by CP Smith
Poppy and Sienna reached out and grabbed my hands, and we held on tight, waiting for Devin to return.
“She was in the basement this whole time while we were upstairs workin’,” Poppy said softly, her voice hitching on the words. “Her poor mother.”
Devin appeared out of thin air a moment later; the line of his jaw was so sharp he could have chewed steel. He stepped inside the elevator and pushed the button for the lobby, then turned to the five of us. “We’ve got a John Doe with a letter opener in his chest.”
The whole car erupted into cries of relief for Maria, then we began asking questions as to who the man was.
Devin raised his hand to quiet us when the door opened at the lobby. Surprisingly, it worked.
“I need for you ladies to head home,” he looked at Poppy, Sienna, and my aunts. “There’s no need to drag you into this. I just need Calla to confirm she let me into the buildin’.” He turned to look at me, then continued. “As far as the police are concerned, I was accompanyin’ you to the office to retrieve a manuscript. I don’t want them knowin’ I’m workin’ Maria’s case.”
“You think she stabbed this man, don’t you?” I asked.
His jaw tightened further.
“It was self-defense; it had to be,” Eunice cried out.
“What did this man look like?” Bernice asked.
Devin turned his eyes to her. “Sharply dressed, manicured nails.”
“Paunch in his gut?” she questioned.
“Hard to say.”
I turned and looked at her.
“What are you thinkin’?”
“Billy Ray Stutter,” was her answer. “If there was trouble in this town, he always had a hand in it, and he hasn’t been seen since last week.”
“You said he was up whorin’ around in Atlanta.”
“Or he’s lyin’ dead in a basement with a letter opener in his chest.”
A vision of a dead Billy Ray made my nose scrunch, but we needed to know who the man was to help Maria.
I turned to Devin. “I’ll look at the body and tell you if it’s Billy Ray,” I announced, hitting the button for the basement. ”You need to know so you can help Maria.”
“No,” Devin growled, placing himself between the elevators doors so they wouldn’t close. “I don’t want you seein’ that.”
“I can handle it. Billy Ray wasn’t a close friend.”
“Calla, he’s been dead five days . . . In a hot basement.”
“I’ll hold my breath.”
He sighed with impatience.
“His own mother wouldn’t recognize him,” he finally answered.
“Oh . . . Well, then . . . I’ll just . . .” I pointed to the lobby and he moved aside then I took off, followed by my aunts, Poppy, and Sienna.
I hugged my aunts and promised to call them as soon as we knew who the man was, while Devin was on the phone detailing what we’d found for his friend Nate.
Unable to keep my eyes off Devin, I watched him run his hand through his hair in frustration as he paced. Someone called out my name, but I was too busy watching how the light cast a blue shadow across his hair to listen.
“He definitely cast a voodoo spell on you,” Sienna whispered in my ear.
I jumped, then shrugged. “Yeah. But I’m an Armstrong. My aunt says we’re made of sterner stuff, so I should be able to hold myself back.”
“You know how we agreed to tell the others if we were makin’ a mistake where a man was concerned?” Poppy asked.
“Trust me, I know I am. You don’t need to warn me off.”
She shook her head. “You’re makin’ a mistake, but not the kind you think,” she countered, looking back at Devin. “He’s one of the good guys. You’ll see that when we go speed datin’ tomorrow night.”
I looked back at Devin. “He is a good man,” I agreed. “One who’s got half the female population of Savannah gunnin’ for him, accordin’ to my aunts.”
“So?” she said.
“So I’m takin’ a big risk lettin’ any man in. If I open up my heart to him and one of those long-legged socialites catches his eye, I’ll be crushed.”
“First off, your aunt was right,” Sienna sighed. “You really don’t see yourself the way the rest of us do. And secondly, if a man is so easily swayed by another woman, then you don’t want him anyway. He wouldn’t be worth the salt in your tears.”
“I’m not sittin’ around thinkin’ I’m not good enough for him. I’m just cautious.”
“Aren’t you?” Poppy questioned.
My head jerked back at her comment and I looked at Sienna, who was nodding in agreement.
Am I?
I started to defend my decision, sure I was doing what was right for me, but Devin called out, “I’m callin’ this in now,” before I could respond.
They nodded at him, and then each gave me a hug before heading for the door. When Poppy started to exit, she paused and looked back at me. “Think about what I said,” she called out then waved at Devin and left.
Devin appeared at my shoulder, watching as they disappeared around the corner. “Think about what?” he asked with his phone to his ear.
I turned and looked at him.
Blazing blue eyes looked back at me.
He’d been working himself under my skin all day by standing too close, brushing his hand on my back as we entered a room, and whispering in that gravelly voice of his until my toes curled. I was weakening, and I knew it.
He raised a brow in question, and his mouth quirked in a devilish grin as I stared at him. My heart leapt at the effect.
I’d decided a day ago to stop hiding from life, yet here I stood, holding back because I was scared. Bernice was sure that Devin was the type of man I needed, and Poppy was right; he was a good man. That much was obvious. He cared about a missing woman he’d never met; was determined to find her at all costs.
So why am I holding back?
Because he’s perfect and I don’t deserve him, echoed back at me.
“Calla?” he drawled, his smoky voice washing over me like a warm blanket.
I closed my eyes and let it fold around me.
God, my aunt was right. Poppy was right. I don’t think I’m good enough.
Devin reached out and ran his hand down my arm, his touch warming my blood. He murmured, “Babe?” and my eyes snapped open, landing on his blue.
The little girl I’d been, the one who’d haunted my dreams for twenty-one years, screaming for her parents as her nanny held her tight, was silent for once. And in that moment of quiet, I threw caution to the wind and reached up, snagging Devin around the neck, bringing his mouth to mine. He was shocked at first, then arms like warm steel curled around my back, pinning me to his body. His head angled as my mouth opened, and he took control of the kiss. He tasted like sin, and I felt like a seductress.
Clinging to his shoulders, I moaned into his mouth as the hard muscle beneath my fingers tightened in response. Heat bloomed and spread like wildfire, melting my bones as my nipples hardened.
I was lost, oblivious to the world around me, the dead body in the basement forgotten until a far-off voice broke the spell with the words, “Hello? Is anyone there? Are you able to respond?”
I broke from his mouth suddenly and looked up. His eyes had turned midnight blue; the pupils were dilated with what I thought was lust.
“Phone,” I rasped, out of breath.
Slowly, his eyes changed, the lust-filled haze morphing into anger, and he raised the phone to his ear without another glance at me and bit out, “I need to report a murder,” between clenched teeth, and then turned his back on me and walked away.
That was not the reaction I’d been expecting.
Heat curled up my neck, and adrenaline pumped my heart at a faster rate, so I turned toward the window to cover my embarrassment, staring blankly at the blue sky.
White clouds shaped like gossamer cobwebs dotted the horizon. I barely noticed them.
How had
I made such a colossal mistake?
I’d assumed his behavior was the result of a mutual attraction, but I’d been wrong.
I looked back at Devin and found his back still turned.
Yep, definitely not wrong.
And now I have to live next door to him after throwing myself at him like a dog in heat.
I wanted to bang my head on the window to knock some much-needed sense into my brain. This was what I got for listening to someone else. I should have stuck with my original plan to stay away from him, then I wouldn’t be in this mess.
Sirens broke through the afternoon air, disrupting my pity party of one.
Poe Publishing wasn’t far from a police station, and since Alexandra Poe was a figurehead in Savannah society, I had no doubt the whole damn station rushed to their cars when Devin gave them the body’s location.
Before Devin could hang up, the first car slid to a stop in front of the building, followed by three more. At their screeching halt, Devin turned toward the door, his gaze fixed on the street. I didn’t want to see the rejection written on his face, so I moved to the door and opened it, putting as much distance between Devin and myself as I possibly could. Though it would take a distance the size of Georgia before I’d stop kicking myself for being an idiot.
As the police approached, I realized I’d have to answer their questions before I could put said distance between Devin and myself, so I figured it was time to get down to the business at hand. I’d answer their questions quickly, then make a hasty retreat when Devin wasn’t looking, saving us both the embarrassment of him having to let me down easy.
Five
Worth lyin’, stealin’, or killin’ for
LEANING AGAINST A WALL in Poe Publishing’s lobby, Devin cracked his neck from side to side trying to alleviate the headache brewing thanks to Calla and the John Doe lying on the floor in the basement.
He’d yet to confirm the identity of the body, but from the reaction of the first officer on scene, he didn’t need one. He’d heard the patrolman mumble, “Billy Ray,” the same name Bernice had uttered in the elevator.
His case just became more complicated.
Add to the mix that Calla took off the minute the police were done questioning her, it would take a double dose of painkiller to calm his head.
To say he’d been caught off guard when Calla had kissed him would be an understatement. He’d been prepared to take his time in his quest for the beauty, so when she grabbed his neck and kissed him, he’d hesitated for a fraction of a second. Then her tongue touched his lips, and he’d let instinct take over.
Lust ran hot and fast through his veins as he’d tangled his tongue with hers, his body’s reaction to Calla’s warm mouth immediate. He’d wanted to lay her down where they stood until he was between her legs, but she’d ended the kiss abruptly, whispering, “Phone,” before he’d lost all control.
Being interrupted by the 911 operator wasn’t as effective as a cold shower, so he’d clenched his jaw and turned from Calla until his body was under control. It had taken Herculean restraint not to hang up the phone without reporting the murder and continue what she’d started.
Now she was gone without a word to him, and he was pissed. He didn’t know what was running through that damn head of hers. Whether she was resigned to the fact that they’d been dancing around each other all day in a prelude to that kiss, or if she was still trying to make up her mind. Either way, if she thought she could give him a taste of sweet Georgia Peach and then disappear, he’d set her straight and terminate any ideas she had of running from him. With extreme prejudice.
He looked toward the street where his bike was parked and saw Nate standing behind yellow police tape. Pushing off the wall, Devin headed for the nearest officer.
“Are you done with me?” he asked Officer Granger, who looked fresh out of the academy.
“Detective Strawn will be up shortly. You’ll have to ask him.”
His headache pounded harder.
“Then I’m gonna step outside for a moment and have a smoke. I won’t leave the premises.”
Officer Granger eyed Devin for a moment then nodded. “Go ahead,” he replied jerking his head toward the door. “Not every day you see a dead body.”
Devin turned from the rookie and frowned.
He’d seen enough dead bodies for two lifetimes, but he’d left his former profession out of the interrogation. To everyone involved he was on an errand with his woman, an employee of Poe Publishing.
When Nate saw Devin heading in his direction, he moved to the side, away from the gathering crowd.
“Did you call in the break-in at Maria’s?” Devin asked as he walked up.
“Yeah. They were on the scene before you found the body here.”
“Good. You got a smoke on you?”
“Gave them up two years ago,” Nate answered.
Devin noticed a man standing directly behind Nate with a cigarette dangling from his lips, so he said, “I’ll give you a buck for a smoke.”
“Since when do you smoke?” Nate asked.
“I don’t. But I can taste death in my mouth. At this point, anything would be better.”
Devin pulled out his wallet as the man moved forward.
“Keep your money,” the stranger mumbled, handing him the cigarette. “Saw you leave the buildin’. You with the police?”
“No comment,” Devin answered automatically and put the cigarette to his lips. The man handed him a lighter and Devin lit the cigarette, drawing the smoke deep into his lungs.
He grimaced. Now he tasted smoke and decomp.
“You sound like a cop.” The man grinned.
“Old habits die hard,” Devin murmured under his breath.
“You got a name for the deceased?” the man continued.
A warning bell went off, so he looked closer at the man.
In his forties with salt and pepper hair, the man was built, but with a beer belly that spoke of overindulgence. His eyes were sharp, alert. Like he didn’t miss details and committed them to memory. It was a look he’d seen many times in his ten years on the force.
“Press?” Devin asked, but it was more accusatory than question.
The man bowed. “Charles Taft. Savannah Register.”
Devin pulled out his wallet again and handed Taft a dollar.
“Like I said, no comment.”
Taft grinned and took the dollar. “Suit yourself,” he drawled, “I’ll find out one way or another.”
“Beat it,” Nate barked, and Taft bowed again then turned and moved back.
“Fuckin’ vultures have a nose for trouble,” Devin growled.
“Tell me what you know,” Nate asked.
Devin took another draw on the cigarette then dropped it on the ground and snuffed it out with the toe of his boot. He scanned the crowd again then murmured low, “Does the name Billy Ray mean anything to you?”
“Billy Ray Stutter?”
“Didn’t catch a last name.”
“If it’s Stutter, then Maria’s in over her head,” Nate replied. “Stutter’s an asshole with connections and deep pockets. Runs in the same circle as the mayor.”
“What’s his business?”
“Import/export. You name it, he’ll buy it and sell it.”
“I need to know if Maria cleaned for him,” Devin said.
“I’ll call Carmella.”
Officer Granger took that moment to step outside, eyeing Devin with suspicion before raising his hand, indicating Devin should return. Devin jerked his head at the officer in response.
“Get me her full client list,” Devin ordered then turned toward Granger and headed in his direction.
“Strawn wants a word with you,” Granger said as Devin approached.
Nodding, Devin headed back inside the building, scanning the lobby for the detective in charge. He found him towering over the ME as he signed off on the body. Their eyes met, and the detective jerked his head for Devin to follow.
“Tell me again why you’re here?” Strawn ordered.
Devin sized up the man.
At six foot three, Devin dwarfed most men. Not Strawn. He stood eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe with him. Built solid, but lean around the waist, he looked like he could handle anything the job threw his way.
Gray eyes narrowed on Devin when he didn’t answer.
“I pulled your record,” Strawn growled. “I know who you are and what you do. What I don’t know is, how you connect to my dead body.”
“You mean Stutter, don’t you?”
Strawn’s jaw ticked, confirming it was Billy Ray Stutter.
“I’ll ask you again,” Strawn growled, “what the fuck are you doin’ at my crime scene?”
Devin shrugged. “Came with Calla while she picked up her work. Found the body like I told your officer.”
Strawn chewed on that for a moment, then sized Devin up as he’d done Strawn. “We could use a man with your experience on the force.”
“Been there, done that,” Devin answered. “I prefer helpin’ people without all the red tape.”
“Are you admittin’ you’re helpin’ someone now?”
Devin’s mouth twitched then a half-grin emerged.
“Just givin’ my woman a ride to her place of business.”
“The same woman who took off after I interrogated her?”
“The same,” Devin gritted out between his teeth.
When he was done here, he would hunt Calla down. Leaving made them look suspicious, and he didn’t want to answer more questions than necessary. But mostly, he wanted to know what the hell was going through her head.
“Did you fight? Is that why she left you high and dry?”
Devin didn’t answer. He stared blankly at Strawn.
Strawn sighed and changed tactics. “Can you confirm your whereabouts on Tuesday night?”
“Are you sayin’ Stutter died on Tuesday?”
Strawn ignored Devin’s question, and the beginning of an eye twitch emerged. “I just had to land a case with a former homicide detective as a witness.” Strawn looked down and scanned his notes, then tapped the page with his finger. “According to Ms. Armstrong, she needed a manuscript from the basement, and she asked you, her new neighbor, to come with her, because, and I quote, ‘it gives me the heebie-jeebies.’”