Текст книги "Damsel In Danger"
Автор книги: Olivia Jaymes
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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 14 страниц)
He’d been waiting for that day. Knowing it would come. The only question was when and how they would finally kill him and put him out of his misery. The electrical shocks. The beatings. Funny how the thing he most remembered was being thirsty. It seemed like he could never get enough water. It explained why he now had a case of bottled water in the refrigerator and another in the pantry. He kept extra bottles in the truck. He never wanted to be caught without it.
“God, Jason.” The words seemed torn from Brinley’s throat. He was ashamed that he’d said anything. She hadn’t done anything to deserve to carry this shit around with her.
He abandoned the cup in the sink and came around the kitchen island, pulling her into his arms, her body trembling with emotion. He was humbled to be with a woman who could feel that deeply for someone other than herself. “Hey, no crying, sweetheart. It’s over and done with. The past. I’m alive. That’s the only thing that’s important.”
He brushed at her damp cheeks and she nodded, blinking away the tears. “I know you haven’t told me half of what happened to you.”
And he never would. He’d already told her too much. “What happened isn’t important. I’ve learned to live in the present. It’s just some nights it’s tough, that’s all.”
“That’s when you sit outside and read, isn’t it? I’ve seen you when I couldn’t sleep too,” she sniffled.
“If I’d known you were awake I would have invited you over for a movie marathon.” Jason wanted to lighten the atmosphere that had grown between them. He didn’t want her feeling sorry for him. He sure as shit didn’t feel sorry for himself. It was his own damn fault he’d been captured.
Jason finally got a smile in return, albeit a tad watery. “Now you know. I’d love to watch movies with you.”
Jason looked down at the canine sleeping at his feet. “What do you say, Huck? Should we pop a movie in and see who falls asleep first? My guess it will be the dog.”
“I think you’re right. What movie should we watch?”
It didn’t matter. She’d taken her pill and would be asleep before long. Maybe he could sleep as well with her beside him and the noise of the television in the background.
“Pick anything out you like,” he offered, tucking a blanket around her as they settled on the couch. “I’ll even watch a chick flick.”
She rolled her eyes and chose Weekend at Bernie’s but the movie had barely begun before her head drooped onto his shoulder, fast asleep. Jason listened to her even breathing as her palm settled on his chest, right over his heart. Like it belonged there.
This woman had wormed her way past all the defenses he’d so carefully erected around him, knocking them over effortlessly. Jason didn’t know her well but already she was important to him. She meant something, although he had no clue exactly what. Or even if he was in any shape to find out.
But he liked her.
She made him laugh and she made him think.
When she touched him her fingers felt like flames licking the flesh and made it hard to breathe.
Lust or something else didn’t change the mission.
Keep Brinley Snow safe. And alive.
Chapter Ten
‡
Brad Enright was everything Roger Gaines wasn’t. Handsome, fit, tanned, charming, and successful. From the little Brinley knew of Roger it was difficult to imagine the two men being friends. They seemed to have nothing at all in common.
“How long did you know Roger?” Jason asked as they settled into Enright’s large and extravagant office. Dressed in an impeccably cut blue suit, expensively styled dark hair, and diamond cuff links, Brad was the epitome of the prosperous businessman. Their research had revealed that the dealership had been in the Enright family since the 1940s with Brad taking the helm a few years ago when his grandfather retired.
Showing off blindingly white teeth, Brad smiled as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and settled into the huge black leather chair. “Since kindergarten. The teacher put us in alphabetical order and there was no one in the class who started with ‘F’. The rest is history. Of course I haven’t seen much of Roger these last few years. I’ve been busy here.” Brad picked up a glass statuette from his desk and held it up proudly. “We’re the number one dealer in luxury automobiles in the state of Montana. Say, what do you drive? You know your vehicle says a lot about who you are. What statement do you want to make, Mr. Anderson?”
“I’ll have to give that some thought,” Jason answered smoothly when Brinley might have stomped on the man’s shiny black shoes. He seemed awfully happy despite losing a close childhood friend. “So you’ve known Roger since kindergarten but you haven’t spent much time together lately. When was the last time you saw him?”
Brad sat back and gazed off into the distance for a moment. “I guess it was about six months ago. My daughter had her second birthday and Roger came to the party.”
“Did you notice anything strange?” Brinley found herself asking, only to be on the receiving end of a quelling look from Jason.
Oops. I was supposed to be quiet.
“About Roger?” Brad chuckled and began to play with a couple of paper clips on the desk. “Roger has always been a little strange. Smart but strange. But I guess he was acting weirder than normal. He was pale like he hadn’t seen the sun in months. He didn’t bring a gift which I thought was kind of rude. Well, at least my wife Trudi thought it was but it didn’t surprise me all that much. But the strangest thing was all he could talk about was murder. The guy was obsessed. From what he said he hung around other people just like him. They talked about blood spatter and autopsies. My mother-in-law said she found him gruesome. The way he was that day? I can’t say I blame her.”
“Was he always like this?” Jason asked, leaning forward. “Had he always fixated on murder?”
“Hell, no,” Brad declared, shaking his head. “Roger was a normal kid. We built forts and played baseball. Ate popsicles and rode bikes. Nothing unusual. Shit, he lettered in three sports in high school. He dated the prom queen and was valedictorian of our graduating class.”
That didn’t sound like the slacker who lived in filth in his brother’s bonus room over the garage.
“When did Roger change?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Brad shifted in his chair. “I’m not sure. In college, I guess. He got more and more involved with life on the Internet. That’s where he met his latest girlfriend. He talked about her at the party.” Brad tapped his pen on the desk. “What was her name? Let’s see… Anita-something. Yes, Anita Hazlitt. He said she lived in a little town near here but I don’t remember what it was. She probably knows more about Roger these days than I do.”
Jason finished scribbling down the information. “So everything was normal in high school but he changed in college. Are you sure it was college? Did anything traumatic happen in high school? Like did he break up with the prom queen or anything?”
Brad stiffened in his chair, his back ramrod straight. “They broke up right after graduation when Roger visited his grandparents in Florida for the summer.”
“Was Roger upset about that?” Jason persisted. “Did he talk about what happened in Florida?”
Brad stood up, clearly indicating that the interview was over. “No, he never did talk about Florida. Now if you will excuse me I do have to get back to work.”
As a teacher Brinley was a student of body language, and this guy was lying about the dog eating his homework. It was written all over him. And it had started with breaking up with the prom queen.
She and Jason stood also and she followed him to the door. She was supposed to be quiet and not ask any questions but Jason was already mad at her. One more probably wasn’t going to make any difference.
“Whatever happened to the prom queen, Mr. Enright? Does she still live in Billings? Is she still in touch with Roger?”
Enright’s lips flattened and he slowly and deliberately buttoned his jacket. “She’s my wife Trudi. So I guess you could say they were still in touch.”
*
Jason hadn’t said a word to Brinley since they’d left the office of Brad Enright and climbed back into the truck. After Enright’s admission that Roger had dated his wife years ago, Jason had turned on his heel and sat right back down. He’d peppered the car salesman with several more questions until the man finally admitted that things had been very tense between the two of them all through high school and college.
They were more frenemies than friends – constantly competing and trying to one-up the other guy. But at the end of the interview Enright insisted he didn’t have a motive for killing Roger.
Because he’d won. Roger’s life sucked and Brad’s was a dream come true.
“So will you just yell at me and get it over with? I was supposed to stay quiet and I didn’t. I’m sorry.”
Jason pulled out into traffic before answering. “I’m not mad.”
“You look mad.”
A muscle was ticking in his jaw and he hadn’t made eye contact for several minutes. In her book that meant he was pissed off.
“I’m not mad,” he repeated. “At least not at you. More at myself. I knew he was hiding something but I was going to let him off the hook today and come back another time when he’d had a chance to stew about things.”
“And I ruined that.”
Jason laughed and finally turned to look at her. “You could have really messed things up. But this time you didn’t. You got lucky. We know much more now than we knew before.”
Turning into the parking lot of a chain restaurant, Jason put the truck in park. “So you aren’t mad?”
“I’m not mad.” He shook a finger at her playfully. “But that doesn’t mean you have free rein. We might not be so lucky next time.”
“There’ll be a next time?”
She didn’t want to sit at home waiting for him to fill her in. She needed to be a part of this with an urgency that shocked her. After the attempted burglary or whatever it was last night this had become personal.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight so you’re stuck with me. Now let’s go have something to eat and call West. He should have the autopsy results by now. Then we’ll call Jared and have him find out about Trudi and this love triangle.”
That sounded like a good plan. She hadn’t eaten much this morning, still upset about someone breaking into her home. “What about Anita Hazlitt?”
Jason chuckled and reached under his seat, pulling out a tablet computer. “Let’s hope she doesn’t have an unlisted number.”
“And if she does?”
“That only means it won’t be easy. Are you ready to go inside?”
She was ready to get some answers. It was beginning to feel like the more they learned the less they knew.
Chapter Eleven
‡
Anita Hazlitt wasn’t going to be easy to find. A quick Google search didn’t turn anything up, but then they didn’t know her address or even the town she lived in. Jason needed to call Jared about doing a quick search for the woman. Unless she was deliberately hiding it wouldn’t take long to locate her.
Back in Tremont Jason was sitting at his kitchen table with a beer and a stack of mail that he’d neglected for too long. It was going to be another long night. He could already tell. With the television on and Brinley beside him on the couch he’d managed a decent amount of sleep. He doubted he would be so lucky again this evening. He was wide awake, his mind working on the puzzle of Roger Gaines. So far Brad Enright seemed the most logical suspect but it was still early in the investigation.
Brinley joined him in the kitchen, snagging the last root beer from the refrigerator. “Fran and Richard are sitting on their deck. I’m going to go say hello. I don’t remember if I even thanked them last night so I should probably do that too.”
She was spending the night with Jason again. She’d been disappointed when they’d driven up and her front door was still plywood. There had been a note on the porch that the handyman had to order a new one and it might be in tomorrow. Jason didn’t bother telling her that he probably would have made her stay in his home anyway. Somehow she was the key to this mystery and until he figured out why he planned to keep a close eye on her.
“If you wait a minute I’ll go with you.”
“I’ll be fine.” She put her hands on her hips and gave him a disgusted look. “I’m going two houses down. I’ll be within shouting distance. Do I have to be babysat every single minute?”
No, he simply liked her company.
“It’s fine if you want to talk to them. I have a phone call to make and then I’ll come down and join you.”
Visibly relaxed, she practically skipped out of the front door with glee, apparently fed up with only Jason for company. With a room full of kids all day long she probably needed more extrovert time than he did. As much as he liked socializing with people it also mentally exhausted him. He needed alone time to recharge his batteries.
Pulling out his cell phone, Jason punched in a few buttons and waited for West to answer.
“It’s about time you called me. I’ve been waiting to hear from you.”
And West gave Jason shit about how he answered the phone…
“It’s nice to talk to you too, bro. I’ve got information for you. What do you have to tell me?”
Jason heard West snapping at someone, his tone short and impatient. Whatever West had to say wasn’t good news. He would have made a terrible poker player.
“Roger Gaines died from a gunshot wound to the heart. Thirty-eight caliber. Coroner confirmed death to be around eight at night.”
“Nothing we didn’t know,” Jason observed. “Is that it?”
“Pretty much. Roger Gaines was in mediocre health for a man so young. His weight was too high, his muscle tone terrible, and his arteries already showed the effects of a junk food diet paired with a sedentary lifestyle. Add twenty years to his age and he would have been a ticking time bomb.”
Those facts went along with what they’d found out from Stuart Gaines. Jason quickly filled West in on what he’d learned today.
“What about forensics?”
“I don’t have it all back yet but I can tell you that you were right about one thing. The standard is for every room to have six plastic cups on the counter.”
“So he did have company. The killer was someone he knew.”
“Or he could have used the cups earlier and threw them away,” West pointed out. “It gives credence to your theory but it doesn’t prove it. I will concede that I agree that the killer was someone he wasn’t afraid of. He didn’t fight or struggle. As for finding any trash from the room in nearby dumpsters? We came up empty.”
Jason growled in frustration. “This guy isn’t stupid. I feel like he knew what he was doing. He planned it out. This was no spur of the moment thing.”
“But why would someone plot to kill some guy who is basically a nerd. The most dangerous thing Gaines did was read about murder from the safety of his brother’s home. That’s not going to get you killed generally.”
“What about fingerprints?” Jason doubted the killer had been that careless. He seemed to have covered all the bases.
“We got a couple of hits in the database but I was able to weed them from the suspect list. They both had solid alibis. One’s in jail and the other was at work a hundred miles away with about a dozen witnesses.”
Shit and double shit.
“So basically we got nothing. That’s great. I’m going to have Jared check out Brad Enright. He was supposedly Roger’s best friend from kindergarten but he admitted today that they competed with each other.”
“Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition. That hardly makes him a suspect,” West observed.
“It does if Enright married Roger’s high school sweetheart,” Jason laughed, remembering the car salesman’s expression when he’d revealed that little detail. “In my book that makes a possible motive.”
“So maybe Stuart Gaines killed his little brother because he was a huge sponge, living off Stuart’s hard work. Or perhaps Brad Enright killed him because of some jealousy thing. I’ve got to tell you it’s not much to go on.”
It wasn’t and that bugged the hell out of Jason. How could one man have so little contact with the outside world and still be physically alive? Somewhere there was a person who interacted with Gaines regularly – maybe even on a daily basis.
“Enright told us about a new girlfriend. She’s unlisted so I’ll have Jared take a run at finding her. Hopefully he can do that overnight so I can talk to her tomorrow.”
West sighed. “I’d love to shake loose from this case and go with you. Anything to get me away from the mayor. He called me six times today.”
Jason’s brother was working on the ritual-like murder of a teenager. Murders of kids trumped adults every time and this one was taking all of West’s attention, which was fine with Jason. He didn’t need a babysitter to do his job.
“About what?”
“Hell if I know,” West retorted, dislike in his tone. “To bitch, mostly. Election time can’t come too soon.”
“You could end up with someone much worse,” Jason warned with a laugh. “Maybe you should think about running yourself. The Andersons have friends in this town. You’d probably get some support.”
There was muffled choking on the other end of the call which told Jason loud and clear what his brother thought of the idea of running for office. Or using his family connections.
“Never say that out loud again. I mean never.”
“Then I better hang up because I can’t think of any other way to solve your problem. I’ll call you in the morning.”
Jason rang off and then quickly dialed Jared, hoping he wouldn’t wake the baby, Elizabeth Rose. Jared picked up on the first ring.
“Did I wake her?” Jason asked, taking a swig from his beer bottle.
“She’s asleep and so is Misty. Let me get into the den so I won’t bother her.” Jason heard the sound of a door and then another. “Okay, we can talk. I’ve got information for you. Really interesting stuff.”
This was the first good news of the day.
“I’m listening.” Jason slid the pen and notebook in front of him and paged to an empty space. “Go ahead.”
“You asked me to investigate your neighbor Brinley Snow and I did find out a few things. She had a restraining order against some guy – Tom Leeds – back in Chicago. From what I can tell he was the father of one of her students. Apparently Brinley felt the little girl should be held back a year and the father lost his ever-loving mind. Started following her around. Showing up at restaurants and movies. Sitting in front of her apartment. She received threatening letters and Leeds even tried to get her fired. Told the school board she was hitting and verbally abusing the kids in her class. It was a fucking mess.”
“Let me guess. They had to investigate her because of the allegations.”
Anger churned in Jason’s gut at the unjustness of Brinley’s situation. Anyone who had spent five minutes with the woman would know she wouldn’t hurt or abuse someone.
“It gets better. Leeds was a big shot in the Windy City and had a couple of board members in his pocket to make her life extra special horrible. Eventually the whole case fell apart when several influential parents came to her defense but it was a real cluster for awhile. Brinley resigned and took a year off tutoring at one of those centers for gifted children. I’m not sure how she heard about the opening in Tremont but she was hired and moved here in April.”
And moved in next door the first week of May. Only days after Mrs. Barnes had moved out and into an assisted living facility.
“Maybe Leeds isn’t over the whole thing, although how he would know Roger Gaines I have no idea. You didn’t find a connection?”
“None,” Jared said flatly. “And believe me, I looked. If they’ve ever had any contact they’ve hidden it well. I’d make sure you protect Ms. Snow. If Leeds is out there and still upset, he might escalate from stalking to something more up close and personal.”
Which reminded him that Brinley was out of his sight. After hearing this he couldn’t let that happen.
“Where was Leeds at the time of death?”
“A birthday party for his daughter. Plenty of witnesses but he’s rich enough to hire people.”
“It’s a stretch,” Jason admitted. “It’s doubtful Leeds would go off after all this time.”
“I’m not done researching him. If there’s something there I’ll find it,” Jared vowed. “Which reminds me, I’ll have more information for you on Roger Gaines by morning. I’ve got a program running right now.”
“Add one more. Anita Hazlitt.” Jason spelled her name and gave the few particulars that he had. “I want to talk to her. Preferably tomorrow. If you don’t have time I can do it.”
“Then let me get back to work. If I have any issues I’ll send you a text by midnight. You’ll be awake?”
“Aren’t I always?” Jason couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his tone but Jared wasn’t a man to take offense easily. “Seriously, I’ll be up. Tonight’s going to be one of those nights.”
“Then I’ll report back. Talk to you later.”
Jared hung up, leaving Jason pondering everything he’d learned. Perhaps it was time for him and Brinley to have a heart to heart talk.
Just how many secrets did his pretty neighbor have?
*
It was another gorgeous summer night and Brinley should have been relaxed, enjoying the cooler evening temperatures. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the break in and the thought of someone pawing through her belongings. She’d walked through this morning and nothing looked missing. Richard had probably scared off the burglar before he’d had a chance to steal anything but it was still unnerving.
She’d moved here for a fresh start. A new home.
She’d wanted to feel safe and now she felt anything but.
“Are you sure you don’t want a glass of wine? It might help you sleep.”
Fran held up the bottle of Chardonnay but Brinley shook her head. She wasn’t a huge fan of alcohol and with the wheels turning in her brain a mile a minute even a whole bottle of wine wasn’t going to make her sleepy. She was wide awake.
“No, thank you. I really just came over here to thank you both for everything. For scaring away the intruder and then meeting the repairman today. I feel so lucky to have such great neighbors.”
Jason, too, but she didn’t mention him. Her personal feelings for the handsome man were all mixed up with the drama of murder. She was attracted to him but it was more than that. When she was with him she felt safe.
And after everything she’d been through she knew how special that was.
“Will you be gone tomorrow too?” Fran asked, settling back on the lounge chair with a contented sigh. “I can let the repairman in again.”
When Brinley had become friends with Fran and Richard she’d given them a spare key and they’d happily given her one of theirs. She’d let in the pest control man for the couple just a few weeks ago.
“I’m not sure what Jason has planned but if you could I would be very grateful. It’s such an eyesore right now.”
“You should have seen our kitchen when we remodeled. Complete and total devastation. We ate out for months.” Richard laughed and refilled his glass, nodding toward her driveway. “Looks like you have company.”
Brinley wouldn’t have used such a polite word.
Greg was hopping out of his car and striding up her front porch steps, not seeing her on the deck between the houses. For a moment she pondered letting him bang on the door while she hid in Fran and Richard’s house but that was the coward’s way. She needed to deal with Greg once and for all.
The relationship wasn’t going to go anywhere. She hadn’t given him a thought last night or all day. If she were being brutally honest, he had nothing on Jason Anderson. It wasn’t even a competition.
“I’ll go talk to him. I’ll be right back.”
It wouldn’t take long. She wasn’t planning on dragging this out. She met him at the bottom of her porch steps as he turned to leave.
“Greg, I didn’t know you were coming over.”
Because you didn’t call. Again. Asshole.
Greg was apparently the type that thought women were sitting around twiddling their thumbs until a man called or showed up. He must have been pissed about her absence because she’d heard him pound on the front door as if he owned the joint. Her creep detector was going off big time. She needed to cut this guy loose for good.
His thunderous expression instantly changed to a charming smile. “Brinley, I thought you weren’t home. I was hoping we might have a glass of wine together.” Greg held up a bottle. “But now I’m just worried about you. What happened to your door?”
“Someone broke in. They kicked in my door so I’m waiting for a new one.” Brinley took a deep breath. She hated this part of dating. “Listen, Greg, you’re a nice guy and all but I just don’t think this is going to work out between us. I hope we can be friends.”
Or not. Whatever. Don’t feel obligated to stay in touch. I won’t.
He stiffened and his smile fell. “I thought things were going really well. We’ve had fun.”
“This just isn’t a good time in my life for a relationship.” Next century wasn’t looking too good either. “I just think our dating wouldn’t be productive.”
That charming smile was back. “I bet I could change your mind. Let’s go inside and have a glass of wine. Talk about things.”
He didn’t listen well. In fact, she had second graders who had better listening skills.
“First of all, my house is a crime scene,” she countered, just wanting him to leave. “Second, I don’t want to have a glass of wine. I don’t want to talk.”
She didn’t bother to hide the edge to her tone that said she was annoyed. He didn’t seem to get subtlety but she didn’t want to have to hit him over the head with a brick. Figuratively only, of course.
“Brinley, Richard was thinking of building a bonfire and roasting some marshmallows.” Fran rounded the corner of the house. “Would you be interested? I think I have chocolate and graham crackers to make s’mores. They’re my favorite.”
Saved by the neighbor.
“That sounds delicious, Fran. I’ll be right there.”
Greg frowned at the intrusion but seemed to decide that retreat was the best option. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I guess I’ll just leave.”
Bottle hugged to his midsection, he whirled on his heel and stomped back to his car, gunning the engine as he sped down the road. Jason had come outside to join them and he watched Greg’s taillights disappear into the night.
“Who was that?”
“Greg. I don’t think he’ll be back.”
“Why was he here in the first place?”
Fran laughed and linked her arm with Brinley’s. “I think he’s an admirer. Persistent fellow too. Let’s go have marshmallows.”
“Actually–” Jason began and then paused. “Fran, would you mind if we took a raincheck on marshmallows? I need Brinley for something.”
For something? Way to be vague. Hopefully it had something to do with Roger Gaines.
“Of course we can.” Fran waved away his concern. “You two go have fun.”
Fran was waggling her eyebrows as Jason marched toward his own house and Brinley wanted to groan in embarrassment. It was clear her neighbor thought that something more than…well…simple neighborliness was going on in Jason’s house. This was going to be all over town by noon tomorrow.
Brinley caught up to Jason and grabbed his arm. “She thinks we’re going to…you know. She thinks we’re a couple.”
“Fran loves good gossip. Even if you and I were snarking at each other she’d think that.” He picked up her hand and a tingle ran up her arm. “I don’t know about you but I doubt I can sleep tonight. So I was thinking we could go for a night ride at the ranch. Can you ride a horse?”
It was dangerous to her equilibrium to be alone with a man as fine as Jason Anderson but she couldn’t think of one good reason not to go. If she were honest she wanted to. Last night she’d felt so close to him.
She wanted to feel that way again.
“I’ve ridden a few times at summer camp. I wouldn’t say I was good at it but I can probably hold on.”
“I’ll get you a gentle mount. Let’s go.” Jason patted his pocket and then pulled out car keys. “Thanks for coming with me.”
At this moment, she’d follow wherever he led her.
