Harlequin Intrigue, Box Set 1 of 2 (29 page)

“Quinn didn't mention that.”

“That's because the person who saw Genovese get shot didn't tell the police.”

Jake looked down at Gillette. He already knew what was coming. “And who is this supposed eyewitness?”

She drew a shaky breath. “Me.”

CHAPTER TEN

Jake was still reeling from Faye's declaration about witnessing Genovese's murder. He didn't know what to think, or what his next steps should be. The only thing he was sure of was that he wanted more details, because the sincerity in Faye's voice resonated inside him. This time she wasn't lying. He was
almost
sure of it. But then why had she and Gillette gone on the run? Why was she using an alias? Who were they hiding from?

He kept his pistol in close reach on the ground beside him where he could grab it if he needed to. He'd sat Gillette up against a tree about ten feet away. Then he and Faye had shucked their backpacks and left them in the grass before sitting down across from each other so they could talk.

“From the beginning,” he said.

She braced her hands on the ground beside her. “There's not much to tell. I was planting flowers around the base of some shrubs outside the window to Genovese's study. When I finished, I gathered my tools and stood to go put them in the gardening house at the back of the property. I was facing the window and saw Genovese arguing with another man. The man had a gun in his hand. I froze. I couldn't move. And then he just...shot him. I think I must have screamed or moved or something. The shooter jerked around and raised his gun. I ducked down and the window cracked above me.”

Jake put his hand on hers. “He tried to shoot you?”

“Yes. I dropped my tools and ran.”

“Where were
you
?” he called out to Gillette.

“I was outside, too, on the other side of the house. I heard the shots, and one of the maids screaming. I ran inside and found a group of servants standing around Genovese. One of them had already called the police.”

“Did anyone else see the shooter?”

They both shook their heads.

“Okay, what happened next? The police came? Did you both give statements?”

“Yes,” Faye said. “But I didn't tell them I actually saw Genovese get shot.”

“Why not?”

She clasped her hands together in her lap. “I was too scared. I'd seen enough while working there to know that if I said anything I could end up dead like Genovese. The man who shot him wasn't a very nice man. We think he was into organized crime, like Genovese. Calvin and I had both seen him several times. We'd heard things, and knew he was dangerous. He always had two other men with him, bodyguards, except for that day. He must have snuck onto the property, because his car wasn't there, and neither were his men. I think he'd planned to kill Genovese. But he didn't plan on anyone seeing him. I knew I had to get out of there or he'd come back and find me. That's why we ran. As soon as the police let us go, we were gone.”

The certainty in her voice, and Gillette's answering nod from the other side of the clearing, had him feeling frustrated. “But you talked to the police. You could have told them what you saw. They could have protected you.”

“Like they protected her in foster care?” Gillette called out. “We know all about police protection.”

Everything inside Jake froze. All kinds of horrible scenarios about what Faye might have suffered as a young girl flashed through his mind.

She entwined her fingers with his. “Don't look at me like that. It's not as bad as you think. We had some...rough times growing up. There were some...bad homes. But Calvin was always there to defend me, to protect me. I owe him so much. Even when the authorities didn't believe our claims about the abuse, or attempted abuse really, Calvin was there for me. We stuck together, defended each other. That's the only way I survived.”

She pulled her hand back. “But that's not the point, is it? The point is that neither of us had any reason to trust the authorities. After Genovese died, and his killer shot that bullet at me, barely missing, Calvin and I knew we had to disappear. I came back here, to Mystic Glades. Calvin moved around a lot, eventually settling in Naples. Everything was fine until last week, when he saw one of the killer's men. He panicked and called me and was on his way here when he crashed his car.”

“Who is he? The man who killed Genovese?”

“Kevin Rossi.”

Jake tried to place the name, but it didn't sound familiar. Then again, he wasn't from Alabama. “Okay, okay. The problem is, if you're telling the truth, you have no proof.”

“But we do. At least, we can prove
we
didn't shoot anyone. The police tested us to see if either of us had fired a gun. They tested all of us, everyone who worked on the estate.”

“A GSR test, gunshot residue?”

“I believe that's what they called it, yes. We were all cleared.”

Jake carefully watched both of them, looking back and forth. He wanted to believe what she was telling him. But he sensed there was something more to the story, something neither of them wanted to share.

“You said you used to come to Mystic Glades during the summers. Did you use your real name or your alias back then?”

She gave him an aggravated look. “I'm not using an alias. Faye is my nickname, and Star is my middle name. My full legal name is Faith Star Decker. To my friends, I've always been Faye Star. But on legal documents I have to use Faith Decker.” She took his hand in hers again. “Jake, I'm telling the truth. Neither Calvin nor I have done anything wrong.”

Jake shook his head. “Gillette is known as a petty thief in Naples.”

She flashed an irritated glance at Gillette, sitting against the tree. “I'm not surprised. He's been known to stretch the law a bit more than he should. But he's not a murderer.” She squeezed his hand. “If you take us to Naples, make us go to court, you could be signing our death warrant. Rossi would find us. I have a new life in Mystic Glades. And Calvin can come here, too, or start a new life somewhere else. We can be safe again. All you have to do is walk away, pretend you never met me.” Her voice broke and she tugged her hands back from him. “Pretend you never met Calvin. We can both go back to our lives the way they've been for the past thirteen months.”

That little catch in her voice had him wanting to pull her into his arms again. But he couldn't do that. Not yet. Things weren't as simple as she naively believed them to be.

“Faye, if I hadn't come along, someone else would have. What about all of your friends back in town? What do you think could happen to them if the mob really is looking for you and they eventually find you?”

Her lips tightened.

Jake turned his attention to Gillette. “If you were trying to find Faye when you crashed your car, why didn't you let the two men you saw in the woods in the past few days take you to her? Instead, you hid out.”

“I didn't know who they were. They could have been working for the killer.”

Jake swore. “This is one hell of a mess. What did you do to bring attention to yourself back in Naples? Or did you go back home, to Tuscaloosa, and got spotted there? Did you bring the FBI and Rossi back here? Faye would have been better off if you'd stayed way the hell away from her. She's not safe anymore, you've got that right. But not because of me. Because of you.”

Gillette glared at him and shoved himself to his feet. Jake grabbed his pistol and jumped up at the same time as Faye.

“Stop it, both of you,” she said. “None of this is resolving anything.”

“You've got that right,” Jake said. “The only way to fix this is for all of us to go back into town, to Naples. We'll sit with Deputy Holder and talk this out. I'll notify special agent Quinn and he can arrange for some US Marshals to come down here to protect you.” He looked at Faye. “If you testify against the man you saw, and he's in organized crime, you could go into WitSec, the Witness Security Program. They'll give you a new name, a new life, and you won't have to worry anymore. You'll be safe.”

She shook her head, her blond hair bouncing around her shoulders. “No. I can't do that.”

“Why not?”

She shot a glance at Gillette. He looked away.

Jake grabbed her shoulders. “Am I a fool again to believe what you've been telling me? You've lied so many times, I'm not sure what to believe. Part of me wants to buy everything you just said, but you and your ‘brother' are holding out on something. You haven't told me the full story. There's obviously another reason you don't want to go to the police. What is it?”

Her eyes filled with misery. “I'm so sorry, Jake.”

Her apology, and the sudden quiet in the glade, had him whirling around.

Gillette crashed into him like a small bull, knocking him to the ground. Jake swore and reached for his pistol. But it wasn't there. It was still on the ground where he and Faye had been sitting. He tried to grab Gillette, but the smaller man rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet.

A shrill whistle echoed through the clearing.

Jake looked behind him. Faye was the one who'd whistled. He braced his hands on the ground and shoved himself to his knees. Something hard crashed against him again, knocking him back down. Warm, thick fur brushed against the side of his face. Sampson had jumped on him from one of the nearby trees and had his paws wrapped around him like a blanket.

“Get off me, Sampson,” Jake ordered as he tried to shake the cat off.

Another shrill whistle sounded. Sampson licked the side of Jake's neck as if in apology, then leaped off him and bounded back into the trees.

Jake jumped to his feet, then froze.

Faye stood in front of him, just out of his reach, pointing his own gun at him.

“I'm truly sorry,” she said. “But you've left me no choice. Toss me the keys to the handcuffs.”

“Don't do this,” he said.

“I have no choice,” she repeated. “The keys.”

He tossed them to her.

She caught them in her left hand, her right hand never wavering as she held the gun on him. Gillette immediately sidled over to her like a snake, turning his back so she could unlock the cuffs.

“What are you going to do?” Jake asked.

“We're leaving,” she said as the handcuffs dropped to the forest floor.

Gillette rubbed his wrists, aiming a glare at Jake. “Give me the gun. I'll make sure he doesn't try to follow us.”

“Shut up, Calvin. You've caused enough trouble as it is,” she said.

His mouth tightened but he didn't say anything else.

“You've got everything you need to survive out here for a couple of days in your pack,” she said to Jake, motioning toward where he'd set the bag earlier. “You remember the way we came. Just go back the same way. Keep the sun to your right. Don't try to travel at night. It's too dangerous. I'll leave the canoe for you. Since you won't have to go slow to search for anyone on your way back, if you hurry you could make it to Mystic Glades before dark.”

“And where will you be?” he asked.

“Gone. Calvin and I will find somewhere else to hide.”

“Hiding isn't the answer. Don't do this. Please.”

“I'm sorry, Jake. There are things you don't understand.”

“Then explain them to me. Let me help you.”

She shook her head. “You can't help me. I'm in too deep. We both are. Now close your eyes.”

“I'm not closing my eyes.”

Gillette picked up a thick, broken piece of branch from near one of the pine trees and hefted it in his hands. “I can take care of that.”

“Touch him and I'll shoot you, Calvin. I'm not joking.”

He gave her an irritated look and dropped the branch.

“Close your eyes, Jake,” she repeated. “Please.”

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

“Now count to twenty before you open them again.”

“This is ridiculous,” he grumbled. “We're not in elementary school playing a game of hide-and-seek.” He opened his eyes. Faye and Gillette were gone.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Jake sat on the same log he'd sat on yesterday afternoon, when he'd called Dex after he and Faye had stopped to set up camp. He'd managed to backtrack to the same spot, but he wasn't so sure about his ability to find the canoe—assuming Faye really had left it for him—and figure out how to get back to Mystic Glades. And just like yesterday, he was on the phone with Dex.

“I still can't believe I let her distract me, and Gillette got the drop on me. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

“No arguments here,” Dex said.

“Thanks, buddy.”

“Any time. So, basically, the bad guys got away, after blaming some phantom named Kevin Rossi for their crimes. We're out a boatload of money, meaning I'm going to have to pump more of
my
money into this venture to keep it afloat. And you're lost. Did I miss anything?”

“Other than the fact that you might need to pay my rent for a few months, nope. That pretty much sums it up.”

Dex groaned. “You're killing me.”

“You're the money man. You knew the risks when you decided to partner with me.”

“In other words you don't feel sorry for me.”

“I don't feel sorry for millionaires.”

“Billionaire.”

“No one likes a bragger.”

Dex laughed.

“All these trees look the same to me. Faye did say keep the sun on my right side. But since it's noon and the sun is directly overhead, that's not too helpful.”

“You want me to call search and rescue?”

“You're kidding, right? Holder called off the search at the accident site in just a few hours, and he had a good starting place for the search. If you ask him to look for me somewhere within a fifteen-mile radius of Mystic Glades, he'll probably laugh you off the phone. No one seems to even know where Mystic Glades is except the people who live there.”

“Sounds like an awesome place.”

“You have no idea.” He picked up a rock and tossed it at a dark spot near a tree. When nothing moved, he relaxed, a little. Maybe that
wasn't
a gator hiding under the bushes. Then again, maybe it was, and it was waiting for him to come a little closer. The whole area was giving him the creeps. He was seeing predators everywhere he looked.

“Seriously, man. You need me to call the cops?” Dex asked.

If the person who'd stranded him out here had been anyone but Faye, he'd say yes. But telling the police she'd left him here could make things worse for her, if that was even possible. He didn't want her hit with more charges.

Gillette was the true one to blame. He was a bad influence on Faye. He'd protected her when they were younger, which made her feel obligated to protect him now. Whatever the two of them were
really
running from could be laid at Gillette's door. Jake would bet his last bullet on it.

“Don't call the cops yet. I'll make a go of trying to find my way back. I've done okay so far. She left me the backpack. I've got plenty of food and water. And a tent if I don't make it back tonight. She even left my gun, which was a surprise. Obviously she wasn't trying to leave me defenseless out here.”

Dex snorted. “No, she just left a townie in the middle of the wild, knowing he probably will never find his way out. Those supplies won't last forever. Neither will the battery on your phone.”

“I've got a solar charger or it wouldn't have lasted this long. Not that it works in more than a handful of places out here anyway. The cell service is ridiculous. But I'm okay. For now. Tell me what you've found out since our last chat.”

“Nothing surprising.” A keyboard tapped in the background as Dex went to work on his computer. “Okay, first, I decided to look at Quinn, just to set your mind at ease. He's exactly who he says he is—a special agent with the FBI on the verge of retirement. And his record is as good as he boasted. There's hardly a blemish on it, except for Genovese. That case went cold within hours of the murder. Quinn's story that he was hiring us on the side because the Bureau wouldn't pump any more money into the case seems accurate. He really just wants a clear record when he retires.”

“Okay. Why was the FBI involved in the Genovese case in the first place? It was just a murder, if there is such a thing as ‘just' a murder.”

“Good question. I wondered the same thing and dug in a bit. Because of Genovese's occupation as resident mob guy and head of organized crime in Tuscaloosa and everything within a fifty-mile radius, he was already under investigation by the FBI. They were trying to break into his operation for a couple of years before his death, trying to get a guy on the inside, although I couldn't get any details on that. Quantico wasn't pleased when Genovese got whacked. They were left with nothing after spending considerable resources on him. They decided to cut their losses and move on, which is why they left the murder investigation to the locals. Not that
they
did much, either. Genovese didn't have any family to push them to keep the case open. All his assets went to charity. No one seems to care about finding his murderer.”

“Except Quinn.”

“Except Quinn, yes. If he solves the murder, it doesn't rehabilitate the case against the mob the FBI was going for, but at least he ties up the loose ends and can get credit for solving the murder. For someone with a twenty-five-year career, something like that can be pretty important, I would imagine.”

Jake rubbed the ache starting between his eyes. “Okay, did you find anything else about Faye and Gillette?”

“Not much more than we knew when we started. I did confirm they both basically grew up in foster care together. And I may have bribed a clerk at UA to give me the name of one of Faye's roommates so I could ask her some questions.”

“Bribed, huh?”

“Looks like I'm flying to Tuscaloosa for dinner when this case is wrapped up.”

Jake laughed. “I hope she's worth it.”

“She sounded gorgeous on the phone.”

He laughed again. “I'm sure she is. What did you find out?”

“The roomie said Faye basically had two really good friends—Amber Callahan and our friend Gillette. Faye didn't open up much to her, but the roomie said Faye was really tight with Gillette. He got into trouble, petty, stupid stuff. And she was always there to bail him out, sometimes literally. He has a record, most of it juvenile types of crimes. I got the impression Faye was like a mother hen, or even a bulldog when it came to being loyal to him.”

Jake thought back to the incredible night he'd spent with her, and then how quickly she'd turned on him to save Calvin. He laughed bitterly. “Yeah, you didn't have to tell me that. I know where her loyalty lies.” Certainly not with him. He kicked at a dried branch lying near the log, smashing it in two.

“Is there something else you're not telling me about what happened out there?” Dex asked.

“Nothing I'm going to share.”

“O...kay. We'll just move along then. Assuming you can find your way out of there without me calling in the troops, what's our next course of action? Should I get Holder to put out a BOLO for Gillette and Star?”

Jake stood and did a slow turn again, making sure he wasn't about to become prey to something sneaking up behind him, before sitting back down on the log. “I wouldn't have a clue what to tell them to be on the lookout for. Gillette, as far as I know, doesn't have another car out here anywhere. And Faye didn't have one at her shop. For all I know, they're escaping by canoe or on foot. And knowing Faye, I don't see her going down the highway back to civilization. She'll take advantage of her knowledge of the Everglades and come out the other side, probably south of here, closer to the Big Cypress Preserve or the Tamiami Trail.”

“Then we're just going to do, what, nothing?”

“You can look into Rossi.”

“The phantom killer. Waste of time, but okay. Back to my original question. What else are we going to do, if anything?”

“Give me a minute.” He scrubbed the stubble on his face that he hadn't shaved because he'd forgotten to bring his razor. He wasn't coming up with any amazing strategies, so he decided to play it by the book, to work it the way he would if he was undercover as a detective in Saint Augustine. And he'd use his knowledge of Faye to guide him—assuming he ever made it back to civilization and found her. “Okay. This is what we're going to do.”

After listening to Jake's plan, Dex said, “That's it? That's the brilliance you came up with?”

“You got something better?”

“No. But I haven't been a police detective for the past ten years, either.”

“Bite me.”

Dex laughed and ended the call.

With a rough plan in place, he shoved his phone back in his pocket. He stood and looked around again, trying to get his bearings, trying to remember where he and Faye had emerged from the trees yesterday before going back in where they made camp. He considered himself to be observant. He'd been trained to remember things like hair color, height, approximate weight, even the clothing someone was wearing. He could look at a crowd of people for just a few seconds and remember how many men and women were in the crowd, even the mix of ethnicity, all as part of his training as a police officer. But remembering which clump of trees he and Faye had walked through was an entirely different skill set he apparently did not possess.

The sun was still high overhead, which meant he had several hours of false starts if necessary before he lost the light and had to give up for the night. Might as well start right now.

He picked what he thought might be the right direction and headed out. A few hours later, he was back in the exact same spot, cursing whoever had come up with that saying that lost people often went in circles.
He
certainly had. He took a deep sip of water, shoved the bottle back in his pack, then started out in what he hoped was the
real
right direction. Again.

“Don't go that way unless you want to walk to Key West,” a soft voice called out.

He drew his gun and whirled around. Faye stood about twenty feet behind him, her expression a mixture of sadness and regret as she slowly lifted her hands in the air.

* * *

F
AYE
STOOD
INSIDE
her bedroom, relieved to be clean and dressed in a fresh blue skirt and top, but not at all pleased she would have to knock on her own door for Jake to let her out. Not that she could blame him for shoving a chair up under the handle so she wouldn't disappear again while they both took showers. He was furious with her for letting Calvin go and had barely spoken on the trip back to Mystic Glades.

He was waging a war within himself about what to do with her. He'd admitted that the policeman inside him wanted to call Deputy Holder and the FBI agent who'd hired him and have her arrested. But he hadn't. Not yet. She suspected, she hoped, the part he wasn't telling her was that the lover she'd shared herself with didn't want to turn her in. He
did
seem surprised and confused over why she'd come back for him.

The answer to that was easy. She couldn't have lived with herself if something had happened because she'd abandoned him in the swamp. She couldn't have done that to anyone, but especially not to Jake. Somehow he'd managed to work his way past her defenses to the point where she was willing to risk her life just by being with him, when she should have been running somewhere safe as Calvin was doing at this very moment.

She smoothed her skirts, flipped her hair back behind her shoulders and knocked on the door. Boots echoed on the hardwood floor from the living room. The chair on the other side scraped against wood before he opened the door.

He braced his arms against the frame. Neither of them said anything for a moment, facing off like the adversaries they'd become.

“You hungry?” he asked, his voice sounding strained.

The suggestion of food elicited an immediate growl from her stomach. She slapped her hand against her belly. “Apparently I am.”

His lips curved in an
almost
smile. After this morning, she was grateful for that much at least.

He stepped back and waved his hand toward her eat-in kitchen. A mixed salad sat in the middle of the table. Sandwiches sat on a plate beside it.

“Based on the frightening lack of meat in your refrigerator,” he said, “I'm guessing you're a vegetarian of some kind. All I could find for sandwiches was cheese. But it's better than beef jerky and granola bars. Hopefully.”

“I eat cheese sandwiches all the time. It looks great. Thank you.”

He surprised her by pulling out her chair for her before taking his own seat. Since both of them had skipped lunch and dinner in their rush to get back to Mystic Glades before nightfall, they were both hungry and ate quickly. Faye didn't mind. It meant no stilted conversation and that she could eat without being grilled with dozens of questions. But as soon as she finished her last bite and put her fork down, Jake did the same, as if he'd been going through the motions of eating just until she was done.

With both of them helping, the cleanup went fast. Too fast. Soon there was nothing left to do except sit on the couch and start the interrogation.

They both sat sideways, facing each other.

“Go ahead,” she said. “Get it over with. Ask your questions.”

“What's the real reason you came back for me?” he asked. “What's the catch?”

She stiffened. “No catch. I never intended to leave you stranded. As soon as Calvin was safe, I went looking for you.”

“Again, why?”

If he couldn't figure out that she cared about him, she sure wasn't going to tell him. “Because you're a human being. I wouldn't leave anyone out there to fend for themselves. It wouldn't be right.”

His eyes searched hers, as if he could divine the truth. “That's the only reason?”