Forever Hers (32 page)

“You sure you can’t ship the computer to us?” the younger man said, his shaggy, shoulder-length hair a mess from the countless number of times he’d run his fingers through it in frustration. “I can work on it faster on my own.”

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see what the detective in charge of this investigation says.” Eddie left the conference room. All the desks on the floor were empty. He headed to Captain Briggs’s office. No one was there. He turned to leave and saw the captain and two cops walking toward him. “Where’s everyone?”

“Trying to stop Burgess from leaving,” the detective said. “Come into my office. I want you to see something. How did it go?”

“Sly wants us to ship the laptop to their office.”

“Nah. We’ll send it to Salt Lake City and let the Bureau work on it. Take a look at this.” He sat behind his desk and started his computer. Within a few minutes, a video started.

A tawny-haired man in his mid-thirties appeared on the screen. He was of medium height and built, hair cropped short. The brown eyes behind the black-rimmed glasses were intelligent, alert.

“William Burgess?” Eddie asked.

“Yes. A month ago when he paid for the rental house, his hair was black. About an hour ago, it was blond. Sit.”

“Hi, Ms. Kincaid,” the man said into the camera. “I’m recording this for you—”

“Whoa, stop,” Eddie snapped, leaning forward. “The recording is for Amy?”

“Yes,” Briggs said impatiently. “Let’s watch it then you can go home and discuss it with her.” Briggs pressed play.

“What you choose to do with this is up to you. I like to think of it as a lesson, so you can understand who you are dealing with.” He sat back and crossed his legs like some damn professor. “I grew up with Nolan. His family situation was crappy—an abusive, alcoholic father, a mother who abandoned him and no siblings. You could say his father turned him into his punching bag, but he rose above the abuse and when he finished high school, he never looked back. He survived because of one person, Penelope Digger. Penelope was…” His voice trailed off then he cleared it and squinted at the camera. “Penelope was an angel. There was nothing broken that she never tried to fix and she took Nolan under her wings. But she wasn’t his girlfriend. She was mine. I knew Nolan was in love with her, but I was his best friend and he never once crossed the line. A week before our wedding, Penelope broke off our engagement with no explanation. I tried to see her, talk to her, but she wouldn’t see me. The day she agreed to see me, I went to her home and it was a mess. A burglar had broken into her apartment and Penelope was…she…” The man went silent, head bowed, then he walked away from the screen and left Eddie and Briggs staring at a blank screen.

Briggs pressed fast forward until Burgess appeared again with a glass of water.

“She was dead, killed by the burglar. The evidence, unfortunately, pointed to me. It didn’t make sense. I barely got there, yet my watch, stained with blood, was clutched in her hand, my ripped shirt…” A sigh then, “Let’s just say it appeared I had killed her. Someone was determined to frame me, but Nolan got rid of the evidence and gave me an airtight alibi when they found my fingerprints.”

There was another long pause as he sipped the water.
 

“Penelope’s death was hard. It changed me. It changed Nolan too, until he met you, Ms. Kincaid. He told me he’d found his Penelope. I didn’t understand until I saw you. You looked exactly like her, except you were younger. Much younger.” He paused and sipped the water again. “I lost contact with Nolan for a few years, until six years ago. We were at a restaurant having dinner with friends and you were there with another guy—Charles Dunbar, the man stopping you and Nolan from being together. Nolan’s words, not mine. After we dropped off the women, Nolan called in his favor.”

Sitting through an hour long confession that chronicled everything Nolan and Burgess had put Amy through was like twisting a knife in a stab wound. That she’d survived and come out sane was a testament to the strength of her character.

“I can’t stop him because he’s keeping all the evidence he collected from Penelope’s apartment, evidence against me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one who killed her.” He frowned. “I’m done with him. This time, I will disappear for good. I did my best to help the police, made sure I left the cigarette filters, the crowbar with his fingerprint, the glove, which might contain his DNA and the laptop.” He leaned forward and stared into the camera. “If you plan to go after him, Ms. Kincaid, there’s one last thing you need to know. Nolan likes to keep things, mementos. He did it when we were young and he still does even now. I don’t know where he keeps them, but if you can find them, use them against him and get him off the streets. He needs help and will continue to come after you until someone stops him.” He stopped, smiled and made a peace-sign with his fingers.

The screen went black. Eddie and Briggs exchanged a glance.

“Where did you find the thumb drive?” Eddie asked.

“We have our way,” Briggs said vaguely. “Now that we know Burgess went to school with Reither, we can track him down. His confession maybe inadmissible in court, but he could make a credible witness during Reither’s trial.”

Eddie grinned. That the captain believed they would catch Nolan was gratifying. “What about the fingerprints on the crowbar and the laptop?”

“We lifted those and we’ll confirm they are Reither’s, but if Burgess planted them…”

They would be useless in any court of law. Eddie’s mind raced as he searched for solutions. “What if we find Reither’s stash of mementos?”

“That’s the smoking gun in this case, and it must be in his possession. It doesn’t matter whether it is his house, car or garage.” Briggs studied him. “Did you have something in mind?”

“Yeah, but I need to flesh it out before running it by you.”

Briggs nodded. “Okay. Take the thumb drive home and show it to Ms. Kincaid. I’m sure she’d be happy to hear the truth.”

Eddie shook the detective’s hand and hurried to his car. He did a little shopping before heading back to the lake house.

***

The first thing Eddie noticed was the police car, and it wasn’t Sally’s. Something cold settled in his gut. He parked his car and hurried inside the house. Laughter, Amy’s voice and male voices, reached him before he saw her.

She was on the patio with two uniformed men hanging on her every word. One even sat in his favorite chair. What were they doing here?

He focused on Amy. Her brilliant blue eyes sparkled with merriment, the men completely under her spell. Her laugh, natural and genuine, showed she was enjoying their company. She had no idea how gorgeous she was and the effect she had on men.

Her eyes widened when she saw him. She jumped to her feet, a more radiant, sunny smile lighting up her face. The two men followed her gaze and stood as soon as he opened the back door.

“Detective Fitzgerald,” they said in unison.

“Officers.” Eddie’s eyes stayed on Amy as he walked toward her.

“You’re home,” she said, her chin lifting up, inviting. He did what was becoming natural for him. He lowered his head and captured her lips in a kiss.

Home. Yes, he was home. She was home.

He eased off the kiss and offered her the dozen roses. “These are for you.”

Surprised flashed in her eyes.

“Oh, thank you. They’re gorgeous.” She inhaled their fragrance, closing her eyes.

He wasn’t a flower person, but the red blooms had reminded him of her lips. He looked over at the two cops. “What’s going on, officers?”

“We’re just going back to the car, until we hear from Detective Briggs,” the taller one said.

“Thank you for the drinks and the cookies, Ms. Kincaid,” the short, balding one added.

“I told you to call me Amy.”

They glanced at Eddie and answered in unison, “Yes, ma’am.”

“What’s going on?” Eddie asked as soon as the cops left. “Briggs didn’t tell me anything about leaving sentries here.”

“Long story.” She reached up and kissed him. “I’ll put these in water. Do you want something to eat?”

“No.” He caught her hand and walked with her inside the house.

“Dinner won’t be ready for hours,” she added quickly and laughed. “Actually, I haven’t started it yet.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” He picked up an apple from the fruit bowl and sat on the stool, his gaze not leaving her face.

A vase in hand, she arranged the roses, added water and carried them to the middle of dining table. She lowered her head and inhaled their fragrance again, then bit her lower lip and gave him an innocent smile. “I love roses. Thank you.”

“I’m happy you do, but I’m not buying that smile. Spit it out.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. “Burgess was here.”

Eddie choked on a piece of the apple and coughed and sputtered, “What?”

She explained. The more she talked the more pissed he became. He got up without saying a word and went to pick up the tablet. The ice in his stomach didn’t start to thaw until after he watched the footage twice.

“Nice side kick,” he said calmly when he wanted to call Briggs and demand an explanation, yell at her for taking chances. Why the hell had she left the house and confronted the guy?

“I chickened out.” She started for the kitchen and, like a moth to a flame, he followed.

“You handled the situation the only way you could, but still that’s no excuse. You should have called me.”

“If I had your cell phone number, I would have.” She removed beef patties from the fridge and placed them on the counter. “I called Captain Briggs.”

“I wonder why he didn’t mention anything to me.”

“That’s because I told him not to.”

Eddie scowled. “Why not?”

“You’d have driven home like a maniac and gotten into an accident or something. If you haven’t noticed, you get all uptight and anal when you shift to your protector mode.”

He didn’t even bother arguing with her because she was right. “Where’s your phone?”

“Right there by my computer.”

He walked back to the living room and picked it up and brought it to her. “I’m going to text you my numbers—office, cell and home.”

She cocked an eyebrow.

“So you’ll never have an excuse not to call me during an emergency. Oh, and I’m cooking dinner tonight. Barbecue. Get a glass of wine and put your feet up. Number please?”

Few minutes later, he started the grill, which was on the patio, while she sliced vegetables then sat back and watched him while sipping wine. Jimmy and Sam joined them, and when the food was ready, Amy went with the three children to invite the two officers. It was a festive group that ate dinner together on the patio.

The boys grilled the police officers about everything while Raelynn sat on Eddie’s lap, watched them and listened without participating. At least she didn’t insist on going inside the house. As far was Amy was concerned, it was a big step.

Amy finished reading the third story for her daughter and closed the book.

“Just one more, please, Mommy,” Raelynn whispered.

She pulled the blanket to her daughter’s chin. “No, it’s time for this little princess to close her eyes and dream of fairies and unicorns. Goodnight, sweetheart.” Amy kissed Raelynn’s button nose then her forehead.

“But Mommy—”

“Buts are ugly goons who steal dreams. Where’s my kiss?”

Raelynn gave her a kiss and a hug. “I love you, Mommy.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

“I want Uncle Eddie to kiss me goodnight too.”

Her daughter could be so difficult sometimes. Eddie wasn’t in the kitchen, living room or outside. The grill was packed, the table cleared the table and the dishes put in the dishwasher.

She followed the sounds to his bedroom. She caught him lifting his shirt and her breath caught, watching him as though he was stripping just for her. Beautiful skin, tight abs, he was sheer perfection.

He stopped and peeked at her. “Amy?”

“Don’t stop on my account.”

She expected a chuckle. Instead, he pulled his shirt down and faced her, hands going to his hips in a challenging stance. “Come here and do it yourself.”

She couldn’t wait to do it, but first things first. “I can’t. Raelynn wants a goodnight kiss.”

He caught up with her before she reached the living room, pulled her around and kissed her, giving a taste of what was to come. Would it always be like this between them? She hoped so.

He ripped his mouth from hers and ordered, “Don’t move.”

She couldn’t if she tried. She leaned against the wall for support and giggled as he raced down the hallway and almost lost his footing as he turned the corner. Wasn’t she supposed to have a shower? Change into something sexy? Yet now all she could think about was him.

Naked.

He seemed to be gone forever, then a sound made her look up. Eddie strode toward her, gray eyes gleaming, so sure about what he wanted—a relationship with her. It was exactly what she’d wanted too. Call her greedy and selfish, but she wanted more. She deserved more because she loved him and wanted a lifetime with him.