“Who was the officer?” I didn’t know that it mattered, but it might.
“Guy named Harrison, an older cop. That tell you anything?”
“I’m not sure. The name sounds familiar. Did this Harrison have children?”
“A son named Ridge and a daughter Chloe. That’s all the information I have since Harrison wasn’t part of the request.”
So Ridge’s father had been the police officer in charge of the case, but how that worked into Skeet’s murder so many years later, I didn’t know. Ridge had been in high school at the same time as the others, so his father working on the Norris case didn’t really make a difference. “Anything more about the Norrises?” I asked.
“Nothing of real interest. The aunt died a few years after the Norris family came to live with her. Heart attack. Her third. The mother died of pneumonia eight years ago. Was in the hospital for weeks. Charlie came home for the funeral. Bailey went to college and now works as a loan underwriter for a mortgage company.”
“No mention of Skeet Thompson in connection with the Norrises?”
“Not a one, though both Skeet and Charlie had arrests for drugs. In fact, Charlie was kicked out of the navy for substance abuse after only a year. Skeet was born in Los Angeles, but there’s no record of them running into each other there. Skeet seemed to be a high roller, while the Norrises were dirt poor.”
Mia had mention Skeet had a large sum of money before the fight, and that it was missing afterward. The money could be connected to drugs. “They ever serve time?”
“Skeet was in prison twice, less than a year both times. Charlie has been in jail overnight. That’s all.”
“Thanks so much. This might help a lot.” Something was coming together in my mind, and I wanted to hang up so I could concentrate.
“So now it’s your turn,” Marc prompted.
“What?”
“You were going to explain something.”
“Oh, that.” Leave it to an attorney to remember gritty details. “It’s about the trust fund. I want you to call off your guy in Vegas.”
“I have to verify the marriage, or I can’t give you your money.”
“I know, but I need to delay things for a while.”
“As executor of your grandfather’s will, is there something I should know?”
I remembered what Gage had said about the truth and sticking as close to it as possible. I took a breath and began. “I’ve learned that the man who married us may not have had the proper authority, which means I’ll have to redo the ceremony before you can turn over my trust fund.”
There was a silence on the phone. “Tessa, is this a matter for the police?”
I realized he thought Gage had been trying to take advantage of me, which was so far from the truth I almost laughed. “No, it’s fine. We’ll get it fixed.”
“Maybe a bit of a delay isn’t so bad. I mean, you made this decision rather fast in the first place. True love can wait a few weeks, don’t you think? You know, do it up right.”
“That might be a little difficult.”
“Because of your parents and your ex-fiancé?”
Oops, I’d been so concerned about my problems with Gage that I hadn’t even thought of them. “Something like that. Please, don’t tell them. Give me a few days to work this out.”
“Take all the time you’d like. It’s not my place to tell them about your personal life.”
I liked him more and more. “Send me a bill.”
He laughed. “Oh, I will.”
Hopefully, I’d have enough in savings to pay it. If not, maybe he could employ me as a secretary or something.
I hung up, feeling melancholy. Telling Mark had made the fact that I wasn’t married to Gage real. Yet what if he were free to marry? I could almost see us together at a real church wedding with all the relatives there.
Impossible. Because the murder was still hanging over our heads, as well as Gage’s insistence that he would never allow his children to grow up under that shadow.
So what did I know? I knew that Charlie Norris might have killed his father with a poker, the same type of weapon that killed Skeet Thompson. I knew that both Skeet and Charlie had a connection to drugs. I knew that Bailey believed Gage hadn’t murdered Skeet, but if she loved Gage and planned to marry him, there had to be an awfully strong reason why she hadn’t fought to keep him out of prison.
The obvious answer was that she’d been protecting someone else, and the only person she might protect above Gage was her brother, Charlie—especially if Charlie’s reaction to Bailey’s distress was any indication of how their family guarded secrets. Years ago he might have saved Bailey’s life by killing their abusive father, and yesterday he’d shown up here with a gun and threatened Gage. No doubt Charlie did anything he had to in order to protect his sister. Yet how far would she go to protect him?
Gage had claimed Charlie wasn’t there the night Skeet died, and Mia hadn’t mentioned him, either. But if he’d been in town, Charlie might have had drug dealings with Skeet and entered the convenience store after Mia went for help.
So had he been there or not?
The only person who could give me the answer to that question was Bailey Norris. I would go see her right after dinner.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It wasn’t as easy to get away as I had assumed. Apparently, Mia expected Gage and me to play the part of honeymooners, and she kept suggesting activities for the evening—movies, dancing, a romantic video, an evening walk. Finally, I ended up pleading exhaustion.
“I think I need to rest a bit,” I said.
“You’re tired?” Gage’s disbelief was apparent. “So early?”
“Your fault. You’re the one who dragged me all over Arizona today.”
“But if you go to bed now, you’ll actually wake up early, and that might cause a shift in the cosmos.”
“Very funny. At least I’ll be up in time for church.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you really planning?” I noticed he’d waited until Mia wasn’t looking to ask the question.
“I was thinking of going back to Vegas to find what I was looking for the first time.” I didn’t know what made me say it because I had no such intention.
His gaze deepened. “And how are you going to get there?” His voice was mild, but the meaning was clear.
I didn’t feel it necessary to bring up the fact that I still had the keys to his Jeep in my pocket.
“We could go see your sister,” he suggested.
I stared at him flatly. “I promised Mia we’d stay until Aiden got home.”
“Fine. We’ll do that.” He seemed surprised that I’d stay, now that I knew the truth. Another day or two didn’t leave me much time to solve the case, but I thought I was close already. I considered taking Mia into my confidence, but what if she insisted on coming with me to Bailey’s and things got ugly? No, better to ask Bailey a few subtle questions before I went to the police with what I knew. Given his fascination with Bailey, would Ridge act upon my suspicions? I thought he would—especially if Charlie was the real murderer.
“Oh, no!” Dylan jumped up from his seat, scattering my thoughts. “I forgot the afternoon eggs.”
“Afternoon eggs?” I’d never heard of those.
“I get the eggs in the morning, but some of my chickens don’t lay until the afternoon. I usually get them before dinner, but that’s when Daddy called, so I forgot.”
“Can I come?” I asked. “I’ve never gathered eggs before.”
Dylan gave me a pleased smile. “Sure.”
I smiled back. He had also given me the perfect opportunity to slip away.
Except that Gage followed us. “Shouldn’t you give Mia a hand?” I hinted, but Mia was back to following the conversation and shoed us both away. It was just as well, since I hadn’t yet looked up Bailey’s address.
Outside, Dylan led us toward the hen house. The chickens scrambled mindlessly about our feet, seemingly unconcerned
with our presence or our intent to steal their eggs. The space inside the little house was so small that it allowed only one adult inside at a time—and then only hunched over. I peered inside, noting the fresh straw Gage had laid down the day before. “So if you keep taking the eggs, how do you get baby chicks?”
“We sometime let a few batches get by, and they hatch,” Dylan said. “I love the little chicks. They’re so tiny and fluffy.” He went inside. “There’s five eggs!” he shouted. “Five!”
“Nice,” I said taking the two Dylan gave me for safekeeping.
“Breakfast,” Gage added.
I laughed. “You do have one problem,” I told him, as Dylan ducked back inside for the other eggs.
“What?”
“I don’t think this coop is large enough.”
Gage tilted his head. “It’s actually a little large for the chickens they have. Aiden and I built it that way on purpose.”
“I mean for you to sleep. If our ceremony wasn’t legal, you can’t sleep in the guest room or even pretend to. We’ll have to explain it to Mia.”
Gage gave me a significant look. “Nothing wrong with the couch. Besides, I’d rather not explain anything.”
“Oh, that’s right. You want her to think you have a life.” Why was I baiting him? “Does that go for Bailey, too? Do you want her to think you have a life?”
“It goes doubly for Bailey. She’s a good person, and she hasn’t had it easy. She needs to get on with her life.”
Spoken like a man who really cared. “So maybe it wasn’t me you were helping out after all,” I said, stifling my jealousy.
Before he could respond, Dylan appeared in the doorway with three more eggs. He held up a brown one in front of Gage. “This was way up in the highest nest. Big Brownie always gets up there somehow. I never see her, but the egg is always there every day.”
“Cool,” I said. “Is that all of them then?”
“Yep.”
We waited until Dylan had raced ahead of us before resuming the conversation.
“I didn’t know we’d end up in Kingman,” Gage said, “or that my sister would ever know about this pretend wedding. But now that she does know, I’m asking you not to tell her the truth. I’m willing to pay you for your trouble.”
He was offering to pay me? I’d never been so offended. “I don’t want your money,” I retorted. “Don’t make that offer again.”
“Why not? You did—several times.”
I sighed in exasperation, but he only grinned. “Now you know how it feels.”
I didn’t think it was the same thing. I was beginning to care for him so much it hurt to see the now-familiar lines of his face. I ached knowing that he would never allow himself the luxury of falling in love with me.
I turned and hurried after Dylan, catching up with the child as we entered the house. “Look,” I said to him softly. “I need to drive somewhere to fix up a surprise for your uncle. Do you think you could distract him or something so I can sneak away without him noticing?”
Dylan grinned at me, his thin face coming alive. “Yeah. I can do that.”
“Okay, but don’t tell on me. I’ll bring you a treat when I come back.”
Dylan nodded. “Deal.” I didn’t know what he’d come up with, but I knew he’d think of something. The boy was bright.
Retreating to the guest bedroom, I took my laptop, went into the bathroom, and sat on the edge of the tub to look up Bailey’s information. The address was unlisted, but her phone number was there.
I was about to dial when Lily called. “Hello?” I said.
“Oh, Tessa, I’m sorry to bug you, but I had to let you know what happened.” To my relief, she didn’t sound frantic but excited.
“What?”
“According to Mom, Julian’s dad has been calling our father nonstop. He wants to go through with the merger.”
“That’s not a good idea. Their company might not be all Dad thinks it is.”
“Exactly. That’s why I’m calling. Dad had all their financial records and stuff as part of the contract disclosures, but when Julian’s dad was so anxious, he started digging deeper. I mean, he’d heard about them closing some of their plants, but he found out that they’re really bad off. Worse than Dad. I mean, at least Dad’s company is holding its own. He could have lost everything. You’re a hero now.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Well, of course, they aren’t saying so in that many words, but they’re glad you dumped Julian. The fact that Mom has called me three times in the past two days when she hasn’t talked to me in two years tells me a lot more than she’s willing to say. I guess you’re not picking up her calls, huh? Must be why she called me—so you’d hear.”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” I warned, startled at the happiness in her voice.
“I know. But still.”
“Yeah.” After hearing my mother in the barn, I knew only too well how Lily felt.
“So, is everything going okay?” Lily asked me.
“Yeah. I don’t want to go into details right now, but there’s proof Gage is innocent, and we’ve talked to the police about it. They’re helping to find out what really happened. It might be drug related.”
“Good. Not about the drugs, but about you maybe not being with a convict. I’ve been so worried. I can tell how much you like him.”
“You don’t need to worry. I told you I’m here with his sister and nephew. Anyway, I’ll be seeing you soon.”
“I can’t wait to meet him.”
I closed my eyes, trying to block the hurt. “Sure. Hey, I gotta go.” Easier than explaining that she would never meet Gage.
“Okay. Love you, Tessa.”
“I love you, too.”
I stared at the phone for a minute before remembering my original purpose for hiding out in the bathroom. I dialed quickly.
“Hello?”
“Is this Bailey Norris?”
“Yes. Who’s this?”
Which told me she either didn’t have caller ID, or she was buying time. “Tessa Crawford, I mean, Tessa Braxton now.” I felt like a liar adding Gage’s last name.
“Hello, Tessa.” Her voice cooled notably.
I plunged in. “When we met at the police station earlier, I got the feeling you believe Gage is innocent, too. I’d like to come over and talk to you about that, see if you have any ideas to help him.”
“Help him what?”
“I don’t think he did it, and he shouldn’t have to suffer the rest of his life for something he didn’t do.”
“Why should I care?”
“I know you love him.”
Silence. I could feel it wasn’t going to be enough. If she was guilty of hiding something, she wasn’t stupid. I needed something more, and unlike Gage, I didn’t care if she went on with her life, not if it was at the expense of his.
“Look, you were right about me and Gage,” I said. “Our marriage isn’t real. In fact, in a few days, I’ll be out of his life completely. He was just trying to help me, and now I want to help him.” You and him, my tone implied. “If we can connect Skeet to drugs or something, it may be enough to clear Gage.” I didn’t mention her brother and had no intention of doing anything but to steer her toward talking about him long enough for me to know if he’d been in town that night. I would also remind her that clearing Gage would mean he’d be free to have a family, which might make her willing to confess what she knew. Ridge and the police would have to take it from there.
“Okay,” she said, her voice warming slightly. “You can come over and—”
Whatever she’d been about to say was drowned by a banging on the bathroom door. “Tessa, are you still in there? Goodness, woman, Mia’s cooking never affects me that way.”
“Hold on,” I whispered into the phone. “Go away,” I called to Gage.
“Sorry, no can do. Dylan wants to play hide-and-seek, and you’re supposed to play with us. He’s outside hiding now, and I’m going to s
tart counting. You get until one hundred before I come to find you. If I do, you’ll be it.”
He was impossible. “I’ll be out in a minute,” I said.
“Okay, but I’m timing you for two minutes, and then I’m starting.”
Ignoring him, I reached over and flushed the toilet. I waited until I couldn’t hear anything on the other side of the door before saying to Bailey, “What’s the address?” I typed it onto my word processing program. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
We hung up without saying good-bye.
In the room, I found a pen, jotted the address on the inner side of my arm, and shut the laptop. I started for the door, but on second thought, I took the card Ridge had given me the day before and slipped it into my pocket.
I found Gage alone in the kitchen. True to his word, he’d started counting without me. “Fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five.” He grinned. “Better hurry. Not much time left.” He looked so normal, so attractive, so much a part of me sitting there that I wanted to go up and put my arms around him and hold him. I wanted to see him smile like that every day. To play hide-and-seek with his own children—even if they weren’t mine, too.
He’d stopped counting and was staring at me. I felt his gaze like a touch, and I shivered. “Tessa,” he began.
I shook my head because it hurt too much. “You’ll never find me.”
I ran.
Out the door and to his Jeep in the driveway, hurling myself inside and praying he wouldn’t hear the engine.
Halfway to Bailey’s, I began to worry about Charlie. Where did he stay when he was in town? If he was at his sister’s, he might be suspicious of my questions. No, I’d be careful.
I pulled up to Bailey’s house—a one-story, white affair that obviously needed a new coat of paint. The yard was meticulous, though, and I suspected a lot of Bailey’s tan was real and not canned.
I sat in the Jeep for a while, feeling apprehensive. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Maybe I was getting into more trouble than I could handle. Yet I had to do something. Talking to Bailey was the right thing—I just needed a backup in case things went wrong.
Tell Me No Lies Page 17