The Wrong Side of Dead (12 page)

Burke stood and rubbed his wrists, glaring at her. With her body tensed for action, she handed Alexa her gun, not taking her eyes off Burke.

“You wanted loose, asshole. Now what?”

Burke came at her, bristling with anger—and the man was done talking.

All Jess thought about was taking a long, hot shower to get the smell of Jason Burke off her. She reeked of sleaze.

She shook her right hand and checked her bruised knuckles as she accompanied Alexa outside. They walked through the center courtyard toward the front of the complex. Inky darkness had spread its shadows and transformed the neighborhood into a real creep-fest. And the familiar drone of traffic off the interstate had never let up.

“You got anything to say?”

“Nope, nada.” Alexa shrugged, not stopping and looking straight ahead.

“The guy had it comin’. He came at me. And I figured if he got a few bruises from a woman, he’d be less inclined to say anything.”

The blonde pursed her lips and nodded, “Yeah…good call. Sounds logical to me.”

Jess expected more of a reaction.

“Hell, you’d think a guy with two nipple rings could take a little pain.” She ran a hand through her dark hair and made sure her Colt Python was secure.

“An astute observation.”

A moment of silence drifted by, but Jess couldn’t stand it any longer. She stopped in front of Alexa and had to say it.

“You think I lost it in there. And you’re planning to report that I’m a loose cannon and not fit for your team, aren’t you?” She pointed a finger. “You know, I may not work and play well with others, but I’ve got skills…on occasion.” She jutted her chin out. “And nothing sticks in my craw worse than getting counted out before I’ve had a chance to prove myself.”

“Are you done?” After she nodded, the woman crossed her arms and cocked her head. “Now…are you ready to listen?”

“Can I get back to you on that?”

Alexa rolled her eyes as an eighteen-wheeler blasted its horn from the freeway. When things quieted to a dull thunder, she gave her opinion.

“You
are
a loose cannon, Jessie. And I think you know that, but your instincts are solid. We’d make a good team, and I could use the help.” A faint smile curved her lips. “Most days, I like working alone. I think you’re the same, but I gotta say it. You and me were in sync with Burke, and it felt good. And I’ve seen you in action. I don’t know how Garrett does it, but he can really pick ’em.”

Alexa walked by her, leaving her stunned.

“Besides, I think I’d be a good influence on you…if you’re willing to learn,” the blonde said over her shoulder.

“And a few pointers from me would up your game to an acceptable level…at least enough for me to consider taking you on,” Jess countered.

Ego aside, Jess had thought they’d made a good team, too, but it surprised her to know the more sophisticated blonde agreed. They were complete opposites, yet when it came to working Burke, everything had gone real smooth. The woman anticipated her moves—for the most part—and went with the flow. Jess liked that, especially when Alexa cut Burke loose without even a question. And getting him to crank up the music had been a stroke of genius.

Jess had always worked alone and wasn’t sure she could be a team player like Alexa had said, but questioning Burke with her had definitely come easy. Of course, it would take much more to convince her to join Garrett Wheeler, but she was curious about his proposal, at least enough to hear the man out. And the idea of having resources to back up her agenda had appeal.

She could wield justice on a grander scale. And do it her way—giving Lady Justice a whole new reason to wear blinders. Yeah, she liked that idea, real fine.

“Slick set of wheels, bounty hunter.” Alexa had stopped by her blue van, given it the once-over, and asked, “Can you drop me off?” The blonde disappeared behind the rear of the blue whale, giving the van a thorough inspection.

“Yeah, but don’t be slammin’ my ride. Not when you’re beggin’ for a hitch,” she said as she hit the speed dial on her phone. “I gotta make a call first.”

She held the phone to her ear and plugged a finger to her other ear, listening. On the second ring, her friend answered.

“Hey, Sam. It’s Jess. Where are you?”

“I’m at work but heading out. What’s up?”

“Can you meet me at my place? I’ve got new developments on Harper’s case. I can be there in thirty.”

“Yeah, perfect.”

Alexa caught her eye and gestured that she wanted to be included. Jess shot her a questioning look but decided it couldn’t hurt to have the extra help for Harper’s sake.

“Oh and Sammie, I’ll have someone with me. Alexa Marlowe is in town. You have a problem with that?”

Her friend didn’t reply at first, then said, “No, not really. If you think it’s okay to talk about Harper’s case in front of her, then I’m good.”

“Yeah, thanks. See you soon.” She ended the call, and said to Alexa, “You remember my friend Sam Cooper, a local vice cop?”

“Yeah, sure.” The blonde climbed into the van. “I hope you have munchies. I’m starving.”

“I got you covered. No problem.”
She lied
.

As she drove, Jess felt good about how things had gone at Jason Burke’s place. She had a possible tattoo match from what the bartender at Dirty Monty’s had told her. And CPD could run down Burke loaning his car out, but Mandy’s blackmail scheme had caught her by surprise.

Whoever the girl had demanded money from—for whatever reason—the mark would have had motive to kill her, especially if she’d gotten greedy. Blackmail always brought out the worst in folks. If Burke’s story held up, she’d have a slim lead on Mandy’s killer, someone who had framed Harper in an elaborate ruse.

But from here on, she’d be treading on thin ice—hunting a crafty killer who knew how to get away with murder.

“All you have is beer and condiments,” Alexa said, staring into a nearly empty fridge with her face awash in its light. “I thought you said you had food.”

“Who do I look like, Rachael Ray?” Jess replied over her shoulder to the blonde in her kitchen.

“Actually you do kind of…” Sam grinned, but stopped short when she saw the perturbed expression on her face. “Never mind.”

With Alexa in the other room, Sam ventured a more personal topic.

“Have you heard from your boy genius?” her friend asked, hugging a sofa pillow to her chest as she sat next to her on the sofa. “You haven’t talked much about Seth since his bail hearing.”

Sam had read her well. Good friends had a nasty habit of doing that. She hadn’t told Sam about Harper’s connection to the man who had rescued her all those years ago. There was something much too personal about it. The only person she wanted to talk to was Harper. She needed to confront him, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to do it.

And talking about it with anyone else, even Sam, would only gain her a liberal dose of pity. Only Seth had the answers she needed, and she wasn’t sure she could look him in the eye without losing her temper. His betrayal still carried its sting.

“He’s left me messages, but we keep missing each other.”

To change the subject of her avoiding Seth, Jess gave Sam the CliffsNotes version of her encounter with Jason Burke. And she left Alexa’s name out of it, a fact that hadn’t been missed by the blonde in the kitchen. In the midst of foraging for food, Alexa looked over her shoulder and winked. Her only reaction.

She told Sam about Burke’s possible tattoo match based on the recollection of the bartender at Dirty Monty’s and about Burke loaning out his car to anyone with cash. But she saved Mandy’s blackmail for last.

“You think there’s anything to the blackmail thing? I mean, not about her hitting up Harper, but someone else?” her friend asked.

“It could explain everything, but the DA would love to get ahold of Burke,” Jess said. “The guy may not be much, but his testimony could hurt Harper’s chances with a jury. I’m gonna check my sources, but maybe your boys in blue can chase down these other leads, huh?”

“Yeah. And I’ll tell Ray, too, Jess.”

Sam took out a pad and pen from a pocket and made notes as Alexa’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Hey, do ramen noodles expire…ever?”

Jess fought back a smile, and Sam shook her head. With her crazy work hours, she wasn’t much for stocking her pantry except with food that had the never-ending shelf life of Spam.

“We’re gonna find out what happened that night, Jess. You’ll see. Seth isn’t going down for something he didn’t do.”

Her friend’s reassurance was as good as a hug, but Jess felt antsy, as if she were spinning in circles with a clock ticking on Harper’s life. And although Sam had an unshakable idealistic belief in the justice system, it was an opinion she didn’t share. She’d seen it fail too many times, and being cynical came far too easily.

“What’s with the drawerful of unopened fortune cookies?” Alexa called out from the kitchen again. “Isn’t that bad luck?”

Sam pursed her lips and nodded. “She has a point.”

“Don’t encourage her.” Jess rolled her eyes, and Alexa interrupted again, still conducting an inventory of her kitchen.

“Malt-O-Meal?” The woman chuckled. “What are you…ten years old? Did you get a supersecret decoder ring with this?”

Jess finally had enough and got up to deal with her hungry guest.

“Quit rummaging through my kitchen.” She grabbed the half-empty bag of chips Alexa carried in her hand. “Go sit. And I’ll make something to stop your whining.”

Alexa joined Sam in the small living room and slumped into a chair. The cop shrugged and raised both eyebrows in commiseration, but didn’t say a word. Jess flipped the overhead light on in her kitchen and rummaged through her pots and pans for what she needed. Idle chatter filled the next ten minutes until she came out with a serving platter of chips and dip.

“Will this work?” she asked, setting the hot snack and napkins on her coffee table.

“Uh, sure. Looks great.” Alexa grabbed a chip and tried the dip. “Hey, not bad.”

She waited until the blonde had her mouth full before she asked, “Now that we can get down to business, if I give you some names, can you run financials and a thorough background check on them? Sammie needs a warrant, but it sure would be nice to avoid the red tape. Can you deliver that?”

Not one to waste time, Jess thought it would be a good idea to test the resources Garrett and Alexa claimed to have at their fingertips. And working on Harper’s case with her new wannabe ally would also give her an opportunity to try Garrett’s resources on for size, to see how they’d fit.

Alexa wiped her mouth and nodded. “Yeah, I could do that. But my people’s turnaround is going to depend on how many names you give me.”

Jess wondered what it would feel like to have “people,” but if Alexa came through with help for Harper, she might take it as a good sign for the prospect of their working together in the future. Trust started with a single step. And that first step never came easy for her.

“That won’t be a problem. I’ve only got a few names for you now. The smoker, Nipple Rings, and Mandy.”

“Sounds like a porn flick,” Sam said as she handed her a sheet of paper from her notebook and a pen.

Jess wrote the names Nadir Beladi, Jason Burke, and Amanda Vincent. Following the trail of blackmail, it would involve tracking any money that had changed hands. And the murder victim might be the cog to the wheel. The list was a start.

She gave Alexa the names.

“I’ll let you know what I find out,” the blonde said. “But hey, how come neither of you are eating?” She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“Oh, I never eat what she serves me,” Sam said without hesitating. “Not unless I brought it.”

Alexa shot an accusing stare to Jess. “Come to think of it, I never saw any salsa in your fridge. How’d you make this?”

“Malt-O-Meal and ketchup with a dash of Tabasco, the single girl’s best friend. You want me to write down the recipe?”

Alexa looked stunned. She stood with urgency in her eyes. “I think I’m gonna hurl.”

“Down the hall, first door on the right,” she said, as the blonde rushed by her.

Sam shook her head. “She can outrun explosives, but condiments take her down.”

“Yeah, a real lightweight.” She winked at Sam, but a knock at the door surprised her.

“Who could that be?” she wondered as she stood, glancing at Sam.

Focused on her life and keeping odd hours made it impossible for her to have a huge circle of acquaintances. Friends were a garden she didn’t have the green thumb to cultivate, despite her preaching to Harper how much
he
needed them. And after Lucas Baker had paid a call and trashed her place not too long ago, Jess felt the urge for caution and grabbed her gun.

In her world, old habits died hard, especially those stemming from self-preservation. She doused a nearby lamp and glanced out a side window, barely moving the curtain. She didn’t want to leave herself vulnerable by peering through the peephole, making her head an easy target for a shooter with a sick imagination.

She saw the silhouette of a man outside her door. It didn’t take long to recognize him. Not saying a word to Sam, she holstered her Colt Python and opened the door.

“We gotta talk, Jessie.” Seth Harper stood in her doorway.

Apparently he’d called a moratorium on voice mail and text messages. And she had to admit—looking into Harper’s sad, dark eyes—she felt the pull of their bruised friendship.

It was time to talk face-to-face, whether she was ready or not.

Her day of reckoning had come, wearing worn jeans, a House of Blues tee, and sneaks.

Seth paced her living room as Jess ushered her guests out the door without much of an introduction. Sam would take Alexa back to her hotel. But before they left, she exchanged cell phone numbers with Alexa. If something came up, Jess wanted a way to contact her.

That left her alone to confront Harper. Despite his personal problems—the glitch of a manslaughter charge hanging over his head—she knew by the look in his eyes that he would finally tell her about his father.

And the reason he’d crossed her path in the first place.

Harper looked tired, in need of a good sleep. And his antsy behavior would have been contagious if she didn’t feel wrung out tired herself. She fought the urge to make this about him. After all, he was the one who had knowingly chosen to keep his secrets and betray their friendship. For her to forgive him now would depend entirely on what he had to say.

“You took a chance comin’ here. I could’ve slammed the door in your face.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time a woman had that notion.”

“Oh, Harper…I doubt that.” She stuffed her hands in her jeans. “Can I get you a beer?”

Harper had a dismal expression. And he hadn’t settled down since he walked through the door. He had something in his craw that needed to come out. And with an unrelenting glare, she wasn’t making it any easier on him.

That would have to change if she expected him to open up.

“No.” He shook his head, avoiding her eyes. “I just…”

She plopped down on her sofa and patted the seat next to her, taking a deep breath and reining back the attitude.

“Hey, you’re wearing me out,” she admitted. “You’re like a moving target in an arcade game. Sit down before I shoot you.”

“That might not be a bad idea. Put me out of my misery.”

“Nah, like I said before, Harper. You gotta have faith.” She could have told him the latest developments, but judging by his guilt-ridden face, Seth had something to say.

“Spit it out,” she said. “Just say it.”

An awkward silence filled the room as he slouched beside her, sprawled in the farthest corner of her sofa. He crossed his arms, still not looking her in the eye. It suddenly dawned on her that his outward appearance and easygoing attitude had been a wall he’d crafted to hide who he really was.

She’d thought she knew him, and that simply wasn’t true.

In the past, Seth sometimes refused to answer the occasional question she’d thrown him, but it had never seemed important for her to press him for answers. She’d always believed his basic nature was trustworthy. He was an open book, a simple guy who was easy to read. If he had something to hide, she thought she could always spot it lurking in his dark eyes. And all it would take to get him to open up would be persistence on her part.

But after learning about Harper’s connection to the man who had saved her life as a kid—and how well he had kept his secret from her—she realized Seth was far more complicated than she had ever given him credit for. She had to take off the blinders and see him in a different light.

She wasn’t sure she could do that.

“I had no intention of you finding out about my father that way. At my damned bail hearing. I’m sorry, Jessie.” He struggled for words. “I wanted to tell you. But when you were leaving for Alaska, Mandy hit a new low. She needed…someone.”

Before her unforeseen trek to Alaska, she remembered how lost and utterly alone Harper looked the day she came to him for help in tracking down Payton Archer’s missing niece. She knew something was up and even asked him about it, but he deflected her pointed questions about his personal life and changed the subject. And she’d been too distracted to push him. The hunt for Globe Harvest—the insidious organization behind the girl’s abduction—had heated up and taken all her concentration.

Backtracking to that moment, his behavior now made sense. It had seemed harmless at the time, and she hadn’t pressed him out of respect for his privacy. Her mind raced with all the other times he had been evasive about his life, but she tried to stay focused.

“But why did you disappear like that? Sam had to tell me you were gone over the phone, even before I came back. What happened?” She touched his thigh. The intimacy of her gesture got his attention. His eyes met hers and stayed. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice you were AWOL? Did you think I’d be okay with that?”

Jess was surprised at the hurt in her voice—and in her heart. She had made room in her life for Harper, and his disappearing act felt too much like rejection.

“You didn’t need me anymore. Not really. Maybe you never did, but Mandy had no one. And the men in her life always took from her.”

Harper was the kind of guy who took in strays of the two-legged variety. She wondered if that was all she had meant to him in the beginning, but questions about Mandy surfaced.

“Was she in more trouble, Seth? I mean beyond her self-inflicted bullet to the brain of using drugs. Did she ever mention being scared of someone?”

“She was so messed up, Jessie…because of her addiction and other stuff.”

“What other stuff?”

“Life, her boyfriend, everyone was out to get her. You know the drill with addicts. They’re paranoid and delusional.”

“Did she ever say anything about blackmailing someone?”

“No, but I doubt she would have told me if she was. I wanted her clean. And breaking the law wouldn’t be a part of that. Besides, I hadn’t talked to her in weeks, not until the night I was supposed to meet her. And I have no idea why she called me out of the blue like that. She never said.”

Harper was a regular Boy Scout. His good nature reinforced her judgment that he was a solid, well-meaning guy when it came to others, but something else lurked deeper. Something personal that he was keeping from her. She could have accepted his explanation on its merits and gotten balled up in his angst over Mandy, but a major piece of the puzzle was missing.

“So why did you pick me…and Mandy? Does this have anything to do with your father, Seth?”

Jess held her breath, waiting for his answer. And by the look on his face, she knew what he had to say wouldn’t be easy to hear.

A flood of images from the day she was rescued filled her mind—an overload of horror that threatened to suffocate her. She struggled to picture the face of Detective Max Jenkins, Harper’s father. But all that came to mind were his strong hands and reassuring voice when he hauled her out of that house in his arms, freeing her from a living hell. She’d blocked too much from her memory. Even the good got jumbled into the bad.
The torture. The muffled screams. Her abuser’s face. That house on High Street.
It made her sad that she couldn’t recall Seth’s father—the man who had saved her life.

“You’ve got to understand, Jessie. My father was a hero to everyone…” He lowered his chin and muttered, “…to everyone except me.”

Harper shut his eyes tight until he could start over. It took courage to talk about an ugly truth, one he probably had never intended to share. The least she could do was listen without passing judgment.

“I never understood why he chose other people…over me. My mother tried to explain it, but after a while, she just stopped. I think she felt it, too.” His voice took on the sharp edge of resentment. The years hadn’t tempered his pain, something she understood. “He gave everything he had to the job. And there was nothing left. Not for me…or her.”

When his eyes watered, he took a breath and sank deeper into her sofa. Misery personified.

“I cut him out of my life, Jessie. A preemptive strike. A kid’s way of saving face, I guess.” He shook his head, unable to look her in the eye. “As a kid, I was so angry all the time. Somehow, I lost my place. I let my anger take over until I didn’t know who I was or where I fit anymore. It became easier to be alone.”

She understood what he meant, completely.

“And I wanted to distance myself from my old man, and changing my name seemed like a good idea at the time my parents got their divorce. After that, it got simpler to reinvent a whole new me.”

A tear lost its hold and trailed down his cheek. He never bothered wiping it away. “But my dad’s investigation…when he rescued you and those kids? That really ate him up. There wasn’t much left, especially after…”

“What happened, Seth? Tell me.” She reached for his hand and held it.

Guilt grabbed her. Until Seth’s bail hearing, she hadn’t thought about the man who’d saved her life—a self-preservation tactic. Those days of terror were buried deep in the damaged psyche of a child—only resurrected by the nightmares that still plagued her.

“My dad began to drink…a lot. Eventually, we noticed he’d changed. Doctors told us the alcohol masked the symptoms of dementia caused by a series of strokes. But by then it was too late. We had to hospitalize him. He needed long-term care.” He clenched his jaw. “I got used to him being absent from my life, but inside it still hurts, you know? And I never got a chance to really talk with him. Hell, I’ve got more baggage than Samsonite.”

She knew his attempt at humor was a defense mechanism, a familiar tactic she favored, too. But of all people, she saw behind it, recognizing the crack in the foundation of his life that would remain broken.

“I’ve never heard you mention family. I always got the sense you were alone, Seth. How’s your mom holding up?”

“She isn’t, not anymore.” He shook his head and squeezed her hand. “Mom died a year ago. And now my father’s care is my responsibility. Ironic, huh? He’s got no one else. Not really. So I’m taking time to sort things out.”

Seth had revealed a great deal, but she saw there was more.

“You’re not telling me something. What is it?”

For the first time, he fixed his gaze on her.

“Look, Jessie. This thing with my dad had been between him and me. But as his mind deteriorated, I had to find answers somewhere. I had to come to terms with it, but I want you to know the real reason I made contact with you…after all these years.”

“What do you mean…made contact?”

“I used my dad’s old case files to find you. I had your name and other information to track you down,” he finally admitted, and let go of her hand. “It was my only way to understand him. Don’t you see?”

“How did you get the Millstone files? That’s police property.” She asked the question, more out of shock than any real concern for police protocol.

“He kept copies of everything. He’d been obsessed with that case. As far as I know, it still haunts him, even in his condition.” He leaned forward and grabbed her arm after a tear slid down her cheek.

“Jessie, I needed to understand his fixation.” He brushed her tear away with a finger. “And the way I saw it, there was only one way to do that. I had to track down his kids, the ones he’d saved—to know my family’s sacrifice had been worth it.”

He let the revelation sink in, but when she only stared at him in disbelief, he added, “I’m not proud of why I did it, but, Jessie, I’m beginning to understand how he felt. It’s something I have to finish, so I can…let it go.”

“And Mandy? Was she…?” She fought the emotion welling in her throat, dreading his answer.

“Yes. She was part of your nightmare, Jessie. She was there…in that house. Mandy was one of my father’s kids.”

Jess shut her eyes and took a deep breath, desperately trying to stifle the sickening feeling that gripped her now. She tried digesting what he’d told her, to put it into perspective, but a stark image assaulted her mind like a virulent disease. The blurred face of a crank-addicted hooker—stabbed to death in a cheap motel room—suddenly shifted into focus.

And it was like looking in a mirror.

“We were both there…in that house?” She opened her eyes and stared past him, not really seeing Seth, only feeling his hands pulling her close. “Her life could have been mine.”

“No, Jessie. You survived. You were stronger than Mandy,” he insisted. “Hell, you’re the strongest person I know. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Seth nudged her chin with his finger and fixed his dark eyes on her, forcing her to look at him. He brushed a strand of hair from her face and let his finger trail down her cheek. His tenderness had shocked her, but when he lowered his lips to hers—for an instant—she simply let go. His lips pressed to hers, a warm, comforting touch. She craved the intimacy. It felt right, and she gave in to the sensation, needing to be held. He pulled her to his chest and caressed her.

But eventually, the shock had worn off, and she realized what was happening. That was when she reacted.

“Seth, what are you…” Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she pulled away from him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Seth scrambled to his feet and stood. He backed away from the sofa and headed across the room. His face flushed pink.

Jess had never seen it coming. Had she misread what he’d done, made more out of it than was there? She replayed the moment in her head and found it hard to misinterpret what had happened.

Seth had kissed her. And damned if she hadn’t returned the favor.