“It doesn’t matter.” Easton’s shoulders slumped. No one seemed to be understanding the issue. “Her parents still hate me, and they hate you too, by the way, so don’t bother to ask her out. They hate everything we stand for.”
The office was quiet until Zach cleared his throat. “Sounds like this is a family matter, so I think I’ll run over to Dizzy’s and check on her. See how she’s doing. It will give me a chance to check out Stanford’s house as well. See if he’s dug any new flowerbeds lately.” He leaned down and dropped a quick kiss on Leann’s cheek. “I’ll call you later, baby.”
After Zach left, Leann turned and gave Easton and Carter a nasty look. “Both of you better straighten up because I have lost patience. This is a matter of life and death for Dizzy and you’re letting your testosterone do the thinking for you. Carter, I love you but stay away from Dizzy. No one needs you muddying up the waters right now.” She shook her finger under Easton’s nose. “And as for you, I don’t give a shit if her parents hire a hit man to take you out, you’re going to nut up and deal with it. She needs us right now and you do not have the luxury of acting like a diva. Are you listening to me? Because I’m serious here. You’re going to fix this with her, and that means admitting to yourself why you did it.”
Easton held up his hands in surrender. “I’m listening. Jesus, you’re bossy. I feel sorry for Zach. And I told you why I did it.”
“And not one person believes you,” Leann replied smoothly with a bright smile. “I doubt you do either. Now stop being a jerk and be the man I know you can be. I need to get back to my own office. I have a meeting in ten minutes. Some of us don’t have the luxury of playing Fight Club on a workday.”
Turning on her heel, Leann was gone in a second leaving Carter and Easton alone. It looked like his brother’s jaw was going to bruise. Their parents would find out about this. Shit. Easton was a grown man but he could still be cowed by his mother’s disappointed expression and his father’s disapproval.
“I can have my assistant get you some ice.”
Chuckling, Carter rubbed at it. “If that’s your half-assed way of saying you’re sorry, then I accept your lame apology.”
“I am sorry.” Easton knew better than to turn on a brother but that’s how they were. He’d hit the one guy he knew would take it. “This entire situation has me twisted up. I don’t want to hurt Dizzy but I don’t want to be hurt either. What if her parents convince her that I’m not good for her?”
Strolling toward the door, Carter just gave him a grin. “What if they don’t?”
Easton fell back into his leather chair when his brother left, images of this morning with Dizzy crowding out any other thoughts, leaving him with little urge to work and less ability to do so. He wanted to believe in what they had together but her parents had brought up some valid points.
They were different. Very different. Dizzy had a far different view of the world than he did. Could they make it? Could they find some middle ground to build a relationship on? Would she grow tired of him eventually? She was the creative and interesting one, after all. He was…disgustingly normal. There wasn’t anything much special about him.
Did it matter either way? Because he’d only been without Dizzy for a few hours and already he was missing her. Somehow he had to find a way to make this work.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
‡
“Can I get you some coffee, Zach?”
Zach had stopped by the house this morning and Dizzy wondered just how much he knew about her argument with Easton. He didn’t act or say anything outwardly but it was the way he was skirting the subject that made her suspicious. Also, he was here discussing how they planned to keep her safe. If he thought that Easton was still spending nights here, he wouldn’t have bothered.
“Thank you, that’s very kind.” Zach’s gaze lingered on the stairway. “Are your parents here?”
Yep, he knew. That meant Leann knew too. Dizzy needed to fire up her phone. She probably had a dozen or so messages from her best friend.
“They were but they’re out taking a walk trying to fend off the desire to sleep. Jet lag,” she explained. “They took a short nap but they’re still exhausted so they thought a walk might help. They’ll probably be gone for awhile, especially if they see anyone they know. They’ll want to catch up on all the town gossip.”
Dizzy carried the steaming cup of java out to her visitor. “Here you go–”
At some point this morning, Dizzy had turned on the television as background noise. Now her attention was captured by a commercial and she set the mug down on the coffee table and then moved closer to the television to watch it more closely. A woman in a blue blazer and skirt stood in front of a newer home probably from one of the Anderson’s developments. Blonde and smiling, she appeared to be in her early to mid-thirties and advertising a local real estate business just one town over. There were two other people in the closing shot, a man and a woman in blazers matching the first woman’s. They were realtors who wanted Dizzy to list her house with them or allow them to find her dream home.
“Dizzy,” Zach said softly, finally dragging her gaze back to him now that the commercial was over. “Are you okay? You’re white as a sheet. Are you ill?”
Still dazed and unsure of what she’d seen, she sat down on the floor, her legs too shaky to hold her up. Sweat had popped out on her forehead and her breath was coming in ragged gasps.
I couldn’t have just seen that.
But I did.
“I’m not sick.” She looked up at Zach, who was of course puzzled by her behavior. She could see his concern growing when she didn’t elaborate.
“Okay…you seem upset, though. Do you want to talk about it?”
Dizzy most certainly did want to discuss it but she wasn’t sure how to begin. It was like seeing a ghost.
“The woman in the commercial. The pretty blonde one. She was the woman I saw in Trip’s house that night. She was the one murdered.”
* * *
Zach had called his boss Jason after Dizzy’s revelation about the identity of the woman in the window. He’d hurried over along with Leann and Easton so now there was a great deal of talking – mostly over each other – and not much listening. Easton and Jason were speaking loudly, going back and forth, debating what to do next while Zach was outside, checking on the perimeter of the house and trying to get a good look at Trip’s home.
Dizzy and Leann took refuge in the kitchen making more hot chocolates. Double marshmallows. This was probably going to get worse before it got better. Tami and Louis would be home soon and they’d add to the mayhem. It was bad enough that Easton had shown up. The tension in the room was sky high. They’d barely looked at each other.
Leann sighed and stirred her cocoa as they rejoined the men in the living room. “They might go on like this all day. Maybe we should order pizza. I’m getting hungry.”
The mention of food had the two men quiet for the first time in almost half an hour.
“I don’t need pizza,” Jason replied. “Brinley’s cooking dinner. I just need Easton to listen to me.”
“I am listening,” the other man growled. “But you aren’t making any sense. We have to call the police.”
“And tell them what? That you’ve identified the victim of the murder that they don’t even believe happened?”
“If the woman is missing that lends credence to my claim,” Dizzy pointed out. “They’d have to do something then.”
The back door opened and Zach entered, wiping his feet on the mat and holding up his phone. “I think Jared found some information that might help our case with the police. Turns out Trip has a record with the university cops where he went to school. Assault and battery and stalking. Our Trip has a dark side.”
Dizzy had never been so relieved to find out that someone was dangerous but it confirmed everything that she’d been feeling and seeing. “He beat someone up?”
Zach nodded. “He has multiple complaints fro
m females. They didn’t show up in a regular background check because the two systems weren’t linked. But Jared found something else that might interest the cops. I sent him the picture of our victim once Dizzy identified her and he did a reverse search. It didn’t take long to find her. She’s a member of the same online dating service that Stanford is. Some coincidence. Her name is Janine Erskine. She’s twenty-nine and lives in Rowland, about twenty miles from here. Never married and no kids, although according to her profile she’s thinking about getting a cat. She likes camping, hiking, and watching old movies.”
“That could be how they met,” Dizzy said, but she wasn’t happy or excited. Now that the face had a name and a personality she could only be sad. Janine had been a real person with goals and dreams. Trip had taken that away from her.
“Good work,” Jason said. “That should be enough to convince the cops to talk to Trip.”
“And if they don’t,” Easton growled, his brows pinched together. “We’ll get West to tell them to. Technically he’s their boss.”
“I don’t think we want to get in the habit of having West intervene,” cautioned Jason. “If we can’t get the police to listen to us then we need to up our game and get the evidence they need. Personally, I think we have enough for them to question Trip, maybe even get a search warrant, although I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves. This is far from over. I doubt Trip is going to fall apart and confess if the cops bring him in. That doesn’t happen near as much in reality as it does on television.”
Jason pulled out his phone and dialed the chief of police, leaving Dizzy with Zach, Leann, and Easton. Just two cozy couples. No, make that one couple and two people who weren’t speaking to one another.
She had told him to go fuck himself. That might have been a bit of an over-reaction but she wasn’t backing down from what she’d said. This was Easton caring too much about what other people thought. They were happy together but he had to go and find the fly in the ointment. She could have talked to her parents and told them to back off but he’d blown it all out of proportion. She still felt it was much more than just her mom and dad. Easton was afraid of what it would be like if she was truly his girlfriend. Apparently, he thought she was going to strip down and dance naked under a full moon while at some snotty dinner party.
Idiot. Everyone knew that silver robes were the garment of choice for a ceremony under the full moon. It was a new moon that liked nudity.
“So…” Easton rocked on his heels, his hands stuffed deeply into his pockets. “I guess I should be going. Are you and Zach staying here tonight, Leann?”
The prick still hadn’t looked at her. If he wanted to be that way, then fine. She could ignore the hell out of him too.
Her gaze darting back and forth between Dizzy and Easton, Leann cleared her throat.
“We are. We’re taking Dizzy’s room and she’s going to sleep on the couch, although we keep telling her that we could sleep down here on an air mattress. She won’t listen.”
The third bedroom didn’t have a bed and was used for storage, but considering all the people that seemed to want to spend the night in her house she might have to get a bed for that room.
“That’s right. I won’t. You’re guests here.”
Plus Tami and Louis. They were a whole other issue.
“If that’s settled, I think I’ll go.” Easton practically ran to the door, anxious to escape. He muttered some goodbyes and then he was gone, gunning the engine of his SUV as he drove away.
“I’m sorry you had to witness that,” Dizzy said, closing the front door. She’d let the cold air into the house again. “As you know we had a disagreement this morning. I said some things. He said some things. Now we can’t take them back. Maybe we don’t want to, either. Suffice it to say, it’s awkward as hell between us.”
Leann picked put the two mugs of hot chocolate. “I hope you told Easton he’s a dumbass.”
Dizzy felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “I told him to go fuck himself. Not my finest moment.”
Zach winced and shuddered. “Ouch. I can’t imagine that he took it well. He was still upset when we talked to him in his office.”
“He deserved it,” Leann said smugly. “Long past due, if you ask me.”
Dizzy threw up her hands in frustration. “But now what? He wouldn’t even look at me, let alone talk this through.”
“He will.” Leann seemed confident in that statement. “Just give him time. He’ll realize he’s being stupid and come running to apologize.”
Her parents were going to do the same, they just didn’t know it yet. Since retiring five years ago, they’d become far more judgmental than they’d ever been. It was getting out of hand and they were going to lose friends if they weren’t careful.
Eventually she was going to have to have it out with them.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
‡
Smoothing down her black pencil skirt, Dizzy checked her white blouse for coffee stains after she placed her cup in the dishwasher. She was going to the Anderson building and she was sure to see Easton today, so she wanted to look as put together as possible. She didn’t want him to think she’d tossed and turned all night, barely sleeping because they’d fought.
That’s why she’d used a ton of makeup. To cover the dark circles. She might know how terrible her night was but he didn’t have to.
“You’re all dressed up,” Tami remarked, joining her in the kitchen. Dizzy’s mother was dressed in casual sweatpants and a Grateful Dead t-shirt, her hair pulled up on top of her head. She looked much younger than her chronological age, but then she’d always acted and looked young. “Where are you going?”
Irritation rose up but Dizzy slapped it down quickly. Her mother didn’t mean anything by the question. She wasn’t the type to ever check up on her daughter, even though it kind of came out that way. Tami wasn’t the mothering type, worried about her child. Dizzy could have stayed out all night when she was fifteen and her parents would have simply put it down to expressing herself.
This also wasn’t the moment to start a conversation about judging people and Easton in particular. She didn’t have time to hash it out with them. That was another thing that had kept Dizzy from sleeping. She needed to deal with Tami and Louis. If they were going to stay here for any length of time, they needed to be cordial to her friends.
“I’m heading over to Anderson Industries with Zach.” Dizzy nodded toward the stairs. “He’s getting ready now. We’re all gathering there to wait for a call from the police after they question Trip.”
Leann had already left earlier for a meeting so Zach had stayed with Dizzy, not wanting her to be left alone now that Trip had been contacted by the police. They’d called him last night and invited him in today for what they were calling a discussion. Zach was afraid that it might set off Trip so now Dizzy had to have a babysitter all the time instead of just at night.
Tami walked over to the back windows and lifted the curtain to look out. “Does he think Trip is dangerous?”
More irritation. This was becoming a habit. But the longer her mom and dad stayed away the more used to living without them Dizzy became. “Of course he thinks Trip is dangerous. He killed a woman, Tami. He’s a murderer and I’m the lone witness. Isn’t that why you came home?”
Her reply had come out harsher than she’d planned but her nerves were on a razor’s edge lately.
Tami turned and frowned, her gaze running up and down her daughter. “Yes, that’s why we came back but clearly you need to relax. When you return, we’ll light some candles and meditate. It will clear your mind and spirit. You could try a juice fast as well. Flush the toxins out of your system along with all of that negative energy you’re holding onto.”
“Primal scream therapy.” Dizzy’s father Louis joined them, placing his plate in the sink. “I haven’t done it in years but this just might be the time to try it. Get everything out of you. You’ll feel like a new person.”
Dizzy certainly wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, and her parents were inviting her to do so.
“Good idea, Louis,” Tami exclaimed. “We should all do it. I’m still stressed from our hideously awful travel from overseas. Let’s do it now.”
Not with Zach upstairs taking a shower. He’d think a mass murder was taking place in her home. “Not now. Can you wait until I get back? We can do it then. And that meditation sounds pretty good too. I think it would help to quiet my mind.”
Louis frowned at the coffee pot. “Caffeine isn’t good for you, Dizzy. I hope you don’t drink this often.”
Only every day. It helped maintain her sunny personality.
Luckily, she didn’t have to answer out loud because Zach stomped downstairs, talking into his phone. He hung up when he saw her, tucking it into his jacket pocket.
“Are you ready to go? That was Jason and they’re gathering in Easton’s office to wait. Our spies are saying that Trip just arrived at the police station.”
Her heart accelerated and she took a slow breath. This was it. She’d been hoping and praying for the cops to talk to Trip and it was finally happening.
After bidding goodbye to her parents, who were still fussing over the coffee pot and debating the evils of caffeine, she followed Zach out to his car. Taking a backward glance at her home, she could see Tami and Louis standing at the front door waving. It was then that it hit her and she began to laugh. She hadn’t even realized it until now.
“Care to share what’s so funny? I could use a laugh.”
“Me. I’m funny. You know, Zach, I’ve always thought of myself as so strange and different than everyone else. They call me eccentric and weird, and I’ve taken pride in that label. But this morning I realized that I’m really not anymore. Sure, I’m not what you’d call normal either but I’m not nearly as kooky and peculiar as I thought I was. Heck, I’m practically boring.”
Window to Danger Page 17