Shadows from the Grave (32 page)

Going to the emergency room or his regular doctor was completely out of the question. As soon as they saw the bite mark, the police would be called. Even if he could somehow explain the wound, they’d no doubt ask him to take off his shirt, and then the gig would truly be up. As it was, he was going to be lucky if a long-sleeved shirt covered all the scratches. He briefly considered cutting the damaged tissue away himself, but the wound was so deep he would probably lose the use of his arm or bleed to death if he tried.

No, there would be no getting around this. As the pain receded, he realized he was going to have to work fast and hard to avoid capture this time. He would have to create an alibi, and now. His truck was going to have to go, and maybe, just maybe, if he played all his cards exactly right, he’d be able to get away with what he had done.

First things first, though. He had to get his arm treated, and he had an idea of just how to do that.

Late Monday afternoon, Chase was in his basement when the doorbell rang. He’d closed down the office after lunch, sending the women home. Then he’d come back to the condo and gone straight to work on his punching bag. He had almost managed to drive his anger away. For a minute, he considered not answering the door, but then his upbringing took over. Jackie Hudson had drummed her own superstition about ignoring a ringing phone or doorbell into her children.

Muttering under his breath, Chase went to the front door. When he swung it open to reveal Gordon standing on the porch, he stiffened with shock. Neither man spoke for a minute. Gordon finally broke the silence. “We need to talk,” he said.

Chase just raised his brows, incredulous. “That’s not going to happen, not today. And not without John.”

Gordon raked a hand through his hair, leaving it standing on end. Chase could see the frustration his friend was holding in check. Chase unlatched the storm door and went out onto the porch. He moved up to Gordon until they were toe-to-toe, and then he smiled. It wasn’t a friendly expression.

“Damn it, Chase. I’m not here as law enforcement. I’m here as your friend.”

“Do you have any idea what my day has been like, Gordon?” he asked in a conversational tone. “It’s been pretty rough, so don’t tell me you’re here as my ‘friend.’”

Gordon widened his stance and rolled his shoulders so that his arms were loose and ready. “Do you really want to do this, Chase? Because if you do, I’ll oblige you. You aren’t the only one who’s had a bad day.”

The offer was very tempting, and part of him wanted to take Gordon up on it. However, something held him back. He realized that he wasn’t really that angry at Gordon and, with a long sigh, he stood down. “What exactly do we need to talk about?”

Gordon cleared his throat. “First of all, I want to apologize for yesterday,” he said. “I didn’t know it would go like that, Chase. I feel like I threw you to the wolves.”

Chase made a show of looking at his arms and legs. “No bite marks here,” he said.

“Regardless, I owe you an apology.”

“Fine, then. Consider it accepted.” Chase shrugged. “Now, you’ll forgive me if I ask again. What do we have to talk about? It’s really been a rough day, and I’d like to hit the shower.”

“Okay. I tried to call but it kept going to voicemail.”

Chase sighed and opened the door, motioning for Gordon to enter. “I turned the ringer off. You don’t even want to know how many people I’ve seen or talked to today who were just ‘calling to check up on me and see how I was holding up.’”

“It’s been that bad, then?” Gordon asked. At Chase’s look, he grimaced. “Damn.”

“Don’t worry about it, okay? Let’s just move on. Please.”

Gordon smiled. “Fair enough. What are the chances you can get everyone together this evening?” he asked. “Beth, Ethan, Jason, everyone.”

Chase frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“After everything went to hell yesterday, I spent a couple hours going over Kiely’s case with Wyatt and Stacy. We thought it might be a good idea to get the gang together, see if maybe we can come up with something as a group.”

“That’s a bit unusual,” Chase said.

Gordon laughed. “To say the very least,” he agreed. “But you’ve got two cops and an investigative reporter, not counting me and Stacy. Then there’s Annie and Hannah. It’s worth a shot, anyhow.”

Chase considered his words. “We’re supposed to meet at Beth’s in a couple hours,” he responded. “I haven’t talked to them since yesterday, except for a brief phone call or two. You know Beth is still very, very upset with you, right?”

“I didn’t expect anything less,” Gordon admitted.

With a groan, Chase ran a hand through his hair. “Fine. Be there at six-thirty. You’re responsible for getting Stacy there, and you had better be prepared to talk fast when you get in the door. If you get that far.”

Gordon smiled, clearly relieved. “Thank you, Chase.”

Chase snorted. “Dude, seriously. If you think my sister won’t make your life hell for what happened yesterday, you don’t know her very well. Don’t thank me.”

As Chase walked him to the door, he remembered the scene with Stacy in the observation room. “What was all that yesterday, between you and Stacy?”

Gordon turned on the steps, and Chase was surprised at the sheepish look on his friend’s face. Gordon spread his hands and said, “No idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh. Maybe I should just ask Stacy this evening, then,” Chase said. Gordon’s eyes widened, and he started back up the steps, but when Chase laughed out loud, he stopped.

His cheeks hot, Gordon reluctantly laughed with him. “I’m attracted to her, okay?” he confessed.

Chase feigned surprise. “No! Really? Tell me something I don’t know.” He laughed again, and Gordon waved him off.

“I’ll see you in a little while, then,” he said. “You’ll clear my being there with Beth?”

“I’ll take care of it,” Chase assured him. Back inside, he contemplated not telling Beth and just letting Gordon show up. If it had been anywhere other than her home they were going to be, he would have. It would hardly be fair to ambush her in her own house, though. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed his phone and made the call. If things went the way he thought they would, it was going to be a very long evening.

At Beth’s request, Annie arrived at her house a little earlier than the men. When Beth had called her a short time ago, she had seemed upset. Walking up on the porch, Annie could see her friend pacing in the living room. Stacy, Hannah, and Lauren were seated at the dining room table watching her.

When she saw Annie, she hurried to the door. “Good, you’re here,” she said as she let Annie in. “We don’t have much time before the men get here.”

Annie sent a questioning look at the women seated at the table. “What’s going on? Why the rush?”

Beth turned around, hands on hips. “Annie. My brother invited
that man
here. We need a plan. After what he did yesterday…” Her voice trailed off as she shoved her hands in her hair and tugged.

“Um, Beth, if Gordon hadn’t been there yesterday, Chase would probably be sitting in jail now, arrested for murder,” Annie told her carefully.

Beth’s jaw dropped, and she stared at Annie incredulously. “Of all people, how can you defend him?” she sputtered.

Annie moved to the table and sat down beside Lauren. “Perhaps because he was doing his job? Well, I might add. Besides, I thought you liked Gordon. Don’t you?”

Beth’s gaze narrowed, and she stewed for a minute. With a frustrated growl, she threw up her hands and pulled out a chair. “Damn it, I do,” she said as she flopped down. “And yes, I’m going to owe Mom’s Swear Jar some serious money when they get home. I imagine we all will.”

Lauren spoke up, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “If I recall correctly, and Annie you should remember this, Beth liked Gordon well enough at one point to kiss him.” Hannah, who had taken a sip of her iced tea, choked, and Stacy thumped her on the back. At Lauren’s words, Beth flushed a deep red, and her eyes flew to Stacy’s.

The detective leaned forward with a growing smile. “Do tell,” she said, amused and intrigued.

Beth relaxed when she saw that Stacy wasn’t upset. “It was a long time ago,” she said, “and it was just a kiss.”

“That’s not how I remember it,” Lauren said.

“You weren’t even there!” Beth exclaimed. “How do you know what it was or wasn’t?” Lauren just smiled, and Beth wadded up a napkin, which she threw in Lauren’s direction.

“It was before I got shot,” she told Stacy. “Gordon and I are friends, dang it, and there’s chemistry there. We both wanted to know if it was the good kind or just the friend kind.”

“So you kissed?” Hannah asked. “Why haven’t I heard this before?”

“Because it was just a kiss. It was like kissing Chase or Jason, if they weren’t my brothers. If that makes sense.”

“So you’re saying you didn’t enjoy it?” Stacy asked.

Beth hesitated, and a series of “aaahs” sounded around the table. She dismissed them with a wave. “He knows what he’s doing,” she said. “It was pleasant enough. He just… there wasn’t any spark there. For either of us.” She tipped her head to one side and studied Stacy. “So you haven’t kissed him, then?”

Stacy shook her head. She played with her cell phone and bit her lip. “Not yet. He’s seeing Kathryn Owen.”

“No, he isn’t,” Annie said. “They’re just friends. Kathryn was his wife’s best friend.”

“Yes, he’s completely unattached,” Beth added. “Single, lonely… available.”

“Oh.” Stacy was speechless.

They heard a car door slam, and Jason came up on the porch. As Beth stood to go let him in, she smiled at the female detective. “You know, maybe it’s time you seduced him.”

Stacy stopped her with a hand. “Beth, I don’t do seduction,” she said, her eyes wide.

Seeing her worry, Beth gave her a quick, reassuring hug. “Then, sweetie, it’s high time you started. The kiss might not have done much for me, but I guaran-damn-tee you that with the attraction you two seem to have, it wouldn’t take much seducing. Gordon’s an alpha,” she said. “They know what they’re doing in certain areas if they’re good, and he’s good.”

“Oh, God, yes, they are.” Hannah sighed, her gaze on Jason.

Annie couldn’t hold back a laugh at the stunned look on Stacy’s face. She grabbed Lauren’s bottle of water and raised it in a salute.

“Welcome to the club, sister,” she told Stacy, who sighed and sat back in her chair with a groan. She reluctantly laughed and raised her own glass.

“What did you do?” they heard Beth ask Jason as she let him in.

“I spilled coffee. What does it look like?” Jason returned. He stopped at the end of the table, holding his wet, stained shirt out from his body. “Beth, do you have a shirt I can borrow or not?”

“It wasn’t hot coffee, was it?” Hannah asked as she stood and hurried to his side. She lifted the edge of the shirt to check him for burns, and Jason jumped, throwing a significant glance in the direction of the other women. He tugged the shirt back down and answered.

“No, it was cold. I’m okay.”

“I’ll get you one of Ethan’s shirts,” Beth offered. “Come with me. Take off that shirt, and I’ll pre-treat it so the coffee doesn’t ruin it.” Jason followed her into the kitchen and stopped on the other side of the island. He stripped off the wet shirt and handed it to her, then waited with his arms crossed while she went into the laundry room. The situation was too much for Annie to pass up, and she exchanged a look with Stacy and Lauren. She reached for her purse, signaling them to do the same, and pulled out six one-dollar bills.