Crime Scene Connection

by Deena Alexander

  Except it was. His emotions then didn’t even touch the jumble of feelings that had torn through him when he’d realized he couldn’t get to her and might not be able to reach her in time. A shiver tore through him. “Come on, now. We have to go.”

  As they fled toward the car, the feeling of a giant bull’s-eye on his back was the easiest for him to deal with. At least that he understood.

  Jace held the car door open for Addison to get into the back seat, then slid in behind her and closed the door.

  Connor barreled down the driveway, keeping a close eye on his rearview mirror. “Is anyone hurt?”

  “I’m okay.” Addison buried her head in the thick fur around Phoenix’s neck.

  “We’re fine.” Jace reached his arm around her to pet Phoenix. He’d checked the dog after he’d bounded through the wall of flames, but Jace needed the reassurance.

  “So...” Maris twisted around in the passenger seat to face them. “Now what?”

  Jace dropped his head back and closed his eyes.

  Addison stayed where she was.

  Sirens blared in the distance. Connor must have called the fire department.

  “All righty, then.” The sound of Maris turning back around and flopping against the seat was followed by deafening silence.

  Jace tried to process everything that had happened. He bolted upright, and his eyes shot open. “Hey. What happened to the kid?”

  “He took off...” Connor’s gaze met his in the rearview mirror. “I’m not sure when. Maris and I jumped out of the car right behind you, and he was gone when we got back to it with Phoenix.”

  Jace massaged the bridge of his nose. Okay, then, nothing they could do about that. “Where are we going?”

  “A motel not far from here, maybe half an hour. Private enough.” And with that, conversation ceased until they pulled up to a two-story cottage surrounded by gardens and woods.

  “I’ll go get the keys.” Maris climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind her with a little more force than necessary.

  Addison jumped. “Do you mind if I take Phoenix for a walk?”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” She hadn’t uttered a word since they’d gotten into the car.

  She nodded, her lips pressed into a firm line. “I just need some air.”

  Something in the plea assured him she wanted to get that air alone. He looked around the quiet grounds, then got out and held the door for her. “Go ahead, but don’t go far, okay? If you stay right in the courtyard, where it’s well lit, I’ll be able to see you the whole time.”

  She nodded again, tucked her hair behind her ear and started off with Phoenix at her side.

  “Just tell him, ‘Heel,’ and he’ll fall into step beside you,” he called.

  She waved over her shoulder and issued the command.

  Connor started past him in the direction Maris had gone, but Jace stopped him with a hand against his chest. “I want answers, Connor. Now.”

  Connor gestured toward the door. Dark circles ringed his bloodshot eyes. “Can we at least go inside where there’s a chance we won’t be gunned down before I finish explaining?”

  Jace watched Addison walk the perimeter of the courtyard. “You weren’t followed.”

  “No, but the car was left unattended for a brief span of time while we tried to find a way through the flames.”

  “Maybe the killer planted a bug in the car after he torched the house.”

  Connor seemed to contemplate that for a moment. “It’s possible.”

  “Addison!” He waved her over, keeping a close eye on the surrounding woods.

  Maris returned with three keys and handed them to Connor. “We’re on the second floor, the last three rooms on the end.”

  Addison hurried toward him, and he kicked himself for the wide-eyed look of fear she wore. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. We just want to get you inside. Just to be safe.” He led her toward the rooms Maris had indicated.

  An outdoor stairway led to the second-floor porch, which crossed the front of the building and wrapped around both sides. Not great from a security standpoint. Easy enough for a sniper to sit in a tree and wait them out, then take his shot as soon as they stepped outside.

  But they had to have a few hours to rest, to talk, to make a plan for what would come next.

  As soon as he settled Addison in the middle room, he’d ditch Connor’s car at the closest hotel. Connor could probably have someone drop off another before they were ready to take off in the morning.

  He opened the door to Addison’s room. Clean enough, with a queen-size bed and a couch. A small table with four chairs sat in front of the window. He dragged the curtains across what was sure to be a beautiful view come morning and gestured toward the chairs. “All right, we’re inside. Talk.”

  Connor held up his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”

  Jace tossed the keys onto the table and folded his arms across his chest.

  “I’m going to take a shower.” Addison headed for the bathroom.

  “I guess that’s my cue.” Maris twirled her key around her finger. “Nice to see you, too, Jace.”

  Connor walked her next door, let her into their room, and returned to Jace. He propped his hands on his hips, his stance stiffening. “What happened to you, Jace?”

  “Me? What are you talking about? I haven’t heard from you in more than four years...” Caught off guard by the accusation in his tone, Jace bristled. He lifted a finger and took a step closer. “Then, out of nowhere, you call and beg me to go babysit a woman I figured probably had a large hand in destroying my life. That’s some nerve you’ve got there, buddy.”

  Connor laughed and scrubbed a hand over his near crew cut. “I’m not in the mood for this, Jace, so back off.” He slapped away the finger Jace still held an inch from his face and stared hard into his eyes, jaw clenched.

  With his anger fueled by Connor’s laughter, Jace tensed, long past ready for this fight.

  Then Connor’s demeanor changed. His posture, usually rigid, slumped, and he blew out a breath. “Look, man, I understand you’re angry, but you walked away without giving me a chance to explain. You wouldn’t take my calls, wouldn’t answer your door, wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say. What did you want me to do?”

  “There was nothing to explain.”

  “Yeah, Jace, there was.” He shook his head and finally broke eye contact, lowering his gaze to the floor and pressing his thumb and forefinger to his eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have tried harder to get in touch with you. I was so angry...and hurt that you wouldn’t listen to me. You were the closest thing I ever had to a brother, and I felt like you betrayed me.”

  “I betrayed you?”

  Connor squirmed. “Okay, I can understand how you might not see it that way, but maybe if you’d given me a chance to explain...”

  Jace threw up his hands and turned away, needing a minute to collect himself before this mess escalated any further. The sound of running water and knocking pipes assured him Addison was safe. Although, why that mattered so much, he had no clue. Jace was free. It didn’t really matter what Connor had to say. He’d done what he promised and kept Addison safe until he could pawn her off on Connor. She was no longer his problem. So why couldn’t he walk away? He should be able to, and yet... He turned back to find Connor studying him. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m going to take a shower, and then I’m outta here.”

  He started past Connor toward the door, praying he would fall for Jace’s bluff. There was no way he would abandon Addison with a killer on the loose, but he needed some space, at least for a few minutes.

  “Wait.” Connor grabbed his arm and spun him around.

  Jace lowered his gaze to the hand on his arm, then lifted it back to Connor.
/>   “I need help.”

  The underlying plea in the admission held his temper in check. Barely. “Then talk. Fast.”

  No matter what had driven a wedge between them, Jace would no more leave his brother in danger than he would Addison. Or Maris. Or anyone else.

  “I think Maris is being targeted by a serial killer.”

  “Yeah, I already figured that out. Now tell me something I don’t know.”

  Connor’s eyes widened in surprise, then lit up with his grin. “I figured you would, though I have to admit I thought it’d take a little longer.”

  Some of the tension seeped from Jace. “You always did underestimate me.”

  “Yeah, well... Look, Jace, I meant what I said. I’m sorry. I should have tried harder to get in touch with you. I owed you an explanation for why I started working with Maris.” His Adam’s apple bobbed with the effort to swallow, and he shrugged. “I let my pride get in the way, and for that, I really am sorry.”

  Jace couldn’t sustain the level of anger that self-pity had allowed him over the past years. “Whatever, Connor.”

  “No, not whatever. Believe me, when I met Maris, I harbored just as much anger toward her as you did, but then I gave her a chance to explain. It wasn’t what you thought, Jace. She was trying to protect her sister. How could I hold that against her?”

  Jace fidgeted, uncomfortable with Connor’s sincerity, with the vulnerability in his expression. “And you couldn’t just forgive her and move on? You had to marry her, man?”

  Connor laughed. “You obviously don’t know Maris Halloway.”

  Jace’s tension ratcheted down another notch.

  Then Connor sobered. “There was an incident, and Addison was hurt. I don’t know all of the details. Even Maris didn’t know for sure, but it scared her. Addison was too trusting, believed everything Brandon said. Maris was terrified there would come a time Addison would stumble on proof of what a monster he was and confront him over it rather than seek help. She was too vulnerable, Jace, and Maris was afraid he would end up killing her. Can you try to understand that? If you thought someone was going to kill me, you’d have done the same thing, no matter who else was hurt in the process.”

  He couldn’t argue with that. If someone had been a threat to Connor, Jace would have used whatever means necessary to remove the threat, no matter what.

  “I need help, Jace, and I don’t know anyone else I can trust as much as I do you.” Connor shrugged and held his gaze. “You’ve always been there when I needed you, were there when I asked for help even after we haven’t spoken in years. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind you’d always have my back.”

  A sense of betrayal still smoldered beneath the surface, but Jace tamped it down before it could flare again. “What do you need?”

  “You’ll help?”

  “I didn’t say that. It depends on what you need.”

  Connor nodded. “Fair enough.”

  “Now, while you figure out exactly what you need from me, I’m going to my room to take a shower. I haven’t slept in two days, and I couldn’t leave your problem alone long enough to shower.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t just handcuff her to something.”

  Jace laughed. No one knew him better than Connor. Usually because he’d handle the situation exactly the same way. “I didn’t think I’d get away with it a second time.”

  Connor’s laughter followed him toward the door.

  Jace paused with his hand on the knob. “Oh, and don’t forget to ditch the car—”

  “It’s already taken care of. I have one of my employees on the way to switch it with another.”

  Jace nodded. “Phoenix, come.”

  “I can’t believe how big Phoenix has gotten.”

  Everything in Jace went still. He and Connor hadn’t spoken since before he’d gotten Phoenix. “What are you talking about?”

  “Uh...” Connor shot him a sheepish smile. “All right, okay, don’t be angry.”

  Jace remained silent. Had Connor kept tabs on him all these years?

  “When you wouldn’t take my calls or talk to me, I got worried. I was just finishing up a case sort of near your place and decided to swing by and try again. I had the pup with me. He’d been abused and neglected by the man I took down, who was going to jail for a very long time. I was going to take him home, but when I saw you through the window, passed out on the couch, I decided it wasn’t the best time to try to talk. The puppy curled up in front of the door.” Connor paused and studied him. “I don’t know why, but you seemed so alone, and I thought having someone to take care of might help. I waited down the road to make sure the puppy was okay until you took him in.”

  Jace swallowed hard past the lump clogging his throat.

  Connor dropped onto one of the chairs and lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Jace. I know I could have handled things better, but I didn’t know what to do.”

  “I’m sorry, too. I was so angry and bitter with everyone involved, that I just...” How could he explain the pain that had consumed him after Jennifer was killed? Brandon had been his friend, his partner. He’d trusted the man. And truth be told, Jace should have realized something wasn’t right. If he hadn’t trusted him so completely, he would have.

  Then, when Connor had gotten involved with Maris while Jace was still under investigation... If he was going to be honest with himself, Maris had found the courage to do what Jace should have been able to do. “I’m sorry, Connor. You are my best friend, my brother, and I don’t know what to say.”

  But he did know, even if it wasn’t easy to force the words out. “Brandon framed me. I trusted him, and he betrayed me. Then, when Jennifer was killed—”

  “I’m so sorry about Jennifer, Jace.” Connor stood and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve tried for the past four years to find her killer, spoken to the Internal Affairs investigators, done everything I could.”

  “But the trail went cold.” Jace nodded. He already knew that, but learning Connor had been trying, too, help eased some of the animosity. “I didn’t know who I could trust anymore, and I was afraid to let anyone in, afraid that if I did trust anyone, they’d meet the same fate Jennifer did.”

  Tears spilled down Connor’s cheeks, but he made no move to wipe them away.

  “I’m sorry, Connor. There is no excuse. I was a mess, and I drowned myself in the bottom of a bottle rather than finding the strength to do the right thing.”

  “Let’s just forget it and move on.” Connor clapped him on the back. “By the way, you looking for a job?”

  Jace laughed and shook his head.

  That had always been Connor’s way. He never had a need to rehash the past, was always ready to forgive and move on. A good man who always sought to serve God and do His work. As he obviously had when he’d left Phoenix with Jace.

  “Thanks, Connor. For everything, especially Phoenix.” The big dog had probably been the only thing that had saved him from himself.

  “No problem. That’s what brothers are for. Now, about that job...”

  “What kind of job?”

  “Private investigator. This can be your first case.”

  “My only case.” Because if Brandon Carlisle had any part in what was happening to Addison, Jace was going to find out about it, and this time, he’d stop Brandon. And once the SCPD was rid of the corruption rotting it from the inside, Jace would return to doing what he loved most.

  Connor grinned and punched him in the arm. “I knew you’d do it.”

  “Yeah, well, it might give me the opportunity to take down Brandon Carlisle and return to the force.” Something he should have done a long time ago. “I don’t have a license, though.”

  “That’s perfect. Just what I’m looking for right now. Someone invisible.”

  NINE

  Addison emerged from
the bathroom after her shower and glanced at the stone she’d taken from the house, still wrapped in the throw and stinking like smoke.

  Maris glanced up from the edge of the bed, where she sat flipping through channels on the small TV.

  “Where are Jace and Connor?”

  “Jace went to shower, and Connor is right out front, making a phone call. I’m pretty sure we’re leaving as soon as they get done. They don’t want to hang around any longer than necessary.” She returned to channel surfing.

  Not knowing what else to say, Addison perched on the edge of a chair by the table, wishing she could open the curtains so she wouldn’t feel so closed in. She unwrapped the stone the killer had thrown through the window and turned it over and over, careful to keep the blanket between it and her fingers, even though the chances the killer had left his fingerprints were slim to none. He hadn’t in her book. Then again, he’d strayed from the time line by starting the fire early...unless he’d already killed the third victim.

  It was not simply a stone but a piece of a whole image, about a foot long, textured on the top and smooth on the bottom. She lowered her head, pressed the cool, dark green rock to her forehead with both hands and squeezed her eyes closed, dread creeping up her spine.

  “Are you all right?”

  She gasped, startled by Maris at her side. She was far from all right. “Yeah.”

  Phoenix paced back and forth from one end of the room to the other, stopping occasionally, his ears twitching. He tilted his head for a moment, then continued pacing. This time, he stood alert, staring toward the door. He barked once.

  The sound of Jace’s voice as he called out before using the key to open the door brought a rush of relief she tried to ignore.

  “Guess they’re done.” Maris hurried toward the door and threw her arms around Connor the instant he walked in.

  She should have stopped to think what Maris might be going through, her husband out there searching for a killer Addison had unleashed. Had she really become that self-centered that she’d never even considered her sister’s fear? When had she stopped putting others ahead of herself? All those years spent alone, before and after her divorce, had apparently taken their toll.