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“It’s not like I go looking for trouble. It just seems to... I don’t know... find me,” Blake said as Sean sat next to her on the big purple couch in Mystery Cup, squeezing her hand.
Adam sighed as he continued to run his fingers through her hair, prodding her scalp for lumps. “Sugar, trouble doesn’t have to find you. It seems to have your address and cell phone number.”
Sean snorted a laugh. Hopefully, that was a good sign. When Sean had walked in and seen Adam, the temperature in the room had dropped to an icy chill. It would be nice if the frigid undertone between the two men would begin to thaw.
She put her hand on Adam’s and gently pulled it away from her head. “Adam, you’ve checked me fifteen times in the last two hours. I’m fine. Sit down. I’ll make coffee.”
When she started to get up, Sean and Adam both put a hand on her arm. “No, you don’t. You stay put. I’ll make coffee,” Sean said.
Adam, who looked as if he was going to have an aneurysm anytime she moved, shot a harsh glare at Sean. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”
Oh no. It really wasn’t the best time for everything to come to a head between Sean and Adam.
But Sean wasn’t about to let a comment like that slide. His entire body stiffened next to her. “Excuse me?” His voice had gone low, and if Blake didn’t know what an amazing heart he had, she would have been a little scared.
Adam stood up to his full height, and in an instant, Sean was off the couch and right in his face. “If you have something to say, Doc, just say it.”
“Okay.” Adam jabbed his finger at Sean. “From the get-go, you have been the one encouraging her to pursue this thing. She almost got killed tonight.”
Her mouth popped open. “Adam, that’s not—”
“And you think that’s my fault?” Sean asked incredulously. “That I would ever put her in danger or want her hurt? You are living in your own flipping world, Doc.”
“Am I?” This time, he shoved his finger into Sean’s chest. “The last time she was up in that apartment, you were right there alongside her.”
Blake’s head was spinning. What has gotten into him? And how did he even know Sean was with me? She certainly hoped Rachel wasn’t spewing her business to everyone.
As she assessed the situation between the two men, dread hit her square in the gut. The muscles in Sean’s arms bunched as he brought his hand up in a controlled movement and gave Adam a good hard shove. “You touch me again, and you’ll regret it,” he said through gritted teeth.
Adam took a step forward. His usually warm blue eyes could have given her frostbite. “Is that a threat?”
“That’s it!” She jumped up and inserted herself in between the two men, putting a hand on each of their chests. “Would you two stop? I don’t need a brawl in my café. The evening’s been eventful enough.”
Adam’s body was still tense, but his eyes softened as he took her in. “Sugar...”
“Don’t ‘sugar’ me, Adam Bryant. You’re acting like I need a chaperone now? Like I’m not smart enough to assess danger and make decisions on my own?”
When she turned to Sean, the smirk on his face infuriated her. “And you! Your jealousy is more than I can handle.”
His jaw dropped. “I... what?”
“You have been giving me the cold shoulder because I got roses. You react, but you don’t talk to me.” She huffed. “I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but you’d better figure it out, because I am really tired of all of this. I would think two intelligent, professional, ex-military men would know how to freaking act like they weren’t in junior high.”
Surprise crossed Sean’s face as he looked over her head at Adam. “You were in the military?”
The doc’s chin jerked up in a nod. “Naval flight surgeon.”
Sean grinned. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He jerked a thumb at his chest. “Sealift Command.”
Blake swiveled her head back and forth as something unspoken passed between the two men—some sort of navy brotherhood thing that she didn’t quite understand. But whatever it was, it seemed to make both of them relax a notch, and for that she was grateful.
She lowered her hands and took a deep breath. When Adam turned and motioned for her to sit back down, she saw a raw patch at his temple. “Jeez, Adam, you’re the one that needs to be checked out. Look at your head! I landed on you, and you took the brunt of the fall.”
A grin stretched across his angular face. “I’m fine, sugar. Military training and all. I know how to take a fall.”
Sean’s guided her to sit down and motioned for Adam to take a seat. “Blake, you stay here with the doc. I’ll go make some coffee.”
She started to get up again. “But you don’t know how to work the—”
“Sweetheart,” he said in a calming tone, “I’m just going to make it on the little coffeepot you have in the kitchen. I’m not going to attempt to control espresso hub central. It’s fine.” When she didn’t look convinced, he chuckled, his dimple flashing beneath his beard. “I do know how to make coffee... Goddess,” he added with a wink.
When he walked away, Adam plopped down next to Blake on the couch. The purple cushion sank beneath his weight, and he turned so he could lean his back against the armrest and see her as well as look out the window behind her. The blue and red lights of the police cars parked outside swirled across his face.
He held her gaze for a moment, and guilt filled his expression. “I’m sorry about that.” He motioned toward the kitchen, where Sean had gone. “I just... the thought of something happening to you...” He shook his head. “If you had just waited ten minutes, I would have been here, I would have—”
“I know.” She blew out a breath. “I didn’t know you were coming. And you couldn’t have known I was going to go over there tonight. I really didn’t plan to do this on my own, you know. I called the police. I told you they wouldn’t listen. And I am fully capable of making my own decisions, you know. No chaperone needed.”
“I know.” The corner of his mouth tipped up. “I thought we were going to have to bail out Sean. The way he got in Chief Raimy’s face when the cops finally showed up...”
Her lips twitched as she thought of Sean laying into the ruddy-faced chief of police for ignoring her phone call. “Right? It’s a good thing you were here to pull him back. He wasn’t listening to me. I think you got him right before he was about to throw a punch.” She shook her head. She’d never seen Sean so angry as when he’d found out the police had completely disregarded her concerns. It had meant a lot that he’d stood up for her and defended her.
“I think our biggest worry right now, aside from finding out who killed Lang, is figuring out who tried to run you down, because that was very obviously deliberate.” He looked outside again. “When are the police supposed to be in here to question you about that, anyway?”
She turned to look out the window. In addition to the three police cars and a handful of officers, she saw two men carrying a body bag out to the weird coroner’s car that looked like a cross between a hearse and a van. A shiver went through her. Just then, a car pulled up on the street out front, and her brother slammed out of his minivan. He did not look happy.
“Uh-oh.” Ryan’s buckle-up-because-you’re-about-to-get-a-lecture look was one she’d been familiar with since her teen years. She turned back to Adam and could hear the whine in her voice. “You called my brother?”
He held his hands up as if in surrender. “Don’t look at me, sugar. It must have been one of the cops.”
Ryan hadn’t even taken two steps inside the café door before his normally calm demeanor cracked. As soon as he spotted her, he started yelling, his blue eyes wild behind his wire-rimmed glasses. “What the actual crap, Blake? A body? You found another body—by yourself? What were you doing up there by yourself?” He waved his hands around as he spoke, which made him look a little bit crazed. “And then you were almost hit by a car!” He shoved both hands into his dark-blond hair. “I didn’t think at thirty-whatever years old that you needed a freaking babysitter, but maybe you do.”
“Now wait a second,” Adam began at the same time Sean came out of the kitchen with a silver carafe of coffee.
“Watch how you talk to her, Harper,” Sean said.
Ryan looked from one man to the other. “Great, the pseudo boyfriends are here now. Where were the two of you a couple of hours ago?”
“I don’t need a babysitter.” Blake jumped up, so frustrated with her older brother’s attitude that she shoved him in the shoulder. “And it’s not like I try to go out and find bodies.” Well, okay, so maybe she kind of did this time, but that totally wasn’t the point. “And you should be thanking Adam. He saved my life tonight.”
Her brother’s eyes were spitting fire. “My point exactly. You shouldn’t be doing anything that requires somebody to save your life.”
“It’s not her fault, man,” Adam said to his colleague and friend. “She tried to call the police. They wouldn’t listen.”
Ryan took a few calming breaths as Sean set the tray down that held the carafe and three red ceramic mugs. “Kyle said you called them. Did Raimy really hang up on you?”
“Yeah, he did.” Blake shoved her hands onto her hips. She hadn’t tried to call Kyle since before she’d gone across the street to the apartment. “Wait, how did Kyle know that? When did you talk to her?”
“She called me. She and Jason are on their way back from St. Louis right now. They should be here”—Ryan looked at the Timex on his left wrist—“anytime, really.”
Blake’s brows furrowed. “But that’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive. There’s no way they could make it in...”
Sirens sounded in the distance, getting louder as they turned down her street. A moment later, a Wilton police car screeched to a stop in the middle of the street with sirens and lights blazing. Jason cut the siren as the passenger door swung open and Kyle emerged with a dangerous look on her face. Blake could practically feel the fire coming off her from where she stood as Kyle stomped up to her boss.
Chief Raimy, who was standing across the street in front of Sliced with two other officers literally backed up two steps when he saw her coming.
Kyle stepped up on the curb and immediately invaded the man’s personal space. Blake watched with Ryan, Adam, and Sean as her sister jabbed her finger in the chief’s chest as she yelled. They couldn’t hear what she was saying, but her face was red as she gestured up at the loft and then pointed across the street at Mystery Cup. With each second, the chief’s face became paler and paler. The officers that had been standing next to him had retreated a good couple of feet, not wanting to be caught in Kyle’s crosshairs.
The chief looked as though he were attempting to offer answers to her questions until Kyle put her hand in his face and shook her head. She pointed to one of the other officers and yelled something at him then waved toward the coffee shop. Then she stomped away from the men and headed in the direction of Mystery Cup.
Aw crap, don’t tell me she’s going to yell at me too.
Ryan opened the door for her as she steamrolled through. She rushed right toward Blake and almost knocked her over with her strong bear hug. The sisters embraced each other for a full minute before Kyle pulled back and looked at her sister, her hands running along Blake’s shoulders and head, much the way Adam’s had done when he’d been searching for injuries. As soon as Kyle seemed convinced Blake was fine, she raised her hand and flicked her right in the middle of the forehead.
“Ow!” Blake rubbed the sore spot between her eyes. “What was that for?”
“I know you couldn’t get my asshat of a boss to listen to you, but that does not mean you go in search of a dead body on your own.” She whirled on Sean. “And where were you? You’re right next door. You couldn’t talk her out of something like that? Or at the very least go with her?”
Sean paled, his face awash with guilt. But Blake jumped in before he could speak. “Oh my God! If one more person acts like I need someone else to make decisions for me, I am going to scream! It’s not his fault!” Blake grabbed her sister’s arm and yanked her around. “I had a key and permission to be up there. I have a brain of my own, you know.”
“Really?” Kyle seethed. “Because sometimes I’m not too sure you use it.”
Blake saw red and had a desperate urge to yank her sister’s dark ponytail.
Luckily for her, Ryan saw that coming and stepped in between them. “Whoa, I know what comes next, you two. And before we resort to hair-pulling, I really think everyone should calm down.”
Blake stuck her head out to look around her brother and address her sister. “You may be a cop, but you’re not the boss of me!”
“Listen to yourself!” Kyle jabbed a finger at her and unsuccessfully tried to shove Ryan out of the way. “You sound like you’re five. You need someone to be the boss of you!”
“Ladies, can we please calm down?” Adam stepped forward to put his hands on Blake’s shoulders, and Sean stepped closer to Kyle, looking as though he was afraid to touch her but, at the same time, seemed ready to grab her if she decided to lunge at her sibling. “Blake, you know your sister loves you and just wants to see you safe.”
Blake huffed. She knew she should appreciate that, and she did, but she was really annoyed her sister was treating her like an idiot who couldn’t make her own decisions.
The bell jingled above the door, causing all of them to turn their heads in that direction. Officer Cary Thornhill stood in the doorway, taking in the situation. “Uh... Detective Harper, you wanted me to come question your sister?” he asked hesitantly. “Is this a bad time?”
Kyle took several calming breaths. “No, this is a perfect time.” She jerkily motioned for everyone to have a seat.
Blake was just happy that Cary was the one questioning her and not the chief. He would have only turned up the heat on a situation that was already boiling over.
When Ryan was convinced his sisters weren’t going to go all WWE in the middle of the café, he said, “I’m going to go get a few more coffee mugs. I’ll be right back.”
Blake took her previous position on the center of the purple couch, and Adam and Sean sat on either side of her. Their presence calmed her.
Cary sat in a chair across from them, still glancing tentatively at Kyle, who stood with her arms crossed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
Before the officer could ask a question, she said, “Let’s start with the car that tried to run her down first. I’m anxious to get an APB out on that if we have enough information.” She looked out the window. “Not that it’ll do much good two hours after the fact. I can’t believe Raimy—” She rubbed a hand across her mouth. “Never mind. Go ahead, officer.”
“Uh, right.” He opened the minitablet he carried and tapped on it, clearing his throat. “So, from my understanding, you were coming across the street from there”—he pointed out the window at Sliced—“to here. And a truck almost hit you?”
“Yeah.” Blake rubbed her sweaty palms on the thighs of her faded jeans. “I was in shock because I’d just found the bo—I’d just found Todd. When I came outside, I thought I was going to be sick. And then I heard Adam calling my name.” She blindly reached to her right, and Adam’s hand found hers and gave it a squeeze.
“So you crossed the street,” the officer said. “In your state, it’s understandable that you may not have looked before crossing. Someone obviously wasn’t paying attention.”
“It was more than that,” Adam said sternly, his words so firm that his slight Southern drawl was barely noticeable. “The truck came out of nowhere, almost like it was waiting for her. As soon as she stepped off the curb, it revved its engine and gunned for her. This was no accident. He didn’t even try to stop, before or after.”
Kyle stepped forward. “So someone purposely tried to...” She rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. “Christ.”
Blake didn’t want to believe someone was trying to kill her, but Adam was right. This was no accident. Dread filled her stomach, and she let go of the men’s hands to wrap her arms around her middle.
“Do you think maybe someone knew she found the body?” Sean asked. “Maybe someone who didn’t want her to alert people?”
Kyle paced back and forth in front of them. “If that’s the case, then why did he even let her get that far? Why didn’t he try to take her out beforehand?”
“So maybe it wasn’t related at all,” Officer Thornhill offered.
“Well, if that’s true, then I most likely have more than one person who wants me dead.” Blake rubbed her stomach. “Yep, just another day here at the Mystery Cup.” Her flippant attitude did nothing to conceal her unease.
Kyle bit her lip and continued pacing. “I have an inkling that says one thing had to do with the other. I just have no idea how.”
Blake looked up at her brother when he cleared his throat. “Her instincts are usually spot on.” His mouth tightened into a thin line as he clenched and unclenched his teeth. “Not sure that’s really a good thing in this case. I don’t like the thought that someone out there wants you out of the way, Blake.”
Kyle finally sat in a chair next to Cary as Ryan poured coffee and set cups on the large coffee table in front of them.
Kyle splayed her hands on the coffee table. “Let’s lay this all out. What do we know so far?”
Sean put his arm on the back of the couch and toyed with a piece of Blake’s hair that she’d long since stopped trying to control. The way he wound it around his finger gave her goose bumps.
Adam turned and noticed Sean’s hand. A muscle began working in his jaw, but he said nothing. Thank God. She didn’t need round two.
Sean cleared his throat. “We know that Blake saw Todd murdered the night of the party—stabbed—by a clown. I think everyone can quit trying to pretend she made that up now.”
She had to stop herself from leaning into Sean. The way he defended her made her want to take up shelter in his arms.
“Todd was dressed like the Phantom, wasn’t he?” Blake asked. At least that one little thing would confirm that she wasn’t completely crazy.
“Yes, ma’am,” Cary said. “The mask and hat were tossed in the attic next to the body.”
In the current situation, being right really didn’t make Blake feel any better.
Kyle made a fist then splayed her fingers out on her leg as she thought. Blake could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. “So who had motive to kill Todd?” She turned her attention to Sean. “He was a friend of yours, right? Can you tell me anything about who would have had something against him?”
Blake scoffed. Todd certainly hadn’t been a super likable person. “It might be easier to ask who didn’t.”
“We weren’t close friends,” Sean said, addressing Kyle. “Money and women were Todd’s biggest interests. He made some enemies.”
“Sabrina?” Kyle asked.
Sean rolled his lip into his mouth as he thought. “I know she’s upset they split up, but she loves him. I don’t think she’s a killer.”
“What about Pepper?” Blake asked.
All eyes turned to her.
“I’m just saying. She’s the one that rented the place. Maybe she was involved with Todd.” She shrugged. “I mean, she’s young, pretty, big boobs. Definitely his type. And she’s tall. The height definitely fits for the clown.” Pepper made sense.
“Okay, we will definitely talk to Pepper,” Officer Thornhill said as he continued writing. “Would she be able to get a body up in the attic? We know the clown hid the body there before the police arrived that night.”
“Right, it wouldn’t have taken long to get the body in the attic, especially if the perp was in shape. She seems to be pretty fit. But I want to cast the net wide. Find out who Todd had business dealings with. Did he double-cross anyone? Was he sleeping with someone’s wife? We have a lot of different avenues to check out here.” Kyle leaned back in her chair and scrubbed a hand across her face. “I can’t believe we didn’t see the attic. How did we miss that? Since you guys never saw anyone leave, there’s a chance the killer was there the whole time. He—or she—could have just waited in the attic until later that night when they were sure no one was watching.” She uttered an expletive as she clenched her fist. “We could have had ’em.”
Sean’s hand clenched in Blake’s hair. “If the killer was there, then he heard everything you and Jason said when you were in that apartment. Please tell me you didn’t mention Blake’s name.”
Kyle drew her hands away from her face, which seemed to go pale. “Oh God. We did. We talked about what you saw and where you saw the people.”
“So if he heard that, he knows Blake’s onto him,” Adam said.
“That explains why he showed up at the party.” Blake thought back. “Remember, Kyle, I told you I saw a clown at the party. He came up the stairs and stood there, staring at me, but he was gone before I could make it over to him. He knew. He knew I saw him.” She’d thought at the time that maybe the clown had heard her scream, but this made more sense. He’d known immediately that she had seen him when the police had mentioned her name.
“We’re not doing this again,” Ryan said firmly. “You need protection. I’m not going to have another killer after you. Kyle, we need—”
“Wait a second,” Blake interrupted. “He knows I saw a clown kill the Phantom in that apartment. Everything I know, you know. There’s no reason for him to have it in for me. Maybe the truck... maybe he was trying to keep me from telling anyone I found the body, but everyone knows now. There’s no reason for him to be after me. I don’t have any more information.”
Ryan didn’t look convinced. “You’ve been going out of your way to investigate this murder on your own. And everyone knows how instrumental you were in catching a killer last spring. He probably sees you as a big threat. I’d rather you stay with Rachel and me until this is done. I’m not taking any chances.”
Blake rolled her eyes. “I’ll think about it.”
“Wait a second, back to the truck,” Kyle said. “You’re sure it was a truck?”
“I... uh...” The only thing she remembered was the glare of lights as the truck sped toward her. “I just remember headlights.”
“It was a truck,” Adam confirmed. “I was standing to the side. It was a black F-150. I’m sure of it because I used to drive one. I just wish I could have made out the driver. I was so focused on her, I wasn’t looking.”
Blake clenched Adam’s hand with both of hers. She didn’t want to think what would have happened if Adam hadn’t been there to push her out of the way.
Everyone was silent for a moment, most likely pondering the same thing. Kyle was the one who finally broke the silence. “Can you guys think of anyone who drives a truck like that?” She sighed when they all shook their heads. “Without a license plate number, it might take some time tracking down the truck.” She mashed her lips together, thinking. “Let’s switch gears. We know Pepper rented the place, but who else had access to the apartment?”
Blake told them about Micah’s key and about the conversation she’d had with Bree regarding the holding companies. That was all information Kyle knew already, but everyone else listened with rapt attention. Then she told them all what Sabrina had said about Todd having a meeting with someone the night of the party.
“So we don’t even know who technically owns the place, or who at the holding company even has access to it?” Sean blew out a breath as he leaned back and crossed his ankle over his knee. “Crap.”
“Yeah, that’s putting it mildly,” Ryan said.
Kyle stood up. “I’ll put in a call to Bree and the council members to see if they can shed any more light on the holding company. While I’m doing that, maybe Jason can go talk to Sabrina, and maybe we can get a lead on who would have wanted Todd dead. Jason will probably be able to get more out of her than I would.”
Ryan set his coffee cup down on the table. “So we’re back to square one?”
Kyle let out a very unladylike snort. “Big brother, we were never at square two.”