Confer, Lorelei - Deadly Deception (Siren Publishing Classic) (14 page)

Wyatt laughed and shook his head. “No, not my girlfriend. It was my sister, Amy. She wanted to come and visit for the day.”

“Oh, does she come here often?” She looked down at her hardened nipples showing through the fabric of her shirt and crossed her arms to cover them.

“Not often enough. I wish we could spend more time together. Amy sometimes flies down from
New York
to spend a day with me.”

“Well, what’s she like? What does she do for a living?

“We’re very close as far as siblings go. I miss spending time with her very much. Growing up, the four of us were inseparable especially as teenagers.” When he saw her eyebrows rise in confusion, he continued. “Dave, his brother Dan, Amy, and me. ‘See one of us; see all four of us,’ neighbors often said since we were always together. Amy used to be such a tomboy and the only girl we allowed in our tree house. That is until Amy grew up—overnight it seemed—from a long-legged, gangly teenager into a beautiful, shapely young woman and a very independent, astute businesswoman.

“Dave and I chided her endlessly about the clothes she wore, but especially about who she dated. She finally gave us an ultimatum. We had to find someone we approved of for her to date within forty-eight hours or we would never say another word about her dates again. We agreed, foolishly thinking we could do better than she could, and of course, we couldn’t deliver. We didn’t think anyone in the world would be good enough for her.

“Then, after our parents died, Amy about lost it. She was overwhelmed with grief as you might expect. Amy and I wondered how we would be able to get on with our lives without our parents. But they had raised us well, teaching us self-confidence and independence. We were able to find comfort and consolation in each other, and relied on each other and good friends like Dave and Dan. Together, we provided each other with the necessary support we needed at that time in our lives. That support system saved us again when Dan was killed in Iraq. Dave and his family were devastated. And Amy and I were there to help them through the grief process.

“Amy finally took the money left to her by our parents and became a shrewd businesswoman. She invested it in a boutique of specialty hand-crafted vintage jewelry. One boutique quickly turned into numerous stores up and down along the East Coast. I’ve always been proud of her and her success. And I miss her all the time, too, very much.”

“You’re very lucky to have a sister and great friends like the Millers. Since I’m an only child, my mother is more like a sister to me, so we’re very close as well.” Feeling the need to change the subject, Isabella asked, “How long have you lived here, in this house?”

“Let’s see. I bought the property about five years ago, and it took about two years to build.”

“I love all the natural light from the large doors and windows in every room. Did you design it yourself?”

“Thanks, but no I didn’t personally design it. A friend of mine drew up the plans and allowed me to add a lot of personal changes to fit my wants and needs, and he included them in the end result. I think it came out very nice. It’s kind of big for one person, but I like it. I can spread out and not worry about any mess.”

“Do you like children? Michael”—she paused—“he hated kids, and he never wanted any. And my whole life has been centered on kids and their education. Sometimes I don’t know what I ever saw in him. My mother is a much better judge of people than I am,” Isabella said, wondering where all that had come from.

Wyatt took a moment and studied her. “I know exactly what you mean,” he replied. “I thought I was in love with someone. We were even engaged. But then after”—he faltered—“after she died, I found out she wasn’t who I thought she was. She had become a complete stranger.”

“How long ago did that happen?”

“About five years, around the same time I bought this land and decided to settle down, I guess.”

When he didn’t say anything further, she didn’t press him. If he didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want to talk about it. Isabella thought it best to change the subject.

“What about kids?” She waited for an answer this time.

“I enjoy kids, want my own someday. I had a great childhood, and I think I can provide a good and safe environment for children. Part of the reason I developed the park. Many of the kids in town had no place to go to play ball or swing, holler, and let loose.”

They talked comfortably like old friends catching up. He told her about some of the clowning around the “foursome” had done in their younger years and about some of the things they tried to get away with and how they always seemed to end up getting caught.

She told him about her students and some of their funny antics during one of their field trips to a petting zoo and what a great experience for all of them, including herself.

The ringing of the phone interrupted their conversation. Wyatt picked it up from the table beside him and said, “Hello.”

Chapter 23

On the other end of the line, Dave talked and Wyatt listened for a minute or two. Dave gave him the update on the pursuit of Terrell and Spike’s location. He explained it appeared to be a kidnapping by Spike’s gang, for an unknown reason. Isabella definitely needed protection.

Wyatt looked at Isabella while listening to Dave and wondered how much he should tell her, if anything at all. The less she knew, the better off she may be.

“I have everything under control here and you know where to find me if things go bad.”

“Wyatt, this isn’t like a normal job. I saw how you look at her. I don’t think you can be as detached emotionally in this investigation as you would like to be. I think you have a definite conflict of interest. You need to really think this through and listen to reason, man.”

Wyatt responded by changing the subject. “A patrol guy gave me the VIP treatment this morning with a personal visit to the front door. What’s that all about?”

“Don’t know. Did you get a badge number?”

Wyatt recited the number to Dave.

“Hold on a minute.”

A short time later, a confused Dave came back on the line. “Badge number belongs to Wayne Richards. Remember we worked with him for a while.”

“I remember him. I just saw him with his family the other day. The guy at the door definitely wasn’t him. I would have recognized him and invited him in for coffee or something.”

“He hasn’t returned from duty yet and I understand he’s a little late reporting in. Let me check it out further and get back to you. Remember what I said, Wyatt, and think about it,” Dave said once more before hanging up the phone.

Wyatt found Isabella, shaking, wringing her hands again with a wild, desperate look on her face and her eyes filled with fear and insecurity.

“Dave just wanted to go over some of the information we gave him earlier, make sure he understood it correctly. How about some lunch? I make a mean chicken salad sandwich.”

“I’m not really hungry. I really need to visit the bathroom if you can point me in the right direction.”

Wyatt stood and walked to the bottom of the stairs, motioning for her to follow. He flipped a switch on the wall while taking two steps at a time up the stairs.

“Bathroom’s right there on the left. I’ll get something to eat and be right back. Don’t forget, stay away from the windows.”

Isabella looked at him putting her fisted hands on her hips and drawing her lips tight, probably hating to be told what to do.

Wyatt indicated the room she entered was a bathroom. A full-size tub, separate shower, huge double sink vanity with granite countertop, and marble floors filled the massive space.

Wyatt came down the stairs, and turned to meet her at the bottom.

He walked her to a large room, a game room of sorts. Definitely a man’s room. A large pool table sat in the middle with a juke box on the end wall along with a rack containing cue sticks. A glass front refrigerator with a wide selection of beer sat beside the jukebox. She heard Wyatt’s footsteps on the stairs.

He carried two plates, one on top of the other with a bag of grapes in his other hand. He handed her the grapes, walked to the couch, and put the plates down on the trunk. He turned around and realized she still stood at the bottom of the stairs holding the grapes in her hand.

He motioned for her to follow. She took the plate he handed her, muttered a subdued, “Thanks,” as he walked toward the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“Soda, water, or beer; what’s your preference?”

“Water, please. I’ve had enough soda for my entire lifetime.”

He grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and reached into another door for some chips. He returned to the couch, sat, and started to eat.

They ate in silence. Since Isabella hadn’t been able to eat much of her breakfast, she quickly consumed half her sandwich. Wyatt, deep in thought about all the facts Dave had relayed to him, tried to put it all together to formulate a plan. And then the phone rang.

Isabella jumped, startled by the shrill sound in the otherwise silent house.

Wyatt was talking on the phone.

“No problem, Matt. I understand how things come up at the last minute, but you’ll need to call Robert in
Denver
and reschedule. Something’s come up here I need to handle personally”—he glanced at Isabella—“so I won’t be able to cover for you this time.”

Isabella had stopped eating, and was watching him with apprehension from the edge of her seat on the couch.

Wyatt noticed her apprehension and realized she was waiting for an explanation. “Matthew, my manager, needs to reschedule a Monday morning meeting in
Denver
. Some sort of family emergency came up. He and I work closely together, and sometimes I cover meetings for him when he’s overbooked, like now. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Wyatt clicked the off button on the phone but continued to hold it in his hand, rethinking his conversation with Matt. He trusted him explicitly but found himself curious about what his “family emergency” might be. In all the time he’d worked with Matt, he’d never heard him mention any family or known him to reschedule any meetings. Odd, since he suddenly couldn’t “make” a
Denver
meeting when Isabella had just come from
Denver
. He worked hard, was always on top of his game.

Wyatt had done a simple background check on him before hiring him, and now he thought he needed to take a closer look at the results, make sure everything appeared as it should and he hadn’t missed anything. Isabella stuttered and brought Wyatt out of his revelry.

“I-I-I heard
Denver
and my mind just went berserk, thinking of my mother, my job, my whole life there, or was there. Now I don’t know where anything is, and it crossed my mind it might have something to do with me.”

Wyatt looked at her thoughtfully as his mind tried to absorb her important words.

Chapter 24

When his cell phone rang, Dave had just taken a big bite out of an apple while putting sugar in his fifth or more cup—he’d already lost count—of coffee for the day. He really needed to cut down on the caffeine. After answering and listening for a moment, he said, “I’m on my way.”

He closed his cell phone. Having lost his appetite he threw his apple in the trash, grabbed his jacket, and sprinted toward his car.

Only a couple minutes away from the crime scene, he could already hear sirens of fellow police officers on the way. There would be a big showing, especially since this crime involved one of their own.

Dave arrived at the park in a matter of minutes, coming to a screeching halt. Vince Evans and Mark Foster, both homicide detectives, stood outside, away from the large area of the parking lot and woods cordoned off and secured with yellow crime tape. He could see one or two people from the crime scene lab inside the area, a flash every now and then from the photos being taken. Dave got out of his car and walked over to join Foster and Evans.

“Hey, man. You’re not gonna believe this,” Evans said.

“Why?”

“It’s Richards. Detective Wayne Richards. You worked with him, right?”

Dave’s shoulders slumped, and he hung his head. He took a deep breath and two steps backward. He and Wyatt both had worked with him in Vice. They both knew him well. Richards had shocked them all when he put in for a transfer. Married with two small, adorable children, Richards thought he had seen too much undercover and needed to change back into the uniform, thinking it would allow him more time with his family, that it would be his dream job. And Richards, now a patrolman, had stopped at the park at Dave’s personal request.

Dave rubbed his eyes that had, for some reason, filled with some sort of water element. “What happened?”

Evans replied somberly. “While on patrol he called in a stolen vehicle that appeared abandoned. Didn’t hear anymore from him so we did a search, got a Code 4 response. And then no more responses, so we checked out his last location and found blood leading into the woods over there.”

He pointed to where Dave saw the coroner entering the woods. Dave quickly headed in the same direction with Evans following a short distance behind.