Intuition

by Carol Ericson

  “That’s because you’re working with the cops, not against them, like we apparently are here.”

  “So you’ve worked with the LAPD?”

  “Huh?” Matt dropped the paper in his hand and jerked his head up.

  “Chief Evans mentioned something about how you might be accustomed to the way big-city police departments do things, so I thought you might’ve worked with the LAPD before.”

  He ducked his head and thumbed through a few more pages. “The LAPD doesn’t work with P.I.’s, but the detectives will cooperate, especially on a cold case where the victims’ families have hired outside help.”

  “I’ve worked with a lot of departments across the country, but never the LAPD.” She craned her neck to peer at the first page of the report, which Matt held in one hand. “Can we move to the love seat, so we can sit next to each other? At this distance, I’m going to get a crick in my neck.”

  “Good idea.” He gathered the papers and moved to the love seat.

  Kylie settled on the cushion next to him. “Okay, let’s start from the beginning and see what we can glean from this mess.”

  As she leaned over, the seat cushion dipped and her leg brushed Matt’s muscled calf. If she jerked away, it would only prove his nearness affected her. She scooted closer until they were hip to hip.

  Bending his knees, he braced his feet on a small table and propped up the report on his legs. “First page, standard missing persons stuff.”

  Matt read aloud while Kylie followed his finger trailing beneath each line. He started saying beep every time he ran into a blacked-out word, mostly names.

  She pushed against his solid shoulder. “Okay, will you stop doing that? It’s really annoying.”

  “You’re right.” He took a swig of water and resettled the pages on his thighs. “Where were we?”

  “The place where Bree tells beep and beep that she’s going to make a stop before meeting them for the last day of the concert.”

  Matt cleared his throat. “The victim met up with…blank and blank at the concert and stated that she’d visited blank on Cressy Road. Aha! They forgot to blot out that one.”

  Kylie choked on the water going down her throat. “What? Let me see that.”

  She grabbed the report from Matt’s lap and stabbed her finger at the paragraph he’d just read. “Cressy Road.”

  “That’s right. At least it’s something.”

  Kylie’s heart hammered so hard, she placed a hand over her chest as if to keep it in place. “Matt, I lived on Cressy Road.”

  “Did you? Kind of out of the way, isn’t it?”

  She dropped the report back in his lap and pinned her trembling hands between her knees.

  “What’s wrong, Kylie?”

  “Don’t you get it? Bree Harris went to see my mother before she died…before they both died.”

  Chapter Six

  Matt’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “How did you get all that from one reference to Cressy Road?”

  She bounded up from the love seat and paced toward the window. “Have you ever been to Cressy Road?”

  “Sure.” He waved his arm. “It’s out by the edge of town, kind of rural.”

  “Kind of rural?” She dragged her hands through her hair, a million thoughts tumbling through her brain. “My mom’s house was on a dirt road. Three years ago, she was about the only one left there. It had to be her.”

  “And what would Bree be doing visiting your mom?”

  She widened her eyes and tugged at her roots. “What do you think? She went to her for a reading.”

  Matt’s jaw dropped. “Does that mean your mom could’ve envisioned Bree’s murder?”

  “No. I don’t know.” She took another turn around the room. “If Bree had death hanging over her head, my mom would’ve been able to sense it. But maybe Bree took a different path that day, leading her to her killer, a path she hadn’t planned when she saw my mother. Then Mom wouldn’t have known.”

  “Sounds confusing.” Matt scratched his chin.

  Kylie perched on the arm of the love seat. “Don’t you see, Matt? Bree’s disappearance and my mom’s suicide are linked.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He jumped up from the love seat. “Just because Bree went to your mom for a reading that day doesn’t mean their two tragedies are linked.”

  “It’s too much of a coincidence. My mom was one of the last people to see Bree alive, and then she killed herself four months later?”

  “Do you think your mother was murdered? Is that what you were trying to find out last night?”

  “Maybe she knew something about Bree. Maybe someone wanted to shut her up.” A chill rushed through Kylie’s body and she gripped her arms. “Just like that message on my mirror—you’re next.”

  Matt took two steps toward her and pulled her into his arms. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but don’t get ahead of yourself.”

  She murmured against his chest, not wanting to leave the comfort of his embrace. “We need to find out who those other witnesses were. Maybe Bree told them what my mother said.”

  Matt tapped his temple. “I’m working on it. I already have an idea of how I’m going to get my hands on that report.”

  Matt’s cell phone, jammed into the front pocket of his shorts, buzzed against Kylie’s leg and she realized she was still pressed against him.

  She wriggled out of his one-armed grasp and stumbled backward.

  He offered a steadying hand. “Careful.”

  Then he dug his phone from his pocket. “Hello? Yeah.”

  Swiveling the phone away from his mouth, he said, “Front desk.”

  As Matt finished his conversation, Kylie gathered their water bottles and dropped them into the trash. “Is your room ready?”

  “Yeah. Are you going to be okay while I move my stuff over?”

  “I’ll be fine.” She fluttered her fingers at the door. “Go do what you need to do. I have to make some phone calls.”

  “I’ll leave the report with you, and I’ll work on getting the uncensored version.” He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “Don’t worry. If your mom is involved in this, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  She nodded and then stared at the door as he closed it behind him. The uneasy realization that she believed him crept across her brain. In less than twenty-four hours, she had come to believe that Matt Conner could do anything.

  * * *

  MATT WHEELED HIS SUITCASE into his new room…right next to Kylie’s.

  Had Kylie’s mother really spoken to Bree the day the young woman disappeared? Was she connected to this case? That would be too weird, but in Kylie’s world, weird was the norm.

  Once they got the full police report, they’d have a better idea of what went down. And he had every intention of getting his hands on that police report.

  As soon as he’d seen Annie Summerholdt at the police station the day before yesterday and found out she worked in the records department, he knew he’d be using her services. Not that he’d use their brief flirtation in high school to his advantage, but Annie owed him.

  She’d had a big lug of a boyfriend on the football team, and the jerk had somehow gotten the idea it was okay to push his girlfriend around. Until Matt had seen him one day shove Annie into a wall.

  He took the guy down and Annie had the good sense to break up with him after that. Yeah, she owed him.

  Matt took out his cell phone and fell across his newly made up bed. Annie had punched in her number herself.

  “Coral Cove P.D., records.”

  “Hey, Annie, it’s Matt Conner.”

  “Hi, Matt. Didn’t think I’d be hearing from you so soon, or at all.”

  “I have a favor to ask of you.”

  “Hold on.” Some rustling and clicking came over the line before Annie came back on. “You want the Harris files.”

  “Wow, you’re quick.”

  “I heard them talking today about how they pulled one over on you
by giving you a heavily redacted file. It’s not even the full file.”

  “Yeah, that Chief Evans is a piece of work. What’s he afraid of?”

  “I don’t know. He takes a lot of his marching orders from Mayor Davis. He’s very concerned with the town’s image, especially before he leaves for his new job. Can’t blame him for that.”

  “If they’re so concerned with the town’s image, you’d think they’d want an old case solved. So can you help me out?”

  “I’d really like to, Matt, but I could lose my job if they discovered that file missing.”

  “I don’t want you to lose your job.”

  “If there was some other way to get you that file without taking it from the station or making copies of it and slipping it out, I’d do it. You literally saved my life in high school.”

  “I have a way, Annie, if you’re up to it.”

  “What?”

  “I have a small camera that’s good for document photography. You can take a picture of every page in the report. No copy machine trail, no fax trail, no walking out with papers. What do you say?”

  She blew out a breath. “I can do that.”

  Matt rolled onto his back, his feet dangling from the foot of the bed. “You’re a lifesaver.”

  “How are you going to get the camera to me?”

  “Let’s make it an unexpected meeting, just in case.”

  “I’ll be at Burgers and Brews tonight. Can you make it over there around…seven o’clock?”

  “I’ll catch up with you there.”

  Matt ended the call and tossed his cell phone up in the air. This P.I. stuff was easier than he thought it would be.

  A sharp rap at his door was followed by a voice. “Room service.”

  Matt had ordered lunch before he moved his stuff over, and had gotten two of everything in case Kylie wanted to join him. He bounded off the bed and pulled open the door to his room.

  The waiter, a twentysomething with longish hair and a soul patch, hunched over the cart laden with chrome-domed serving dishes. “Room service, right?”

  “You have the right room.” Matt held the door open and the cart trundled by with the waiter at the helm.

  He hoisted the tray. “Where do you want this?”

  “You can put it on the table behind you.”

  As the waiter placed the tray on the table, the sleeve of his white jacket rose on his arm, displaying a neon green wristband.

  Something clicked in Matt’s memory. “What’s the wristband for?”

  “This?” The waiter hooked his finger around the band. “It’s for Rockapalooza.”

  “The Coral Cove Music Festival?” Matt knew a lot of the local kids called the event Rockapalooza.

  “Yeah. I heard the promoter was looking for locals to help with the setup, so I applied. I’m going out there tonight.”

  Matt added a tip to the check and scribbled his signature. “Is the promoter in town yet?”

  “He’s here. I haven’t met him yet, but man I’d like a permanent gig with his operation.” He stuffed the check and the pen in his pocket and wheeled the cart toward the door. “Beats this crappy job.”

  When the waiter left, Matt knocked on the door that connected his room with Kylie’s. “You in there?”

  The dead bolt clicked and the door swung open. “How’s your room?”

  “Just like yours. Do you want to have some lunch? Sandwiches, fries, fruit.”

  She poked her head into his room and wrinkled her nose. “Yours looks bigger.”

  “It’s just an illusion. My room’s cleaner. Lunch?”

  “That sounds good about now.” She followed him into his room and peeked under one of the dish covers. “I called Mrs. Harris and asked if she could call the Coral Cove P.D. about releasing the unredacted file to me.”

  Matt shook out one of the napkins as his eye twitched. “Did you tell her about me? About us?”

  “Us?”

  “Working together.”

  “I didn’t mention you.” She picked up a plate with a sandwich and some fruit and perched on the edge of the love seat. “I think maybe that’s for Mr. Harris to tell her, don’t you?”

  “I suppose so.” Matt grabbed a sandwich from a plate and wedged a shoulder against the sliding door that led to a small balcony. “Harlan Sloan’s in town.”

  Kylie swallowed a bite of cantaloupe. “How do you know that?”

  “The room service waiter is working on the setup tonight. He told me.”

  She dabbed her fingers on the napkin covering her lap. “I think we need to see Sloan, ask him some questions.”

  “I agree. The fact that he stepped back from promoting the show until this year is suspicious to me.”

  “The police questioned him and his security force. Now it’s our turn.”

  “Let’s head over to the concert grounds when we finish lunch, and then we have an appointment at Burgers and Brews.”

  “An appointment? What kind of appointment?”

  He dropped the remainder of his sandwich on the plate and brushed his hands together. “We’re going to give a C.C.P.D. employee a camera so she can take pictures of the case file on Bree Harris.”

  Kylie’s fork froze halfway to her mouth. “You’re kidding.”

  “I’m not. I have an in at the department.”

  “How could you have an in at the department? You just got here two days ago, didn’t you?” She placed her fork across her plate and folded her hands in her lap.

  “She’s someone I knew in high school.”

  Kylie’s folded hands turned into twisted fingers. “Is she expecting some kind of reward?

  “It’s the other way around. Annie Summerholdt is paying a debt to me.”

  Her green eyes widened. “Annie? Can you tell me about it?”

  He grinned. He liked Kylie’s up-front attitude—no passive-aggressive pretending everything’s okay and secretly stewing with jealousy. Whoa. Not that Kylie would be jealous of some woman owing a debt to him. Would she?

  “It was nothing. Do you remember she used to date that knucklehead Dave Kenner?”

  “Dave was more than a knucklehead.” She folded her arms and shivered. “He was one mean sucker.”

  “He used to knock Annie around and one day I caught him in the act, so I…uh…made him stop.”

  “Wow, who knew you were running around saving the girls of Coral Cove from abusive boyfriends?”

  He shrugged, feeling his ears burn. “It just gave me an excuse to kick Kenner’s ass.”

  “If you say so.” She carried her plate to the tray and stacked it with the others. “I’m going to brush my teeth and change clothes, and then it’s time to rock ’n’ roll.”

  An hour later, Kylie was thanking her lucky stars she’d changed clothes as she clung to Matt’s waist on the back of his motorcycle. The wind scrambled her hair around the ill-fitting helmet, and she scooted in closer to Matt’s back…not that she could get any closer.

  He took the next turn on the Coast Highway, and Kylie clamped her knees against his thighs. Was he driving like this so she’d be forced to wrap herself around his body?

  His announcement about Annie had surprised her. She’d been holding her breath for some admission that he’d rocked Annie’s world in high school and now she owed him big-time. Instead he’d been the hero of the story…and he didn’t seem to wear that label with any ease.

  Of course, when he’d been her hero, rescuing her from Columbella, he sure seemed to want to take credit for that. Matt was just as complicated now as when they were teenagers.

  He took an exit off the highway, and wended the motorcycle into the low hills, the shade from the multiple trees cooling the air. The rustic setting of the concert grounds lurked around the next bend in the road.

  Kylie had been to the festival a few times, but it didn’t feature her kind of music or ambience—too many unwashed bodies, too much casual sex, too many memories of Mom trying to pick up extra business fro
m the throngs of hippie-dippie young people who flooded the area. Is that how she’d met Bree?

  The bike slowed down as Matt took the final turn, and they began their descent into a small city, teeming with people scurrying around the festival grounds, which was shaped like a giant bowl.

  Matt turned his head and whistled. “Crowded.”

  She yelled over the roar of the motorcycle. “How are we going to find Sloan?”

  Cutting the engine of the bike, Matt eased it down a dirt road where people had abandoned their cars in a helter-skelter manner. He found a spot beneath a redwood tree and planted his boots on the ground, strewn with fragrant needles.

  Kylie slid from the back, her own sneakers plowing into the soft ground cover. She tugged the helmet from her head and clutched it against her body while Matt secured his bike.

  “Sloan will most likely be by the stage, or at least the beginnings of the stage.” He pointed to a huge raised platform at one end of the bowl where lights, cables and scaffolds crisscrossed the surface.

  “Are they going to be working on this all night?”

  “They’d better. They don’t have much time before Rockapalooza gets underway. Follow me.” He tromped through the trees, making a path for her, and she scurried after him.

  “Matt.” She grabbed his arm to slow him down. “I have Bree’s scarf with me. I’m going to try to get a reading on her before we leave.”

  He stopped suddenly and she plowed into his back. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “That’s what I’m here for. That’s why Mrs. Harris hired me. I’m not here to be your investigative sidekick.”

  He wedged a finger beneath her chin and tipped her head back. “Is that how I’m making you feel?”

  “No, but I want to do the job I was hired to do.”

  “I get that. I’ll be your psychic sidekick if you want.”

  Kylie stared into Matt’s dark eyes, so sensuous but always with that touch of humor or naughtiness. The noises from the concert setup retreated and the fresh smells of the trees and a whiff of salty air inundated her senses. She felt so in tune with Matt, they could be floating on a cloud all by themselves.

  The boy she’d alternately crushed on and despised had turned into one helluva man. If he’d set out to be everything his father wasn’t, he’d succeeded.