Operation Mountain Recovery

by Justine Davis

  “Looks that way. Including in that case you mentioned, the rapist.”

  Brady spun around to look at her. Ashley saw an odd glint in his eye, an almost triumphant gleam. Not surprising, after what he’d said about Dr. Andler at that trial and what had so awfully happened afterward.

  But when he spoke, it wasn’t about that at all. It was about her. And he nearly spat out the connection she, still reeling a little, hadn’t quite made yet.

  “So there you have it. Your doctor, the guy who declared you mentally ill, is a damned, crooked liar.”

  Chapter 23

  Ashley was stunned, Brady could see that. Understandable, of course, given she’d just learned the man she’d trusted her very sanity to was a lying, corrupt bastard.

  “We can’t prove any of this yet,” Quinn cautioned. “Right now this is mostly speculation.”

  “Based on fact,” Brady said flatly.

  “Yes. But not enough fact for a court.”

  “I’m not worried about a court right now,” he said, and something like surprise flickered in Ashley’s eyes. What did she think, that he was going to be strictly by the book here? Hell, he was so far off even the last page of that book now that he’d be lucky to not end up in jail himself. And he didn’t care about that, either. Which should rattle him a lot more than it did.

  “Lay it out,” he said to Quinn, trying to keep from sounding as angry as he was. “All of it.” He wanted her to hear it, every bullet point, in succession.

  Quinn seemed to understand, and began the list. “He has an offshore account. Not huge, but sizable. He was given additional payments by entities and parties who had already paid for his testimony, so it was possibly to influence that testimony, since that money and the sources were hidden. If we are correct in that assumption, he played a part in the release and/or exoneration of not only that rapist, but an embezzler, a disbarred attorney and a driver accused of manslaughter. In which case, by the way, he testified that the victim was in such a state of confusion he should not have been allowed out by himself at all, let alone onto a busy street.”

  “‘Keep her home, Nan. Don’t let her out alone.’” Ashley whispered what were obviously remembered words, but Brady heard them. And the anger he was trying to suppress ratcheted up another notch. His suspicions were growing, and he was beginning feel the urge to hunt down this slimy excuse for a human and take him out.

  “We’re digging deeper, going back further,” Quinn said, “but as good as Ty is, it still takes time.”

  Brady gave the other man a glance. “I’m really glad I was warned not to think about how you get things done.”

  Quinn smiled easily. “For somebody used to going by the book, it’s usually best.”

  “I don’t mean to sound selfish here,” Ashley said, “but I still can’t help wondering what this all has to do with me.”

  “You’re not being selfish at all,” Hayley said reassuringly. “We need to tie this in to you and your situation.”

  “But I don’t see any connection. I mean, it’s disgusting and devastating to learn the truth about Dr. Andler, but that’s just money. Does it mean he’s a lousy psychiatrist?”

  Brady spun around. “Do you really want to take the word of somebody who can be bought off to let a rapist go free about your mental state?”

  “But it’s not just his word. I was having trouble before I ever started seeing him.”

  “The nightmares.”

  She nodded. “It was so bad I was afraid to go to sleep. I was awake most of the night most nights.”

  “And lack of sleep can cause half those problems,” Brady pointed out. “We had a horrific brushfire the entire county was called in on a few years ago. I didn’t sleep for more than an hour or two for nearly seventy-two hours. By that time I was loopier than a drunken ferret. I was surprised I knew my own name.”

  She was staring at him rather oddly. “Sometimes,” she said softly, “I think we all forget.”

  His brow furrowed. “What?”

  “How much we owe men like you.”

  “Amen,” Hayley said.

  “Not my point,” Brady said with a shake of his head. “I just meant—”

  “I know what you meant,” Ashley said. “But since you won’t trumpet your laudable acts, somebody needs to do it for you.”

  “She has a point,” Quinn said mildly.

  Brady gave him a look over his shoulder. And took a stab at what he guessed was probably fact. “Drag out all your medals to wear on special occasions, do you, Foxworth?”

  For the first time since he’d met the man—damn, was it really only two weeks ago?—Quinn appeared nonplussed. And Hayley was laughing.

  “Gotcha,” she said cheerfully. “Nicely done, Brady.”

  The immediacy of his anger drained away; it was impossible to maintain in the face of Hayley Foxworth’s grin. Even Ashley was smiling, which under the circumstances was amazing. And once the anger had ebbed a little, his brain kicked back in. And something that had been tickling the edge of his memory for a while surfaced.

  “You have an appointment with Andler tomorrow, don’t you?”

  She nodded. “At four o’clock.” There was no confusion, no forgetting, he noted.

  He turned to look at Quinn. “He’s got to know she’s not showing up.”

  “I’m not?” Ashley asked.

  His gaze snapped back to her. “Hell, no. You don’t really want to go, do you?”

  “No. I don’t.” Her expression turned very odd, almost wondering. “It’s been a long time, or feels like it, since what I wanted had anything to do with...anything.”

  “Well, it does now,” Brady said rather fiercely.

  The smile she gave him then made every last bit of his fury fade away.

  * * *

  The snow was starting to melt. Not quickly, since it was still in the thirties, but it was several degrees above freezing and so the trickles were appearing, and bare branches here and the green of an evergreen bough there were beginning to show through. Ashley felt unexpectedly sad about that as she sat on the patio bench, realizing this spot would soon be just a normal patio again, open and no doubt with a lovely view, but no longer with this feeling of privacy and seclusion.

  She’d been glad when Hayley had suggested she take a break from it all. She’d gratefully come out here, followed by Cutter, who was now sitting at her feet with his chin resting on her knee. The dog really was an amazing comfort and a stalwart companion as she tried to sort out the mass of information and emotions that had enveloped her.

  His head came up, and she saw the wag of his tail. A moment later the patio door opened, and Brady stepped out. The dog had no doubts about Brady, obviously. But then, neither did she. Not about who he was at the core, a good, decent, brave and on occasion heroic man. It was no surprise that she was attracted to him. What woman wouldn’t be?

  She saw he was carrying two steaming mugs. He sat down on the bench—close, but not too close, meaning not close enough for her taste—and held one out to her.

  “I think I may be coffee’d out,” she said; she’d had several cups trying to jolt her brain into moving faster on all this.

  “It’s not coffee,” he said. “Hayley seemed to think chocolate was called for, so she picked some up when they were out.”

  “Bless her,” Ashley said, meaning it as she took the proffered cup.

  She took a long, slow sip, savoring the rich taste, then the warmth as it went down. He took a swallow of his own, then cupped his hands around the mug. She thought of how his hand had felt on hers. Which led to how his lips had felt on hers. And in that moment there was nothing she wanted more than to taste his mouth again.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. She blinked. He’d already apologized for kissing her, an apology she’d hardly felt necessary. “I lost my cool in there,
and I shouldn’t have.”

  Ashley felt color rise in her cheeks, and she looked down into her mug as if the rising steam could mask it. He’d probably long forgotten that kiss, while she couldn’t seem to get it out of her mind. But then the sense of what he’d said registered.

  “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since anyone was angry on my behalf? How long it’s been since anyone thought of me as anything except someone to be pitied or avoided?”

  “Too long,” he said gruffly.

  “Yes. So please, don’t apologize for that.” She took another swallow of the rich, sweet brew before she asked, “How did you know Quinn had medals?”

  He snorted, meeting her gaze with a grin that warmed her more than the chocolate. “Seriously? That guy? He’s got hero painted all over him.”

  “Yes, he does.” She waited a moment before adding quietly, “Just like you.”

  He looked startled, then shook his head. “I’m just a guy trying to do a job in a place where it’s not usually too hard.”

  “But when it is, you’re there and you deal. What else is a hero?”

  Brady lowered his eyes, as if embarrassed, but Cutter let out a short, sharp bark that she supposed would be called a yip but sounded crazily like “Yep!” She’d never realized dogs made so many different kinds of sounds, and how expressive they could be.

  Brady reached out to give the dog a scratch behind the ears. To do it he had to lean over her, and his arm brushed over her breast. Even though the touch was clearly accidental, it sent a jolt through her, leaving her very skin tingling.

  And that quickly she was thinking about that kiss again. He might regret doing it, but that didn’t change what it had been. Not for her, anyway. Maybe it simply hadn’t been that hot, that consuming for him. Maybe he kissed women all the time. Maybe he kissed one particular woman all the time.

  No. He would never have kissed you if there was a permanent partner in his life. That’s not the kind of man he is.

  And she was more certain of that than she’d been of anything in her chaotic, ridiculous life lately.

  Chapter 24

  “You’ve got two choices,” Brady said, sounding more grim than he’d meant to. He was pacing again, now that they were back inside. It had started to rain, accelerating the melt, and they’d managed to get back in before they—or the dog—got too wet.

  “Only two?” Ashley said rather dryly.

  He turned back to look at her. Smiling despite the problem they were chewing on. Because more and more sparks of humor and wit were breaking through, and he liked seeing it.

  “Two that lead to all the rest,” he elaborated.

  “Naturally.” She sighed. “Go ahead.”

  “Either Andler knew or didn’t know. About the meds.”

  She nodded slowly. “If he didn’t, he’s incompetent. But if he did... I don’t know what that means.”

  “We need to know what he did give you before we can guess at that.”

  “And how do we do that?” Ashley asked. “There must be hundreds of plain, big, white, oval pills out there.”

  “We need a sample,” Hayley said. “We have people who can figure out what’s in them.”

  “Of course you do.” Ashley gave the other woman a smile. “Have I mentioned how glad I am you’re all on my side? Even if...nothing changes, it’s a wonderful feeling.”

  Her gaze flicked to Brady. Only for an instant, but it was enough to make his pulse jump. And suddenly he was remembering that kiss that never should have happened.

  I’m not sorry it did.

  Her words echoed in his head, and it took an effort to rein in a body that was suggesting rather hotly that he pursue that.

  “I could go back home and get them,” Ashley said.

  “No!” Brady snapped, so sharply she drew back slightly. He reined in the sudden bolt of alarm that had shot through him. “I just mean you shouldn’t risk it until we know exactly what’s going on.”

  “Risk?”

  It was Hayley who said gently, “Ashley, you’re a wanted felon in the eyes of any law enforcement except Brady.”

  She paled. She turned a shocked gaze on him. “I didn’t look at it that way. I didn’t think about what would have happened if someone else had found me. Some other deputy who...wouldn’t listen. Or believe.”

  “That’s not important now. What is is how do we...”

  His voice trailed off as something occurred to him. She started to speak but stopped when he held up a hand, his brow furrowed as he thought. Then he focused on her again. “Where are your pills?”

  “In my bathroom, in the medicine cabinet. Bottom shelf. It’s the only thing on that shelf.”

  “Prescription bottle?”

  She nodded. “Labeled as...the real thing.”

  “That key you had on you...it’s the house key?”

  “Yes. I didn’t want to leave the house unlocked.”

  Something tugged at him deep inside. And without thinking about it, he reached out and cupped her face in his hands. He heard her suck in a breath at the touch, felt the sudden heat rising in himself at the feel of her soft, smooth skin beneath his fingers. Ignored it for the more important thing at this moment. “Even then, you were thinking that clearly. Remember that, Ashley.”

  Her eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn’t realized that. It was one of the harder things he’d done in these last four days, but he broke the contact. He turned to look at Quinn, trying to think of how to explain the idea that had come to him.

  “It might work,” Quinn said before he could speak. “But maybe you should let us do it. Nobody would recognize us.”

  Brady didn’t question how the man had guessed. “And therefore would likely call you in as a burglar,” he pointed out. “Besides, what if someone’s there? Her mother, even?”

  “What are you talking about doing?” Ashley said, staring at them both.

  He turned back to her. “I’m going to go get those meds.”

  She stared at him. “You’re going to break into the house?”

  “No, because you’re going to give me that key.”

  “But what if my mother is there, like you said?”

  “Then I’m there officially. Looking for signs you might have snuck back to the house for something, since you took nothing with you. Nobody else knows I have any connection other than prior contact. Which I could play as enough to explain why I’m...interested.”

  “But she needs to know I’m all right,” Ashley said. “I know she has to be half out of her mind with worry.”

  He hesitated then. Glanced at Quinn, who nodded, then said, “And once her relief fades, if she finds out Brady has known where you are all along and let her worry, her first instinct will likely be to hang him out to dry.”

  “And,” Hayley added, “given her connection to the sheriff, it’s likely she could make life very ugly for him if she’s upset enough.”

  “But if I begged her not to, she’d call it off—”

  “That’s not a bell you can unring,” Brady said flatly.

  Ashley looked away for a moment, then got to her feet and hurried out of the room. Brady watched her go, wondering if this was simply too much for her, if he just should have snagged the key somehow and done it. He saw Quinn say something softly to Hayley, who nodded and took out her phone and walked toward the kitchen, apparently to make a call. But then Ashley was back. And she held the ring with the house-shaped fob and the single key.

  “She put them on that so I’d remember what it was for,” Ashley said with a grimace when she saw him looking at the little silver decoration. “She told me I was confused enough to forget.”

  That suspicion he’d developed stirred anew, but Brady kept it to himself for the moment. He took the key. “Thanks. And for trusting me.”

  “I thi
nk you have that backward.”

  Hayley came back before he could answer, a relief since he didn’t know what to say. “The mayor’s office says she’s out, they don’t know where or when she might be back. They explained she’s had a family crisis.”

  Ashley winced at that. Brady said briskly, “So she could be home or somewhere else.”

  Quinn nodded. “If you have the option of getting in and out unseen, I recommend you leave everything else as it is. Just grab a pill out of the bottle and leave it.”

  He nodded. Hayley got up and went quickly to the kitchen, coming back with a small zip-seal baggie, which she handed to him.

  “Once you’ve got it,” Quinn went on, “we’ll get it to our guy and find out just what we’re dealing with.”

  Brady thought about asking just how they would do that, but he decided it didn’t matter just now. Besides, why would he doubt that the people who apparently had the likes of Gavin de Marco on speed dial could do anything they said they could?

  “And Quinn will be in the area,” Hayley said. “We’ll give you a Foxworth phone, which has a walkie-talkie function, so we can all be in direct, live contact, just in case.”

  Brady frowned. That would leave Hayley here alone with Ashley.

  “I’m trusting you,” Ashley said softly.

  He looked at her. Realized what she meant, that she was trusting him, so he should trust her in turn. And she had a point. He was in this now—he’d already violated everything he believed in, so what was a little thing like leaving a wanted felon in the custody of a civilian? Although he had a feeling Hayley Foxworth could more than take care of herself. In fact, he knew it, now that he thought about it, because there was no way in hell Quinn would leave his wife in a situation she couldn’t handle.

  “All right,” he said softly. He glanced at his watch. It was late afternoon, and Lieutenant Becker would be off duty soon. “I should call my lieutenant back. See if there are any new developments that might affect this...idea.”