Come Gentle the Dawn (13 page)

*

Carol gave a cry when she saw Brie at the front door. Making her way through the litter of debris on the floor, Carol said, “Brie, thank God, you’re here!” and threw her arms around Brie.

Brie returned the embrace and felt shock go through her as she surveyed the living room. She was barely aware of Linc coming in after her.

“My God, Carol,” she stammered, releasing the blond woman, “what happened?”

Carol rubbed her reddened eyes, streaked with mascara, and made a helpless gesture. “You tell me. The police have been here for hours questioning me.”
She sniffed. “Come on in, although I don’t know where you can sit.”

Brie’s heart contracted when she realized Carol was trying to make a joke of the situation. “This is awful,” she said, seeing the strain in Carol’s pale face. “What about Susie?”

“As soon as I saw this, I called her grandmother. She came over and picked Susie up. I just couldn’t let Susie see how badly the house is torn up.” And then Carol sobbed. “Oh, Brie, this is frightening! First John’s death and now this…this evil thing. What have I done to deserve all this?”

Linc remained in the background, watching Brie closely as she comforted Carol Holcomb. His instincts had taken over, and he moved through each room, cataloging all that he saw. Whoever had done the dirty work knew what they were doing. There wasn’t a drawer unopened and turned over to spill out its contents, a closet not empty of clothing, shoes or toys. Mattresses were yanked off beds, baring the box springs. Pillows had been slit open with a very sharp knife, the goose feathers sprinkled throughout the bedrooms. He stood in the master bedroom, surveying the professional search that had taken place. What were they looking for? Did Brie know about the breakin? Or Carol? He turned and went downstairs, his face grim.

Brie looked up from the couch where she sat with an arm around Carol’s shoulder. A thread of relief flickered through her. Linc looked so capable that she automatically felt safer in his presence. He came and knelt in front of Carol.

“Look, how about if we take you out and get you a
cup of coffee or something, Mrs. Holcomb? Let’s get away from this place for a while. Afterward, we’ll bring you back, you gather up whatever you need for the next couple of days in the way of clothes and I’ll get this place back into order for you.”

Carol’s face sagged with relief and gratefulness. “I couldn’t let you do that, Mr. Tanner—”

“Call me Linc. And I think right now, after all you’ve gone through, you don’t need to try to get this house straightened up by yourself.”

Brie’s grip on Carol’s shoulder became firmer. “He’s right, Carol. We’ll call the chief and request tomorrow off. We can clean this up for you.” She wanted to cry because of Linc’s generosity.

Linc saw the sunlight in Brie’s wide eyes, and he managed a slight smile for her benefit. The house was a disaster area, and Brie looked so damn beautiful and untouched in it. A cold blade of terror crept up his spine. This could have happened to Brie’s house. Or was Brie a part of this?

“Come on, let’s get you that cup of coffee and we’ll discuss what can be done to help you,” he murmured, helping Carol stand.

*

Brie sat beside Linc in the restaurant booth, their legs brushing occasionally against each other. Linc had been right, the coffee was a good idea. Brie hadn’t realized how upset she was until she felt her fingers tremble when she picked up the spoon to stir the cream and sugar. Linc saw it, but said nothing.

Carol gave them a grateful look. “I think I will take your offer of help. But I can’t let you two do it by yourself.”

Linc nodded. “Are you sure it won’t be too upsetting?”

She shook her head. “Compared to John’s death, nothing could ever be that upsetting,” she murmured, “not even the house being ransacked.”

“Carol,” Linc began, “do you have any reason to suspect why someone might want to do this to you?”

“None. None at all. I just think it was a vicious gang of vandals. At least, that’s what the police are saying.”

They’re lying through their teeth, Linc thought. He kept his voice low and coaxing. “Did John have any enemies?”

Carol gave him a weary look. “The police asked me the same thing. John was a good man. Just ask Brie. He loved her like the sister he never had. John didn’t ever make enemies. He always made friends.”

“That’s true,” Brie volunteered, looking at Linc’s harshly set features. “I was always the hard nose collecting the enemies. He wasn’t.”

“What do you mean?”

Brie didn’t like the edge in Linc’s voice or his sudden interest in her statement. “Nothing, really,” she muttered. “No, what did you mean?”

Her nerves were frayed. “When I first started in hazmat, I was uncompromising with chemical companies who were breaking the law. Over the years, John taught me how to be less abrasive with the people we had to deal with, that’s all.”

“Any names pop into your head who might have a reason to get even?” Linc held his breath.

Brie shrugged. “A few, like Bach Industries. Like I said, John smoothed the situations over and got the same things accomplished as I did, only with less
abrasion. The ones that were guilty were heavily fined by the state.”

Linc turned his attention to Carol, who was looking extremely fatigued. He looked at his watch. It was nearly eight o’clock. “How about if we get you some overnight clothes and you can drive to your mother’s house? Brie and I can start on the cleanup tonight, and you can join us tomorrow morning.”

Carol reached out, touching Linc’s hand. “I think it’s a great idea. Frankly, I’m so washed out by all this that I’m ready for some sleep.”

Brie’s face softened. “Come on,” she said, scooting out of the booth and rising, “let’s get going then.”

I
t was almost one in the morning when Brie staggered into the cleaned-up living room and flopped down on the couch. The house was quiet except for Linc working upstairs. He had asked her to put down the names of those companies who bore a grudge against the haz-mat office. Brie wrote for a short while, then gazed around, exhaustion pulling at her. She buried her hands in her face and took a long, deep breath.

That was the way Linc discovered her when he walked silently to the entrance of the room. Brie looked broken, her shoulders hunched, face buried in her hands, elbows resting on her knees. Did she know something she was hiding, and was it eating at her? He had claimed the opportunity to go through each room in the Holcomb house, looking at everything closely. Thus far, he had found nothing that indicated John Holcomb had some
thing to hide. What about Brie? Did she know something John knew, and was it their secret? Grimly, he walked up to her and knelt in front of her.

“Hey,” he called softly, pulling Brie’s hands from her face, “let’s go home. You’re whipped.”

Brie offered him a weary smile, strengthened by his attention and unexpected tenderness. He had been so hard, cold and efficient since returning to the Holcomb house, saying little, as if he were in a totally different world as he sifted through the debris. “You’re right. I am.”

“Come on, let’s lock this place up and call it a night.”

Brie pushed away from the couch. “I hope we have a quiet night.”

“So do I,” Linc said. If an emergency arose, their day off could disappear.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to grab a shower when we get home,” Linc said.

“Fine. I’ll feed Homer, then go to bed.”

Linc managed a slight smile. “Sounds good.” Right now, his focus was elsewhere. He was staring at the sheet of paper Brie had written on. Later, he would take that list to the Canton police, use their computer facilities and tie into the ATF terminal.

It was nearly two o’clock when they arrived at Brie’s home. She was the last in the door and shut it behind her.

“I told you to keep that door locked, Brie. Anybody could just walk in here.”

Stung, she felt her cheeks flush with anger. Linc placed his canvas bag on the floor in the kitchen and walked over to her. He hadn’t meant to rip her head off as soon as he got in the door. He settled his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

Brie resisted, holding his stormy gaze. “Why are you upset, Linc? I don’t understand why you’re so jumpy. Ever since Carol’s house was vandalized—”

“It wasn’t vandalized,” he ground out, releasing her. It hurt that she resisted his apology, but what else could he expect? How would he react if she had walked in the door and jumped on him? He pushed his fingers through his hair, walking around the kitchen like a caged animal.

Brie crossed her arms, watching him. “What are you talking about?”

Linc halted at a chair and glanced at the table. A sharp ache centered in his chest. There was no way Brie was going to become a casualty in this case. He said, “First, John’s suspicious death. Now John’s house is torn apart. Why? What was he hiding?”

“Linc, John was hiding nothing!” Brie’s voice grew strained as she stared at his hard, implacable features. “I don’t know why you keep digging at me with that angle. He had nothing to hide! He was always aboveboard.”

“All right,” Linc continued in the same tone. “What about Jameson Chemical, Cordeman Transport or Bach Industries?”

She blinked. “Those are names from the list I gave you. They’ve all been fined by John and me. What about them?”

“Yeah, that’s what I want to know from you. What about them, Brie? Remember me asking you if anyone had made any vague threats to you or John?”

Her temper was fraying. “Yes, I remember,” she said, pronouncing each word emphatically, matching his grim posture.

“I asked you if any of them had reason to get even with
you. A vendetta. And you said no.” His knuckles whitened against the back of the chair he was resting them on.

Brie glared at him and turned away. “I gave you the list. What else did you want?” she snapped.

Linc’s nostrils flared, and his eyes turned thundercloud black. “According to your notes on these companies, Jameson has had to pay 1.5 million dollars in fines you leveled against them. Cordeman said 1.2 million, Bach 1.8 million. That is reason enough right there to want to wipe you and John off the face of this earth!” he said, walking toward her and gripping her shoulders.

A soft gasp escaped her, and she tried to twist free of Linc’s capturing grasp. His sudden explosion of anger and action stunned her. “Let me go!”

“I’m not hurting you. Now stand still.”

Anger warred with hurt in her as she stared at him. Suddenly, the man was a stranger to her. She felt the contained violence in him and thought it was aimed at her. He pinned her savagely with his eyes.

“Tell me about these three companies. In detail. Now.” He released her and stepped away, waiting.

Brie rubbed her arm. Linc hadn’t hurt her physically, but it felt like it. “You’ve got a problem, Linc,” she shot back, her voice shaking with anger. “Earlier tonight you were sneaking around like some damn cop, and now you’re giving me the third degree. Don’t you think I had enough of that when I was recovering in the hospital? Don’t you think I told those detectives at that time about those three companies you just mentioned?” Her eyes narrowed. “Just who the hell are you?”

Linc wanted to shake Brie, to tell her the truth. To tell her just how much danger he felt she was in. But he
couldn’t. Not yet. Not until he was satisfied she was completely innocent. She had to be hiding something! She was doing it for John because of their special relationship. His voice came out low and guarded. “I’m going to drop over to the police department and do a little snooping around. The fines levied by the attorney general’s office against those companies are public record. Anyone can get the info if they’re a little persistent. I want to see if I can dig up any information the detectives might have overlooked.”

Brie had backed against the counter, standing up to Linc. “That still doesn’t explain
your
behavior. Tonight when we came back to the house, you acted as if someone was in here just waiting for us. And then you went around checking every window and door latch. You never did that before when you were here.”

“Yes, I did. Only you didn’t see me do it, Brie.”

Her eyes lost their anger. “Why are you trying to frighten me?” The words came out soft and strained. “Don’t you think I’ve suffered enough? I don’t need you jumpy and nervous, too.”

Linc closed his eyes and settled his hands on her shoulders. “Brie, I’m not doing this to hurt you.” He bit back so much of what he wanted to say. Instead, he continued on in a low tone. “More than anything, I want you safe. I think, in some ways, you want to forget that John was probably murdered. From the drawing you did for me of the wires from the explosion that killed John and from their color, it’s obvious they’re the kind used by the military. That stuff is not sold on the open market.” He raised his head, holding her wavering green gaze. “I know, because I’ve handled them in the Marine Corps.
They’re highly reliable in any type of weather condition, and damn near foolproof. Whoever rigged that explosion either stole the wires outright or bought them on a black market.” His fingers tightened on her flesh. “Either way, Brie, it screams at me that the people who laid that trap for you were paid professionals who knew where to get the best equipment to do the job. There’s no doubt in my mind that John was murdered.” He dragged in a deep breath, watching his words strike Brie with force. “With Holcomb’s house being a target, I feel yours will be, too, if they didn’t find what they were looking for.” He grew desperate. “I can’t—won’t risk you being here alone when or if they come.”

Brie sighed, all the tension draining from her body. “My God,” she whispered unsteadily. And then, “Why didn’t you tell me about those wires before this?”

Linc wanted to bring her into his arms, needing her womanly warmth, her softness, some reassurance against an unknown future for both of them. But he remained where he stood. “I didn’t want to alarm you, Brie. I could be wrong.” He inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. “You’ve gone through enough. You didn’t need me yelling like Chicken Little that the sky was falling in.”

She stood uncertainly, suspicion in her eyes along with exhaustion. “Isn’t it?” she muffled.

He released a ragged breath. “Maybe. I don’t know yet.” He knew. Linc stilled his anger. Pulling Detective Gent aside, he tried to convince the policeman to release a squad car to keep a watch over Brie’s house when they were gone during the day, but the detective had refused. They could only spare one, and that one was going to keep watch over Carol Holcomb’s residence. Linc swal
lowed his frustration over the idiotic move of the police department. He drew Brie into his arms.

“I’m sorry,” he said huskily against her velvet cheek. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

Brie nodded, accepting his explanation. She leaned heavily against him, needing his strength right now. “It’s so unreal, Linc. It’s like a nightmare that never ends.…” Her voice died in tremulous silence.

He heard the terror leaking through her tone and held her as tightly as he dared. “I’m here,” he told her. “And until we get this situation resolved one way or another, I’m not letting you out of my sight, little cat. So don’t worry, you can sleep at night.”

Brie melted beneath his blue eyes, which were stormy with turmoil. “Somehow, I get the feeling you’re very good at being that watchdog you were talking about earlier.”

Linc nodded, feeling guilty over hiding the truth of who he really was. “You’re right,” he whispered thickly. “I’m very good at what I do. So don’t let this break-in tear you apart. We’ll be fine as long as we’re together.”

The tenderness of his look dissolved her tension. “For once, I’m glad you’re a chauvinist,” she admitted, trying to smile after he released her. “I think I’m in need of some cavemanlike protection. I’m feeling terribly vulnerable and naked.” She rubbed her arms slowly, frowning, thinking of the ramifications of Linc’s assessment.

“Hey, now, stop that,” he chided, placing his arm around her shoulder and giving her a squeeze. “We’ll go about our normal duties. You concentrate on haz-mat, and I’ll keep my eyes peeled.” He could have kicked himself
for having to disclose information to Brie. He had done it in hopes that she would reveal what she might know about John or what he was hiding. It hadn’t worked, and in the end had only upset her more. Agitation and anxiety were clearly written in the depths of her jade eyes.

*

The phone was ringing. And ringing. And ringing. Linc rose off the couch in a stupor, stumbling toward the kitchen in the darkness. He crashed into Brie at the corner. Groggy, Linc stumbled, reaching out to stop her from falling. Myriad sensations rushed through him from the collision of her soft, rounded breasts against his naked chest, the warmth of her hand on his shoulder and the moist sweetness of her breath against his neck.

“You all right?” he mumbled, trying to orient himself to the present.

Breathless, Brie left his arms. “Y-yes…I’ll get the phone.” And she disappeared like a beautiful wraith. Linc stood dazed and touched his brow. What time was it? Three in the morning. He forced himself to the kitchen. He froze at the door, his sleep-ridden eyes widening as he drank in Brie with the phone in her hand.

The moonlight pierced the curtains at the kitchen window and back door, bathing her in a silver incandescence. The silky white nightgown clung to her body like a lover’s caress, and his breath caught in his throat. Her hair, pleasantly mussed, softened her already lovely face. Her full lips looked so damned provocative. When she looked up and realized he was standing there staring at her, her eyes widened.

Linc saw something he would never have thought he would see in a woman her age—shyness. There was
pleading in her eyes as she was caught and held in his hungry gaze. Turning, Linc stumbled into the darkness of the house in search of her robe. He found it at the bottom of the brass bed and brought it to her. Brie was seated at the table, hastily scribbling instructions, her voice low and still husky with sleep. Linc settled the silk robe around her shoulders and stepped back, realizing Brie’s discomfort that he might have seen her twisted, red flesh a second time.

By now, the shock of running into her then seeing her clothed in that devastating nightgown was wearing off. Linc could see well enough in the moonlight and began to make them a pot of coffee. From the sounds of the phone call, he could tell it involved a haz-mat incident. The sandalwood scent of Brie lingered in the air, and he savored her scent. He leaned against the counter, allowing her honeylike voice to flow over him as she gave instructions to the caller. And when Linc realized she was staring at him, he cursed himself. Right now, all he wanted to do was walk those few steps, take her into his arms and press her length against him. He felt his body growing rigid and knew that evidence of his need would soon be visible. Concentrating on stopping this unexpected reaction, Linc pushed away from the counter and headed to the living room to dress in a clean uniform. The night was shot anyway.

Linc was sitting on the couch pulling on his socks when Brie appeared at the entrance to the living room. She had her robe on. Her arms were crossed against her breast and her face was sober. “We’re going up to Cleveland. The bomb squad from their police department just called.”

Linc rapidly put it together. Cleveland was where John was murdered. “What else?”

She shrugged tensely. “They got an anonymous caller telling them there were explosives in a warehouse out near the lake.”

Explosives, his area of expertise. He shoved on his boots and walked over to her. Brie’s face was shadowed with concern, and she was pale. “They find anything?” he asked quietly, coming to a halt inches from her.

Brie rubbed her forehead. She was achingly aware of how strong, confident and calm Linc was—and how devastatingly masculine. Her voice came out in an unexpected wobble. “Yes. A couple of bundles of TNT along with some jars with a crystal content.” She raised her chin, meeting his eyes, needing his nearness. “Probably picric acid or something. Anyway, they can’t identify the contents in the jar and they don’t want to move it until they have confirmation from us on what it is and if it’s safe to move. They can handle the dynamite easily. It’s just the other stuff they’re not sure about.”