What a horrible thing to say to someone. Allie didn’t know who had spoken, their voices were different in her head, but she did defend the Langleys to the voice. Yes, well, I can see where you might be grateful for having a good home. But to say something like that to a child is deplorable.
The fear of having a child that had red hair was another reason I settled on teaching. I could have as many children around me as I wanted and never have to have the stress of having someone that looked like me. That was nailed home to me when I was kidnapped one afternoon and experimented on because of my hair color. Allie reached for a tissue that was on the side table. The tears were blinding her; she was crying so hard. I’d had a front-row seat to knowing what people thought of when they saw a redheaded person. Okay, I’m not naïve enough to think that everyone thinks like my stepparents or the man who had taken me felt. But I did feel as if I lost something else that I had no control over.
I’m coming up, Allie.
She didn’t say anything to Beckett. She had it in her head that he was going to tell her she was too loaded down with issues. That he’d not thought of her being someone with red hair and what it would do to one of his children. When he entered the room, she stayed where she was and looked at him. His smile, brilliant with happiness, was exactly what she needed.
Beckett helped her up from the floor and held her tightly against his body. He didn’t speak—what could he say? she thought. But when he lifted her chin up so that they could look at each other, Allie held her breath.
“I love you. So very much.” The burst of acceptance came out as a giggle. “Christ, you’re amazing. And I am forever sorry for changing you. Bringing you here. These are the other things you didn’t mention that were out of your control. No wonder you were upset. I think I would have been as well.”
“I’m just whiny.” He said she was sharing her life with them. “I hadn’t any idea I was sharing with the others. But then I thought they might as well understand too. I think I pissed off Rogen. I’ll have to keep looking over my shoulder for a hitman until I can make this right.”
“She won’t kill you. She’d hire someone else to do it. More than likely, it will be some drone loaded up with some kind of killer bullet.” Allie stared at him. “I’m not joking about the drone, but she won’t hurt you. When she told me she pissed you off enough for you to put a gun to your head, I didn’t know what to say. But she did feel really bad about it.”
“Is all of your family like her?” He said just the women. “I see. So the men, they’re what? Lazy bums? Men who allow their wives to—”
“I think you misunderstood. We don’t allow our wives to do anything. They want to do it, they do it. None of us argue.” He laughed. “Do you think we’re stupid enough to tangle with them? Any one of them could call down a world of hurt on us that would last forever. No, we don’t even consider thinking that we could allow them to do anything. I won’t you either.”
“Thank you for that. I do want to try things. I might well fail at everything I do, but I want to have the ability to at least say that I failed, not that I’d quit.” She laid her head on his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry for what I did. Not just to you, but your family as well. I was being a bitch.”
When he didn’t agree or disagree, she was ready to pop him in the nose. But he was looking out the window, and she started to turn to see what had grabbed his attention. Before she could go to the window, he told her to move slowly and not to make any noise. Through the open window, she could hear grunts and squeals.
“They’re baby bears. Look at them. They’re just little guys.” He said they were killer babies if they tried to pet them. “Oh Beck, they’re amazing. I see mamma bear now. Will they get into the pool?”
They did. One at a time, they slid into the large pool. Mamma bear sat on the edge, seemingly telling them to behave when they started tossing water at her. Watching them was like having her faith renewed in life. A new beginning, Allie thought.
Turning to Beck, she realized he was watching her. As he took a step toward her, she wanted to feel his arms around her. His mouth on hers. So when he leaned down to kiss her, Allie gave him everything she had in the kiss. And it wasn’t nearly enough. Allie wondered briefly if it would ever be enough coming from this man.
Chapter 4
The books that Tru handed over to Allie were still sitting on the desk where she’d put them. Not wanting to dress the girl down on doing what she told her to do, Tru let out a long breath and went to find her. Allie wanted to help, but this was the second time she’d come here to talk to her, and she was gone. Finding her in the dining room, she watched her for a couple of seconds before she realized what she was doing. Allie turned and looked at her.
“I’m sorry.” Tru nodded, looking at the artwork that was now on the dining room table. “I read the books. I know you didn’t think I was doing it—Rogen told me—but I did. When she handed me this file on the last robbery, I needed a visual to make it work in my head.”
“It’s the bakery.” Allie showed her what she’d been using for each item that had been listed on the inventory sheet. “The pepper shaker, what is that representing?”
“The robber. I know he went there in the middle of the night, he said, because he’d seen the safe earlier in the day and the combo when it had been opened. But it just doesn’t work out as he is saying it went down.” There were paper towel walls around the office. The door had been made from another paper towel. Tru had seen the drawing of the place, but this, even to her, was much more visible. “See? The door to the office opens to the back of the shop. The only way he could have seen it was if he’d been coming from the rear.”
“I didn’t realize the door was at that angle. Where did you see this?” Allie showed her how the store’s map was wrong according to the report that the manager had verbally given her. “We’ll have to go and see which way it is. I mean, this was given to me, and I’ve not been able to get around to looking over the paperwork.”
“I did. I went there before I started playing with this. You can see the office is there, but there isn’t a window—again, something he mentioned too.” Tru was very impressed. She also wondered if Allie had any idea how brilliantly she was doing this. “I tried even making him come into the rear of the shop, but there isn’t a window to break to get in. Besides, the walk-in is most of the back of the shop anyway. Too many layers, I’d think, to just pop through.”
Tru asked Rogen and Anna to come into the dining room. They’d been working in the house the last few days so that the babies could see them. Tru had Allie explain what she’d come up with.
“So you’re thinking he had help from someone on the inside rather than just coming in and breaking the glass to get to the safe.” Allie looked embarrassed when Anna spoke to her, and she asked her what she thought then. “You have an idea of how this happened. We can read your mind, but I’d rather you just tell us what you came up with. Come on, Allie. We’re all working together here. Get your shit together.”
“There was no robbery.” That wasn’t what any of them expected. “There was money taken, but not by anyone but the store manager. If you’ll remember from the file, it said that she was getting sick of this happening to her. So, I hope you don’t mind, but I looked back over the records of the place. The newspaper put it on the front page every time it happened. It’s usually before a holiday that the place is taken.”
Allie handed her notes to her, and she glanced at them before handing them off to Rogen. When Allie started to take the model apart, Rogen stopped her. After going over each of the scenarios again, they all agreed that it had to be an inside job.
“I’m going to get you a 3-D printer. And a bunch of blocks.” Tru walked around the table and could see other items Allie had used as parts of the shop. “Also, I’d think you could use some little furniture. A car or two. This is amazing. And the
fact that you were able to go there firsthand and see what you need has impressed the hell out of me.”
“I was letting the stuff you had me read settle in my head and this sort of popped in there. And I don’t know what I’d do with a printer. I’ve never used one of those kind before.” The more Tru walked around the thing, the more she could see how much time and effort Allie had taken with this. Tru asked her how long it had taken her. “Not very long. It was finding things that I could use for the shop that took the most time. The paper towels were easier. I could cut them down to the size I needed.”
“We’ll have someone train you on the printer. It’ll be easy once you have that down.” Anna was standing where the entrance of the shop was—there was toilet paper there to represent the street. “Christ, you even drew little cars here so we’d know this was the front of the place. I’m so excited to see how you can make this work for other crime scenes.”
“Me too.” Rogen moved around the table too, but she was bulky right now with her baby showing so much. “I have two other files like this one. Where whatever went down isn’t adding up. Like Tru said, I believe that this will cut down on a lot of going there and coming back to try and work out the details. This is your job from now on if you want it. This is going to save us all a lot of time, Allie. Thanks so much.”
“I was just trying to get it straight in my head.” Rogen told her she’d done that and more. “You don’t have to give me a job, guys. I was just sort of bored and needed something to occupy my mind while the things in the book settled around me. I don’t mind doing this for you, but you don’t have to pay me for having some fun.”
“You took what, an hour to make this thing?” Allie told Tru yes, about that. “We’ve had this sitting in a file for a couple of weeks to see what sort of progress we could make on it. You not only figured it out by playing around, as you called it, but I believe you’re right. It’s done from the inside. If you only did this for us a few times a month, you’d be saving us a great deal of time and resources. You’re hired. I’m standing here thinking of all the shit you could do once you set your mind to it.”
Pride. Tru knew only too well how good it could feel to have someone be prideful of your job. She thought perhaps Allie hadn’t gotten any of that growing up. To think that they told her basically not to breed. Tru hoped that every one of her children were little redheaded monsters. It would be awesome for both her and Beckett.
Rogen left them for a few minutes as she and Anna went over the project with Allie. Not to have her explain how she’d done it, but to get the details on how she’d come up with the conclusion. Tru realized a couple of things about Allie that she liked.
One, she didn’t chatter or need to fill in silence when it wasn’t necessary. She thought about what she was going to say, then said it. There wasn’t any “I think” or “I believe” either. Allie knew what she’d figured out and wasn’t backing off when questioned about it.
The second thing she realized was that Allie did need to have her information settle in her mind. Tru took a quick peek into her head and was amazed to feel her putting things in her mind in order. Taking information that she could use and sliding it into something to remember it by. Tru would bet anything that if someone could look into her mind and what she was doing, it would look like filing cabinets with names on the drawers for her to be able to retrieve the information quickly. It was what she did when she read something she needed to blend in with. File after file of information.
Rogen joined them again a few minutes later. “I’m having someone come out in the morning to build you a space to use. I don’t know that you’ll need a huge space, but you will need room to put out diagrams and such. Also, they’re going to send over some of the things we talked about.” She grinned at them. “You should have heard the man when I told him we needed blocks that could be used for a housing project. He was excited as hell to get them for us—also people. I didn’t know how many you’d need, but he had a good idea in saying he’d fix them so that you could add things to them. Such as bullet holes and knife wounds.”
“You’re serious about this.” Rogen told Allie she was seldom not serious about her work. “What are you going to do with all this stuff if it turns out this is a one-time deal with me? For all you know, I could have spent the bank on this project and won’t know how to do it the next time.”
“Do you believe this was a one time shot? Tell me now if you do. Not that I’ll believe you if you tell me it was. You have a mind that works on a level that frankly makes me jealous. You can take a crime scene and make it into something that is not only easier to see, but you’ve done it in a way that makes me think you’re perfect at seeing outside the box.” Allie admitted that she did this kind of thing all the time when she wanted to move her furniture around. “Great. Once you get the proper equipment, you’ll be able to make things to scale or as close to it as you can. Crime scenes will be something that will get the most use of this. In that, you’ll be able to put in just what was at the crime scene and look at it from not only every angle but from overhead. That alone, to me, sounds like a good thing to have. No more tromping through a field or forest either. You’d have it all right here so that we can move it and use it over and over as more information comes to light. You have to do this for us, Allie. This is absolutely the next step in solving the most heinous of crimes.”
“I’ll do it.” Tru was glad. She didn’t want to have to bully her into helping them. Even with the ways that Rogen said they’d use it, Tru could see even more uses.
Like when she had to get in and out of a place. In her job, she’d sometimes have to wing it and make adjustments to things that hadn’t translated well to specs. Doorways and windows would help her in adjusting her travel through someone’s home or office building. This would also make it so she’d be able to hide better if it all went to shit.
Allie was given the other files, and Tru watched her. It wasn’t distracting for her, she told her. Tuning her out when she moved was easy for Allie. Using the same pieces that she’d gathered up, Tru laughed way harder than she should have when Allie went into the yard to get some small branches and twigs. Christ, this was going to be epic for all of them.
This file dealt with an outside shooting. Hills were made of rolled balls of paper towels. Small stones were around the “trees” to hold them upright. Allie even took copier paper and drew a little gun, as well as a rifle that had been found at the crime scene. Tru reached out to Rogen and told her that Allie would need an entire set of small guns and weapons.
I was thinking about that. Perhaps she’d be able to make them with the printer. I mean, any modifications that have been made to them as well. Rogen laughed. Who would have thought that our little Allie would have a hidden talent like this? My mind is buzzing with the things she’ll be able to help us with. Even setting up a building with her knowledge will be good for getting things in the right place the first time.
Tomorrow, when this shit starts to show up, someone is going to have to be with her. Her poor little head will explode when she sees what you’ve ordered. I’m sure you went all out and got her everything she might ever need. Rogen said she didn’t want her to be in the middle of a project and need something important. Yes, you and I know that’s how it will work, but she’s going to think you went way overboard. I think for a few days, we’re going to have to walk her through working for us. We might also want to bring her up to date on what it is we’re doing here.
Shit, I never thought of that. I wonder why she thinks we’re doing this. Tru told her what she’d seen in her mind. Attorney? I guess that makes sense. But when she hears that we kill people that need to be dead, I’m sure she’s going to react badly. It’s not something we put out there for even the family. They know, of course, but we started out this way. She’s new to all of this.
I’m thinking she’s not only going to be cool about all this, but I
have a feeling she’s not as timid as she’s putting on. Once cornered, I’m betting she can fight better than any of us. Do you know if she uses a weapon? Rogen told her what had transpired in the bedroom. Sure, she can hold it to her head, but can she kill someone who isn’t trying to kill her first? That would be important if it ever came out what she can do. I’m thinking that if someone knew how well she can think like this, there will be hell to be paid.
I don’t think we should tell her that. Tru disagreed but said she’d wait until it became necessary. All right. How is she doing with that file?
She’s done. Christ. I even know how it happened just by looking at it from this view. You have to come and see this. Hell, have everyone come and see this. With the right equipment and a worksheet, she’ll be able to tell how we were conceived. Allie is going to be my go-to person when I’m stuck with what happened at a crime scene.
~*~
Beckett stretched out on the couch and closed his eyes. Today had been a killer of a day, and he just wanted to have some quiet time. He knew as soon as he heard the front door open and close that he was going to be shit out of luck. When he saw who was there, he smiled at Allie. She was a distraction he could love.
Beckett: Robinson Destruction – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Page 5