Burn on the Western Slope (Crimson Romance) (25 page)

“No. They caught another one involved, but we don’t think it was the guy who killed Jonathan.” Garret opened his eyes and looked into hers, using them as the lifeline he needed to keep his emotions level. Hell, it wasn’t helping. Her eyes conjured a whole different type of sensation. “We found some of the loot we’d been looking for but it wasn’t all there. The people he’s working for are still at large.”

“The guy didn’t give anyone up?”

“No. He was killed in a jail cell while awaiting his court hearing.”

“How?”

“No one knows for sure. He was involved with a cop killer. Some think maybe a cop did it. Some think the mob family did it so he couldn’t tell on them.”

“So what kind of loot was it?”

“Stolen jewels.”

• • •

The necklace wasn’t there anymore. It wasn’t there.

Why would Ray have a necklace like that? And why would it be gone now?

Her mom said Ray was involved with a crime family, but Reagan had left out that part when she told Garret.

“What are you doing?” Garret asked as she frantically hurled clothes across the room. She had jumped up as soon as he mentioned jewels. Why would she assume the necklace would still be there after the break-in and why had she let her fears keep her from checking just to make sure? What would she have done about it if she’d discovered it missing long before now?

Glancing up at the ceiling as if that would lend a clue, she wondered how many days it’d been since she’d looked in the dresser. She removed the drawers to see if it’d fallen behind. Frisked her jewelry box. Crawled across the floor to hunt under the bed.

But the necklace was nowhere to be found.

Had Naomi taken it? Her cousin was no thief, but Naomi was gone and so was the necklace.

She sat on the bed beside Garret, despair streaming through her and making her throat ache. Maybe the necklace was a coincidence. “Tell me about those jewels.”

He frowned. He must have noticed her shaky voice, her unsteady hands. He took her palms in his, but hers were so cold that instead of taking in his warmth, she pulled away.

“There’s a lot to tell. A lot of people think jewels are just what they see in the jewelry store, but that isn’t always the case. Diamonds aren’t rare at all, but special colored diamonds, such as blue and red, are rare and are sometimes worth a fortune. Criminals who make it their mission to steal them are why the FBI created a program just for jewels and gems.”

“Do you have pictures of those jewels?”

Garret tossed the covers aside and stood. She was thankful he wore his jeans, but his chest played havoc with emotions she couldn’t deal with right now. She glanced away from him.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“I’m curious. I’d like to see it.”

He furled his eyebrow, watching her. “Would you like to tell me what’s going on?”

“I … I’m not sure. I just want to … ” She let her voice trail off. When he continued to watch her as if she’d lost her mind, she spoke. “When my mom confessed that Ray was my brother, she told me something else. She told me he was involved with a crime family, and that’s why she’d disowned him.”

“What does that have to do with this necklace?”

“You knew Ray better than I did. Obviously.”

“Yeah. What does that have to do with jewels?”

She didn’t want to start blasting out accusations until she had more information. “Just please tell me what the necklace looked like.”

“I may find a picture on the Internet.”

“You don’t have a case file or anything?”

“No. Not here with me. Why?”

“Can you show me?”

Reagan followed Garret into the living room. He sat at the computer and fired up the Internet. Reagan hoped she was being silly.

“Let’s see.” He whisked his fingers across the keyboard and she hid her fingers behind her, gnawing her nails into her skin, crossing and uncrossing her fingers.

Garret was an agent, trained to spot nervousness and deceitfulness. How in the world could she explain this?

“What made you go into this area of the FBI?” Reagan asked as Garret searched for the picture that would hopefully not bear any resemblance to the necklace she’d found. How could it possibly?

“I dunno,” Garret said. “My dad was a cop, but I wanted to be an FBI agent. I knew a lot about jewels. Felt like the right thing to do.”

“How did you know about jewels?”

Garret looked at her, probably confused by her questions.

“My mom liked them. I used to go diamond mining in the mountains with my dad.” Garret shrugged. “The ice reminds me of jewels. I got interested in them and didn’t want to be a jeweler. It just seemed right. I can’t explain it.”

“Do you like your job?” She tried to keep her voice from shaking. Tried to keep from screaming “hurry up” as she attempted small talk.

“It has its moments.” He clicked the mouse on a thumbnail picture, uploading a larger one.

“Oh God.” She recoiled, stumbled, and covered her mouth with her hands. Her chest felt it’d been ripped open to reveal her heart, the bull’s-eye targeted, the dart waiting to finish her. Her ribs tightened her breath. She kept retreating, one small step at a time, as if that would give her more distance from the truth.

“What is it?” Garret stood, concern etched into his face. She raised her hands to stop his advancement. She didn’t know if she could handle his strong body right now, and she feared she might be to blame for something. For what, she wasn’t sure. Keeping a necklace secret?

Her knees buckled and she found the backside of the couch to rest her butt against.

“After I got here, I found a necklace exactly like that in the drawer where I arranged my clothes.” Her voice shook. She tried to breathe through her nose. “I wasn’t sure where it came from. I knew nothing about Ray. I kept it the dresser until I decided what to do with it.”

“Where is it now?”

“I don’t know. It’s gone.”

• • •

Garret didn’t know if Reagan was for real or just playing him. Her reaction after he mentioned he worked with stolen jewels was not of guilt but of fear and confusion.

Her voice shook. Garret reached for her, wanting to offer some sort of comfort. It was perfectly logical to assume she found the necklace and only then visited the website to find out more. Kyle could have hidden it in her luggage to get it out of the Mass’s crosshairs because he’d planned on running.

Any innocent woman would be startled to find a necklace of that caliber in her dresser. She was probably curious and didn’t know who to trust. That was a feasible emotion.

Just because she’d dated Kyle didn’t mean she was involved in his wrongdoings.

“I drew a picture of it.” Reagan retrieved a sketchbook from the table and flipped through the pages. She stopped at a picture and frowned. He stepped closer, not sure he really wanted to see. Sure, she’d said she found one just like it in her dresser but he couldn’t know for sure until he saw it with his own eyes.

The earth shot out from under him. The sketch bore a remarkable resemblance to the bane of his existence.

Reagan glanced at him, but he didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to know this was the necklace the man had been killed over. It’d only scare her.

She disappeared to the closet. He heard rattling as she searched for something, and she emerged holding a pair of fuzzy socks.

“These are the socks someone sent Ray.”

Garret took the socks. Reagan had told him they were sparkly, but he hadn’t expected this. His eyes were trained to spot real diamonds, and these looked real to him. He’d have to send them off to be tested for sure.

“My mom told me Ray was part of a crime family,” Reagan repeated. “What if that crime had something to do with jewels?”

“No. No.”

Ray had nothing to do with this, but Reagan didn’t know him enough to judge. She didn’t know her ex was being investigated either, so of course her first suspicion would be Ray. He wasn’t sure why her mother would lie about Ray, but she’d lied about him for the past thirty something years. Maybe the woman was involved with Kyle? Maybe Kyle had come back for the necklace and Reagan’s mom wanted to ensure Reagan wouldn’t suspect Kyle, so she’d told Reagan that Ray was involved in a crime family. Then Reagan wouldn’t think twice about it being Kyle’s necklace.

It was a twisted, fucked up world. Nothing would shock Garret at this point.

He would have to tell her about Kyle being missing, but that could wait. If he played his cards right, Reagan would never have to know he’d been investigating her from the get-go. She would think he started his investigation after she’d told him about the missing money and the necklace. It was a lie, but he’d already been lying. At least this way, she wouldn’t be hurt.

Garret knew Buchanan would only think he was making excuses for Reagan, but Buchanan hadn’t spent the past few weeks getting to know her like Garret had. Buchanan thought everyone was guilty until proven otherwise.

“How much do you know about your ex-boyfriend?”

“How much do you know about Ray?”

“I know Ray wouldn’t have a necklace like this.”

“It couldn’t have been Kyle’s. I found it in Ray’s drawer before I unpacked my suitcase.”

Chapter Seventeen

“His name was Gil Grant.” Chief Castro rested on the corner of his desk and peered down at Garret. Garret let him enjoy his supposed stature while it lasted. Munching on sunflower seeds, he spit the husks into the coffee cup that’d been there no telling how long.

The front desk clerk had tried to stop Garret from storming into the chief’s office, but since he hadn’t answered or returned Garret’s calls, Garret had had enough. It was time Chief Castro told him something.

Castro snapped open the victim’s folder and handed it to Garret. The gory details had been stapled to the front. The case info was almost non-existent. Photos of the vic — Gil Grant — and a clean criminal history. No suspect. One witness — Garret’s brother.

Garret had known Chief Castro a long time. Their relationship had been amenable if not somewhat contemptuous. Castro was a few years older but they’d known each other in high school. Castro’s dad had been a police officer who resented the fact Garret’s father commuted outside the city and made more money than him. Small town bullshit. Garret had a feeling Castro had fallen into his daddy’s footsteps, resenting Garret’s status with the FBI.

Popping another sunflower seed in his mouth, Castro chewed before continuing his conversation. “By the looks of things, he wasn’t a very popular person. A lot of people probably wanted him dead, including his wife.”

“Has she been questioned?”

“Of course she has.”

“What was he doing here?”

“Wife says he went on vacation.” Spewing out the last of the sunflower husks and wiping the salt from his mouth with the back of his hand, Castro stood. “The police are taking care of it. I suggest you continue enjoying your vacation or whatever it is you call it. We’re doing what we can and we’ll call you if we think we’ll need your help.”

“This conversation isn’t over,” Garret said. And even if it had been, he’d see to it that it wasn’t now that Castro was trying to assume control.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing Mister Chambers — ”

“Agent Chambers,” Garret interrupted, irritated at how Castro had drawn out the mister.

Castro funneled his brows and planted his fingers on the table. “Look, Chambers. Don’t make a mess of things here. It’s a safe town. Do you want the tourists to stop coming? The money to stop rolling? This guy was no good.”

“So you’re saying he deserved what he got?”

Castro only glared. He remained standing, as if sitting would put him on the same level with Garret. Garret didn’t need to stand to feel confident, so he didn’t bother.

“Do you know something I don’t? I’m looking at his criminal history. It’s clean.”

Castro shrugged. “Seems to me he just got away with a lot.”

“Well, it’s not up to us to judge.”

Castro lifted his hands from the table and shuffled his feet. He glanced at his cup of sunflower husks, probably wishing he hadn’t eaten all the seeds. “Is there anything else I can help you with, then?”

Garret finally stood. No sense in wasting any more time with this game. “Just keep me updated on your continuing investigation.”

• • •

When Garret returned to Reagan’s condo, he heard the shower running and was grateful for the opportunity to search Reagan’s things without her knowledge. She’d given him a key but he still felt wrong going through her things. If she caught him, he’d tell her he was seeking clues of the necklace. If she wasn’t involved, she shouldn’t mind.

He tapped the mouse to activate her computer, checking links and the history of the machine. He reminded himself he was supposed to be investigating her too, and not just what happened to the necklace. If she was still emailing Kyle, for instance, he’d know she’d been lying all this time.

The computer stored pictures Reagan had recently taken. She’d emailed her dad, done some online shopping, and her search on the necklace along with his search still showed, but that was the only history. He could check more thoroughly but didn’t want to take the time right now or explain the whys to her.

Garret rummaged through the house, opening drawers, checking the closet. She hadn’t disposed of Ray’s things. Most of his clothes were bundled in the closet, as if she’d meant to get rid of them and never did.

He stepped into the bathroom. The heater on the floor and the steamy damp room felt like an underground sauna, tightening Garret’s skin. Ray’s shave cream still sat on the counter as if he’d used it the other day, the smell more palpable in the room’s suffocating humidity.

Reagan shoved the curtain aside. Her lips curved from an “oh” to a smile, her cheeks sprinkled with rose and water droplets. “You scared me.”

He palmed her neck, relishing the damp heat of her skin. “Sorry.”

“I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Take your time,” he said as he lowered his mouth to hers, tasting soap and steam and sweetness as water sprayed against his cheek and onto the floor. Drawing back, he closed the shower curtain.