“Oh my God!” Adam sounded horrified. It was proper horror, but still. You could see Margo drawing back in offense. “And you didn’t even call anyone? You could have probably saved him and then you wouldn’t have had a murder charge to deal with!”
“Oh, please.” Margo actually laughed. “As if the cops in this town have any interest in arresting me for murder. They would have to care that the stupid kid got murdered to begin with!”
“If he’s dead and he’s gay, they better get to it before someone tries to claim discrimination in the cases they choose to pursue,” Adam retorted.
But Margo was pretty sure she was safe. You could see it in every line of her body. And maybe that was enough to draw Detective Lowell out of his hiding spot. He strode over to the front counter and nudged Adam Cathcart aside.
“Excuse me, Mr. Cathcart, but I need to arrest this young woman on suspicion of murder.” Detective Lowell did not look at Adam. He kept his gaze on Margo. “I suggest you come out from behind there with little to no fuss and accompany me down to the station.”
Margo’s face was a total blank. She looked confused. Then she turned and looked right at Ellie. “You! What are you doing here?”
“It’s really rather an amusing story,” Ellie told Margo with no small amount of satisfaction. “I went down to the police station on the suggestion of a new friend I made at the newspaper office.” But this wasn’t the important part. “And then I introduced myself to Detective Lowell, who has a distinct desire to clean up our fair city.”
“That I do,” Lowell murmured. “Which is why I’m here. I originally just wanted to talk to you Margo. But now that you’ve given me a beautiful confession of murder, however unintended it might have been, I can dispense with that annoying bit about getting a warrant first and can do things backwards, which is always my preference.”
Ellie could not help it. She was beaming at the detective, feeling as though she had just found the treasure at the end of the freaking rainbow. But when she glanced over at Adam, he didn’t look like he appreciated it all that much. That wasn’t good. He should have been thrilled they now had a real contact at the police department who wanted to solve crime instead of just taking reports.
Margo turned to Adam. “You! You did this on purpose!”
“Actually,” Lowell argued. “He didn’t. Mr. Cathcart here was having an honest discussion with you. It was Ellie who brought me into the building and helped me to set up shop there behind the ticket kiosk where we could hear you talking very emphatically about your recent adventures.”
“You’re such a bastard!” Margo muttered at the detective. “And who are you anyway?”
“Detective John Lowell, Branson Police Department. But you’re going to be meeting a lot of our officers. I’m sure you’ll enjoy that.” Lowell took a pair of handcuffs from his utility belt and motioned to Margo. “Shall we then? I’m sure you and I will do a lot of talking down at the police station. We’ll get to know each other really well and then I’ll introduce you to a friend of mine, the district attorney. He’s a super nice guy who hates murder as much as I do.”
Ellie watched with barely suppressed amusement as John Lowell read Margo her Miranda rights and then just kept talking and talking as he cuffed Margo and escorted her out of the theater. Finally, the big doors of the theater opened allotting people to spill into the foyer. They were all on a mission. Either heading to the bathrooms or to the gift shop, or even making a beeline out to their cars in a futile attempt to avoid the after show traffic on Route 76.
Adam was staring at Ellie. She walked closer. And then she pointed to the papers on the desk that Margo had just vacated. “I suppose we should turn them over or something, right?”
Adam didn’t speak right away. But then he did reach out and flip over the audit trail report that Margo had apparently been working on. “Harvey Lightman is going to be really broken up about the loss of his bookkeeper. The guy can’t function on a daily basis without Margo.”
“I’m sure he’ll find someone,” Ellie mused. She thought of Caroline and her refusal to do almost everything that stood behind the purpose of her job. “He might not find someone as hard working though.”
Adam laughed. It was a short, sharp bark that made it seem like he wasn’t necessarily amused as much as saddened by what had happened. “You know, for a woman who complained endlessly about how much work she had to do, Margo sure did make a lot of extra stuff to take care of all on her own. You know?”
“Yeah, planning those letters and then executing a murder is a lot of work,” Ellie agreed. She thought about the conversation she’d had with Adam before. “I’m sorry that I went behind your back and spoke to the police about Margo. That wasn’t my intention.”
Funny, but Adam didn’t actually look that upset about it. “I get it. I think. You found a detective who actually wanted to solve a crime.”
“More than that,” Ellie said quickly. She felt her excitement rising again. This was the beginning of a whole new era in Branson. She was sure of it. “Detective Lowell is concerned about what he referred to as corruption in the department!”
Adam nodded his head and rested his hip against the counter. “So, you’re hoping to help this new detective do what? Ferret out the things going on in the department that seem totally counterintuitive to police work? That will keep you busy for decades.”
“I found this kid at the newspaper office,” Ellie began. She excitedly shared her meeting with Jeffrey. She explained to Adam that the kid was going to look up stories that seemed suspiciously under-investigated, and they were going to pass those on to Detective Lowell to pass to Internal Affairs. “It’s going to be a long process, but I think it’s worth it. This community is a good place, a safe place, but it won’t be if the criminals keep getting a pass just because nobody wants to admit there’s a problem.”
“You’re a good woman, Ellie Pierce.” Adam’s tone was soft and he had a strange look in his eyes. “You really are. You’re willing to donate your time and whatever resources you might have at your disposal to make the world a better place for the rest of us. That’s rare.”
Ellie drew back a little. His comments embarrassed her. She wasn’t trying to be “special.” She just wanted her town to be a nicer place to live. So, what did one say when one was paid such a high compliment anyway? “Thank you?”
He laughed.
“Sorry. It’s just that I don’t’ know what to say. You make me feel like I’m a whole lot better than I really am. I don’t know how to break it to you, Adam Cathcart, but I’m really just an FBI washout who got frustrated with her work in the field because there were too many assholes in charge and too much red tape and too many times when I know that justice wasn’t served at all by what I was doing. And now I work in private investigations and I’m trying to figure out where the line is between doing my job and doing everyone else’s job because I’m a little bit of an overly functional and totally OCD.”
“Ellie,” Adam said softly. He leaned forward and took her hand. Drawing her closer to him, Ellie wondered if he was put off by the fact that there were still hordes of people wandering through the foyer. They were alone in a crowd, if that were possible. But Adam didn’t seem to mind. “Ellie Pierce, you are one of the gentlest souls I’ve ever met. Maybe not on the exterior, but you work pretty hard to make people think you have a crusty exterior when in reality you’re one of the kindest women around. I admire you, Ellie. I’ve never known anyone like you before. And like I told you earlier, I would love the chance to get to know you better now that this case is over.”
Ellie had a very strange thought. It made her feel rather chagrined. “You know, I don’t know that this case was actually resolved.”
“How is that?”
“Well,” she said with a frown. “I know where the letters were coming from, but it’s definitely not for sure that the culprit will ever really be held accountable for them.”
“Because she commi
tted murder and that’s a little more important than cutting up magazines and pasting the letters to a piece of paper,” Adam reasoned. “Yes, I think I can deal with that.”
“I still feel bad,” Ellie insisted. “I want to make sure you’re not charged full fee when I didn’t actually solve the case.”
He was actually looking a little exasperated. “Ellie, you totally solved the case. And don’t make me call Caroline to tell her to send me a full invoice because I think you and I both know such a request will totally blow her mind and maybe even cause her to have a mental breakdown.”
Ellie was now laughing. “I can’t actually argue with you there. Caroline keeps saying she handles the accounting stuff, but the truth is she sends it out and then pretends she did it herself. I don’t know if she pays for it or if Titus does because he’s just glad she recognizes she shouldn’t be doing it herself. Either way, the invoice argument might very well send her over the edge.”
“So, send me a full bill,” Adam told her warmly. “And then you and I are going to go out for a dinner date when this is over.”
“How will I know when that is?” Ellie wondered out loud.
But Adam only smiled. Apparently, she would just know.
Chapter Thirty
One week and four days. That was evidently how long it took to feel as though the case of Kari Jo Mounds was cleared up enough to consider putting it behind him. At least that’s the amount of time that Adam managed to wait before calling and deciding to pick Ellie up for their promised dinner date.
He hadn’t known what to expect really. It was all very awkward, and yet it wasn’t. Maybe the unease was because it felt like things should be uncomfortable yet it didn’t. But when Adam parked his car in front of her condo, the only thing he felt was excitement. It had been a good many years since he’d gone on a real date.
“Hi!” She opened the front door and was practically bouncing on her toes. “I’m totally ready. Unless you wanted to come inside to look around? It’s not much, but you can see it if you want.”
“No, that’s not necessary. We have a dinner reservation to make anyway. So, shall we go?”
Adam felt himself grinning and knew he must look like a loon. She was talking a mile a minute with a huge grin on her own face and her dark eyes were bright with anticipation. She wore a pretty little floral dress with a sweater and she actually had on a pair of sandals.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wearing such casual footwear before,” Adam commented.
Ellie stared down at her feet. “Oh. Right. I guess that’s because I never had a reason to wear them. You know?”
“Then I think we’ll need to make sure that changes,” Adam teased her. He took her arm after she closed and locked her front door. “There are a lot of places here in Branson that I’ve wanted to try and just haven’t had the time or the right company to do it. Maybe that will be our dating identity.”
“Good gracious, we have to have a dating identity?” Ellie actually looked briefly alarmed. “Is that like a couple identity, because I’ve read about that in magazines and I have to say that it sounds horrible.”
“Yeah, I think coming up with one would be horrible,” Adam agreed. “But if something just fits, that’s different. And no, this would just be a chance to have fun times together.”
“Oh!” She looked pleased and confident again. “Then that sounds great!”
Adam helped her into the passenger side of his car and then ran around to the driver’s door. “Okay. So, we’re going to Château by the Lake for dinner. I just thought I would say that right now so that if you’ve got some kind of objection, we can change plans or something.”
“No!” She looked excited. “That would be great. Never been there. Well, not officially. I had a drink in the bar, but that was when I was following this guy who was cheating on his wife.”
“Right.”
Adam asked her about her work and they exchanged pleasantries for most of the drive. When they were only a mile or so from the restaurant, Ellie let the conversation lapse for a minute or two and then dove into something he’d been avoiding on purpose just because he didn’t know how to broach the topic.
“I wanted you to know that I really appreciate your help on behalf of Duke Dunbar and Olivia Houghton.”
“I don’t know that it was for Duke,” Adam mused but then shrugged, “but I would imagine he’s very happy on Olivia’s behalf so I appreciate your comment. I’m just glad I could help.”
“You more than helped!” Ellie gushed. Then she seemed to drop her gaze and look away as though she were embarrassed. “I know you didn’t have to do that. You were really great. The way you helped Mr. Lightman figure out a way to get federal and state grant money to keep the Moonrise Theater running. Plus, I know you were the one who set up the contract between Harvey Lightman and Olivia Houghton.”
“Oh, and how do you know that?” Adam looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. “Did you read the contract?”
“No,” Ellie admitted. “But Olivia was going over some of the finer points and I couldn’t help but notice there were almost no loopholes and it didn’t really favor either party. It was just a lot of rules and agreements and if then statements and contingency clauses. It had your touch all over it.”
“I don’t know. Is that good or bad?” Adam asked her as he pulled into the parking lot of the Château on the Lake.
“Good!” Ellie said immediately. “You’ve got this way of making sure everyone gets what they need out of a contract without screwing anyone over. It’s kind of rare.”
“Why?” Adam wanted to know. “Because it’s fair?”
“Yes!” She started laughing. “You are the fairest man I know. And yes, I know that’s just the way you’re wired, but I wanted to compliment you on it. It’s… well, it’s really something I find attractive.”
“And I like that,” Adam assured her.
He got out of his vehicle and went around to open her door. Taking her hand, Adam helped Ellie out. She paused for a moment and he didn’t try to hurry her. He wanted to keep her like this forever. Even if they spent days standing in a restaurant parking lot, he didn’t care. He could have stared into her eyes forever.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered. “I’ve really missed you, Ellie. Talking to you, seeing you. I love watching your mind work. You’ve got an incredible brain and I really want to spend more time getting to know you.”
She looked bashful all of a sudden. He gently put his index finger beneath her chin and lifted her gaze to look into his. Her lips were so plump and full and kissable. He could not resist. Lowering his head, he gently brushed his mouth over hers. One. Twice. And on the third time he had to tell himself to stop.
Leaning toward her, he lightly pressed his forehead to hers and willed her to stay there forever with him. She gave a little sigh. It was so cute. So absolutely perfect and in this one moment, he nearly split his face in half smiling so big.
“You can do that anytime,” Ellie whispered to him. “You are an amazing kisser. Did you know that? I think you made my head spin right around.”
Adam took her hand and kissed her knuckles. Then he folded it carefully through his arm and walked her toward the front doors of the restaurant. “You know, I think there’s a song about that. Like a record. You know?”
“Wow. We’re really dating ourselves now,” Ellie teased him. “I had records when I was a little kid. You’re a little older than I am but I can’t imagine you had much in the way of LPs.”
This started a hilarious and lively conversation about childhood, toys and games, and the fact that things had advanced so much already that there was almost no way for them to keep up with it all.
They were seated at their table and Adam found himself having more fun with Ellie than he’d had with another person for decades.
When dinner was over and they were lingering over a bottle of wine and slices of cheesecake, Ellie got really quiet for a moment an
d then asked him the question he had been expecting. “Do you still think about your wife?”
“My wife is dead,” Adam told her slowly. “But yes, I do still think about her sometimes. I will see something that reminds me of her or I will hear something or find something that she would have liked or found funny. But to be honest with you, she didn’t really have that great of a sense of humor. She wasn’t funny. She got offended pretty easily. And if anything made her think she wasn’t the prettiest, smartest, or the best at something, she got offended.”
“She sounds rather exhausting.”
It was an interesting observation and Adam appreciated it, if only because Ellie was right. “Yes, it was exhausting. But I was really young when I met her and she was so talented and so alive and vibrant and creative that I felt like she was the one.” Adam pursed his lips and shook his head. “Eventually, those were the things that worked against her. It was very hard for her to be objective or to handle the hard times. She turned to drugs and that was it. There was no going back.”
“I’m sorry.” Ellie reached across the table and put her hand over his.
Adam threaded his fingers with Ellie’s and pursed his lips. “I’m not. Not really. I was better for knowing her and I know I learned a lot from the experience. But I’m here and I really like that. And now I’ve met you and I’m very excited about that. Ellie, do you have any idea how much I care about you?”
She ducked her head as though she was trying not to be too obvious. “I really like you too. I care about you. I want to spend time with you and get to know you and I want…”
“What’s that?” Adam pressed after a moment or two. “You can ask me anything. I don’t mind. I think I would probably steal the moon for you if you asked me to.”
Her lips formed a wry sort of grin and she rested her hands on the tabletop and looked very serious. “Yes, you say that, but if I asked you to do the absolutely unthinkable—for a first date anyway—would you go to Saint Louis with me and meet my family?”
Rock Wolf Investigations: Boxset Page 46