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are."
"Deal," she whispered.
He turned to Alex. "So, what's your news?"
His eyes went to Zoe and he had an idea what Alex would
say before he spoke. There was no mistaking the glow of
pleasure on Zoe's face, not to mention, Sydney was absent
from the gathering
Alex slipped his arm around Zoe's shoulder. "Zoe and I are
getting married."
Heath lifted his brows. "Does Sydney know?"
Zoe laughed and Heath held out his arms to her. She
hugged him, then pulled back and looked up into his face. "I'd
like to ask a favor."
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "If it's marrying
Sydney in Alex's place, forget it."
She laughed again. "Nothing that horrible. I wondered if
you'd walk me down the aisle."
A surge of emotion rose in Heath's chest, and he cleared
his throat. "Sure. I'd like that very much."
"Thank you."
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Zoe released him, and Heath shook his brother's hand.
He'd never seen Alex look so happy. "Congratulations, man. I
think you're doing it right this time."
"Hey, practice makes perfect, right?"
"You ought to know."
Alex punched him lightly in the sternum. "Shut the hell up
and let's eat."
"Daddy, you're not supposed to say bad words, and hell's a
bad word," Macy admonished.
The room burst into laughter.
The dinner discussion centered on the last minute changes
in the wedding plans. Alex explained how he and Zoe had
fallen in love, and he'd realized that Sydney wasn't the kind
of woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, or the
kind of woman he wanted around his daughters. In Heath's
mind, Alex had definitely made the right choice.
Although Heath wasn't completely sold on the idea of
having a new sibling, he found himself warming up to Keeley
as the evening wore on. Watching her interact with the
triplets moved her way up in Heath's estimation. She was
great with them and they seemed comfortable with her. Like
the saying went, animals and children can sense the
difference between good and evil. Maybe Keeley didn't have
horns and a pitchfork after all.
When it was time to leave, Heath hugged the females,
except for Keeley, who received a handshake like he'd given
Alex. He still had a few reservations about her; he didn't want
her to think she'd completely won him over until she proved
she could be trusted. After all, her arrival into their lives was
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precipitated by a lawsuit against his mother. That still didn't
set well with him.
As he drove away from the house, Heath thought about
how his mom had loved his dad, even though he'd cheated.
Rudy hadn't been loyal to Nic, but Heath knew he could be.
He and Nic deserved that chance, right? He'd learned a lot in
the past few days about forgiveness and second chances.
Look at Alex and Zoe. He'd never seen a couple look at one
another with so much love. Then there was Keeley. She was
the one who'd had a rough life, a single mom and not getting
to grow up with a great father like he had. Yet he was the one
who'd sat in judgment of her.
Life was too short for that kind of bullshit thinking. He'd
loved Nic for years. Maybe she cared enough about him to
give it a try. He wouldn't ask her to marry him, not right off.
She had a lot to lose in the community. But he had to try to
convince her to give love a shot.
He should wait until the investigation was over, until he
decided how to tell her Rudy had cheated, until he figured out
how he could hurt someone who'd had enough hurt in her
lifetime.
Right now, he would concentrate on the case.
Heath drove back toward Northland Playhouse. The last
performance was to end at around ten, so by now, the crowd
should be thinned out a great deal. Maybe the blackmailer
wasn't a theater-goer, maybe he was an employee. After all,
if he was using their phone, it was likely he worked there. It
would be unusual for a theater guest to make a call from the
house phone since everyone these days had a cell.
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Heath had no idea if checking out the theater would pay
off, but right now, he had nothing. He'd called information
and gotten Ted Wellington's phone number, but there had
been no answer, so he couldn't ask if anyone at the shop
worked part-time, or had any ties, to the Northland
Playhouse.
As he'd predicted, the lot was nearly empty. A small group
of cars were parked at the back of the theatre, in an area
reserved for employees. Heath cruised back and forth along
the rows, looking for a familiar vehicle, or a person he could
speak with who might know something.
A white Altima caught his attention. He'd seen that car
before. White Altimas weren't all that uncommon, but this one
had a dent on the right side. Heath thought he remembered
seeing a similar dent in one of the cars at the salon. He fished
for his notepad and pulled out the list he'd made of vehicles in
Salarber's parking lot. The Altima matched one on the list,
license plate number and all.
Adrenaline surged through him. This was one thing he
missed about being a cop. The thrill of the chase, but mostly,
the elation when closing in on the prey.
He chose a space in a darkened corner and slid the Tahoe
in, shutting off his lights and the engine. Now, he'd wait.
One of the drawbacks to waiting, besides being bored as
hell, was that it gave him too much time to think. He thought
about Keeley Jacobs and how he hadn't wanted to like her.
Not that he loved her or anything, but he didn't hate her, and
that sucked.
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It forced him to rethink his plan of action, although
admittedly it hadn't been the greatest, anyway. Holding out
after everyone else in the family had accepted his father's
love-child—a nice girl who was totally blameless—and pouting
about a mistake his father made nearly forty years ago,
wasn't exactly brilliant military strategy.
He smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to have Keeley
around during the holidays. Jesse could use a little female
competition. She'd had all the King brothers' loyalty and
devotion for long enough. Although, if he was reading the
signs right, one particular King brother wanted to give Jesse
something a little more intimate.
Before his thoughts could turn to how and when, or
whether, Heath would tell Nicolette that her dead husband
had not only kept his drug use from her, but had also been
banging another woman, the back door to the theater
opened. A small group of peop
le exited, then headed to
various vehicles. No one went to the Altima.
Heath shifted in his seat. This could take all night. What if
the Altima owner had left with someone else? Heath had
searched the sea of faces as they exited the theater and none
had looked familiar, not like anyone he might have seen at
Salarber's, but then, his position didn't allow a close look.
It only took a few moments for the door to open again.
This time, a lone man exited and headed straight to the
Altima. Heath's adrenaline spiked higher when he recognized
the guy. He couldn't place him exactly, but he'd seen him
somewhere before.
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Heath started the engine and followed the Altima out of
the parking lot. He didn't want to confront the guy at the
theater, not with the likelihood of someone interrupting. He'd
see where the car went and hope it was somewhere he could
have a nice, private chat with the driver.
Heath and the Altima drove for five miles or so before the
car slowed and pulled into the lot of a strip club. Great. The
asshole was going to dole out Nicolette's money to pole
dancers, probably a few bucks at a time.
When they both parked and the guy stepped out of the
car, Heath got out and approached him as he was thumbing a
key fob to lock his door. He was short, maybe in his late
twenties, with close-set eyes and a long, thin nose.
"Hey, pal," Heath called. When the guy looked up, Heath
recognized him. He'd been sweeping floors at the barbershop.
"What? Who are you?" The guy seemed more puzzled than
frightened, but when Heath grabbed him and shoved him into
the open door of the Tahoe, he made a grunting sound, then
yelled for help.
Heath shoved him over and climbed into the driver's seat.
Clamping his hand over the guy's mouth, Heath held his head
down on the seat while he drove around to the back of the
club. An alley stretched behind the strip club and the other
businesses in the shopping center. Quiet. Deserted. Perfect.
When Heath released his hold, the guy sat up and started
slapping at him like a sorority girl. "Let me go. What are you
doing? Who the hell are you?"
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"Knock it the fuck off." Heath opened his door and tugged
the guy out by his collar, then slammed him against the side
of the Tahoe, retaining his grip.
"Hey, what the fuck!" He looked around the darkened
alley. "Help! Please, somebody help!"
Heath grabbed the back of his hair and jerked downward
until the guy was staring directly up at the night sky. "Pipe
down, or I'll snap it right off."
His Adam's apple protruded with the strain of holding his
neck in that position. He managed an almost imperceptible
nod.
"I'll let you go," Heath said, "but if you scream again, I'll
put you back in the truck and take you on a trip you'll never
come back from."
Heath released him, and the guy pressed his lips together
tightly as if not trusting himself to keep quiet. He blinked
back tears and rubbed his throat, then peered closely into
Heath's face. "I've seen you before. At the shop."
"Yeah. You sweep the floors there. What's your name?"
His lips tightened again, and Heath said, "Look, I'm going
to get your name one way or the other. Might as well make it
less painful on both of us."
"Barney Frost," he bit out resentfully. "What do you want
with me?" He was panting heavily, fear making his eyes large
and round.
"Just want to have a little chat."
The eyes narrowed. "About what?"
"Do you know Nicolette Morgan?"
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Something flickered in his eyes before he looked away.
"Never heard of her."
"You don't lie very well. Blackmailers should be a little
better at it."
His gaze rose back to Heath's face. "What? I don't know
what you're talking about."
"The hell you don't. I have video of your car going into the
parking garage where you accosted Nicolette. I have your
voice recorded in several of the calls you made to her. I called
the voicemail on your phone and did a voice print
comparison. They match. You were caught on camera at Dave
and Buster's." Most of that was a lie, but Barney Frost had
the look of someone who could be easily bluffed. He was.
"Okay, man. You got me. You're a cop?"
"Not a cop. Just a friend." He pulled Barney with him and
reached into the open Tahoe door. Digging through his brief
case, he pulled out a tape recorder, then shoved Barney
sideways into the driver's seat, while he remained standing
outside, blocking the guy's escape. "Tell me everything, and if
you can convince me you won't bother Nicolette anymore,
and that you'll pay back the money you took from her, I'll
consider not calling the police."
That was also a lie. Although Nic wanted to keep the
blackmail out of the media, there was no way in hell Heath
would let a criminal walk, especially not one who'd threatened
her and made her life hell for all these months.
"You're going to record me, man? Why, if you're not going
to turn me in?"
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"Insurance. As long as I have this tape, I know you'll keep
your word."
Barney frowned and crossed his arms mutinously. "I don't
know."
"Offer expires in sixty seconds. After that, I'll let you deal
with the authorities. I have enough on you that they'll make a
case. Your choice."
"Fuck." Barney reached up on either side of his head and
clenched his hair in his fists. "I'm fucked either way."
"Yeah. But you'll be literally fucked if you go to prison.
Talk." Heath pushed the record button and lifted his brows
expectantly.
"Fine." Barney released his hair and shook his head. "I'll
tell you everything. You got a smoke?"
"No. I have Pez candies."
"What?" He frowned and shook his head again. "Never
mind. Okay, here goes. I work in the shop right? Cleaning up.
Half the time, the stylists don't even know I'm around. I see
Rudy Morgan come in every six weeks or so, and he's this big
shot, you know? Noah does his hair and everything's normal
in the beginning. Except, after a while, they seem sort of
chummy. I always figured Noah was gay, but he swears he's
not. Don't know why he'd deny it. These days, there's no
shame, no reason to hide it. Either way, though, I don't think
for one second Morgan has a gay bone in his body. One day,
I'm leaving the same time as Noah and I decide to follow him,
keeping my distance, you know?"
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; When Heath nodded, the guy went on, his voice becoming
more animated as if now that he was caught, he enjoyed
telling the story.
"Noah drove to a park at the river. He got out and walked
down the bank toward a guy standing near the water. I'm still
behind him, but staying back. I'll be damned if it wasn't Rudy
Morgan waiting on him. I didn't know if they were going to
start some guy on guy sex or what, but Noah pulled out this
pipe and the two of them start smoking crack. I couldn't
fucking believe it."
Barney shook his head and gazed out the windshield of the
Tahoe with a faraway look, as if picturing the scene in his
mind.
"And?" Heath prompted.
"Anyway. Long story short, I knew the guy was rich. I
don't make jack shit with both jobs combined. I followed
them a few more times, took some pictures, and called
Morgan. I didn't even feel bad. The asshole ran a charity to
get people off drugs, and he was a crack head himself. So,
that's when it started. Blackmailed him for ten G's a month."
"What'd you do with the money? You're still working those
jobs that don't pay shit."
"Yeah. For now. I was going to wait until I had a hundred
grand, then get the fuck out. Go to some Mexican island or
somewhere in the tropics and disappear forever.
Margaritaville and shit, know what I mean?"
"So why did you kill Rudy. He was paying, right?"
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Barney's eyes got big and round. "Kill him? I didn't. No
fucking way. Blackmailing just about made me piss my pants.
No way could I kill someone."
"But you can attack helpless women in a parking garage."
Heath bit back his fury at the thought of this asshole's hands
on Nicolette.
"I didn't hurt her, man. Just wanted her to know I was
serious. She seemed about to put a stop to it."
"You say Rudy deserved it, so you didn't feel bad. But
what about Nicolette? She'd lost her husband. She kept the
charity going, and she wasn't doing drugs. You sleep okay at
night after what you've done to her?"
He shrugged. "Once I got going, I didn't want to stop until
I had enough to get the fuck out of here for good."
"Yet you left clues all over the place. You practically drew
me a road map right to you."
"So, what was it that tipped you off?"
