The Nymph's Curse: The Collection (40 page)

“Talking can wait. My sister needs me.” She reached around him and took the door handle. “Now, you can come with me, or you can sit in here and do nothing. Either way, I’m going to find her.”

“Wait.” Dane stepped away from the door and grabbed his utility belt and black uniform jacket that hung in the side closet. “I’m going with you.”

Del’s Bar was a shit-hole by anyone’s standards. The bar stunk of old tobacco, stale beer, and vomit. The floor was covered in wood shavings that they must have used to try and mask some of the rank odors, but even the fresh shavings did nothing to help. A man was standing behind the bar. He had a crooked nose and a receding hairline. What little hair he had left was gray and grease laden.

A few men stood at the far end of the bar playing pool. Another man and woman sat at the poker machines, gambling away their money. None of them made eye contact as Dane strode to the bar and pulled out a stool for Aura to sit down. She slid into the seat and then he sat down next to her and turned to the bartender.

“I’ll have a beer. What do you want, honey?” There was a foreign ownership in his own voice that surprised him. Where had that come from?

He watched her pink lips twitch as she ordered a beer. He wanted to kiss those lips again, but for now he just wanted to keep her safe. The bartender looked at her. “Which one?”

Aura glanced to him questioningly, as if she wasn’t much of a drinker.

There was a lot that could be assumed about a man by the beer he drank — especially at a bar like Del’s. The man eyeballed them, waiting for them to decide so he could finish sizing them up. The uniform mustn’t have been enough for the man to dislike him, so Dane held out a hope that there was a possibility of getting some answers.

“We’ll take two draft Bud Lights.” He was normally a lager drinker, but this type of situation called for a low-key American beer. Something that showed they were simple, straight to the point, and not here for any bullshit.

The man grabbed a couple of pint glasses and put them under the tap.

“You here to bust us for something?” He pushed the second glass under the tap. “We’ve been carding all the young-looking kids that come in this joint. We ain’t done nothing illegal.”

Of course the man would think a deputy would be coming here to deliver tickets, but they were here for something better — answers. “You aren’t in any trouble. Just wanted to stop by, have a beer.”

The man slid the beers over the bar to them as he gave them the stink eye. Dane couldn’t blame the guy for not believing him. He’d never set foot in this bar unless it had been to apprehend a criminal or bust up a fight. The bartender had every reason to be suspicious.

Dane pulled out his wallet and laid a fifty dollar bill on the bar. “We are here for a little information. We just need to get you to take a look at a picture for us.” He pulled Natalie’s phone out of his pocket and pulled up the picture of Shawn. “You recognize this guy?”

The bartender set to washing a used pint glass, but leaned over far enough to see the picture. He acted like he was only half interested, but it was easy to tell the guy was chomping at the bit to get some fresh gossip in the place. Nothing would make a better story for later in the night than a sheriff coming in looking for a suspect.

Dane pulled back the phone, like he was reeling in a fish. The man leaned over further, taking the bait. Nothing worked like using a person’s curiosity to get him to talk.

“We just need a little information about this guy. What he’s driving. Who he’s been with … ”

The bartender stared at the screen. “I think I’ve seen the guy. Don’t know his name, but he was in here with a pretty little brunette number.”

“When was that?”

“I don’t know … three or four days ago.” The guy leaned back and wiped his hands on the rag at his waist.

“Was Natalie — I mean
the woman
upset?” Aura looked anxious as she leaned over the bar after the man, almost appearing as if she was going to reach out and grab him to keep him from moving away. She had a lot to learn about interrogation.

“She didn’t talk much … I don’t really remember her.” He thought for a minute. “She was cute, I guess. Had a couple of guys giving her everything they had to get a chance to be alone with her. She stuck to that guy pretty good though.” He motioned to the phone.

Did Natalie want to be with Shawn? Had they gotten it all wrong? Was she just hiding from her sister? No … There were dead women to be accounted for. But maybe, just maybe, Natalie wasn’t as innocent as Aura had been putting on.

“Did you see what the guy was driving?”

The man eyed the fifty dollar bill. “My memory is a little foggy.”

Dane pulled out his wallet and pulled out another fifty. If this was how the questioning was going to keep going he’d need to find a sponsor.

“Silver GMC, Idaho plates.”

“Idaho? You sure?”

The man nodded and turned to put a glass away. “Positive. Saw it when I was running a load of trash out. He and that woman were having a good time in the front seat.”

Aura blanched, but tried to cover her horror by taking a long swig from the heady beer.

“By chance did you catch the woman’s name?”

The guy stood still for a moment, as if he couldn’t think and work at the same time. “I don’t know it might have been Brenna or Jenny. Something like that. Maybe.”

At least he hadn’t said Natalie. Not that he took any comfort in the bullshit names he had provided.

“Did you hear any mention of where they were staying?”

“I don’t know about that.” The bartender eyed the room to make sure no one was watching. When it seemed like no one was paying attention, he picked up the money on the bar and stuffed it into his pocket. “There was another guy with them though. Older guy. I’ve seen him around here before, but he didn’t look real happy to be here with them. He kept trying to leave and your guy kept stopping him. They were fighting about some stock auction … Something about some wild horses they had, but that’s about all I know.”

At least he wasn’t going to have to give the man any more money to get answers and they had gotten a few questions answered.

Dane took a long drink of his beer and wiped the foam from his lip. “Thanks for the information.” He pulled a business card from his pocket with a picture of a badge and his number in bold black print. “If you see him, the other man, or the girl, I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a call. We need them to answer some questions for us.”

“This about those two dead chicks?”

So much for secrets. Everyone knew what he was up to. If he didn’t find answers soon his ass would be on the line.

“Like I said, just need them to answer a few questions for us.”

The man smirked and walked to the other end of the bar where a barfly waved him down.

Aura turned to him. “Natalie hated Shawn … It couldn’t have been her in that car with him.”

She could be right, but from what the bartender said, her sister had been a willing participant in the late night romp.

“Was there any reason your sister wouldn’t want to speak to you?”

She nibbled at her lip and she stared down at her beer. After a minute she looked up. “We’d had a fight, but she wouldn’t just disappear.”

“Not even if she had something to do with Angela’s murder?” He hated that he had to ask her, but the truth needed to be found. He needed the real answers.

“She’s not a killer. There’s no way.”

He twisted the beer in his hands. “Aura, you need to tell me what is going on. You are lying to me … I can feel it. If you care for me at all you need to tell me what the hell you’re hiding.”

The sound of pool balls being racked echoed across the room, making the silence between them that much more tense.

Didn’t she care for him at all? If she did, she would tell him the truth — hell, she already would have.

She didn’t give a shit about him. She didn’t give a shit about anyone except her damn sister.

He swallowed the last drink of his beer. The glass slammed down on the bar as he stood up. “I’ll be outside.”

She didn’t stop him.

He pushed open the door and headed out toward the patrol car. He needed to get his mind back on work. He’d been a fool to think that she wanted anything more from him than a quickie. She was using him to find her sister. If nothing else, it was damn smart of her … give an officer a little ego boost, a little sheet time, and then manipulate him to get whatever it was she wanted. How had he been taken for such a ride?

The door closed behind him. He shoved his hands into his pockets and put his head down into the freezing wind. He was sick of this place. This life. Maybe he would have been better off staying at the ranch … No. Dane shook off the thought. He should have never stayed in this God-forsaken little town. He should’ve joined the Army, run away to another country and done some real good.

Cars buzzed by on the highway that ran outside the bar. As Dane pushed the unlock button on the key fob, a truck pulled into the space next to him. Behind the wheel was Zeb, and from the pucker on his face, it was more than clear that he wasn’t too happy to be seeing his arresting officer and brother standing next to his truck.

Zeb pushed open his truck’s door and stepped out, slamming the door behind him. “What the hell? Can’t a guy even get a drink without you being around?

“Look, I was only here to have a drink.” He twisted the keys in his hands as he tried to think of a way to deescalate his brother’s anger. “Hey man, I’m sorry I had to arrest you. It’s the policy. If you want, I’ll buy you a beer … to make up for it.”

“I’m your goddamned brother. I don’t care if it’s procedure or not. You know I’m not the one behind the murders. I could never do shit like that. Yet you couldn’t just live and let live. You had to go after me for Angela … and the ranch. You need to let shit go.”

“I need to let shit go?” Dane’s anger threatened to boil over. “You are the one standing there blowing up at me. I offered to buy you a goddamned beer. Thought we could just move past this.”

Zeb pulled a can of snuff from his pocket and pushed a pinch full into his mouth and under his bottom lip. “You don’t know what you cost me.”

“You have all the money you need thanks to the ranch. You’re full of it.”

“Money’s not the issue.”

He wasn’t making any sense. What could be more important to his brother than money? “What are you talking about?”

“It’s none of your goddamned business.”

“You’re making it my business. Tell me what the hell you are talking about.”

“What is it about you? Do you just want to live up my ass? You’ve been nothing but a pain in my ass ever since that Aura woman showed up around here. Fuck her and get it over with.”

He refused to take the bait. He wasn’t about to fight about Aura. “I bet there’s not much room in your ass — not with your head so far up it.”

Zeb spat on the ground. “You think you’re real fucking smart, don’t you? I know you only arrested me to satisfy some asshole urge … you’ve always been jealous of me. Of what I had. Who I am.”

“You can go fuck yourself. The last person I’d want to be is you. You’re a pile of shit.”

“This has been a long time coming.” Zeb rushed toward him, throwing his cowboy hat on the ground.

Dane dropped his shoulder, covering his head as Zeb swung his fist wildly through the air. His hand whooshed past his head, missing him by a few good inches. Dane stood back up, fists raised.

Zeb swung again.

Dane smiled wickedly. “You fight like a woman.”

“You didn’t use to say that. You used to get your ass beat and then cry like a little bitch.”

He could envision his fist connecting with his brother’s square jaw. He could feel the way his knuckles cracked across his jaw … But he stopped himself. No matter how badly he wanted to pummel the asshole he couldn’t. He was wearing a uniform that stood for honor and justice … not for settling longstanding family feuds.

The bar door swung open and Aura came running out. “What the hell do you think you two are doing?”

Dane turned toward the noise.

He never saw the punch coming.

What was wrong with men that made them think fighting was always the answer?

Aura dabbed the wet rag over Dane’s forehead, wiping away a little speckle of blood that had risen from the cut above his eye, matching the little cut in his hair. His eyes fluttered a bit as he must have felt the cold cloth on his head, but he didn’t wake up.

Zeb sat at the bar drinking a beer, but he kept glancing over his shoulder almost as if checking to see if Dane was okay. Aura tried to assume that it was out of mere concern, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was more worried about the consequences of assaulting a police officer.

She just didn’t understand that man … Dane was more tolerant of him than he should have been and yet the man kept trying to set him off. It was a wonder Dane hadn’t taken the chance to punch him in the face. A tendril of guilt wiggled up her spine. She was the reason he was lying here in the tacky red vinyl booth. If she would have just given him the answers — or at least some of the details — he would have never charged out of the bar and straight into a fight.

“Dane?” She shook his shoulder slightly.

His eyes fluttered, but he kept them closed.

Maybe he needed to go to the hospital. He had been out for over five minutes and Zeb had been forced to help carry him into the bar. His head had hit the concrete hard, but Zeb had convinced her to give Dane a minute to recover … that “he’d be alright.”

She pulled her phone out of her purse and it reminded her of Natalie. If Dane was in the hospital, the department would assign someone else to the case and she would have to start at ground zero. But if Dane was hurt, he needed to see a doctor. He needed to be safe and taken care of, and maybe the best way was for him to be as far away from her as possible.

Aura ran her fingers through his chestnut hair. It was so full and lush; he would age well. Whoever had the opportunity to spend their life with him would be a lucky woman. He was handsome, smart, ambitious, and he lived his life with a morality that rivaled Mother Theresa. Everything he did seemed to be with honorable intentions. He was a saint. Almost. In the woods he’d been anything but saintly — he’d been carnally voracious.