Ben stopped talking and looked at her. “Meaning?”
Hansen picked that moment to shift his hand to her lower back, as if he wanted to anchor her in place. She got the point.
“What is it, Ben?” Hansen asked.
“He’s been stabbed. Not sure how many times but I can see the slashes on his stomach and chest.”
Every muscle froze. Tessa didn’t think she could have moved if she had to. “Wait, the boat guy has been murdered? He didn’t just fall or have a heart attack or something?”
Ben nodded. “Looks like foul play.”
And Hansen knew the guy, which meant . . . She hated to think what that meant. “Damn.”
“I don’t think that language is strong enough.” Ben waved to Captain Rogers as he moved people off her lawn and the pebbles and farther away from the house. “I’m guessing he wasn’t bleeding on the beach.”
“No. I would have mentioned that.” That’s what started all of this: her seeing that boat and now they had a dead guy. Tessa’s mind spun trying to make the connections and fit Hansen into the puzzle in a way that made sense.
“Well, he wasn’t here either,” Ben said.
Hansen froze. “What?”
“Bleeding. There’s not enough blood. Whatever happened likely happened somewhere else.”
“And then he was dragged and dumped in my yard?” That struck her as one horrifying fact too many.
“Sorry, but we have more issues to deal with right now. We’ve got another storm coming, so the ferry can’t get in, which means we’re on our own for a while,” Ben said. “But I do need to make a quick run out to that boat.”
“Is that smart? You have your hands full here.” Hansen specifically glanced at Ruthie, who was busy arguing with Captain Rogers when he tried to move the crime tape back. “People are going to get nervous. She already looks ready to explode.”
“No choice. And there’s one more thing.” This time Ben turned toward her.
Tessa thought they were already dealing with enough things and about a million unasked questions. “Uh-huh.”
“Even though he likely wasn’t killed here, your house is a crime scene.”
She took in the mud on her porch steps and the pebbles kicked up everywhere. “You mean outside.”
“Do you want to sleep near this?”
Her mind raced to the blood and the noise at the door last night. “I kind of want to leave the entire island behind.”
“It’s okay.” Hansen’s fingers tightened against her back. “She can stay with me.”
Ben smiled. “She can?”
“I can?” Yesterday she would have jumped at the chance. Now she was too busy fighting off a mix of confusion and queasiness to enjoy the idea.
Ben’s smile only grew wider. “What exactly happened with you two last night?”
How in the world did she answer that without breaking her temporary promise to Hansen or sounding like she’d lost it? “I . . . uh . . .”
“Okay, I was kidding but now I really do want to know.” Ben pointed at Hansen’s shirt, then at her legs. “Especially since you’re wearing the same clothes as yesterday, and honestly, I’m not sure what you’re wearing.”
“Pajamas.” She realized for the first time she wasn’t wearing much and how all of this must come off. She clearly was not far out of bed and Hansen was right there, at her house, looking scruffy and sexy and more than a little dazed.
The Whitaker gossip circle would rev up to high speed now.
Ben nodded. “Of course.”
“It is seven in the morning.” She was not sure what that proved, but she said it anyway.
Hansen cleared his throat. “Is our dating life relevant to the murder investigation?”
“I’m not sure what’s going on or what’s relevant right now, but since you just admitted you’re dating, I’ll let it go.” Before she could debate the word, Ben started talking again. “But I’ll need you to come to my office in an hour to answer some questions and sign a statement.”
Hansen finally let his arm drop to his side again. “Sure.”
He agreed like none of this was a big deal, which only made her more dizzy. She forced her mind to focus on Ben. “Can I get some clothes first?”
He nodded. “I’ll take you inside.”
“Thanks.” Then she took off toward the house because she didn’t want to go in, but she didn’t want to be out here either.
HANSEN NOTICED BEN didn’t immediately run after Tessa. Leaving her alone right now seemed like a bad idea but he had to stand there and accept it. They had enough of a circus to deal with without adding to the dating gossip.
“Well.” Ben stared at the front door of Tessa’s house as he talked. “We’ve known each other for a while now. We’re friends.”
That didn’t sound good. “What’s your point?”
Ben turned. Put his body between Hansen and the house and forced Hansen to look at him. “I wanted you to remember that when you think about lying to me in an hour.”
“What are—?”
“Cut the shit.”
Ben was too smart. He noticed too much. The Whitaker board might not appreciate the professional they had on their payroll, but Hansen did. “It’s not what you think.”
“We have a dead guy on her lawn. Someone put him there, in the same house where you also happened to be. You’re both whispering. You look like garbage. Not in an I-had-sex-I’m-tired kind of way, but actual garbage.” Ben put his hands on his hips. Took on that law enforcement watching-you stance. “Whatever is going on, I can’t help unless you’re honest with me. And I can help. No matter how bad it is.”
Denial wouldn’t work, so Hansen didn’t hedge. “Got it.”
“I hope so.”
Chapter 7
Tessa changed into slim jeans and a T-shirt but even that outfit and how good she looked in it couldn’t drag Hansen’s mind from the past. It didn’t make sense for the man he hated most to be on Whitaker, let alone dropped dead near her front door.
The annoying blowhard lived a life filled with business parties and thousand-dollar-a-plate dinners thousands of miles away in Washington, D.C. He talked big, played hard, and believed that only the East Coast stretch from Connecticut to Virginia mattered and wrote off the rest of the country. He was a lawyer and an asshole and now he was dead.
“We agreed.”
He was barely listening, but Tessa’s voice brought him back to the present. He knew he needed to respond. If she wavered or started talking before he could think it all through, he would be in huge trouble. “We will tell the truth. I promise.”
“You mean not all of it.” She snorted as she pushed open the door to the Whitaker police station, once part of the library but now broken off into a tight, almost-suffocating space, consisting of the outer reception area, Ben’s office, and a conference room with no windows next to a set of jail cells.
The furniture looked old and on the verge of breaking apart. The chipped green paint on the walls didn’t help the needed-to-be-updated atmosphere. Compared to the charm of the rest of the island with its cottages and open vistas, this was not the most welcoming place. That likely explained why Ben spent most of his days roaming around the island and checking in with the answering service every few minutes.
Hansen caught the door and held it open for her to go inside first. “I’m only leaving out one part of the story.”
“It’s kind of a biggie.” She walked into the center of the room, then turned around to face him. “Don’t you think?”
She had every right to be ticked off. He was asking for her to exercise a great deal of trust and even he could admit he hadn’t done much to earn it. “I just need time.”
“You already said that.” She fingered the pamphlets spread out on one of the tables, ferry schedules and healthcare information for the island’s clinic, before looking up at him again. “Are you ready to tell me how you know the guy? Knew. Ugh, this is awful. The man is dead a
nd was found on my lawn, and I don’t even know his name.”
“Judson.”
“Is that a first name or last?”
“Judson Ross.”
“You know him well enough to be on a first-name basis?” She rolled her eyes for what had to be the tenth time in two minutes. “This just gets worse and worse.”
“Tessa.”
“Fine.” She held up a hand in fake surrender. “I’m giving you a short reprieve but dial back the disapproving tone. You do not have the high ground right now.”
“Fair enough.” He’d never admit it, but he loved this side of her. The part that didn’t take any shit. She came off as light and friendly, almost carefree, but her mood shifted when she thought someone needed her protection or that she needed to stand up for herself.
“If you knew how difficult it was for me to do this . . .”
He had no idea what that meant. “This?”
Every now and then she’d provide a brief and confusing glimpse into her past. Whatever drove her here, it was not to find a place with fresh air while she worked. That’s the story she told but he didn’t buy it. Everyone on Whitaker, except for the rare few like Cliff who were born and raised here and never left, had a story they fought to hide. Him included.
“Bury information. Lie. Provide a fake alibi.” She repeatedly ran her finger along the edge of the table next to her thigh. Back and forth along the hard seam. “That’s what you want from me, right?”
The way she talked tipped him off that there was so much more to know about her. So much deeper he could go if he were willing to take the risk.
He fought back the need to take the peek she offered and ask her to share more. He could not afford the time—not now—so he tried to shift her focus. “We were together last night. There is nothing fake about that.”
“You’re playing verbal gymnastics.” Her hand dropped to her side again as phones rang out around them. “Hiding important information still counts as lying.”
“Everyone on Whitaker is covering up something.” He thought about moving in closer but stayed right where he was instead. He didn’t want to crowd her. “I’m assuming that includes you.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, it’s the reality.”
“Oh, really?” Her face flushed and those hands at her sides curled into tight fists. “Because I can start talking. Who knows what I’ll say by the time I stop.”
He’d said the wrong thing . . . again. He did not like being on the wrong side of her but he sure spent a lot of time there. “Okay, you win.”
“Good of you to admit that.”
The door opened behind them and Ben stepped inside. He didn’t bother to shut it as he headed through the reception area to the desk in his office. After a quick check of his cell, he looked at them.
“Thanks for coming in.” His smile switched to Tessa. “And thank you for finding clean clothes.”
That was enough about that topic. Hansen tried to push them toward another. “Everyone on the island must want your attention right now.”
Ben nodded. “Let’s just say it’s been a rough morning.”
“No kidding,” Tessa said as she leaned in the doorway, not quite stepping inside.
“The statements and the nine hundred questions I planned to ask—”
“Please be kidding.” Hansen couldn’t imagine a worse afternoon.
“—need to wait.” Ben opened his top desk drawer and dumped a set of keys inside. “I have to get out on a boat, check the yacht, secure it, and tow it back. There’s another line of storms rolling in, so I need to do it now.”
Hansen had been itching to get on that boat. Now that he knew Judson had stayed on it for some period of time, even if just for a short leisure ride, Hansen wanted a look around. Something on there might explain Judson’s presence and eventual murder. “I’ll come with you.”
Tessa raised her hand. “Me, too. We all know I’ll be more careful than Hansen.”
“No.” Ben drew out the word. “You are not coming along because you’re a civilian.”
She pointed at Hansen. “So is he.”
“Even though he grumbles about it, he’s one of the volunteers who helps me from time to time with police duties. The other two are clearing trees and checking property, along with Captain Rogers and his crew, to make sure everyone is okay. I need Hansen with me in case there’s trouble on the boat.” Ben swapped out one coat for another from the rack behind him. Every time the phone rang he looked at the buttons, but he never answered it.
“Are you expecting a stray octopus or something?” she asked.
“I’m ignoring that comment.” Ben stopped moving around. “But I do need to do a quick check-in with the doc before we go because if we do have a primary crime scene that’s not your house, Tessa, then I need to find that and fast.”
“Doc?” Tessa asked.
“Lela Thomas is examining the body. She helps out with forensics in police matters, which doesn’t happen often.” Ben delivered the information as he walked back into the reception area.
Hansen could hear the clock ticking in his head. He couldn’t hold back the truth from Ben for very long. Hell, he shouldn’t be doing it now, but his past was such a mess. People heard the truth, then they saw him differently. With most people he might not care but that wasn’t the case with Ben and Tessa, which meant he needed a bit more time to figure this out. “You see Doc Lela. I’ll line up a boat to get out to the yacht.”
“Then we’ll call the others and put a search together for blood or anything else that would indicate where this man was actually killed.”
“And I’ll sit, I guess.” Tessa dropped down into the nearest chair and picked up the ferry schedule brochure.
She pretended to read but Hansen sensed that subterfuge wouldn’t last long. She’d made it clear she had no intention of being left behind or missing out on her chance to look at the boat. She viewed the boat as her “find” and acted like that gave her some rights to it.
He disagreed. “Don’t move.”
She didn’t even look up as he headed for the door. “Don’t boss me around.”
SEVEN MINUTES AFTER sitting down, Tessa was ready to get back up. The phone in Ben’s office would ring once and then stop. She assumed he had the answering service on. But that didn’t stop people from sticking their heads in the door, looking for him.
After directing residents back out again and collecting messages for Ben, Tessa was ready for some fresh air, especially if they were going to get hit by another storm. She also needed to check on her house, move the generator, and pack to go stay with Hansen.
The only good part of any of that was that she finally would get to see the inside of his cabin. That wouldn’t be a hardship, so long as he didn’t talk. His grumpy muttering tended to interfere with his hotness.
“Good morning.” Ruthie issued her greeting as she shut the door to the street behind her and entered the small waiting area outside of Ben’s office. It consisted of a few chairs and tables and, now, one self-appointed town matriarch.
Tessa exhaled. She did not have the emotional strength for this showdown today. “Is it? I’d rather go back to last night and start over.”
“Good point. Is Mr. Clifford in?” Ruthie didn’t bother to wait for an answer. She opened Ben’s door and stuck her head in before popping out again.
It took Tessa a second to catch up with the conversation because no one called him that. “You mean Ben?”
“It’s best if we keep the relationship formal.”
That sounded friendly. “Why?”
Ruthie dragged the empty chair closer to Tessa’s and sat down close enough for their legs to touch. “Frankly, Ben is little more than a security guard on Whitaker.”
“Have you tried to tell him that?” Tessa decided right there and then to apologize to Ben for being crappy to him. Now that she heard someone else do it, and for no apparent reason, she knew she’d been out of
line. Frustration was fine. Doubting his competency wasn’t.
“He understands the limits of his position. The state police should be handling this, not him.”
Tessa crossed and uncrossed her legs. Something about having Ruthie this close, being all snotty and superior, made Tessa want to stand up and get out of there. But she had to provide a defense first. “Isn’t Ben retired military police?”
“May I be candid? You know, woman-to-woman?”
As if she could stop Ruthie if she wanted to. “Sure.”
“Be careful who you trust on Whitaker.” Ruthie shifted in her chair until she faced Tessa. “I know you’re new here and things can be confusing.” She shook her head. “Heaven knows Sylvia doesn’t always play by the rules.”
First Ben and now Sylvia? Nope. That was one step too far. No one made fun of her friends. “Don’t take a shot at Sylvia.”
Ruthie kept right on talking as if Tessa wasn’t ready to pounce. “You’re friendly with everyone and you’re spending more and more time with Hansen.”
Well, this took an interesting turn. Now she was taking on Hansen. Ruthie had balls. Tessa had to give her credit for that. “Your point is?”
“Let’s just say not everyone is who they pretend to be on Whitaker.”
Yeah, no kidding. And Ruthie’s handsy, totally inappropriate son who pretended to be a choirboy fit that category as well.
“But people are entitled to privacy,” Tessa pointed out.
“It’s my responsibility to know what’s happening around here so I can keep people safe.”
Tessa was pretty sure that was not her actual job description. “I thought Ben was in charge of that.”
“You want me as an ally, Tessa.”
“Okay. Sure.” Her mom had taught her to protect her friends and watch over her enemies in case they made a move to start more trouble. That adage seemed to apply here.
“I want you to be happy on Whitaker. You’re a great asset to the community.”
She had no idea how that could be true since she didn’t really contribute much to Whitaker other than to buy things. “That’s good to know.”
“You’re friendly and people trust you.” Ruthie reached over and squeezed Tessa’s hand. “I’m sure I can count on you.”
Her Other Secret Page 6