Deception with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Two) (24 page)

“I take that back,” he said with a raised eyebrow. Without asking, she knew what he was thinking; Rilynne was being uncommonly open about their time spent together. “Second best steaks I’ve ever had. You’re right; Pinkston’s does have the best steaks. For such a classy place, though, they’re bound to have the best food.”

Rilynne glanced briefly at Scarlett, just long enough to see her eyes shifting inquisitively from Ben to Rilynne. She was filled with a sudden mix of emotions, pleasure from Scarlett’s unpleased reaction, and shame for stooping so low. Ben, while seemingly oblivious to her motives behind it, was left with an impish grin on his face.

The rest of the evening was relatively uneventful. After their conversation while eating, Scarlett spent the remainder of the party talking to Frank Donovan. By the time everyone was getting ready to leave, he had offered to drive her home.

“It looks like Scarlett and Donovan really hit it off,” Ben said at the last car pulled away. “I thought he was already seeing someone, though.”

Rilynne shook her head as she grabbed the remaining empty beer bottles. “They broke up a while ago,” she said. “I think they’re perfect together. That’s why I suggested she go talk to him when she got here.”

“Playing match maker, huh?” he joked. He grabbed an empty trash bag and began filling it.

“Well, I thought it was about time she moved past her crush on you,” she said hesitantly. “You seemed to be completely oblivious to it, and the poor girl was beginning to make a spectacle. Besides, once she stops spending all of her time trying to impress you, she can actually begin doing what she’s supposed to be doing here, learning.”

Ben leaned back against the table and ran his knuckles across his chin. Rilynne felt her chest growing tight as she turned to take the bottles to the recycling bin. “I’m not completely oblivious,” he called out from behind her just as she stepped through the gate. She dropped the bottles in and spun around to face him.

“No?” she asked.

He shook his head and grinned. “Actually I’m quiet astute,” he said. “I’ve learned, though, that sometimes it’s better for everyone involved just to ignore certain things. If you pretend that you don’t know about a crush, you’re much less likely to hurt someone’s feelings. You can’t tell me you don’t do the same thing.”

Rilynne had a feeling that his comment was very pointed, but as he said, she chose to ignore it. “So you knew she had a crush on you?”

“Of course I did,” he scoffed. “It’s not like she was overly shy about it. Just like you’re not overly shy about disliking her for it.”

“I don’t
dislike
her,” she said as her cheeks began to burn. She walked back over toward him and sat down on the edge of the table. “She’s just a little peppy for me.”

He looked her in the eye in a way that said he knew she was lying, but if he meant to call her out on it, he decided not to. Instead, his gaze just swept over her face and he grinned. She felt her cheeks growing even warmer, and she quickly looked away.

“So the day you sent her to deliver the results for the DNA test,” she said as she thought back. “You knew she had a crush on you, and was bound to mention it in front of me. You did that just to bother me.”

He just shrugged as he threw her a grin. Rilynne pushed him nearly over as she hopped off of the edge of the table.

“Thank you for staying and helping me pick up,” she said as she flipped it over to unfold it. “Once you get enough drinks in these guys, they tend not to think about anything but having more fun.”

“I’ve had as much to drink as any of them,” Ben said as he moved to the next table.

“Some things will surpass drunken instincts,” she replied.

He squinted at her as his ears flared crimson.

“What are you thinking?” Rilynne asked curiously.

He smiled at her, his ears only burning more. He looked as if he was going to avoid the question altogether, but after dragging his knuckles roughly against his jaw, he responded. “Some drunken instincts can be stronger than others.”

As hard as she tried, Rilynne couldn’t keep the smile off of her face. She walked back over to him and dropped the plates in her hand into the awaiting bag. She looked up and met his gaze, allowing her eyes to quickly pass over his face.

“And what do your drunken instincts telling you?” she asked timidly. She knew as the words left her lips just what could come from them, but as her chest tightened and her breathing grew heavier, she found that she didn’t care.

His lips parted but he quickly closed them again as he cocked his head slightly to the side. From the dim light coming from the lamps placed around the yard, Rilynne could see the gears turning in his eyes. “Quite a bit,” he said softly.

She didn’t know if it was his answer or the cold January air that sent a sudden wave of goose bumps across her body making her quiver.

“You should get inside before you get yourself sick,” Ben said. “The trash is all picked up, and the rest can be taken care of tomorrow.”

Rilynne took a look around the yard before giving in to his suggestion. “Okay,” she said. “But as on officer of the law, I cannot allow you to drive in your current state.” She reached out and grabbed him by the bottom of his shirt and led him toward the house.

“You know I’m not actually drunk,” he said as he willingly followed her.

She stopped abruptly and turned to face him. “Why Mr. Davis, are you arguing with a police officer?”

He grinned playfully and looked down to her grip on his shirt. “I would never dream of it, Detective.”

“That’s what I thought,” she said as she started again for the door. “Why don’t you go get a fire started and I’ll make some of my special apple cider.”

He looked at her suspiciously, and she knew why. Rilynne was skilled at many things, but cooking was not one of them. “What’s so special about it?” he asked hesitantly.

She held in her chuckles as best she could. “It was on sale,” she tried to say with a straight face. “Two for one.”

He was still laughing when she rounded the corner to the kitchen. After using her hot water dispenser to quickly mix two large mugs, she carried them into the living room to find Ben standing in front of a roaring fire.

“Wow, that was quick,” she said as she handed him a mug. “I’ve never been good with starting fires. Well, not without a few starters logs and a lot of newspaper.”

“I have a better answer for you,” he said as he sat the mug down on the table just below him.

She nearly choked on her cider as she took her first sip. “A better answer to what?”

“To what my drunken instincts tell me,” he said softly. “They tell me what I want.”

Rilynne’s chest grew tight again as she fought both the urge to run and the desire to reach out for him. “And what is it that you want?” she asked apprehensively.

“You,” he said without hesitation. “I think it’s time that I take you out.”

Other Books by Jenn Vakey

Rilynne Evans Mysteries

Delusions with Murder

Betrayal with Murder

Suspicions with Murder

Wanted with Murder

Betrayal with Murder

Book #3 in the Rilynne Evans Mystery series

“
Y
ou know,” Rilynne Evans said as she slid into the candlelit booth. “When you said you wanted to take me out, I didn’t see you waiting over a month to actually do it.”

“It wasn’t my plan,” Ben Davis said in a playful, yet defensive tone. “It isn’t my fault that I’m so good at what I do that they wanted me to spend the last month training the new overnight forensic team.” If she didn’t know better, she would have thought him bragging. “But you can’t argue that Valentine’s Day makes for a pretty good first date.”

He was right there. Rilynne couldn’t have imagined a better first date for the two of them.

Rilynne met Ben at a crime scene just weeks after moving to Addison Valley. Despite having only known each other for seven months, they had been through a surprising amount together, including kidnapping, bar fights, and the death of a mutual friend at the hand of Rilynne.

After finally giving in to the feelings that had been developing between them, she had found herself really looking forward to moving beyond just friendship. Ben seemed to have come to the same realization when he told her after her housewarming party the month before that he thought it was about time he took her out.

Rilynne thought for a moment that she must have heard him wrong, because it wasn’t like him to be so frank with her. It was clear by the look in his eyes, though, that she hadn’t.

They had originally planned on going out a few nights later, but their work schedules got in the way.

“So why did the department decide to split the forensic department into two shifts?” she asked as the waiter delivered two glasses of red wine. “Haven’t there always been people working nights?”

“No, not really,” he replied. “We’ve always had at least two techs on call at nights, but we’ve never actually had anyone scheduled. Now we have an entire team-smaller than the day shift, of course-that’s already in the office and ready to take calls. It’ll dramatically reduce the wait time for a tech to respond to a scene.”

“Well, I’ll forgive the last month then,” she said as she sipped on her glass. “At least now you don’t have to worry about getting called to a scene in the middle of the night anymore. I’m guessing that it means you’ll be getting out earlier, too.”

“For most of the department,” he said, pausing to order for both of them. Rilynne sat back and grinned as he told the waiter exactly what she would have ordered herself. “I don’t imagine it’ll change mine much, though,” he continued when the waiter walked away. “You know I don’t let anyone else touch things that I’m working on, so I’ll probably end up staying just as late to get everything done.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Rilynne asked playfully. She was surprised at just how comfortable she found herself as she sat there with him. She had been so concerned over the last few months about taking the leap beyond friendship, but as she sat in the dimly lit restaurant, she couldn’t remember why.

“So I thought you said you didn’t bring girls here. You didn’t want to ‘soil it’, I think is the phrase you used.” After saying it, she sat back and studied his face.

Despite keeping a relatively even expression, she could still see his ears redden beneath his shaggy, dirty blonde hair. “Well, I figured since I brought you a couple months ago, the damage was already done.”

“You’re right,” she said. “There’s no way I would let you keep me from this place. The steaks are way too good.”

He smiled playfully across the table. “Well, I don’t imagine we’ll run into anyone from the station this time, so at least you won’t be teased tomorrow.” Despite his cheerful tone, she could still sense him fishing for a reaction.

“Oh, there’s no chance of that. I’m sure Matthews is talking to Katy about it as we speak, and she won’t wait long before calling Sherri Wilcome. I imagine that both Matthews and Wilcome will be waiting for me when I get in tomorrow with a handful of questions their wives insist on having answered.” The last time they had dinner at Pinkston’s, Detective Patrick Wilcome and his wife had seen them. Sherri went straight to Katy Matthews with the news, and Rilynne spent the following morning trying to nip the rumors before they spread around the entire department.

“Well, that won’t be fun,” he said, though the pleasure on his face was unmistakable.

“Eh,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll just send them up and let you deal with it.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” he asked as an impish grin stretched across his face.

Rilynne flipped the lettuce in her salad around with her fork as she eyed him suspiciously. “Well, now I’m not,” she chuckled.

They sat talking in the candlelit restaurant for over an hour before walking back outside. “On to the second part of our evening,” Ben stated, taking her by the arm.

“There’s more?” she asked curiously, having not expected more than dinner and possibly a drink after. He opened his mouth to respond, but was cut short by the sound of ringing from Rilynne’s purse.

“Sorry, I thought I turned this off,” she said as she reached for her phone. Her finger stopped just shy of the decline button when her eyes landed on the phone number flashing across the screen.

“What is it?” he asked, his eyes on her instead of the phone.

“It’s my old chief,” she said. “I haven’t heard from his since I transferred.”

“Answer it,” he insisted. “It could be important.”

She shifted her gaze from the phone to Ben, and after he gave her a quick reassuring nod, she pulled the phone up to her ear.

“This is Evans,” she said as a wave of panic shot through her.

“Hey Evans,” the man responded grimly. “It’s Jimmy Wooldridge. Do you have a minute?”

“Is it Christopher?” she asked, although she already knew the answer. “Have you found him?”

The rest of the conversation felt as if it were a dream. She hadn’t even realized she’d hung up until Ben gently tightened his hold on her arm, snapping her back to reality.

“Sit down,” he said as he led her by the elbow to a nearby bench. “You look like you’re about to faint.”

“I’ve never fainted,” she replied, letting him lower her down. “I’m not about to start now.”

He sat down next to her and tenderly brushed her hair back. “What happened?” he asked softly. “Did they find Christopher?”

She took a deep breath, trembling as her lungs filled, and gently nodded. “They, uh,” she felt the tears building with every word. “They found a body in a park about forty miles outside of Madison. Christopher’s wallet was found at the scene.”

“Let’s go,” he said as he pulled her up and started toward the car.

“Where are we going?” Rilynne asked, though she didn’t fight him.

“Back to your house. We’re going to get your bags packed, then I’m going to drive you to the airport,” he said firmly. He opened her car door and lowered her in before she even had a chance to react to what he had said.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled as he pulled out of the parking lot. “This wasn’t exactly how I saw tonight going.”

He reached over without a word and grabbed her hand. He squeezed it gently, not letting it go until they pulled up in front of her house. “You go get packed and I’ll call the airport to book you a flight,” he said as he climbed out of the car.

Rilynne walked numbly up to the front door, unlocking it and reaching in to flip on the lights. “I won’t be long,” she said as she sat her purse down on the entry table.

“Hey,” he said as she started toward her room. When she turned back to face him, he pulled her into his arms. “I’ll be here for you, no matter what you need. You know that, right?”

She nodded, her head pressed firmly against his chest. Ben held her for close to five minutes before pulling away. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead, before she turned and headed through the quiet house to her bedroom.

It took several minutes for her to remember where she had put her suitcase. Rilynne hardly took enough time off to enjoy some relaxing time at home, let alone go somewhere. After finally lugging it out from under her bed, she sat staring at it for another several minutes before she could bring herself to start filling it. She had only managed to pull a few things out of the closet before Ben pushed the door open.

“So I guess you’ve moved past that bedroom thing, huh?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood. Ben had refused to enter the bedroom of a woman, stating he was “just old fashioned that way.” Until that moment, she had only seen him break his rule once before.

“Some things are worth bending the rules for,” he said as he sat next to the open suitcase on her bed. “Your flight is leaving in three hours from San Antonio,” he said. “We’re going to need to leave in the next ten minutes if we want to get there in time. What can I do to help?”

“Uh,” she said as she looked around the room. “Nothing really. I just need to finish packing and I’ll be ready to go. I won’t be more than a couple minutes. I need to call Wilcome on the way and let him know I won’t be in for a few days.”

He grabbed the jacket she threw on the bed and folded it before placing it in the suitcase. “I already did,” he said. “I didn’t give him the specifics, because I don’t know how much you’ve told him, but I let him know where you’d be going. He said to take all of the time you need.”

“I just,” she trailed off, not knowing just how to continue.

“I know. But you’ve said you wanted closure, so now you’ll have some,” he said. “Will someone be able to meet you at the airport?”

Rilynne tossed the last few items in her suitcase and zipped it shut. “I can call Wooldridge, my old chief. He’ll pick me up.” She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to absorb the events from the last hour. There were so many different emotions coursing through her that she felt like completely shutting down. She was frustrated that the date had been derailed, but at the same time, happy it had happened. Not because of Ben, but Christopher. As close as she and Ben had become, Christopher would always hold a large piece of her heart. The thought of his body finally being found was both a relief and heart crushing at the same time.

Ben grabbed the suitcase and left her standing alone in the room. She quickly pulled herself together as best she could and followed him to the car.

“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” Ben asked as the lights of Addison Valley vanished behind them. Rilynne couldn’t help but notice a tone of concern in his voice that went beyond just empathy.

“Not long. I just need to make sure everything’s taken care of and I’ll be back,” she said, trying to reassure him. “I
am
coming back.”

She could see him glance over at her from the corner of her eye, but she didn’t pull her gaze from the road in front of them. After another several minutes, she closed her eyes tightly and concentrated on the phone call she’d received. She wanted to prepare herself, to know exactly what she would be walking into. Despite putting all of her focus into it, she was unable to see anything.

This wasn’t surprising, though. She had been a child when she realized the images she saw in her head were actually events that were happening to the people she was close to. Even at that young age, it didn’t take her long to discover that when her emotions were excessively high, it was much more difficult for her to see anything. The majority of her visions occurred when she was relaxed, but she knew no matter how hard she tried, it would be impossible for her to relax at the moment.

“We’re definitely going to need a do-over for tonight,” she said in the lightest tone she could muster. “Next time I’ll remember to turn my phone off.”

“It wasn’t all bad,” he said. “The food was definitely great.”

Rilynne chuckled softly as she reached for her phone. “I forgot to call Matthews. He would never forgive me if he had to hear all of this from someone else.”

She had expected to leave a voicemail, knowing that he had a big evening planned for Katy, and was surprised when he answered after just two rings.

“I thought you were supposed to be out on a date, Evans,” he said in lieu of a greeting.

“I can say the same for you. Now I know Katy wouldn’t let you answer your phone while out together. What did you do?” she asked playfully.

“Katy got called into the hospital. There was a pile-up and several of the nurses scheduled called in tonight leaving them short handed. She’s the supervisor, so she had to go in to pick up the slack. What about you? Did the date go so badly that you left early or something? Don’t tell me Ben stood you up!” He raised his voice, almost in a protective manner.