup.”

  Peyton wrapped her arms around Abe’s waist and pressed her cheek to his chest. “Thank you, both of you, for this.”

  The red halter dress and the black sandals were a present from Abe and Maria for her birthday. The dress fit her like a glove and came to mid-thigh showing off her legs. They might not be the longest legs she’d ever seen, but in this dress and heels they weren’t half bad.

  Then they’d done something with her hair. It was down around her shoulders, but one part over her left ear was bound up in an elaborate braid with a sparkly piece of fabric woven into it. A pair of tear-drop earrings in silver hung from her earlobes.

  Maria pulled her in front of the mirror, putting her hands on her shoulders. “Look at yourself,” she said in Peyton’s ear.

  Peyton couldn’t believe the woman staring back at her was the same one who threw on sweats and gathered her hair into a ponytail every day.

  “You’re a knock out. The men are going to go crazy when they see you.”

  Peyton smiled and touched Maria’s hand. If she were honest with herself, there was only one man she wanted to go crazy and he would never look at her that way.

  “Okay, come on. It’s time.” Abe went to the bedroom door and pulled it open. Peyton let Maria draw her into the living room. Cho and Jake were sitting on the couch with Pickles between them, while Marco sat in the recliner. They were all watching the Giants game.

  Three pairs of eyes shifted to her.

 
Peyton bit her lip, suddenly feeling ridiculous.

  “Holy crap!” said Cho. “Brooks, you are hot!”

  She felt a blush paint her cheeks. Maria beamed at her.

  “Damn. I’m sure glad I contributed to that present,” he added.

  Maria put her hands on her hips. “That’s enough!”

  He got up and came over to her, kissing her cheek. “It’s just you always look this hot, baby.”

  “Not smooth,” said Jake, shaking his head, then he focused on Peyton, climbing off the couch as well. “He’s right though. You are one hot lady, Mighty Mouse.” He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing the back of it. “Happy birthday.”

  “Thank you, Jake.”

  He tugged her toward the kitchen. “I have a present for you.”

  She glanced over at Marco as Jake led her to the counter. Marco hadn’t moved, but he was staring at her intently. She worried he thought the dress was too much, too daring, too bold. Maybe he thought she looked cheap.

  She tried to concentrate on Jake as he handed her a gift bag. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

  “Yes, I did. Besides, it’s not much.”

  She settled it on a barstool and rifled through the tissue paper. The hard edge of a frame met her touch and she gave a happy little gasp. She’d been hoping he’d give her one of his photographs, something personal from him alone.

  Lifting it out, she caught her breath. It was a picture of her and Marco during the 4th of July celebration just this past summer. They were in silhouette against the night sky. Her back was to him, but they were both laughing, their faces caught in profile. Behind them in the sky exploded a rain of red and blue lights – fireworks.

  Tears filled her eyes and she blinked rapidly to stop them. She couldn’t find her voice to tell him what this picture meant to her, especially now.

  Jake put a finger under her chin and lifted her face. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  She shook her head, fighting the tears.

  “Great. Ruin her makeup, will you?” said Maria. “Let me see it.” She leaned against Peyton’s shoulder, looking at the photo. “Oh, wow! That’s amazing, Ryder.”

  Peyton nodded. “It is.”

  Jake smiled happily. “I’m glad you like it.”