Her P.I. Protector

by Jennifer Morey

  “What’s the matter?” she asked. “Did it get too hot for you?”

  Her teasing worked for their cover as an attractive couple having a romantic night out. He just had to tamp down on the heat she generated with those words.

  He turned from watching Benson and saw her sparkling eyes. “Be careful encouraging me.” They might get to a point where it was too hot for both of them and then there would be no going back.

  She sobered, no doubt catching his meaning.

  He looked at Benson again, who paid his bill and spoke some parting words to his friends.

  “Benson left. I want to talk to his friends,” he said.

  He flagged the waitress and paid their bill, noting that Skylar look around the bar, dubious and apprehensive. She had played her part well until now. Why? Had she realized how serious they were actually getting?

  He couldn’t think about that now. One of Benson’s friends paid his tab and left. The other took his drink to the bar and sat, talking to the bartender as though they had known each other for years.

  “Follow my lead.” He held her hand and went to the bar.

  He took the stool next to the man and Skylar sat to his left.

  “I noticed you know Benson Davett,” Julien said.

  The man turned and observed him a few seconds.

  “Julien LaCroix.” He held out his hand. “I’m a P.I. working on his wife’s missing person case.”

  “Ah.” The man’s face grew friendlier. “Arthur Moore. I’m an attorney. Benson and I went to law school together.”

  So he knew Benson well, or he must. “How’s he holding up?”

  Beside him, Skylar sipped the rest of her wine and decline the bartender’s offer for another.

  “As well as he can. He has his moments, I’m sure.”

  “He seemed to be fine tonight.” As in, not troubled at all.

  “It’s been a while since Audrey went missing. What, like two months or something?” Arthur said.

  “I’d be worried out of my mind if it was my wife.” Julien glanced at Skylar, thinking he’d be that way if anything happened to her. “He doesn’t seem concerned at all.”

  “I’m sure he is. Anyone would need an escape from that every now and then.” As a friend of Benson’s—and a long-term one—Arthur would naturally defend him.

  “I received a tip that he’s having an affair,” Julien said.

  “Who told you that?” Arthur’s brow shot up.

  “I never reveal my sources. How would you say his marriage was?”

  “Fine. He didn’t talk much about Audrey. They’ve been married a long time. So have I and, trust me, you get tired sometimes and need a break. That’s what these nights are for. We get together two or three nights a week and talk about anything but our wives.”

  “He never mentioned an affair?” Julien asked.

  “No. And if I was having an affair, neither would I,” Arthur said. “Why are you asking me these questions? You don’t think Benson had anything to do with Audrey’s disappearance, do you?”

  “I don’t think anything yet. I’m doing my job and investigating all possibilities.”

  “Benson has a stellar reputation. He’s well liked by everyone in the community.”

  “So was Ted Bundy,” Julien said. Knowing they’d get nowhere with Arthur Moore, he stood. “Have a nice evening.”

  Skylar stood with him and together they walked out of the bar.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “We keep watching him.” Julien stopped, spotting Benson still in his car and looking right at them. Did he recognize them?

  The driver Julien had hired for the night pulled up and he let Skylar in first. From inside the sedan, he saw Benson on his cell phone. He didn’t look at them again.

  * * *

  The next night, Skylar waited in the BMW with Julien outside Benson’s law firm. It was seven and had to be getting close to the time Benson would leave. This stakeout business kept her mind off leading Julien into the bedroom. He had been a gentleman about that, having slept on the couch ever since Sawyer had arrived.

  Thinking of Sawyer, the kid had proved himself trustworthy in the apartment by himself. He was still quiet and withdrawn, but at least he was doing well in school. He’d even made a new friend. Skylar had to admit that felt pretty darn rewarding. She had done something right with the boy. So had Julien. They had provided him a stable environment and they did things together, like watch movies, eat dinner and go to the ranch. Sawyer loved riding the horses.

  Disturbingly, his mother hadn’t tried to contact him at all. It appeared she had no intention of fighting the removal of her son from her home. Tracy had told them that John was still in the house, so it was for the best.

  “It sure is better waiting with you than by myself,” Julien said out of the blue.

  “How many times have you done this kind of surveillance?” she asked.

  “Many. It’s part of the job. You learn a lot about people by watching them, seeing where they go, what their lifestyle is like.”

  She could imagine that. “Well, so far, Benson seems to live a decent life.”

  “So it appears.”

  “Is it common for murderers to seem normal?”

  “More than you would like to think,” he said. “Here he comes.”

  Skylar looked toward the building and saw Benson walking through the lit parking lot to his Mercedes.

  Julien had the SUV running, but waited until Benson was about to leave the lot before commencing his tail. Benson didn’t head for the bar tonight. Instead, he drove home.

  When he took the exit to his house, Julien followed. “Let’s fall back. He’s going home and I know where that is.” Julien slowed and let Benson’s car go out of sight.

  A few minutes later, they parked down the street from the lawyer’s house.

  “Nice.” Skylar had expected Benson to live in an upscale neighborhood, and the massive two-story Colonial with pillars didn’t disappoint. “It’s going to be hard to spy on him in there.”

  “We’ll see if he goes anywhere.” He reached into the back seat and retrieved his laptop. “Besides, I had his house bugged.”

  “Along with his phone?” she asked.

  “Yes.” He tapped the keys on his laptop and brought up an earlier phone recording.

  Skylar heard Benson’s voice. “Hi,” the recorded conversation began. “Are we still on for tonight?”

  “Yes,” a woman’s voice answered. “I’m on my way now.”

  “Great. See you soon.”

  The brief call ended and Julien navigated to another program. Now Skylar could hear what must be happening inside Benson’s house. He had turned on the television. She saw a light go on in one of the upstairs rooms and heard Benson moving around. It sounded as though he was changing his clothes.

  Next, she heard him on the phone ordering Chinese. A white Audi pulled up into the driveway and out stepped Maria Morales, Benson’s paralegal, in a short black dress.

  She rang the bell and turned to look around. Skylar couldn’t tell if her gaze lingered on the BMW. Then Benson answered, letting her inside.

  “Late work night or something else?” Skylar wondered aloud.

  “I ordered Chinese,” she heard Benson say.

  “Great.” The sound of them kissing came through the speaker of the laptop, subtle but unmistakable.

  “Something else obviously,” Julien said. “Let’s go get proof.”

  Skylar got out of the SUV and followed him through the shadows to the side of the house. Julien looked around. The houses were far apart and there were no outdoor lights here. She peered into the first darkened window. It was a home office with double French glass doors, through which she could see a dim living room. They went to the next window, this one lit. The plan
tation blinds were slightly open. Skylar spotted Benson handing Maria a glass of red wine. She looked at him with flirty eyes and he leaned in for a kiss.

  Julien snapped photos with his cell phone.

  Benson took Maria’s glass of wine and put it on the coffee table next to his. Then he took her into his arms and kissed her with more purpose. He unzipped the back of her dress.

  “Wait, is he going to...” Skylar sucked in a breath as the dress fell to the floor. “Oh, boy. I don’t need to see this.” But, like a bad movie, she couldn’t look away. In minutes they were both naked.

  Skylar felt sick and nervous, and awful about spying on such an intimate moment.

  Julien finished taking pictures. “Okay, that should do it.”

  Skylar was all too glad to hurry back to the BMW.

  Julien chuckled on the way. “For the record, I didn’t enjoy that, either. But you should see your face,” he said, chuckling some more. “You look green.”

  He eased her tension just like that. She smiled and got into the car. “How often do you have to do that?”

  “Practically never. I don’t take ‘wives spying on husbands’ cases.”

  Right. He prefers to take cold cases. Audrey Davett cases. “Well, I see a motive now.”

  “So do I,” Julien said as he began to drive. “But is Benson responsible for Audrey’s disappearance or is Maria?”

  * * *

  Last night, Skylar had felt like a detective as she’d sat beside Julien and his computer while he dug up all kinds of information on Maria Morales. She’d had a rough childhood, being raised in a trailer park by a single mom who’d had three DUIs. But Maria appeared to be normal on the surface. She went to college and developed an impressive résumé before going to work for Benson.

  This morning they paid a visit to her previous employer, a criminal law attorney in Dallas.

  Anthony Garrett ushered them to two seats facing his desk. He turned to Skylar. “Mr. LaCroix tells me he’s protecting you from a shooter?”

  “Yes. We think I may have seen Audrey Davett’s killer attempt to bury her body,” she said.

  “I don’t know any Audrey Davett,” Anthony said.

  “She’s the wife of the attorney Maria Morales works for now. She’s Benson Davett’s paralegal,” Julien said.

  “Ah. Maria Morales.” He nodded. “Which is the reason you’re here. What can I do for you?”

  “What can you tell us about her? What kind of worker was she and why did she leave?”

  Anthony Garrett’s brow lifted. “She was a hell of a good paralegal, but she had other issues. My partner came to me one day, said he’d had a brief affair with her and ended it after she began to try to drive him away from his wife.”

  Skylar glanced sharply at Julien, who stayed calm and focused.

  “How did she do that?”

  “She kept making demands. She called his house. She showed up on his doorstep. When he broke it off with her, she threatened to tell his wife.”

  “What happened?” Skylar asked.

  “He told her if she did, he’d fire her. She left him alone after that, but I wrote her up with HR and gave her a warning. She seemed to take it pretty well and, for about a year, she was very professional. But then she started coming on to me.”

  Oh dear, the woman was a shark after her prey. She went after men.

  “We were working late nights on a case together,” the attorney said. “She started suggesting we grab working dinners, then she invited me to her place. I explained to her I was married, and happily so. She shocked me by saying that didn’t matter. We could still have some fun together. Now, that might have worked for my partner, but I’m not that kind of man. I declined, of course. A few nights later, she came into my office and locked the door. She started to take off her clothes. I stopped her. She was humiliated and lashed out at me, calling me all sorts of names. I fired her on the spot.”

  Wow. Maria Morales was a bold, bold woman. Shameless, too.

  “We think she may be doing the same with Benson Davett,” Julien said.

  “He’s having an affair with her?” Anthony asked.

  Julien nodded.

  “And you think she may have done something to his wife?” he asked.

  “Is she capable of that?” Julien returned.

  “Murder?” Anthony’s brow rose again. “Well, she did haunt me a bit after I fired her.”

  “Haunt you?”

  “I caught her lurking outside my house, sitting in her car, just watching. I also saw her when I came to work in the morning. She called my office a few times—at least I believe it was her. She wouldn’t say anything, just stay on the line for a few creepy moments until I hung up. After that, though, she left me alone and I never saw or heard from her again.”

  “Anything else you can tell us?” Julien asked.

  “Isn’t that enough? If you need me to answer the question you haven’t asked, then, yes, I think she might be capable of murder.”

  Julien thanked him and they left the office.

  “Maria may not have taken her stalking to the next level, but I guarantee you she considered it,” Julien said as they left the office building.

  “You’re convinced she’s capable of murder, aren’t you?” Skylar asked.

  “Yes.”

  “What about Benson? Maybe he worked with her,” she said.

  “Maybe. Or maybe he doesn’t know where his wife is or whether she’s been murdered.”

  Skylar saw Julien search the parking lot, as he always did. Except this time, he seemed to have spotted something.

  “Get behind this truck.” He took hold of her and pushed her down behind the side of a pickup. A fraction of a second later, bullets pinged metal. Skylar shrieked, so unprepared for the sudden violence.

  Julien drew his pistol and rose up to shoot. He fired three quick shots and then ducked for cover. More bullets clattered against the truck.

  “Stay here.” Julien rose and shot back again, then ran in a crouched position to another vehicle.

  Skylar inched her way to the front of the truck and saw Julien shoot and make his way to another car, bringing him closer to whomever was firing at them.

  He reloaded and straightened, running and shooting.

  Skylar saw a dark SUV race from the parking lot.

  Julien ran after it and then stopped to steady his aim, firing several times. The rear window broke and a man ducked in the driver’s seat.

  Julien stopped chasing. Skylar walked out from behind the truck as he turned and jogged back to her.

  “Are you all right?” He touched her arm.

  “Yes.” She was sure getting tired of being shot at, though. “How did that man know where we were?”

  “He followed us.”

  Skylar was alarmed. “You knew?”

  “I didn’t want to scare you. He kept his distance and probably wanted to see where we were going. He won’t follow us home, though. I will see to that.”

  Chapter 15

  Sawyer’s court proceedings were dragging on. During her last visit, Tracy had told Julien the Child Services proceedings could take about eighteen months. Meanwhile, Sawyer had already become a part of their budding family. Julien never voiced that to Skylar. He would only frighten her, or give her a reason to back off even more than she had over the last few days. He felt doomed to end up without her, and a fool for allowing himself to fall for her. He could fall madly in love with her. Hell, he probably already had.

  Upon reflection, there was nothing he could have done to prevent their initial attraction. That had had a life of its own.

  This morning the apartment was quiet. Sawyer and Skylar were still in bed. Last night Skylar had expressed how much she missed the ranch, most especially her roan gelding, Bogie. They would head there this morning. N
o sense waiting around for Julien to hear if the sheriff had gotten search warrants for Benson’s and Maria’s homes. McKenzie hadn’t promised anything since they had weak probable cause—a two-million-dollar life insurance policy, an affair with a woman who had attempted to snare other attorneys, and having an affair. Julien hoped it would be enough.

  Hearing retching coming from his master bedroom, Julien stilled in the act of pouring a cup of fresh coffee.

  Was Skylar ill?

  He went to the room and knocked on the open door. “You okay?”

  She retched again. He approached the bathroom and peeked inside. She was fully dressed and kneeling before the toilet. She hadn’t seemed like she was coming down with a bug last night.

  Another thought struck him and he stopped breathing for a few seconds. Could it be?

  Skylar stood and ran some water, rinsing her mouth and then dabbing her face dry with a hand towel. Then, her head down, she braced her hands on the counter. At last, she lifted her head and met his gaze in the mirror.

  He could see her alarm and also how she tried to subdue it, perhaps keep him from seeing how shaken she was. He was shaken, too, but he was also bursting with elation. The latter he fought hard to keep from showing.

  “You all right?” he asked again, feigning ignorance.

  She nodded. “I think so.”

  “Maybe you should lie down for a while. We can go to the ranch later today if you feel up to it.”

  “Okay. Maybe a pillow and the couch would be good.” She straightened.

  “I’ll get you set up. Go ahead and get comfortable.” He went into the master bedroom and retrieved a pillow. There were throws in the living room.

  Skylar reclined on the couch with her hand on her tummy. She leaned up and he put the pillow behind her. She rested her head.

  “Can I get you anything? A soda?” he asked.

  “Maybe a ginger ale.”

  He poured some in a glass full of ice and put it on the coffee table. Then he sat in the chair near her and found something on television. Her eyes closed and he let her rest while attempting to get lost in a cooking show. But all that occupied his mind was Skylar, and the very real possibility she was pregnant.