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Authors: Sharon Sala

Tags: #Suspense

Blood Stains (8 page)

BOOK: Blood Stains
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“Today’s my birthday. I would appreciate a little company tonight.”

She refused to acknowledge the spurt of interest following that news—not to mention the news that he was single.

“In that case, happy birthday, Detective, and I’d be happy if you would join me. I hate to eat alone.”

“Me, too. How about I meet you in the bar and we’ll go from there?”

“All right,” Maria said.

“See you in a few,” Bodie said.

“Yes, see you soon,” she said, then dropped her cell phone in her purse and told herself the reason for the skip in her heart had nothing to do with the fact that she would be dining with a very handsome man. He was only doing his job and being kind. Still, she found herself hurrying as she headed for the elevator.

In the grand scheme of life, fate often has a way of evening the odds, which was certainly the case for hotshot lawyer Franklin Sheets. The last thing he expected to see in the lobby of the Doubletree Hotel was a ghost.

He had just taken a table in the bar and was waiting to meet a client for cocktails when he saw it appear. She was dressed in contemporary clothing and her hair was longer than he’d remembered, but as he lived and breathed, it was the ghost of Sally Blake.

Twenty years ago he might not have been so shocked, but after all this time, he would have assumed she’d moved on, or gone into the light or wherever it was spirits were supposed to go. Obviously hers had not.

Panic hit, followed by a nausea so strong he thought he would throw up. She paused in the lobby, looking around as if to get her bearings, then turned toward the bar, locked on to his presence and started walking toward him. He wondered if anyone else could see her and wondered if she’d come to take him to hell.

His legs went weak, and his hands started to shake. The closer she came, the faster his pulse raced. She was coming closer—moving with that slow, lanky stride he remembered so well, with her arms swinging freely, her head back and her chin up. He stood abruptly, fully intending to run, but his legs wouldn’t work. His heart was thundering so hard, he wondered if it could explode from fright. A few more steps and he would find out.

God…God…no, please, no…don’t let her—

Their gazes met. He could smell the faint scent of her perfume, and then she was right in front of him. He opened his mouth to beg for mercy—then she passed him by.

He spun abruptly, watching in disbelief as the ghost took a seat a few tables over. When she ordered a beer, he fell backward into his chair, trying to understand what had just happened.

She was talking to the waiter, then taking a cell phone out of her purse and reading a text.

Holy shit. That wasn’t a ghost! It was a living, breathing woman.

His mind began to race. He’d always heard that everyone had a twin, but this was crazy. This woman looked like Sally had looked twenty years ago. How could she…?

The kid. Son of a bitch…this had to be the kid.

He swiped a shaky hand across his face and tried to laugh. Ghosts. How stupid could he be? The kid had grown up, that was all. He’d never expected to see her again, but now that he had…no big deal. She didn’t know him. One thing about Sally. She would never take her dates to her room. And even if the kid remembered the few times he’d seen them out and about, there was no way she could connect him to her mother. Even though he was still slim and fit, he looked nothing like the man he’d been then, mimicking wealth with a ten-year-old Corvette, his JCPenney suits and fake gold jewelry. But he’d had plans and dreams, and by God, he’d made them happen. His suits were Armani now, and his watch
was
gold, as in Rolex. And the car he drove these days was a baby blue Mercedes with matching leather seats—his dream car.

Convinced that he’d made a big deal out of nothing, he waved at his waiter and ordered a second glass of wine, then glanced at his watch. Where the hell was his client? Didn’t the little bastard know his time was valuable? He would give him ten more minutes, and then he was out of here.

His second drink arrived at the same time that a man walked into the bar. Franklin eyed him, thinking to himself that he knew the guy from somewhere. As the man passed, he caught a glimpse of a badge clipped to his waist and the bulge of a shoulder holster, and thought cop.
That’s it. The guy’s a cop.

Out of curiosity, he turned to see where the man was headed, and once again, his stomach rolled. That woman—the Sally Blake look-alike. The cop was going to her table.

“So what?” Franklin muttered, unaware he was talking aloud. “So she’s talking to a cop. So what? It’s still nothing to do with me.”

“Mr. Sheets. Sorry I’m late.”

Franklin jumped, then turned around. The missing client had arrived. He glared at the pasty-faced accountant who was having trouble with the IRS and thought about telling him he wasn’t going to take the case. Then he remembered the hefty retainer he’d already accepted and made himself focus.

Maria saw Bodie enter the bar and lifted her hand. Immediately he saw her and headed her way, moving with a slow, easy stride that reminded her of the cowboys on the Triple S. She hadn’t known he wore a Stetson, but she had seen his boots. Even though it wasn’t how she’d imagined a detective would dress, she thought little of it. This was Oklahoma, after all. Plenty of cowboys here.

Now, watching him wend his way through the maze of small tables, she had to admit that he was very easy on the eyes.

“Thanks for agreeing to talk to me,” Bodie said, as he took a seat at the table beside her and laid his hat on an empty chair.

“No problem,” Maria said. “You’re the one doing me a favor. It’s why I came here, remember?”

The waiter stopped by the table to get his order. Bodie noticed the brown long-neck bottle in front of Maria and stifled a grin. A woman after his own heart.

“I’ll have what she’s having.”

As Maria’s focus shifted, she realized the detective was watching her. They locked gazes, and she was the first to look away. Suddenly the condensation dripping down the side of the bottle became an irresistible point of interest.

Bodie could tell she was nervous. He didn’t know whether it had to do with him, the case, or both.

The case he and Dave had just worked was still weighing on his mind. He would like for this one to have a better resolution. If he was to believe everything Maria had told him, then all he had to do was find a way to help her unlock her memory.

The waiter came back with his beer.

“Thanks,” Bodie said, then eyed Maria. “Did you make reservations in the restaurant?”

“No, I was just going to take my chances,” she said.

“Grab your drink and let’s head that way. My belly’s rubbing against my backbone.”

Maria grinned. “That’s pretty hungry.”

Bodie grabbed his hat, settled it on his head, then picked up his beer.

“When it comes to food, I don’t mess around. After you, ma’am.”

Maria walked out of the bar, thinking only of the detective behind her, and she didn’t even notice that another set of eyes was following her every move.

Six

B
odie waited until after he and Maria had ordered their food before taking the DMV photo of Tank Vincent out of his jacket pocket.

“This is what I wanted to show you,” he said, and slid it across the table.

Maria picked up the sheet of paper. The moment she saw the name Samuel Gene Vincent, her skin crawled.

“Is this Tank?”

Bodie nodded. “Does he look familiar?”

She looked again, studying the face intently. His features were strong, his face a little square. His hair was gray and somewhat bushy. His nose sat slightly sideways on his face, as if he’d run into a wall. She saw the birth date and did a little math in her head. He was sixty-four, which meant he would have been forty-four when her mother died. But no matter how long she looked, it was like looking at a total stranger.

Finally she handed the photo back to Bodie.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember ever seeing this man.”

Bodie shrugged. “It’s not surprising. It’s been twenty years. According to my source, in his day, Tank Vincent was a big body-builder type with long bleached-blond hair.”

An image flashed through Maria’s mind of a great big man with long yellow hair and a gold-capped tooth.

Bodie saw the expression on her face and realized something had just clicked.

“What?” he asked.

“I don’t know… It was when you mentioned the hair that I flashed on a giant of a man with long blond hair and a gold-capped tooth.”

“Really?” Bodie asked. “Well, that’s something I can check out when I head down to the lake tomorrow.”

“Lake? What lake?” Maria asked.

“Lake Eufaula. That’s where Tank Vincent lives these days, running a bait and beer shop.”

Maria leaned forward. “I want to go with you.”

Bodie frowned. “Look, we’re opening a cold case here, which means for the last twenty years, someone believes he’s gotten away with murder. If anyone gets wind of the fact that the case has been activated because you witnessed that murder, it won’t matter whether you can remember right now or not. They
will
try to get rid of you.”

“I’m not stupid. I’m well aware of that,” Maria snapped. “But this was my mother. With her dying breath she was thinking of me to make sure I stayed safe. I’ll do whatever it takes to get justice for her.”

Bodie frowned. He had a feeling if he didn’t give in, she would be off on her own.

“I’ll pick you up around eight in the morning. It’s a bit of a drive.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Don’t thank me yet. We don’t have much to go on, and if Tank Vincent doesn’t come up with something and you don’t remember anything further, this investigation might end before it gets started.”

“I have faith that’s not going to happen,” she said.

He sighed. “Maybe if I hang out with you long enough, some of that sunny expectation will rub off on me.”

Maria caught the vibes of his dejection.

“Bad day?”

“Yeah. It happens.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Here I am all gung ho about a twenty-year-old murder, and you’re dealing with this every day.”

“That’s okay. Each case matters the same to the people who are left behind.”

“What made you want to be a cop?”

“I like puzzles and I don’t like crooks. Once I figured out there was a job that encompassed both, it was a simple choice.”

Maria was caught. From the intensity of his gaze to the way the left corner of his mouth tilted slightly as he spoke, he was a very sexy man. His eyes were such a clear blue that they made her think of Montana skies, which made her think of home. She wondered where he’d grown up, then decided the best way to find out was to ask.

“Where did you grow up?”

“A cattle ranch near Claremore. That’s a little northeast of here.”

Maria nodded. “So your parents are ranchers. Any siblings?”

“Two brothers, both younger. One works with Dad at the ranch, the other is a football coach at a high school in Claremore. Between them, Mom and Dad have five grandkids. How about you?”

Maria plopped her elbows on the table and began running the tip of her finger around the lip of her beer bottle.

“There are three of us girls. None of us are married, although Savannah has a boyfriend who owns a ranch near ours. We all still live at home, which might seem strange to some, but we’re all involved in running the ranch. Dad brought us up that way and it stuck.”

“So Savannah is one of your sisters,” he said. “Who’s the third?”

Her face lit up. It was the first time he’d seen her so animated.

“Savannah’s the baby. Holly is the oldest. I’m the middle child. Oh, and there’s Bud. I don’t know what we would have done the last few days if it hadn’t been for him. But that’s the way it’s always been.”

Bodie frowned. Bud? This was the first time she’d mentioned a man in her life, and that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

“So who’s Bud?”

“Dad’s foreman, and even though he was quite a bit younger, he was also his best friend. He taught me to ride and everything I know about training horses. Hannah, our mother, died when Holly was in junior high school. Bud became the shoulder I cried on when something happened at school. You know all the drama that comes with growing up…facts of life, boys, the whole bit. Dad was the backbone of the ranch, but Bud is its heart. He loves the place as much as Dad did and put up with all three of us, no matter what. He never backed off from a question I asked, even when his ears turned red from embarrassment. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Bodie nodded, but his mind was racing. Was she saying he was like a brother…or a lover? Although it was none of his business and she was too much of a stranger for it to matter, it still did. He was beginning to realize he didn’t want Maria Slade to be otherwise engaged, so to speak.

Before he could press her for more information, their meal arrived. After that, the conversation turned to intermittent comments about the food, the service and how far it was to Lake Eufaula.

Franklin Sheets had finished his business nearly an hour ago, and still he lingered in the hotel lobby, having taken a seat behind a potted plant near the entrance to the restaurant. There was absolutely no reason to believe their meeting was anything but personal, but his guilty conscience and a healthy dose of fear kept him from leaving.

Just when he thought they would never leave, they appeared in the doorway. The cop had his hand at her back, and she was talking as they walked. He wished he could hear what they were saying, but they weren’t coming in his direction, and with all the open space between them, he could hardly get up and move closer without calling attention to himself.

They paused in the middle of the lobby. Franklin watched the cop hand her a card. She dropped it into her purse, then looked up at him and smiled.

Franklin’s gut knotted. He wondered if she was in the same business as Sally had been. It was eerie to watch her. Like Sally Blake come to life again. He shifted slightly, watching as the cop frowned, then pulled out his phone. Obviously he’d gotten a call. Whatever it was about, it put an end to their meeting. With a few short words and a hand on her arm, the cop was out the door, leaving the woman alone in the lobby.

BOOK: Blood Stains
6.88Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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