by Vivian Gray
Sophie interjected, sensing Zeke’s struggle. “So... Mr. Stone, have you seen anyone connected to the incident lately? Has anyone else spoken to you about it?”
Stone shook his head. “No. But then, people have been avoiding me – an old lonely, tragic soul.”
Sophie couldn’t think how to answer. She sipped her coffee and stared at the table.
“If you ever want to talk about anything, you can always reach me,” Zeke offered.
Stone smiled. “Good to know there are still kind souls out there.”
A few minutes later, after they’d half-finished their drinks, Sophie sat forward. “We won’t keep you, Mr. Stone,” she said, catching Zeke’s eye for approval. “We’ve got a lot of visits to make.”
Zeke subtly nodded in agreement. They rose from the sofa and made their way back down the hallway until Zeke stopped suddenly before a large framed photograph on the wall.
“Who’s that with Gary? I didn’t know he had a brother,” he said.
Stone sniffed and rubbed his brow. “Twin. That’s Gary’s twin brother, Troy. Was, I should say.”
Sophie and Zeke both looked at Stone, their eyes wide with expectation.
“Took his own life after the accident,” Stone explained. “We think he jumped off a cliff on Mount Jag. His body was never found, but his backpack and shoes were found on the ledge. He must have taken them off before he jumped.”
“I’m so sorry,” Sophie said, covering her mouth with one hand as she examined the picture.
“You weren’t to know,” Stone said, smiling through a twisted frown. His pain was obvious.
Zeke pulled out a piece of card from his pocket. “Here’s my number. Keep in touch.”
“Thanks,” Stone said, holding it in his grip. “I appreciate that.”
Outside, Sophie and Zeke stood on the pavement, frowning. It was so hard to get their heads around one man’s huge portion of grief.
“Something’s not right,” Zeke eventually said. “It just feels like... Well, why would Troy just disappear?”
Sophie bit her lip and considered the thought. “I guess it’s hard to search deep canyons for bodies,” she suggested.
“Bodies are usually found, eventually,” Zeke said, looking deep into her eyes.
“What are you saying?” she said in a whisper. They were standing so close she could feel his breath on the exposed part of her chest, above her shirt collar.
“What if he’s still out there? What if that was his little plan to hide?”
Sophie sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. “It’s possible. But we need to be really careful. We don’t want to go making claims and hurting people. This is really shaky ground.”
“Of course,” Zeke said, taking her arms in his hands. “I wouldn’t dream of saying anything unless we find a reason to.”
“It is possible,” Sophie agreed. “Maybe he’s in hiding.”
“Waiting to get revenge for his brother’s death,” Zeke said, his eyes shining in the soft evening light at street lamps came on. “Anyway, let’s get you home.”
“I have to go to Stephan’s shop tonight,” Sophie said. “I said I’d watch his kids for a few hours. They live next to the shop.”
When they pulled up, Zeke hopped out and ran around to open her door. She bounced out and stumbled to stop her torso crashing into his. She laughed and looked up to meet his eyes. There was something intense lingering in his gaze. He bent his head down and whispered, “Thanks for coming today. I couldn’t have done that without you.”
She smiled, lost for words. But words weren’t needed.
He bowed his head lower until his lips were level with hers. The stayed like this for a few moments, Sophie’s heart racing in anticipation as she longed for him to take the plunge, but was dizzy with nerves at the same time. Finally, he leaned in further, planting his warm, soft lips on hers. Her lips curled into a smile as he kissed them softly again and again. He tasted sweet. His breath was hot on her skin. A surge of heat ran through her, causing her to delve into his warmth with her tongue, and she could hear his breath shortening. He met her tongue with his as they flicked and rolled them playfully together between sealed lips.
She opened her eyes just as he did, which shot a rush of energy through her chest. God, he was hot. This wasn’t supposed to happen today, but she wasn’t going to fight it. Every part of her wanted this.
She moved her hand onto his firm torso and stroked upwards, rippling the fabric of his T-shirt until she reached his neck, wrapping her fingers around it gently and curling her fingertips into the thick hair at the nape of his neck. He smelled divine.
His hand pressed on the back of her waist, pulling her in closer, which forced the breath out of her chest quickly. Just as he moved one hand upwards to cup her breast over her shirt, there was a clicking sound as Stephan’s front door, located just around the corner from the shop, opened. Sophie jumped backward, making a space of half a meter between their bodies. She touched her lips and smiled, avoiding eye contact with Zeke.
“Call me tomorrow. We can cross more, ah, things off your list,” she said. “The investigation list,” she added, in case he had other ideas of things to cross off. It would be stupid to get distracted when so much was at stake.
“OK,” he said, leaning back on his truck, arms folded, smiling. “Have a nice evening. You sure you don’t want a co-babysitter? I can keep you company.”
She laughed and shook her head, saying “not a good idea” as she walked around the corner with a small wave in his direction. She didn’t dare to turn and look at him again. She couldn’t bear it. She would only want him more.
Chapter Nine
Zeke
Sleep didn’t come easy that night. Zeke couldn’t shake memories of the kiss from his mind. If they’d been alone, there was no doubt they would have gone further. Damn, he wanted to be alone with her. But, then again, he needed to keep his head in the game. Things may have gotten a little crazy lately, a little dangerous, with the small matter of a bomb to consider, but there was also something stirring within him he hadn’t felt for a long time. He lay awake turning over the details of the past few weeks until it became apparent what this feeling was. Hope.
There was a simmering feeling bubbling under his skin of what could lie ahead. He’d been so focused on just surviving for the past couple of years, he never looked ahead to the future. But maybe now he could. He smiled as he rolled over in bed, with visions of future adventures with someone by his side. He had to get this mystery figured out so he could reach that end goal of making Sophie his. Without danger hanging over their heads they could have it all. He knew she felt the same. It was in her eyes... when she could bear to look at him. Her gorgeous, shy smile, when she was avoiding his gaze, made her all the more attractive, though.
Sleep eventually put his thoughts to bed, and he had the most restful night he’d had in weeks. He woke at seven a.m. to his cell phone vibrating on the nightstand.
He reached over to check the screen. Sophie.
“Hey,” he said, rubbing his tired eyes. “You’re bright and early.”
“Hey, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Well, I needed to get up anyway. Everything OK?”
“Yeah,” she replied, then paused. “Maybe we should swing by Stephan’s shop with breakfast and tell him what we found out yesterday.”
“Yeah, OK.”
“It’s just he might have contacts who can look into the suicide.”
“Really?”
“That guy has connections everywhere,” Sophie said. “He fixes a lot of cop cars and is quite friendly with a few detectives. You never know.”
“I suppose it’s worth a shot. I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
“Great. See you then.”
He hung up, grinning. That girl wasn’t going to give up until she had answers. Either she just loved a mystery case, or she genuinely cared about him. Either way, it was making this whole shitty situatio
n a hell of a lot easier to deal with. He actually couldn’t wait to get in the van and pick up his new side-kick. But what if after this thing was solved, they barely saw each other? No, he wouldn’t let that happen.
Bang on time, Zeke arrived at Sophie’s apartment with a bag of bacon bagels and a tray of hot coffees.
When they arrived at Stephan’s, he met them with a grin. “Hey, guys. You just can’t keep away can you, Sophie? Even on your days off.”
“We found out a few interesting things yesterday. Fancy some breakfast, and we’ll tell you everything?” Sophie asked, holding up the bag with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course,” Stephan said, “anyone with free food is welcome in here.” He held open the office door, and the three of them sat at the battered old desk, while Sophie dished out the food and drinks.
The men instantly bit into their food, but Sophie was straight down to business, her coffee steaming in front of her on the desk, untouched.
“So, the twin brother of one of Zeke’s colleagues who was killed…” She shot Zeke a small glance of support. “… supposedly committed suicide after the accident. But his body was never recovered. We think he may be in hiding, taking his anger out on Zeke, the only survivor.”
Zeke sat up straight and added, “His father says he didn’t take the loss well. He could have gone off the rails, and this is his way of coping.”
Stephan nodded with a mouth full of food. He swallowed. “Jesus. That sounds like a promising lead.” He took a long, sip of coffee and seemed to think for a few moments. “I’ll see if my friend Toby can dig up the death records and see if there are any gaps. If he’s still out there, we need to work fast.”
Zeke and Sophie nodded. She finally tucked into her food.
“I think I’m so uptight about all this I just can’t eat,” she said, putting it back down.
“Your dedication to all this is... well, it’s unbelievable,” Zeke said. “I really appreciate you both helping.”
“There’s something else we could do,” Stephan said, placing his palms down on the desk. “We should try and catch this guy in the act, while we’re waiting for information.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking that,” Zeke agreed. “How about leaving my bike somewhere and keeping a lookout? Surely, he’s going to try again. Someone who’s pissed enough to stick a bomb in my bike is not gonna give up on one attempt.”
Stephan nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Tonight, leave it exposed.”
“Pull an all-nighter,” Zeke added.
Sophie sighed. “Or maybe it’s time to go to the police?”
Stephan downed the last of his coffee. “We will. But let’s just see if we can give them something to go on first. If we involve the cops right now, it might scare the guy off and then give us no chance of catching him.” He turned to Zeke. “I have some surveillance cameras I use for the shop I can lend you. Set them up tonight, but hidden, and we can go through the footage every day until we have something.”
“Good idea.”
Zeke and Sophie left the shop with the cameras and Stephan went to call his detective friend about Troy’s suicide case.
Zeke turned to Sophie. “At least we’re making progress,” he said, smiling.
She looked uneasy. “I just wish it was all over. I worry about... you.”
Zeke couldn’t think of what to say. Just as he was about to attempt a sentence, his train of thought was interrupted as his cell buzzed in his pocket. It was Tina Graham.
“Hi, Zeke, I really need to speak to you, without Jeffrey. There’s something you need to know. Jeffrey’s out of town on a golfing trip. Can you come now?”
“We’ll be right there,” Zeke said, his heart quickening.
Chapter Ten
Zeke
When Tina opened the front door, her face was pale. She looked so different to the motherly, smiling woman they’d seen yesterday.
“Come in, dears,” she said, ushering them in and glancing at the street anxiously.
“Are you OK?” Sophie asked. “You look quite shaken.”
“I think so,” she said, her voice a little shaky. “Last night, I got a call. I haven’t told Jeffrey. I pretended it was my sister. He’s fragile right now... he hasn’t dealt with the grief very well. Anyway, the man on the other end of the call said, ‘it’s Zeke’s fault. Don’t get involved. He will pay’.”
Sophie gasped and held her hand to her mouth before looking up at Zeke.
“OK, you did the right thing telling us.”
“But now I’m worried that he might be watching,” Tina said, her eyes wide with fear. “What if he knows I’m helping you?”
Zeke placed his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t you worry. This guy’s an amateur. If he was that smart, I’d already be dead, wouldn’t I?”
He didn’t really believe his own words, he just wanted to make sure Tina could cope with the stress. If he made this look like no big deal, surely, she could believe it.
“Shouldn’t you tell Jeffrey?” Sophie asked.
“He’s not ready,” Tina said, turning to Sophie. “He’d go mad. And if he got his hands on the fella God knows what he’d do. He’s still so full of anger at the loss.”
“I’ll protect you. We can monitor your calls, get them traced if need be, I deal with this sort of stuff all the time at work,” Zeke said. “But I agree, you should tell Jeffrey.”
“I can’t,” Tina said. “Not yet. Do whatever you need to do, bug the phone, set up cameras, whatever. I just need to protect Jeffrey from more stress.”
“If you’re sure,” Zeke said reluctantly.
He and Sophie left Tina’s, being careful to check for anyone watching or following. They swapped vehicles and returned immediately with the phone recording equipment that Zeke had in his apartment. He often kept basic equipment at home for last-minute emergencies. They cropped up more than anyone else would believe. He’d set up phone bugs in the early hours of the morning at several client’s houses before – usually for nuisance calls from ex-husbands or wives, though. He’d never had a bomb scare on such a personal level as this before.
While Zeke set up the equipment, Sophie helped Tina put together a pasta bake in the kitchen.
“It’s really nice having youngsters around,” Tina said, as she called Zeke through to the kitchen table for food. “It’s quite lonely sometimes, just the two of us. And with Jeffrey being away tonight, I’m glad you’re both here.”
Zeke watched Sophie’s beaming smile. He couldn’t help thinking about how she’d never had a mother figure in her life. This must have been nice for Sophie too as it had a family feel to it.
The three of them ate in the brightly lit room, discussing holidays and work and general small talk. It was like being at an aunt’s house. Suddenly the phone rang. Tina stiffened and looked to Zeke with panic in her eyes.
“It’s OK,” he reassured her. “We’ll trace whoever it is... if it’s him.”
Tina picked up the phone and nodded to Zeke when she heard it was the caller.
Zeke ran to the laptop connected to the cables and signaled to her to roll out some conversation, to buy some time.
“What do you want?” she asked. “Did you know my son?”
She listened as the caller repeated the same sentences about the accident being Zeke’s fault. He warned her to keep clear of “that murderer.”
She stayed strong and listened, her eyes on Zeke the whole time until the line went dead all of a sudden.
Zeke let out a grunt of anguish. “I nearly had him,” he said, rubbing his forehead.
“I’m sorry,” Tina said, still clutching the receiver.
“It’s not your fault,” Zeke said. “You did great. Honestly.”
Tina’s chest rose and fell quickly. “Will you both stay tonight? I don’t think I could bear to be here alone.”
“Of course,” Sophie said.
“I have night dresses or T-shirts you can borrow,” Tina said,
“and there’s a guest house out the back you can share. At least I’ll know you’re on the property if I need you.”
“Sure thing,” Zeke said. “But she can have the night dress,” he added, pointing to Sophie.
Chapter Eleven
Zeke
Zeke turned the key in the lock of the guesthouse. It was getting dark, and he wanted to get Sophie indoors again as quickly as possible if there was a chance someone could be lurking on the grounds. He gave the main house one last glance over, noticing a soft light through the closed drapes of Tina’s bedroom window. Probably reading, he thought. At least she knows we’re here. He surveyed the darkened garden quickly from the doorway before shutting out the cool night air and switching on the guesthouse lights. It was a small open-plan space with stairs directly opposite the front door leading up to a double bedroom. The downstairs was mainly a living area with two small, flower-patterned sofas, a few kitchen units in the corner, and framed watercolor paintings on the walls, signed by Tina.