Deadly Forever (Hardy Brothers Security Book 24)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “And the third set belongs to Doug Fisher,” James concluded. “I don’t suppose you have a photograph of him so we can be sure, do you?”

  “I have his mug shot.”

  “That will work.”

  Maverick typed on his computer for a second and then turned around the laptop monitor. James nodded when he recognized Kaspar’s features. The man in the photo was younger, his hair darker and fuller, but it was definitely the same man.

  “So Kaspar is a registered sex offender,” Jake said. “What did Fisher do to get himself on that list?”

  “He had sex with two minors,” Maverick answered. “Doug Fisher worked as a guidance counselor at a Kalamazoo school. One student accused him of rape and he was put on administrative leave. Then a second student accused him of the same thing and the cops got involved.

  “Fisher did three years in prison before being released,” he continued. “He made regular parole meetings for six months and then disappeared. They’re still looking for him.”

  “And we’ve found him,” James mused, rubbing his chin. “What about his kid? Darcy said he has a kid.”

  “Doug Fisher has a son named Jacob Fisher,” Maverick answered. “Jacob lived with his mother while Fisher was in prison. As far as I can tell the mother has custody of the kid, but he doesn’t live with her.”

  “Didn’t Darcy say that Kaspar’s son was named Jacob?” James asked.

  Mandy nodded. “Yes.”

  “Okay, how much do you want to bet that Kaspar set up that party and used his son as bait?” James asked, keeping his arm around Mandy’s waist as he leaned forward. “He supplies the kids with drugs and tells them what to do. Then he remains hidden and takes advantage of their choice, who just happens to be Darcy in this instance. No one but that little group of kids even knows he’s in the house … and that’s by design.”

  “I feel a little sick to my stomach,” Mandy muttered.

  James brushed his lips against her cheek before continuing. “He probably incorporated the drugs in the hope that the girls wouldn’t remember. He got caught last time because the girls testified against him. He probably hoped this was his way around that.”

  “Darcy remembered Dakota, though,” Jake pointed out. “She blew everything out of the water.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why the kids went into the mall that day,” Grady said. “They weren’t facing charges because Darcy recanted. A lot of the kids at the school were on their side. There was no reason for them to storm that mall.”

  “That’s where we have to focus,” James agreed, bobbing his head. “We need to talk to Kaspar.”

  Mandy shifted her eyes to James, surprised. “You’re going to confront him?”

  “Oh, baby, I’m looking forward to confronting him,” James said. “I hope he resists the questions, because I’m looking forward to beating the crap out of him, too.”

  Mandy raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to kill him, are you? I don’t want you in jail when we’re planning a wedding.”

  “I’m not going to kill him,” James promised. “I’m going to question him and then call the police and let them handle the situation. I promise not to get arrested.”

  “Okay.”

  James kissed the tip of her nose. “I have big plans for you this weekend. I definitely promise not to get arrested. Don’t worry about that. It’s not going to happen.”

  Mandy’s eyes flashed. “What big plans?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “You know I hate surprises,” Mandy grumbled.

  James knew nothing of the sort. She enjoyed complaining about surprises, but in the end, she almost always enjoyed them. “You’re going to like this one. I promise.”

  “Okay,” Mandy said, although she looked doubtful. “Be careful while you’re with Kaspar. If he senses the noose closing around his neck, he might become dangerous.”

  “I already told you this, but I think it bears repeating,” James said. “I will never be away from you for any length of time again. I promise.”

  “Aw.” Jake, Grady, and Maverick made faces as they watched the interaction, mocking the happy couple in unison.

  James ignored them. “So who wants to go with me to question Kaspar? I think we’ve got a long talk in our future.”

  “I’ll go,” Jake immediately answered. “I want to talk to him about the way he looked down my woman’s dress last night.”

  “You and me both,” James said. “Let’s do this. The sooner we get to the bottom of what Kaspar has planned, the sooner we can focus on the wedding and nothing else.”

  “Except my surprise, of course,” Mandy reminded him.

  James grinned, the expression lighting up his handsome features. “Of course, baby. I could never forget about your surprise. It’s going to be one for the record books. I promise you that.”

  16

  Sixteen

  “Where’s Mandy?”

  James pulled up short when he found Grady instead of his wife next to the office’s front door twenty minutes later.

  “I didn’t realize it was my turn to watch her,” Grady said dryly. “I’ll try to keep on top of things for the next time I’m left with babysitting duty.”

  James ignored the sarcasm. “I’m serious. Where is my baby?”

  “I don’t know,” Grady said, making a face. “I thought she was with you.”

  “No, we were grabbing a few things from the storage room. She’s not with us.”

  “Come to think of it, where is Ally?” Jake asked, glancing around. Ally barreled into the office five minutes after they finished their conversation and then proceeded to distract everyone for another ten minutes before disappearing. “She was here a few minutes ago.”

  “Well, they must be together,” James said, resting his hands on his hips. “The question is: Where?”

  “Well, don’t go crazy,” Grady said, wrinkling his nose. “I’m sure they’re just upstairs with Emma or something. They’re not in danger so there’s no reason to go all Hulk or anything.”

  James ignored the dig. “Avery is sleeping. This is his normal naptime. There’s no way they would risk waking him by going up there. They know how valuable quiet time is to Emma.”

  That’s true,” Jake said, his stomach flipping. “I … maybe we should call them.”

  “You guys are being ridiculous,” Grady said, making a face. “I guarantee they’re doing chick stuff in the bathroom or something. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  As if on cue, Mandy and Ally picked that moment to stroll out of the bathroom together. They’d both tied their hair back in ponytails and seemed excited to converse with one another.

  “Where have you been?” Jake asked, drawing Ally’s brown eyes to him. “We were worried.”

  “You were worried because we were in the bathroom?” Ally didn’t appear impressed with the admission. “Why would you possibly be worried about that? We’re too big to fall in and accidentally drown.”

  James smirked as he shook his head, capturing Mandy’s neck and tugging her close with a gentle hand. “I didn’t want to leave without kissing you goodbye. I couldn’t figure out where you went. Just for the record, I wasn’t worried about you falling in.”

  Mandy’s smile was so wide it almost swallowed her entire face. “That’s good,” she said. “I haven’t fallen in since the last time Ally and I got drunk and you left up the toilet seat.”

  “Yes, that was one of our earliest marriage battles, wasn’t it?” James eyes were full of mirth. “I forgot about that. You were mad … and cute … and ridiculously sexy as you yelled at me.”

  “Oh, you guys are so sick,” Grady muttered, shaking his head. “Just for the record, Sophie and I are never going to be as schmaltzy as you guys.”

  “I think it’s impossible to be as schmaltzy as them,” Jake said. “I’m willing to try for the crown once I get to marry my angel, though.” Jake’s eyes were filled with adoration as he looked Ally up
and down. “Now give me a kiss because we have to get going.”

  “I figured you guys could go to the store and get everything we need for the barbecue tonight,” James said, reminding Mandy of the family party they’d agreed to throw more than a week before. “I’ll do all of the grilling if you pick up all of the ingredients.”

  “I forgot about that,” Mandy admitted, chewing on her bottom lip and glancing at Ally.

  “It’s okay,” James said. “Pick whatever you want. It’s not a fancy affair. Just make sure you get good steaks and corn. Don’t skimp on the meat.”

  “I was thinking we could go shopping together,” Mandy said, her expression unreadable. “I know how particular you get about your meat … in more ways than one.”

  James ignored the dirty double meaning of her words. “I would like to, baby, but Jake and I have to talk to Kaspar,” he said. “I don’t have time.”

  “It’s still early,” Mandy prodded. “We could go to Kaspar’s house and then go shopping together on the way home.”

  James stilled. “We?”

  Mandy nodded, refusing to wait for him to have some sort of meltdown. “We,” she confirmed. “Ally and I have been talking and we want to go with you when you question Kaspar.”

  James was already shaking his head before she finished the statement. “Absolutely not. He’s a rapist. There’s no reason for you to go with us.”

  “We’re not teenagers,” Mandy pointed out. “He’s not interested in us.”

  “That’s not how it looked last night.”

  “Definitely not,” Jake intoned, his voice dark. “You guys don’t need to come with us. Go shopping. Have fun.”

  Ally’s expression was so dark Jake took an involuntarily step back. “Are you insinuating that, because we’re women, we’re only capable of shopping and food preparation?”

  “Absolutely not,” Jake answered immediately.

  “I know my baby isn’t capable of food preparation,” James said. “She’s got many wonderful qualities, though. That doesn’t mean she needs to go with us for an interrogation.”

  “You don’t need to talk about me as if I’m not here,” Mandy chided. “As for the rest, well, I want to go with you.”

  James licked his lips as he regarded her. “Why?”

  If Mandy was surprised by the question, she didn’t show it. In fact, she seemed prepared for the query. “Because I want to watch him when you ask about Darcy. I want to see his face. I want to get a feel for him myself – and I want to do it when I’m not pretending to be some giggling airhead.”

  James’ expression softened as he regarded her. “No one would ever mistake you for an airhead.”

  “Kaspar might,” Ally argued. “We both pretended to be idiots last night. That’s why we dropped stuff so much. Did you really think we were bending over that often for our health?”

  Jake scowled. “Ally, why do you have to go? Why can’t you let us handle it and stay here … where it’s safe?”

  “Because we feel responsible for Darcy and want to see this through until the end,” Ally answered, not missing a beat. “You can think of it as my wedding gift. You don’t have to get me another thing if you let me go with you.”

  Jake pinched the bridge of his nose as he stared at the ceiling, shaking his head. “Yeah, like I’m really going to take back the wedding present I bought you. That sounds just like me, doesn’t?”

  Ally smiled. She’d already won. “Thank you.”

  “Oh, you’re so pathetic,” James groused. “You gave in without a fight.”

  Jake shot him a challenging look. “Oh, yeah? Tell your wife no. We’ll talk after you explain why she’s not going.”

  James squared his shoulders as he swiveled back to Mandy, his bravado immediately slipping when he locked gazes with her. “Fine,” he said, exhaling heavily before she even opened her mouth to utter a word. “You and Ally have to do everything we say, though.”

  Mandy’s smile was pretty as it tipped up the corners of her mouth. “Absolutely.”

  “Oh, such big, strong men,” Grady teased. “Way to show me how it’s done.”

  James made a disgusted face as he cuffed his brother. “You’re my least favorite person right now.”

  “I can live with that,” Grady said, ruefully rubbing the back of his head. “As for the rest … good luck. I almost wish I was going with you because this is bound to be funny.”

  James didn’t feel the same way. “If we get arrested, you’re going to have to post bond.”

  “I’ll make sure I know where my ATM card is.”

  “THIS WAS a terrible idea,” James muttered, climbing the front steps of Kaspar’s home and glancing over his shoulder to where Mandy and Ally stood. They’d promised to be quiet and not make a scene. He loved them both dearly, but he wasn’t sure they were capable of keeping their promises.

  Jake didn’t seem nearly as annoyed by the turn of events as James. “I’m glad they’re with us. At least this way we know what they’re doing. If they get in trouble, we’ll be close so we can stop it.”

  “If?” James arched a challenging eyebrow. “We both know they’re going to cause trouble.”

  “You know we can hear you, right?” Mandy pursed her lips as she narrowed her eyes. “Knock on the door. We have a lot of shopping to do this afternoon.”

  “Fine,” James muttered, rapping his knuckles against the metal door three times in quick succession. “Don’t forget your promise, though.”

  “The one where I promised to love you for better or worse?” Mandy challenged. “This is feeling like one of the ‘worse’ times.”

  James made a face. “I’m going to spank your bottom blue later. Just be aware of that.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Lee Kaspar, or rather Doug Fisher, had a blank look on his face when he answered the door. It took him a moment to place James and Jake, and when he did, he didn’t look happy. When his eyes swept back to Mandy and Ally, his dour expression momentarily brightened. Then confusion took over. “Can I help you?”

  “I certainly hope so,” James said. “We’re here to talk to you, Mr. Fisher, about why you’re working at a high school despite your sex offender status.”

  Kaspar’s confused expression shifted to outright panic as he tried to shut the door. James shoved his foot in the opening and ignored the pain as the door slammed into it. He kept his face impassive as he stared down Kaspar.

  “You can either talk to us or the police,” James warned. “Which do you prefer?”

  Kaspar tried to slam the door one more time, even going so far as to nudge James’ foot with his toe. When that didn’t work, though, he heaved out a dramatic sigh and opened the door. “I guess I don’t have a lot of choice in the matter, do I?”

  “Not even remotely,” James replied.

  Kaspar trudged through the house, letting the foursome follow at their own pace. James kept his eyes on Kaspar to make sure he didn’t make a break for it – or try to grab a weapon – while Mandy and Ally walked behind him. Jake brought up the rear, remaining focused on the girls as James took control of the situation.

  “What do you want?” Kaspar asked once everyone was settled in the living room. “How did you even find out about that?”

  “At least you’re not denying it,” James said. “I thought for sure we would spend fifteen minutes with you claiming it was a case of mistaken identity.”

  “What’s the point?” Kaspar challenged. “You clearly know the truth. Denying it isn’t going to do any of us any good.”

  “That’s great,” James said. “That allows us to ask our questions and get out of your hair relatively quickly. How does that sound?”

  “Like pure torture,” Kaspar replied, refusing to mince words. His eyes traveled to Mandy and Ally, who sat on the couch together, and his expression darkened. “I’m betting you two were the bait to get my fingerprints, huh? Is that why my glass went missing? The bartender asked me about it
after you disappeared while I was in the bathroom and I couldn’t figure out what happened. I guess now I know. How much did these guys pay you?”

  “They only pay us in kisses,” Ally replied sweetly, winking at Jake and causing his cheeks to flood with color.

  “This is my wife and sister,” James said. “We asked them to help us secure your fingerprints. They were happy to do it.”

  “With their boobs hanging out and everything,” Kaspar said, blasé.

  James narrowed his eyes. “I would watch yourself.”

  “Fine,” Kaspar said, rolling his eyes. “What do you people want? If you’re not here to turn me in, then you must want money. You should know that I rent this house and I work on a teacher’s salary. I have no money for you.”

  “We’re not interested in money,” James said. “We’re interested in justice.”

  “I … don’t know what that means,” Kaspar hedged. “I did my time.”

  “And then you ran out on your parole,” James added. “That’s really neither here nor there, though. We’re here to talk about Darcy Sweetin.”

  Mandy watched Kaspar closely for his reaction and she wasn’t surprised to see the color drain from his face as his jaw tightened. It wasn’t an overt reaction, but it was definitely suspicious.

  “She’s one of my former students,” Kaspar said. “What about her?”

  “We know she was gang-raped at your home after being administered a drug,” James said, adopting a firm tone. “We know that the boys who raped her are now dead. What we don’t know is how you play into this.”

  Kaspar was on his feet quickly. “You can’t possibly think I had anything to do with what happened at that mall. That is just … ridiculous.”

  “I notice you’re more worried about being tied to the mall shooting than the rape,” James mused. “Why is that?”

  “I have no ties to any rape,” Kaspar spat. “I wasn’t even here the night that supposedly happened … and I say supposedly because a lot of people think that girl is lying.”

  “Not the important people,” James said. “The important people believe her. The police believe her. I believe her.”