by Sarah Barrie
‘Next time show some respect,’ he warned. Gary landed beside the heaving Beau.
Matt dusted off his hands. ‘That was just a bit too much like fun.’
‘Too easy.’ Sparing the drunken pair one last look, Reid followed Matt back inside.
Another pair of eyes watched the scene and seethed quietly. Deciding enough was enough, the figure disappeared unnoticed from the rear of the building.
‘What was that about?’ Madi demanded as they re-joined the table. Both men looked at each other and Reid spoke. ‘Just a quick lesson in manners.’
Jordan looked from one to the other — mostly the other, who happened to be Reid. Reid Tallon had taken down Sleazy with one almighty smack in the gut then he’d dragged the hulk of a man out the door like he was a paperweight. If that wasn’t a turn-on, she wasn’t female. Noting her incredulous stare, Reid sent her a lopsided grin.
She just had to ask. ‘World’s next superhero?’
‘Someone’s hero,’ Matt replied slyly, earning an inquisitive look from Madi.
‘What a show!’ Lillian cheered. ‘It’s about time someone stood up to those guys. You’re so strong and brave, you two.’
‘Go have your orgasm somewhere else, Lil,’ Madi teased. ‘It’s embarrassing.’
Jordan got to her feet. ‘I think I will head off. Goodnight all.’
Reid’s gaze moved to the doors he’d just thrown Beau out of and moved to her side. ‘I’m heading off too; I’ll see you out past the goons.’
Something inside Jordan warmed. ‘Reid, I can handle Beau and Gary.’
‘I don’t doubt it,’ he replied, but began following her towards the exit.
‘I don’t need a bodyguard.’
‘We’re going in the same direction, stop being such a princess.’
‘Just call me princess again. Next time I have my rifle, I’ll pull the trigger.’
‘You know, there are consequences for threatening your probation officer.’
‘Stop it, please, I’m scared enough.’
Madi looked at Lil as Jordan and Reid headed for the door. ‘Do you think either of them has figured it out yet?’
Lillian grinned at Jordan and Reid’s retreating backs. ‘I don’t think Jordy has a clue. But she’s a goner.’
Outside, Jordan took a good look at Beau and Gary and pulled a face at the pair of figures now slumped against the wall of the club. Beau was snoring, while Gary’s head was back against Beau’s shoulder, his mouth open, breathing heavily.
‘I don’t think you need have worried. If they wake up before Tuesday I’d be shocked.’
Reid studied the pair and had to agree. ‘Drunken idiots. Where’s your car?’
‘Next row.’ They started across the car park and Jordan struggled for something to say. ‘Eventful night.’
‘I don’t think I stole too much of your spotlight. You know, that guy you slammed makes a complaint and you’ve got an assault charge to deal with.’
‘Ditto.’
‘Yeah but I’m not on probation.’
She looked up at Reid slightly self-consciously. ‘I’m not as bad as you make out.’
He laughed deep in his throat. ‘Yes you are.’
They reached Jordan’s car and she turned, leaning back against it. ‘Well, thanks for the escort.’
‘My pleasure.’ The way he was looking at her had her pulse jumping. ‘Jordan, how about a truce?’
‘A truce?’
He grinned boyishly at her look of disbelief. ‘We could try it.’
She blew out a long breath and smiled. ‘I think that would be a good idea. Probably destined for failure…but why not?’
‘Let’s struggle for a bit of optimism. You never know.’
Slowly, his hand reached down and covered hers. She couldn’t prevent the jolt that shot through her, or the quiet catch of her breath as he slid the keys from her lax fingers. He could see right through her, she thought when his eyes heated on hers; he knew how he made her feel. For a moment she thought he was going to move in, but he let her go and unlocked her door, holding it open for her to slip into her seat.
‘Goodnight, princess.’
She swallowed hard, slid into her seat. ‘Goodnight.’
Reid closed her door and waited while she started the car and pulled out onto the road. He knew the rules, knew how he should conduct himself during an investigation. ‘To hell with it,’ he muttered. If he didn’t get his hands on her soon, he’d explode.
Gary Sullivan woke up to the freezing chill of morning and the sun blaring painfully in his eyes. The hangover was vicious, as was the throbbing of his jaw. He poked at it gently as he realised he was alone, and he wondered where Beau had passed out this time. Moving his head slowly around, he noticed Beau’s foot poking up from the wide concrete drain behind the club car park.
‘Hey Beau, we’ve done it again. How’d you end up over there?’
He staggered to his feet, clutching his head and moving slowly. Awkwardly, he kicked out a foot and prodded Beau’s boot hard.
‘Beau?’ Tentatively leaning forward, he rubbed a hand over his face to clear his vision and soothe his pounding head. ‘Beau, I said —’
On a scream he ran, fumbling, towards the road.
CHAPTER
10
‘Dead?’
‘Someone sliced a big hole in his neck,’ Harry informed Reid. ‘Gary Sullivan found him in a drain. Gary’s fine. Says you had a fight with him last night.’
Reid rubbed a hand along the back of his neck and nodded. ‘Yeah, he was mouthing off. I got Davison a beauty in the gut and kicked him out of the club. Matt dragged Gary out alongside him. I think he’d already passed out.’
‘Nice of you…stepping in for Jordy like that.’
‘I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. Still, he didn’t deserve to die over it.’
‘Alright,’ Harry sighed heavily. ‘Let’s go through this step by step. And we’d better call in Matt.’
Reid wasn’t really concerned he’d get tagged as a murderer, but it was left hanging over his head all day while the coroner was called in to investigate. He’d had to report in to Tony, and by the time that particular phone call was over he thought maybe he really could have killed someone.
He spent a good couple of hours locked in his office, doing work he had no doubt would need to be redone, because he knew damn well you just couldn’t use the sort of words he was using in an official document and get away with it.
This is what happened when you got personally involved in a case, he reminded himself. This is why he shouldn’t have allowed himself to get caught up in Jordan Windcroft. He had no business fighting pointless battles for her — it wasn’t like him. Now he had to deal with the fallout from an unrelated murder, and if he couldn’t prove he didn’t have anything to do with it, he might have to blow his cover, possibly blow his case.
Realising he was getting nothing worthwhile accomplished, he rammed open his door and strode out to the front desk intent on walking off his mood, and stopped in his tracks. Jordan was sitting behind the desk tapping away on the computer, chatting quietly with the woman he recognised as Cathy Sawyer from the motel a couple of doors down.
‘I’ll leave a note on here and email it to him,’ she told the woman, and they exchanged goodbyes.
He waited until the woman was out the door then asked, ‘I don’t suppose you’d mind telling me what you’re doing?’
Jordan glanced up from the computer as Reid entered. She’d assumed he might be snappy today. ‘Just a sec…’ Quickly finishing her typing, she smiled. ‘Okay, hi. Sorry, what?’
Reid shook his head and ran a hand over his face. ‘I don’t suppose you’re hacking the police computer?’
Snappy and a smartarse.
‘No…’ She frowned and decided perversely on the make-your-head-spin version of events. ‘Martha asked Carol to drop in on Harry and give him his lunch — she packed it for him because, even though it’s
Saturday, with this Beau thing he’s working a full day — and he left without it, except Carol got held up at the mechanics because her car’s leaking oil and it was supposed to be fixed yesterday but still hadn’t been done when Joel dropped her off there this morning so she had to wait for it. I had to come into town anyway so it was no problem for me to give Harry his lunch, but when I got here earlier he was in the middle of somehow stuffing up downloading some simple virus protection software that was long overdue, so I said I’d drop back after doing a few errands and fix it up for him. Then Cath came in and wanted me to leave a message for him so I’ve stuck it in his emails because I’m about to head off and I think he’s still with the forensics people, and if I write a note he’ll undoubtedly just dump something on it and won’t find it. And now…’ she clicked off the computer, ‘I’m off with Mack to get his follow-up shots.’
‘Of course. Why didn’t all that occur to me?’ Reid rubbed a bewildered hand along the back of his neck. ‘Who’s Mack and why does he need shots?’
‘Mack’s my new furry friend.’
‘Oh. How is the piranha?’
‘No need for name calling, Snappy. Come see for yourself.’
‘Fine. As long as I didn’t just become the seventh dwarf.’
She walked out ahead of him, locked the door, and hung up the emergency contact number on the door. Mack was laying happily in the police yard attacking an enormous bone. ‘What the hell did you do to him? He looks like a skinned rabbit!’
Jordan grinned. ‘Actually, Mike suggested he was more like a rat on steroids. Either way, there was no brushing that coat. It had to come off.’
‘Merv’s kid?’
‘Yeah.’
‘You certainly like your strays.’
‘He’s a good kid.’
‘I doubt Daisy would agree with you.’ Mack sniffed cautiously at Reid and Reid eyed him warily. ‘He’s not going to attack anyone is he?’
‘Who, Mike?’ she asked, amused.
‘The dog.’
Jordan shook her head. ‘He was friendly enough when Cathy came round to see him.’ She clipped on his lead and opened the gate, starting down the street. ‘Where were you heading?’
‘What?’
‘You were going somewhere…before I was put through the interrogation.’
‘Interrogation? I simply asked what you were up to, which is, I would think, a reasonable enough question when I walk out and find one of my probationers tapping away at the police computer.’
Take that, Jordan.
‘One of your probationers. Of course.’
‘And how do you know what Harry’s up to, anyway?’ he continued, oblivious.
‘It was scheduled, he wasn’t back…it’s not rocket science.’
‘Scheduled?’
‘In his diary.’
‘You were in his diary?’
She shrugged. ‘That’s where he had the passwords I needed to get into his computer and where the code is written to verify his software.’
‘Even for Harry, that’s remarkably stupid.’
She stopped walking, expelled a long breath and attempted not to be offended. ‘So much for a truce. Did something crawl up your arse today?’
‘Did something what?’
‘You’ve gone all GI Joe on me.’
Impatience was written all over him. ‘Wasn’t that Inspector Gadget?’
‘Inspector Gadget liked dogs.’
Reid thought about it and the scowl lifted marginally. ‘Right.’
‘I’m assuming you’re pissed off because you’ve been given a hard time over Beau.’
‘It was awkward, but I think I’ll survive. How much do you know about it?’
‘It’s almost lunchtime,’ she replied as though that explained everything.
‘And…?’
‘And that’s given the gossip mill a good four hours to spread the word. Everyone knows he was found with his throat cut in the drain ditch outside the club. Besides, Matt told me Harry called him in. It’s not a stretch to figure out that since you walloped him last night there’d be some speculation.’
‘Of course.’
‘So, does Harry think you did it?’
‘Hardly.’
She stopped again, finally giving in to the question that had been burning in her mind. ‘Why did you hit him?’
‘Surely the gossip mill’s had plenty of time to fill you in on that one, too?’
‘Yes, I know what Beau said…but why did you hit him?’
Reid shrugged, brushing the question off carelessly.
‘Because he shouldn’t have said it.’
Jordan told herself she was a fool for feeling hurt. What answer had she been hoping for, anyway? He could barely bring himself to be friendly this morning as it was. Her gaze dropped to the ground as as she nodded slowly. ‘Well…thanks. I hope it hasn’t caused you too much trouble.’
‘You’re constant trouble, Windcroft.’
She smiled slightly and resumed walking.
‘Hold on.’ He caught up and turned her to face him. ‘You okay? You look tired.’
‘Well, thank you.’ She pulled away angrily.
He swore under his breath and jogged a couple of steps to catch up again. ‘Would you just wait?’ he asked, turning her with a hand on her arm. ‘I wasn’t insulting you.’
‘Guess I’m just temperamental.’
He laughed out a breath and touched her face gently, immobilising her. ‘You’re beautiful. Being tired doesn’t change that.’
She stepped back, because the temptation to step in was too strong and the comment had her turning internal cartwheels. ‘Thanks. Sorry. Whatever.’ She waved a hand at the building in front of them. ‘I’m fine, and we’re at Katrina’s. Unless you’re coming in for a social call, we’ll see you later.’
‘There’s been no social calls on Katrina, Jordan.’
‘Oh…well.’ She struggled to find something to say to diffuse the moment. Because when he looked at her like that, when he touched her, she wanted things she couldn’t have.
‘So, Tuesday’s your last probation appointment.’
She rolled her eyes at that, tried for a light reply. ‘Whatever will I do without someone looking over my shoulder every five minutes?’
‘God only knows, because I know what you get up to with someone looking over your shoulder.’
She found herself smiling again, before a thoughtful frown marred her brow. ‘Ah, about that meeting…’
‘Problem?’
‘No.’ She ran her fingers through her hair to pull the loose strands off her face. ‘But I was hoping to make it Thursday or Friday. I’m getting all my off-farm jobs done early in the week so I have more cattle prep time closer to the sale and I’m flat out —’
He held up a hand to silence her. ‘That’s okay. I’ll come to you. Friday, same time.’
‘Good…thanks.’ She swallowed her unreasonable nerves and attempted a smile.
He mirrored it. ‘Are you sure you’re okay? You’re edgy.’
She shrugged, kicked at the ground. ‘It’s…like you said. I’m tired I guess.’
Neither one of them believed it.
‘Jordan…I was pissed off. So sorry. You snapped me out of it. So thanks.’
He was rewarded with a heart-stopping smile. ‘You’re welcome.’ She chewed her bottom lip, turned to Katrina’s and back again. ‘I’ll…see you Friday.’
Harry was waiting for Reid when he returned. ‘Looks like someone offed Beau pretty much straight after you left the club. I’ve got David saying he followed your car back as far as your turnoff, so that doesn’t give you a lot of opportunity. Drain’s dark at night. No one noticed. No suspects.’
‘Gary?’
‘Doubt it. Says he was passed out ’til morning and frankly I believe it. No motive either. They were thick as thieves.’
‘No security tapes…nothing?’
‘Security tapes?’ Harry seemed to think that
was funny. ‘My guess would be he pissed someone off one too many times. There were no other marks on him. Maybe he was still passed out when the perp got to him.’
Reid thought back to the state of the two men when he’d walked Jordan out. ‘I’d say that’s a good possibility. Any traces of foul play by the front doors?’
‘None.’
‘It could also have been someone he knew, someone he didn’t suspect that led him away and got him by surprise.’
‘Could be. Only people he tended to hang around with were workmates from Carter’s place. You got there earlier than I did. Did you notice him get into anything with anyone else?’
‘No. He just mouthed off about Jordan and I threw him out.’
‘I’m going to head over to Carter’s, ask some questions.’
‘Yeah, let me know what turns up.’
He’d enjoy heading out with Harry, putting some pressure on Carter’s goons for some answers, but there was more at stake, more reason to keep his cover. His phone rang, breaking his line of thought.
‘Heard about the developments last night,’ Brett told him.
‘I think you’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not have.’
‘I’m none of those things. And I have some information for you. Did you know that woman Jordan hangs out with — Madi Tanner — was engaged to Hal’s son?’
‘Sean Carter?’ Reid asked in disbelief. ‘You sure?’
‘According to Brian.’
‘Hang on, hang on…’ Reid rubbed his temples, tried to think. ‘So…Madi and Sean were engaged…Sean had an AVO out on Joel Tanner, his future father-in-law…Jordan had the so-called accident and killed Sean…Jordan and Madi are best friends…’
‘Quite the tangled little web, isn’t it?’
‘It doesn’t make sense. And how the hell did I miss this?’
‘It gets more interesting. They’d only been engaged a few weeks before the accident, but it was already over. Sean got hooked on ice, took to beating up his young fiancée. Apparently, Madi was in the process of leaving him when the accident happened.’