Indecent Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 3) (5 page)

“Can we get you folks some coffee or water?” The detective from the local police department waved toward a long table against the wall. Probably in his mid-forties, he had that world weary appearance that often seemed to go with a long career in law enforcement. His hairline was receding, his face was tanned and lined, and his suit slightly rumpled. “The resort staff has graciously provided some refreshments.”

“Nothing for me. Aubrey?”

She shook her head as well and took a few deep breaths. “No, I’m fine. I’d like to get this over with and go up to our room.”

From the look on the cops face, Travis didn’t think that was going to happen any time in the near future. The dark haired man had settled in, ordering coffee and pastries while gathering Bruce’s family and friends in the room next to this one. It was going to be a long night.

“My name is Detective Dan Prather and I’m now in charge of this case. Can you tell me how you came to find the deceased?”

Travis squeezed Aubrey’s hand to let her know he would take these questions. “Miss Grayson and I were heading down to the beach and that’s when we saw Bruce lying there.”

He knew enough about cops to know to keep his answers brief and to the point. No extra details. No editorializing.

“Why were you going to the beach?”

“We wanted a quiet place to talk.”

The detective’s brows lifted and his lips twisted into a smirk. “Talk? May I ask what about?”

Aubrey’s shoulders jerked in response to the question but Travis simply pulled her closer to his own body. “How is that relevant to the investigation, Detective?”

The man’s flinty blue eyes iced over and his jaw hardened. “I’m just trying to get all the facts, Mr. Anderson. Two people at a party go out to the beach to find a quiet place to talk when they have a fifteen hundred square foot suite upstairs? That brings questions to my mind.”

“We didn’t want to leave the party. We wanted a few moments to talk. That’s all.”

The detective tapped his stubby pencil against the pad of paper. “How well did you know Mr. Livingston?”

Travis shrugged, expecting that question. “I saw him once or twice a year at parties like this one. He’s the grandson in law of a good friend.”

“Martin Guinness?” Travis nodded wondering how his friend was holding up. “So how would you characterize your relationship with the deceased?”

“Acquaintances,” Travis answered easily. “We didn’t keep in touch other than seeing each other at these events. We weren’t friends if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That is what I’m asking. So you didn’t communicate in any way with Mr. Livingston? If I check his phone, your number won’t be there?”

“I have no clue what will be in his phone but I’ve never received a call from him.”

It took every bit of willpower he had to keep the sarcasm out of his tone. There was a murderer running around and this clown was acting like he and Aubrey were suspects. They had nothing to do with Bruce’s death but Travis could name a few people off the top of his head that hadn’t thought much of the man. He didn’t like to speak ill of the dead but finding those with motive wasn’t going to be a problem.

“When was the last time you saw Mr. Livingston?”

“Earlier this evening. Right after dinner. About nine or nine thirty.”

The detective abruptly swung his attention to Aubrey. “What about you Miss Grayson? What time did you last see Mr. Livingston?”

Her hands were twisted together in her lap, the knuckles white. “I–I guess it would have been a little later. About ten thirty.”

Travis could feel the tension vibrating through Aubrey’s body.

“And where did you see him?”

“Out–Outside the ladies’ room.”

Her voice quivered and Travis wanted to pick her up and cuddle her to his chest. Clearly she was terrified of the police. She’d had a very different upbringing in Chicago than he’d had in Montana. Perhaps her memories of law enforcement weren’t as positive as his own.

“Did you speak to him, Miss Grayson?” the detective pressed, his lips a straight line. Travis didn’t like the way the man was looking at Aubrey.

“She doesn’t even know–” began Travis but she shushed him, shaking her head.

“Yes, I did speak to him but only for a moment.”

She hadn’t mentioned anything about it when she’d rejoined him. As shy as she was there was no way Aubrey had approached Bruce. He had to have talked to her first.

“And what did you talk about?”

That was a really good question. One that Travis wanted answered as well. Bruce had considered himself something of a ladies man and Travis had an idea of what might have transpired between them.

More trembling and then Aubrey took a deep breath. “He recognized me across the room. We went to school together in Chicago.”

Travis froze and stared down at the beautiful woman next to him. “You knew him?”

Nodding, she placed her hand on his. “That’s one of the things I wanted to tell you. We went to the same junior high and high school.”

“Did you date Mr. Livingston, Miss Grayson?” the detective asked, obviously trying to get their attention back on him.

Aubrey wrinkled her nose at the suggestion. “No! I barely knew him. He was two years ahead of me but I knew of him I guess you could say. But I’m not sure we ever even spoke to one another although we had some mutual…friends.”

Prather’s gaze flickered to Travis and then back to Aubrey. “We have witnesses that place you and Mr. Livingston in the alcove outside the ladies room arguing about an hour before his body was found. Is that true?”

Of course it wasn’t true. Eye witness accounts were notoriously faulty and should never be relied upon.

Sagging against him, her lips turned down in what looked like defeat.

“Yes. Yes, it is true.”

*     *     *

Aubrey had managed
to shock Travis, the unshakable man.

She hadn’t wanted him to hear about Bruce and her past…this way. Her mind raced as she tried to find a way to explain the situation without spilling her guts about things that didn’t – or shouldn’t – matter. Her past was none of the detective’s business.

But she better think fast because it was obvious she was a suspect.

“What did you argue about Miss Grayson? Specifically, please.”

Her nails dug into her palms and her heart pounded against her ribs. It was her worst nightmare come to life.

“Bruce…Mr. Livingston, I mean, made a pass at me and I declined.”

It was the truth although she’d left out the ugly backstory.

“And he was angry about that?”

“Yes. Very angry. He grabbed my arm.”

She held up her arm to show off the already visible bruises. Travis’s grip tightened on her shoulder and she could feel the rage radiating off of him.

“I’d like our crime lab guys to get a picture of those bruises if you don’t mind. So what happened after that?”

“He pushed me against a wall and I kneed him in the balls. He said some nasty words and I walked away. That’s it.”

“Good for you,” Travis approved. “Everyone knows what Bruce was like. Talk to anyone, Detective, they’ll tell you that he could be handsy and ignore the boundaries of good taste. I doubt Aubrey was the first woman to have to fight him off.”

Awash in guilt that Travis was defending her when he didn’t know the entire story, she avoided meeting his gaze, looking intently over the detectives shoulder although there wasn’t really anything to see.

“Did anything else happen, Miss Grayson?” Detective Prather didn’t acknowledge Travis’s commentary in any way. “Did Mr. Livingston have any reason, based on your previous relationship, to believe you’d have sex with him?”

“No!” Hell, she wasn’t even having sex with the man sitting next to her and she adored him. “He had absolutely no reason to think that except his own ego. He wasn’t the nicest person in school and apparently he didn’t change much. I kept my distance then.”

“Did you know he was going to be here at the party tonight?” Prather pressed, his eyes narrowed as if he was trying to see through her. He thought she was hiding something. She was of course but not what he believed.

“Again, no,” she said firmly, meeting his gaze directly. “I assumed I didn’t know anyone here this weekend.”

“You didn’t know he had married Martin Guinness’s granddaughter?”

Aubrey exhaled slowly hanging onto her temper by a thread. She understood why she was being questioned but the interview had made a frightening turn.

“Detective,” Travis cut in smoothly. “We want to help you but I’m not sure where you’re going with this line of questioning.”

Prather smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s my job to cover all the bases, Mr. Anderson. If Miss Grayson and the deceased had any prior relationship I’d like to know about it.”

“She told you they didn’t,” Travis shot back. “Are we done here? Miss Grayson has had a rather trying evening. Seeing a dead body and all.”

The sarcasm in his tone was unmistakable and the detective clearly wasn’t amused.

“For now,” Prather conceded, snapping his notebook closed. “Stay close as I’m sure I’ll need to talk to you again. I appreciate your…cooperation.”

Travis stood and gathered her close, his arm a reassuring weight around her waist. “One of your men took my cell number so you can get in touch with us. Come on, Aubrey. You need to rest.”

Blood still pounding in her ears, she allowed Travis to lead her down the hall and into an elevator. As the doors glided shut, he pressed a kiss to her temple and ran his fingers through her hair.

“A hot bath and a strong drink is what we both need. Then I think you and I need to have that talk.”

Everything she’d feared since meeting Travis was coming true. She couldn’t hide what she was any longer and frankly she didn’t want to. She was exhausted keeping up the charade.

She’d tell him everything.

‡

A
ubrey sipped at
the brandy, its fire warming up her belly and making her fingers and toes tingle. She’d soaked in the bathtub until she was wrinkled like a prune before scrubbing off her makeup and changing into a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt. If she was going to bare her soul to Travis then she might as well be comfortable. It wasn’t like they were going to be a couple by the time she was finished.

He’d be polite and understanding, of course. That was the kind of man he was, but he’d end the relationship just the same. He’d tell her that perhaps things weren’t going to work out between them and then he’d find her another job somewhere in the Anderson holdings.

Like Magellan, she’d be history.

But then she’d never expected anything different. It had only happened sooner than she’d predicted.

She was sitting on the loveseat in the bedroom, her legs curled under her, staring at the television that was currently muted. Anything to avoid looking him in the eye and confessing a multitude of sins.

He sat down next to her and waited, not saying a word, letting her gather her thoughts once again. Finally when she couldn’t take the silence any longer, she broke.

“I never wanted to tell you.”

A gentle smile played around his well-shaped lips. “Clearly. Although I must tell you that unless you’ve killed a homeless man or cheated people in a Ponzi scheme, everything is going to be fine. Hell, even then you probably had a good reason.”

It was her turn to smile even at a shit moment like this. “I’ve never killed or cheated anyone.”

“Then this can’t be that bad, kitten. Trust me a little and tell me.”

She did trust him. More than she had anyone in her life. Travis Anderson was a good man, one of the best, but she was asking too much of him to not care that the woman in his life had been around the block dozens of times.

Slut. Whore. Easy. Tramp.

That’s what she’d been called by the other girls in school. Those catty ones who looked down at her and made sure she didn’t get invited to certain parties. They’d made her school years hell and even now all this time later those eager twins – guilt and shame – couldn’t leave her in peace. She hadn’t known it as a naive teenager but she knew it now…