Authors: Yvonne Harriott
Until Markie located the pictures in the vent, she didn’t believe that anything had happened to Sydney. Nothing held her attention for long. At one point she had expressed an interest in photography and as far as Markie knew nothing had become of that. It was a fleeting thought like everything else.
Sydney was always searching for something and that something changed on a regular basis. Markie had settled into a career as a private investigator. After she left the police department it just seemed logical. Helping people solve their problems was what she was good at, along with being responsible and level headed.
• • •
Two hours later, Markie spotted Beck’s SUV emerging from the underground parking and slid further down in her seat as he drove by. He was talking on his cell phone. She waited until there were three cars ahead of her before pulling out to follow.
Beck headed south on Devonshire past Franklin Street. She stopped at Milk Street and Devonshire, pulling to the curb to allow another car to cut in front of her. Something didn’t feel right. What that something was, she didn’t know.
Beck stopped at the traffic light but didn’t proceed when the light changed to green. She couldn’t see into the SUV because of the tinted windows.
“What are you up to?” Markie pulled out to follow when he crossed the intersection. That was when she heard the siren and looked up in the rearview mirror and saw the flashing blue and white lights.
“Great. Just Great.”
Turning back towards the curb, she shifted the gear into park and turned off the engine. Markie watched in the side mirror as two officers got out of the car and walked towards her vehicle. One stopped at the rear passenger side as the other approached her at the driver’s side with a flashlight.
“Get out of the car and put your hands where I can see them,” the one that approached from the driver side said. He looked like the character McGarrett from the old television show,
Hawaii Five-O
.
She pulled her ID from her wallet and left it on the seat before she opened the door.
“Is there a problem?” she asked, stepping out of the car, holding up her hands so they could see.
A minivan rolled by, its occupants staring at her and the driver almost ran into the back of the car in front of him. What was it with people? Why couldn’t they mind their own business and keep driving? Did they have to slow down and look?
“The vehicle was reported stolen. Spread ’em,” McGarrett said.
Spread ’em?
She assumed the position as he searched her. Then the full impact of his words sunk in.
“Stolen? You can’t be serious? It’s my—”
Beck drove past while she was being interrogated and slowed down so she could see him, then he disappeared behind tinted windows as he drove away.
“He didn’t,” she said as her eyes followed him.
“Excuse me?” asked the other officer who was searching through her SUV. He reminded her of the lead character from the television detective show, Kojak. All that was missing was the lollipop. She made a mental note to stop watching late night reruns of cop shows when she couldn’t sleep.
“My ID is on the seat.”
“She’s a P.I.,” Kojak said laughing. “Go figure.”
This garnered a chuckle from McGarrett and she waited patiently until they were through.
“Rookies,” she grumbled under her breath.
She was detained for about half an hour while they ran the plates and took their sweet time doing it. By the time they had determined that she’d not stolen the vehicle and it was indeed hers, Beck was long gone and she was fit to be tied. The fact that she’d underestimated Beck didn’t sit well with her. How did Beck know she was following him? He must have guessed she would come back.
“Here’s your ID back.”
“Thank you.” She snatched it from Kojak, throwing it on the passenger seat. He was having way too much fun at her expense.
Deciding to call it a night, she was pulling away from the curb when her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“We need to talk,” Beck said tersely. “There’s a restaurant with an outside patio a block from where you are. Turn right at the second set of lights.”
“Why—”
He hung up.
• • •
Beck watched as Marklynn parked, got out of the 4Runner and crossed the street. Dressed in a white shirt and jeans that clad long legs that went on forever and high-heeled red boots. He couldn’t help but stare. And he wasn’t the only one. He was never one for fetishes, but with legs like hers he was getting pretty close.
He had chosen a trendy little restaurant he had passed a million times on his way to work, but had never given it a second glance until tonight.
The tables were covered with white linen cloths. The center pieces—tea lights floating in wide glass vases—provided the perfect romantic setting while the soft music of
Kenny G
floated in the background.
In a perfect world he would be meeting her for a drink, a romantic encounter. This was not a perfect world and she would rather put a bullet in his chest than have a drink with him.
The slight breeze in the air had vanished and all that was left was, hot muggy, stagnant air.
Markie reached the arched wrought iron trellis that marked the entrance then swept her eyes slowly around the patio. He knew what she was thinking when she’d taken in the ambience. The same thing he had a few moments ago. Her eyes settled on him and shot him a look that said, not in this lifetime. She pointed to him, bypassed the waiter, and headed over to his table.
“The police were a nice touch,” she said, eyes dancing with anger as she pulled out the chair and sat down. For a moment he thought she would reach across the table and strangle him by the way she was clenching and unclenching her fists.
“You’re starting to annoy me,” he said, finishing the iced tea and placing the empty glass back on the table.
The cool drink did nothing to reduce his rising body temperature and that had nothing to do with the weather. From the moment he’d met her there was an instant attraction.
“That makes two of us.” The waiter approached with a menu and she waved him away with an impatient gesture. “Well?”
They sat staring at each other in silence.
A faceoff.
Tension crackled in the air as Etta James’ hypnotic voice floated from the speakers in her rendition of
At Last
. If it were left up to him, they would be swaying together on the dance floor like the other couples anticipating the outcome of the evening. Instead, her arms were folded across her chest and she appeared unaffected by the song. If anything, she seemed annoyed.
Who did she think she was? Barging her way into his company and accusing him not only of sabotage but kidnapping her sister as well. It shouldn’t bother him what she thought of him, but it did. Why? Because he wanted her.
Beck didn’t know what was going on with his company or if Marklynn was correct in implying that the disappearance of her sister was connected. If it was, then whoever was behind it could hurt her if she continued to get in the way and he didn’t want that. He felt the need to protect her.
“…for you are mine at last,”
Etta finished on a soulful note.
“You called the meeting,” she said seeming almost relieved when the song ended, which led him to believe he wasn’t the only one affected by the ambience. “You have the floor or are you going to sit there and stare at me?”
“You don’t listen very well so I feel compelled to repeat myself,” Beck’s voice was hard, Etta James forgotten. “I don’t know where your sister is. Yes, she called me but we
never
connected.”
“I don’t believe you because I have a set of pictures that says otherwise.”
“The pictures you have are just that, pictures. You don’t know what they mean,” he said, downplaying the fact that she could cause a whole lot of trouble for him. He wanted time to find out what the pictures meant and who had taken them. “Furthermore, whether you believe me or not is irrelevant. I want you to
back off
.”
She didn’t respond and Beck let out an inaudible sigh.
“Fine. Stay out of my way or next time you’ll be permanently detained.”
“Is that a threat?” She sat up straight in the chair staring at him, eyes burning with anger.
The waiter appeared again and this time it was Beck that waved him away.
“Call it whatever you like. We’re done here.”
Beck left her sitting at the table fuming. If he thought she was mad before when they first met, she was ticked royally now. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he’d called to set up the meeting, but it wasn’t the woman sitting in front of him unmoved by his words.
There was no way she was backing away and his little, ‘Call it whatever you like’ may have added fuel to the fire. A fire that he might just get caught in.
Marklynn Brooks wasn’t going anywhere. That was evident in the way she glared at him. If he had a sister and she was in trouble, he would have done the same thing, moved heaven and earth to find her.
He would have to be content with her following him until he could figure out a way to get her off his back. Beck got into his vehicle and slammed the door with more force than intended, cursing under his breath.
The woman was infuriating. He watched as she started across the street to get to her 4Runner, ready to follow him, a defiant stare stamped on her face. With the taunting look of “what are you going to do now?”
The squealing of tires burning against the asphalt dragged his attention away from her towards the speeding pickup rounding the corner. It barreled down the middle of the street right at her
He shoved opened the door and yelled, “Watch out!”
M
arkie turned her head when she heard the screeching tires and saw the pickup barreling towards her. Whoever was behind the wheel wanted to kill her. She raced towards the patio restaurant. People scattered in all directions screaming as the pickup jumped the curb.
She made it to the brick partition that separated the sidewalk from the restaurant and sailed over it just before the pickup slammed into the wall with a loud bang. It was like being caught in an avalanche as she fought to keep from being buried under tables, chairs, bricks and whatever else that landed on her.
Something hit her in the eye as she went down and got pinned under the debris. She couldn’t breathe and forced herself to remain calm, not giving in to the darkness that wanted to claim her.
There were voices. People yelling and cursing. Someone was screaming. Someone was crying. It wasn’t long before she felt debris being lifted off her and a hand reached out and pulled her to her feet.
Beck.
“Are you alright?”
She saw sheer terror in his eyes. It made her forget for a moment that he may have been the one responsible for destroying a city block. And then she got mad because if he was responsible for…
“I had nothing to do with this, Marklynn.”
“I bet.”
Pushing a table out of her path with his foot, he practically lifted her out of the debris onto the sidewalk and set her down but didn’t let her go.
“Are you okay?”
If the throbbing around her right eye was anything to go by, she’d say she would have one mother of a shiner tomorrow.
Beck was getting all touchy feely and it was affecting her thinking. Like how warm his hands felt as he encircled her waist. Like how she wanted to just rest her head on his shoulder…to let him take care of her. But she would not give in to any of the haphazard thoughts racing through her mind. He tried to kill her and he was also responsible for Sydney’s disappearance. Or, had he? What about Sydney? He said he didn’t know anything about her disappearance yet there were the pictures to tie him to her sister.
“Don’t waste your breath.”
Markie pushed out of his arms, her palms on his chest to shove him away. It was bad enough someone tried to run her over. Now she was giving in to an emotional meltdown. She used to be a cop, for heaven’s sake. Where was this erratic behavior coming from? This wasn’t like her at all.
“I don’t know who did this, but I can assure you it was not me or anyone working on my behalf.” His thumb smoothed away some of the dirt from her face. “If you still want to talk about Sydney, I’m ready to do that.”
“Talk,” she said, pushing trembling hands through her hair, and hoped he didn’t pick up on the tremor in her voice. Her eye began to throb causing her whole face to ache.
“You’re in no shape to do anything but go home. On second thought, forget home. You need to go to the hospital.”
“I’m fine.”
“No you’re not.”
She looked into his eyes and saw confusion…warmth…need. Like a coward, she didn’t want to even go there because she was feeling the same way. She didn’t want to need him.
“Come by my office tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.,” she said and hobbled towards her 4Runner already missing the warmth of his touch. She could feel Beck staring at her, but didn’t turn around.
“Just a minute. Where are you going?”
She remembered that voice. It was Kojak and she was not in the mood to talk to him. She had heard the sirens but paid no attention to them.
“Home,” was her response and she kept on hobbling.
“What are the odds that we pulled you over an hour ago for driving a stolen vehicle and you end up in the middle of a crime scene investigation? From what everyone tells me, you were the intended target.”
She shrugged. Yes, the meltdown was coming. She could feel it and wrapped her arms around her body to keep from trembling.
Sydney was missing and could very well be hurt. Nothing she’d uncovered so far had helped to locate her. Now this. Someone wanted her dead and they were willing to destroy a city block, leaving behind a trail of damaged cars and properties along the street to do it.
Maybe she was entitled to a meltdown, but not in front of Kojak or Beck, for that matter. She wanted to go home where it was safe.
“Why would someone want to kill you?”