Julia didn’t think she was ever going to find Charlie Sinclair’s new place. Was it out in the boondocks, or what? She had the directions, but it was high up on the mountain somewhere. She was going out there to pick up Jasper and to visit with Charlie. It had been great to see him the other day. Too bad he hung around with Max Hazard. Max was incorrigible. And a pest at times. Other times, he could be charming; yes, he could.
Charlie lived on Lookout Mountain, across the Georgia state line. It was quite a drive. No wonder Charlie liked to come visit her in his boat. She had no idea where he put into the river, but he certainly had enough choices. When she finally found the right dirt road and wound her way through a heavily wooded tract, she glimpsed a couple of spectacular views of the tranquil valley lying below. The A-frame house came into view after about ten minutes. Charlie liked isolation for himself and his dogs, but this was downright ridiculous.
Julia pulled up at the rear of the structure and parked. The back of the house had an entrance, but the door was locked. She walked along a large, planked deck that was built around the cabin. She ended up at the front porch and found herself pretty much perched atop a cliff. But the view, oh my God, it was beautiful. A lovely patchwork of green fields and woods below, with the shaded blue mountains of Tennessee in the background.
She looked around. The house itself was rustic, something else right down Charlie’s alley. There were six large plate-glass windows set in the A-frame that faced the valley, and she could see a giant stone fireplace inside the front room. Wow, how gorgeous would it be up here during the winter snows?
Trying the storm door, she found it locked, too, so she headed back around to the back porch. Realizing that Charlie was probably down at his clinic located somewhere out back, she headed off toward where she heard dogs barking. She could see the structure in which he had his veterinarian business in a clearing at the edge of the trees. Long, shaded dog runs stretched into the woods behind it.
The door had a
WE’RE OPEN
sign, so Julia walked inside and called out Charlie’s name. He was nowhere to be found, but her voice brought out the loud baying of Jasper. Smiling, she headed into the back. Man, had she ever missed her dog. He was going crazy in his pen, and she unlatched it and let him out. They spent about five minutes loving on each other, and then she snapped on his leash and began to wonder about Charlie.
Outside again, she called out Charlie’s name and listened. Only stillness, except for the barking of the penned dogs. It was strange. Charlie wasn’t one to leave his dogs untended, and his Ram truck was sitting right outside, his bass boat still on a trailer behind it. Jasper was pulling her in the direction of the woods, and she gave him his head. What if Charlie was hurt? Lying somewhere in the woods with a broken leg?
Worried, she followed Jasper across the rocky ground and down a dirt path that led deeper into the woods. Jasper stopped where the mouth of a cave gaped in the leafy greenness of the woods. It was part of a high craggy outlook, but Jasper only sniffed momentarily at the entrance and then moved on down the trail. After about ten more minutes, Julia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Charlie walking toward her, his red T-shirt vivid against the green undergrowth.
“Hey, Charlie. I was getting worried about you.”
Charlie looked up and saw her where she stood at the top of the trail. He was carrying a little puppy in his arms. “Hey, Julia. I’ve been out huntin’ for this little rascal here. He decided to do a bit of explorin’ on his own.”
When Charlie got up to her, Julia took the brown-and-black sheltie pup out of his arms. “Well, aren’t you the cutest little thing in the world? I bet you were scared when you couldn’t find your mama, weren’t you?”
“Not to mention facing the bobcats around here.” Charlie looked at Jasper, who was sitting contentedly at Julia’s feet. “I think Jasper is ready to go home. Those sad eyes of his nearly got to me. I almost brought him back to you yesterday.”
“He’s all done, then?”
“Yep, he’s ready to go. I’m gonna miss him. I tell you, I love that dog.”
They walked together back to the house, first dropping off the puppy at the clinic.
“C’mon in, girl. Sit awhile. Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
“I’ll take some of that homemade lemonade you always used to have.”
“You got it. Go sit down while I rustle it up.”
Julia moved into the living room with Jasper. As usual, Charlie had a swing hanging in the living room, one that faced the view. Julia sat down in it and swayed back and forth, warmed by the sunlight flooding into the living room from the large front windows. Charlie had sold his former home because everything in it reminded him of his deceased wife. He had simply worshipped the ground she walked on and mourned her still. On the fireplace hearth, she could see that he’d set up a little altar with a silver-framed photograph of Sonia, a crucifix, and a white pillar candle.
“Here you go, kiddo.”
Julia took the glass he held out to her and tasted the sweet and tangy lemonade. It tasted good after the trek in the heat to find Charlie. “So how do you like it, way up here on the mountain?”
“I like it fine. Like to look out over the view. I feel at home.”
“So do I.”
They shared a smile.
“It’s good to see you again, Charlie. Even if you did sic Max Hazard on me.”
“I like old Max. He makes me laugh. He’s still got the hots for you.”
“I don’t think so. He pretty much has the hots for everybody.”
Charlie laughed. “He’s coming up here for some hunting later today. Want to hang around and see him?”
“I guess I’ll be leaving now.”
Chuckling, Charlie shook his head. “He’s not so bad. He likes to go down in those caves out back with a twenty-two and hunt for bears. He’s going to find one someday, and I’m afraid of what’s gonna happen then.”
“God, I hope he doesn’t find one.” She smiled but grew serious. “Charlie, have you heard anything else about the judge’s murder? Anything that could help our case?”
“I’ve been listenin’, trust me on that. It’s just that nobody seems to know anything. It sure has thrown all of us down at the criminal courts for a loop.”
“I know.”
“You got any suspects?”
“Yeah, a few. I can’t discuss it with you, though. Sorry.”
“I know that. I need to ask around among some of the troopers I used to work with. They all agree with my opinion of Lucien, and they all had their stories about trials they’d been involved with when he was in charge. Not one of them had a good thing to say about him. That’s awfully sad, in a way, don’t you think? A guy dies, is murdered, and nobody can think of one nice thing to say about him.”
“Yeah, this whole case is sad. Brutal and sad.”
Charlie changed the subject. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. How would you like to train some of my dogs for me—you know, part-time? Maybe later, after you’re done with this case? What d’you say?”
Tilting her head, Julia considered the idea. “Maybe. On the weekends. I certainly don’t have time now. No way. I barely had time to come up here and get Jasper. I just missed him so much, I couldn’t wait any longer.”
“You’ve always been a softy.”
“With Jasper? You bet I am.”
They talked some more while they finished their lemonade, but soon after, Julia gave him a hug and loaded Jasper into the Charger. She waved to Charlie where he stood on the porch, watching her. Somehow, she felt he was still very sad over his wife’s death. How lonely it must be so far up in the mountains. Then again, Charlie had all his dogs to keep him company. And his old bud, Max Hazard. And that was one guy who could keep a person from getting bored.
Chapter 11
“You sure he said to meet him at the Read House?” Will asked Julia, pulling into the parking lot of one of Chattanooga’s most popular places.
“Yes, this is it. He said he and Audrey want to treat me to dinner.”
Will said, as nonchalantly as he could manage, reluctant as he was to have a hand in Audrey’s little plot, “Mind if I come in with you? I need to talk to J.D. for a minute.”
“Sure, if you want to.”
Will was not a good liar, and he didn’t like helping to pull this stunt on Julia. As he’d told Audrey at the Cracker Barrel, he didn’t think Julia was going to like it, not at all. He opened the door. “It looks pretty busy tonight. Hope they got reservations.”
“Knowing J.D., he didn’t.”
Julia smiled at him, and he smiled back before he could stop himself. He was growing more and more attracted to her—
fascinated
might be a better word, but that would not do. He had been trying his best to be as professional and standoffish as possible, certainly not encouraging any personal small talk. She had noticed, even called him a dull boy, and she was probably wondering why, especially after the fun they’d had on the way home from the airport. Nope, they weren’t having much fun anymore, and he didn’t like the stilted atmosphere when they were together. He had a feeling she didn’t, either.
“Don’t sell J.D. short,” he said as he opened the front door of the restaurant. “I’ve seen him do a lot of nice things for a lot of people.”
“Oh, I have, too. Especially now. Audrey’s been great for him.”
“She’s a nice woman. Classy.”
“I haven’t really had a chance to get to know her as well as I want to. But I like her.”
“Maybe you’ll get to tonight.”
Will walked alongside Julia across the crowded lobby, but he was still not sold on her being exactly thrilled with what was about to go down. She just didn’t seem like the
yeah, please jump out and scare the hell out of me
type. And she was still wearing her weapon under her tan blazer. She’d probably be gracious after the fact, especially since Audrey meant so well. He’d be the one she’d probably get mad at. Still, he felt like he was leading a lamb into a lion’s den, albeit an armed and dangerous lamb.
Inside, the place was hopping. It didn’t take long for Will to pick out J.D.’s six-three figure at the back of the restaurant. J.D. motioned them back to the private room they’d reserved.
“There’s J.D.,” he said to Julia.
Julia took the lead, and Will trailed her, all kinds of misgivings going through his mind. Hell, maybe he was wrong; maybe Julia was going to laugh and smile and clap her hands in delight, completely comfortable in the limelight. Right. Well, he’d find out in exactly one minute.
“Hi, sweetheart,” J.D. was saying to his sister. “I’m glad you could come tonight. Audrey’s going to be so pleased. We’ve got a private table. Audrey’s back there waiting for us.” He turned to Will and winked. “Hey, Will, nice to see you. Why don’t you join us?”
Will felt like a jerk. J.D. stood back and let the two of them precede him into the darkened back room. Two seconds after Julia appeared in the doorway, the lights flamed on with about thirty people yelling and flashing camera shots. Julia was caught by surprise, all right. She went down in a law enforcement crouch, hand on her Glock, and might’ve drawn on Audrey’s guests if he hadn’t caught her arm in time. Worse, he saw the initial look of shock and fear on her face before J.D. grabbed her around the waist and swung her around.
“Surprise, Sis! This is all for you! Audrey and Zoe put it together to surprise you.”
Just as Will had feared, Julia glared up at him accusingly. He shrugged. “I’m just the deliveryman. Don’t blame me.”
Luckily, her answer was interrupted by Zoe’s excited and effusive arrival at a run. She grabbed Julia in a giant bear hug. Probably a good thing for the teenager to show up when she did. He had a feeling he was going to get hell for not clueing Julia in on the surprise. He couldn’t blame her. He probably would’ve shot somebody, too, if they jumped out of the dark at him like that. He eased into the background of the party, kept his back to the wall, and watched Julia. He no longer liked crowds, not even in nice, safe, friendly restaurants. He watched J.D. and Audrey move around the crowd with Julia, introducing her to all their friends. She was over her first shock now and seemed to be enjoying herself. More than he could say about himself. He hated parties. Hated crowds where he couldn’t keep his eyes on everybody.
After a while, Audrey showed up at his side and took him by the arm. “C’mon, I’ve saved you a seat at our table. Thanks again for getting her here. I’d say we surprised her, wouldn’t you?”
Will stopped her, glancing at Julia, who was moving toward the head table arm in arm with Zoe. They did resemble one another. Zoe was going to be a knockout someday, just like Julia was. But that was J.D.’s problem. He turned to Audrey. “Did you get the feeling that Julia was more startled than she should’ve been?”
Audrey stared up at him, her smile fading. “Yes, I must say I did.”
Audrey was the licensed grief counselor, not Will. Still, he wondered if maybe there was something in Julia’s past that he didn’t know about. “Has she suffered anything traumatic that you know of?” he asked. “Maybe something that went down bad when she worked in Nashville homicide?”
“Well, we never mention it in front of her, but she did lose her partner about three years ago. I don’t know much about it. J.D. thinks she and Bobby Crismon were more than just partners, but she doesn’t talk about it so we aren’t sure. Has she said something to you?”
“No. It makes sense, I guess, her losing a partner.”
“I think they were answering some kind of a domestic disturbance call. They walked right into it.”
“I guess that explains some things.”
“Maybe now that she lives here, she’ll come in and see me,” Audrey said. “I’ve been waiting for the right time to broach the subject with her.”
“She’s a good cop. She can handle the job. I found that out the very first day.”
Audrey gave him a knowing look. “Will Brannock, you held out on me. Are the two of you getting together already?”
“No. Not at all. We just work well together.”
“So you are getting along? No dueling jurisdictions? I’ve heard J.D. complain about that at times.”
“Not with Julia.”
Audrey laughed. “You can’t fool me, Will. I know you like her more than you’re letting on. And who wouldn’t? She’s gorgeous. Come along—they’re waiting for us.”
Yeah, I do
, Will thought.
Damn it, anyway
.
It did take Julia several minutes to recover from all those people yelling and screaming at her out of a pitch-black room. It had been so unexpected that she didn’t have time to prepare herself. She used to love surprises, parties, crowds, everything like that, and J.D. knew it. But not anymore. Tonight, when it happened, frightening images of the worst day of her life came barreling back and hit her like a malevolent wind. She and Bobby were on a homicide call, canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses to a drive-by shooting. They’d heard a call come in for a domestic altercation that was going on down the street from their crime scene. Then, just like that, Bobby was gone from her life forever. Dead and buried, just when they were beginning to fall for each other.
Julia was ripped by a cold chill, just thinking about it; even to this day, it unnerved her. Nightmares and flashbacks, they still happened, too. Shaken, she tried her best to erase the terrible memory. She was going to enjoy the party that Zoe and Audrey had been kind enough to plan for her. She took some deep breaths, got herself under control, and glanced around the room. There was quite a crowd, most of the tables full, but her gaze stopped on Will Brannock and Audrey Sherrod, who looked to be having a serious conversation on the other side of the room. Will had been looking in her direction, and he nodded then looked back down at Audrey. What was going on?
“Oh, Julia, isn’t this the coolest party ever! Look at all the people who came, just to meet you. Aren’t you excited? C’mon over and see all my friends! Everyone that I invited came. Isn’t that awesome? They’re all here to meet you! They think it’s really cool that you’re a cop, just like those cool girls on
CSI
!”
Zoe was the excited one, so happy that her smile lit up her face until she veritably glowed, and Julia knew then that she probably couldn’t deny this kid anything. Zoe grabbed her hand and pulled her along. “Don’t tell J.D., but my boyfriend’s here, too. His name’s Colin. J.D.’s almost ready to let me go out on dates. Isn’t that the most awesome thing? Audrey’s been working on him about it. You know, she means if she takes us, like, to the movies and picks us up, and stuff. Maybe you could put in a good word, too? He thinks you’re really smart and with it and cool about stuff. What d’you think? Am I old enough to date? When did J.D. let you date?”
“Oh, no you don’t, Zoe. You’re not dragging me into this. I will say, though, that I wasn’t all that interested in boys when I was your age.”
Zoe stopped and stared at her, as if stunned speechless. “Then what were you interested in?”
Zoe’s pretty little face looked so incredulous that Julia had to laugh. “Well, at that time, I liked target shooting better than boys.”
“Are you serious? Did you really? Better than the guys?”
“Well, maybe I was a little bit interested in boys, too. J.D. didn’t like the idea then, either. He was protective, but he gradually eased up on me.”
He was just afraid I’d date a boy like he was back then
, Julia thought to herself.
Zoe looked relieved, but they’d reached a table full of teenagers, who were dressed like typical high school kids but also looked like fairly clean-cut, regular fifteen-year-olds. She met Jacy, Reesa, Brittney, Tyler, Travis, Ethan, and Jeremy, and of course, Zoe’s best friend, Presley. Julia readily picked out the special boy in question, Colin, even before Zoe introduced them, just by the slight flush on Zoe’s face when she darted a surreptitious glance at him. Ah, young love. Nope, Julia didn’t know a thing about it. Hell, she had trouble with old love.
“It’s very nice to meet all of you. Hope we’ll see each other again soon,” she said. “Just not at the police station.” The kids all laughed, and Zoe sat down beside Colin. When Julia caught sight of the Axelrods sitting at a nearby table, Cathy stood up and waved. Charlie Sinclair was sitting with them, as well as another couple Julia had not yet met. Max Hazard sat across from Charlie.
“Hi, guys,” Julia said, sliding into a chair beside Charlie. “I’m so glad to see some familiar faces. This is pretty overwhelming.”
Cathy said, “It sure is. Will and J.D. both told Audrey that she might ought to invite us. None of us would’ve missed it for anything. Even Charlie took time out from fishing and running his dogs to celebrate your coming to town.”
“And he invited me, since you gave me the bum’s rush at Cracker Barrel,” said Max as he slid over into the chair beside her.
Charlie Sinclair nodded. “That’s right, Julia. We already know a lot of these folks, of course. Seems like most are connected to the legal community in one way or another. I’ve never seen so many cops and lawyers. And one private eye.”
They all laughed and looked at Max, but then Charlie spoke aside to Julia. “You looked a mite startled when the lights came on.”
“I was.” She met his eyes. “It’s a miracle I didn’t shoot somebody.”
“Yeah,” Cathy said, “I’m surprised J.D. didn’t realize scaring an armed officer to death wasn’t the best idea to come up with.”
Julia nodded. “But I think it’s really sweet of Audrey to think of it.”
“That it is,” agreed Lonnie. “She’s good at her job, too. She’s a very good counselor. I know people that she’s really helped cope.”
“J.D. says the same thing.”
Cathy grabbed her hand. “You’re going to love it here in Chattanooga. I just know it, because I do, and we’re so much alike. God, I’ve missed you a lot.”
“You know, I think you’re right. So far the move has been a good one.”
“It’s an answer to my prayers, I can tell you that,” said Max, leaning close and nuzzling her hair. “God, you smell good, Julie.”
“Oh, stop it, Max,” Julia said, pushing him away, but they exchanged a smile. Max was the only person who called her Julie and wouldn’t stop no matter how many times she asked him to. He looked good tonight, in a white linen suit and a blue shirt that matched his eyes, and was on his best behavior. So far. And for a nice change. She wondered how long that would last.
Cathy glanced around. “Which one’s Will Brannock?”
“He’s standing over there by himself against the wall by the door. The big guy in the white shirt and red tie.”
“Oh, my God, Julia, is he the hottest guy alive, or what?”
“No, he’s not,” Max remarked. “I’m sitting right here.”
“Yes, me too. Thank you, dear,” Lonnie joked, looking at his wife with fond indulgence.
Julia spoke quietly to Cathy, making sure that none of the men could hear them. “Yes, Will’s good-looking, all right. You should’ve seen him at the airport when I first got here. Bad thing is, he’s a regular Pied Piper when it comes to flight attendants.”