Beckett: Robinson Destruction – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  Deep. Why? He told him. Oh. I can understand that. But it’s doubtful he’ll wake up. Not only has the kid been hurt, but it’s also doubtful he’s gotten a good night’s sleep in a while. The meds I gave him when we left the restaurant will keep him out for a while. I’d say you’re safe with disrobing him. If you’ve already got them into bed, big brother, I’ll just come over tomorrow to check on them. There isn’t any point in waking them up.

  He didn’t hurry through taking them off, fearful of him waking. But the more he pulled the pants down, the more wounds he could see on the boy. He’d taken quite a beating. Telling Dawson about them, he repeated that he’d be right over in the morning to have a look.

  He also told Allie, who relayed the information to the others. His legs are so bruised it looks like he’s been dipped in blue and black paint. His arms are also badly bruised. I don’t know how he was able to move, much less take care of his sister the way he did.

  I’m going to kill them. He didn’t even bother telling Allie she couldn’t do that. He wanted the same thing. They had taken an ad out for men to pop a cherry, it says. The biggest bidder won. Christ, to think that the system paired any child or children with this couple is beyond me.

  I take it, then, that you’ve found them. She told him they were currently in jail but would be released soon. Why?

  Rogen is going to make it happen. He didn’t ask. Beck was sure that he didn’t want to know any of the details. Also, he had a feeling that no one would ever just happen to come across their bodies, nor would anyone know what happened to them. Or care, for that matter. Are the kids in bed?

  Yes. I’ve taken off Conor’s pants after checking with Dawson to make sure he was sleeping well enough. Mom put Holly to bed. She even told her some things about what she had planned for the three of them. They’re settled in all right here. You just be careful. She assured him that she wasn’t going to go out on this one. None of them were. I think that’s an excellent plan. No one can come back later and say you did it.

  Beck went to the living room when he closed the connection to Allie. He could still feel her, but she told him that they were working on something, and he didn’t want things to go badly for any of them.

  After seeing nothing on the television that he wanted to involve himself in, he went to his office. There was always plenty there to occupy his mind. After setting up the spreadsheet that he used when he was grading a place he’d worked in, he pulled out his notes and got to work.

  Sixteen months ago, he’d worked in an office building that had needed some work on production time. They were a company that would help other companies sell shares of their stock for a large profit. He wasn’t entirely sure why that was necessary, but they seemed to have been making it work for them. After spending three days working in the office, he discovered what most of their issues were. It was one of those things that making it better for their employees had backfired.

  The owner, a man by the name of Horacio Carpenter, was a good employer. When he made a large profit off sales, he would share it with the people who worked for him. Several times a year, he would also upgrade their office space to reflect whatever the employees thought would make their jobs easier. He’d spoiled them entirely too much. There were so many perks that the people working there would use them instead of working. Hot food when they wanted. Exercise equipment to take off the pounds after their hot meals. He’d even put in places for them to take a nap—power naps, he had called them. Everything someone would want was put there for them to use. And they did, to the point of not getting one hour of work put in.

  “I never thought it would come to that. I mean, they were so excited about having things to do to keep their minds fresh.” Beck had told him that they were more than likely, not realizing they were missing so much work. “I would like to believe that, but right now, all I can think about is how they’ve taken my kindness and turned it against me. I’ll have it all removed.”

  “Not all at once.” Horacio asked him why not. It was making him lose money. “Yes, it is. But if you take it all out at once after just putting it in, you’ll have everyone quit, thinking you’re a selfish man. Take out the larger things first—the exercise equipment, for starters. You can tell them that the insurance for having them there is a little more than you anticipated. Something that shows you’ve had to cut back because of the cost, that sales aren’t what they used to be.”

  “They’re not.” Beck told him they had no way of knowing that if he didn’t tell them. “So, in addition to cutting back on some of the things, I should tell them that we’re not as in the black as we used to be? Without a reason.”

  “That’s it precisely. You’ve made them your partners so far. There also isn’t any reason they shouldn’t know that they’re not doing nearly as well because sales are down. Also, you could mention the bonus share that you get. Something along the lines that it might not be there because of production. Don’t point fingers, just lay it out there like you would to anyone else.” Horacio said he liked that idea. “Good. You let me know when you need help taking out the equipment, and I’ll have someone come over and help you out.”

  That had been last year. Today he got his bonus check for the profit the owner got when production was taken care of. It was more than he thought he’d get. Beck was happy for Horacio and his stocks company.

  Allie came in about midnight. Not only had he gotten a good start on his work for tomorrow, but he’d been able to send out six reports that had been gathering dust on his desk, as well as figured out which project he was going to work on next. He smiled at her when she entered his office.

  “It’s all taken care of.” He asked her if she was all right. “I am. Some very nasty people were removed from this world, and my kids are going to be safe from them. Have you found out anything else that I might like to know? Not just the kids, but something better than what I saw in the last few hours. Good news, please.”

  “I love you.” She grinned at him and sat on his lap after pulling his chair back from his desk. “Good news…let me think. Oh, I spoke with Shane earlier, and he said to tell you congrats on the kids, and he has plenty of room for our kids to go to his school as well. They’re going to have to be tested for which class they’ll be in, but that won’t be an issue.”

  “I’m glad the school there is able to take care of them. I don’t think I want to ever stick our kids in a private school. I know there are some pretty amazing ones out there, but I’m a little soured on them right now.” He leaned over and picked up the envelope that had been delivered today. “What’s this?”

  “You killed a monster when you killed Holland. The vampire committee, I’m not sure what they call themselves, has turned all his worldly goods into a cashier’s check for you. They want you to have it, as he is no longer at a place where he’d be able to use it.” He laughed. “That was how they put it. No longer at a place where he can use it.”

  “I just wanted to get away from him. I didn’t mean for them to reward me for this.” Beck told her that was what he told them as well, that she’d not want it for the same reason. “He didn’t strike me as having all that much. There wasn’t even any power in the place where he took me. How about we use it to make the kids’ rooms nice for them?”

  “I’m game for that. However, if it’s not enough, we have the funds to take care of it.” She nodded and opened the envelope. The look on her face told him that it was considerably more than enough to redo the rooms. She didn’t say anything when she handed it over to him. “Good Christ, honey, we could buy them their own school.”

  The cashier’s check was for just a smidge over six million dollars. With the check that he’d gotten from his bonus just today, they had in checks just over thirteen million dollars. Grinning, he handed her his check and asked her what she wanted to do with their found money.

  “How about we have it invested for our children and
our future children? That way, they can go to college and not have to worry about working.” He told her that was an excellent idea. “I think so as well. But this is still going to be a lot of money. No matter how you look at it, we’d have to have sixty kids, raise them, and put them through college, and still more than likely not use even half of this. What about a fund? Or a home dedicated to children without parents? An adoption agency that does things by the book, and does the necessary background checks too?”

  They agreed that they’d do that. He wasn’t sure what sort of red tape they’d have to muddle through, but with Rogen at the computer, they thought they could get it taken care of without much in the way of issues. It was nearing two in the morning when they went up to bed.

  Beck was sure the moment his head hit the pillow, he was going to be out. It had been both an exciting and stressful day, and he was just too tired to get up in arms about it. Ending his day by looking in on the children made him smile. Falling into bed, he didn’t even have time to pull the covers up and over himself.

  Chapter 7

  “Allie? Wake up.” She sat up, her neck pinching her a little when she did. Looking at Tru, she told her she was sorry. “No need to be. You and I both know why none of us got any sleep. By the way, you have what looks like an M-16 on your forehead and a Glock on your cheek. Did you make these?”

  “Yes. Once I got to read over the manual, I figured out that if I could shrink down the size of the guns to match the scale I’m going to use, they won’t seem so out of place when I put them to the board. The specs on the weapons were easy enough to find. I just had to get them the size I wanted them to be.” She handed the rifle to Tru. “The printer is awesome for doing this. I started out by using it to make things I could attach to the other things we got, but then I realized that nothing was to scale. I think having it look like you want it is going to be important. The blocks are easy enough to shave off, thanks to Thatch fixing them for me.”

  Each of the blocks were now marked with their sizes. The scale she was using was one-twelfth the size of actual crime scenes. Arriving at that had been harder than she thought it should have been.

  “So these blocks, you have them fixed up with windows as well as doors. Is that necessary?” Allie laughed and took the one that Tru had picked up. “They’re nice. But I think a little over the top.”

  “Thatch did that. He and Conor were working together on them, and Holly wanted to help. She was the one that did the windows on things for me. She told me that having them look just like blocks would be boring.” Tru smiled back at her. “They’re fitting in well, I think. I miss seeing them sometimes.”

  The kids had been with them for just over a week. Every night she’d get up several times just to check on them, to make sure they were actually still hers and Beck’s. Then last night, Rogen had called them in for a hit. It was all she’d been able to do today to keep her eyes open.

  “What are you working on next?” Allie told her she was just making things so she’d have them at this point. “This is amazing work, Allie. I know I keep telling you that, but it’s wonderful to have you take a crime scene or whatever we need and make it work for us. I’ve never been so happy to get specs on something so that I can see what you make of it.”

  “Getting it organized has been the most difficult part. But once I got the shelving I needed and the bins, it was easy to get things in the right places to use. Thatch has been great coming by and working on the little things with me.” Tru told her how he loved working with her. “He’s funny. Most of the time, he just works away without talking much. Then he’ll get on a story and talk for hours. I don’t know which one I like better, the quiet or the noise.”

  “I can’t believe you get him to be quiet. The man can talk your arm off. He seems to be having fun with all the grandbabies too. I put your kids in there with them. Conor and Holly were lucky in having you there when they needed it.”

  “I’m the one that considers myself lucky. We still have to work with Holly. She doesn’t like being alone. I don’t blame her, but Dawson suggested we let her see a therapist. Perhaps talking to someone will help. Conor gets mouthy at times—not as much as he did those first couple of days. I think that instead of fighting, he lashes out with words. It’s all either of them understand when they’re afraid. To stand up and hurt the other person.” Tru asked her if she needed anything with them. “Not yet. Conor has expressed a desire to come here and look around, but he’s grounded at the moment. He lied to us about his homework. I hated doing that more than I did anything that I’ve done with them so far.”

  “They need that. Just the right amount of balance between getting away with something and going too far. Me? I go too far all the time.” They both laughed, and it felt good. “Don’t second guess yourself with telling them the rules, Allie. Mine are just babies, and I’m laying down rules now too. And seeing you two with older kids is helping the rest of us with raising our kids.”

  “You mean how to not make the same mistakes?” Tru told her they were all going to make mistakes. It was what they did about it that showed the kind of people they raised. “I hope we’re doing a good job of this. I’d hate to think we’re raising little monsters that will kill us in our sleep some night.”

  “They’d never do that.” Allie didn’t think they would either. But she was worried about them. It seemed like the more she tried to be a good parent to them, the worse she was at it. It made her want to cry all the time. “Beck has picked up on it fast. I saw him with them the other day at the ice cream shop. He doesn’t allow them to eat sweets all the time, does he?”

  “No. It was a celebration of sorts. Conor learned how to use the riding mower, and he paid him. That was what he wanted to do with his money. Celebrate with his family.” She asked her where she had been. “I was with them. Maybe you just missed me going to the bathroom. But it was a lot of fun. And his pride in doing a job well done was worth the spoiled dinner.”

  Allie got back to work on her projects. The printer pen was working out better than she’d ever thought it would. She now had an array of weapons and other things that could be used as one—knives from a kitchen block. Allie had even figured out blood pools. That had taken a little more time than she’d meant for it to. Finally, she’d made it just a circle with other pieces that could be added to it for running blood.

  Looking at the specs she’d been given yesterday, she thought she was ready to tackle it. There were different elements in this one that she’d not worked with before. The weapons had only been a part of it. She now had a flower garden, as well as things like a bicycle that she needed. Laying out the groundwork, she thought of nothing else but putting the scene together just like she’d been told it had been by not just pictures but the officers who had been there. The little van she was using for the car was just put in place when Beck joined her. He asked her what she was doing.

  “The neighbor, Mr. Grant, told the police that the man who lives across from him, from the Honeywell family, ran over his child on purpose. That Mr. Honeywell had seen his child there on his bike, as he’d spoken to the child before getting into the car and running over not only the child several times, but the bike too. I’m putting it together to see if the man that made the accusation can really see the face of the man in the van. I’m thinking he can’t, but then I’m not moving anything around to look just yet.” He asked her if the child had died. “Yes. Internal injuries. The coroner said it wasn’t consistent with the child being run over with a car, much less several times, as Mr. Grant stated. So that’s why I’m doing this. Grant said that Honeywell backed over him three times too. The coroner said he can tell from what he is working with that the child had been hit with a force like a car, but not run over. Now, since we know he lied about seeing that, we’re wondering if he could have seen the gleeful look on Mr. Honeywell’s face when he did it.”

  “I didn’t think Rogen and
you guys did this sort of work.” She told him what she was doing. “That’s good. Working with some of the local agencies is really good. You never know when you might need them.”

  “That’s pretty much what Tru and Rogan said. I guess we’ll see.” She looked over her notes again, lining things up that she had written down from the police report. Mr. Grant she had put in his house, where he claimed he’d been, as a small stick figure that she had decided worked as well as anything else. There wasn’t a person in the van, only a head that had been made by her. “Okay, what do you see?”

  “I see that there isn’t any way that Grant could see the face of the man in the car.” She said that was only part of what she was looking for. “I’m not even sure if you’re asking me how he was able to see into the other yard at all. If you look from his position, you can clearly see that the fencing is in his way.”

  It wasn’t fencing, but a brick barrier. Honeywell had put it in his yard the first year they lived in this place to keep his flowers safe from the kids along the sidewalk. Taking a step back from the entire thing, she could also see that the man across the street wouldn’t have been able to even see the side of the van, where he said the kid had been. His entire claim was wrong.

  “A child is still dead, but this man’s claim of the father doing it and him seeing him is bogus.” Allie looked over her notes and then at the scene again. Picking up the phone, she went out on a limb and called the coroner for the state. “I’m working on this case for Mr. Honeywell’s attorney, Mr. Glass, and I’m wondering if the young victim could have been hit someplace else and then made his way to the family home?”

  “I was just about to call you, Agent. I’ve had some of the officers here go out and do some measuring for me. There isn’t any way the Honeywell vehicle would have done the damage to the young boy. First of all, he would have had to have been going about sixty when he was hit to have done the kind of damage that was done. You were correct, I’m thinking too, in that young Honeywell was thrown, not run over. Also, the Honeywell bumper doesn’t line up with the boy’s leg injuries. We’re looking into what sort of cars might well be the one it could be.” She told him what she thought. “Grant? Well, he is pushing this through pretty hard. And from what I can tell, there…. Let me send an officer from here to his home and have a look at his car. I think that might be the best way to settle this in both our minds.”