Moving the mouse I double clicked onto the Times library files, logging onto the network. The nice thing about working in the newspaper business was the unlimited resources at your fingertips. Our software enabled us to locate pretty much anyone and anything we were looking for, which made the job a heck of a lot easier when doing research.
Clicking in the text box I typed in Jason McAllister, pressing the enter button.
The results popped up almost instantly and I sighed, reading the number of matches. 1,347 matches were found. Great, I’d be here all day. Clicking in the text box I narrowed the search by typing in college. It was a long shot but since I didn’t know which school Jason had attended I’d have to do things the hard way. Surprisingly enough 240 matches popped up. Still a lot, but a number I could work with. Cracking my knuckles I made myself comfortable before beginning to sort through the links lining the page.
It was after 11:00 when I pushed away from the computer screen, rubbing my eyes wearily. So far I’d managed to drum up a headache and eye strain but not much of anything else. Robbie had attended Harvard the same time Jason did but dropped out halfway through his second year. No explanation was given in his school record, just a failure to show for classes until the teachers ultimately zeroed his grade out. Jason, however, went on to bigger and better things, even graduated at the top of his class. At least I knew whatever caused the split must have happened during the second year; now to narrow down what that something was. Needle in a haystack anyone? A knock sounded on the office door and I jerked my head up, breathing a sigh of relief when Gavyn’s face appeared. I knew Parsons would figure out where I was and come looking for me; I just hoped I’d be gone before he arrived.
“Didn’t expect to see you here on a Sunday. Guess you really are a workaholic,” he said, lounging lazily in front of the open door.
I shrugged. “Just a hunch I wanted to research before tomorrow. And what brings you in on a Sunday? Couldn’t find anything to do in town?”
Gavyn grinned, shaking his head. “In case you haven’t noticed there’s not much to do around here on a Sunday. I’m not much a church goer so I decided to see what was going on around here.”
I smiled. “There’s about as much going on around here as there is in town but you’re welcome to hang out. If you check in the newsroom I’m sure they’d have something there for you to work on.”
“Thanks for the tip. By the way, I think a friend of yours is looking for you. Heard him ask about you downstairs in the lobby when I was heading up and he didn’t sound too happy,” Gavyn said nonchalantly.
Crap. Parsons was quicker than I’d expected. I hadn’t expected him for at least another half hour. Gathering my purse I stood from the desk, heading towards the door.
“Thanks for the tip. Guess that’s my cue to jet outta here,” I replied, trying to keep my tone light despite the feeling of urgency racing through me. Just knowing Parsons was in the building was enough to get me moving, especially since I knew he wasn’t going to be happy that I didn’t stay home.
“I noticed him hanging out at the club the other night. Is he bothering you? Because if he is, I’m pretty sure I know some people who can take care of him for you,” Gavyn said quietly. His face was expressionless yet I had the distinct impression he wasn’t joking.
Hmm, tempting offer. I shook my head. “Tempting as that is I think I can handle him. He’s an old….friend who’s somewhat involved in the McAllister case. Don’t worry about me, he’s harmless.”
As the words left my mouth I heard the ding of the elevator and glanced past Gavyn as the doors slid open. Even from the other side of the office I could tell Tony was seriously pissed. Stepping off the elevator he stalked purposely towards us.
Gavyn moved a step closer to me, glancing uneasily at Tony. “Are you sure, because he looks pretty ticked off about something.”
I gave a tight smile, waving a hand through the air. “Trust me, that’s his usual look. Looks like it’s time for me to head out. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”
Gavyn nodded as I walked past him, heading towards Parsons to cut him off at the pass.
“Well hey there, didn’t expect to see you up here,” I said cheerily when I reached him. Tony didn’t return my smile. “I thought you were told to stay home.”
“And I thought you were told to go home,” I couldn’t help firing back. Tony sighed, reaching a hand over to cup my elbow and steer me towards the elevator.
“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?” he gritted out as we reached the elevator, reaching out his free hand to jab the button.
As we entered the elevator I spotted Gavyn on the other side of the office, still standing in the open doorway. I gave him a bright smile and a wave, hoping to alleviate some of his anxiety.
“Don’t worry Parsons, I save the best for you,” I replied sweetly as the doors slid shut. Alone in the small room Tony backed me up against the wall of the elevator, locking my hands above my head with his.
“You save the best for me, huh?” he murmured, lowering his head to capture my lips. They just barely brushed mine when the untimely ding of the elevator sounded, alerting us that we’d arrived at the ground floor. Pulling away he grinned, noting the flush of my cheeks.
“To be continued,” he promised, leading the way through the open doors. I silently fumed, shooting daggers into his cute backside. To be continued my ass. Just wait until we were alone.
The unmistakable smell of fingernail polish hovered in the air as we made our way through the front lobby. I gave a little wave to the high school girl sitting behind the desk, who gave a nod in return. Seeing that her focus was more on the color she was putting on her fingernail rather than on us, I followed Tony outside. Walking towards the lot I noticed Parsons was parked next to my car, lucky me. Slowly we arrived at our vehicles and Tony stood looking at me, an expectant look on his face.
“What?” I finally asked as I fished my keys from my purse.
Tony shrugged. “Just wondering where we were going from here.”
“I am going to go home, get my laundry basket and go to the Laundromat. We are not going anywhere together,” I replied. As much as I hated doing laundry I was willing to bite the bullet if it meant getting rid of Parsons for awhile.
Tony folded his arms across his chest, giving me his stoney face. Somehow that wasn’t the response I was looking for. “Wanna bet?”
You know, I really hate it when he puts it that way.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I stood in front of a washing machine, popping quarters into the worn slots on top. From across the room I glared at Parsons, who lounged comfortably in one of the plastic chairs lining the front window. So much for getting rid of him. Admitting defeat I sighed, closing the lid and moving on to the dryer. The Scrub N’ Pub was surprisingly empty for a Sunday afternoon, which unfortunately meant I might actually have to carry on a conversation with Parsons. Too bad for him I’d childishly decided on the ride over that I was going to give him the silent treatment.
Tony stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing his ankles comfortably. “How long are you planning on not talking, because your mom might think we’re having a lovers quarrel when you don’t talk to me at dinner.”
I didn’t answer, instead continued to pull the clothes out of the dryer and into my laundry basket.
“Or I could tell her that my lovemaking made you speechless and that’s why you aren’t talking. She might just believe that,” he continued. I paused, sparing him a glare.
“That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?” I asked, unable to keep silent any longer.
Tony grinned. “Not according to some sources. Care to find out?”
A rush went through me and I shuddered. The man had a way with words, what could I say. Closing the door to the dryer I set the laundry basket on top, beginning to fold the clothes into piles.
“You know, since your going to be hanging around you could make yourself
useful and help fold clothes,” I suggested. Tony ambled out of his chair, sauntering over to where I stood. Peering over my shoulder he eyed the contents in the basket with interest
“Do I get to fold your underwear?” he asked almost hopefully.
“Do you ever think of anything other than your libido?” I replied. Tony looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Only when you’re not around. You seem to bring out my best side,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. I laughed before I could stop myself.
“You really are incorrigible, you know that don’t you?” I said.
Tony shrugged. “Yeah, but most people find that adorable in me.”
Ok, I had to agree with that one. Plucking up a pile I set it on top of the dryer next to the basket.
“That’s your pile hot shot. Let’s see how well your mama taught you about folding laundry,” I said.
“Oh please, I’ve been doing my own laundry since I went away to college. And for the record, if you added fabric softener to your rinse cycle your clothes would smell better for a lot longer. It’ll also make them feel softer as I’m sure this place runs off of hard water,” he commented, folding a pair of socks together.
I halted in mid fold, staring at him open mouthed. He shrugged. “What? You think just because I’m a guy I don’t know anything about laundry? Sheesh Tace, you could at least try to give me a little credit.”
I flushed, ducking my head. He was right; I haven’t exactly been all that fair to Parsons since he abruptly showed up in my life. But then again, the man never played fair either.
“So you’re a laundry God, huh? Wow, who would have guessed,” I remarked dryly.
“Not quite a God, but pretty close. I’m a pretty good cook too,” he replied, casually tossing a folded shirt into the laundry basket.
“You mean besides bacon and eggs?” I asked skeptically.
Tony grinned. “Bacon and eggs are nothing. I can make a filet mignon topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions with a side of twice baked stuffed potatoes that would make your mouth water.”
Sad to say the drool was already salivating just thinking about it. “So you can do laundry and you can cook. Is there anything you don’t know how to do?”
“How to get you alone in a bedroom for longer than ten minutes without being interrupted. I’m still working on that one,” he replied with a grin. I ducked my head to hide the flush of my cheeks. Men.
We were silent for a moment, both of us folding our piles of clothes. It was pretty sad to admit, but I was actually having a decent time hanging out with Parsons. That wouldn’t ever be something that I’d admit out loud though. Why, and let him gloat forever?
Tony cleared his throat, drawing my attention. “So, when are you planning on telling me what you were working on today?”
I averted my gaze, folding a pair of jeans. “I had some errands to run, no big deal. Why do you assume that I’m up to something just because I happened to be out?”
Tony shrugged. “Because I know you and you’re always up to something.”
I slapped the folded pair of jeans into the laundry basket, turning to glare at him. “Listen Parsons, you don’t know a thing about me so don’t stand there all cocky and assume that you do.”
Tony dropped a shirt from his hand, folding his arms across his chest. An amused expression was on his handsome face, much to my irritation.
“What makes you think I don’t know anything about you, Tace? I know you a lot better than you think I do,” he said softly.
My insides turned mushy at his soft voice. I hated how he could do that. Imitating his pose I folded my arms across my chest, raising my chin a notch. “Really? Ok then hot shot, since you seem to know me so well why don’t you tell me what I was out doing this morning?”
Tony was quiet for a moment but I could see the humor glinting in his eyes.
“Let me see if I get this straight, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. The minute I left you disobeyed my orders and drove out to pay a visit to Drew and Robbie Tompkins, then went to the Times to get a bio report on them. Did I get anything wrong so far?” he asked sweetly.
I gritted my teeth. “Yeah, I didn’t get a bio on Drew, just on Robbie. And how the hell did you know I was out there today? Are you following me?”
Tony shook his head. “Don’t need to. After I left your apartment I headed over to visit Jason and Val to see how they were holding up. While I was there Jason got a phone call from Robbie, who seemed to be all worked up over something. I wasn’t able to catch much of the conversation before Jason left the room but I clearly heard your name shouted into the phone. Now since I know you haven’t been to the south end of town other than to the construction site lately I deduced your little errand run this morning was a visit to Tompkins. So, did you find what you were looking for?”
I somehow managed to keep my mouth from falling open, hard as it was.
“All right fine, you caught me. I, Taci Lynn Andrews, was working today instead of taking a day of rest. What are you going to do? Turn me in?” I asked after I managed to swallow my shock that he’d been able to discern that much information in such a short period of time.
“Turning you over my knee sounds more appealing but at the moment I’m more interested in what you learned from Tompkins,” he remarked.
“According to Robbie, Drew wasn’t the one who dumped Samantha, she did the dumping. What’s even more interesting is the way he talks about Jason. They had some sort of huge falling out back in college that still has him pretty pissed,” I finally said. No point in beating around the bush when he already knew half the story.
Tony’s eyebrows rose an inch. “He didn’t happen to mention what that something was or what year it happened, did he?”
“Would I have gone back to the Times and spent the morning doing research if he’d told me what it was all about?” I replied sarcastically.
Tony opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the ring of his cell phone. Pulling it from his pocket he checked the screen before flipping it open. “Parsons.”
Turning back to the clothes pile I resumed my folding, trying to at least act like I wasn’t listening in. Not that he made it easy, all of his answers were clipped and one worded which told me either he wasn’t happy about the phone call or he didn’t much like the person on the other end. Finally he snapped his phone shut, turning back to me.
“That was Phillips from the RPD. The trace analysis finally came back,” he said quietly. I stopped folding, hearing the tenseness in his voice.
“And?” I prodded, trying to remain calm.
“It came back with traces of Ammonium Nitrate,” he said quietly.
I gave a shrug. The words were greek to me but obviously Tony wasn’t happy about something. “Meaning?”
“Meaning Ammonium Nitrate by itself is harmless, actually it used to be used by farmers as a fertilizer. However mixed with a sensitizer it can become explosive,” he finished.
My blood went cold and the shirt I’d been folding slipped through my fingers.
“Ok let’s back the truck up here. Obviously I’ve never had any kind of explosives training so can you tell me in layman’s terms what you’re talking about? Like what the hell is a sensitizer for one thing,” I said more calmly then I felt.
“A sensitizer can be a number of things from diesel oil, gasoline, nitromethane, hydrazine and the like. Ammonium nitrate in itself is so insensitive to detonation you could probably store it under your bed for safe keeping,” Tony explained.
“As tempting as that sounds I think I’ll skip the storage idea. So can I assume I don’t need to worry about my apartment blowing up with Reese and I in it, or do I need to start moving things out?” I asked, picking up the shirt I’d dropped.
Tony shook his head. “Not according to Phillips. He said the traces were minimal. Worst case scenario it would have started a fire.”
“Versus blowing up, you mean? Gee, that sounds much more appeal
ing when you put it that way,” I replied dryly.
“Look on the bright side, your landlord would have redecorated your apartment and you could have gotten all new stuff,” Tony pointed out.
“Thanks for looking on the bright side, Parsons. Now I know who to call the next time this happens,” I replied.
Tony sobered at that. “If there is a next time. Seriously Tace, you really need to be careful. Some whack job is out there and obviously has you pinned as a target. There’s no telling what stunt he or she may pull next.”
I tossed the folded shirt into the laundry basket, mulling his words over thoughtfully. “So you think it’s a she that’s behind this?”
Tony shrugged, folding a pair of socks together. “It’s good to keep all options open, but truthfully my gut says it’s not. What are you thinking?”
Tossing the last shirt from my pile into the laundry basket I leaned a hip on the edge of the dryer. “That depends. If I don’t fill you in do you intend on following me around town?”
Tony finished folding the last pair of socks and chucked them into the laundry basket. Resting a hip up against the dryer he folded his arms across his chest. “Look, I’m not going to beat around the bush and say that I’m not concerned, because I am. I’ve seen a lot of things from being a fire fighter and most of them weren’t pretty. As to if I intend on following you around town the answer is no. You’re a big girl and I think you’ve more than proven you can take care of yourself. However I will ask that you use your head and try and stay under the radar for a little while. Do you think you can handle that?”
Did I think I could handle that? Now that was a loaded question.
“I’ll do what I can but Bryce isn’t going to stay on hold forever. He wants the McAllister story punched out pretty soon and it’s going to be my butt if I don’t follow through,” I pointed out.
Deadly Reunion (The Taci Andrews Deadly Series) Page 12
