Saving Grace (Serve and Protect Series) (8 page)

O
H
, L
ORD
,
DIDN
’
T SHE
get it? He didn’t want to know if she’d packed that mocha-colored lace number or her silk kimono or her diaphragm.

He was just about to tell her so when he noticed how white she’d suddenly gone. Then she swayed. Ray took the stairs two at a time, catching her before she could fall.

“What is it? Is it your head? Are you dizzy?”

She sagged against him as he pulled her back from the top of the stairs.

“In there....”

“In the bedroom?”

She backed away far enough to look up at him, blue eyes wide in her fear-pinched face. “I don’t know where it came from, Ray.”

Her fear leapt to him like a wildfire jumping a fire break. “Grace, what are you talking about?”

“In the suitcase....”

“What’s in the suitcase?”

“Maybe it’s in my head. Maybe I’m hallucinating.” Her fingers dug into his biceps, eyes pleading. “Please tell me I imagined it.”

“Okay, let’s just go have a look.”

Keeping one arm around her shoulders, Ray urged her toward the bedroom. Her steps dragged with reluctance, so he left her standing on the threshold and strode into the room himself.

The larger suitcase lay open on the bed, empty, and the leather satchel sat there beside it. It was unzipped, but the soft sides had fallen together again, shielding its contents. He felt sweat break out on his forehead.

Logic told him there couldn’t be anything dangerous in the bag; Tom Godsoe and his dog had gone over both suitcases. But whatever was in there, it scared Grace so bad she couldn’t say it aloud. Whatever it was, it made her prefer to think she was delusional.

And whatever it was, it was going to change his life. Again.

Shaking the last thought away, he yanked the bag open.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph!”
Money. Cash money. Lots of it.

Grace, from the doorway: “I didn’t imagine it, did I?”

Ray lifted one of the bundles, fanning the bills. “There must be...” - he paused to do a mental calculation - “...nine or ten thousand dollars here. Where the hell’d you get this wad?”

She stepped into the room. “I told you, I don’t know.”

“But so much ... how can you not remember where you got it?”

She stiffened. “Ray, I threw my marriage away, quit my job, and tried to leave my life behind.” She marched over to the bed, snatched up a bundle of twenties and shook it under his face. “If I can’t remember why I did those things, why should I remember
this
?”

Stupid thing to say. “Of course. I’m sorry.”

The fight seemed to drain out of her at his apology. She looked down at the money in her hand for a moment, and when she lifted her gaze again, her eyes looked tortured.

“I’d shred every last one of these notes, then burn the scraps, if I could just have my life back.”

Her words caught him fair in the heart. “Aw, Grace.” She looked so miserable he just couldn’t bear it. Lifting his right hand, he cupped her face, and for a moment she leaned into his palm, closing her eyes. Then, abruptly, she pulled back.

“Okay, we’d better figure this out,” she said, her voice brisk if a little tremulous. She tossed the money down on the bed. “I don’t think I could have embezzled it from the paper. No access or opportunity.”

Embezzled? Gracie? “I don’t think you have to worry about that. You’re not a thief.”

“I didn’t think I was an adulterer or a liar, either.” Her lips twisted in the kind of bitter smile he never imagined her wearing. “I think we have to consider all the possibilities, however improbable they sound.”

A spark of admiration ignited in his chest. The old Grace would have fallen apart. She’d have cried on his shoulder, borrowed his strength and accepted his comfort. But this new Grace seemed determined to face the situation squarely.

“I’ll start with the bank.”

“The bank?” Ray lifted an eyebrow. “We don’t have that kind of money laying around.”

“Unless I cashed in my RRSPs.”

His heart contracted at the bleak expression on her face, but he knew better than to show it. She was holding herself together by force of will.

“You’re right. We have to think outside the box, here. Okay, you check on the RRSPs. I’ll call the insurance company to see if the equity in our policies is still there.”

“God, yes, the policies. You check them out.”

Grace used the phone by the bed while Ray used his cell phone. As he waited on hold for the agent to check on the policies, he listened to Grace’s one-sided conversation. By the time the insurance agent came back on the line, Ray already knew the RRSPs were intact. So was the equity in the policies.

“Well, there’s a small mercy. At least I didn’t clean us out.” Grace sat on the bed and pushed her hair behind her ears.

Ray almost wished she
had
cleaned them out. At least then they’d know where the money had come from. He sat down beside her.

“So, where does that leave us?” she asked. “Should I stash it in our safety deposit box until my memory comes back?”

“Dammit.”

“What?”

“Tommy Godsoe.”

“What about Tommy Godsoe?”

“He saw the cash in my truck.”

She blinked. “What was Tommy doing going through my bag?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I think I can spare the time.”

Damn, he’d hoped not to have to tell her about this. On the other hand, maybe it was just as well. If he really was a target for Viktor Landis’s thugs or some crackhead with a grudge, she could be caught in the crossfire. If she knew about the danger, it’d be easier to persuade her to lie low.

Besides, he pretty much had to spill the story if he hoped to get her to go along with what he was going to suggest.

“The mechanical trouble I had the other night?” She nodded that she remembered. “The garage thought there may have been some tampering.”

“What kind of tampering?”

“Removing all but one of the nuts on the left front wheel.”

She sucked in her breath on a hiss. “Did the wheel come off?”

“No. Tire blew before it could work its way off.”

“So you called Tommy and Max to go over the truck?”

Cripes, she could dredge up the police dog’s name when she couldn’t remember where she’d picked up that shitload of cash?

“Ray, is that what happened?” she prompted.

He gave himself a mental shake. “Yeah. Truck came up clean, but Tommy tossed the bags in the course of his search.”

Her forehead puckered. “I don’t understand. You
knew
the money was in there and you didn’t forewarn me?”

“No, I didn’t know. Tommy didn’t mention the cash. He just gave me a funny look and asked me if the bag was mine. I told him it was yours.”

“You didn’t go see for yourself when he gave you that funny look?”

He bristled at her tone of disbelief. “Dammit, Grace, I thought he was sifting through your skivvies.”

Grace jumped up, her face flushing. “Yeah, well, that’s the other thing. I didn’t pack any.”

“You didn’t pack any what?”

“Nice underwear. Just the basic stuff.”

The news loosened the fist clenching his heart, but as soon as he recognized his relief, a taunting voice rose up.
So she had qualms about wearing the same lingerie for another man. So what?

“That’s neither here nor there, is it?” he said, his voice gruff. “We need to make a decision about this money.”

“What do you think we should do?”

“How do you feel about taking it down to the Station and getting them to stash it in Evidence?”

“
Evidence?
You think it’s dirty?”

“I don’t know what to think.” He stood, shoving a hand through his hair.

“Maybe
he
gave it to me.”

Ray didn’t have to ask for clarification of who “he” was. “Maybe. But all we know for sure is that it’s a helluva lot of cash, and we can’t say where it came from. Factor in that Tommy knows about it. Tommy and probably the rest of the guys who were there this morning.”

“You think we should turn it in? Explain my amnesia?”

“It’s your decision. They’d give us a voucher so you could reclaim it when your memory comes back, if it was legally gotten.”

“And if it’s ill-gotten?”

She bit her lower lip as she waited for his reply.

“Depends how it falls out.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It could work to your advantage. Or we could be digging you a hole a lawyer might have a hard time getting you out of. That’s why it has to be your decision.”

She tortured her lower lip some more. “But in the circumstances, it would look better for you if we turn it in?”

“Probably. But if it’s dirty‌—”

“Ray, if I committed some kind of crime to get this money, I’d just as soon face the music.”

Despite her assertion, she looked scared as a schoolgirl. Ray gave a curt nod, struggling to conceal his internal battle.

Half of him admired her courage.

The other half was offended, dammit.

She actually thought he’d hand her over, complete with a big, fat ribbon tying up the case for the prosecution? Hell, if he thought for a minute she’d come by the money in some shady fashion, he’d sit on it until he figured something out.

But the way he saw it, the money had to have come from lover-boy. There could be no other explanation. A token of his affection, or maybe just to reassure her as she left the security of her marriage. Frankly, he didn’t give a damn which it was. He just wanted a look at the bastard.

When she’d left him, she’d refused to name the other man. Now, as long as her amnesia persisted, she
couldn’t
name him. By convincing her to lodge the money with Evidence, Ray figured he could pretty much count on meeting the S.O.B. sooner or later. Surely he’d come looking for a refund if he thought Grace had stiffed him.

Plus he’d be able to banish the inevitable questions that must have arisen in Tommy Godsoe’s mind and the minds of the other guys.

“Okay,” Grace said. “Let’s take it in.”

Ray nodded.

“Can we do it this afternoon? It makes me nervous having it here.”

“Sure.” He grabbed an empty shaving kit from the closet. “Stuff the cash in this and I’ll call Quigg to set it up.”

Grace started filling the kit, handling the bundles as though they carried some contagion, and Ray reached for the phone. Before he could lift the receiver from its cradle, the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Razor, Tom Godsoe.”

“Tommy.” Ray lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Ah, about this morning, what you saw in my truck‌—”

“That’s why I’m calling, about this morning.”

“I can explain the money.”

“That’s good, buddy, cuz it looks like you’re gonna have to.”

Ray’s pulse gave a kick. “What do you mean?”

“Hell, I’m sorry, Razor, but I kinda told the guys.”

Dammit.
“And?”

“And somebody blabbed to Creighton.”

Ah, hell. Geoffrey Creighton. Not what he needed right now. But he could handle it. “It’s okay, Tommy.”

“No, man, it ain’t okay.”

“I can handle Creighton. He’s had a hard-on for me since his wife tried to stick her tongue down my....” Ray suddenly became aware Grace had zipped the bulging kit shut and was watching him. He picked up the phone and crossed the room. “Well, ever since that Christmas party.”

“Creighton’s not the only one has a hard-on for you, Razor.”

Ray’s heart took another leap. “What are you saying?”

“IAD.”

Internal Affairs
. “Holy hell, Tommy, what’d you tell them?”

“Hey, I mighta told the guys, but I’m no stinking rat. It musta been one of the others.”

“Dammit.” Ray did a mental inventory‌—‌Davis, Mailer, Ketch, Isaacs.... “Okay, who do you like? Danny?”

“Can we talk about this in person? Meet somewhere, maybe? I’m feeling a little squirrelly talking about it on the phone.”

“Okay.” Grace had moved closer so she could read his face. He resisted the urge to turn away again. Balancing the phone on his hip, he asked, “Why don’t you come on over?”

“How about some place more discreet? Some place we can just roll our windows down?”

Jesus, Tommy really
was
spooked. Not only did he want an over-the-door conference, he wanted a clandestine one. Ray racked his brain for an appropriate site.

“How about the parking lot of the new high school in thirty?” he suggested. He could almost hear Tommy weighing the merits of the location‌—‌it was damned near in the middle of the woods, at the end of a cul-de-sac. This being summer break, the school parking lot could be counted on to be deserted. Nothing at the top of that lonely hill but mosquitoes.

“Okay, you got it. Thirty minutes,” Tommy agreed.

Ray replaced the receiver.

“What’s going on, Ray?”

“Just a little wrinkle.” He carried the phone back to the night stand. “Tommy mentioned that wad of cash to the guys, who mentioned it to some other guys, who mentioned it to Internal Affairs.”