Deception with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Two) (23 page)

“Hold on to it,” she said. Although he hadn’t looked up toward her, she could just make out the grin on his face. “Knowing me, I’ll probably lock myself out at some point. Not that you really need a key, with your unsettling ability with a lock picking set.”

“So in keeping this key, there’s a good chance that I’ll be getting a call at two in the morning sometime when you lose your keys. That’s what you’re saying?” he asked playfully.

“It’s not like you would complain about getting a middle of the night call,” she said in outwardly flirtatious tone. After giving him a quick smile to go along with it, she climbed into the car and left him standing on the sidewalk with an almost baffled expression.

She still felt a lingering flutter from her comment as she pulled into the driveway. She had the feeling she may have actually been more shocked than he was by the statement.

“Did you solve it?” her mom asked when she met her at the door.

Rilynne nodded. “You were right,” she said. She tossed her purse down and shut the door behind her. “I just needed to clear my head and it all came to me.”

“Was he having an affair then?” Amber grabbed a bottle of wine off the rack and two glasses before leading Rilynne into the living room.

“No, it was actually his wife that he was meeting at the house.”

“If he was meeting his wife, where did the feeling of guilt come from?” she asked.

Rilynne took a sip from the glass her mother handed her and leaned back on the couch, kicking her feet up on the table. “I think it was coming from her. She was having an affair with his best friend, and I think it was either guilt from the fact she was cheating, or she was feeling guilty for sleeping with her husband and cheating on her boyfriend. Either way, it was a pretty messed up situation.”

“So was it his wife then?” Amber asked. “Was his wife the one who killed him?”

Rilynne nodded while draining half of her glass.

“Did she say why?”

“Her husband was actually going to forgive her for the affair, and try to work things out,” Rilynne explained. “He even forgave his best friend before meeting his wife at the house that day. She decided she didn’t want to work things out with him, though, because she wanted to be with Julio, the friend. To top it all off, she told her husband that she was pregnant with his best friend’s baby.”

“I don’t imagine that went over well,” Amber said as she sipped from her own glass.

“Not even a little bit. He understandably flipped out and declared that he was going to tell everyone what she had done. I don’t think her reputation really concerned her, but she wasn’t willing to let him ruin Julio’s.”

“Ah,” Amber said out of understanding. “The honor code among officers.”

“That’s the one,” she replied.

“Wow,” Amber said on a long breath. “It’s insane the lengths people are willing to go so their dirty little secrets don’t get out. How far along is she?”

Rilynne shrugged. “She didn’t say, but she isn’t showing yet.”

“I can’t believe that any mother would sacrifice being able to raise a child just to keep their man from having a bad reputation.”

“At least the child will still have one parent when this all ends,” Rilynne said. “Julio said he isn’t even going to worry about getting a DNA test done on the baby. He said he’ll raise it as his own, and it wouldn’t matter if Shane was actually the father.”

“Good for him,” Amber said with an air of astonishment. “How’s his reputation going to fair?”

“Right now only a limited number of people know about the affair, and we’re going to do what we can to keep it that way,” Rilynne explained. “If it gets out, then he’ll have to face the downfall, but for right now no one within the department other than those of us directly involved in closing the case know that he was connected to it at all.” Rilynne paused to think back over everything she had learned. “I guess that explains why my flash was triggered by being hurt,” she said. “I can’t imagine how hurt Villarreal must have been that last day. The two people he trusted and loved were betraying him.”

“What were you thinking about when you go it?” Amber asked in her motherly, concerned tone.

“Christopher and the way he reacted when I told him. That was the first time he had ever done anything that truly hurt me.”

Amber ran her fingers through Rilynne’s hair. “Well, it looks like I showed up just in time then,” Amber said as she refilled both of the glasses. “Now that your case is closed, what are we going to do with all of this free time?”

Rilynne chuckled. “I won’t make you spend your time helping me unpack my house. Of course, I will also not claim to know anything fun to do in this town.”

“That would mean that you actually went out and enjoyed yourself from time to time,” Amber said mockingly. “I don’t suppose you know anyone who might be able to give us some suggestions?”

“I put a bullet in the only female friend that I’ve made here, so I’m going to have to say no,” she said sardonically.

“Maybe Ben could help us out.” Rilynne couldn’t help but notice the almost hopeful tone in her mother’s voice.

“If you like him so much, why don’t you date him?” Rilynne grinned over at her, feeling her cheeks growing slightly warm. Amber seemed to have noticed, because a joyful smile popped up across her face.

“I hardly think I’m his type,” she said playfully. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s very attractive and one of the nicest men that you have ever introduced to me. Besides, I’m no longer on the market.”

Rilynne nearly choked on her wine as she jumped up in her seat. “What do you mean ‘no longer on the market’? Are you dating someone?” She couldn’t hide the curiosity in her voice.

“Don’t sound so shocked,” said Amber. “I may be getting older, but I’m not dead.”

“I didn’t say that you were, I just didn’t know you were seeing someone. Spill,” Rilynne stated. “Who is he?”

Amber appeared to be trying hard to keep the smile off of her face. Rilynne liked this look on her mother. She couldn’t remember the last time that Amber had been on a date, let alone in a relationship. “He’s just a guy that I work with. We’ve been seeing each other for a little while now. I’m not the one we’re talking about at the moment, though,” she said, quickly trying to shift the conversation. “But since it has been mentioned, if I can start dating, you most certainly can. I’m able to entertain myself for a few hours, why don’t you call Ben and see if he wants to join you for a night out.”

Rilynne opened her mouth to argue, but couldn’t bring herself to turn down the suggestion. After draining the remainder of her wine glass, she finally just nodded and reached for her phone. “I’ll text him and see if he’s free,” she said. “But to be clear, this is
not
a date. It’s just two friends hanging out.”

She didn’t know who she was trying to convince more, but Amber didn’t seem to have been persuaded at all. Instead, she seemed quite chipper.

“Okay, he’s going to come pick be up in about an hour,” she said. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t keep from feeling a little excited. “We’re going to this place he knows where we can ride go carts and play mini golf. It should be fun. Oh, shut up,” she added when she saw the look of pure pleasure on her mother’s face.

“Should I bother waiting up?” Amber asked.

“That depends,” Rilynne said, looking at her suspiciously. “Are you going to want to hear every detail of the evening when I get home?”

Amber tapped her lips with her finger, as if considering the question. “Yes,” she finally said. “I think that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

“Then no,” she said quickly. “There’s no need at all for you to wait up for me.”

“
Y
ou know, Evans,” Matthews said as he flipped the patties over on the grill. “Usually people have house warming parties when they move in, not two months later.”

“Well,” she paused to try to think of a good excuse. “It took me this long to get everything unpacked,” she finally said. “I really hate unpacking. I was planning on having it last week and make it a New Years party, but I couldn’t get everything ready in time.”

“It’s a nice place,” he said. “Katy was admiring your arched entryway. She suggested that we put one in. By suggested, of course, I mean insisted. It looks like I have my next weekend project all planned out for me.”

Rilynne chuckled as she walked toward the small group gathered near the back gate. “Can I get anyone anything?” she asked politely.

“No thanks,” Jeremy Steele answered. “We just sent Donovan out for more beer and ice, so I think we’re covered here. Have you seen Avery?”

She quickly nodded. “She’s with Tylers in the kitchen. He was showing her how to make his super secret margaritas.”

“Of course he is,” Steele said with a note of amusement in his voice.

“So, the two of them…” she said, unable to find the best way to phrase the question.

His head bobbed up and down. “A couple months now. She could have done worse. Although, if she wanted to date someone in the department, I would have preferred a lab tech or something. I tried to hook her up with Ben Davis a few months ago, but it didn’t work.”

“I heard,” she said with a grin as she collected the empty bottles off the table. Steele rejoined the others in conversation while she carried the bottles to the recycling bin on the side of the house.

“Aren’t you supposed to enjoy the party and take care of the clean up after?” she heard from behind her as she dropped the bottles in.

“I was beginning to think that you weren’t going to show,” she said as she spun around to face Ben. His tight, pale blue shirt made his flowing hair almost shine. Once again she found herself wanting to reach out and touch it, just to see if it was as soft as it looked.

“Scarlett asked me to swing by and pick her up on my way,” he explained. “She seemed very excited that you invited her. I’m not going to lie; I was a little shocked by it. I didn’t think you were very fond of her.”

Rilynne ignored his smirk as she shook her head and walked with Ben back toward the back yard. “No, she’s very sweet,” she said. “And let’s face it, I don’t have many female friends. Did she already go back?”

“She got a call as we were pulling up. She said she would be a few minutes. You have a pretty big turn out,” he said as they stepped through the gate. “Have I missed anything?”

“Well, Matthews and Jerkins were fighting over who would do the grilling,” she said.

“Tell me that Matthews won,” he said hopefully.

Rilynne chuckled as she nodded. “The wives seem to be gossiping about something, but I haven’t gotten the courage to go over and find out what the juicy subject is yet.”

“Afraid it has something to do with you?” He looked amused by her statement.

“No,” she said hesitantly. “Although now I am. Thanks for that.”

He laughed as he reached into the cooler and grabbed a couple beers, opening one and handing it to her. “Why would you be the topic of conversation? Have you done anything scandalous that I don’t know about?”

“You caught me,” she joked. “Though the only time I seem to be the object of their gossip is when it has something to do with you. I think you’re their favorite topic, and I just get caught up in it.”

Ben just shrugged with a mischievous grin. “I guess I’m just an interesting person.”

“They just think you’re cute in that boy next door kind of way, that’s all.”

She glanced over at him just in time to see his ears begin to flare. “Why don’t I go make sure the coast is clear for you?” he offered. “If the topic is in danger of moving to you, I’ll let you know.”

“You’re so brave,” she chuckled as he walked toward the crowd of cheerful women.

“So have you two gone out again?” Matthews asked as he walked up behind her.

She turned to find Matthews eyeing Ben as he walked away. “Out again would mean that we went out before, which we haven’t,” she explained.

“Whatever you say,” he mumbled.

Rilynne had actually really enjoyed the night out she had with Ben two months before. After picking her up, they drove to a fun park on the other side of town and spent the evening chasing each other around on go-carts and playing miniature golf. She couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun. She had even allowed herself to briefly consider taking the leap and passing out of the veil of just friendship. Things might have been different had he not left the next day for back-to-back conferences. By the time he got back two weeks later, things seemed to have slipped right back into the comfortable groove they had always been in.

Despite that, she still found herself wondering if she should take that step and pursue something more. Part of her was still scared, however, and it was just strong enough to hold her back.

“Hi, Detective Evans,” a peppy voice came from behind her. Rilynne turned around to find Scarlett standing behind her with three large bags of chips. “I didn’t know what you needed, so I figured chips were always a safe place to start.”

“They’re great, thank you,” Rilynne said as she reached for the bags. “And Rilynne is fine. I’m glad that you could make it.”

“I’m just glad that Ben was able to pick me up. My car had a flat when I walked outside this morning,” she said. Something about her statement struck Rilynne as odd, and it took her several moments to realize what it was; this was the first time that she had heard Scarlett call him ‘Ben.’

Rilynne shook it off and gave her a friendly smile. “He’s a good guy like that. The food should be ready soon,” she said as she motioned toward the grill. “Have you had a chance to meet everyone yet?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head quickly. “Other than Ben and the rest of the forensic team, I have really only had a chance to talk to you and Detective Matthews.”

“Well, here’s your chance. Nearly everyone in the homicide unit is here along with their families,” Rilynne said as she pointed around the yard. “Why don’t you go mingle? Everyone is very friendly, I promise. You can start with that group over there. That would be Jeremy Steele, Ernie Tylers, Thomas LaShad, and Avery Steele. Oh, and that’s Frank Donovan walking up behind them. He’s a doll, and single I believe,” she whispered. Scarlett took one last longing look at Ben sitting with the group of detective’s wives, before resigning to the suggestion and making her way toward the back gate.

Rilynne let out a long, slightly frustrated sigh.

“You can’t hold it against her, you know,” Matthews said from just over her shoulder. “From all outward appearances, Ben’s an attractive, intelligent, single young man.” He put extra emphasis on ‘single’. “Unless someone spends a good deal of time with the two of you together, they would never know that you’re a bit of a thing.”

Rilynne wanted to argue, but she knew he was too smart to be fooled by anything that she could say. “Did you just call him attractive?” she joked.

He shook his head and chuckled. “I just repeat what my Katy tells me,” he said with a shrug. “But you shouldn’t be too hard on her. His attentions aren’t going to wonder. You’re safe.”

“How can you be so sure?” Rilynne asked before she could stop herself. Instantly, she felt her cheeks begin to burn and she quickly looked away.

After a few seconds of silence, she looked back toward him only to find him wide eyed, with a pleased grin on his face. She cursed under her breath as she quickly realized that this was the first time she hadn’t denied her growing feelings to her partner. It made knots form in her stomach. Matthews appeared to be nearly giddy, but seemed to be restraining his comments.

“I’m a detective,” he said, simply. “It’s my job to notice things.”

“You’re going to go straight to Katy with this, aren’t you?”

“I’m a husband,” he laughed. “It’s my job to notify her.”

Rilynne shook her head as her cheeks grew even warmer. She looked out across the yard and found Ben sitting between Katy and Sherri Wilcome. As if he could sense them talking about him, Ben looked over and met her gaze. He smiled at her warmly before returning his attention to the group of women around him. “I’m not going to hear the end of this, am I?” she asked, turning back to Matthews.

He just offered her a big smile and flipped the last hamburger patty onto the awaiting platter. “Food’s ready!” he announced to the crowded backyard. As he carried the tray to the nearby table, Rilynne tried to shake off the butterflies fluttering inside of her. This was made even more difficult at the sight of the playful smile Ben gave her as he crossed the yard.

“You’re safe,” he said as he leaned against the table just beside her.

“What?” A wave of panic passed through her.

“You don’t seem to be in any immediate danger of being the subject of their gossip,” he replied looking mildly suspicious by her response. “At least not within the next four or five conversation changes.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” she mumbled.

“What?” he asked, leaning a little closer to hear what she said.

“Oh, nothing. So what were they gossiping about then?” she asked in hopes of distracting him. To her delight, it worked.

Ben reached out and grabbed a plate to hand to her before getting one for himself. “The ladies were talking about how wonderful it is that Julio Vega is adopting the child of his fallen friend,” he replied.

“I wonder how everything’s going with him,” she said as she put her cheeseburger together.

He nudged her gently and motioned toward the backdoor. “You can ask him yourself,” he said. “Looks like he just got here.”

She smiled warmly and waved him over. “You’re just in time,” she said as she handed him a plate. “I’m glad you could make it.” Despite the casual smile on his face, she could tell that the past few months had been hard on him. He had lost at least ten pounds, and dark circles had formed under his eyes.

“Thank you for inviting me,” he said as he took the plate. “You have a nice place.”

“It looks much better now that I’ve finally gotten around to unpacking. How are things going with you?”

“They’re going,” he replied. “I’m trying to just take things one day at a time right now.”

“How are things with the baby?” she asked. “Do you know if it’s going to be a boy or girl?”

He nodded as he assembled the cheeseburger on his plate. “The prison doctor is making recordings of the ultrasounds for me so I don’t have to go down there for them.” He looked up and gave her a large smile. “I found out last week that it’s a boy.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Rilynne said excitedly. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I’m excited. I’m going to name him Shane.”

Rilynne and Julio followed Ben to a table on the other side of the yard. “Are you running into any trouble with legal issues?” Ben asked as he took his seat.

“Everything has been pretty smooth so far,” he answered. “The papers have already been drawn up for a legal adoption. Since she was sentenced to fifty years, the state is also working on terminating her rights. We’ll have to wait until he’s born to have everything finalized, but it’s all right on track for now.” He looked around and lowered his voice. “I’ve also convinced Jane to list Shane as the father on the birth certificate.”

“Well let us know if you need anything,” Rilynne said as she reached across the table for a bottle of ketchup.

He smiled warmly at her. “You have already done more than enough,” he said. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

Rilynne didn’t have time to respond before Scarlett sat down in the chair across from Ben. “These burgers are fantastic,” she said energetically. “Detective Matthews is a really good cook.”

“That he is,” Ben managed to get out in between bites. “He’s won Addison Valley’s annual grilling competition for the last six years. You should try his steaks; they’re the best I have ever had.”

“Are they better than the place you took me to?” Rilynne asked. She noticed the curious look coming from Scarlett, but didn’t acknowledge it. She felt a twinge of guilt for bringing it up, because she knew she wouldn’t have mentioned it had Scarlett not been sitting there.