A Most Shocking Revelation (4 page)

“The sheriff's quite a specimen, isn't he, Valerie?”

Only then did Valerie reluctantly turn back to Gretchen.

“He's okay.”

Gretchen's smile was as fake as her hair color. “Okay? That's certainly an understatement. But we always want what we can't have, don't we?”

Valerie frowned. “I'm not sure what you mean.”

Gretchen clasped her hands together around the glass. “Women like us don't interest men like Gavin O'Neal.”

If she only knew. “Why would you think that?”

“Well, I'm too old for him and you—” she sent a derisive glance from the top of Valerie's head to her sneakers “—you're a waitress.”

Valerie propped a hand on her hip. “And what's wrong with that?”

“Don't get me wrong, sweetie. I have nothing against the common folk. But Gavin O'Neal's originally from the city. He inherited quite a bit of money. I seriously doubt he would settle for anything less than a woman with proper breeding.”

Disgusted with Gretchen's judgment, Valerie braced her palms on the table's edge and leaned into them. “Ms. Halifax, it's character, not pedigree, that counts in the grand scheme of things.”

“That sounds nice, but…” Gretchen's voice trailed off as her gaze landed on Valerie's chest. All too late, she knew exactly what the woman had seen. “That's a very lovely necklace.”

Valerie clasped the heart pendant and tucked it back beneath the bodice of her uniform. “Thank you. It was a gift.”

“It looks to be an antique.”

“No. It's made to appear that way.” Gretchen's interest in the pendant made Valerie wary. Although she'd worn it since it had come into her possession, she realized it would be best to put it away until she needed it to complete her mission.

Valerie pushed off the table and pulled her pad from her apron pocket and a pencil from behind her ear. “Would you like to order? I highly recommend the stewed prunes Manny prepared especially for Mr. Parker.”

Gretchen now focused her attention on the window, specifically on a man standing on the sidewalk, speaking to a woman holding a toddler. “I do believe I've lost my appetite.” Without another word she slid from the booth and tossed a five-dollar bill onto the table. “Keep the change. You can use it to get your hair trimmed.”

Valerie's hand immediately went to her messy ponytail, subconscious insecurity coming through. She knew better than to let the likes of Gretchen Halifax get to her. As far as Valerie was concerned, the woman's abrupt departure signified good riddance.

After pocketing the money and retrieving the half-empty glass, she turned from the table to find Gavin leaning back against the counter, elbows resting on the Formica surface, legs crossed at the ankles. He looked concerned—and patently gorgeous.

She should give him a good piece of her mind for rearranging her schedule without her permission. She should walk right up to him and tell him to butt out. But what she should do and what she really wanted to do went to war.

Valerie wanted to get in his face all right, but not to scold him. She wanted to kiss him. A real kiss, just to see if his sensual mouth felt as good as it looked. To see if he was as skilled as he was charming.

But work—and common sense—called to her now. And so did Gavin O'Neal.

 

“Come here, Val.” Gavin saw her hesitate a moment prior to striding down the aisle toward him. Before she could hide away in the kitchen, he caught her arm. “Hang on a minute.”

She set the glass down and faced him. “What now?”

He countered her frown with a smile. “Just wanted to make sure you're okay.”

“I'm fine. Why do you ask?”

“Gretchen has been known to ruin a person's day. She looked like she was giving you a hard time.”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Nothing I couldn't handle. Coffee?”

Here came the game that had evolved between them for the past few weeks. Gavin enjoyed the hell out of it. “You bet.”

“Sugar?”

“Sure thing.” He tapped his lip. “Right here.”

Most times she looked disgusted, but not today when she said, “Lecher.”

“Sweetheart.”

“Devil.”

“Angel.”

“Bite me.”

Gavin crooked a finger at her, and instead of standing her ground stiff as a board, as she normally did, Val actually moved closer to him. “Name the time and the place and where you'd like that love bite,” he said. “And I'll be glad to see to it.”

She straightened his collar and patted his chest. “One of these days I'm going to take you up on these questionable offers. Then what are you going to do?”

He toyed with the gold loop in her ear. “Well, since we're in a public place, maybe I should wait to tell you my plans until we're alone. They're kind of detailed.”

Valerie's eyes went wide, and Gavin saw it, that flash of desire, of heat, even though she covered it quickly by pointing to the rear of the room. “Sit down and I'll bring you the coffee. If you behave, I'll try not to spill it in your lap.” She sent him an overly sweet smile. “Will you be dining alone?”

“I won't be dining at all. Just having a break with friends.”

No longer smiling, she propped both hands on her hips. “I live to serve you.”

He studied her for a long moment. “Are you mad at me?”

“Let's just say I'm not too happy that you took it upon yourself to ask Manny to give me some time off.”

Damn Manny's big mouth. “I thought you could use it. You're wearing yourself out in this place.”

She worked her way behind the counter and turned her back to him. “I intend to use the time to find a place to live.”

He got the message—loud and clear—and tuned it out. “We can talk about it when I pick you up this afternoon. I'm going to have a seat now.”

Without waiting for her response, Gavin took the booth in the rear of the restaurant, away from the windows, the place where he and the other Cattleman's Club members often convened when they weren't meeting at the club itself.

He sat where he could see Valerie, although she still had her back to him, shoving a filter into one coffeepot with a vengeance. She was definitely mad at him, but he wasn't too concerned. Come tonight, he'd try to convince her that he only had her best interest at heart. Maybe he'd give her a peace offering—and he knew just the thing, since she probably wouldn't accept the other offer he had in mind. That involved using their mouths for something other than exchanging barbs.

The door buzzed and Logan Voss strode in. Valerie gave him a smile and inquired about his day, and that ticked Gavin off. Not that he thought Logan had any designs on the waitress. He was too in love with his soon-to-be wife to give any other woman a second look.

“Sorry I'm late,” Logan said as he slid into the booth opposite Gavin. “Had to get fitted for my tuxedo.”

“Won't be long now,” Gavin said. “Are you sure you're ready?”

Logan frowned. “I couldn't be more ready if the wedding happened tomorrow.”

Gavin glanced over his friend's shoulder. “Where's Jake? I saw him standing on the sidewalk a minute ago.”

Logan chuckled. “I think he's still kissing babies. Someone needs to tell him the campaign's over and since he won, that's not necessary.”

“Where are the rest of the guys?” Gavin asked. Only three of the five others currently assisting him in solving Malcolm Durmorr's murder were accounted for.

“Mark's got a self-defense class,” Logan said. “He's been booked solid since the announcement that Jonathan Devlin was murdered. Now with Malcolm dead, people are getting nervous, especially the women in town.”

“A killer on the loose can do that.” Something Gavin had discovered during his tenure as a homicide detective with the Dallas PD. Ironically he'd left that job behind for a quieter life. Now that quiet life involved not one but two murders. “Tom and Rose still honeymooning?”

“Yeah. They'll be back next week. Connor's working on rebuilding the barn that Durmorr burned down.”

Before Durmorr had kidnapped Tom's pregnant wife, the sorry bastard. Luckily Rose was safe now, and Gavin was grateful for that even if Durmorr had escaped shortly thereafter, only to end up on the wrong side of a gun. “I'll call Connor and Mark later and catch them up on the investigation.”

“We can also talk after the wedding.”

Gavin let go a cynical laugh. “Good idea, Voss. I'm sure that will thrill Melissa.”

“Just a brief meeting.” Logan patted his chest and grinned. “I don't want to put off the wedding night any longer than necessary.”

The bell sounded and in walked Jacob Thorne, newly elected mayor. He greeted Valerie, then made his way to the table and slid in beside Logan. “Sorry it took so long. I had some business to attend to.”

Gavin grinned. “Still politickin', Jake?”

“Just trying to alleviate a woman's concern about the murders,” he said. “So let's get on with it. Chrissie's waiting lunch on me.”

Logan and Gavin exchanged a glance before Logan said, “I like a good nooner now and again.”

Jake leaned back in his seat. “No kidding. Nothing better than a little afternoon delight with the wife.”

Gavin wished they would quit talking about their active sex lives when his was nonexistent. “Okay, then let's get on with it so you guys can get it on with your ladies. I have some information on Malcolm's murder.”

All jesting went by the wayside as both Jake and Logan leaned forward, giving their full attention to Gavin. “The preliminary findings show that Durmorr was shot five times,” he began. “He took four in the upper torso, including one in the heart, and one in the groin.”

Logan and Jake shifted in their seats simultaneously. A dead-aim shot to the jewels gave most men cause to twitch, even though Gavin had seen it before. If the guy hadn't been dead by then, that would've been enough to kill him. “The bullets were .38-caliber. The one in the heart probably did him in. But the one below his belt leads me to believe this was real personal.”

“No gun recovered yet?” Logan asked.

“Nope,” Gavin said. “Chief Vincente sent out some of the city boys to assist my deputies with scouring the murder scene, but so far nothing. They did find some other interesting evidence on his body. He had several long blond hairs on his jacket.”

“Probably from the struggle,” Logan said. “Add that to the groin injury and that makes me think a woman killed him.”

“I agree with that,” Jake added. “And since Durmorr confessed to Rose that he murdered Devlin, my guess is that the killer had something to do with that, too. I can think of one blonde who would be a prime suspect.”

So could Gavin, and he'd seen her not more than a few minutes ago. “Gretchen's definitely at the top of my list. But there's something else. The hairs are from two different people. I'm wondering if this was some kind of love triangle gone bad and that it doesn't have a thing to do with Devlin's murder or the presumed hunt for that damn treasure.”

Logan shook his head. “Two women? I know Malcolm always considered himself the ladies' man, but it's hard to believe he had one woman, much less two after him.”

“Gretchen and Durmorr definitely had something going on between the sheets,” Jake said. “Chrissie and I saw them together back in June. We both thought they looked pretty cozy.”

A match made in hell, Gavin decided. “She supposedly has an alibi, although I'm going to check that out thoroughly. I imagine she paid off the pizza delivery man to cover for her.” He couldn't imagine Gretchen eating pizza.

“Have you talked to Travis Whelan about this?” Jake asked.

Gavin had spoken to the D.A. and former Cattleman's Club member two days ago, and it hadn't been encouraging. “Yeah. He said we've got to have more to warrant a court order for her DNA. Not likely she'll voluntarily hand it over.”

“Gretchen doesn't like people telling her what to do, that's for sure,” Jake said. “She'll lawyer up right away. You'll definitely need more to go on to make an arrest.”

“I plan to keep looking until I find it.” And Gavin would, until he had this case solved. “I'd put her under surveillance, but I'm spread pretty thin right now with so many people out sick. Wayne's agreed to help out with some of the city's officers, but he can't cover 24-7. Either of you want to help out a few hours if I decide we need it?”

“The wedding's still a week away,” Logan said. “I could do a couple of hours here and there in the next few days, and after the wedding if necessary. We're not going on a honeymoon right now since Melissa's still settling in at the job.”

“I can take a shift,” Jake added. “As long as it's during the day.”

Logan grinned. “And interrupt your nooners?”

“Hey, I perform just as well at night,” Jake said.

Time to turn the subject back to the investigation, Gavin decided. “Okay. I'll let you both know if we need some help. I'll talk to Mark and Connor about that, too.”

Logan turned and raised his hand. “Could you bring us some coffee now, Valerie? And bring me a piece of Manny's coconut pie, okay?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Voss,” Valerie called, a sunny smile on her face. Gavin wished he could earn that kind of smile from her, and someday he would, even if it was the only thing she ever gave him.

“You know, I'm convinced Gretchen did this,” Jake said. “But then, I'm probably biased because I saw a really nasty side of her during the campaign.”

Logan patted him on the back. “But you came out the victor in spite of that accusation about your campaign defacing her family's historical display. And so far Gretchen hasn't put a hit out on you for crushing her in the election, has she?”