The Rogue Reviewer (Primrose, Minnesota Book 3) (12 page)

“I noticed they removed the yellow tape
yesterday.”

“Yes. In fact, Detective Turner hired a
cleaning company to remove the carpet and tile. I probably won’t
return until the renovation is complete.”

“That’s why I called. My family owns a
construction business and I can make you a deal if you don’t
already have someone in mind.”

“I’m afraid I haven’t even gone shopping to
see what I want.”

“I get a discount at Murphy’s Carpet and
Tile. When you have a chance, stop by and place the order. I can
lay the carpet one day and do the tile the next.”

“That would be wonderful, Griffin, thank you!
I’ll let you know when I choose something.”

“Okay. You have my number.”

“Yes, I’ll call. See you later.”

Dara disconnected and Marnie frowned. “That
was weird. Has Griffin ever called you before?”

“No. Never.”

Marnie wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know about
this. Maybe you should avoid him.”

“Don’t be silly, he’s harmless.” She pushed
back the covers and lowered her feet to the floor.

“How do you know? He might be some slimy
pervert.”

“We really need to discuss your paranoia,
Marnie, maybe Bri can help you with that.”

“I’m serious!”

She lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “I
searched him online. He hasn’t even had a speeding ticket.”

“You can’t search police records.”

“On the contrary, arrest records are
public.”

“Dara! You little sneak!”

“I’m heading for the shower,” she said as she
stood and walked to the door. “And, I’m hungry. Call Alex and
suggest lunch at Hannigan’s. She’ll want to hear the news.”

An hour later, Dara’s stomach growled as she
and Marnie stood on Alex’s front porch. “Remind me again why we’re
here; Alex’s firm is downtown.”

“She’s not at the firm.”

“No way!”

“Swear! Her secretary said she took the day
off.”

“Why?”

Her friend’s eyes widened. “You don’t suppose
....?”

Dara shrugged and lifted a hand to knock on
the door, stopping in mid-air at the last minute. “Do you think we
should’ve called first?”

“I had the same thought.” Marnie reached into
her purse and grinned while she pulled out her cell phone. “Just in
case.”

Dara braced herself on one hip against the
side of the house while she waited to hear at least one side of the
conversation.

“Must be some nooner,” Marnie mumbled.

“How many times has it rung?”

“Six.”

“Hang up.” Dara resumed her knocking
position. “Serves her right for not answering.”

Just as her knuckles touched the smooth oak
door, it flew open. Alex stood there, her arms crossed and both
eyebrows raised.

“Why are you calling me from my front
porch?”

Marnie slid her finger across the screen to
disconnect the call. “Why did you play hooky today?”

Dara waited in the silence and bit her tongue
to keep from laughing.

“I asked you first,” Alex said easily.

“We were being polite.” The smooth response
easily left Marnie’s mouth and Dara found herself impressed. “You
know, in the event you had company.”

Alex tapped her right index finger against
her arm. “I’m alone.”

“Okay, so answer my question.”

“No reason.” Alex uncrossed her arms and
waved them inside. “I’m in between cases and opted for some down
time.”

Dara personally didn’t buy it but decided
baiting Alex wouldn’t help any of them at this particular moment.
Especially since she actually had
good
news.

“Good for you, Alex.” She led the way to the
living room and perched on the edge of the sofa, ready to fill in
the blanks for Alex. And then, as soon as she opened her mouth, she
saw the
two
wine glasses resting on the coffee table. She
cocked her head to one side and let a slow grin spread her lips.
“You haven’t been alone.”

Marnie burst into a fit of giggles.

“Fine,” Alex relented, “I had a late night
guest.”

“How late?” Marnie insisted.

“Late. What do you two want, anyway?”

“We came to take you to lunch,” Dara told
her. “Our treat.”

“Where?”

“Hannigan’s.”

“Any special reason, Marnie?”

Marnie’s cheeks broadcast a nice shade of
pink. “Uh, no.”

“No questions.”

“No deal.” Marnie jumped on the opportunity
to negotiate. “Dara needs to keep her mind on something other than
murder.”

Alex shook her head, slipped on her shoes,
and reached for her purse. “You two are relentless.”

Dara stood. “Yes, but you love us
anyway.”

“True,” Alex agreed as they left the house,
“but, lunch or not, I’m not taking this off your bill.”

“Of course not,” Dara mumbled while they
walked out of the house to her car.

Once everyone was buckled, she pulled away
from the curb and headed across town to Hannigan’s.

“So Alex,” Marnie said from the back seat.
“Who kept you up so late last night?”

“Detective Stewart,” Dara answered easily.
“That’s a no-brainer.”

Marnie whacked the back of the driver’s seat.
“Dara! I wanted
Alex
to admit it.”

“So Detective Stewart came over for coffee.”
Alex shrugged. “No big deal.”

Dara bit her lip. Of course, Marnie had to
poke.

“You mean
Jackson
, right?”

“No, Detective Stewart.”

“Those weren’t coffee cups on the table.”

Although she was just as curious as Marnie
about their friend’s evening, she simply glanced at Alex and raised
an eyebrow.

“Oh good grief, you two! Detective Stewart
came by to discuss a case. We drank wine. End of story.”

Dara knew Alex too well to believe that was
the end of the story but she didn’t have to question the other
woman’s response – Marnie took care of that.

“Was it a sleepover?”

She quickly averted her eyes back to the
road, incredibly curious but smart enough not to chime in. Alex
shifted in the passenger seat, still silent.

“Well?!” Marnie prodded.

Alex turned and smirked. “No comment.”

“That means he slept there.”

“No it doesn’t,” Alex said calmly. “It means
wouldn’t you like to know?
”

Dara laughed out loud as she pulled into the
sports bar’s parking lot. Marnie ought to have known that pushing
Alex to admit something was a lost cause.

As soon as they entered, Dara wasn’t
surprised to find the place almost packed full. Even the seats
around the bar were occupied.

“Any other suggestions?” she hollered over
the dull roar of conversation.

“Let’s just wait a few minutes,” Marnie
yelled back. “Something’s bound to come open.”

A high-pitched whistle caught her attention
and Dara glanced in the direction of the sound to see a table of
men, one in particular signaling with his hand for her to approach.
She smiled and shook her head
no
.

“Oh come on, Dara.” Alex stepped in front of
her. “They’re just male.”

She glanced at Marnie who shrugged and then
followed Alex. Dara figured if she wanted to eat, she had no choice
but to tag along. The three of them stopped at the table, Alex with
one hand on her hip.

“You whistled?”

A sandy brown-haired, green-eyed Adonis stood
and smiled at Alex. “We’re finished here and we thought you might
like the table.”

“Thank you.” Alex attempted to take a seat
when he grasped her forearm.

“For your phone number.”

Even over the crowd, Dara heard the quick
breath Marnie sucked in. Her own eyes widened at the ignorance of
the well-built stud.

“Let me understand this.” Alex peeled off his
fingers. “You summoned us over here with a wolf whistle, offered to
give up this table because, by your own admission, you’re finished
eating, and then touch me without permission and use my telephone
number as a bribe.”

He gave her a cocky smile. “Something like
that.”

Alex gave him a two-second stare then reached
into her purse and pulled out a card. “Alexandria Jennings,
Attorney at Law,” she said as she handed it to him. “I have a
feeling you may need my services in the not too distant
future.”

The quick departure of all four men didn’t
surprise Dara in the least. In fact, not one of them stopped to
look back as they headed to the door.

“Alex in action,” Marnie drawled.

“What kind of Neanderthal holds a table for
ransom?” Alex shoved her purse at her feet while their waitress
scurried over to clean the table and pocket the bills left
behind.

Once their drinks arrived and they ordered
lunch, Dara took the opportunity to bring Alex up to speed.

“Mace finally released my townhouse.”

“I still don’t know quite how I feel about
you calling the lead detective who is investigating a murder in
your home by his first name.”

Dara’s cheeks burnt at the realization of her
slip.

“I’m teasing.” Alex grinned. “I already knew
about that.”

“Well, did you also know that he hired a
cleaning company to remove the carpet and tile?”

Her friend nodded.

“Why do you know this?”

“I’m your attorney. I’m paid to know.”

“Okay then, I can do one better. Did you also
happen to know he hired a friend to install an alarm system?”

“That I
didn’t
know. What friend?”

“Ryker Adams.”

“Hmmm, I’ll have to check him out.”

“Detective Stewart might not appreciate that,
Alex,” Marnie drawled.

“Will you stop already?! Detective Stewart
and I are only professionally associated!”

“Leave her alone, Marnie,” Dara scolded. “I
need her focused on my investigation.”

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. “Dara,
did I just hear you say
your
investigation?”

“You sure did.” Marnie was quick to join Team
Alex. “We’ve already been arrested once. It’s only a matter of time
before we’re locked up for good.”

She narrowed her eyes on her best friend.
“Marnie’s agreed to help.”

“Listen to me, both of you. There is a crazed
killer lurking around and you’re both out of your minds if you
believe you can catch him.”

“Funny that you say
him
, I do believe
a male is responsible.”

“Leave it for the police, Dara. Chasing
criminals is dangerous business.”

“We’re not chasing him. We just want to
identify him and we’ve made some decent progress.”

“Who exactly is
we
?”

“Marnie, Bri, Reagan, Annie, and me.”

“Oh damn,” Alex groaned. “I’ll never get out
of Judge Bowman’s courtroom alive.”

“What on Earth are you talking about? We
haven’t done anything illegal.”

“Interfering in a police investigation is
obstruction of justice.”

“Nobody’s interfering in anything. I’ve just
done some research.”

Alex turned her wrath on Marnie. “Is that
true?”

“Am I under oath?”

“Never mind.” Alex released a heavy sigh.
“Seriously Dara, let Detective Turner investigate on his own.”

“He declined my assistance,” she mumbled.

“With good reason!” Alex lifted her glass and
took a long drink. “Look, I know you; you’re not one to stand on
the sidelines. Just stay out of Detective Turner’s way.”

“Believe me, I prefer not to knock heads with
him.”

“Good. Let’s get out of here.” Alex grabbed
her purse and slung it around her shoulder as she stood. “And
remember, this conversation never happened.”

Dara giggled and followed her friends to the
end of the bar where the cash register rested. Chad stood behind,
collecting tickets and ringing purchases.

“Hello, ladies.” He winked at Marnie. “Was
everything okay with your lunch?”

“Like always.” Dara grabbed her wallet from
her purse. “It’s on me today.”

“Actually, your tab’s paid.”

Marnie practically glowed when she spoke.
“Thank you, Chad.”

“You’re welcome, but I didn’t comp it.”

“Really?” Dara turned and moved her gaze
around the bar. “Who paid it?”

Chad shrugged. “I have no idea. Jessica said
the money was left on the bar with a note written on the
napkin.”

“Risky move in this crowd.” Alex frowned.
“Did you save the napkin?”

“Sorry, no.”

“The Neanderthal,” Alex mumbled. “He better
not try to bribe me with this.”

Dara grabbed Alex’s free hand and tugged her
away from the register. “Thanks, Chad. We’ll see you Thursday.”

***

Anger boiled his blood as he turned on the
bar stool and watched the three women leave from the bar like their
feet were on fire. He had been presented the perfect opportunity
and he had jumped on it – paying for lunch for Dara and her friends
was a brilliant idea. He narrowed his eyes in irritation. She
should have been grateful. She should have given him the credit.
Yet, he was close enough to hear them and the women thought those
idiots paid for their meal. Perhaps he should have delivered the
note personally – then Dara couldn’t have mistaken his generosity.
Why was she so determined to overlook him? Her resistance was
becoming annoying.

The game now bored him. The end was near.

***

Mace tossed the Rogue Reviewer case file to
his desk and released a hard sigh. He’d read and re-read the damn
thing for days and still couldn’t come up with a viable suspect.
What the hell was he missing?

He, Jackson, Jake, and now Ryker had spent
hours talking to authors, agents and professionals who they thought
just might lead them to something useful; however, all leads took
them down a winding path to a dead end every time.

Desperate, he let his mind entertain one last
option.

He sat in his chair with his elbows bent on
the desk and his fingers steepled. Was it possible that Dara
possessed information he didn’t? And if she did, could he convince
her to share without allowing her to participate in the
investigation?