Authors: Aubree Lane
David shook his head. He knew where this was leading. “The perp is well over six feet. I think we
can safely rule out your neighbor Mrs. Grimes as well.” He tapped the keyboard and the video began to play.
Cara looked expectantly at the screen, anxious to see who was behind all the trouble she was in. The figure came out of her bedroom and move through the living room towards the kitchen. The dark image was clearly male, but beyond that, it was hard to make out any other details. “Is that it?”
David nodded. “At this point, yes. There is still a lot more footage to go through.” He pointed at the screen. “I would venture to guess that this is the night in question.” He prodded Cara to look again. “I’
m going to slow it down. I want you to see if anything about him seems familiar.”
It was Cara’s turn to nod. “You want me to
see if I can identify Duncan.”
David shook his head.
“I have watched the fifteen seconds of this shadowy dark man about a hundred times, and I don’t think it’s him. I’ve compared news footage and scrutinized the way your ex-husband walks and moves and this guy doesn’t have his swagger. What I want to know is if this is somebody who might work for him.”
Cara sucked in a breath. Her ex-brother-in-law immediately came to
mind. “Run it again. I’ll watch it closer.”
David slowed the feed down and enlarged the image as much as he could without totally pixi
lating it. Cara leaned in. Her eyes narrowed with concentration. She did not want the man to be Mark. He was the only one in the family besides Duncan’s mother who had treated her with respect, and at the end of her marriage, sympathy.
The man came out of the bedroom. His face
was hidden by the hoodie. For a brief moment Cara thought she might have caught a glimpse of something, but then it was gone. “Go back,” she commanded, “and slow it down just a bit more.”
David rewound the tape and adjusted the speed.
Cara picked up the laptop and brought it closer to her face. Once again the intruder came out of the bedroom. This time Cara understood what she saw and smiled. “See that right there, wait, back it up again. It’s only there for a moment. Can you slow it down anymore?” She placed the laptop back on the coffee table so David could get a look.
David slowed the feed down to where it barely crept along.
“Stop there!”
David did as he was told.
“See that shiny thing on his belt?”
“Yes, it’s a belt buckle
reflecting light.”
Cara shook her head. “No, it
’s not in the right place for a buckle. I think it’s a badge. I think the person who broke in here is Officer Nate Waters.”
“Who is Officer Nate Waters
, and why do you think he’s behind this?”
Cara sank back into the couch. Other than him coming on to Leah and trying to extract information out of her
, something else had bugged her about the man. Her intuition had cautioned her to be wary, but she brushed it off, believing it stemmed from her not wanting to go back to jail. She didn’t think David Crandall was interested in her feelings, but she needed to tell him anyway. “He stopped by the other night because my monitor indicated that I had been drinking. I didn’t want to be arrested, so I invited him in to have dinner with Leah, Tanner and me. Later on, he went home with Leah.” Cara took a breath. The more she talked, the more she realized how insane she must sound. “According to Leah, all they did was chat.” She rolled her eyes skyward. “Have you seen Leah? Doesn’t that sound odd to you?”
David scratched his ear.
It did sound odd, but not for the reason Cara mentioned. “Let me see your leg monitor.”
Cara lifted her leg and laid it across David’s lap.
David picked up the black box and examined it. “I think we’ve just found ourselves a viable suspect.” He let Cara’s leg fall back to the floor. “I’ll do a little research, but I don’t think that’s the booze bracelet.” He pulled a notebook out of his jacket and jotted down the make and model of Cara’s monitor.
“Then how did he know?”
David glanced over at the large front window. “I think he probably looked inside, saw an opportunity, and ran with it.
Cara felt so stupid. If she had contacted her lawyer right away and asked him to amend the monitor agreement as Nate Waters suggested
, they would have had their suspect days ago. “I have an easier way to find out if this is the booze bracelet.” She walked over to the fridge and reached inside. “You want a beer?”
“Cara
, it’s barely past noon.” David admonished.
Cara returned the bottles to the fridge. And that was exactly why she hadn’t contacted Martin to am
end the alcohol clause. She’d been drinking way too much lately.
Mark pulled into Granite Gates Estates and parked near Cara’s condo. He wanted to see how she was doing and tell her not to worry, but being that he was a fully-vested member of the enemy camp he doubted she would open the door. He turned left and walked up to Tanner’s place. The hunk, the hanky, and the whore had agreed to meet here instead of Rookies. If the news of the four of them huddling around a table and conspiring against Duncan ever got back to him, it would be disastrous for whatever good they hoped to accomplish.
Mark snickered
. The look on the old lady’s face when he picked her up and carried her up the hill was priceless. That one action had shut her up for the entire drive to the trailhead parking lot. He was relatively certain she would have regained her senses by now and expected to find the little old hellcat on the attack once more.
He knocked on TJ Reed’s door and waited. The expensive black suit he wore was perfect for his job at the casino
, but out here he felt like a gangster ready to pebble the place with his Tommy gun. All that was missing was a silk-banded fedora. Slipping off the double breasted jacket, he hung it over his arm, and knocked again.
Lisa
opened the door. Her wild flaming red hair was a little wilder than usual. She gave him an arm flourishing King’s Welcome and slurred, “Come on in and join the party.”
Mark stepped in and found Mrs. Grimes and TJ Reed sl
ugging back beers on the sofa and that the coffee table was already littered with empty bottles.
He glanced back at
Lisa, who brushed her hair away from her face and shrugged. “Don’t judge us,” she said. “It’s not every day that we trespass on private property and run the risk of being murdered. We are simply celebrating the fact that we are intact and our remains aren’t cemented into the walls of those nasty tunnels.”
Mrs. Grimes
waved him over. “It’s about time my chariot arrived. Come on in and join us. You didn’t happen to bring a bottle of Jack did you? This guy only has beer, and wine. It’s not cutting it for me.”
Mark looked at the old woman’s
glazed over faded gray eyes and disagreed. “Be careful, grandma. That stuff can sneak up on you. We don’t want it knocking your medications out of whack and end up having to take you to the hospital.”
“Grandma!” Mrs. Grimes humphed. “Thanks to that bastard Viggo Hanson
, I never had the opportunity to have kids of my own, let alone grandkids.”
Mark narrowed his eyes at Mrs. Grimes. “When I ran facial recognition on you I found photos of you and your husband at the Alexander Gala about twenty years ago. It doesn’t sound like you care
much for the family. Why did you attend?”
Mrs. Grimes leaned in close to educate the boy on the family
history, but her body kept moving forward. She crashed into Tanner’s shoulder. Tanner relieved her of the beer bottle and struggled to keep her upright. He pulled her into his chest and snuggled her close. Mrs. Grimes sighed. “You are a good boy, TJ.” she cooed to the only person she’d ever had the opportunity to parent.
Tanner gently patted her head. “Tell us about Viggo.”
“My love worked for that monster for most of his life. He wasn’t as bad as his dad, but he didn’t have to be. Prohibition was over, and all he had to concentrate on was bringing in cheap liquor and building the casino. My man was in charge of smuggling hooch in from across the lake. Distributors from Canada would meet up with him and help him load the cargo. Unfortunately, greed wasn’t just a Hanson trait.” She glared at Mark and pointed a crooked index finger in his direction. “That one there knows the story.” Then she shifted her outrage onto Lisa. “She does, too. They both called me Grimy today, and that was my husband’s handle.” Mrs. Grimes closed her eyes and rested her head on Tanner’s shoulder. “Nicky began to siphon off little bits of the shipments and selling them to the competition. We were building quite a nest egg. I always worried he would get caught, but I never imagined I would become a casualty. One day a man, with the same look as Mark over there, knocked on my door and told me to go pick up Grimy’s sorry ass.
“I knew his smuggling days with Viggo were over
, and I believed I was going to have to drag his maltreated body out of the tunnels. The joke was on me. Nicky was still out on a run and when he returned, he ended up being the one to haul my battered carcass out of that hell hole.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “That wasn’t all. They wouldn’t let Nicky leave. He never pilfered so much as a stick of gum after that. The day we received the invitation to the gala, we weren’t so much as honored as we were relieved that his transgression had been forgiven. It wasn’t an invitation we could refuse. There was always a veiled threat in everything concerning the Cascade Bay Resort and Casino. The day Nicky had a heart attack, he asked me to please let him die. He never complained about his life, and I think he enjoyed the excitement of taking risks, but he wanted me to be free. He told me he never expected to live as long has he had, and that it was time for me to be happy.”
Mrs. Grimes covered her face with her hands and burst into tears. “I
honored his wishes and refused to let the doctors perform a surgery which might have extended his time. He passed away a few hours later. I will have to live with that decision for the rest of my life. I try not to feel guilty. The doctors all told me there wasn’t much else they could have done. The years of smoking, drinking, and living the highlife had done its damage.” She eased out of TJ’s embrace and reached for the beer he placed upon the coffee table. “I don’t think about those days much anymore, but when I tip a cup or two, it always comes back. This business with Cara makes me want to bring that family down. I’ve pondered different ways over the years and when we are able to prove that Duncan is behind this, I will finally be able to exact my revenge.”
Mark crossed his arms over his chest. He hadn’t known the story. His only crime was that he rarely called anyone by their real name. Cara began calling
Lisa, Blackjack Barbie because of him. When Cara finally accepted the fact that Duncan was cheating, he was the only one she could talk to. At first he tried to make light of the situation, but when he realized Cara was serious about getting a divorce, he confessed the depth of Duncan’s indiscretions.
Duncan had never been faithful. He counseled her to get
out while she still could and not to get stuck as he had. After one heavy conversation, he told her that Duncan and Blackjack Barbie were not worth what she was going through. He cleaned up his reference to Lisa Hill. In his mind the redhead had originally been dubbed, Blow Job Barbie.
Mark had known for a long time that he wanted a different life for Drew and himself. Drew was weak and found it hard to stand up against her mother who ruled the Alexander realm with an iron fist.
When Inga relinquished the throne to Duncan, Mark thought it was their chance, but Drew refused to leave. She was used to a certain way of life and simply being a regular everyday person frightened her more than her mother’s wrath.
A large part of
Mark looked forward to the fall of the family, and if his wife had anything to do with Cara’s legal problems, he looked forward to the dissolution of their marriage.
Lisa
was the first one to break the gloomy silence. “Holy shit, old woman, do you think Duncan and I laid around discussing you and your husband?” She took a few steps toward Mrs. Grimes. “Do you think I don’t have a story just as horrible as yours? I broke his marriage up on purpose because that ass-hat knocked up my older sister, and she died of a brain aneurysm in childbirth. The Alexander family paid all her hospital bills and they have arranged for little Sibby’s support, but that won’t bring my sister back.
“
Duncan broke every promise he every made to her and that witch of a mother is a vicious shrew.” She turned on Mark. “I’m sure you didn’t know about that one. They don’t use you to clean up the important messes. They do those themselves. Inga forced my parents to sign a non-disclosure agreement before she would cough up any money. The hospital bills alone would have bankrupted my family. When the Alexanders decide to play hardball, they don’t mess around. I changed my name and dropped out of my family’s life so I could try to find a way to destroy them. Dry those tears Mrs. Grimes and buck-up. We are going to bring that house down with every last one of them inside.”
Mrs. Grimes dabbed her eyes with the
back of her hand and grinned. “I think I have enough cash on hand to purchase the appropriate amount of fertilizer, if any of us has some bomb making skills.”
Lisa
shot her a conspirator’s smile. “I don’t have all the components lined up yet, but they will fall into place soon enough. It’s time we got down to brass tacks.”
Mark brought his hand
to his face and rested his chin on the heel of his palm. The women in this room were tough as nails. He had no doubt they would prevail. He eyeballed Tanner. “What’s your story? I’m sure you must have some history with the family.”
Tanner shook his head. “No hist
ory, but they are messing with a woman who is very special to me. I’m hoping to spend the rest of my life with Cara Lee, and I would prefer not to have to do it with her behind bars.”
Mark reached down and popped the
top of a fresh bottle of beer. He sat down in a brown leather club chair and motioned for Lisa to sit in the other. When she complied, he glanced in her direction. “What the hell are brass tacks, and how are we going to use them against the family?”
Two hours and six beers later, Mark had reached his limit. They were getting nowhere. Every plan they came up with had been riddled with flaws and would only serve to piss the family off and alert them to a new enemy breathing down their necks.
Mark
paced the room. He needed some air, a change of scenery, and as unwise as it was, he needed to go see Cara. When he retrieved his jacket off the back of the chair, a small silver picture frame on the end table caught his eye. Mark picked it up and examined the image of Tanner and the beautiful young blonde by his side. “Who is this?”
A smiled curved on Tanner’s lips and his
chest puffed up proudly. “That’s my little sister. She’s a student at UCLA.”
Mark blinked and sucked in a breath. “I hate to have to tell you this
, but she’s been hanging around the casino and has been asking for Duncan the last few days.”
Tanner almost knocked Mrs. Grimes onto the ground when he jumped up out of his seat. He reached for his cell phone. “You had better be wrong about this, Mark. If Erin is sniffing around Duncan Alexander, I’m going to...” he trailed off, unsure of what it was he’d be able to do. Erin was a grown woman. He had overstepped the bounds as her big brother too many times. She would listen politely to him while he ranted and raved, then she would go out and do exactly as she wanted.
Mark snatched the phone out of Tanner’s hand. “Slow down
, cowboy. She might be asking, but Duncan hasn’t shown any interest. He’s been surprisingly subdued since you decked him and Cara’s arrest. I think he has finally realized what he’s lost and is regretting it.”
That news did not put Tanner’s mind at ease. If Duncan wasn’t going after his baby sister
, then he was going to try and get Cara back. Neither one of those scenarios boded well in his world. He plopped back down on the sofa. “What the hell is that girl thinking?”
Mrs. Grimes patted Tanner’s knee. “I think
it’s possible she’s trying to help her big brother.”
Tanner reared back in confusion. “How is going a
fter that dog going to help me?”
“Think about it. The moment Cara gets into trouble Erin comes to town and tries to get Duncan interested in her. I think she’s trying to get Duncan’s mi
nd on something other than Cara.” Mrs. Grimes wrapped her arm across his shoulders. “She’s a good girl, TJ. She’s smart and loyal to a fault. She would never do anything to hurt you.”
Tanner laid his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes while he let Mrs. Grimes’ words percolate. When they opened
, they focused on Mark. “Do you know where Erin is staying?”
“Yes
, she’s a guest at the resort. Why?”
“Toss my phone over here.”
Mark cut Tanner a sideways glare and asked again, “Why?”
“Because I’m about to guilt her into
coming here and staying with me.”
Mark chuckled and tossed Tanner his phone.
~~~**~~~
Erin rolled her carry-on suitcase into the elevator. Somehow Tanner had caught wind of her visit back to the lake. She wondered if he was aware of the true reason
for her return. The doors closed and she pushed the button to the lobby. When they opened again, she came face to face with her prey. All six foot of Duncan Alexander’s gorgeous body stood in front of her.
He looked at
her and smiled.
She had been trying to connect with the man for three days
, and now when her brother had caught onto her scheme, the man was hers for the taking. She couldn’t believe her rotten luck. Erin heaved a great sigh and let go of her plan. As long as Tanner had been blissfully unaware of what she was up to, she had a chance, but now there was nothing for her to do but kiss her scheming ways goodbye.