Unthinkable Games (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 3) Page 22

  “So, I can’t accept her into my life. I know she’s dying, but this is the road she chose. We’re all responsible for the things we do in our life. Just like she chose to run, I’m choosing to deny her as my mother. You can consider that cold, callous, or horrible, but the damage has been done, and you can’t fix everything in life that you break. She destroyed that bond when I was four. I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”

  He understood.

  “I’ll get my bag and get out of here. Like I said, I’m sorry I showed up in your life. I didn't mean to hurt you. I hope you’ll believe that. One day, maybe then you’ll look for me, and I’ll be waiting. No matter what she did, I’ll always love my sister. I hope that you’ll find it in your heart one day to be able to love your other brother, like you cherished Trey. I’m sorry that I won’t ever get to know him. He was a really good guy.”

  He went to move past her.

  She stopped him. “I’m not done.”

  Beau waited for more pain. When he made the decision to approach her, he took this chance. Granted, this wasn’t how he saw it ending.

  Fairy tales sucked.

  “While the woman who gave birth to me had a choice, you didn't. You didn't ask to be born. You didn't force her hand. Yes, she tried to protect you, but you weren’t at fault. While I want nothing to do with her, I want everything to do with my brother.”

  Her eyes filled with tears.

  “You’re my family. You’re my brother, Beau, and I love you. If Trey was here, he’d love you too. We’re not our parents. We’re our own people. I want to get to know you because the second you were born, you were part of me.”

  He had hope. “Really? After all this, you want to be a part of my life?”

  She nodded. “I love you, Beau Christensen. Welcome to my family.”

  He was staggered by her words.

  Then, she nearly took his breath away.

  Tori moved toward him to hug her brother. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly to her. Maybe she wouldn’t be her mother’s child after all. It was possible that the lack of strength her mother possessed wasn’t passed on genetically. Her father might have been a bastard, but he gave her some good things.

  Maybe Tori did have a chance.

  “I love you too,” he said, the emotion filling him. “I would really like some time with you too, Victoria. I want to catch up on the last thirty two years. I want to know about Trey, and what kind of man he was. I want to show you that I can be that kind of brother too. While mom let you down, I won’t. I’ll always have your back.”

  Tears filled her eyes.

  Tori was fine with her decision. While she couldn’t open her heart to her mother, she could to her brother. In life and battle, there were always casualties, and this was just how this war was going to end.

  “I’m in the middle of this case, but if you want to meet up with me when I get back, I’d love that. You can stay with us, and we’ll figure all of this out.”

  “I know we will,” he admitted.

  “Now, I’m sure you want to be back with your mom while she’s sick, and I understand.” For the first time in a long time, Tori had closure. That hole was filling, and fast.

  He closed his eyes. “Thank you for that,” he offered. Now, this was how he thought it would end.

  Sort of.

  Julian and Justin stood in the doorway watching them. They knew how emotional this had to be for both of them. Neither man could imagine not having the other by his side. Siblings were a bond you could never forget.

  “Are you done hugging my wife?” Julian finally asked.

  Tori heard his voice and turned around. “Give me a minute,” she stated, moving toward Justin. Her face was blank.

  “Um…Tori,” he began, suspecting that he was still on her shit list. While he expected it, Justin hoped it wouldn’t take long to forgive him.

  When she stopped in front of him, he didn't know what to do. Then, she surprised him too.

  Tori offered him something she almost never did anymore. She slowly saluted him. As her fingertips kissed her forehead in salute, she shared with him something more powerful than words could ever convey.

  This was soldier to soldier.

  Friend to friend.

  Brother to sister.

  He was touched beyond words and returned the honor. Then, instinctually, Justin hugged her.

  “Thank you, Marine, for having my back when it was a huge mess. You stepped in anyway, risking my wrath. For that, I love you and always will.”

  Justin was glad they were okay. He didn't want to ever not have Tori as his sister. She’d earned the honor, and his heart.

  “Army, I’ll always have your back. You’re my other girl.”

  Facing her husband, she held out her hand. “Julian, I would like to introduce you to someone very important to me. I want you to meet my brother.”

  He grinned, wiping the tears on her cheeks. “I can’t wait to meet him. I plan on telling him how lucky he is to have an amazing sister.”

  A part of Tori healed, with the tiny threads of closure.

  ~ Chapter Thirteen ~

  She was a very busy woman. Yet, she knew that this case had the potential to make or break her career. Inside that house, was a treasure trove of good publicity, and she wanted in on it.

  Sheriff Penny Weinboro was nobody’s fool.

  She knew that what was coming was going to be huge. If she played her cards right, she could ensure that she’d stay in the sheriff’s office for many years to come.

  Solving this case would be a notch in her lipstick case, and she wasn’t going to let anyone stop her, ESPECIALLY some Indian private investigators.

  Oh, she’d seen the media reports on them. They were pretty much hailing them as a miracle team of sleuthing geniuses.

  Yet, she wasn’t buying it.

  There was no force to reckon with more so than the good old police. They had further reaching arms, bringing the bad guys to justice. PI’s were nothing more than concerned citizens, playing cop.

  She didn't like them honing in on her town or the biggest coup to her career.

  Something had to be done.

  Calling the ME, she needed all the details to work this case. While she couldn’t kick them out of the house, Penny could outshine them.

  They wouldn’t be on the news this time.

  She would bet on it.

  As the phone rang, she pulled out her notepad. It was time to do business.

  “Doctor Hastings,” he said, answering his phone.

  “Hey, Doc! It’s Penny. What do you have on the bones in the wine cellar floor?”

  “Sheriff, I was expecting your call. I’m on my way to the office. I had another case, so I can’t send you the files.”

  “Can you tell me what’s in them? I really want to get a jump on this mess.”

  He could do that. “Sure, what do you want to know?” he asked.

  “COD.”

  “Our victim, who was male, was struck repeatedly to the face. I can tell you that he suffered before death. There would have been a great deal of blood loss.”

  She made notes.

  “What else?”

  “I can also share with you that he’d been in the concrete for at least twenty years. The wine cellar floor got cold during the frost season, and that caused tiny micro fissures throughout the bones. Right now, the victim is on its way to the local university. They have an excellent anthropology department there.”

  She was satisfied with that.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know his identity, would you?” If she could get that jump on the case, that major detail could bury the Littlemoons. She’d have the advantage.

  “Sorry, but I can’t quite answer that yet. We’re trying to get the dental records of all the individuals who went missing in that house, but we can only go back so far. There’s no way we can take it all the way back one hundred years. If that set of remains doesn’t pop when we compare it w
ith the last three victims, we’re out of luck.”

  That sucked, but it was the element of the beast.

  “That’s okay, Doc. Just keep plugging away. I want to solve this and put ‘The Killing House’ to rest.”

  “You certainly have a big bee in your bonnet over this one, Sheriff. What’s up?”

  Oh, she certainly did. It was called re-election.

  “I just want our citizens to feel safe. They need to have this killer stopped. I’m going to be the woman who does it.”

  “Can you tell me what weapon did our victim in?” she asked, refocusing the discussion. In all honesty, it wasn’t the ME’s business why she wanted this case solved.

  His job was to give her the details, and she was going to do her job--burying the wannabe cops.

  It gave her great pleasure.

  “I can’t. We’ll have more once the university team takes a look. I’ll transmit my findings once I arrive back in-house. I hope you find the killer.”

  “I will. Don’t worry about that,” she said, hanging up. She didn't have anything to worry about. Penny had years of experience and the full staff of her department to make this happen.

  Picking up the phone, she called in one of her deputies. When Harvey Webb entered, she motioned for him to take a seat.

  “What is it, boss?”

  “Do you want to move up the ladder?” she asked.

  He grinned. “Heck yeah! My dad worked in this office, and one day, when you’re gone, I want to continue it as a family tradition.”

  She had bad news for the newbie, but she wasn’t ready to retire for a long time. “Well, then you need some surveillance experience. I have an assignment that I need handled, but I need it done on the DL. You can’t be blabbing all around town about this one.”

  He could do that. “That sounds mysterious. What is it?”

  “Are you in?”

  “Sure, boss. What do I have to do?”

  “I want you to go change into street clothes, get in your personal vehicle, and follow the private investigators around. I want eyes on them at all times. What that means is you’re going to be watching them for me. What you find, you’ll report back, and then I’ll use that to solve this case.”

  He got excited. “Seriously? You’re picking me over Deputy Case or Kline? Why? They both have so much more in experience.”

  She smiled at him, all the while plotting the manipulation. “Because I see the potential in you, Deputy, and I want to give you a chance to shine.”

  That was the biggest load of BS that she’d ever shoveled. She wanted Deputy Harvey Webb handling this because he was green. The other two deputies would see her plan a mile away. This man was clueless. When this all went down, she needed all the glory to make sure she was seen as the town hero.

  “Wow! That’s awesome, Sheriff. I’ll do it.”

  She knew he would.

  “Head out, and I want you to blend in. They can’t see you, or the whole plan is blown. I’m counting on you deputy. Don’t let me down.”

  He smiled before racing from the room. When he was gone, she shook her head.

  That was too easy.

  It was like taking candy from a baby.

  * * *

  After Tori had forgiven them both, Julian had to tell his brother all about Claire and her accident.

  The man nearly went nuts.

  Julian knew how he felt. It took an hour to convince Justin that he could leave, and they would be safe. It wasn’t an easy task, since the man was super protective, just like Julian.

  It was a genetic thing.

  After numerous reassurances, Julian finally got them to head out. The two men were on their way, and now it was time to refocus on the work and get something done. This little bump in the road had slowed them down, but they couldn’t let it stop them.

  They had a treasure to find and five more victims.

  Time was running out.

  Already, Julian had received an email from Chester Lamont, asking for an update. Julian had worked with people like him before, and this wasn’t surprising. They’d paid them a great deal of money, and they wanted results.

  Julian and his team had to perform, or they were screwed. Being that half their onsite team was still missing, Julian needed to check in with the people manning his office. Hopefully, someone there would be able to give them a lead. Christina was generally a fount of useful information when she was researching.

  Julian was praying that was going to be the case.

  When Kane answered the phone, he sounded glad to hear from him.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Gee, I don’t know, boss. I’m the only damn man in an office with two pregnant women and one lesbian. You do the math on that one, Julian.”

  He started laughing. “Yeah, that’s got to be interesting.”

  “Oh, it is. Today, they were talking about dilation and the baby’s head crowning.”

  “Um…”

  “Yeah. Chrissy had pictures. Vivian printed them out. Lena made comments about vaginas. If this is some sick way to haze me, you win. They’re holding my testosterone hostage, and at this point I may never get an erection again.”

  Julian couldn’t help but laugh. In fact, Tori was trying not to snicker. He was glad she was smiling. It did his heart good.

  “I’m sorry, Kane. Justin is on his way back now. By tomorrow, you should have your mojo back.”

  “Yeah, well if not, I’m filing for workman’s comp.”

  Tori couldn’t help it. She started to laugh.

  “Jesus, Julian! You could have told me she was listening. Can this day get any worse?”

  Julian was incredibly entertained. Kane was their enforcer, but what people didn't know was that he got embarrassed easily. He looked tough on the outside, but beneath it all, he was a puddle of man mush.

  “I doubt it,” Julian replied. “How’s business?”

  Kane pulled out his paper. He knew that Julian would be calling in soon. He wanted to be prepared. “We closed two more, one paid, and the other is giving us a hard time.”

  “Why?”

  “She just is. It’s the divorce case. Do you want me to go over and get her to write the check?”

  Julian thought about it. “No, you’ve suffered enough. Send Justin when he gets there. She was the handsy one, right?”

  Tori grinned wickedly. “Oh, yes, please send him. He’ll be so freaked out, he’ll lose it.”

  “You’re sadistic,” Kane admitted, laughing. “Can I watch?”

  There was talking in the background.

  “Boss, Christina has some information for you, so I’ll pass you to her. I have to head out soon to do some surveillance.”

  “Thanks, Kane. You’re doing a great job holding down the fort. We’ll find your balls when we get back.”

  The man snorted. “Please.”

  It didn't take long for the bubbly woman to get on the phone. Immediately, she jumped into the details.

  “Whoa! What’s the rush?” Julian asked.

  “I have to pee. So, we need to make this fast. The baby is on my bladder.”

  Julian now understood what Kane was dealing with. If they had an HR department, they’d be appalled. “Okay, shoot.”

  “I did a search on the actual property. Most of the time, the sales were done in cash. For the last one, there was some counter bidding.”

  “Someone else wanted this place?” he asked, looking around.

  “Yeah, one of the neighbors was hot to trot when it came to purchasing it. It seems that there are two adjoining properties. The one to the left is owned by a Paul Spencer. I ran him, and it seems that his home has been in the family for a very long time. Almost one hundred years. Well, long story short, because I really have to…”

  “Christina,” warned Tori. “He’s getting red.”

  “Oh, sorry, Julian. He apparently tried to purchase the property at the last auction. He lost to Jeffery Lamont, but that wasn’t the first
time he didn't win the bidding.”

  “How many times?” Tori asked.

  “That would be his third. He really wanted that property in the worst way.”

  Julian scribbled his name down. The man was at the top of the interview list. “If I lost three times, I might be angry too.”

  Yeah, they had a new suspect.

  “You said there are two properties surrounding the house. Who owns the second one?” Tori inquired.

  “A man named Brady Parker. I ran both men, because I knew you’d want as much as possible, but nothing really popped on either of them. I do have to say, Brady seems to be a recluse. He’s got zero credit history, and for the most part, he lives off the grid.”

  “Great,” muttered Julian. “I love when it gets harder and harder.”

  “You love a challenge,” Tori teased. “Look at how long it took you to catch me.”

  He leaned over and kissed her soundly on the mouth. By the way she returned the kiss, Julian knew his wife was feeling a little bit better.

  “Are you two making out?” she asked. “If so, can I run to the bathroom?”

  Julian laughed. “No, you can’t, and don’t take us in there with you.”

  “You’re no longer my favorite boss. Ethan Blackhawk is back up there at the top.”

  “I’ll make sure I tell Elizabeth you’re coveting her husband again.”

  Christina gasped. “That’s evil!”

  “What about the psychics?” asked Tori, winking at her husband as she tried to get them back on track. The Blackhawks were their friends and pretty awesome. They’d both worked for Ethan, and Christina was right.

  He was one of the best.

  “Oh, well, that’s a hot mess. The brother, Andy Dawkins, is so far in debt that his grandchildren will be crying over it. He’s in hock to every debt collection agency.”

  “For?” Julian asked.

  “Not sure. That’s not something I could find online. You’ll have to ask him.”

  They made notes.

  Right beneath the neighbors, they had their third and fourth interview. This call had been worth it. As usual, Christina didn't let them down.