A Reason to Kill (Reason #2) (32 page)

“Yeah?’’

“You forgot your keys.”

Max held the keys up and jingled them as he smiled. Ready to crack under the pressure, I ran back and grabbed the keys. Max winked at me as I kissed him quickly before I left. Then he went back to his call as I got the hell out Dodge.

As I made my way to the front of Martha’s property, she was standing on the edge of her porch. Obviously, the two criminals had called her as well. When I pulled up, she jumped in, throwing her Passion bag on the back seat. Then she shouted “Floor it; take a left at the end of the drive, then a right when you get to Old Mill Road.”

So, I floored it, leaving a trail of dust in my wake. Lord only knew what Max would do if he caught Maxine breaking into homes, and I sure as hell didn’t want to find out what Stetson would do if he caught Trails End's resident fire bugs. The way this town talked, there was no doubt in my mind he’d heard the rumors flying around. If he couldn’t prove Jess and Maxine destroyed his boat, I bet he’d love to arrest them for anything that would stick.

Ten minutes later, we sat in front of a brown, weathered wood house with gardens choked out by weeds. It had a rusted roof; mini-blinds bent and torn with junk cars in the drive, and I didn’t have a clue how to get me in or Maxine and Jess out undetected.

“Now what?”

“We’re gonna do this just like you did with Maxine. I’ll knock on the door, and you distract him with your womanly charms. See if you can get him out of the house and I’ll ask to use the bathroom.”

“How do you get them past him if he’s in the yard?”

“Then we go inside and I’ll ask to use the bathroom while you keep him occupied. I’ll sneak them out the back door and if we make too much racket and he gets suspicious, improvise.”

Improvise? I'm gonna kill them both.

Hands on my temples, I began rubbing the slight throb that had landed between my eyes.

“I’m gonna kill them both,” I mumbled as I grabbed Martha’s Passion bag and opened the door of my Jeep.

This plan was as rickety as an old ladder. If I screwed this up I could be putting both my aunt and quite possibly (barring unforeseen issues such as he kills me for helping his mother) my future mother-in-law in jail.

You could hear music playing from inside the house and it took three tries to get him to answer. When he did, my mouth went dry. Stewie was not what I was expecting. Stewie looked like he could play linebacker for the Seahawks. Stewie was bigger than Max. And Stewie was leering at me, taking in my body from head to toe. I did not see this going well for me, not one iota.
Yep, totally gonna kill them.

“Well, hellooo darlin’ what can I do you for?”

“Stewie,” Martha started, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. “Maxine and I are expandin’ the business door-to-door sales and we’ve hired on a few new girls. I’m breaking Mia in this week and wanted to stop by and see if you needed anything.”

“Mia? Aren’t you Max’s woman?” Stewie shrewdly deduced then wiped the leer off his face.

Sensing this was a make or break for Stewie (which meant no entrance into his house and no escape for Maxine and Jess thus landing them in jail) I tossed my hair and giggled, “Max, who?” Then, to emphasize how much I meant “Max, who” I raised my hand, grabbed his bicep and in a breathy voice told him, “Wow, that’s the biggest thing I’ve ever felt.”

Unfortunately, instead of Stewie smiling, his face drained of color as he stepped away from me.
Shit, now what? Think Mia think

“Mia,” Martha whispered tugging at my sleeve, but I ignored her. I was determined I would save those two idiots since my future happiness depended on it, so I went for the gusto.

“Stewie I’d love to show some of our edible underwear, maybe I could even, you know, model it for you.”

“Oh, hell no,” Stewie gritted out and then put up a hand to stop me from entering.
What on earth?

“Mia,” Martha snapped.

Before I could turn to her, I felt heat on my back and the little hairs on my neck stood up. I knew, I knew, I knew this plan was doomed before I ever left the cabin. Squaring my shoulders and taking a deep breath, I turned and found a pair of blue eyes scowling, Brian, and a pair of green eyes twitching with controlled rage.

“Max, I—”

He raised his hand, silencing me. Then bit out, “Don’t talk. I need a moment to erase that shit from my memory.”

Right, keeping quiet!

I looked at Brian for help, but he just crossed his arms in male solidarity.
Oh, man, Maxine and Jess were so screwed.

Just as Max opened his mouth to bellow the likes I’m sure I’d never heard before, voices, pitched in anger, arguing back and forth, came from the side of Stewie’s house. Everyone turned at that point and watched as Jess and Maxine rounded the outside of the house and Maxine, as if she’d done it every day of her life, and I’m thinking that she had, bold-faced lied.

“About time you got here Maximilian. I
told
you my starter was going out on the Van,” she snapped as if he’d ignored her and she was stranded because of his inaction. Then she marched right past our group and headed straight for my Jeep.

Max, used to his mother’s stunts, got right on her heels as Stewie, done with the lot of us, shut his door with a thud. When Max reached his mother, the shouting began, so Martha and I started moving out of the line of fire and kept right on going to my Jeep. We got in, locked the doors for protection, and then watched out the windows as Max and his mother went toe to toe. However, Brian and Jess gave them a run for their money. As I watched, I heard paper rustling so I looked down and saw a bag of microwave popcorn. The mouthwatering aroma of butter wafted through the Jeep so I snagged a piece.

Handfuls popcorn eventually made their way to our mouths as the battles unfolded. Then, just like that, Max dragged his mother to his truck, put her in, and then took off down the street. In a similar move, Brian grabbed hold of Jess’s hand, put her in their rental, and they took off down the street as well.

Staring after the retreating vehicles I mumbled, “I think Max overheard my phone call,” to which Martha snorted her agreement. We continued to watch as they drove out of sight, then, after a moment or two more, we finally turned to each other and shrugged, asking in unison “Last Call?”

Nineteen

Booboo part deux

Max waved Chester Tallchief into his office as he finished his phone call. He’d been so tied up moving Mia’s bears he hadn’t had time for a sit-down to discuss his suspicions.

Ever since Mia was arrested because her fingerprints were on the murder weapon, Max had a nagging suspicion one of his men may be involved. He'd supplied the axes for the competition and the celebrations had ended by the time Zimmer was killed. So, the killer, whoever he was, must have grabbed an axe while no one was looking, or taken it from his barn where he kept all his tools. He hadn't asked Buddy or Jake about who had access to the axes during the event, experience told him they'd repeat any conversation he had with the men. He figured the best way to handle this was to inform Chester of what he suspected and then let him handle the investigating.

“Max,” Chester replied as he walked in and shook his hand.

“Chester, thanks for coming.”

“Mom told me you finally won a fight with your mother,” he chuckled.

“It wasn’t as much a win as it was a containment till another day. You’d be wise to keep an eye on Martha, she may have been innocent this time, but she’s just as reckless,” Max advised.

“Right, as innocent as a baby snake.”

“She does have a bite.”

“And I have the marks to prove it,” Chester answered.

Both men chuckled, more than familiar with their mother’s antics, and more seasoned in sorting out their messes than either would like to admit.

Rising, Max walked to his filing cabinet, pulled out a list of his employees, and tossed it on his desk in front of his friend.

“That axe that was used to kill Zimmer came from my barn. Did you know that?"

"I did not. Stetson handled the interview with Mia, he's hell bent on being the one who nails the killer. Never seen a man this obsessed with getting his name in the paper."

"You think he's looking to make a name for himself so he can move on?"

"I think he hates it here, and if catching a killer gets him noticed by one of the big cities then he'll do everything in his power to make that happen."

"Can you investigate this without him finding out? I want you to look into all my men, see if any of them have a connection to Zimmer or anything going on that would indicate they had a reason for killing him."

“It’ll have to be in my off hours, if Stetson catches wind I'm working this case while I'm on duty, I'm out of a job.”

“That works for me, and since you’re doin’ me this favor I'll give you a heads up about your buddy Stetson,” Max bit out, “He’s a lucky man I found out what he did while I was in Seattle, gave me time to cool down. That being said, he fucked with a woman, my woman, and I’m not inclined to let that go. I’ve already got my cousin diggin’ and he’s havin’ to dig deep. The man’s service record with Fairbank’s PD is buried so fuckin’ deep it’ll take a backhoe to unearth it. Jack’s friend in the FBI found out his father, a one Darryl Stetson, Chief of Police for Fairbanks, now retired, was the one who buried his file. No one’s talkin’, lips are sealed tighter than a virgin’s thighs.”

“You thinkin’ cover-up?”

“I’m thinkin’ major cover-up. Trails End City Council was lookin’ for a man with experience, certain requirements, and his resume came to us like a fuckin’ match made in heaven. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out they needed him gone and they customized his resume to fit the bill.”

“And if you can prove this?”

“Then the council will rescind his contract and I’ll deliver the news up close and personal,” Max growled.

“Just make sure when you do he’s been officially fired, I don’t wanna arrest you for beatin’ the crap out of the Chief of Police.”

“He stays clear of me till then it’s a deal. I find out he’s been anywhere near Mia, he won’t be swingin’ a pair,” Max vowed.

“Then I guess I better keep him busy,” Chester chuckled as he stood, then shook hands with Max clapping him on the shoulder before he left.

As Chester descended the stairs of Hunter Logging’s office, he took in his surroundings. Max’s men were loading saws in the back of a truck and he scanned the lot of them, searching. If one of these men was the killer and they had purposely set Mia up to take the fall, they weren’t only a killer, but a dead man walking when Max found out. You don’t mess with a man like Max Hunter. You do, he’ll make you pay.

An arm wrapped around my middle as a hard chest pinned me to his body. Then Max leaned in and pushed me into his kitchen counter as I pulled marinated chicken breasts from a bowl. I wasn’t the greatest cook, but I had a few tricks up my sleeve and my chicken fajitas were one of them. My secret? Let the chicken sit in the marinade for a day so they soaked up the flavor, then toss them on the grill and smoke them low and slow so they’re tender. Sauté some onions and green peppers, add fresh salsa and tortilla wraps and voila, chicken fajitas a la Mia.

“I see you lit my grill,” Max whispered in my ear.

“Time for you to try my cooking. Fair warning though, not everything I cook is this good. I came out with the big guns first, it’s ugly sometimes.”

“Can you bake a potato?”

“I can.”

“Grill steak, hamburgers?”

“Those as well.”

“Then you're perfect.”

“Do you eat anything besides red meat?”

“Is that a question?”

“No salad, anything healthy?”

“You lost me at do you eat anything but red meat,’” he purred, “I can think of something I’d like to—”

“Max,” I broke in and he chuckled.

“We got interrupted last night, thanks to my mother, I wasn’t done with you.”

“You weren’t done with me?”

“Not by a long shot,” he whispered, “you were still able to walk—”

“Oh, wow.”

“—and I intend to rectify that problem . . . right now,” he explained as he moved my hair, trailing kisses up my neck.