When I woke up, I felt a bit disoriented at first. The room was so dark that I wondered when Keaton had gotten blackout curtains for his bedroom. Blinking my eyes a few times, I realized we were in a hotel room and tried to remember how we ended up here. I looked down at my left hand to make sure I hadn’t done something stupid like elope (my mother would kill me); I hadn’t.
Keaton was asleep on the bed with me. He had pulled the bedspread off the other double bed and slept under it while holding me in his arms. I must have had a nightmare during the night, I surmised. He must have sensed I was awake, because he opened his eyes and looked at me. “Hey,” he smiled.
“You know, my parents will kill you if they find out you slept in the same bed with me.”
“I won’t tell them if you won’t,” he replied.
“They won’t hear it from me,” I laughed. “What time is it?”
He sat up and looked at the clock on the table between the beds. “Almost noon. You have been asleep about ten hours.”
“Pretty good for me lately,” I admitted.
“How are you feeling?”
“Still a little tired, but mostly hungry.”
“What would you like to eat?”
“Do we have to go out?” I said. “Does anyone know we’re here?”
“Just Sydney and Braden. They called about 8:30 this morning. Braden got worried when we didn’t answer the phone.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That we were ok. I didn’t give them an exact location, but unless you want to go back home soon, I’m going to have to get them to bring us some clothes.”
“What do you think we should do?”
“I have been thinking about that. Stay here at least for another day or two. Let Bernie sort out that mess while we brainstorm here. Are you ok with that?”
“I think so. I don’t feel comfortable going back to your place right now, not after what happened,” I said. “Nothing personal.”
“No offense taken,” he assured me. “Oh yeah, Zayne called, too. He said he had some information for you. The background information you asked for. He said to call when you could.”
“I’ll call him after school. If I called him during class, they’d take his phone away from him, and then I would have to explain to Braylen why I was calling his son during school. Not worth the hassle, trust me.”
“Why don’t we just order a pizza and watch TV then?” he suggested. “You can call Braden and Sydney while I order.”
“How is Sydney going to get into the condo to get our stuff?”
“I had Chet take Braden a spare key last night, in case something else happened while we were gone.”
“You planned to do this before we left for the hospital, didn’t you?”
“Planned it out as I was driving like a madman back to the house,” he said. “I wanted to make sure you would feel safe.”
I gave him a very passionate kiss to thank him for his thoughtfulness and kindness, and that’s all the information you nosy Nates need about that, thank you very much.
When we could breathe again, he went to the front desk to inquire about local pizza restaurants and I called Braden and Sydney. “Hey,” I said when Sydney answered the phone.
“Charlie!” she squealed. “Oh my gosh, are you ok? The front page of the newspaper had the story about what happened last night. Even the Dallas Morning News picked it up. Did you really tell Ralph to take his job and shove it?”
“Yes, I did, after I told him to get bent twice.”
She laughed. “I would have loved to seen the look on his face.”
“Trust me, he was furious. His face turned bright red. Too bad no one got a shot of him; it would have made a good picture for the paper.”
I heard Braden say something in the background. “Just hold on, I’ll ask her, geez. He wants to know if you are ok.”
“Tell him I’m fine.”
“She says she’s fine.” More mumbling. “Look, why don’t you just talk to her? Good grief.”
“Charlie?” my brother’s voice boomed through the phone. I held it away for a minute.
“Crap, Braden, you don’t have to yell my ear off. I’m not deaf!”
“Sorry,” he said. “Are you really ok? Mom said you were at the hospital again.”
“Just to get the cast replaced. I cracked it last night.”
“How?”
“Wasn’t that part in the paper?”
“It was mostly about Harvey’s murder, although they did mention that a condo was broken into shortly afterwards.”
“Which paper did you get that information from?”
“Ours. Ralph wrote the story.”
“Not surprised. He was there last night.”
“So I heard,” he chuckled. “Mom was upset about what you said to him. She said you should apologize to Ralph and get your job back.”
“Not a snowball’s chance in you know where,” I replied. “He gave me the features job yesterday morning that I have wanted for three years, and then tried to talk me into giving him an exclusive interview about the investigation.”
“No wonder you told him to shove it last night. I’m surprised it took you that long to tell him.”
“Well, considering the way things have gone the last two weeks, I figured I might as well complete the trifecta: car, house, job. Now I can truly say I have nothing.”
“That’s not true. You’ve got your family and friends, Charlie,” Braden admonished me. “We’ll get you through this, don’t worry.”
“Do you know if they have made in progress in the case? Do they know who killed Harvey?”
“Nothing yet. Everyone is doing what they can to help. There are a couple of officers out for personal reasons, and of course I’m stuck here at home. Very frustrating for me, I have to tell you. I really want to be out there working the case.”
“How is Richard Fox taking the news? Wasn’t he Harvey’s partner?”
“Partners at work maybe. But Fox doesn’t socialize with the rest of us after hours. He’s a bit of a loner, keeps to himself. Only time I really see him is at work.”
I thought that was interesting, but I didn’t get a chance to ask Braden any more questions because Keaton interrupted me. “It’s Zayne,” he informed me. “He’s on a break at school.”
We switched phones. “Hey, Aunt Charlie. I heard what happened last night. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Zayne. What did you find out?”
“Did you really hit a guy in the gut with a baseball bat?”
“Yes, I really did.”
“Wow, that is so cool! I have a kick-ass aunt!”
“Zayne! You better not let your parents hear you say that!” I chided him. “Or your grandmother. You’ll be tasting Lava soap for weeks.”
“Don’t worry, I know better than to say that stuff around them.”
“What did you find out?”
“Well, nothing on Cash yet,” he said. “Deja Taylor though, has been married before. Hold on, let me get my notebook.” I heard him flipping through some pages. “Here it is. Deja Renee Taylor was born in Missouri. She went to the University of Missouri, graduating in 2007 with an accounting degree. She got married shortly after graduation and went to work for an accounting firm. The marriage only lasted about nine months, though.”
“Why so short, I wonder.”
“The divorce papers I found said that her husband became abusive because he thought she was having an affair with one of her co-workers, which she wasn’t. She was granted a divorce and a restraining order. The problem was the ex-husband kept violating the order, insisting they were still married, harassing her at work and home. No matter where she moved, he followed her. She finally left Missouri and moved to Texas about three years ago.”
“What about her ex-husband?”
“Believe it or not, he worked as a cop in Missouri.”
I gasped. Keaton looked at me questioningly, but I held up my hand to keep
him quiet. “Zayne, her ex-husband’s name isn’t Richard Fox, is it?”
“Wow, Aunt Charlie, how did you know?”
“I didn’t.” I thought a moment. “Zayne, listen to me carefully. I want you to send everything you have to my email account. Do not tell anyone else what you have told me. Go to Uncle Braden’s house and stay there. Don’t tell anyone where you are going. If anyone tries to talk to you that you don’t know, run. Do I make myself clear?”
“But Aunt Charlie, I have class…”
“I don’t care!” I snapped. “Better yet, stay at the school. I will have Sydney pick you up and take you to Uncle Braden’s house.” Keaton called Sydney back as soon as I said it. “Just trust me on this, Zayne, ok?”
“Did I do something wrong?” he said.
“No, sweetie, you did great,” I assured him. “I love you. Just wait at the school for Sydney and don’t leave with anyone else but her.” I hung up and took my phone back from Keaton. “Let me talk to Braden, Syd. Don’t leave yet.”
“What’s wrong, Charlie?” Keaton said.
“Hold on, just listen, Braden. Call Braylen and tell him you need Zayne to come over right now.”
“What do I tell him when he asks me why?”
“Make up and excuse. You’ve fallen, you can’t get up and Sydney isn’t there to help you. You’ll figure something out. Have him call the school and give them permission to for her to pick him up. Go with her, don’t let her go alone.”
“What’s going on?” he demanded.
“Deja Taylor ran away from an abusive ex-husband who was a cop in Missouri. He just happens to be a cop here in town.”
“Who?”
“Richard Fox.”
“Give me your phone, Sydney,” Braden said.
Sydney came on the line. “What the hell is going on?”
“Just do what Braden tells you to. You two go get Zayne from school and go straight back to Braden’s house.”
“Why? Just tell me what has happened.”
What happened to the good old days when everyone listened to other people’s conversations? “I’ll explain when I get there, Syd. I’ve got to go.” I hung up, grabbed my socks and shoes and put them on. “We need to go to your condo.”
“Are you sure about Richard?”
I told Keaton what Zayne had told me as we hurried to the front desk to check out. “He still wears his wedding ring,” I said. “I remember seeing him wearing it when we had that accident on Highway 77. Zayne told me that Deja’s ex-husband refused to admit they were divorced. I wonder how long it took him to find her.”
Keaton pulled out of the parking lot and got onto Interstate 35. “What are you going to do?”
“For starters, I need to talk to Bernie,” I said, dialing his number.
“He isn’t going to like what you have to say.”
“Charlie,” Bernie said when he answered his phone, “I didn’t expect to hear from you today. I thought you were hiding out.”
“I need to ask you something. How long has Richard Fox been working for you?”
“About six months.”
“Is he married?”
“I think so.”
“Have you ever met his wife?”
“No. Why are you asking me all these questions about Fox?”
“He isn’t married, Bernie. He’s divorced.”
“So? Big deal.”
“His ex-wife was Deja Taylor.”
“How do you know this?”
I didn’t want to get Zayne into trouble because I wasn’t sure how he had found the information, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. “It isn’t important how I know, I just do.”
“Do you have proof?”
“Yes, I do.”
Bernie was quiet for a minute. “I’m not sure I understand the significance, Charlie. So he was married to Deja, big deal.”
“Deja was from Missouri. She married him after her college graduation. She filed for divorce when he became abusive and accused her of having an affair. She wasn’t having one. The divorce was granted, and a restraining order against Richard was put in place. He constantly violated the restraining order, telling people that they weren’t really divorced. She moved here to get away from him three years ago. It must have taken him that long to find her.”
“So what? What are you trying to say, that you think he killed Deja?”
“Yes, that is what I am saying.”
Bernie exploded. “Are you crazy? You are accusing one of my officers of killing his ex-wife! You have taken one too many hits to the head the last two weeks, Bannerman.”
I was undaunted. “Where is Richard right now, Bernie?” He mumbled something that I didn’t hear. “Say that again, please.”
“He took some personal time,” Bernie repeated.
“When?”
“He suddenly called in yesterday afternoon before his night shift, said he had the flu.”
“And you gave his shift to Harvey Martin.”
“Yeah, I did. But Harvey and I were the only ones who knew about the change. So it is possible that Richard was the intended target last night. Harvey was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“One other person knew about the shift change, Bernie.”
“Who?”
“Richard Fox.”
Bernie exploded again. “Now you are accusing him of killing a fellow officer?!”
“I didn’t accuse him of anything, Bernie! I just pointed out a simple fact.”
“You are working on pure speculation. You don’t have any proof.”
“Let me ask you a hypothetical question. If you heard that a cop had been killed in the line of duty, wouldn’t you show up to help find the killer, even if you were sick?”
“Of course,” Bernie said, sounding offended that I would even ask. “There’s nothing worse than a cop killer.”
“Does every officer feel the same way?”
“Absolutely.”
I took a deep breath. “Bernie, where is Richard Fox?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone, and it lasted so long that I thought my phone had dropped the call. “He’s not here. But it doesn’t prove anything.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t,” I conceded. “We should be back in town in about thirty minutes. Would you please meet us at Braden’s house so we can talk more about this?”
“Give me an hour. I’ve got some things I need to take care of first.”
“Are you saying that you think I might be right about some of this?”
“I’m saying I have some work to take care of before I leave my office, Bannerman,” he snapped before he hung up.
“What did he say?” Keaton said as I put my phone away. “From your side of the conversation, it doesn’t sound like he was very receptive.”
I massaged my left temple. “He wasn’t. He said I have taken too many hits to the head lately.”
“Well, he is right about that.”
“On the other hand, I wonder if this ‘work’ that he needs to do involves a background check on Fox. Surely he did a check before he hired the guy.”
“Maybe he is trying to be a little more open minded to the possibility that Richard Fox is responsible for some of the things that have happened.”
“Or else he wants time to prove that I am wasting my time,” I muttered, looking out the window.
Chapter 43
We stopped at the condo first to pick up the envelope, and read it on the way. Tensions were high at Braden’s apartment. I hadn’t counted on Braylen being there; he was yelling at his twin as I walked in. “Have you two lost your minds, involving my son in your investigation of a crazy maniac?”
“Braden had nothing to do with it,” I interjected. “I am the one who asked Zayne to do a simple background check for me.”
“Well, it isn’t so simple now, is it, Charlotte?” Braylen turned to me.
“I didn’t know it was going to turn out this way, Braylen! How
could I?”
“You shouldn’t have involved him in the first place!” he shouted.
“Well, hindsight is 20/20, now isn’t it? There is nothing I can do about it now. Zayne isn’t his target; I am.”
“All the more reason to keep Zayne away from you,” he retorted.
“Back off, Bray,” Braden said to his brother. “It’s not anybody’s fault. I don’t think he is in any danger. Charlie and I just wanted to be cautious, that’s all.”
“I do not give a flying rat’s buns about your intentions, Braden,” Braylen fumed. “I am taking my son home. You two are not to contact him, or me, is that understood? I want nothing to do with either one of you.”
“Damn, Braylen,” Keaton said, “lighten up. You act like they kidnapped him and made him do all these things against his will. Zayne volunteered. He WANTED to help.”
“He’s right, Dad,” Zayne said. “I thought if I could help Aunt Charlie find some answers, we would be able to find out who was doing all these terrible things to her. I don’t want anything to happen to her, and you shouldn’t either.”
Braylen lost some of his bluster. “No, I don’t want anything to happen to her,” he admitted, “but my number one concern is you, Zayne.”
“I’m good, Dad, no worries,” he grinned.
Braylen gave his son a hug and turned to us. “Can I take him home?”
“I think it will be ok,” Braden said. “Like Charlie said, she seems to be this guy’s target. Just don’t do anything stupid, Zayne.”
“Who, me?” he replied, trying to look innocent. I got hugs from both of them before they left.
“Sorry about that,” I said to Braden. “I didn’t know he was going to go off on you like that.”
“I don’t blame him for doing it,” Braden conceded. “I would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed.”
“Me, too.” I sat down on the couch. “Bernie should be here in about thirty minutes.”
“You called him?”
I nodded. “On our way here. You have any Dr Pepper around here?”
“I’ll get it,” Sydney said, heading for the kitchen.
“What did he say when you talked to him?” Braden wanted to know.
“He told me that I was insane, crazy and had taken too many hits on the head in the last two weeks.”
Good Night Sleep Tight Don't Let the Stalkers Bite (Charlie Bannerman Mysteries) Page 17