A Touch of Passion (boxed set romance bundle)

by Uvi Poznansky

  “Well, keep it under your hat, you two. But he’s got a big-time gambling problem.”

  Cal became thoughtful. “Yeah, that might explain it.”

  “Well, at first, I assumed that that was all there was to it, too.” Dylan hesitated, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “But...”

  “But, what?” Murphy asked impatiently.

  “Look – I was already there – and Jim had just taken off in his speedboat.”

  Cal was obviously curious. “Spit it out, Dylan.”

  “He’s got a brand new house on the lake, two brand new cars, a top-quality cruiser he takes out regularly on the lake – it’s gotta be a gas guzzler too.”

  Cal sat considering. “In other words, how in the hell can he afford it all? Especially if he has a gambling problem? I didn’t realize he had a second car – I’ve only seen him driving around in one. As far as the cruiser, I didn’t even know about it. I figured he built the house because he’s always been single, and he finally managed to save up for it. Besides, Jim inherited a bunch of money from his father after he died, so who would question how he spent it?”

  Dylan remained ominously silent.

  Suddenly suspecting the truth, Murphy studied Dylan keenly. “Is there something else you needed to tell us, Dylan? Like maybe why this concerns Callahan Construction?”

  Hesitantly, Dylan turned to Cal, shrugging his shoulders. “I know that legally, I was trespassing. But he’s got a huge combination storage shed and garage on his property.”

  Cal gave him an encouraging nod, as he sipped his coffee.

  “The padlock was unlatched. He must’ve forgotten about it when he left. Something’s really had him flustered over these past few weeks, which is why I decided to follow him in the first place.”

  “Keep talking, Dylan. No one needs to know you went inside that shed.” Cal was calm, his voice reassuring.

  Dylan inhaled sharply. “That’s just the thing, sir. I’m not exactly sure how to handle this. I’m probably gonna have to tell Sam that I trespassed.”

  “Why? What was inside, Dylan?” Murphy’s voice was impatient as he eyed Dylan speculatively.

  “I’m pretty sure that what I saw in there was some of your missing construction materials, Cal. I think that Jim’s your thief.”

  Cal’s coffee cup crashed into the saucer.

  ❋

  After Dylan told his story to the chief of police, Sam Danielson stared at him, long and hard, before he responded. “Why am I not surprised? I’ve learned the hard way that people aren’t always who you think they are.”

  Sam sighed heavily. Standing up and crossing his arms, he leaned against the edge of the desk. “You realize we need more evidence, Dylan? Just because you thought you saw the Callahan Construction tags still stapled to the lumber, doesn’t mean we have just cause to search Jim Dupree’s property. Even though you were trespassing, I think I can manage to keep that fact quiet as long as we have something else to go on.”

  “I was gonna file a complaint of misconduct at the regional office. Wouldn’t that be enough to open up an investigation?”

  Sam sat on the edge of his desk. “I’m afraid not, Dylan. That would probably only involve an investigation into Jim’s work performance.” He hesitated, thinking quickly. “And, I’d actually prefer you hold off on filing that complaint. We might have to put surveillance on Jim. He might change his routine and get rid of those materials before we have a chance to come up with a plan of action.”

  Dylan nodded in acceptance.

  Murphy met Cal’s gaze, and they shared a moment of silent contemplation, before Murphy shrugged, turning back to Sam. “So, what do you suggest we do for now, Sam?”

  Sam grimaced. “The problem is, we need some other kind of evidence to base a warrant on. Since you’re around Jim on a daily basis at the office – I need you to think about his routine, Dylan.”

  Dylan nodded.

  “If he’s selling those materials, our best chance at proving it would be discovering records or receipts of the sales.”

  “But wouldn’t he keep those at his house?” Dylan questioned.

  Sam sighed. “Maybe. But, he’s had an awful lot of people in and out of that house. I’ve been watching him build it, and it’s only been finished for a couple of months.”

  Cal nodded. “When he began building, I remember how surprised I was that he’d never even asked us to make a bid.”

  Sam nodded. “Me too, Cal. But the guy’s always been weird – secretive, actually, so I just dismissed it. Now, I’m thinking, that he might’ve had something to hide from you.”

  Dylan hesitated. “Maybe I should try to search the office sometime, when Jim isn’t around? Jim won’t let me touch anything otherwise. Everything’s completely disorganized. But every time I mention getting the filing system and records whipped into shape, Jim has a fit.”

  Sam shrugged. “It might be worth a try. Maybe he’s got something hidden inside the office?”

  Murphy snorted. “Or the guy’s just paranoid, and doesn’t like sharing his office with Dylan.”

  Dylan grimaced, nodding his agreement.

  Sam looked at Dylan. “Where’s Jim now?”

  “Supposedly, out on patrol. The problem is, he has a habit of popping back into the office when I least expect it.”

  “So why don’t we just go try to search the office right now?” Sam stared at his watch. “It’s ten a.m. When’s he due back?”

  “About noon,” Dylan answered.

  “Murphy, Cal and I can just hang around outside while you’re searching. We’ll try to delay him if he shows up early.”

  ❋

  Murphy checked his watch, before staring out worriedly at the lake. Dylan had been inside, now, for almost an hour. The game warden’s office was situated in an isolated location, a few miles south of town along the edge of Crystal Rock Lake.

  As the roar of a motor resounded from around the curve that led into the narrow bay, Murphy’s eyes met Cal’s. Sure enough, Jim Dupree materialized from around the bend in his patrol boat. He seemed slightly taken aback to see Sam, Cal, and Murphy standing outside the office.

  After maneuvering the boat into its slip, Jim calmly jumped onto the pier and began loosely tying off the boat. “Something I can do for you, Sam?” he asked, ignoring the other two men.

  Murphy almost snorted at Jim’s obvious indifference. Yeah, the guy was definitely an ass.

  “Oh, just the usual, Jim.” Sam reached out and shook Jim’s hand. “Just wanting to know if you’ve seen anything suspicious around the lake?”

  “Not really, Sam.” Jim sighed, exaggerating the movement. “Nothing much different than usual, I’m afraid.”

  The guy was a cool one, Murphy had to admit. No wonder he’d always remained above suspicion.

  Sam continued calmly, “Would you like to join us for lunch, Jim?”

  Obviously, Jim wasn’t normally at the receiving end of Sam’s invitations. He stared at the three of them, somewhat suspiciously. “Uhh...thanks, but I’ve got some paperwork to catch up on inside the office. Maybe some other time?”

  “Sounds good.” Sam nodded, glancing at his watch. “We’ll see you later, then, Jim. Thanks for keeping an eye on the traffic on the lake for me.”

  There wasn’t a whole lot more Sam could do to delay Jim. The first thing Dylan had done when he went inside the office, Murphy had noticed, was to open up a window. After hearing them talk, he should’ve had plenty of time to regroup before Jim came inside.

  Sam led the way back to his truck. “Well. All we can do now, is wait to hear back from Dylan.”

  Cal and Murphy nodded grimly.

  ❋

  Thirty minutes later, when Dylan came scrambling into the Crystal Rock Tap, Murphy could tell by the look on his face that Dylan seemed to think that he’d discovered something.

  Dylan began unbuttoning his shirt and Murphy watched him in disbelief.

  Grimacing at Murphy, Dylan pulle
d out the notebook and a flat sheaf of papers that he’d tucked in under his shirt. “Jim would’ve known something was up, right away, if I’d tried to take a notebook or clipboard with me – especially since I wasn’t even on duty.” After laying the notebook and paperwork on the table, and buttoning his shirt back up, Dylan tucked the tails of his shirt back into his pants.

  Sam began thumbing through the paperwork. “So – what do you think you’ve found?”

  “I haven’t a clue. But I remembered that Jim has always spent a lot of time opening and closing his lower desk drawer. Even though he keeps his desk locked, I saw him hiding his keys one day, when I slipped into the office.” Dylan sat down at the table and continued, “I didn’t find anything in the file drawer except Jim’s copies of his weekly reports. I’m not really sure what made me decide to look under the drawer. This wasn’t even half of what was there.” Dylan grimaced. “I’m worried that Jim’s suspicious, though. Usually I don’t come into the office on my days off. I was sitting at my desk with my paperwork – I pretended I’d forgotten to finish up Thursday’s report.”

  Sam sighed. “Yeah. I’ve never invited him out for lunch, either. I might’ve been stretching it a bit too far – trying to give you a little more time in case you didn’t hear him pulling into the landing.” He frowned, studying the paperwork. “Cal, maybe you’d better take a look at this. It appears to be a ledger.” Sam slid the notebook across the table.

  After thumbing through the first few pages, Cal stared at Sam in astonishment. “I can’t believe this, Sam. This is an exact record of his transactions. He’s even made notations of the dates when he’d stolen our building materials. There’re even invoices here, listing who he’s sold the materials to.”

  Murphy finally spoke. “But why would he do that – leave records laying around that’d lead back to himself?”

  Cal answered, grimly, “Because apparently, Jim’s been selling our materials to our biggest competitor – Masterson Construction.”

  “Jim’s been getting away with pilfering your materials for years, Cal – so he’s obviously not too worried about getting caught anymore.” Sam nodded thoughtfully. “I have a feeling that these records are his insurance against Masterson. If Jim’s desperate for money, he might’ve turned to blackmail. And maybe Jim thought, that if he left these receipts in his home, there was more of a chance of Masterson discovering them since Masterson’s construction company built Jim’s house. More than likely, the two of them cooked up this scheme years ago. But the good news is, guys, I think that there’s enough here to ask for a search warrant.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  From the moment she’d opened the door for Jim Dupree, Kate knew that there was something very wrong here. After tying off his inboard at the end of the dock, he’d come knocking on the front door. His thinning dark hair, usually combed back neatly from his face, was standing up in disarray. Normally, he stood up straight, attempting to disguise the thickening of his belly around his waistline.

  But not so today.

  Appearing much older than his fifty odd years, he had the stance of someone who was wearily defeated.

  Kate had immediately sensed the danger.

  He held his hand over his holstered weapon.

  Deliberately, he shoved her back through the door. Why hadn’t she ever noticed the darkness there, that disturbing intensity hidden deep within his eyes? Nervously, he licked on his lips as he peered furtively through the door across the lake.

  He looked like someone who was being hunted.

  She studied the cruiser tied up at the dock. “It was you,” Kate said, realization suddenly dawning. “You were the one who was watching me – taking pictures of me.”

  Somewhat maniacally, he answered in a monotone. “I did everything for you, Kate. I built you a brand new home on the lake, along with a customized workshop, so that you could continue with your hobbies. I had a decorator come in and design my home; exactly the way I thought you would’ve wanted it. I bought a brand new cruiser, because I knew how much you loved the water. I even waited a few more years, to make sure you were ready to settle down. I was just getting ready to court you. Everything was organized. Everything was finally finished.” He suddenly appeared haunted. “And then this Murphy guy came back into your life.” Now visibly distraught, Jim began pacing through the room.

  Kate was stunned. She hadn’t had a clue. But the more she thought about it, the more she began to recognize all the signs. Even when she’d been a teenager, Jim had seemed to mysteriously appear at the strangest times.

  How should she handle this?

  She quickly came to a decision – she’d obviously have a better chance at getting away from him if she just played up to his obsession.

  But just how far would she have to go?

  “I...I wish I’d known, Jim,” she said, softly. “You never really gave me any indication about your feelings for me, you know.”

  He halted a few feet away, turning slowly to stare at her. “What do you mean?”

  Kate swallowed, trying hard not to gag on her words. “It’s just that, I never even knew that all this time, you’ve been interested in me. I wish I would’ve known how you felt about me before now, Jim.”

  His eyes locked onto hers. Although he appeared to be somewhat dubious, Jim searched her eyes desperately for confirmation. “You mean...?”

  “I...I’ve always had kind of crush on you, Jim. I’m surprised you never noticed.” She continued to reassure him with her eyes. Maybe her ploy wasn’t working?

  But Jim seemed to relax. He shoved her gently through the door and out along the deck. “You need to hop into the boat, Kate. We have to get out of here now.”

  Kate glanced down at the gun tucked into his holster. She had no doubt – he wouldn’t hesitate to use it. Sighing resignedly, she made her way across the deck and stepped into the cruiser.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  It’d been a little over two hours since Sam had left for his office, to begin the tedious process of requesting a search warrant. Murphy frowned, staring at his watch. He’d been trying to reach Kate for the last few hours. He’d finally given up and eaten lunch without her. But where was she? He was anxious to let her in on what was happening with Jim Dupree.

  Sam had just called Cal. Apparently, the search warrant for Jim’s Dupree’s home and property had been granted and executed. Unable to do anything more, Dylan and Cal had gone their separate ways to wait for additional information from Sam. After trying to reach Kate, Murphy had decided to wait at The Tap for her to call him back.

  After one more failed attempt to reach her, Murphy finally decided to just go home. Maybe she was visiting her mom, or even Julie Thompson, and hadn’t had a chance to get home yet.

  But when Murphy pulled into the garage twenty minutes later, he discovered that Kate’s truck was parked inside. He entered the kitchen and found the house was completely quiet. Usually, Kate liked to work with the sound of light rock music playing in the background. “Kate,” he called out.

  No answer. He peeked into the living room. Hmm. Not there, either. Moving over to the stairs leading down into the family room, he called out again, “Kate?”

  Searching the house, he noticed Kate’s purse laying on the kitchen table, and grew more concerned. Murphy ran up the staircase and into the master suite. She wasn’t there either.

  His phone rang, and he quickly answered it, his voice brusque. “Kate?”

  “No, Murphy, it’s me, Cal. Isn’t Kate there?”

  “No, Cal. And I’m beginning to get worried. Her truck’s in the garage and her purse is still here. Maybe she’s with Julie? But it’s not like her to forget to leave a note or set the alarm.”

  “Damn it, Murph. Sam wants us all over at Jim Dupree’s place, right away. Kate, too. He wouldn’t tell me why. I have a really bad feeling about all of this. But where in the hell is Kate? I haven’t heard from her all morning, either. She was supposed to call me back
earlier; about some projections she was gonna come up with. I’ll send Dylan over to pick you up. It’ll be easier than giving you directions to Jim’s place.”

  “Alright, Cal.”

  “Why don’t you give Julie a call – to see if she’s heard from Kate? I’ll see you soon.”

  ❋

  Jim Dupree’s home was crawling with police. Sam stood off in the distance, impatiently eyeing his watch. “No doubt about it,” he said harshly, as Mike, Murphy and Dylan approached. “Jim’s your thief.”

  Sam waved his hand through the air as he motioned them on toward the house. Grimly, he spoke to Murphy. “I’ve got something I need you to see.”

  Leading them into the house and up a long, wide staircase, Sam stepped in through the door of a magnificent master suite. Strolling to another door located at the opposite end of the room, he hesitated, before he twisted the doorknob. “Cal, Dylan – maybe you two should wait out here for now? Come with me, Murphy.”

  When Sam led him into the office, Murphy felt his heart sink. Obviously, something was dreadfully wrong.

  “I’d appreciate it, Murphy, if you could give me a rough estimate on the timing of a few of these pictures.”

  Murphy gaped, staring at the pictures. Mounted on the walls were rows upon rows of pictures of Kate.

  And many of them showed her in various stages of undress.

  It even appeared that some of the pictures had been taken very early in Kate’s life.

  “Oh, my God, Sam.” Murphy shook his head in disbelief. “He’s been stalking her for years.”

  “I’m afraid so, Murphy.” Sam shook his head wearily. “And how is it – that no one’s ever even noticed? With everything that the Callahan family’s been through, I feel like I’ve let them down.”

  “You can’t beat yourself up, Sam. Neither Cal or Dan seemed to have noticed either.” Suddenly, Murphy pointed at one of the photographs. “This one, Sam. It was taken only last week,” he growled.