What She Did

by Barb Han

  “Stop!” Nate shouted, hoping that Chelsea had stayed inside the restaurant and texted Zach. Nate should’ve told her to do just that but he hadn’t wanted to risk Renaldo getting to his vehicle.

  Renaldo wasn’t nearly as fit as Nate.

  Nate shot across the street and dove into the man, knocking him off balance.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Nate said as he tackled Renaldo.

  The chef screamed like he was in a horror movie being chased by a psycho with a chainsaw in his hands. The few people on the sidewalk cleared the way darn fast.

  Nate landed on top of Renaldo, who skidded on the pavement.

  There was no use throwing a punch. Nate used his heft to pin the man on the concrete.

  “Freeze. Put your hands where I can see ’em,” Zach commanded in that cop voice reserved for ordering criminals around.

  Nate put his hands in the air and so did Renaldo. Of course, Nate kept his knee in the man’s chest, which probably helped him be more compliant. If the jerk made a wrong move, he’d be picking his teeth out of the concrete as far as Nate was concerned.

  “Let’s take this inside,” Zach said after a quick pat-down to ensure Renaldo wasn’t carrying a weapon. “I’m guessing the security officer at the front desk told you I was heading upstairs.”

  Renaldo nodded.

  The lobby of the apartment building had several chairs nestled together to the right of the main desk. The security guard shot an apology at Renaldo. No doubt his job depended on him alerting residents, but Nate figured Zach would have a few words for the man when all was said and done. Phrases like “obstruction of justice” came to mind. Although, to be fair, this guy most likely made the call as a heads-up and hadn’t expected the chef to make a run for it.

  Zach stood with his feet apart, hand resting on the butt of his gun as he instructed Renaldo to take a seat. Nate had seen the defensive position many times with his cousin while on a call. Civilians were allowed to ride-along with the sheriff. Nate had accompanied his cousin several times.

  “Where were you last Tuesday?” Zach asked.

  Nate’s cell buzzed. He glanced up at Zach, who gave him a nod to indicate it was okay to leave.

  The text was from Chelsea, as expected. He dashed across the street. Obviously, she wouldn’t want to risk being seen or letting Renaldo know she was in the area. Being connected in any way wouldn’t help, especially if he’d had nothing to do with the attack or fire.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, worry lines etched across her forehead.

  “Yeah,” Nate said. “But the chef got a few scrapes and bruises out of it.”

  He was trying to cut through the tension with the joke but it fell flat. He could see how uncomfortable she was with her old boss nearby. Her toe was tapping again and she was sitting on the edge of her chair.

  Nate took a seat. “Zach is interviewing Renaldo right now. If he had anything to do with the fire, Zach will figure it out.”

  “I almost want it to be him. Is that weird?” She blinked a couple of times before taking another sip of coffee. Caffeine was probably the last thing she needed but he acknowledged that it gave her something to do.

  “No. You don’t want Travis to be involved because that’s unthinkable. No matter what else your relationship is with him, the fact remains that you’re the mother of his child. As much as you don’t like him personally, if he was sincere about wanting a relationship with Skylar, you’d figure it out,” he concluded.

  “Exactly.”

  “Because you love her. You have to keep in mind, he’s never met her. He didn’t hold her in his arms late at night like you did. He didn’t rock her to sleep like you did.” For all intents and purposes, Nate reasoned, the man was a stranger to his own kid. Another in a long list of reasons why Nate didn’t much care for the guy. Mistakes, he understood. Dating the wrong person, he understood. He would never understand a man who could turn his back on his wife and child. That just wasn’t in a Kent’s DNA.

  “You’re right. I’m still trying to figure out what he wants with her and why he even showed up in the first place.” She glanced left to right, scanning the coffee shop.

  Yeah, the guy could show up and force his way into her life at any time. Chelsea seemed keenly aware of that fact. And she’d most likely be looking over her shoulder the rest of her life, wondering if Travis would be there when she turned around, given the way they’d left things after their exchange at her restaurant.

  Knowing her ex had been behind bars for the past three years had to be yet another blow. Especially since he’d lied and said he was working. He probably hadn’t wanted to show his hand to her because he’d wanted to threaten her with custody.

  Again, what did Travis have to gain?

  It was anyone’s guess where the guy had disappeared to. Selfishly, Nate wanted Travis to be far away. As long as he was wishing, why not go all-in? Nate wished Travis would settle somewhere else, start fresh and leave Chelsea alone.

  That scenario wasn’t likely with a guy like Travis. Not if he smelled money. He’d cleaned her out once and Chelsea didn’t strike Nate as the type to get taken a second time. It made sense as to why she was so guarded with him.

  She’d been burned big time. And just like a frightened or abused animal, it would take a boatload of patience to get her to trust anyone again.

  Nate looked up in time to see Zach crossing the street.

  His cousin wore an intense expression as he pushed open the door and walked inside the café.

  “What happened?” Chelsea asked.

  “He’s guilty of something.” Zach took a seat.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Renaldo said he was with a friend at her place on the night in question.” Zach’s frustration was written across his features.

  Nate had listened quietly as Zach recounted the story of the conversation between him and Renaldo.

  “You don’t believe him,” Chelsea stated.

  “He called her on the phone and I could tell she was scared to say anything against him. I need to talk to her face-to-face. See if she’ll fold under the heat. You guys feel like taking a ride?” Zach asked.

  “Did he mention the friend’s name?” Maybe Chelsea had heard of her.

  “Danielle French.” Zach leaned forward.

  “She works at the restaurant. She’s a waitress,” Chelsea said. “He goes through a variety of women and it does seem like he’s with a different one every other week, but they weren’t dating when I left the restaurant.”

  “The address he gave is not that far away.” Zach held up his phone, revealing the map feature with an address on it.

  “Let’s go,” Nate said.

  They pulled into the Rancho Verde Apartment Homes’ lot twenty minutes later. The place was on the outskirts of downtown, more in the suburbs. The structure was not as nice as Renaldo’s upscale complex. This was more like a typical Texas apartment building. A front gate, which Zach got through by waiting for a car to exit, was supposed to keep loiterers away. It was easy to bypass.

  There was a sprinkling of three-story buildings spread out across several acres. There were mini parking lots for each building and clusters of mail centers and laundry facilities.

  The apartments were considerably less expensive, which wasn’t a surprise given the pay difference between a near celebrity chef versus someone waiting tables.

  Zach parked and exited the sedan. The way the buildings were set up, Chelsea stood behind Nate, using his heft to conceal most of her.

  A female answered the door on the second knock, but Chelsea didn’t recognize her voice.

  “Ms. Danielle French?” Zach standing there in uniform would probably make anyone nervous, but this person’s voice cracked when she tried to respond.

  “No. I’m Cindy Staten, her roommate. Why a
re you looking for Danielle?” The words sounded rehearsed and a little forced.

  Chelsea figured the roommate had been forewarned of this visit, just as Renaldo had been. Between his threatening texts and then his sudden change of heart with the flowers and apologies, she presumed he was trying to look as innocent as possible. Most innocent people wouldn’t give it a thought. Whereas he was going out of his way to appear above suspicion.

  “Is Ms. French home?” Zach asked.

  “Yes. Hold on. I’ll get her—”

  Cindy returned a few seconds later with a woman presumed to be Danielle.

  “Ms. Staten?”

  She nodded, a skeptical look crossed her features. She was attractive. In her mid-twenties, she had blond hair and blue eyes, and was the kind of person who seemed to want everyone to like her. Chelsea also noted that Danielle was easily impressionable. She was exactly the kind of person an older man like Renaldo could manipulate. “Where were you last Tuesday night?” Zach pressed on.

  “I was right here,” Danielle supplied.

  “Yes, she was here with her boyfriend,” Cindy concurred. “Why? Did something happen?”

  “Who is her boyfriend?” Zach ignored the question.

  “He’s her boss. His name is Renaldo,” Cindy responded.

  “And he was here?”

  “Yes. Well, yeah...” Cindy paused as her voice trailing off.

  “What does that mean?” Zach prompted.

  “He wears really expensive, like, Italian leather shoes and they were parked next to the front door all night. I didn’t actually see either one of them. I came in late and left early the next morning. His shoes were here when I got home and were in the same place when I got up the next morning,” she told him.

  Chelsea figured questioning her was useless. The shoes could’ve been left there for days. The so-called girlfriend could be covering for Renaldo. Or maybe he’d threatened Danielle. Who knew? This felt like a dead end.

  Chelsea’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and then showed it to Nate. The call was from her mother.

  He took her hand and led her outside, away from the apartment, without so much as making a noise.

  When Chelsea was clear of the building, she returned her mother’s call.

  “Everything okay?” Chelsea’s pulse skyrocketed at the thought she was more than an hour’s plane ride away and something could be wrong back home.

  “I’m feeling light-headed,” Linda said.

  “Did you take your medicine?” Chelsea didn’t mince words. This had happened before when her mother had forgotten to take one of her yellow pills.

  “I think so,” her mother said. “It’s probably nothing, but I was wondering if you could pick up Skylar later. I’m going to fix myself a cup of tea and get to bed.” Her mother coughed.

  She could be coming down with something.

  “Okay, Mom. Yeah, sure, I can pick up Skylar. Don’t worry about it. Get some rest and I’ll check on you when I get home before pickup.” Chelsea started to end the call. “Mom?”

  “Yes, honey.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay? This is nothing I need to worry about. Right?” Her mother knew the difference between needing medical attention and having a virus. The problem was that she downplayed everything and Chelsea believed her mother didn’t want to be the cause of concern for her daughter.

  “I have Rofert here to keep me company and I’ll be better once I get a cup of chamomile inside me. A nap will do a world of good. There’s plenty of food in the fridge, so there’s no need to cook. I ate some of the chicken and mushroom risotto the young ladies brought over. It was so good.” Linda sounded tired but all right.

  “That sounds delicious. I’ll heat up a bowl when I get home for me, Skylar and Nate. Keep your phone on your nightstand in case you need to reach me. Then you won’t have to get out of bed,” Chelsea recommended.

  “Will do, honey. Be careful on your way home from picking up Skylar. They said on the news the weather might turn,” her mother said.

  “Thanks, Mom.” Chelsea ended the call and turned to Nate.

  “I need to get home as soon as possible. Mother isn’t feeling well and I don’t like being so far away.” Chelsea gripped her phone as she looked up to see Zach coming their way.

  “Roger that.” Nate, who had been fixated on his phone, glanced up and locked eyes with his cousin. “What’s the verdict?”

  “Both of them lied but I can’t prove a thing,” Zach stated. “He’s covering his tracks, but it could be that he’s an overall jerk. He’s in the middle of a divorce and probably figures he can’t afford bad publicity. I don’t like him.”

  * * *

  “CHELSEA NEEDS TO get home. Her mother might be getting sick,” Nate said to his cousin. He could see the worry behind Chelsea’s eyes even though she did her best to maintain composure. She’d been uncomfortable ever since they’d landed and he’d picked up on her nerves. He didn’t want to overthink why he was so attuned to her moods.

  “I have everything I’m going to get from these people today. If I need to come back, it’ll be with a local policeman and a warrant.” Zach would need to inform Houston PD and get them involved should he find evidence against Renaldo.

  “What did the girls say?” Nate was curious as they walked toward their rented vehicle.

  “The two gave exactly the same story,” Zach noted. “And that’s why I’m not buying it. Usually in an interview people give two versions of the same story but these two sounded like parrots. Only people who have rehearsed a story beforehand use identical words and tell the story in the same way.”

  “I wonder why they’d cover for him,” Nate said.

  “We did pretty much anything Renaldo asked or we’d risk losing our jobs,” Chelsea stated.

  Nate flexed and released his fists, thinking that he should’ve gotten in a few shots before he’d let the chef stand up.

  “Even lie to law enforcement?” Zach asked.

  “He might be holding something over Danielle’s head. I never gave him any leverage over me, but others did,” she reflected.

  “Like what?” Zach asked.

  “A couple of wait staff got caught using drugs in the meat locker,” she said. “Renaldo had them do all kinds of favors for him so he wouldn’t report them.”

  “Does Renaldo use illegal drugs?” Nate asked.

  “Not that I know of. He’s high on himself as far as I could tell. That, and the feeling of dominating everyone around him.” Renaldo had been a jerk and acted like a spoiled brat when he didn’t get his way. “He liked to catch people doing things wrong. A cook had an affair with one of the married waitresses. Renaldo had a field day with that.”

  “And you? Did he try to catch you doing something wrong?” Nate asked.

  “I never gave him anything to work with,” she admitted. “All he could hold over my head was my job and my reputation. Both were important to me. The kitchen is all I’ve ever known and I’m damn good at it. I didn’t want anyone to take that away from me.”

  “Were there sexual advances?” Zach asked as they made it back to the vehicle.

  Chelsea had a good laugh over that question even though it wasn’t funny to Nate. “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “A lot of the waitresses gave in. I mean, he was considered good-looking. He has enough money to seem impressive to those without. He lives in a fancy downtown apartment and drives an expensive sports car. Most of the women he hit on were flattered.”

  The three of them climbed into their rented sedan. Nate took the driver’s seat, Chelsea got in on the passenger side.

  “What about you?” Nate started the engine of the rental as he glanced at Chelsea. “Did he manipulate you?”

  “I didn’t let him get away with anything,” she stated.

 
“Where does he stand on your suspect list after speaking to him?” Nate asked Zach as he settled in the back seat.

  “Right now he’s at the bottom of a short list,” Zach admitted.

  And that left Travis and Reggie.

  “Rumors are circulating that Reggie was heading up north. There was too much heat on him here.”

  “Can we rule him out?” Nate asked.

  “Possibly.”

  * * *

  THE FLIGHT HOME was quiet and bumpy. A weather system was coming. Chelsea worked her purse strap between her fingers for most of the time they were in the air. Zach studied his notebook or his phone. Nate acknowledged that he was getting behind on work at the ranch. And yet all he could think about was helping Chelsea get her restaurant off the ground.

  The plan landed while he was still chewing on ideas. Chelsea was too proud to ask for help and he didn’t want to overstep his bounds. But he did want to find a way to be of service. He’d figure out something. The number of bachelors in the family was dwindling fast. Especially since his cousin Zach had recently told him of his engagement and pending nuptials.

  The thought of Chelsea struggling against her deadline to open the restaurant alone sat heavy on Nate’s chest as he thanked Zach for flying to Houston to investigate Renaldo. Again, the thought of a man abusing his power by forcing people to do things they didn’t want to do caused tension to cord Nate’s muscles. If he kept thinking about it, he’d end up with a headache.

  Chelsea rode with Nate while Zach took off in his cruiser, promising to get back to them as soon as he had news to report.

  “I’m needed at the ranch before the weather system hits,” Nate told her. He’d been keeping an eye on the reports. “We need all hands on deck to secure the animals in the barns before the front comes in. I’d like to take you to the ranch with me.”

  She shot him an apologetic look. “I should probably check on Mother and schedule a few contractors before I pick up Skylar.”

  Chelsea looked surprised that he didn’t put up an argument.