Evasive Action (Holding the Line Book 1)

by Carol Ericson

  “That sounds about right.” She snapped her fingers. “I’ll call Adam and find out. And if he told Jimmy that I know he’s a drug dealer?”

  “You’ll have to convince Jimmy you won’t tell anyone.”

  Clay placed the phone in her outstretched hand, and she went to his recent calls and tapped Adam’s number. At the first ring, she leaned forward. At the second, she glanced at Clay. Adam’s cell rang for a third time, and April licked her lips.

  When the phone tripped over to Adam’s voice mail, she put Clay’s phone on speaker. “What now?”

  “Don’t leave a message.” Clay lunged for the phone and ended the call. “Just in case.”

  “Just in case—” April pressed her fingers against her throbbing temple “—Jimmy has Adam’s phone?”

  “Or he gets to his voice mail. You don’t want anything on record.”

  “Should I call Jimmy now?”

  “Not from my phone.” He held up his cell and then returned it to its charger on the counter. “You can pick up a burner phone tomorrow and call him from that. Maybe Adam will see the missed call from me and get back to you.”

  “I wonder why he didn’t pick up.” April rubbed her arms. “It’s a little early for him to be in bed.”

  “Maybe he’s with Jimmy and doesn’t want to answer any calls, which would be the smart move.” Clay lifted an eyebrow. “Is Adam still using?”

  “Says he’s not.” She hunched her shoulders.

  “But you don’t believe him.”

  “You may think I’m overly protective where Adam is concerned, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see him for what he is.”

  “He’s your brother. I understand.” Clay grabbed his water glass and set it in the sink. “You can stay here if you want to watch TV. The spare room doesn’t have one. I’m going to hit the sack. Unlike Adam, it’s not too early for me, especially after the day I had.”

  “You must be exhausted.” She pointed the remote at the TV screen where she’d paused her movie. “I guess I’ll stay here and try to unwind a little.”

  “I’ll toss one of my pillows onto your bed.” He lifted his hand and disappeared into the hallway.

  April let out a long breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. Being in the same room as Clay hadn’t been as easy as she’d expected—even after coming clean about Jimmy.

  Could she really call Jimmy tomorrow and act normal? Act as if she didn’t know he was a drug-dealing scumbag who wanted to marry her to get to her father?

  She restarted the movie and adjusted a throw pillow behind her neck. Sure she could. She’d been lying to Clay Archer for years.

  Chapter Five

  Clay woke with a start, his heart thrumming in his chest. April. She’d come back into his life, dragging her drama along with her.

  He threw back the covers, fully awake, and planted his bare feet on the cool tile floor. His clock radio sounded the alarm with the news at six and he reached over and smacked it off.

  He crept from his room and grabbed the doorjamb when he saw the door to the spare room ajar. The hinges creaked as he pushed it open.

  Clay’s jaw tightened as he scanned the neatly made-up bed. At least she hadn’t left a mess when she sneaked out of here.

  Grabbing the back of his neck, he dug his fingers into his knotted muscles. He’d told her what to do to alleviate Jimmy’s suspicions. It was up to her to follow through.

  He padded on bare feet into the darkened living room and flicked on the light in the kitchen. As he measured ground coffee in the filter, a soft moan floated on the air and he dropped the filter on the counter.

  He charged into the living room, his fists clenched at his sides. A lump on the couch elongated, and a swath of blond hair rippled over the edge of the cushion.

  He crept closer and peered down at April’s face, smooth in sleep except for a tiny crease between her eyebrows. She never could sleep soundly. What sinister dreams clouded her mind, creating that little line?

  Her lips parted and she emitted a sigh that stirred the strands of shiny hair crisscrossing her cheek.

  His fingers twitched to smooth the hair away from her face, but he didn’t want to disturb her sleep. God knows, she needed it. What had possessed her to marry a man she hardly knew? Stability? He could’ve offered her that and more. Protection for Adam? That he’d never offer.

  He turned away from her, cleaned up the coffee mess in the kitchen, set up another cup to brew and retreated to his bedroom. For those few minutes, he’d almost come to terms with having April out of his life again.

  He took a quick shower and dressed in his uniform. Maybe they’d find out the identity of the dead drug mule today. If she had fingerprints on file somewhere, they’d ID her soon enough. It would take longer to match the DNA from the head to the body, but how many bodies without heads could there be in one day?

  He pulled on his boots and returned to the kitchen where his coffee awaited him, the smell of the rich brew giving him a jolt. As he screwed on the lid to his commuter mug, April coughed from the other room.

  She called out, “Are you still here?”

  “Sorry if I woke you up.” He’d had just the lights beneath the counters on, and he turned on the overhead lights. “Do you want some coffee? I have just a single-brew machine, but I can put some on for you now.”

  She sat up and yawned. “I think I’ll have more of your mother’s tea, if that’s okay. I know your mom would probably mind, but she’s not here.”

  “Did you sleep okay? Why didn’t you use the bedroom? You don’t even have a blanket or pillow out here.”

  She shrugged the afghan from her shoulders. “I found this on the chair. I fell asleep in front of the TV and just got too comfortable to move.”

  “I’ve spent a few nights on that couch in front of the TV myself.” He put down his coffee mug and grabbed a tea bag from the shelf. “I’ll leave the tea for you here, and you’re welcome to cook breakfast before you head out to Meg’s.”

  “Maybe I’ll drive up to Tucson today and get some clothes...and that phone.” She tousled her hair. “I suppose I have to make that call to Jimmy.”

  “I think that’s your safest bet right now. How are your acting skills?”

  She jerked up her head. “Pretty darned good.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have any trouble convincing Jimmy you made a mistake, you’re sorry, it’s you not him. Blah, blah. You’ve done it before.”

  Clay snapped his mouth shut and sealed his lips. Reminding April what she’d done was not going to persuade her to open up to him and tell him the real reason why she left. He needed to give it a rest.

  He buckled his equipment belt around his waist and holstered his gun. Grabbing his hat, he turned at the door. “When you get that phone, give me a call. I left my number on a sticky note that I slapped on a cabinet door.”

  He paused on the threshold. “Don’t hang around here too long, April. There are some bad characters who know where I live. I’ll have the Paradiso PD cruise by here a few times in the next hour.”

  “You just creeped me out.” She pushed up from the couch. “I can shower at Meg’s and get breakfast there, too.”

  “Do you want me to wait until you’re ready to go?” He glanced at the phone clutched in his hand. “I’m not going to be late, and I’m leaving early to pick up Denali.”

  “Is he okay?”

  “He’s fine.” He tapped his cheekbone. “Just a minor eye irritation and I would’ve picked him up yesterday, but I got called out on that dead body. Drew offered to take him home for the night.”

  “Small-town vets.” Her gaze shifted to the great outdoors behind him. “If you don’t mind waiting, I’ll hurry.”

  “Take your time.” He patted the case slung over his shoulder. “I can check emails on my laptop.”


  By the time he’d powered up his computer and clicked on the first email, April had returned, the bedraggled wedding dress thrown over her shoulder like the pelt of some wild animal.

  “That was fast. No shower?”

  “Told you, I’ll take one at the house.” She plucked at the baggy sweats that couldn’t conceal her shapely backside. “I didn’t have anything to change into, anyway. I’ll borrow some clothes from Meg.”

  “Do you want me to take this to the station for you?” He tugged on the hem of the wedding dress. “It’s on my way.”

  “Could you?” She sloughed the dress from her shoulder as if shedding a layer of skin.

  The dress landed in a heap between them. “That would really help me out because I wouldn’t have to explain anything to Meg about the wedding.”

  “My lips are sealed, but plenty of people saw you last night all decked out in your finest bridal attire.” He left the dress on the floor and shut down his laptop. “You know how this town likes gossip.”

  “I know more than anyone.” She brushed off the front of her T-shirt. “I’ll deal with it when it happens. One thing at a time.”

  “You got it.” He stuffed his computer in his bag and hitched it over his shoulder. Then he gathered the dress in his arms, resting his chin on the yards of fabric. Probably the closest he’d ever get to a wedding dress.

  Tipping his head toward the door, he said, “Lead the way.”

  April scurried in front of him and held the door open as he squeezed past her. She grabbed the keys jingling from his outstretched hand and hit the remote for his truck.

  “No ceremony needed. Just stuff it in the back seat.” She opened the back door of his truck.

  He shoved it inside, punching and squishing it into submission. It frothed over the headrest of the front seat. He yanked it down. “This thing is alive.”

  “Yeah, not really my taste. I’m just gonna claim temporary insanity.”

  He eyed her car over her shoulder. “You sure that thing runs?”

  “It got me here, didn’t it? I’ll be fine.” She tossed his key chain at him. “Thanks for sticking around.”

  “How long will you be in Paradiso?”

  “Long enough to regroup and think about my next move.”

  “You’re not really considering trying to track down your father in Mexico, are you?”

  “I don’t know. What if he really is El Gringo Viejo?”

  “And your knowing that and tracking him down in Mexico would benefit you, how?” His hand shot out, and he encircled her wrist with his fingers. “Let that go, April. Let it all go. Call Jimmy and let him know the engagement was a mistake and you’re out of his life, and then get back to your life.”

  Her lashes swept over her eyes. “I just might do that.”

  She wobbled across his gravel driveway, a pair of pearly white pumps sticking out of the bottom of the sweats.

  Shaking his head, he climbed into his truck. The wedding gown tickled the back of his neck, so he slapped at it and cranked on his engine. The truck idled behind April’s car.

  When her brake and reverse lights flashed, Clay backed out and rolled backward down the road to allow April to pull out ahead of him. He followed her to the fork, and she stuck her hand out the window as she peeled out, making a left turn.

  He took a right and aimed the truck back toward town. Detective Espinoza worked for the county sheriff’s department but he’d be camped out at the Paradiso PD station for the next week at least, to get a handle on this investigation.

  When Clay reached the police department, he pulled into the small parking lot on the side for official vehicles. He swung open the back door and scowled at the dress. He should’ve offered April a pair of scissors to cut out the bloodstained material.

  He wrestled the dress out of the car, and a male voice called out over the parking lot. “Is that your new girlfriend, Archer?”

  Clay lifted his hand and flashed a one-finger salute at the cop and then gathered the dress to his chest, wrapping his arms around the voluminous material.

  Ten of the dress April had planned to wear to their own wedding could fit inside this one flouncy mess. He’d seen the dress when he’d gone over to her house to pick up a few of his things when she left town. The picture in his mind of her in it had stayed with him longer than he cared to admit.

  He staggered to the building, tripping on the dress more than once. He pushed into the lobby of the PD and peered around his delivery at Todd Barton, the officer at the front desk, wide-eyed and mouth gaping.

  “This is for Espinoza. It has the blood from the head last night.”

  “Oh, right.” Barton jumped from his chair and came out from behind the counter. “I’ll take it into one of the rooms in the back and cut out the swaths of material we need and bag them for testing. Espinoza has already sent blood samples from the, uh...head to the state.”

  “She’s all yours.” Clay pressed the wedding dress against Barton’s chest and brushed his hands together as if ridding himself of a dirty task.

  Barton poked his head to the side of the white suds. “Are you going to take this back with you after I cut out the samples?”

  “No way.” Clay turned on his heel, almost bumping into Espinoza as he charged through the door.

  “Just the man I’m looking for.”

  “I just dropped off the dress with the bloodstains from the severed head.” Clay jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Barton, as if there was more than one blood-smeared wedding dress.

  “Archer, we’ve got a problem.” Espinoza rubbed the back of his neck.

  Clay’s pulse jumped. “What kind of problem?”

  “That body you found yesterday and that head on your porch—they don’t match.”

  * * *

  APRIL CUPPED THE cell phone in her sweaty palm and dumped it on the table. She waved to the waitress balancing three plates in her hand. Once she delivered the food, the waitress scurried to her table.

  “More iced tea?”

  “Actually, I’m looking for an outlet.” April dangled the charging cord from her fingers. “Just bought a new phone, and I need to charge it up.”

  “We can do that for you behind the counter.” The server held out her hand, wiggling her fingers, and April pressed the phone and the charger into her palm.

  “Thanks, and I’ll have more iced tea when you get a chance.”

  The waitress smiled, but her eyes assessed April—hard.

  April nodded and ducked her head to slurp some lukewarm tea through the straw. Had this young woman cut her teeth on crazy April Hart stories? Did she recognize her?

  Meg had been suspicious of April’s story about rushing out to help a friend—not that she expected her cousin to believe anything she said, but that fabrication sounded more worthy than the fact that she’d run out on a wedding—again.

  Mom’s side of the family always slept with one eye open around her and Adam, as if they’d inherited Dad’s killer gene or something. Not that she was totally convinced her father murdered her mother. They’d had their problems and Dad was always a scammer, but he’d also loved Mom—or he’d been an incredible actor...or a sociopath.

  If Dad were really this El Gringo Viejo character like Adam thought, maybe he did kill Mom because she found out something. Like she’d found out about Jimmy.

  “Your phone is charging.” The waitress hovered over the table with a plate of food in one hand and a pitcher of iced tea in the other. “And here’s your sandwich.”

  She placed the plate on the table and filled up the iced tea glass. “Do you want a cup of ice for that?”

  “Sure, thanks.” April whipped her napkin into her lap and picked up one half of her turkey sandwich.

  The front door of the café swung open and April nearly choked on her first bite as Clay
charged through the door, his dark hair already askew.

  “Glad I found you.” He held up his hand to the waitress. “Can you bring me a cola, Larissa?”

  Clay dragged the chair out across from her, scraping it across the tile floor, and sat down. “You’re not gonna believe this.”

  Still chewing, April pointed to her mouth. She swallowed and took a sip of tea. “You almost made me choke on my food when you barged in here. I don’t want a repeat. What is going on?”

  Clay gripped the edge of the table as if to brace himself. “That head we found yesterday on my porch?”

  “Yeah, I remember it.” She nabbed a spot of spicy mustard from the corner of her mouth with the tip of her tongue.

  “It does not belong to the headless body at the border.”

  The room tilted and April twisted the napkin in her lap. “What do you mean? There’s another body without a head out there and another head missing its body?”

  “Exactly.” He rubbed his knuckles across his jaw. “That’s crazy, even for Paradiso, even so close to the border.”

  April pushed away her plate, one perfect bite missing from her sandwich. “I don’t understand. How did they discover that so quickly? You told me the DNA would take a while.”

  “Espinoza doesn’t have the DNA test back yet, but the medical examiner has determined that the body belongs to a young Latina and the head is that of an older, Caucasian woman.”

  Goose bumps raced up and down her arms and she folded them across her chest. “How is this even possible? And why was the older woman’s head left on your porch when you found the body of the younger woman?”

  “They’re obviously connected, from the same hit. Maybe both women came through the tunnel, Las Moscas killed the younger one there, leaving her body and taking her head, and then murdered the other woman elsewhere, dumped her body and left her head for me—just to mess with us.”

  “It’s pure evil, isn’t it?” April rubbed her arms. “Do they think this is some kind of joke?”

  “This is business, and they’re deadly serious.” He glanced up at the waitress. “Thanks, Larissa.” He sucked down half his soda before coming up for air.