Alone in the Dark (56 page)

‘Why didn’t she call the cops?’ Scarlett asked, and another hush fell over the table.

‘He
was
a cop,’ Marcus said quietly.

Scarlett exhaled. ‘Shit. You beat up a cop?’

‘A little,’ Diesel said.

‘A lot,’ Marcus corrected. ‘And I’m not sorry. He was not going to be satisfied until they were dead. We threatened to call the cops on him, and he attacked us. So we convinced him to leave and not come back. He did leave – for that day. I worried he’d come back, so we installed a high-tech alarm system in the woman’s house and got her a very large dog. He never came back. A few weeks later he died, but not because of anything we did to him.’

Scarlett rubbed her temples, trying to recall the case. Cops going to jail for molesting children didn’t happen every day. In a rush, the man’s name and face came back to her and she blew out a breath. ‘You’re right. I knew him. He was a prick who liked to bully anyone weaker than he was. He moved to California and died there. A bar fight or road rage, wasn’t it? He was beaten up pretty severely, but I can’t remember all the details.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Were you responsible for that?’

‘No,’ Marcus said. ‘We had our run-in with him before that. But none of us cried for him. It happened when I was in the hospital. Stone was recuperating at home. Diesel was with Cal and Lisette, keeping the paper running.’

Scarlett turned to look at Diesel and he met her gaze without flinching. ‘I didn’t do it,’ he said. ‘The asshole got drunk and got grabby with a waitress in a bar, which made her steroid-juiced bodybuilder boyfriend very unhappy. Boyfriend is sitting in jail, waiting for his trial.’ He smiled nastily. ‘I wrote the article about it, though.’

‘O-kay,’ she murmured, hoping that she never saw Diesel truly angry. That evil smile of his was enough to raise the hairs on the back of her neck. She looked at Marcus. ‘Were there any other incidents?’

‘A few. Mostly we just had Diesel pay them a visit. He rarely had to do more than raise a finger to convince them to walk away.’ He pointed to the flash drive. ‘I’ll tell you all the details when we go over the list.’

‘What about names that aren’t on this list?’ she asked. ‘People you’ve investigated that haven’t made threats? Or the targets of ongoing investigations that haven’t been closed, or who you haven’t exposed or “gently coerced” yet?’

Lisette drew a sharp breath. ‘Mr Arrogant. Phillip was asking questions in his office today.’

‘But that doesn’t explain the alley or the sniper,’ Marcus said.

Lisette’s shoulders slumped. ‘You’re right.’

‘Who is Mr Arrogant?’ Scarlett asked.

‘His real name is Rich McKay,’ Lisette said. ‘He’s a corporate attorney. Works for Wesman Peal, the department store chain. He’s a vice-president there.’

‘And attorneys know just how to slither around the law,’ Scarlett said coldly. ‘What was Phillip doing in his office?’

‘Trying to find an employee list,’ Marcus said. ‘We figured if he’s beating his wife and kid, he may have been aggressive with his office staff too. Phillip posed as a courier.’

‘Then we can use that,’ Scarlett said, thinking. ‘We can say we’re checking out all the places that Phillip’s been today as part of our investigation into his attack. Anything else? Any other ongoing cases we need to consider?’

‘No,’ Stone said. ‘Things have been very quiet since the fall.’

Since Mikhail’s murder.

‘We were just starting to gear back up,’ Marcus added.

Scarlett nodded. ‘I understand. But you’re right,’ she said to Marcus. ‘I don’t think Mr Arrogant is involved in Phillip’s attack, because of the shooting this afternoon. If we assume you were the target, the sniper had to either have been waiting at the Anders house or he followed us there.’

Marcus’s face suddenly paled. ‘Oh shit. Delores.’

Stone stiffened. ‘What about Delores?’

The brothers’ gazes locked. ‘We’d just come from her house,’ Marcus said. ‘She identified the dog that Tala had been walking in the park. That’s how we got the Anderses’ address. We drove straight from Delores’s shelter to Hyde Park.’

Stone also paled. ‘They could have hurt her. Goddammit to hell.’ His hands visibly shaking, he pulled out his cell phone and hit a number from his speed dial while the rest of them looked on in stunned surprise. After a moment, he relaxed. ‘I was just wondering about your hours,’ he said into the phone. ‘Thank you.’

Scarlett looked at Marcus, but he appeared equally confused.

‘Um . . .’ Marcus hesitated. ‘Did you have her on speed dial?’

Stone had gone from pale to bright red in a heartbeat. ‘Yes.’

‘You just asked for her hours,’ Diesel said, brows lifted.

Stone’s frown was formidable. ‘Drop it. I’m serious.’ He stared at each person around the table harshly. ‘I worry about her being all the way out in Bumfuck. I keep track of her, okay? I just wanted to be sure she was okay.’

‘Loveland isn’t Bumfuck,’ Scarlett said mildly.

He turned his fury on her. ‘She lives in the middle of nowhere all alone. Anyone could break in and she couldn’t defend herself.’

Scarlett suspected that more was going on, but knew not to push. Stone’s feelings were his own. But she could soothe his fears. ‘She has a great big dog and I’ve given her lessons on operating a firearm myself. She’s a pretty good shot. You don’t need to worry so much.’

The big man drew a deep breath. ‘Thank you,’ he muttered. ‘That’s helpful.’

‘I’ll send an officer out to her place to check on her, and I’ll recommend she find somewhere to stay for a few days,’ she said, and the glance Stone flashed her was grateful even though he made no further reply.

The brother sitting beside her squeezed her knee. ‘Thank you,’ Marcus murmured.

She covered his hand with hers. ‘It’s nothing. She’s a good person. And my friend. You should also consider adding security at the
Ledger
building. Maybe even at all of your personal residences. Especially your mother’s house, Marcus. Gayle’s house too. If they failed luring you with Phillip, they may try again, and your mom and Audrey are alone right now. Gayle’s safe here, but she has to go home to sleep at some point.’

Both Marcus and Stone paled. ‘We should have thought about that already, dammit,’ Stone said, then sent a quick text, talking as he typed. ‘I’m contacting the company that does security for Audrey’s fund-raisers. I’ll post guards at both houses and at the
Ledger
.’

Marcus drew an unsteady breath. ‘Mom’s driver is retired army and her personal maid is also trained in defense, so she’s always covered in the house. They can handle security until the guards get there.’

‘I’m texting them too,’ Stone said grimly as his fingers continued to fly over his phone’s keyboard. ‘I don’t want them taken by surprise.’

‘I already asked for drive-bys on her street when I requested the guard for Phillip,’ Scarlett said. ‘The department couldn’t justify full-time protection, though. You should tell your internal security and the guards you’ve hired to coordinate with CPD.’

Stone looked stunned. ‘Thank you, Detective. That was kind of you.’

‘It was a phone call,’ Scarlett said simply. ‘Your mom’s been through a lot. I’d like her to feel safe. To
be
safe.’

Marcus’s lips curved ever so slightly at Stone’s expression, then he turned his hand palm up to lace his fingers through Scarlett’s. ‘So what now, Detective?’ he asked, his businesslike tone in contrast with the warmth of his hand in hers.

‘We start on the list.’ She bit her lip. ‘But something still doesn’t fit. Tala knew her attacker this morning. I’m sure of it.’

Marcus leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling with a weary sigh. ‘You’re right. That doesn’t f—’

He was cut off by the door opening, revealing a tired surgeon. ‘Miss Cauldwell? The duty nurse said I could find you here.’

Everyone at the table came to their feet, including Scarlett. She kept her hold on Marcus’s hand, squeezing hard as they waited.

‘I’m Lisette Cauldwell,’ Lisette said, a quaver in her voice.

Cal slid his arm over Lisette’s shoulders, holding her close. ‘Is he all right?’ he asked.

‘He came through the surgery,’ the doctor said. ‘It was a very serious wound, but he’s got a fighting chance. Whoever did first aid did a good job. He might have died had he lost any more blood. We had to give him three pints as it was. He’s in recovery and will be moved to ICU. The next twenty-four hours are critical. We’ll know something by then, one way or the other.’ With a nod, the doctor backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Lisette turned into Cal’s arms, starting to cry again, her tears a mixture of relief, fear and adrenaline, Scarlett thought. She understood. She’d held her sobbing mother when the surgeon told them Phin would be all right. She’d cried those tears herself when no one was looking.

Marcus sank into his chair, his grip on Scarlett’s hand nearly punishing. He dropped his face into his free hand, shuddering as he tried to hold back his own emotion. Scarlett stroked his hair with the hand he wasn’t holding, pulling his head to rest his cheek against her stomach, her heart catching when he turned his head to bury his face against her, wrapping his arm around her waist. There was nothing sexual about his embrace. He sought only comfort. From the way he held on, Scarlett wondered how long it had been since anyone had given him comfort. Or, like her, how long since he’d allowed himself to accept it.

At that moment she didn’t care who saw them, wouldn’t have pushed him away even if Lynda Isenberg had walked in with the commissioner himself. Especially when she felt the front of her thin cotton shirt grow damp. He was crying too and didn’t want anyone to see. She’d make sure they didn’t.

Her own eyes stinging, she bent so that her lips brushed his ear. ‘You heard the doctor,’ she murmured thickly. She curled around him, cradling him to her as he clung. ‘You probably saved Phillip’s life. You didn’t cause what happened, nor are you responsible. Whoever broke into your apartment and shot Phillip is responsible.’

His arm around her tightened and his shoulders heaved, the movement nearly imperceptible.

‘You listen to me, Marcus O’Bannion,’ she whispered fiercely. ‘Every person on your team knew the risk. Accepted the risk. Whoever’s pissed off enough to kill you could be angry because of something one of the others did to expose him. You are not the sole owner of whatever misplaced guilt you’re feeling. You will not shoulder the burden. I won’t let you.’ She kissed his neck, just below his ear, relieved by the muted chuckle that rumbled in his throat. ‘He’ll be all right, Marcus. You have to believe that.’

His shoulders sagged on a sigh that warmed her belly through her shirt. ‘You play dirty, Detective Bishop,’ he said quietly, the muscles in his face tensing as he clenched his eyes shut and rubbed his face against her middle, nuzzling her while he dried his tears.

‘Only when I have to,’ she said. ‘So don’t make me.’

One side of his mouth lifted ruefully when he pulled away, releasing her hand to scrub his palms over his face. She surreptitiously buttoned her jacket to hide the dampness on her shirt. She expected he’d be wearing a stoic face when he lowered his hands, but what she saw stole her breath. She’d seen plenty of emotion in his dark eyes – pain and desire, anger and guilt. But now he looked at her with an unmasked need so profound, so . . . 
hungry
that it shook her, froze her where she stood. Burned her from the inside out. Made her want to reach for him again, but this time it wouldn’t be about comfort.

And she would have done it had Diesel not politely cleared his throat behind her. ‘Do you need us anymore?’ he asked. ‘Cal and I need to get back to the paper. We have an edition to print.’

Scarlett drew a breath, closed her eyes to compose herself. Contain herself. When she opened her eyes, Marcus was still gazing at her like he was a starving wolf. With an effort she pivoted on her heel to look up at Diesel. ‘I think I have enough to get started. I may have more questions later.’

Diesel’s brows were raised in amusement. ‘I take it you’re not going to arrest us.’

Scarlett blinked cluelessly. ‘For what? I have received no formal complaints against you. Please keep it that way.’

With a grin, Diesel walked around the table and kissed Lisette on the cheek. ‘I’ll be back, Lissy. They won’t let us into ICU for a while anyway. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll come back and take the night shift so you can sleep.’

‘I don’t think I’ll sleep,’ Lisette said, sniffling. ‘I think I’ll just watch him breathe.’

‘Come on, honey.’ Cal led Lisette to the door. ‘Let’s go back and tell Gayle.’

Marcus was right behind Cal, pausing at the door when he realized Scarlett hadn’t moved from where she stood. ‘Aren’t you coming?’

She started to say yes, but realized that Stone still sat at the table, his arms folded across his broad chest, his features bent in a suspicious scowl. ‘In a minute,’ she said. ‘I want to talk to Stone first.’

Because Stone clearly wanted to talk to her. Marcus gave his brother a warning glare before turning to her, that hungry look back in his eyes. ‘I’ll meet you in the lobby, then we can start working on the list.’