Indecent Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 3) (9 page)

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M
artin’s wife Alana
opened the door of the suite and beckoned them to come in. Travis and Shane followed the woman out onto the large patio that overlooked the Gulf, the breeze soft and the sun warm overhead. Martin and his granddaughter Caroline were sitting at a large table that was laden down with food and drink. Apparently they weren’t the first visitors that had stopped by this morning. Rising to his feet, Martin shook Travis’s hand and ushered them into chairs.

“We came to pay our respects, my friend.”

Travis and Shane accepted the glasses of iced tea from Alana and she urged them to fill a plate.

“The management sent up all this food. I’m guessing they want to keep all of this quiet,” Alana said as she reached over to give her step-granddaughter Caroline a hug.

Bruce’s now widowed wife always looked a little lost but today she appeared more frail than usual. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a messy braid and her skin was pale and splotchy that contrasted with her red rimmed eyes. The last time he’d seen Bruce and Caroline together they hadn’t been the picture of matrimonial happiness, but then the death of a spouse was likely to be a shock no matter the state of the relationship.

“We appreciate you stopping by.” Caroline held out her hand to Travis and Shane. “It’s been a long time since we saw you last.”

“We’re so sorry for your loss,” Shane said smoothly, giving the young woman a gentle smile to help her feel at ease.

“Thank you. It’s been a…shock.”

Watching his friends through new eyes, Travis fucking hated what he was doing. There was no way Martin and his family had anything to do with Bruce’s death but if he didn’t talk to them, check them out then he wasn’t doing a thorough job.

Aubrey needed nothing less than his absolute best. There would be no cut corners, no taking chances. She would be cleared completely and utterly before he was done.

“Do you have any idea who might have done this?” Travis sipped the iced tea and tried to keep his tone neutral. They didn’t need to know he’d launched his own investigation.

“I can’t imagine–” Caroline began but Alana cut her off mid-sentence.

“Stop trying to protect him, Caro. He’s gone now and if his reputation is tarnished he has no one but himself to blame.” Alana looked apologetically at Travis and Shane. “Bruce was not a very nice man, I’m afraid.”

Caroline nodded in agreement, her voice shaky. “My husband is – excuse me –
was
a jerk. He treated me and everyone around him like they didn’t matter. But he still didn’t deserve to be stabbed to death, Alana.”

Travis had suspected that Bruce had been knifed in the heart, but without a murder weapon he hadn’t known for sure. Apparently Caroline had heard from the police on a possible cause of death.

“Bruce was a Class A bastard and everyone knew it.”

Martin hadn’t said much but his words hung in the air and no one seemed to want to contradict them in the least.

“You sure know how to bring a conversation to a complete halt,” Travis chuckled, bringing some levity to the somber situation. “I’d like to hire you out for a business meeting I have coming up in a few weeks.”

Martin smiled and ran his hand down his face with a long sigh. “I don’t mean to be blunt, but the fact is Bruce had enemies.”

Now they were getting somewhere. Travis needed to get Martin to open up even more as the older man had had Bruce investigated and probably knew a great deal about the deceased.

Travis helped himself to a pastry even though he’d already put away enough breakfast for a small family. “What kind of enemies?”

“The serious kind. The kind that don’t fuck around.” Martin looked at his wife and granddaughter apologetically. “Excuse my language, ladies. Bruce had problems and it made his life more dangerous than we could have ever understood. I told that to Detective Prather last night. Bruce owed money and I’m sure that’s who killed him.”

“He was making money in the markets. Why didn’t he pay them off?” Travis asked, wanting to keep the conversation going in this direction. He’d known that Bruce had a bookie but perhaps Martin knew that person’s name.

“It wasn’t enough. He was spending money like water, faster than he could make it. Thank God I nailed down Caro’s trust fund so he couldn’t get his dirty hands on it.”

Caroline shifted in her chair uncomfortably. “He was still my husband and I don’t think I want to stick around and listen to this. If you will excuse me?”

Alana stood along with Caroline and placed her arm around the trembling young woman. “It’s the shock, Caro. You should take one of those pills the doctor prescribed for you in New York. It will help you get some rest. You need to keep your strength up.”

Shaking her head, the young widow looked near tears. “I took one earlier. I hate how they make me feel. I’m not in control.”

Alana led her step-granddaughter toward the large French doors to the suite. “Be a good girl and take one for me. I hate to see you this distraught. He wasn’t worth it, sweetheart. He never was.”

Caroline nodded meekly and allowed herself to be guided inside. A sedative explained the dull look in the girl’s eyes and her general lethargic and depressed appearance.

With a sad expression Martin watched the two women disappear into the suite. “She hasn’t loved Bruce for a long time but she feels guilty that she’s relieved she’s free.”

“If he was that bad of a husband she has nothing to feel guilty about,” Shane observed.

Martin let out a derisive snort. “He was that bad.”

Shane was still staring at the doorway where the two women had exited. “Then I’m surprised she didn’t leave.”

“I think she was afraid. God only knows what Bruce threatened her with. At least now she can move on with her life.” Martin leaned forward, his fingers steepled together. “If the offer to send her to the ranch is still open, Travis, I’d love to take you up on it. After the funeral, of course. This is going to be a circus and I want to protect her as much as possible from it.”

“I’ll help in any way I can,” Travis assured his friend. “She’s always welcome. You and Alana too, for that matter.”

“We’re fine. We can weather all the media bullshit. But Caroline has always been sort of fragile. I don’t want her dragged through the mud by the newspapers. After everything she’s been through she doesn’t deserve that.”

“I’ll call Mom and Dad and make the arrangements. When and where is the service?”

“New York. We’ll keep it as small and quiet as we can. As for when, I’m not sure. That detective doesn’t want us leaving until he’s sure that we’re cleared.” Martin grimaced as he took another sip of coffee. “I didn’t like Bruce but I didn’t kill him. That would have been too good for him. I wanted him behind bars being punished for what he’s done.”

Travis had to ask a delicate question, and it was probably best just to get it out rather than beat around the bush.

“Did you have a chance to talk to Bruce about the insider trading?”

Martin pushed his chair back from the table, a scowl crossing his face. “I did. He denied it all, of course. I told him he had the weekend to think about it, but on Monday if he didn’t turn himself in then I was going to do it for him.”

Travis rubbed his chin and quirked an eyebrow. “I can’t imagine that went over well.”

“It didn’t,” Martin agreed easily. “He stomped around and threw back a few whiskeys before heading back to the party. Last I saw him he was talking with Tom.”

Tom Lovell had been a long-time friend and business partner of Bruce’s, in addition to being a good friend to Martin. From what Travis had observed Tom was blind to Bruce’s faults and had a bad case of hero worship.

“What time was that?”

Martin shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe ten o’clock. You sound like that detective, Travis. Surely you don’t think–”

“No way.” Travis waved off the question before Martin could even ask it. “I’ve known you for years and I know that you wouldn’t do something like this. I’m just trying to get an idea of the last few hours of Bruce’s life. Who he talked to. What he did.”

“Why? What interest do you have in all of this?”

Travis exchanged a glance with Shane before continuing. “The police questioned Aubrey last night. She and Bruce had an altercation that was witnessed by some of the party guests. He made a pass at her and she let him know his attentions were unwelcome.”

“I wish I could say that I’m surprised but I’m not,” Martin said dryly, refilling his coffee cup. “I hope your girl is all right. He didn’t hurt her, did he?”

“She’s fine but scared. That detective didn’t go easy on her. I just want to make sure that he realizes there are more than enough suspects to go around and he doesn’t have to concentrate on her.”

“Bruce didn’t have many friends. At least ones that weren’t with him for what he could buy. I still believe it was his bookie. Bruce owed them a lot of money.”

“So what happens to all of his debts now? Will they come after you or worse, Caroline?”

His brows flying up in surprise, Martin was speechless for a moment. “I didn’t even think about that. I just assumed if they killed him… Well, that this would all be over. You don’t think they’d come after Caroline, do you?”

“They might,” Shane conceded, sitting up straighter in his chair. “If they want the money owed to them, and they think you have it, they might contact you or your family. To my thinking, what you really need to be worried about is if they aren’t the ones that murdered Bruce.”

“Why is that? What makes that more worrisome?”

Shane didn’t answer for a moment. “Because that may mean that Bruce was killed for a different reason, more personal reasons. And the more personal they are, the closer to home the killer is. If his bookie didn’t do it then his friends or family did.” Shane twirled the butter knife in his hand. “A knife is an up close and personal weapon, Martin. Whoever did this was someone who knew Bruce and knew him well. This wasn’t a stranger murder. I guess what I’m trying to say is that you know the killer. They’re someone close to you. That’s just my guess.”

Martin sat back in his chair, the blood drained from his face. “It can’t be any of my friends and family. It can’t be.”

“I hope that’s the case.” Travis stood and walked to the railing to look out over the water. “But Shane has a point. If it’s not his bookie, then who was Bruce closest to these last few years? Who did he spend the most time with?”

Martin’s lips twisted in a pained smile. “That would be Iris. Iris Perry. His girlfriend. He flaunted his relationship with that woman for all to see.”

“Is she in New York?”

Travis couldn’t leave Aubrey here by herself to face Prather and she wasn’t yet free to leave. But in the meantime, Iris could be booking a one way ticket to Rio, never to be seen again.

“She’s right here in the resort,” Martin replied bitterly. “Bruce didn’t even have the decency to leave her at home for my birthday celebration.”

Travis knew exactly who they needed to talk to next.

‡

“G
eez, little sister,
you go away for one weekend with tall, dark, and handsome and now you’re wanted for a crime. You should never have left Montana. Should West and I fly out?”

Gigi’s tone was filled with worry and Aubrey felt guilty that her sister had to take time out of planning her wedding to call during what was supposed to be a romantic weekend away.

A mini-vacation that had turned into a nightmare.

“No, you don’t need to fly down here. I’m not actually wanted for a crime but I can’t argue that it might have been smarter to stay in Montana,” Aubrey agreed with a groan. “I knew this trip wouldn’t be easy, what with all his wealthy friends, and don’t forget the women that are constantly throwing themselves at him, but I never thought I’d actually see someone from my past.”

Aubrey had reluctantly, and haltingly, told Gigi the entire story, including the promiscuous nature of her own behavior in high school.

“He sounds like a real dick.” Gigi had a special way of summing things up. “And you have nothing to be ashamed of. It’s okay for women to enjoy sex, you know. Hell, when West and I do it it’s like time stops and the earth opens up or something. Anyway, it’s fucking great. I bet Travis is as hot between the sheets as West is. There’s something about these Anderson men.”