Major Crimes (17 page)

As Lake interrogated me, I backed carefully away from her, but she kept coming at me. “What is your name? Tell me your name now!”

I backed up into the toppings display and lost my balance. Seconds later I was sprawled out in a pool of Oreo crumbs, butterscotch syrup and rainbow sprinkles. I scrambled to my feet, slipped on the fresh fruit and fell on my tush.

“I’m calling the cops!” Lake dashed behind the register and reached for the phone. I skid out of the front door.

Bryce was back. He was leaning against my car. His arms were folded across his chest. He burst into laughter when he saw me. “What the…?” More laughter.

“Just shut up.”

“Get your DNA sample, genius?” More laughter.

“The police are probably on their way. I need to go. And you do too.”

Bryce retreated to the Tahoe, shaking his head the entire way. I silently cursed him.
Why did he have to follow me? Why did he have to see me like this? Why did he have to look so darn sexy leaning against my car?

I sat in my car, banged my head against the steering wheel three times hoping to knock some sense into myself, then left for home.

Chapter 22

Bryce

My stomach hurt. I wasn’t sure if I ever laughed so hard. Chelsey was a welcome distraction from my precarious situation.
What was she thinking?
I would never know. I hoped she got her sample after the debacle at the yogurt place.

I tailed her again. She hadn’t seen me the other times I tailed her, so I didn’t think she’d notice me this time either. I hoped other cops weren’t tailing her. She certainly wouldn’t have seen them. Chelsey seemed to be driving toward her house. I couldn’t blame her. Hot fudge in her hair and strawberry syrup on her face…well, that might be a guy’s fantasy for his woman to be covered in edible sweets, but I was sure Chelsey didn’t want to spend the rest of the day as a human sundae.

Since it was too risky for me to park near Chelsey’s house, I parked a couple of blocks away and darted through backyards, until I got to hers. I made certain her house wasn’t being watched and I entered her yard from the neighbors’. I knocked on the back door, but she didn’t answer, so I did what I did the last time I needed to get in—climbed through the kitchen window.

Glancing around the kitchen, there was no sign of Snickers. I was sure Snickers liked me, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious. Fangs digging into my flesh did not seem like something I wanted to experience. I heard the water running—the bathroom door was closed. Chelsey was singing in the shower—off-key.

I rummaged around in Chelsey’s fridge. There wasn’t much of a choice, so I settled on a juice box and a Lunchables, and then had a seat on the couch. After shoving a piece of mystery meat in my mouth, I turned on the television and waited for Chelsey to finish cleaning up.

The water stopped running and I looked toward the bathroom door. Chelsey walked out stark naked. I averted my eyes. “Whoops, sorry.”

Chelsey let out a blood curdling scream and darted back into the bathroom. I might’ve heard a few obscenities escape from her lips. I wasn’t sure how to smooth this one over. She was already angry for my following her today. I could only imagine the level of her fury at the moment. Although it
was
pretty funny.

Chelsey emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel with her hands on her hips. “What are you doing?”

“You look sexy like that. And, you undeniably are
All About That Bass
.” I winked at her.

“Stop changing the subject! Why are you freaking here?”

I wasn’t actually changing the subject. I was telling the truth—she looked hot in that towel.
Freaking
hot. I smirked. “Freaking?”

“Bryce! Knock it off!”

“I came to help you.”
I freaking came to help you.
I laughed. “Who says
freaking
anyway?”

“You’re not helping. You’re putting me at risk, you’re putting yourself at risk.”

“I heard that lecture already today.”

“You’re being a donkey.”

“A donkey?”

“I’d tell you what I really think, but I’m too polite for that.”

“Alright, I’ll leave, but not before I tell you something.” I rose from my seat and approached Chelsey. I kept a stern look on my face.

“What? What is it? Did something happen?”

When I was close to her, I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her into a kiss. I felt her tension ease.

“You really did look hot coming out of the bathroom. I wanted to rip your towel off.” I whispered.

Chelsey released her embrace and smacked me in the arm. “You can leave now!”

“I was just getting started.”

“No, you’re not getting started, you’re getting kicked out. Get out of here before the police find you here.”

Chelsey was one tough cookie. There was no lowering her defenses. My seduction efforts were futile against her resolve.

I kissed her on the cheek. “Give me the items you collected. I’ll get them to Frank to deliver to the DNA lab.”

Chelsey pointed toward the kitchen table. I grabbed the three bags off the table.

I turned back to Chelsey. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go to the next stop and help you collect evidence?”

“No. I’ll be fine. I got three samples without your help.”

I held up the bag with the frozen yogurt. “Despite the
rocky road
you took to get there.” I laughed at my joke.

Chelsey didn’t find it humorous. “Hilarious.”

“Seriously, are you sure I can’t help? I’m bored to tears and I can’t possibly eat any more.”

Chelsey folded her arms. “I’m sure. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay.” Rejected, I left through the kitchen door.

* * *

On the walk back to my vehicle, I scanned the area for anyone suspicious. I didn’t see anyone, so I made my way the couple of blocks back to the Tahoe. I jumped in and tossed the three bags on the passenger’s seat. I sat in the car and thought about whether I should head back to Frank’s to review more video or if I should tail Chelsey to her next location.

As much as I had doubted Chelsey, and as much of a mess as she made in the yogurt place, I had to hand it to her. She did the job. She collected the evidence. I wasn’t sure why I doubted her. Chelsey came across as a woman who needed saving in the past. I finally realized, Chelsey didn’t need saving from anything or anyone anymore. She was the one doing the saving this time. She was the one trying to save me.

I started the Tahoe and drove the hour back to Frank and Geri’s. It was nearly dinner time when I arrived. Screaming and shouting could be heard from their driveway. The thought of running in the opposite direction crossed my mind. But, Frank was relying on me to help him with the wiretaps. It wasn’t his job to listen to the wiretaps—it was mine, and he was helping me, so I trudged up the stairs. Reluctantly. The screaming got louder and louder.
Maybe they’ll kill each other and it would suddenly be quiet again.

There was no need to use my key—the front door was unlocked. Under normal circumstances, I’d draw my weapon if I heard that much screaming inside a house. Linda’s kids had no volume control. There was no doubt in my mind where they got their vocal cord genetics from—their grandmother.

Ducking Nerf bullets, dodging tiny shooters, and leaping over toys, I found my way to the kitchen. “Hi Linda.”

Linda looked stressed. “Oh, you’re still here?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Yup.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean it like that, I just meant I didn’t know you were still staying here.”

“Hopefully not for long. I hate imposing on others.”

“We brought pizza.”

“Thanks.” I glanced around the room. “Where’s Frank?”

“Hiding in his man cave.”

Geri waddled in from the porch with paper plates, napkins, and cups. “Hi Bryce. We have pizza.”

“Thanks.” I grinned. The dozen pizza boxes before me were enough to let me know there was pizza, yet not one, but two people had to tell me. An estimated nine or ten slices per person must’ve been made while calculating the amount of pizza that was needed for the evening.

The front door crashed open. A beagle mix came bounding through the kitchen, barking at all the kids. Two adults followed the dog, yelling for him to quiet down. Short of firing a gun through the ceiling, this crowd wasn’t going to quiet down—dog included.

Geri opened the garage door and hollered, “Frank! Frank! Frank’s here.”

I had to assume the other Frank was Geri’s and Frank’s son.

The young man extended a hand to me. “Hey, I’m Frankie.”

“Nice to meet you.” I shook his hand and introduced myself to him and his wife.

The front door crashed open again. Two more people appeared in the kitchen. The kitchen was tight to begin with and all the people didn’t fit. The door crashed open a third time—three additional adults entered. I scooted my way to the garage door to make my way to the basement. I was getting claustrophobic.

Finding Frank, I handed him the DNA samples that Chelsey collected. Frank said he was going to drop them off at the lab in the morning.

“Why are all the people here?” I asked.

“It’s my youngest grandson’s birthday.”

“Oh.” Had I known, I could’ve picked up a toy from the pharmacy. Not that I had much money left, but it would’ve been the right thing to do.

“Listening to wire taps?”

“Yeah. If you pull up a chair, I’ll get you set up.” Frank handed me a set of earphones, which I plugged into the computer in front of me.

“Any luck with the wiretaps so far?”

“I got ugatz.”

“Whose phone line am I listening to?”

“Lake’s.”

Frank pulled up the audio file he wanted me to listen to and I got to work. Frank’s recording equipment turned on whenever a phone line was activated. That was great because it saved me from having to fast forward through dead air.

Frank left the room for fifteen minutes and returned with three slices of pizza for me and a can of orange soda. He left the room again and returned with a large pizza still in the box and a can of birch beer. “I figured I might as well bring a whole box down in case you want more.”

I doubted I’d want more than three slices, but with the way I had been eating since I arrived at Frank’s…four or five was a distinct possibility. We ate in silence while listening to our audio recordings. Frank listened to Martha’s phone line.

Lake’s first phone call was to her mother. She talked about the nut job at her store who trashed the place earlier in the day. I smiled. Picturing Chelsey with rainbow sprinkles in her hair amused me. She was so darn cute. A disaster, but a cute disaster.

Lake’s next call was to her friend. She cried over Archie and wondered how another cop could’ve killed him in cold blood. Since the newspaper reporters did a wonderful job of turning me into a monster, I had to assume she was referring to me. If she only knew. She asked for her friend’s advice on attending the funeral. The friend advised her against it. Lake swore up and down that Archie’s wife didn’t know about their relationship.

Lake was no longer a suspect in my mind. She wasn’t aware anyone was listening to her phone conversations and if she had killed him, I didn’t think she’d be so upset. She repeatedly said she loved him. I couldn’t see her to read her body language, but the tone in her voice said enough for me.

With the noises gone from upstairs, I gathered the party was over. I rubbed my eyes and stretched my arms. “Frank, I don’t think Lake had anything to do with the crime. Do you want me to listen to Archie’s wife’s audio?”

Frank removed his earphones. “I did that before you got back today. We can check for new calls in the morning. We’ve been at this for three hours. Let’s see if there’s any cake left.”

We went upstairs and found the leftover cake. I sliced a couple of pieces for us. “Why was your grandson’s party here rather than at his house?”

“Beats the hell out of me.”

“Wasn’t Freddy invited?”

“He was, but he’s too busy working on your case.”

“Oh. I feel bad about that. Do you think he’s had any luck?”

“He would’ve called if he did.”

I looked down. My hopes were waning once more.

“Just think, Bryce, if you do go to jail, At least you’ll have been fed good before you go. No one leaves my house hungry. If you do, it’s your own fault.” Frank smirked.

I assumed that was Frank’s way of lightening the mood, but it had an ounce of truth in it. I couldn’t hide forever. If there was no evidence to be found, I was up a creek without a paddle. My thoughts turned toward the woman with the weird ring. How was I going to figure out who she was and whether or not she killed Archie?

We finished our cake. Frank said he was going to bed early. I could see his eyes were weary. I wondered how long he had been working on the wiretaps. I wondered if Freddy paid him for helping. I owed him big time.

I asked Frank if it would be alright if I went back downstairs and watched the surveillance video from Savoy’s. He said it was fine with him. I descended into the basement, took a seat, and began to watch anxious bar flies entering Savoy’s.

Several hours later, my mind wandered. Did Chelsey get the DNA from Pamela or Brittany? And, I wondered if she had any luck with Cynthia Sterling. Before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep without having watched the entire surveillance video from Savoy’s.