Tempted Again (27 page)

“I’m Lola Martinez.” She shook Marissa’s hand. “Why is the sheriff here?”

“He co-sponsors the teen group with me,” Marissa said.

“Oh, right.” Lola nodded. “Jose told me but I forgot.”

“What time did Jose get home last night, Mrs. Martinez?” Connor asked.

“I was out playing cards with my friends so I’m not sure. I got home around eleven and he was already in bed.”

Connor continued his questioning. “Did you see him in bed?”

“Well, no,” Mrs. Martinez admitted. “His door was closed and I didn’t want to wake him.”

Connor turned his attention to the teen. “What time did you get in, Jose?”

“Before eleven.”

“Someone tagged several booths at the Corn Festival last night,” Connor said. “Any idea who that might have been?”

“I don’t hang out with other taggers,” Jose said. “I do my own thing.”

“And does that ‘thing’ include taking the money box from the food pantry booth?” Connor said.

“Not that he’s accusing you of anything like that,” Marissa quickly inserted.

“It sure sounded like it to me,” Jose said. “I don’t know nothing about no missing money.”

“A witness saw you running from the park afterhours,” Connor said. “Were you there?”

Jose refused to answer.

They were interrupted by Red Fred running up onto the porch, panting frantically from his sprint down the block. Marissa remembered that Red Fred lived on the same street as Jose. “It’s me,” Red Fred gasped. “I’m the guilty one. I did it!”

Chapter Seventeen

Marissa
stared at Red Fred in disbelief. She’d been so sure that her teens had been innocent.

“Shut up,” Jose growled at Red Fred.

But his friend didn’t back down. “I’m not gonna let you take the fall for it. That would be wrong,” Red Fred said. “It wasn’t Jose’s idea. It was mine.”

“Why?” she asked him. “Why would you vandalize and steal?”

“What?” Red Fred frowned in confusion. “We didn’t do that. Tell them, Jose.”

“They don’t believe anything I say, man,” Jose said.

“You haven’t actually said much,” Marissa reminded him.

“What’s the point? Cop Dude doesn’t believe me,” Jose said. “Look at him. You can read his face like a book.”

Marissa looked at Connor. Yes, he was wearing his impassive don’t-mess-with-me expression. “That’s his cop face,” Marissa said. “He looked at me that way when I was in the Founders’ Day Parade. It doesn’t mean he thinks you’re lying.” Marissa nudged Connor. “Tell them.”

“It means you’re in trouble.” He expanded his glare to include Marissa. “All of you.”

Jose immediately leaped to her defense. “Library Lady didn’t know what we were planning. Don’t involve her or she’ll lose her job.”

“What are you talking about?” Marissa said.

“Molly told us that she heard that crabby old library board dude threatening you yesterday at the library booth.”

“He didn’t actually threaten me,” Marissa said.

“Then what did he actually do?” Connor asked.

“You already know that he’s not a happy camper about our teen program,” Marissa said. “He was just spewing off steam about that.”

Connor returned his attention to Red Fred. “So if you’re not confessing to the theft and vandalism, then what are you confessing to doing?”

“Dios mio.”
Mrs. Martinez sank into a faded plastic chair on the front porch.

Jose turned to her in concern. “You need to go inside and take your medicine. It’s too hot out here for you. Let me help you.”

Mrs. Martinez shook her head. “I won’t desert you if you’re in trouble.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “Marissa will look out for me, right?”

“Yes,” she said. “Absolutely.”

“Don’t say a word until I come back,” Jose ordered Red Fred.

The instant Jose was inside, Red Fred said, “He’s my bud so he’s looking out for me as best he can.”

“Were you at the festival after closing time?” Connor asked.

Red Fred nodded.

“Why?”

“We heard that a number of the booths in the Food Hall were tossing their leftover food to start fresh the next day. So we hid until after closing time and went Dumpster diving. My mom is having a really hard time lately. She’s too proud to go to the food pantry or get food stamps or ask for help.”

Marissa’s heart broke at the thought of her teens having to grub in the garbage for food. “Why didn’t you say anything? You know you’re not the only one who’s having money trouble right now.”

“My mom made me promise not to say anything to anyone.”

Jose rejoined them. “I should have made you promise me the same thing.”

“Are we going to jail?” Red Fred asked, fear making his voice tremble.

It was all Marissa could do not to pull him into her arms and give him a reassuring hug.

Connor’s response was slightly different. “That food can make you sick,” he said.

“We only took stuff that was still wrapped and nonperishable. They were wasting it. We didn’t steal it because they’d already tossed it. We heard them say something about the town regulations not allowing
anything that was already opened. Even hot dog buns and stuff.”

“What about the graffiti and the food pantry money
box?”

Red Fred stared at him blankly. “We only took food from the Dumpster. Nothing else. No money box. And we sure didn’t stop to leave any graffiti. We’re not stupid. Why leave a message that we’d been there? Tell them, Jose.”

“We’re not stupid,” he said. “You want us to swear we didn’t tag nothing or steal no money, we’ll do it. We’ll swear on my grandmother’s Bible.” Jose went inside the house and returned a moment later with a well-worn Bible in his hand. He thrust it at Connor. “You hold it.” He placed his hand on it, as did Red Fred. “We swear we didn’t steal any money or vandalize nothing.”

“Anything,” Connor corrected.

“Huh?”

“Didn’t vandalize anything,” Connor said.

“We didn’t vandalize anything,” the two teens said in unison.

Jose glared at Connor as he retrieved his grandmother’s Bible. “That good enough for you?”

Connor nodded. “For now.”

“Don’t tell my grandmother,” he said. “Or Red Fred’s
mom.”

“Where do they think the food came from?” Connor said.

“That we were paid with groceries for helping at the library booth,” Red Fred said. “My mom doesn’t ask a lot of questions.”

“Unlike you,” Jose said, with another glare at Connor.

Connor’s expression remained impassive. “I’m just
doing my job. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make the tag look like your work. Who has a grudge against you?”

“Old Library Dude was not pleased that I won that poetry jam at the Rhubarb Festival,” Jose said.

“I remember,” Connor said. “He complained to me about it. Anyone else seem angry with you lately?”

“Besides you?” Jose said before stepping back at Connor’s glare. “No, not really. No more than usual.”

Fifteen minutes later, Connor and Marissa were sitting together in his police SUV.

“They didn’t do it,” she said. “You believe that, right?”

His cell phone rang, preventing him from answering. It was the mayor calling. Connor put him on speakerphone. “I heard you’re in front of Jose Martinez’s house,” the mayor said. “Did you arrest him?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m still conducting the investigation,” Connor said.

“I don’t want anything ruining the reputation of the Corn Festival,” the mayor said. “We’ve got folks coming from all over the state. Rumors are already circulating about the robbery and vandalism. I need to assure everyone that the culprit has been caught.”

“And that will happen when I find the culprit.”

“It’s Jose.”

“I lack sufficient evidence to prove that,” Connor said.

“Chester told you he saw him running away.”

“Chester had an ax to grind with Jose, so he’s not what I’d call an impartial witness,” Connor said. “Look, I’ll let you know when I have more information.”

“It better be soon,” the mayor warned. “
Real
soon.”

After disconnecting the call, Connor told Marissa, “Someone went to a lot of trouble to make that tag look like Jose’s work. I can’t see Chester risking his position in the community by pulling something like this.”

“I can’t believe the mayor is eager to throw a fifteen-year-old kid in jail.”

“He’s eager to pin the blame on someone.”

“Then we have to find the right someone, the real guilty party.”

“What’s with this ‘we’?”

“Don’t sound so panicked. I’m not talking about picking out wedding china for us. I mean, you’re my rebound guy.”

“Is that all last night meant to you?”

“Why are you sounding crabby? I thought you’d be reassured that I wasn’t trying to build a white picket fence around you.”

“I already knew your views on marriage,” he said.

“I’m not real eager to jump back into that. And I know you’re not interested in marriage. You’ve made that clear. So trust me, you don’t have to worry that I’ll be needy. I can stand on my own two feet.”

“So you wouldn’t mind if I dated other women?”

“Would you mind if I dated other men?” she countered.

“Hell, yes!”

“Then you’re saying you want this thing between us to be exclusive and monogamous?”

“Damn right,” he said emphatically.

She smiled. “That works for me.”

“Good. Now, getting back to this case…”

“Right,” she said. “All we have to do is figure out who is trying to frame Jose.”

“I’d prefer you didn’t get involved in the investigation.”

“I’m already involved. I care about Jose and Red Fred and the rest of the gang.”

“I know you do.”

“And I know that you care about them, too, even if you do have your own unique way of showing it.”

“I’m not going to respond to that comment.”

“I don’t expect you to. If Chester wasn’t involved, then who else had an ax to grind from the poetry jam?”

Connor shrugged. “Anyone could have been upset at Jose’s taking the Lord’s name in vain or using the word
penis
in his poem.”

“Did anyone other than Chester complain to you?”

Connor shook his head. “I can check to see if anyone lodged a formal complaint with the department but nothing Jose said or did was illegal.”

“I heard something about someone else thinking they should have won.”

“The mayor’s granddaughter,” he said.

“Really? That’s interesting.”

“You think the mayor planned the vandalism?”

“No, but his granddaughter might have had a hand in it.”

“She’s never been in trouble before.”

“There’s always a first time.” Her words reminded her that Connor had been her first and here she was, sleeping with him again. And it was as good as ever. Better. They were both older and more experienced. Well, he was probably more experienced than she was.

She was still rather amazed at the way she’d gone to his place last night and told him she wanted him. That was so Rissa the Rebel. Not that she’d ever done that back in the day.

True, she’d kissed Connor before he’d kissed her when they were teens but that was as far as her bad girl act went. After that Connor had made the moves and she’d appreciated them. Okay, she’d done more than just appreciated them. She’d encouraged them.

But the bottom line was that she hadn’t been the one to make such a bold move. To come out and state what she wanted.

As far as her ex was concerned, Brad had been the one to chase her. And it seemed that once he had the wedding ring on her finger, she was no longer a challenge for him. She hoped the day would soon come when her ex would no longer play any part in even a passing thought of hers.

As she’d told Connor, she wasn’t foolish enough to think he was the One. Or that even if he was, he’d feel the same way about her. She just wanted to live in the moment and enjoy every single orgasm as it came.

Was that so wrong? Did that make her a wicked woman? Did she care if it did? She was single and so was he.

Okay, what were they talking about before thinking about having sex with Connor distracted her? Who had framed Jose. Right. She could probably think more clearly if she wasn’t sitting next to Connor.

“I need to go question more people at the Corn Festival,” he said. “And no, you may not come with me.”

“I wasn’t going to ask to.”

“Liar.” He made the accusation sound like a sexy
compliment, which went a long way to appeasing her irritation at his dismissal. Not that she needed him. She had contacts of her own.

“I’ve got plenty of things to do,” she said as she exited his vehicle.

He got out and accompanied her to her demon VW, opening the door for her and closing it once she was inside. The second she started the car, the music started blaring.

“ ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ by Green Day,” Connor said. “This is where I came in.”

“I still can’t get the damn thing to stop. It’s possessed. It plays whatever song on the CD playlist I did up. I can’t get the CD to eject or the music to stop.”

When Connor leaned toward her she thought he meant to kiss her. Instead he reached for the CD player on the dash and forcefully punched the eject button. To her amazement, the CD obediently popped out and silence ensued.