“Thanks for coming with me this afternoon.” Teagan touched Logan’s rock-hard bicep and gave it a little squeeze. Damn, the man was ripped. Impressive for someone pushing forty-five. She mentally shrugged. Of course he was. He was an active duty Marine, required to take a Personal Fitness Test twice a year. Plus, he was still a special operator and lead by example. She wondered if he got up before dawn to run and swim with his men.
“No problem, I enjoy spending time with the kids. How long do you think Marsha needs us to keep the children away from the house?” Logan asked Teagan as they followed Brann and Anora around the Great Cats exhibit at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC.
“Gabe didn’t have that much clothing left at the house.” Teagan noted quietly, wondering if Logan needed to leave, or if he was just bored. “But Marsha told me she hadn’t even started on his office.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “It didn’t take you long to go through his apartment this morning.”
“Can you see the mama lion and her cubs?” Brann asked Anora as he pointed down over the edge of the concrete wall. He tried to lift his sister, but Logan grabbed her and planted the little girl on his hip.
As the children watched the clumsy cubs try to crawl up the large rocks to the upper level, Logan leaned toward Teagan. “It was a completely furnished two-bedroom apartment so not much of the contents were his. All the clothes were donated to a charity that showed up just as we were finishing. There was surprisingly little in the office. He had a small laptop that Marsha took thinking Brann might like to use it for play games. The desk drawer was full of thumb drives that at some point, someone needs to go through.”
“She may need to give those to Matthew,” Teagan suggested. Glancing toward Logan, she noticed how casually he held the little girl and wondered why he had never remarried. He’d make a great dad. He was wonderful with Brann.
“Good idea.” Logan let Anora down as she chased her brother around the circle of big cats to check out the tigers. “There was a small container with more than a dozen microSD drives that Matthew should check out, too. All he had in the file drawers were a few personal bills; the lease for his rarely-used sports car, and a copy of the divorce papers, unsigned by the way. On the desk, he had a few pictures of the kids–all three of them.”
Teagan purposely walked slower, allowing the children to get a few steps ahead. “Marsha said she didn’t care about losing his deposit and was going to let the leasing agency deal with cleaning the apartment. I think she was afraid of finding remnants of other women left behind. She was relatively sure he didn’t have the next Mrs. Gabriel Davis already selected, but she didn’t want to know who had been sleeping in his bed.”
“I didn’t see any indication of women.” Logan grinned sarcastically. “That’s probably why Marsha asked me to clean out his drawers while she tackled the closets. She only took a small box home with her.”
“Are there tigers?” Anora asked excitedly.
“I don’t see any,” Brann replied. He turned toward his sister. “It’s pretty hot out here. Maybe they’re staying cool inside their cave.”
Teagan saw the slightest movement in the far corner, deep in the shadows. She picked up Anora and pointed. “See how their stripes hide them? And their brown color blends in with the dead grass.”
When the little girl wrapped her arms around Teagan’s neck, she almost melted with love. If she had one true regret in life, it was not having children. For the longest time, she didn’t think she wanted kids. Now, she couldn’t have them.
She had loved the fast-paced life as a Navy helicopter pilot. Unlike so many other female pilots, she enjoyed being deployed. She lived for the adrenaline rush every time she donned her helmet and strapped into the ugly leather seat. She loved the way her heartbeat increased when she grabbed the stick and lifted off the earth, challenging gravity, focused on getting her passengers to the landing zone, or picking them up safely and getting them back to the ship or base. But that life was over. She now worked on helicopters on paper, only getting to fly during testing.
“They should mow the lawn so we can see the animals,” Anora suggested, bringing Teagan out of her thoughts of the past. She hugged her goddaughter and inhaled that little girl scent.
Back in her twenties, had she known how much love she had for a child, she might have made different decisions. At forty-two, it was too late. So, she would live vicariously through her best friend, Marsha, loving on her godchildren as often as possible.
As they continued around the circle, Teagan saw the sign for the bathrooms. “Let’s make a pit stop and hit the restrooms. You two have been so good, maybe we’ll be able to get some ice cream, or at least a cold soda, over at the grill.”
“I don’t have to go potty, but I want ice cream,” Anora announced.
“Tell you what,” Teagan kneeled down so they were eye to eye. “Why don’t you give it a try. Let the air hit it and see what happens. It’s a long way back to the car.”
Begrudgingly, the little girl agreed.
Logan methodically scanned the area constantly as they walked down the wooded path. Nervously, Teagan grabbed Anora’s hand. Did he actually believe they were in danger? Had they put the children in peril by bringing them out in this public place?
Over drinks last night, she and Logan had discussed the events of the day. He had shared with her the basics of the report from USSOCOM. Not for the first time, Teagan regretted introducing her former roommate to Gabe. They had seemed so happy, especially in the beginning. He had been a beaming father when both children were born.
Although Teagan and Marsha had always been close, her friend had never indicated why they had separated. Maybe now that he was gone, Marsha would feel more comfortable talking about what happened, or didn’t happen, between them.
By the time Teagan and Anora had waited through the long line to use the restroom, Logan and Brann were waiting for them, ice cream and sodas in hand.
“What took so long?” Logan asked while handing her a Coke.
She sniggered. “You haven’t spent much time with women in public places, have you?”
He looked sheepish. “Well, not really.”
Pointing to the long line that extended outside the restroom, Teagan commented, “That’s what took so long. Obviously, public restrooms were designed by men. A woman would have made the ladies’ restroom twice as big with three times as many stalls. On more than one occasion, I’ve seriously considered announcing that I was gender identifying as a male just so I could use the men’s room.”
Logan tried to fight a grin…and failed. Damn, he had a great smile. Too bad she didn’t get to see it more often. He was the ultimate in serious warrior. “You might be shocked at what you see with a group of men lined up at urinals.”
Glancing around to be sure the children were out of earshot, Teagan gave him a sassy grin. “It takes more than a line of men’s dicks to shock me. If you’ve seen one, you seen them all.” Then she corrected herself. “Okay, if you seen the two different kinds, circumcised and uncircumcised, then you’ve seen them all.”
Logan leaned in close and whispered. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you.”
“Let’s head for the fish,” Brann said between bites.
“Sounds like a plan, but it’s a long walk,” Teagan warned.
The children finished off their snacks and headed down the paved trail.
“Listen, Logan, I wanted to apologize about last night. I’m sorry I had to bug out early. Mom’s dementia is getting worse, seemingly every day.” Teagan was so embarrassed. She’d gotten a phone call from the nursing home where her mother had been for the last five years. They wanted to sedate her because she was screaming for her daughter, Jessica. Their records indicated that Teagan was her only child. She’d left Logan at the bar and immediately driven to the nursing home. It’d taken nearly two hours, and a mild sedative, to calm her mother down.
“Not a problem. Did you get things straightened out?” Logan was such a nice guy.
“Yeah.” Teagan was not going to discuss her mother’s crazy rantings. Wanting to change the subject, she asked, “Did we put the kids in danger by bringing them here?”
“No,” he said without hesitation. “Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re constantly scanning our surroundings.” She followed his gaze. “Do you think someone is after us?”
Logan shook his head. “It’s just habit. A good one, by the way. I’m constantly aware of my surroundings, and you should be too.” He shrugged. “Maybe after I’ve been out for six years, I won’t be so hypervigilant.”
She suddenly felt terrible for not being more aware of everything around them. She hadn’t even thought about a secondary exit, or sniper hides. Damn. She’d been out of the game too long.
Sipping the last of her drink, she wished it had rum in it. She’d entertained the children in their home for three and a half hours that morning while Logan and Marsha cleaned out Gabe’s apartment. After lunch, taking the kids to the zoo with Logan seemed like a good idea. As it was fast approaching four o’clock, Teagan was exhausted. She didn’t know how Marsha kept up with two children and a full-time job.
“Walk faster Aunt Teagan.” Anora grabbed her hand and pulled her along. “I want to see the otters and Brann said we only have an hour left.”
Thank God. They could swoop through a fast food joint on the way home and grab enough supper for everyone, eating it once they got back to Marsha’s house.
Matthew had tried to call Marsha’s house a couple of times. He’d even tried her cell but got no answer. Box in hand with the personal items Gabe had at his desk at the office, Matthew tucked it under his arm to ring the doorbell.
The door was cracked open.
Alarm bells rang within his head.
Matt quietly set the box on the concrete porch and withdrew his weapon. With his free hand, he slowly opened the door. Listening carefully for any sound of movement, or voices. He stepped into the foyer.
The house was silent.
His gaze swept up the staircase to the left before sweeping the living room on his right.
He caught a whiff of urine and wondered if Marsha had bought the kids a dog since he had been there last with Gabe. That would be a smart move for a single mother with two small children. He hadn’t heard any barking as he’d approached the house, though. Nor did a gangly puppy come tearing toward him. He negated the thought.
Although she said she was going to clean out his clothes from the bedroom, which was located upstairs, something urged him down the hallway. With the stealth of the trained special operator that he was, Matthew crept past the kitchen and family room, assuring each was empty.
Near the end of the hall, the smell grew stronger.
As he inhaled his next breath, Matthew knew the family didn’t have a dog.
He also knew what he would find in the office.
Death.
The release of everything in the body always hit him hard. Regurgitation. The bowels and bladder. Blood. Death had its own unique combination of smells that always turned his stomach.
Mentally preparing himself, he took a single step into Gabe’s home office.
The large leather executive chair facing the computer was rolled back from the desk.
His gaze traveled the room, but he couldn’t see a body.
His stomach lurched.
Fuck. He could smell it, though.
Had Marsha killed someone and ran away?
He slowed his gaze on the second pass around the room. The gun safe was wide open. Gabe liked guns and owned several. Butts resting on the bottom, his four rifles stood neatly in a row. Three of the four handgun slots were filled. The top cubbyhole was empty.
Where the hell was Gabe’s 1911?
Was someone walking around the house with it? Aiming for him?
Matt forced his feet to move.
He stepped around the large oak desk and found Marsha’s crumpled body folded between the stacks of drawers. The exit wound on the side of her head assured him he didn’t need to call an ambulance.
He did need to call the local police, though.
His mind immediately went to his wife. Although Lizzie was not as close to Marsha as Teagan, they were friends. Their children were close enough in age and played together at least once a month.
Oh, fuck.
Reaching into his pocket, Matt withdrew his cell phone and speed dialed his wife. She and the kids were on their way to that very house. Lizzie was going to help Marsha while their children played.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Where the hell were Brann and Anora?
“We’re about ten minutes out,” Lizzie replied without a hello.
“Am I on speakerphone?” Matthew asked, but he already knew the answer. Everywhere around DC mandated hands-free telephones. “Lizzie, this isn’t a good time for you and the children to be here.”
“Is Marsha upset? Has it finally hit her that he’s gone?” The compassion in her voice speared his heart as he looked at the body on the floor. He was so lucky to have such a wonderful, caring wife.
“No. We have a completely different situation here.” Matt’s gaze swept the room one more time, stopping on the computer screen centered in the middle of the desk.
I loved him so much. I just couldn’t go on without him.
Matt looked between the screen and the woman on the floor. Although he would never say he knew Marsha well, he found it difficult to believe that she would commit suicide over Gabe’s death. They had been in the middle of the divorce.
But, stranger things have happened.
“Matthew, we’ll be there in just a few minutes and I’ll help you straighten everything out.” Lizzie’s voice broke through the silence of the room.
“No,” he snapped. He didn’t want his wife or children anywhere near this scene. “Lizzie, please, take the children home and call me back. Do not, under any circumstances, come to this house. Promise me, you won’t come here.”
“Matthew.” Lizzie had taken the phone off speaker. “What the heck is going on?”
He debated for a long moment before deciding to tell her the truth. “Pull over to the side and step out of the car.”
He heard tires crunching on gravel, her door open and close.
“Matthew Saint Clare, you tell me right this minute what the hell is going on,” she demanded.
He started to take a deep breath but the instant the vile smell entered his nose, he snorted it out. “Lizzie, Marsha is dead. Suicide.” He glanced back at the note on the screen. “Maybe. But, listen, sweetheart, I haven’t even called the cops yet. I just didn’t want you or the children anywhere near this place. Please, take the children home and call me back.”
“Marsha is…” Lizzie’s voice cracked.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” He needed her to turn around and go home.
“Matthew, are you going to be all right?” There it was again. The concern in her voice, this time for him. Damn, he loved this woman. How did he ever get so lucky as to find her…twice? “It’s only been a few days since…” She didn’t need to finish that sentence. It had only been a few days since they had been up close and personal with another dead body…Gabe’s.
“I need to handle this situation,” he reminded her. “I’ve got to get ahold of Logan and Teagan before I call the cops. I don’t want them walking into this blind. Now, I need you to take our children home.”
“Headed home, right now.” She sniffed back tears. He heard her crawl back into the car. “But we don’t have a home. I guess that hotel is our home, for now. Let me call my mom and see if she can hang around a little while longer and watch the kids. Teagan may need help with Brann and Anora.”
“Good thinking. I love you. Call me first before you head this way,” he added before he hung up.
Matthew began to put his next moves into order.
He needed to call Logan and Teagan. He’d let them figure out what to do with the Davis children.
Pick up the he’d box left on the porch.
Call Clarence, his computer guru at work. Local police may want that computer, but it just became part of a CIA investigation.
Take pictures of everything in the room the way he found it before dozens of uniformed cops destroyed the crime scene.
Call 911 and report the death.
Glancing at the computer screen one more time, he didn’t believe this was a suicide.
But the cops would.