For His Daughter

by Dani Sinclair

  “The last thing I want are details about your love life,” she continued, “but if we don’t put our heads together here...” She waited while her brother weighed her words.

  “Fay was never part of my love life.” Alex sighed in resignation. “All right. About a week ago, she showed up in a bar where I was waiting to meet someone. She tried to pick me up. She didn’t like being turned down. Ten minutes after she left, I started feeling funny.”

  Lee lowered his fork with a clink. Kayla’s own heart began to pound with a mixture of fear and excitement.

  “I staggered to the men’s room to try to vomit and that was the last thing I remember. When I woke up, it was morning and I was in a room at the Bide Awhile. Alone,” he added with a look at his sister. “My wallet hadn’t been touched and I was fully clothed. The only thing missing was my ring.”

  Beside her, Lee released a pent-up breath. “I wonder where she learned that trick.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Lee doesn’t remember anything the night of the murder,” Kayla told him quickly. “He thinks he was drugged that night.”

  Lee gave her a disgruntled scowl.

  “I thought he spent the night with you,” Alex growled.

  Lee shook his head. “Your sister wanted to give me an alibi for my daughter’s sake. I told her it wasn’t necessary. Did you see the argument I had with Fay that night?”

  “No. But I heard about it.”

  “I’ll bet. The last thing I remember is looking down at Kayla and thinking I had to get out of there. I woke up on the floor of my motel room,” he lied. “Fully dressed. And the only thing I was missing was my gun.”

  Alex studied him. “Is this straight?”

  “Yes:”

  “Then your gun was the murder weapon,” Alex said quietly.

  “It’s a good bet, and the primary reason I’ve been ducking Hepplewhite. Fay didn’t shoot herself. And she didn’t carry either one of us inside a motel room by her lonesome.”

  “No. She didn’t,” Alex agreed. “And her room was dressed for a lovers’ tryst.”

  “Trowbridge,” Lee said.

  Alex made a face.

  “I’m not crazy about the idea, either,” Lee responded.

  Kayla leaned forward. “Who then?”

  Alex frowned. “Thad Osher?”

  Kayla knew her mouth fell open. She closed it quickly, but she felt as stunned as Lee looked.

  “The cop that was hassling you?” he asked.

  “Osher and I have had several run-ins around town. He’d like me to pull up stakes and go away. I feel the same about him, but I’ve been trying to coexist. The day before she died, I saw Fay and Osher together. I don’t think that was mouth-to-mouth he was giving her in the parking lot behind the bank.”

  Lee began drumming his fingers on the tabletop. Kayla could feel her pulse leaping in her throat.

  “Osher knows I saw them. I think he wants to discredit me before I talk to Hepplewhite.”

  Kayla was outraged. “Then you have to go and see Chief Hepplewhite right away.”

  Alex sat back with a small smile. “I already did.”

  “But you just said—”

  “Hepplewhite is playing it cagey. He obviously didn’t tell Osher what I told him. Hepplewhite’s not a fool.”

  “That’s what I told Lee.”

  Lee interrupted. “Let’s not overlook Jason Ruckles.”

  Alex nodded. “That makes sense. He was letting her use the unit without charge. I imagine he was getting something out of the deal. That still leaves us with why Trowbridge is chasing you all over town shooting at you.”

  Lee rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. A trace of stubble was starting to show, Kayla noticed, which only made him look sexier, if that was possible.

  “Fay and Trowbridge may have been running a blackmail scheme,” Lee told him.

  “It would explain the pictures,” Kayla exclaimed. She’d known getting the two men together like this would be a good idea—providing she could keep them from going for each other’s throats.

  “If I’m right, Fay drugged the drinks and Trowbridge hauled her victims back to the motel. She’d pose with the poor sap while Trowbridge took incriminating pictures.”

  “I never saw any pictures,” Alex protested.

  “I think you would have eventually. She put your picture inside a locket I gave her,” Lee said. “I’ve no idea how she was planning to use that, but you can bet she planned to. She just hadn’t gotten around to blackmailing you yet.”

  Alex scowled “Or maybe you’re lying to cover your butt.”

  “No, Alex. There’s a picture on Barney’s wall that shows a man’s hand wearing your ring,” Kayla said. “Tanzanite isn’t that common a stone and the setting is strikingly unusual.”

  Alex cursed. “I had them custom-designed at a shop in D.C.,” he told her.

  Lee looked annoyed. No doubt he was upset that she hadn’t told him about the ring before.

  “Just the man’s hand showed?” Alex asked.

  “The pictures on the wall were cropped,” Lee said. “You can bet the negatives show a lot more.”

  “You’re telling me she took nude pictures of me—with her?”

  Lee nodded.

  Alex pushed his plate aside and Lee did the same. Kayla found she wasn’t hungry anymore, either.

  “It’s all conjecture at this point,” Lee said. “I need to get back inside that motel and look around.”

  “I hate to say I told you so,” Kayla said, “but...”

  “Your parents didn’t believe in corporeal punishment, huh?” Lee asked Alex. “Pity.”

  Alex nodded. “You may be right.”

  “If you’re finished,” Kayla said tartly, “Lee and I should go back over to the motel and hunt for evidence.”

  “No!” The men said it in unison, drawing the eyes of the diners around them.

  The waitress hurried over. “Is something wrong?”

  “I think you’d better give us the check,” Kayla told her, thoroughly annoyed with the men. “I need to get these two back to their cages.”

  The young woman tried an uncertain smile and dug for the slip of paper. Her relief was obvious as the men began pulling money from their wallets.

  “I’ll get it,” Lee said.

  “I will,” Alex told him.

  “Not a chance.”

  They glared across the table.

  “Don’t worry,” Kayla told the waitress. “They’re on testosterone overload or something. Ignore them. I mostly do.” Exasperated, but also relieved when Alex let Lee hand the woman several bills, Kayla led the way outside to the parking lot. Alex had parked his motorcycle a few spaces down from Iggy’s Super Sport.

  The sight of the bullet holes marring the back of the loaner car made her wince. “Iggy’s going to kill me,” Kayla said.

  “I’ll talk to him,” Alex promised.

  “Great. Then he’ll kill both of us. Look, we didn’t get anything resolved in there,” Kayla said.

  “Sure we did. I’m not going to take off Garvey’s head until we get you clear of this mess.”

  Lee returned his look with equanimity. They were not destined for instant friendship, she decided wryly. “What are we going to do now?” she asked.

  “I’ll check out Trowbridge,” Lee said. “You want Osher?” he asked her brother.

  “More than you know,” Alex said grimly. “I’ll also stop by Fay’s house and see what she keeps in her medicine cabinet.”

  “Good thinking. Trowbridge tried to break into her place yesterday,” Lee told him. “Unless we have more than one person running around here with a rifle, that is. But, by now Hepplewhite’s men may have already searched the house.”

  Alex snorted his contempt of that.

  “I’ll go look for the negatives to go with those pictures we saw,” Lee said.

  Kayla narrowed her eyes. If the men thought she was going meekly home to wait, they had another
think coming. Her neck was on the line now, too.

  Kayla reached for her brother before he could walk away. “Thanks, Alex. I knew you’d help.” She hugged him fiercely, glad he was her brother, even if he did annoy her.

  His arms tightened around her for a moment. “Try to stay out of trouble, will you, squirt?”

  “Squirt?”

  He kissed the top of her forehead and released her. “Anything happens to her, I’m holding you personally responsible, Garvey.”

  “If anything happens to her, you won’t be the only one,” Lee said so seriously that her heart tripped over a beat before resuming speed faster than before.

  Lee cared about her.

  Their eyes met. His expression softened. She resisted an urge to caress his face. This was hardly the place or time to realize she was head over heels in love with Lee Garvey.

  Alex sighed loudly, breaking the moment.

  Lee escorted her into the passenger seat and wondered how he was going to keep the reckless woman safe. Alex stopped him as he came back around the car.

  “Garvey? You armed?”

  “Not since someone stole the backup piece out of my car.”

  Alex cocked his head.

  “They stole the car, too.”

  “Too bad.”

  “My insurance company will agree. It was a souped-up Corvette.”

  Alex whistled. “Nice car.”

  “Yeah. If I get it back I’m going to have one of those tracking systems installed.”

  “Here.” Alex bent down and unstrapped an ankle holster, handing it to Lee.

  “Uh...”

  “Don’t worry. It’s registered.” Alex’s teeth flashed.

  “Yeah?” He pulled out the snub-nosed .38 and found it fully loaded. “Who to?”

  “Me. It’s clean,” he promised. “Just keep my sister out of trouble.”

  Lee took in his unshaved face, the disheveled black hair in need of a trim, and the rumpled clothing. Alex looked like the sort of street punk he was all too familiar with. So why did Lee keep thinking the two of them could have been friends if things had been different?

  “Keeping your sister out of trouble is going to take more than a gun. I don’t suppose you have a pair of restraints to go with this thing?”

  Alex smiled. “Sorry. You’re on your own. Just watch your back,” he cautioned.

  “She’s not that bad.”

  “I wasn’t talking about my sister.”

  Lee found himself smiling in return. “You, too. I’ll keep Kayla safe.”

  “See that you do.” He strode away with an irritating swagger.

  Lee opened the car door and slipped inside.

  “What was that all about?” Kayla demanded.

  “Just a little male bonding.”

  “There’s a truly scary thought. Oh. He gave you a gun. Good.”

  “Good?” Lee shoved it under the seat. “I thought you’d be appalled. You never fail to surprise me, you know that?”

  Kayla tugged the seat belt across her waist. “I do my best. Shall we go back to the motel?”

  “Not a chance. I’m going to drop you off somewhere safe.”

  “Want to bet? I’m in this all the way.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about.”

  THE MOTEL APPEARED DESERTED. Crime tape around the room that had been Fay’s fluttered in the breeze. The only car in sight was a beat-up truck Kayla told him belonged to Barney Trowbridge. “Wait here,” Lee instructed.

  “But—”

  “You promised to follow directions,” he reminded her. And it had taken the entire trip down from Frederick to elicit that promise from her.

  “Okay, but I don’t like it.”

  He leaned over and kissed her. “I promised your brother I’d keep you safe.”

  “You aren’t afraid of him.”

  “No, but I don’t tempt fate if I don’t have to. Now wait here.”

  He got out of the car and bent to retrieve the gun from under the seat. A bullet sailed through the window where he’d been standing. Kayla screamed. Lee yelled for her to get down as he hunkered behind the driver’s door, pulling the gun free.

  Kayla sprawled across the bucket seat. Two more shots thudded into the door panel. A third one went through the windshield over her head. Lee fired toward the juncture of the two buildings.

  “Is it Barney?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I can’t see anyone. Push over, but stay down.”

  Lee slid inside. He started the car and backed full speed down the parking lot until he was even with the last unit. No shots followed. He put the car in park. “Go back to town and get help.”

  “I’m not leaving you here.”

  Lee opened the door and stepped out cautiously. “Do it, Kayla.”

  He ran for the back of the building, praying she’d obey. The motel remained eerily silent. The only noise came from the traffic on the main road nearby.

  The shots had come from the corner of the ell, but Lee had no idea where the gunman was. He gripped the weapon Alex had given him, sending Kayla’s brother a mental thanks.

  The scent of gasoline filled his nostrils. Searching for the source, he looked down and saw splatters of moisture up against the brick wall.

  “Son of a—”

  Trowbridge planned to burn the place down!

  Where was the man? Lee inched forward, wishing for his bulletproof vest. Anyone could lurk on one of the patios, waiting for him to come in range.

  He was even with the pool when he smelled smoke over the stench of the gasoline. The crazy bastard had done it. He’d set the place on fire. Lee increased his pace cautiously. All those photography chemicals would help things along nicely if the flames reached them. Kayla had been right. They should have finished checking the place when they’d had the chance.

  Flames suddenly licked a path around the perimeter of the motel where the gasoline track had been laid down. Lee ran toward the family quarters at the corner. A whoosh of sound and heat pushed him back. He wouldn’t get inside there now.

  A volley of shots came from up front.

  Kayla!

  Taking a deep breath of clean air, Lee plunged between the buildings toward the front office, sheltering his face from the flames with his arm. Blinded by stinging smoke, he didn’t see the tall figure lurking there until it was too late. Something smashed against the side of his head. Lee sprawled to the pavement. The gun bounced from his hand.

  Dazed, he rolled to the side. Another blow narrowly missed him. He heard the sound of a car engine as he scrambled away, his hand seeking the gun. Iggy’s Super Sport suddenly leaped the curb. It bounced off the corner of the front office as it came to a stop between Lee and his attacker.

  “Get in!”

  Lee found his gun as the side window of the car shattered beneath a rifle blast. Before he could return the fire, something inside the building exploded. Lee ran for the car. He tugged the door open and dived inside. Kayla threw it in reverse, backing off the sidewalk, sideswiping Barney’s truck.

  The man ran after them, bringing the rifle in line for another shot. Lee sighted and fired through the windshield. The already starred glass collapsed in a million tiny particles. His ears reverberated with the sound of the shot, but he could still hear the distant sound of sirens. Kayla practically snapped his neck backing the Super Sport erratically down the parking lot. She didn’t stop until she reached the same place where he’d left her what felt like eons ago.

  “Are you okay?” he demanded. Barney Trowbridge lay facedown on the sidewalk. He wasn’t moving.

  Shaken and deathly pale, Kayla nodded. “I am until Iggy sees his car. You’re bleeding!”

  Gingerly he probed the cut at his hairline. “I’m okay. Wait here.”

  “You aren’t going back there! What if he isn’t dead?”

  “He’d better not be dead. I want him to answer questions. Stay here out of range.”

  “Lee!”

  Lee r
an back down the parking lot. The sound of the sirens was louder now. Looked like he’d be having that talk with the local authorities sooner than he’d hoped.

  Barney was struggling to crawl away from the heat of the fire. The roof was fully engaged. Any minute now it would collapse. Lee saw the rifle had skittered under the truck out of reach, but nothing said Barney didn’t have a backup weapon.

  “Hold it, Trowbridge!” Training and experience took over as Lee approached. Trowbridge cursed, trying to rise, but fell back when his arm refused to support his weight. Lee’s bullet had struck his shoulder. Blood seeped from the wound.

  A Fools Point police car screamed into the parking lot.

  Blood trickled down Lee’s face. He ignored it, moving forward cautiously. Barney was no longer a threat. The building was.

  Lee grabbed the heavy man under the armpits and began to drag him away from the cloud of thick smoke. Part of the roof collapsed in a noisy hail of sparks as two Montgomery County police cars pulled onto the scene.

  “Police! Drop your weapon!”

  THE LIDOCAINE WAS WEARING OFF faster than he’d like. Lee could feel all three sutures the doctor had put in his scalp. He perched on the end of the gurney and rubbed wearily at his eyes, thankful they hadn’t cuffed him to anything.

  Hepplewhite had turned out to be much younger than his silver hair implied. Younger, and mad enough to spit fire. Despite that, he hadn’t formally arrested Lee. Not yet, anyhow. He’d asked a lot of questions, listened, then disappeared. Two Montgomery County officers now stood guard outside the all but empty, windowless treatment room, effectively rendering it a prison.

  Lee looked up as Kayla scooted inside.

  “How’d you get past the guard?” Lee asked her.

  “Chief Hepplewhite said it was okay. How’s your head?”

  “Harder than it feels, I hope. You sure you’re okay?” She looked wonderful. Disheveled, tired, but unhurt, and that was better than wonderful.

  “I wasn’t even cut by the glass, Lee. They took Barney up to surgery. He was fighting mad. It took three of them to hold him down.”

  Lee knew. He’d heard the commotion.

  “I don’t think he killed Fay.”

  “Neither do I,” Lee agreed.

  “But if he didn’t murder her—”