Truth Is Found (42 page)

Nyx was so empty.

All she really wanted was to feel again. She needed someone to fill her up, and here was the only man who could do it.

“Beau, make love to me. I’m cold and lost, and I really need to feel again. Prove to me that I can survive all of this.”

He stared down at her as the moonlight streamed through her window. She was pale as death, and he was so afraid he’d break her. She looked like the most priceless porcelain that ever existed.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Nyxie,” he whispered, bringing his mouth down to hers. Gently, and with so much love, he kissed her. His lips moved over hers, coaxing her into the mating of mouths. When she moaned in such contentment, he didn't think he would have been able to stop.

Tonight, he was going to give her tenderness.

Beau was going to give her his heart.

Sitting her up, he tugged Nyx’s shirt from her body. As soon as it was free, his joined hers on the floor. Next, he laid her back to remove her jeans.

Again, his followed.

“I love you, Nyx.”

He pressed her down into the mattress with the weight of his body. Slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, his mouth moved over her skin. Starting at her shoulders, he left warm openmouthed kisses there.

Nyx’s body bowed into his. The feeling of him taking his time was delicious and was wearing her down.

“More,” she begged, never wanting him to stop. If time were to end, she’d hold this moment as her one favorite memory. Beau was so loving, that her heart wanted to overflow.

Sliding down her body, he unclasped her bra between her breasts. As they spilled out, he feasted on pale flesh. She was named appropriately.

She was absolutely the Goddess of the Night. Here, in the moonlight, she was radiant. All that black raven hair and witchy eyes. He was transfixed.

As his mouth moved over her breasts, devouring her like she was the finest meal he’d ever eaten, his hands traced fire ahead of his lips.

Already, he was touching, soothing, and stroking the woman he loved to the edge. With her gasp and a moan, from the light teasing through her panties, she tumbled.

Well, she hadn’t seen anything yet.

He wanted her, and he was going to mark her as his. Beau couldn’t stop. It wasn’t in his power.

Lower he slid, his mouth teasing the most sensitive part of her through the tiny panties she wore. The black of the material was set off against the paleness of her skin.

“Oh, Nyxie, there will never be enough of you.”

She wanted to weep with the tenderness he was showing her. Nyx knew he was gentle and sweet. She saw this in him even when no one else did.

He may be an ex-soldier with a rough past, but he was perfect for her.

Slowly, he slid her panties down her legs. With each inch, he left a warm kiss on her skin. When she shivered, he tossed them over his shoulder and grinned wickedly at her.

“I can’t wait to taste you.”

Oh, neither could she.

Nyx watched him, afraid to look away. This was likely the last time they’d have a moment like this.

She wasn’t a fool.

This case was ending soon, and he’d be leaving. If he tried to stay, she’d send him away. He needed his job, his family, and his circle.

She didn't fit into his world.

As much as she wanted to, there was no way to make the square peg of her life fit into the circle of his.

They were only a match made in heaven.

Not on earth.

It was sad, but that didn't make it any less true.

When he crawled onto the bed, Beau took his place between her legs. With gentle fingers, he trailed them through the wetness he found there. Teasing, caressing, and bringing her to the edge with just a touch, he watched as she fell.

As soon as she began the tumble, his fingers were replaced with his mouth.

And he feasted.

The glorious taste of his other half filled his senses, making him crave and desire more.

With each moan, he was hungrier.

When her hands found their way into his hair, he longed to go crazy, but he wouldn’t.

He refused.

This night was about healing her. After all, she’d patched him back up with just being alive.

As he teased her to release again, she cried out his name. Beau couldn’t hold on any longer. He craved that warmth enveloping his rock hard erection. Sliding up her body, he allowed the tip to slide through the wetness.
              “Nyxie, take me home.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Yes, Beau. It’ll always be yes in heaven.”

He slid into her, and he wasn’t disappointed. Nyx called to him, and her body knew his. They fit perfectly.

As he began moving, her hands slid across the muscles of his back. She loved how he felt beneath her fingers, so firm, so warm, and so very alive.

She’d miss this.

Until her dying day, this memory would be her most cherished. It would be her last moments with him.

She could already tell.

“I love you,” she whispered, her voice full of emotion. From the tears in her eyes, to the words slipping from her overflowing heart, she meant it all.

“I love you too, Nyxie,” he vowed, “until the day I die. We’ll always have heaven.”

The damn broke as he shoved her body from the edge into pleasure. She shook with both ecstasy and pain. As he fell with her, and then rose again, he was just as overwhelmed as she.

“I have you, Nyx. I promised you that, and I meant it. I won’t let you go under.”

Little did he know, she was already lost. Nyx was already sinking, only this time it wasn’t the black water threatening to take her under, but her sorrow.

Tomorrow, she’d say goodbye.

She had to set him free. For his own good, she had no choice. He needed to live, and she wasn’t the path that would bring him happiness.

The longer they stayed together, the harder it would be. This last week was the most amazing time in her life, and she’d never forget it.

Not for as long as she lived.

“Want to sleep?” he asked, turning her chin so she was staring directly into his stormy blue eyes.

“Will you hold me?” she asked, needing his arms around her again. She needed that promise of the next few hours.

In her head, she could hear Trey trying to comfort her. He wasn’t leaving--at least she had that. It looked like one Christensen male was in for the long haul.

Only, it wasn’t the one she wanted with all her heart.

It was sad.

The dead were all she had to hold on to once more.

CHAPTER twenty-three

Saturday Morning

Diner

Morning came early.

As planned, they all met for breakfast to start their day. While they could have eaten at the winery, most of the guests,
no…make that all of the guests,
had bailed. Only Roman and the Littlemoons remained, and they didn't want to be everyone’s focus while they talked.

After Pearlie’s death, and finding the body, the whole place became morose. No one could really blame them. It was uncomfortable there, especially after they had all consumed the tainted wine.

That alone was enough to make them run.

So, as they ate pancakes, updated each other, and got ready to work, they were enjoying being somewhere relatively sane.

Everyone was relaxed.

Well, almost everyone.

Tori noticed that while Beau looked fine, Nyx didn't. She could see trouble on the horizon, but she wasn’t going to say anything. If her brother didn't see it, he soon would.

Nyx looked conflicted, and Tori didn't have to guess why. She didn't have a place in his life. If Beau left, she’d be stuck here without him.

Already, the wheels began spinning in her head. Tori was the queen of backup plans. It was apparent that she needed to come up with one, and fast.

“It’s bad at the vineyard,” Roman offered. “Sheila knows that the jig is up. I heard her trying to explain why she was cheating on her husband.”

Julian laughed. “That had to be an interesting conversation.”

“Mr. Nelms wasn’t having it. He told her he’d handle it later. I think he was planning his daughter’s funeral. He looked as miserable as sin.”

No one could blame him there. He’d lost his wife and daughter when all he expected was a simple case of sabotage.

As the waitress cleared their dishes, Nyx stood. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to head back to my shop to clean up. Romeo made a mess, and I have to open again Monday. The show must go on.”

Beau went to stand to join her, only she stopped him. “Stay,” she said, placing her hand on his arm. “This is your job. This is your family. You need to work too.”

He stared into her eyes. “But Nyx…”

“I’ll be fine, Beau. If you need my help, you know where to find me.”

She kissed him softly on the lips. “I love you.”

The way she said it, Julian glanced over at his wife. “Uh oh,” he said, only low enough for her to hear it. That wasn’t a good ‘I love you’, and he knew it.

Tori hated that even her husband saw it coming.

The storm was brewing, and Beau was about to be in the middle of it. Tori hoped he could tread water for as long as it would take.

He stood there, watching her leave. When he turned to face them, his expression said it all.

Screw treading, he was already sinking fast.

Tori knew she had to do something.

If not, Beau was a goner.

When she Nyx gone, they all pulled out their notes and continued to drink their coffee. It was still early morning, and the diner was empty. Now they could have some privacy while they worked.

“What do we have?” Julian asked, running it like he would any other morning team meeting.

“Christina sent all she could. I was hoping with that, and Roman’s research, we would have enough to piece this together,” Tori offered.

It pleased Julian that they were back to good old investigation, and not the woo-woo stuff that freaked him out.

“Let’s begin.”

“Isaiah Martel is broke. For a general manager, he’s crying poverty,” Tori stated, reading the notes Christina wrote up in the dossier she’d created.

“How broke is broke?” Roman asked. “Are we talking student loans are due, or the loan shark is coming for his kneecaps?”

Tori flipped through the papers to find the answer. “It looks like he was on his social media page bitching about his job and not getting enough money for what he’s putting up with.”

Yeah, they all knew that was more ‘who’ than ‘what’. Sheila Nelms was likely pushing the boundaries of sexual harassment. She’d done the same with his predecessor, so why not him?

“Did he mention anything specific?” Julian asked.

“Nothing outright, but he did say that he’s in the process of looking for bigger and better things.”

“We could take that either way,” Roman stated. “He could mean gold, or another job.”

It looked like the hits were going to keep on coming for Daniel Nelms. He’d lost his wife, daughter, and now his general manager was on his way out. It was going to suck when Julian had to tell him.

Great.

“Who else?” Julian asked, making notes on a piece of paper. It helped him to see it all laid out. Tori could run it in her head, but he was mostly the tracker.

“I had Christina run anyone who had means, motive, or opportunity, and I think we need to look at Kirby Andrews,” Tori stated.

Julian scribbled his name down.

Beau was trying to get into it, but he was thinking about Nyx, and how he wished she would have stayed. “He had access to Pearlie, and the barrel,” he offered. “While I was investigating there, he seemed pretty laid back. No one was talking trash about him. Well, not in front of me.”

It was a start.

Tori pulled out the autopsy report that the sheriff had slipped them. “She didn't have any defensive wounds. That hit was to the front of her head. If someone comes at me with a weapon, poised to strike me in the skull, I’m going to defend myself, first with my arms, and then my fist.”

Julian thought about it. “She didn't put up her arms?”

Tori shook her head.

“So, it was someone she was comfortable with, and she didn't expect the assault. Kirby Andrews fit that bill,” Roman stated.

“Yeah, he did.”

Julian mulled it over. “Why that barrel?”

Tori knew what he was thinking. “That is tripping me up too. That man knew the lab and winery inside and out. If he wanted to make her disappear, he could have just put her in a different one--maybe one that wouldn’t be opened for a couple years. Then her remains would have disintegrated more.”

“That’s a gross thought,” Beau added.

It was, but those were the facts of life when it came to dealing with a murder.

They didn't play nice.

“I like him as a suspect,” stated Tori, “but if he’s the killer, he’s a bad one.”

The team agreed.

“Who is next?” Julian asked. “We can always revisit Kirby after we get our list of suspects going. If we can’t find anyone else who is a better fit, we’ll add him.”

“How about the boss’s son?” Roman asked. “We know he has a temper. He attacked Nyx and tried to kick the shit out of Beau.”

“Tried is the operative word,” Beau added. “It wasn’t even a challenge. He fought like a girl.”

Tori cleared her throat, hoping to cheer her brother up.

It didn't work.

“Present company excluded.”

Julian sighed. “Great. I have two menaces to worry about. You two like punching people,” he said, pointing at his wife and brother-in-law, “a little too much.”

She grinned, Beau didn't.

Well, shit.

He was sinking fast.

“I don’ like to fight unless I have to,” Roman stated. “So, you don’t have to worry about me.”

Beau smirked. “Big surprise.”

Julian began talking about the case before the two men were arm wrestling at the table. He could tell Roman was in shape. Just because he wore glasses, and the biggest muscle was his brain, it didn't mean he couldn’t hold his own against the ex-soldier boy.

“Back to Romeo.”

Tori shook her head. “I don’t feel it. Let’s look at it this way. In a heated moment, he kills his sister, and then shoves her in a barrel of wine. He then waits until she’s found and then tries to start a drunken fight with my brother?”

Julian got what she was saying.

“Why? It points the finger at him attention wise. If Romeo was the one who killed her, then why did he show up after a drunken bender at Nyx’s shop? We all know when you’re that shitfaced, you tend to be stupid, but you tell the truth.”

Julian agreed. “I’m not feeling him either.”

“He was pimping her out,” Beau stated. “That’s not exactly warm fuzzy love.”

“No,” Tori began, “but if he was pissed, it was because he lost his extra money maker. He’s cold, but he’s not a killer. He’d have to get his polo dirty, and he doesn’t come across as someone who likes to get messy.”

Julian tended to agree with his wife on this one.

“Okay, who’s next?” he asked.

“What about the cheating wife? She could know that the meal ticket wasn’t going to run forever, so she needed a backup plan,” stated Tori. “We heard from Daniel that she’d get money if both of his heirs were gone. Maybe she’s trying to work her way through them.”

Roman thought about it. “In all the stories that I’ve covered, women kill with more passion and less calculation. If she’s going to kill, it’s going to be over the top. Right?”

Tori thought back to all the cases she’d worked with the FBI. Yes, there had been female serial killers, but he was right. They didn't drown one woman in a barrel of merlot. They poisoned them. They shot them.

“Sheila doesn’t appear to be the kind of woman who likes to get her hands dirty either. She’s more a flirt who likes sex with a guy in his car. She’s bordering on slutty behavior, but not really a killer,” Roman stated.

Tori opened her mouth, about to make a comment about what happened in the SUV, but Julian glared at her.

“Victoria Rose, don’t do it.”

She started laughing. “I was merely going to agree with him. I can’t picture her plunging a body into a vat of wine. It would have stained her precious claws.”

Everyone stared curiously at Julian for his outburst. He actually flushed red. It looked like he outed himself on this one.

Tori grabbed the autopsy report. “This is a single blow to the head. There wouldn’t be a lot of blood with one strike. Plus, the coroner found wine in her lungs.”

“She was alive when she went into the barrel,” Julian stated. “So the person who hit her, likely hit me too.”

“Yeah, and I can’t see her dragging you into the grapevines, can you?”

They all shook their heads.

At the mention of autopsy, Roman pulled out the one he’d absconded on the priest. “The kicker is, the weapon looks to be the same with the dead priest.”

Tori looked at it. “He, too, was hit with a small, round headed object to the skull. The only difference is he took a tumble down a flight of stairs. Pearlie didn't, and neither did Julian. So, maybe the killer needed help with ending his life.”

“Could be,” Julian offered, rubbing the bump on the head. “It had to be something hard. I only recall being hit once, and I went out like a light.”

“A ball peen hammer would have that round end and enough force to knock you out,” Beau offered, as he sent Nyx a text. He wanted to make sure she was okay, and when she replied with ‘fine’, he knew she was anything but.

Crap!

Julian had just told him that fine never meant fine.

He began panicking.

“Yeah, it would,” Tori offered. “Good one, Beau.” She could tell he wasn’t really paying attention, and she didn't doubt why.

“So the maintenance guy would have that kind of hammer,” stated Roman.

Tori thought about it as she sipped her decaf. “Yeah, but he’s in his early twenties. The priest was killed nearly ten years ago. If he did it, he would have been fifteen. It had to be someone old enough to be here back then and still here now.”

Julian agreed. “Then why don’t we use that one factor to eliminate the suspects. Let’s track their whereabouts ten years ago, until we get a baseline of a killer.”

They could do that.

“We should start with the people at Darkwood Monastery first,” Tori stated. “It’ll be easier to keep track.”

Julian flipped his paper over. “Okay, let’s go.”

Tori thought about it. “It won’t be Cordell Burdett. He may have been paying for Pearlie’s services, but he’s too young.”

Roman went next. “The same is true with Richard. He’s the most likely, since he’s a sexual deviant, but he would have been a teen too.”

Beau tried to focus. “What about Reid Ramsey? He’s too young, since he’s barely twenty five, right?”

They agreed.

Tori flipped through the papers Christina sent. “Plus, he’s originally from California. That’s where he got his sommelier training--which makes total sense. Cali is known for its wine.”

Julian made notes.

As Tori dug through the searches Christina did, she pulled out another person who couldn’t be involved. “You can cross off Kirby Andrews too. He was in school back East ten years ago. While he’s old enough, he wouldn’t have been here.”