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Authors: Rachel Brimble

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BOOK: Finding Justice
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She lifted her head and when she met his eyes, she smiled but
her lips trembled. “Sure.” She tossed her hair over her shoulders, all business
once more. “So come on. Tell me more about Sarah. Where or from whom did you
hear these rumors? Her friends? Colleagues?”

The tiniest flicker of pain showed in her eyes, the smallest
regret in the timbre of her voice and Jay knew in that fleeting second neither
was to do with Sarah. He wouldn’t push her. God knows, he had enough crap of his
own he intended to keep under wraps. What she told him was her
prerogative...even if he did want to fix whatever pain he caused in her eyes a
few seconds before.

“It was Marian mostly. She’s like the Templeton oracle.” He
blew out a breath. “Every now and then she said she heard this or that about
Sarah. I didn’t believe a word of it until Sarah was found dead. Then I started
to worry there was some truth in what she said.”

“Surely you can’t believe Sarah was into drugs?” She raised her
eyebrows.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. The police haven’t stated
there was anything in her system when she was found, but it would make it a bit
more plausible how someone as good as the Sarah we knew might have been killed.
She was a primary school teacher. She helped out in the community, kids and
adults loved her. How the hell did she end up in the forest at the bottom of
Clover Point?”

Cat’s eyes darkened in concentration. “Was she seeing anyone?
Any changes at the school you knew about? What about the kids?”

Jay shook his head. The perpetual feeling of hopelessness that
cloaked his emotions like a heavy blanket stole back across his shoulders. “I
don’t know. I don’t know anything else.”

She dropped back against the seat and wiped her hand over her
face. “We will. Things will begin to fall into place quicker than you think once
we’re thinking along the right lines.” She smiled. “Trust me.”

Her phenomenal green eyes shone with renewed vitality, twisting
Jay’s heart in a vice. “Didn’t I always?”

They lapsed into silence before Jay looked away, shaken by the
sudden need to kiss her. He knew his emotions were running high and to act on
them would be selfish. Would be the old Jay.

“The path to Sarah’s killer could lie in these rumors, you
know.” Cat’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“Well, I’m glad you think that because I’ve been sitting here
wondering whether I was stupid to expect you to come all this way without a
shred of evidence for us to start working with.”

“You were stupid.”

“What?”

“You were stupid, because from this moment on I’m going to be
on your ass expecting you to do absolutely everything I ask.”

Jay’s gut tightened as her voice turned silky soft. His gaze
dropped once more to her mouth as his own drained of saliva. Here was Cat, all
grown-up, sexy and successful in a career he knew so little about. While he was
busy forgetting every friend and foe and concentrating on buying up Templeton
Cove, this woman was putting away criminals, killers and rapists.

He was in awe of her.

“You must have it all.”

She gave a wry laugh. “I don’t think so.”

“Men falling at your feet, a hotshot career as a female
detective taking down the bad guys. That’s pretty hot.”

“Yeah, right. I have the dream life.”

There it was again. That flicker in her eyes, turning away to
look past his shoulder. He couldn’t call her on it. He wouldn’t question her and
risk her bolting straight back to Reading. Protectiveness seared through him.
He’d seen the pain shoot across her face, staining her cheeks and whitening her
lips. He didn’t care to see it again. He’d uncover what was wrong and put it
right.

“So, are you—” he started.

“Enough about me.” Her gaze told him she was back in cop mode,
any intimacy between them vanquished. “What is it you do now? I assume from the
trousers and shirt you’ve given up singing.”

He inched back in his seat. Fine. She had every right to hit
the ball back to his side of the net. Clearly work was a safer subject for both
of them. He could talk about success. Initiatives to earn damn good money he
knew inside out. Love. Friendship. Intimacy... They were the things that somehow
slipped to the wayside, leaving him as clueless as he was the last time he saw
her.

He cleared his throat. “This trip to London? It’s rare. I only
ever go there for the occasional business negotiation. Most of the time I run
everything from Templeton.”

“So you’re the new man at the helm, right? Your dad passed the
baton over to you?”

He smiled. “Dad retired about a year ago. I took over.”

“And took over what exactly? The last time I was here, I was
twenty years old and thought your dad was the richest man in the world. He
owned, what, three businesses in Templeton?”

“About that, but I’ve added a lot more since.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Proud of it, too, I see.”

A flash of heat hit his face. Damn his pride. Damn his need to
succeed. He’d changed. No more. No more money over everything else.

“I never want to leave the Cove, Cat. I love it here.”

She smiled. “Hey, there’s no need to explain that to me. How
many twenty-year-olds still vacation with their parents? Every time they said
they were coming down here, I came. I love the Cove, too, Jay. Always have.
Always will. Your dad must be really proud of you.”

Now, maybe. But the pain still lingers in
his eyes.
“He is.”

She turned back to the vista ahead of them and sighed. “I must
admit, I’m really looking forward to seeing all the places where I spent time
with you and Sarah. I didn’t realize how much I missed the Cove until now.”

Jay watched her profile. Seeing her again was another reminder
of what his life could have been if his drug habit hadn’t taken over and screwed
it all up. Damn it to hell. Why had he let it all go wrong?

He pushed to his feet. “Shall we go inside?”

“Sure.”

She stood and Jay took her hands. “You loved Sarah as much as I
did. Even though these next days or weeks or how ever long it takes will be
tough—”

Her shoulders tensed. “Days, Jay. We’ll find her killer in
days.”

He smiled. “Great. Days. With you leading this investigation,
the bastard who killed Sarah will be locked up in no time.”

“Or bitch.”

He flinched. “A woman? No way.”

Her gaze bored into his, a dart of concentration spearing
between her brows as she studied him. “Why do you say that?”

He shook his head. “Jesus, if a woman could do that...”

Cat lifted her shoulders. “Why not?”

His cheeks heated. Her suspicion was clear in her eyes. She was
questioning him. He was a suspect. He swallowed against the ball of frustration
that lingered bitterly in his mouth. “Well, I suppose a woman could...but God, I
hate to think any woman capable of such a degree of violence. To actually choke
the life from someone?”

She continued to stare awhile longer before she slowly eased
her hands from his. “I’m saying these things because we can’t afford to dismiss
any possibility. Between us, we’ll find out what happened. He or she will not
get away with killing our best friend.” She closed her eyes. “I can see her,
Jay. I close my eyes and I can see Sarah laughing and joking on the beach, or
running around with her beloved dog, Scruffie. Now she’s gone. Dead. No white
wedding. No kids. No future.”

She opened her eyes and rubbed her fingers at her temples.
“Let’s go inside.”

As they walked, Jay fought the urge to take her hand knowing
she was in pain. He sensed her mind was working, her shoulders had yet to drop
down from her earlobes. She was a cop. She needed time to think and he wouldn’t
be the one to disturb her. They reached the front door and he slid the key into
the lock and pushed open the door.

“After you.”

She laid her hand on his forearm. “I think we need to start
with these rumors.”

He shook his head. “It’s a dead end. When I found out she was
killed, I went to the local drug haunts—”

Her eyes widened. “How would
you
know about drug haunts?”

Shit. Suspicion flared in her eyes once more. He lifted his
shoulders. “I don’t know the places. I just assumed them.”

She stared. “Like where?”

“The park. The housing estate toward Marchenton. You know, the
seedier places around the Cove.”

“Did you find out anything?”

“Nothing. No one claimed to see her hanging around or talking
to anyone. I’ve spoken to people at The Harbor pub, the shopping center,
Caroline’s Coffee Shop. They all mentioned she might be involved in drugs
somehow, but it didn’t sound like Sarah at all.”

“Why? What did they say?”

“That she was different. Edgy. Jumpy. Losing weight. But no one
had seen her high or out of control. I just don’t get it. The fact I hadn’t
spoken to her in months is like a lead weight on me, Cat. I didn’t know what she
was going through. I didn’t know her at all.”

She dropped her gaze to the ground between them. “There’s
something I should tell you. Let’s go inside.” She looked up.

Jay’s unease hitched up a notch. Words battled on his tongue as
questions whirled in his mind. Had she gained access to police information? Did
she know more than he did and purposely kept it from him? Did she think him
entirely guilty and intended arresting him? Nausea swirled in his gut. He
gestured toward the open door. “After you.”

Cat walked into the open plan living room ahead of him. Jay
tossed the keys onto the table by the door and then joined her. He inhaled a
shaky breath. “Cat?”

She faced him, her face inscrutable. “The day you rang me
asking me to come, I was afraid to commit to anything straight away. I needed
time to get over the shock of Sarah being killed before I could view her death
as a murder investigation.”

“And?”

“I started finding out what I could about her life before she
died. I’m glad to say I uncovered—”

“Wait a minute.” Jay held up his hand and cut her off as
disbelief stabbed at his affronted ego. “You knew about Sarah’s state of mind
when she died and didn’t tell me? We’ve spoken for over a week, Cat. Why bother
pushing me for information if you already knew about her?”

Her green eyes darkened. “I’m doing my job, that’s why. I
needed to know I could trust you, needed to believe you’ll be as honest with me
as I’ll be with you.”

Jay stared. “You’ve been in cop mode this entire time?”

“Jay, come on. Why are you looking at me like that? Isn’t that
why you asked me here in the first place?”

Defensiveness raged in her eyes like a gathering storm. Any
intimacy he thought he saw or felt between them was entirely of his own doing.
God, was he that self-involved? Clearly he was, and clearly Cat didn’t see him
as anything more than a mutual friend of Sarah’s, intent on avenging her murder.
What the bloody hell did he expect? He hadn’t called her to the Cove thinking
anything would happen between them. It wasn’t her fault he’d wanted to touch her
from the minute he saw her.

“Jay, are you listening to me? I said I’ve already made a few
discreet enquiries.”

Her voice jerked him from his paralysis and icy-cold fingers
tip-tapped up his spine. Cat was intelligent, savvy and determined. He had
undoubtedly destroyed any hope of her believing him innocent given his past. A
past it looked as though she’d known about all along.

“What did you find out?”

“I found out you and Sarah haven’t spent any time together for
over four years.”

He met her questioning gaze but said nothing.

“Why would two friends who’d known each other their entire
lives suddenly stop talking unless something major split them apart? Tell me
what happened. If you hold things back from me, what am I supposed to
think?”

She didn’t know about his drug problems.

Tell her. Damn well tell her. Tell her how
you ruined your friendship with Sarah while out of your head on cocaine.
Tell her how people now look at you in the Cove.

Heat stole through his gut, burning hot and unwelcome. “I...
We...”

She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, her
gaze was softer, more concerned than accusatory. “I’m not here to cause you
grief... God knows, I’m not even here to relive a time when I felt my whole life
would be like a summer holiday forever. All three of us were so young then. I
grew up, Sarah grew up. I thought you had, too, but the way you’re clamming up
now...”

The insult to his maturity struck at his pride like a knife
through weakened flesh. He shook his head and gave a wry laugh. “Do you think
I’ve had everything given to me on a plate since you left?”

“What? No, I—”

“Dad didn’t give me any different opportunities than he’s given
every other employee, Cat. If you think differently, you don’t know him at
all.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “Jay, for crying out loud. This
isn’t about you. This is about—”

“I learned the business from the bottom rung to the top. There
were never any shortcuts as far as Dad was concerned, and now I understand why.
You cannot understand the wants and wishes of people around you unless you’ve
walked in their shoes. That’s the bottom line.”

When she opened her eyes again, they blazed fiery green with
anger. “Well, you haven’t walked in mine or Sarah’s, so why don’t you cut the
crap and tell me what was going on between you and her?”

Jay stared at the two bright red spots of color flaming her
cheeks as heat burned in his own. Her breasts rose and fell with each breath and
her hands were balled into fists at her sides. Fine. She wanted to know about
walking in people’s shoes? He’d damn well tell her.

“If we find out Sarah was involved in drugs, I’ve not just
walked in her shoes, I’ve hiked in them. Up until four and half years ago, I was
a coke addict. You name it, Cat, I took it.”

BOOK: Finding Justice
8.03Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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