A Reason To Kill (Reason #2)

by C. P. Smith

  I’d leaned against the counter as she spoke, but I knew she wouldn’t let up. So, I huffed, moved to the table, and pulled out a chair.

  “Fine, what do you want to know?”

  “Well, considering the way he manhandled you last night, I’d say this is more than just a passing fling. The question is, you’ve always avoided men for some reason, and now that you’re not, why’d you pick the biggest one I’ve ever seen? Not to mention the bossiest, who lives a thousand miles away from you and, as far as I can see, you have nothing in common with, so what gives?”

  “All good points, one’s I’ve asked myself. Though, I hadn’t realized it till you said something, but you’re right, we have nothing in common.”

  “So why are you getting involved? With all that stacked against you from the start, I think you’re just spinning your wheels. If you were anyone else I’d say go for it, sleep with him until you leave, but you’re not anyone else. You’re Mia. You’re not like me your heart gets involved. If it’s not going to work out, which is a big if, by the way, a man like Max would be hard to forget, trust me I know.”

  Leave it to the irresponsible one in the room to point out the obvious. She was right; I’d end up with a broken heart. I may have wavered a tad about not getting involved after our night together, but Jess just slapped me with the cold, hard facts.

  “You’re right,” I mumbled, “Thanks, Jess, I’m glad we had this talk. When he kissed me and, well, other things, the connection was so strong I let my heart lead my head and I gave in. But, you’re right, we have nothing in common and I’d drive him nuts,” I replied as I went to leave the kitchen for some quiet time and self-reflection.

  Thinking about what she’d said, my stomach felt a little queasy. My head may understand it doomed to failure, now I needed my heart to understand. Which, by the way, is exactly why she was right. I couldn’t get in any deeper with Max because he’d be a hard man to forget.

  As I made my way through the great room, I swore I heard Jess mumble “Connection?” When I turned back to see if she was talking to me, I found her staring out the window with her hand to her chest, playing with a golden locket she’d always worn.

  When Buddy shouted at Max for the third time, he finally looked down at his foreman. He’d been surveying a tangle of trees that had grown too close together.

  There was mathematics involved in bringing down trees. You couldn’t just walk up to one and mark cut here. You had a potentially deadly situation on your hands when you brought the wrong tree down first. He should know, he’d lost his father to just such a cluster-fuck of miscalculation.

  Ten years prior, his father, Tom Hunter, had been overseeing the takedown of a crop of trees just north of the main operation. He’d taken a young crew with him who’d misunderstood his instructions and taken down the supporting tree first. His father had been downhill when they felled the supporting tree, and when it broke loose, without its support, another tree snapped and came down with it. Unrestrained with a line as it should have been, it slid down the hill and caught his father off guard, crushing him. They’d paid a high price that day, and ever since, Max made sure he was standing uphill and watching the first cut.

  “Didn’t see you at Last Call last night,” Buddy replied as he handed Max a clipboard.

  “Had a woman to find,” Max mumbled as he signed the paperwork and then handed it back.

  “I figured as much. So, you dumped Annie for the scientist, you sure that was the right move?”

  Max looked down, grinned at his friend, and then slapped him on the shoulder.

  “Is that a yes?” Buddy laughed as he watched Max walk away, but Max just lifted a hand and waved as he headed uphill.

  Christ, he didn’t want to believe it, fought it for damn sure, but Mia had gotten under his skin. When he wasn’t doing the job, keeping his head in the game while he held onto his saw, his mind had been on her over the past five days. The way she looked, or the way she smelled like sunshine on a cold winter’s day. That noise she made when she was frustrated, or the sound of his name spilling from her lips, it all played over in his head. He thought it was cute as hell the way she hated bugs and the adorable way she shrieked when it caught in her hair. Hell, he’d never thought of anything as adorable in his fuckin’ life, but something about that woman was just that, fuckin’ adorable.

  He figured he had a week tops to find out if she fits into his life. But, like he’d said last night, as far as he could see, she had permanent pain in his ass written all over her. Fortunately, for him, “pain in his ass” finally meant something besides headache. Though, he’d bet she’d be a fair bit of that as well.

  Max climbed into his truck and waved to his men as he headed into town to pick up replacement blades for the saws. When his phone rang, he pulled it out and saw Jack was calling, so he answered on the second ring.

  “Jack,” Max answered.

  “Max, got your message, talk to me,” his cousin replied, all business just like he needed.

  “Got a Chief of Police, he goes by the name of Stetson, Duke Stetson. I need you to run a background on him. When we hired him, his recommendations were so fuckin’ sterling they’d make your eyes hurt. He’s been here a year, maybe more, and his handlin’ of these killings had me wonderin’ if someone polished his badge to get rid of him.”

  “Is he barkin’ up the wrong tree, pushing his weight around?” Jack asked.

  “He’s barkin’ up the wrong fuckin’ woman,” Max replied.

  “Right, anyone I know?”

  “Nope, still figurin’ her out myself.”

  “She give you a headache?”

  “Yep.”

  “She piss you off?”

  “Yep, in the best possible way.”

  “I’ll get right on it then,” Jack chuckled.

  “You do that. If you find anything call me ASAP,” Max told him.

  “Name?” Jack asked.

  “Stetson,” Max replied.

  “Name of the headache, Max. Jenn’s gonna ask questions and I gotta have an answer or I’ll have a headache on my hands.”

  “Right, tell Jenn her name is Mia and she works with bears.”

  “Christ,” Jack chuckled.

  It wasn’t lost on either man that Jenn had moved to Gunnison to live in the mountains with the deer and bear. A childhood dream if you could believe that. Now, Max had a woman who worked with bears and was involved in two murders. Jack’s wife, Jennifer, had been the focus of a psychopath and he’d fallen fast for the smart-ass reporter. Now, Max was in the same boat. The only difference was, he hadn’t fallen fast—he’d been pulled under kicking and screaming by a pair of crystal blue eyes. Only time would tell if he surfaced or drowned in those fuckin' pools. However, the tightness in his chest that seemed to steal his breath whenever he thought of her told him he was already in deep water and sinking fast.

  Twelve

  The game is afoot

  “Got’em,” Maxine announced as she entered the kitchen throwing pictures on the table.

  I’d had my eyes closed (trying to block out Naked Max flashbacks from last night) when she entered, so I’d jumped and spilled my coffee. Sighing, as I grabbed a napkin to clean up the mess, I looked up wondering what had her so excited.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Jess and I put our heads together after she came home last night and showed me that scrap of shirt you found. We talked it over and it made sense that whoever killed Zimmer had to have at the hand axe competition since they knew which axe you touched.”

  “Right, do you remember who was there?”

  “As much as I hate to admit it, my memory isn’t what it used to be. But I remembered a few who were there so I called’em and got more names. Then I called everyone to see if they’d taken any pictures during the event,” she answered tapping the photos on the table. “Smith’s has a digital film kiosk so I grabbed the memory cards from everyone and had prints made up.”

  “And
? . . . Please tell me you have a mad dog killer in one of those pictures,” I responded as I grabbed the package off the table. When I pulled them out, and started shuffling through, one thing was certain—I was still screwed.

  Every picture had a different man, all in red and black plaid flannel.

  “Shit, I didn’t even notice, is this like the town’s uniform or something?”

  “No, but we dress up for Founders Day. Black and red checked flannel are the symbol of a lumberjack, of course, so it stands to reason there’d be a few,” she replied.

  “How does this help, Maxine? There must be fifty men in these pictures wearing that shirt.”

  “It don’t if we can’t put that scrap with the shirt. But at least we know who to look for.”

  “And how do you propose we find out whose shirt the scrap of material came from?”

  Just then, Jess walked in and dropped a large pink bag on the table.

  “Hi, I’m Mia, your Passion consultant. We’re expanding our business going door-to-door. Would you like to see today’s special?”

  “You can’t be serious?” I asked in disbelief.

  “As a heart attack,” Jess laughed.

  “And if they invite me in, then what? How does that help us find the shirt?” I countered.

  “Hi, I’m Jess, Mia’s assistant, do you mind if I use your bathroom?”

  “So, you’re gonna do what exactly? Search their home while I demonstrate how to use a vibrator?”

  “You, my dear niece, will do whatever it takes to keep them busy while I search.”

  “Look, I appreciate your help, but there is no way I can demonstrate how to use a vibrator without laughing.”

  “Then I’ll do the demonstration and you can be a decoy. Just dress sexy so they can’t take their eyes off of you and Jess can look around,” Maxine explained.

  “I don’t know Maxine, what if Max finds out . . .”

  “Pish posh, he can bellow all he likes it’s not like I can’t handle him.”

  “Does he throw you over his shoulder to get his way?”

  “Not and live to tell about it, why?”

  “Your son found us on the mountain last night—”

  “Oh, that’s right. How the hell did he find you all the way up there?”

  “My rotten luck, of course. He saw our Jeep parked on the side of the road and figured we were up to no good. Which, by the way, we were not, but try telling that to him,” I complained.

  “And when he didn’t get his way he threw her over his shoulder like a Neanderthal, which was hot,” Jess laughed, “then he hauled her off into the woods and made passionate love to her under the stars.”

  “Jesus, Jess, don’t tell her that.”

  Maxine just chuckled and patted my shoulder if you can believe it, and replied, “About time, he’s been in a foul mood since you arrived. Maybe he’ll cool his heels now that you’ve given in to him.”

  “Oh, no, it’s not gonna happen again. We may be attracted to each other, but we have nothing in common. I need to focus on clearing my name and getting my job back.”

  “Right, good luck with that,” she mumbled as she pulled out vibrators and edible undies.

  “You don’t think I can resist your son?”

  “I think he’s just like his father. Irresistible,” she remarked.

  “But we have nothing in common, it’s just pheromones at work. Once I’ve gone home, he’ll see we don’t work.”

  “We’ll, see,” she replied just like Max had. The family resemblance was starting to annoy me, and I was just about to argue why we didn’t work when Jess jumped in and pulled me out of the room by the arm.

  “Time to get you changed,” she announced, “I have the perfect outfit that will keep the men occupied while I search.”

  “Stop dragging me. Do you want me on my ass?”

  Ignoring my protest Jess looked back at Maxine and then whispered, “Look, don’t listen to me and don’t listen to Maxine. You have to do what is right for you where Max is concerned. I’m the last person you should listen to when it comes to relationship advice. If you feel a connection, that means something. Just forget about what I said this morning, okay?”

  “Jess, we barely know each other and have nothing in common, just like you said. I need to focus all my energy on clearing my name and securing my job.”

  “You’re right, of course. Just, make sure you know exactly what you want before you make any rash decisions, Mia. I think I may have steered you wrong this morning. I don’t think I had a clear picture of what was happening.”

  “Honestly, the whole thing is ridiculous. I’ve known him five days, who turns their life upside down for a man they’ve known five days?” I would and that’s what scares me the most.

  “It’s happened, but you do what’s right for you. I just wanted you to know that I’d support anything you decided, okay?”

  “Right, you’d support any crazy ideas I may have concerning falling in love with Max.

  “You’re in love with him?”

  “What? NO!”

  “You just said—”

  “Are we selling vibrators or what?”

  “Mia . . .”

  “It’s only been five days,” I whispered in an attempted to convince myself and Jess that it couldn’t happen.

  Jess, sensing my panic, whispered back, “Okay,” as she grabbed my hand in support.

  “Let’s clear my name and then I’ll worry about how I feel about Max, okay?” I begged.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Jess agreed.

  “Then doll me up and let’s go find a killer.”

  Maxine divided the suspect list into least likely and most likely suspects. Then she’d narrowed it down by age. Those who were too old in her opinion went to the bottom and the younger men went to the top. Which, of course, made sense; Donald had been in good shape and could have easily handled an older man. Then she narrowed the suspects down by disposition. Those who had a known temper made it to the top and so on. She narrowed those down further by who was married and who wasn’t. Maxine argued a married man wouldn’t be able to hide what he’d done from his wife. In her mind, the killer was single. Again, that made sense to me, so the list was narrowed down again. After all that finagling, she’d finally come up with the “ten most likely” from those pictures and I hoped like hell the killer was on that list. However, now that it was time to knock on doors, I realized I hadn’t taken into account how dangerous this all could be until we’d pulled up in front of the first house. Fortunately, after meeting our first suspect, it was clear the only thing he seemed guilty of was being lazy—and wandering hands.

  Jason Allen was forty and divorced due to his drinking. He was currently unemployed and at the top of the list. He was a rough looking man with a beer belly and smelly feet. He lived in a ramshackle cabin on the outskirts of town that needed a good cleaning. We’d knocked on his door, given our speech about expanding door-to-door sales and he’d let us inside once he got a good look at Jess and me.

  Jess had pulled out all the stops coiffing me. My hair was a sleek veil of black down my back, which drove me nuts. I lived in ponytails, but she insisted I needed sex hair to set the right mood. To go with the sex hair I had on a low-cut red top that left nothing to the imagination, and ripped stonewashed jeans that sat low on my hips. They were tucked into stiletto boots that took my clumsy from comical to dangerous, so I stayed seated as much as possible. Which is where I was currently as I helped Maxine “stall” while Jess “used the bathroom.”

  I’d written a receipt for the Passion Princess Inflatable Doll Jason had just purchased all while dodging his wandering hands. I’d tried to keep him distracted, not that it mattered, he’d been too busy salivating over the catalog and accidentally grabbing my ass to realize Jess had been gone longer than five minutes.

  Perched on the side of the couch, I handed Mr. Allen his purchase order just as his hand landed on my thigh. Thankfully, Jess returned with a q
uick shake of her head, which let us know her search was a bust. Seeing that, I jumped up and away from his hands.

  “Here you go, Mr. Allen, sign here and we’ll make sure your order is filled and on its way shortly.”

  Ignoring the receipt, he scanned my body, licked his lips, and then asked, “Maybe you’d like to get a drink later.”

  Oh, boy!

  “Oh, I’m sure she’ll be too busy with my son, Jason,” Maxine replied as she packed her bag.

  “She’s Max’s woman?”

  “Seems like,” Maxine answered.

  His eyes shot to me and he immediately replied, “Then forget I ever mentioned it, okay?”

  I wasn’t technically anything where Max was concerned other than confused and in way over my head. But it got me out of that situation so I nodded, grabbed Maxine’s bag and headed for the door. Once outside and the front door had closed, I looked at Maxine and rolled my eyes.

  “Does Max put the fear of God in everyone or something?”

  “Nope, he’s the biggest employer in this town and everyone likes him. You won’t find a man, woman, or child who will do anything to upset my son.”

  “Except Stetson,” I pointed out.

  “Except Stetson,” she agreed.

  We had three more stops for the day, but only cleared one more suspect. The other two worked for Max so we decided to hit the local diner for lunch, then we’d wait for quitting time to approach the other two.

  The local diner, also a log style building, was decorated in a 1950’s soda fountain theme and aptly named “Timber’s Soda Fountain.” It had red and black chrome throughout with booths on the walls, tables scattered here and there, and a long soda fountain bar in the middle. It seemed to be the hub of the town at midday and when we walked in, everyone turned their heads and looked at me.

  “Me thinks you need a K stitched to your chest like a scarlet letter,” Jess whispered as eyes followed us.

  “These same people cheered me on when they thought I’d killed Donald. Now that one of their own is dead I’m a plague upon the town I guess.”