Red Red Rose (10 page)

The
pretty bartender, Dana, approached my table. “Can I take that for you?” When I
nodded, she grabbed the plate in front of me. “Another one?” She nodded at my
glass that was nearing empty.

“Please,”
I smiled, and she smiled in return.

“I’ll
be right back with it.”

My
eyes fell on the sway of her hips and the curve of her ass as she sauntered
away. Very nice. I hadn’t even come in looking for her tonight. I’d just needed
to get away, to keep myself from going to her, from doing something foolish and
reckless. But I walked in and spotted her immediately. I knew she was the one.
So much like the others, even if she wasn’t a college student like I preferred.
So much like her. But not her. They could never be her, but they could give me
what I needed for now. They could sate this need inside me to control and take.

I
found myself in need of that next fix, just thinking about it. Usually there
was more time in between. I was careful, but with each one I found the need to
be stronger. I didn’t want to wait. I’d stumbled right upon her, so why should
I wait?

The
inviting smile she wore when she came back with my beer told me it wouldn’t
take long to get this one to let her guard down even if she wasn’t a naïve
college girl.

“I
get off at nine. If you’re going to stick around, maybe then I could buy you a
drink?”

Not
long at all.

“I
wish I could, but I have an early morning. Rain check though?”Even though I
wanted her now, it was better this way. Dana couldn’t completely hide the flash
of disappointment in her eyes, and I had to raise my glass to my lips to hide
my grin. She was making it too easy.

“Sure,
of course,” she still smiled. “I work here most nights.”

“Then
I will definitely be back, Dana.”

Her
smile widened. “I’ll go get your check.”

I
felt the wood shift and creak beneath my weight.

“Oh,
shit,” I muttered just before it buckled beneath me and the crash rang out
through the house. I landed on my back with a groan. A second later, James
shoved open the door to my room. He took one look at the mess and me, lying on
my back on the floor, a curtain rod in my hand.

“What
the hell?” He rushed to my side and grabbed my arm, helping me up. “What
happened in here?”

I
was still holding the curtain rod in my other hand. “Well, I bought new
curtains a few weeks ago and was finally trying to hang them, but it seems my
desk wasn’t quite as sturdy as I anticipated. I was standing on it, and then
well . . .” I waved my arm at the heap that used to be my desk. It was a simple
desk I’d picked up and assembled myself. One of those that was just a bunch of
boards with a few different options depending on how you put them together. I’d
put together one side with a wider base and shelves and a drawer, and the other
was supported by a single board. Guess which side I’d been standing on? Everything
toppled that way when it busted. Thankfully my laptop was sitting safely on my
bed. Only clothes, a few pictures and a bunch of papers had crashed to the
floor with the desk and me.

I
rubbed my sore elbow and tossed the curtain rod, curtain and all, on the bed
while James knelt down and examined the desk. “Good news,” he said looking back
to me. “You didn’t break it, but whoever put it together did a shit job and
used the wrong screws. They’re too small, they didn’t hold it together well.
That’s why it came apart when you stood on it.”

“Oh.”

“From
that look, I take it you’re the one who put it together.”

“Guilty.”

“Did
it come with the screws?”

“It
came with several screws. A few different sizes, I think.”

“And
I’m assuming directions with a diagram that would show you which screws went
where?” he looked at me pointedly.

“Ummm,
maybe. It’s possible however, that I didn’t use the instructions,” I admitted.

He
let out a short laugh. “Of course you didn’t.”

“Hey,
it’s just a desk. It wasn’t like there were that many pieces and it came out
looking like the picture.”

He
looked back at the mess and then me.

“Okay,
next time I’ll read the instructions.”

He
rose to his feet. “You got any screws and a screwdriver around here?”

“We
keep a screwdriver in a drawer in the kitchen, but screws, if we have any, are
probably out in the garage. That’s where most of the tools are since we don’t
have much need for them. They don’t really get used except when my dad or yours
is here fixing stuff.” I led him out to the kitchen and retrieved the
screwdriver.

“Show
me where the screws are and I’ll see if you’ve got any that will work. Then I
can probably fix that desk. Although, I still wouldn’t recommend standing on it
again. It’s not nearly solid enough even for someone as tiny as you.”

“I’m
not
tiny
,” I grumbled. At five-foot-five I wasn’t exactly tall, but I
wasn’t that short and I was proud of the few curves I had that kept me from
looking like a twelve year old.

“Sweetheart,
you’re small. Like a cute little doll, but don’t worry, you’re very nicely
proportioned,” he grinned.

I
lifted my brow. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“It
means, you have nice ‘t’ and ‘a’.”

I
frowned and he laughed. “Tits and ass, Nora.”

“Oh,”
I blushed and then frowned. “What are you doing checking them out?” I wasn’t
entirely displeased, but I never thought he noticed me as anything but Emily’s
friend, despite the teasing and flirting over the years.

“I’m
a guy, what do you think I’m doing?” He gave me a “duh” look.

I
smacked his chest. “Well you shouldn’t be.”

“It’s
kind of hard not to. In case you hadn’t noticed, you’re gorgeous. Find me a guy
who’s not looking, and then you can introduce him to your gay buddy Reggie as
I’m sure they’d hit it off.”

I
gave my head an amused shake and rolled my eyes at him, before heading toward
the back door. Interesting development, ladies and gentlemen.

“I’m
serious,” he followed. “I promised my sister I would keep my hands off, but
that doesn’t mean I’ll be keeping my eyes off.”

I
turned, narrowing my eyes on him. “When did you promise Em?”

“The
first time I was home and she said you were coming for dinner. She made it very
clear that you were off limits, and I get why. Sure, you and I could have some
fun together,” the dark look in his eyes made it clear he was referring to the
horizontal variety, “but then I leave again, off to the next undisclosed
location to do God knows what, not knowing if or when I’ll be back. I signed up
for that, you didn’t. That’s not a ride I intend to take any woman on. You
certainly deserve more than that.”

He
gave my arm a gentle squeeze, his expression warming up my insides and bringing
back that crush I thought I’d moved past. Damn, why did he have to be such a
good guy on top of being so ridiculously hot?

“You
going to show me to those screws now, or are we going to make out in your
kitchen?”

I
actually had to think about it for a second, before I let out a regretful sigh.
“The first one.”

“Okay
then, lead the way,” he said with a chuckle.

Emily’s
car mocked us from its spot when we pushed open the small door to the garage.
My heart clenched inside my chest and I had to look away from it. I went
straight to the drawer under the workbench on the wall and pulled it open.
Inside were an assortment of screws and nails.

“I
don’t know if any of these are what you need.” I turned to James, but he was lost
in a staring contest with his sister’s car.

“James?”
I said softly. He didn’t look away. Instead, his features pulled into a deeper
frown.

“What
the hell is in her back seat?”

“Huh?”
I stepped closer to the car and looked through one of the windows into the
back.

What
the hell?

“That
is what I think it is, right?”

“Yes,”
the single word worked its way out of my throat.

“And
what is it doing there?”

“I
don’t know,” I whispered.

“Is
it hers?”

“I
don’t know,” I repeated.

“I’m
guessing it wasn’t there when the police checked out her car?”

I
shook my head. “I looked too, and I definitely would remember if that was
there.”

“Then
you better call them now.”

Screws
forgotten, I rushed inside for my phone and the card Agent Monroe had given me.
He answered on the second ring.

“Monroe.”

“Hi,
this is Nora Scott. Are you still in Bellingham?”

“I’m
in Seattle currently, but what do you need Nora? Do you have information?”

“Maybe,”
I hesitated, still working through it in my head. “I just– I found something in
Emily’s car. Something that wasn’t there before. I think someone, maybe the
person who took her, left it.”

“I’ll
send detective Parker right over.”

I
had to drag James from the garage after I hung up with Agent Monroe. We waited
inside the house, but I could tell that he was going crazy. Honestly I was too,
but we both knew better than to open up that car and disturb something that
might be evidence.

It
felt like forever, but was really only twenty minutes, before a car pulled into
the drive, followed closely by a second. We met them out front. Detective
Parker climbed from the first vehicle, a dark sedan, and two officers climbed
from a squad car. I recognized them immediately as Ben and Officer Munez. We
didn’t waste any time leading them to the garage and unlocking Emily’s car with
her spare key.

“What
the hell?” Parker muttered. He tugged on a pair of gloves before pulling open
the door and reaching into the backseat. “Munez, you guys combed the car when
the initial report was filed, no?”

“Yeah,
we did. That wasn’t there.”

“Hand
me an evidence bag.” Parker looked up at me next, but my eyes kept going to the
long, thick locks of blonde hair tied up in a red bow. “Any idea when this
showed up?”

I
shook my head. “I haven’t been out here since you guys searched it. I don’t
know when I would have found it if we hadn’t come out here looking for screws
today. Will you guys be able to tell if it’s Emily’s?” The color and length
matched. If it was Em’s, then it looked like someone had shaved her entire
head.

“It’s
hard to say. The chances of getting DNA from hair are slim unless the follicles
are attached, but the FBI has better testing equipment in their labs. If there
is any DNA, they’ll be able to pull it. I’m also going to have Munez and Dawson
dust for prints on the car and the handle of the door on your garage and see
what we turn up. At this point we also have to consider that the reason this
guy had access to your garage and the car is because he has your friend’s keys.
No keys were found in the purse or the dumpster, yet you reported that you came
home and discovered her car in the garage, but her purse and keys were not
inside the house.”

“Oh
God, he has keys to the house.” Why the hell hadn’t that occurred to me sooner?

“We’re
changing the locks tonight,” James declared.

Detective
Parker didn’t stick around long after that, but said he would have officers
talk to my neighbors to see if anyone had noticed someone hanging around the
house who shouldn’t have been. I decided it was a good time to mention my
possible prowler and suggested they could talk to Clint if they wanted to know
what he saw and heard that night.

James
and I went back inside rather than watch them collect prints.

“What
the fuck did he do to my sister?” James dropped onto the couch, his head in his
hands.

“I
don’t know,” I replied quietly. “We don’t even know for sure that the hair is
hers.”

“Come
on, Nora. It’s hers. Why else would the sick bastard leave it?”

Again,
I didn’t have an answer for him. All I had were my own questions. The officers
came and let us know when they were done and leaving. We went back out and
locked up, not that it would do any good right now.

I
stayed behind while James made a quick trip to the hardware store. It was
already growing dark outside, and I almost regretted not going with him. It was
hard to feel safe anymore, knowing this guy could come into my house at any
time. He might have already been inside. I’d never noticed any sign of someone
being here, but just imagining him setting foot in here, in the place I was
supposed to be safe, made me sick to my stomach.

James
couldn’t get back quick enough with those new locks. Needing something to do
while I waited for him, I called my Mom. She and Dad were driving up tomorrow,
and I’d tell her about the hair then. Right now I just needed the comfort of
her voice to calm me.

“Hello,
sweetheart,” she answered.

“Hey,
Mom. Are you guys still planning on heading this way in the morning?”

“I
checked the weather watch and it’s supposed to freeze overnight. With the rain
we’ve had the past two days the roads will be slick, especially since they
don’t always get salted well and traffic will be a nightmare. We might have to
wait a little later in the day for it to warm up, but we should be there
sometime in the afternoon. Will you be at home or the shop?”

“I’ll
be at the shop until three. If you get here before then, you can stop by or you
can just head straight to John and Elise’s. Otherwise, if you get in later in
the afternoon, you can come to the house. I’ll head home right after I get off.
We can go to dinner or something then. I work all day on Friday, but I arranged
the schedule to take Saturday off so we’ll have then to do whatever you and Dad
want also.”

“Oh
good, and you’re father and I have a surprise for you,” she sounded almost nervous.

“What
kind of surprise?”

“Hopefully
a good one. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

She
wouldn’t give me any hints and then I heard a loud buzzer go off in the
background. She had to hang up to go pull cookies out of the oven. I was
hopeful that my dad wouldn’t get to them all and some would actually make it to
me tomorrow.

Even
the chocolate chip cookies from Sweet Indulgence couldn’t compare to Mom’s.

I
don’t think I’d realized how much I missed my parents.