Old Flames Never Die (Valentine Mystery) (11 page)

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” She took the vase
and chocolate.

“One more thing,” he said as he wrapped
his arm around her waist. He'd promised himself he'd be hands off, but it
turned out he had no willpower where she was concerned. He dipped his head and
kissed her.

“Bittersweet.”

He gave her a boyish grin, pleased that
kissing wasn't off limits. “I had a piece of the chocolate on the way here.
You've got 70 percent cocoa in there,” he said pointing to her bag.

“Yum.” She gave him another kiss. “You
didn't have to get all this.”

“Sure, I did. We're dating. That's what
people do on dates.”

She set the flowers and chocolate on the
table and retrieved her sweater. “Where are you taking me?”

“Since we’re on the mall, I thought we'd
go to Marco’s.”

“Italian sounds good,” she said.

He took her hand as they walked. Jack
still didn't like that she wouldn't be coming home with him, but he had to
admit there was something nice about walking hand-in-hand on a date.

“Isn't it warm out for a tie?” she asked
as the waiter led them to a seat outside.

 “I'm out to impress.” He helped her to
her seat, kissing her temple before moving to sit in his own seat.

“Jack?”

“Hmmm. Does this feel awkward?”

“What do you mean?”

“This new situation. There is a
formality about it with the flowers, chocolate and tie that makes it feel like
I may have put some distance between us.”

Jack scooted his chair closer to her and
put his arm around her. “How's this for closer?”

She laughed. “You know what I mean.”

“Yes,” he said indulging himself by
playing with a tangle of her hair. “And no, I don't think it’s awkward. I don't
intend to act differently…well, that's not true. I'm going to try to be a
gentleman when I bring you home. Other than that, I think we can act the same.”

“Good. I want us to be the same.”

They ordered drinks and Jack told her
about his pisser of a day, leaving out the worst part—when she left him. He
could see she knew what her leaving had done to him, and she felt bad about it.
Not bad enough to change her mind, but at least she understood. “What did you
get done today?”

“I took an online quiz to find out what
career path I should follow.”

Jack nearly laughed. Computers could do
a lot of things, but identifying one's life's purpose wasn't one of them. “And
what did the computer tell you?”

“Detective or designer.”

“Really?” Intrigued, he sat resting his
arms on the table. “Detective. Like Eve Dallas. Can I be Rourke?” he said,
referring to her favorite mystery series.

“No. You have to be Jack. And I don't
want to be a detective.”

“You'd be good at it. You have an eye
for details.”

“If I was a detective, I'd end up
working with Daniel.”

That was a horrifying thought. “You
could go private.”

“No. It just doesn't call to me.”

“How does a designer fit?”

She shrugged. “I don't know. The
underwear I guess.”

“Did you know my career started when I
was nearly arrested for hacking into the D.C. police computers?”

“No. Maybe I should restart my practice
after all.”

“I was twelve,” he said with a laugh. “I
wanted to find out what happened to my dad. All my mom was told was that he was
killed by a drug dealer in the line of duty. But the details were always vague.
Fortunately, some of the officers who'd been friends of my dad protected me and
paid me to show them how I did it so they could protect their system.”

“So you got started as a hacker.”

“See, I am like Rourke. Starting on the
wrong side of the law, but coming clean for the woman I love.”

Tess rolled her eyes, but he could tell
she was amused.

“I love the puzzle computers can solve,”
he explained. “I made a fortune before I even went to college. And I still love
testing the limits of what computers can do.”

“Funny, you don't look like a geek.”

“It's my disguise. The point I'm making
is that you need to find something you love. And if law isn't it, then you need
to find something else.”

“I don't know what that is or where to
start,” she admitted.

“Personally, I think you have a future
in edible chocolate underwear, but I might eat your profits.”

He saw her cheeks flush and knew she was
thinking the same thing he was. He began to think he might get lucky after all.

They had a lovely dinner, and as
promised, he escorted her back to her hotel room. Even with the same banter and
affection, he wasn't sure he should push his luck by asking to stay. He said
he'd support her by giving her time, moving slowly to get know each other
better, so he stuck by his plan to leave her at the door.

“I had a good time,” he said with a
smile at the old cliché.

“I did too.”

He gave her a firm, but brief kiss on
the lips. “I'll see you tomorrow?”

Her brows pulled together and Jack
wondered if she had wanted more than a good-night peck. Taking a chance, he
pulled her into his arms. “You're killing me, you know that, don't you?” He
nibbled on her ear, as he pressed the proof of his discomfort against her
belly. “This is difficult for me. Not the courting. The being away.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Me too.”

He looked down into her eyes and could
see the proof. He nearly asked why she was continuing if it was making her
miserable too, but he checked himself. He promised to give her space and he was
going to honor the promise.

“I love you, Tess,” he said, kissing her
again with as much tenderness and love as he could pour into it. “I'll see you
tomorrow.”

She nodded. “Tomorrow.”

Tess sat in the chair at the tiny table
in her hotel room and tried to remind herself why she'd suggested this
separation. She didn't want it really, but she knew she needed it to get her
life straight. The timing was bad because she knew when the news of her moving
to the hotel got out, everyone would think something was going on between Jack
and Liv. She supposed there was something going on, since he insisted on
helping her, but it wasn't what everyone would assume. To a certain extent it
was
Liv's fault that Tess left, but only because the situation helped her see
why she was stuck. And it showed that she and Jack had a lot to learn before
they could take their relationship further. Jack's loyalty had him sticking by
Liv, but Tess worried that whether on purpose or by dumb luck, Liv had dragged
Jack into a murder and Tess couldn't stand by and watch the police circle
around him again. In fact, she thought, as she picked up her briefcase, no time
like the present to dig deeper into the case.

Tess was a visual person and preferred
mapping out her facts and ideas. She spread the papers over the table and bed,
and pulled out her note pad. Time of death was the glaring issue in this case.
Liv couldn't have murdered her husband when she was in New York. Knowing she
couldn't do anything about the forensic facts, Tess opted to look at the
motive, which was fairly weak too. Liv lived very well as Mrs. Danforth. A
prenup prevented her from getting anything  more in a divorce than they’d
agreed upon. Charles' inheritance wouldn't go to Liv either, if Daniel's
information was correct. The will stipulated that Liv would get an allowance
that was much smaller than what she likely had been living on, and the rest of
the money would go to his children. Liv and Charles didn't have children
together, but Charles had a son from a previous marriage. So all Liv was
getting was a small allowance and the life insurance.

Tess pulled out the information about
the insurance, bought three weeks before the murder. $500,000 was a sizable
sum, but would likely be peanuts to someone living as richly as Liv did. And
most insurance murders were set up to look like accidents, not outright murder.
Still, it was always suspicious when an insurance policy was bought so close to
a death.

So maybe it wasn't money that motivated
the murder. Jealousy? Three shots point blank into the heart is an indication
of a strong emotion. But Liv seemed to be the only one cheating, unless there
was something between Charles and Theresa Cromwell. His business partner, Bobby
Wilson, seemed to think there may have been other women as well. Liv admitted
to affairs, the last one with Jack. But then, all of a sudden, over a year ago
she stopped cheating? Even Jack didn't buy that.

The other questions that ran through
Tess’ mind were not in the file. Why had Liv called Jack after they hadn't been
in touch for nearly a year? Was she purposefully bringing him into the mix
because he'd been recently implicated in another murder? Or was it just chance?
Jack's certainty that Liv was innocent said something about that relationship.
Tess tried to ignore the jealousy the thought brought. Liv didn't seem to have
too much depth, but she gave something he'd needed when he'd needed it most. 
Not wanting to think any more about it, Tess put her papers away and got ready
for bed.

~~~~

Tess woke, surprised she'd gotten any
sleep. The bed was uncomfortable and the air conditioning went on in the middle
of the night, making her dream she was trapped at the North Pole. When she
turned over to get warm, she was reminded that her usual source of heat wasn't
there.

Rolling out of bed, she contemplated
whether to go to the hotel gym for a workout or go over the files again before
meeting with Daniel. She really should work out. She hadn't run or done any
cardio work for a couple of weeks. How she wasn't spilling over the waistband
of her pants she didn't know, unless it was true that sex was a good workout.
Her cheeks heated as she thought about all the different positions and places
she and Jack had made love. A rap on the door stole her from her reverie. She
peeked through the keyhole to find Jack holding up a cup with the Starbuck's
label.

“Good morning,” he greeted her with a
grin.

“Good morning. This is a surprise.” How
could he be so cheerful, she wondered. Didn't he spend a hellish night without
her? Then she realized she must look a mess. She hadn't even combed her mop of
curls.

“I come bearing gifts.” He stepped in,
giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“I like gifts.”

“I have a skinny mocha and a scone.”

“Mmmm, sounds lovely. What else?” she
asked, noticing he had a plain bag as well.

“Coco Crunchies and whole milk.”

She rolled her eyes. “Someday that stuff
will kill you.”

“No. Cereal is now made with whole grain
and less sugar.”

She laughed. “I guess you're right.” She
cleared a place on the table for him to set the bags down.

She started to sit, but he pulled her to
him. “Just a minute,” he said and then kissed her long and well. Tess sank into
the kiss, letting him take what he wanted.

“It's hell being away from you, Tess,”
he whispered in her ear.

“Jack, I—”

“No.” He placed a finger on her plump
lips. “Let me finish. I want to be with you, but I want you to be sure.”

“It's not that.”
            “You're interrupting, counselor.”

“Sorry.”

“What I don't want is Liv to be the
reason you're having doubts. I don't think Liv killed her husband, but I don't
want this difference of opinion to ruin a good thing.”

The giddiness of the kiss melted away
into annoyance. “So you're going to patronize me?”

She saw confusion in his eyes.

“No. I was thinking I would let it drop.
She's not worth losing you over.”

“First of all, this separation isn't
about Liv. The only thing Liv did was show us that we aren't ready for a big
commitment.”

“You! You aren't ready for a big
commitment.”

“Second,” she started ignoring his
interruption. “I don't need you to
drop
your feelings or opinions just
because you think I can't handle them or so you can be the peacemaker.”

Jack turned away, stalking through the
small room. “Dammit, Tess, why do you have to twist everything I say? I'm
telling you it’s killing me to be away from you and I'm willing to do whatever
it takes to make it work, and you turn it into something against you. And you
think
I'm
narcissistic.”

Tess drew back as if she'd been slapped.

He stalked back to her. “Am I the only
one who can't sleep because the emptiness is unbearable? I'm tired of feeling
pathetic over you, Tess.”

“So stop.”

He dropped his face within inches of
hers. “And how am I supposed to stop?”

Tess looked into his magnificent eyes,
into the soul of a man who wore his heart on his sleeve. She placed her palm on
his cheek. “Don't stop.”