Don't Say a Word

by Beverly Barton

  “Not you, if that’s what you’re trying to do.”

  The guy laughed, genuinely it seemed, and then he seemed to realize that she really did think that’s what he was up to. After that, he did have the decency to look sheepish. Up close and personal now, Julia saw that he had big brown eyes that were looking her over pretty good. He also had a killer dimple in his chin. Oh yes, God had been good to him, abundantly so.

  “I didn’t mean it that way, trust me. If your name is Julia Cass, though, I’m your ride.”

  Oh great. J.D. sent a practiced womanizer, out on the hunt, to pick her up. Julia was not thrilled, but it beat sitting there waiting forever. “J.D. sent you, I presume?”

  “Yeah. He’s tied up at the trial.”

  Julia knew about the ongoing trial for the Rocking Chair Murders. J.D. had told her it was just getting started and would probably last for a month or more. Well, at least J.D. had a good excuse for not showing up. She picked up her leather handbag and black carry-on, ready to get out of the crowded airport.

  “Well, what d’you know. Will Brannock himself, in the flesh, and lookin’ fine. How’re you doin’, sweetie?”

  Julia looked at the petite and busty little flight attendant with the Deep South accent, who headed straight over, rose onto her tiptoes, and gave Will Brannock a quick peck on his cheek. Just one cheek—guess she didn’t measure up to two-cheek status yet. The auburn-haired girl and Will Brannock chatted for a couple of minutes about the nice day and how long it’d been since they’d seen each other. She promised to call him soon before she hurried off and joined several other flight attendants who were just disembarking from a plane out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Julia waited until the girl was out of earshot.

  “You got those flight attendants taking numbers, or what?”

  Will Brannock laughed again. He found her funny, it seemed. “It’s not what you think. Most of them are friends of my sister.”

  “So your sister’s a flight attendant, too?”

  “Nope. She’s a pilot. Delta.”

  Well, that wasn’t the answer Julia had expected.

  “My name’s Will Brannock, by the way. I work with your brother.”

  “You’re a TBI special agent?” She couldn’t help the skeptical tone. He didn’t seem like a cop. She’d expected him to be the aforementioned GQ model.

  Will placed his hand over his heart, assuming a feigned hurt expression. “That’s right, Ms. Cass. No need to be so shocked. I’m old enough to shoot a gun and everything.”

  “I figured you were twenty-one, at least. Well, let’s go. I’ve got a mad dog to pick up.”

  Julia headed off down the concourse, Will Brannock striding along beside her. Although she thought he was a man on the prowl, somehow she found him a rather amusing man on the prowl, which usually didn’t happen. Nevertheless, J.D. was really going to get an earful for sending a flirt out to get her.

  Trailing Julia Cass down the concourse, Will Brannock decided J.D. Cass’s sister was a bit prickly but not bad-looking. In fact, she was pretty much spot-on gorgeous with all that thick, straight, black hair and those big brown eyes. She reminded him of that film actress, Catherine Zeta-Jones. Too bad she was the little sister of his best friend. Hooking up with her wouldn’t do, not at all, and especially since Julia Cass was going into law enforcement right there in Chattanooga. Nope, that would not be a good idea. He never dated a woman who lived in the same town. That way nobody ever got too close to him, and more importantly, never found out anything about his past.

  Too bad, though. Julia Cass was indeed a looker, even in her loose black T-shirt and faded jeans. She was fairly tall—five seven, J.D. had said—and had a strong, lean body, at least from what he could tell. He liked tall, lithe women. He had never dated a policewoman, but Julia Cass just might be worth it, if she wasn’t J.D.’s sister. Since she was, though, and J.D. was his partner, he needed to make an effort to be friendly. Small talk was definitely in order.

  “You have a nice flight, Julia?”

  “Yes, it was fine. We landed about an hour ago, I’d say. It’s a good thing these airport chairs are so damn comfortable.”

  “I’m sorry I’m late.” He was, but couldn’t say he regretted the extra time with Pam, either.

  Julia Cass glanced up at him. “Look, I’m sure you have a good reason for being late. And I do appreciate your coming out here to get me. I’m sorry if I’m coming off rude. I’m just tired. It’s been a long week.”

  “You’re not coming off rude,” he lied. On the other hand, he rather liked her. Why, he did not know. There was just something about her that made him want to smile. Something that he’d better shake off ASAP. She’s a no-no, he thought. Yep, a definite no-no. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t lust after her like all the other guys he saw turning around and taking second looks as they passed by.

  “I’ve got my bloodhound over there in a travel crate. How about helping me sign him out?”

  “Does he bite?”

  “I’ll let you find that out for yourself.” But she smiled a bit, so he knew she probably wouldn’t sic the dog on him. Maybe.

  Following her around to the back of the carousel, he saw a guy in a blue-and-white airport personnel uniform standing beside a big, black rolling suitcase and a large dog carrier. Will stood back and watched a tan bloodhound exit the cage, stretch lazily, and shake all over until his black ears flapped and his tags jingled. Julia Cass knelt down and gave her dog a hug that any red-blooded man would covet. She adored her dog, no question about it.

  “So you’re a K-9, I take it,” he said to Julia, who was attaching a long purple leash to the dog’s halter.

  Julia turned her face up to him. She had undoubtedly the prettiest brown eyes, a very light brown that shone almost gold in the overhead lights, surrounded by long and thick black eyelashes. He bet she had a nice smile, too, not that he’d ever get to see it; not with the Bigfoot-size wrong foot they’d gotten off on.

  “I do hope you’re not calling me a dog. But to answer your question, this is Jasper,” Julia told him, and with downright civility at that. He could see the pride and love on her face. The woman loved her bloodhound. Jasper was a lucky dog indeed.

  “That’s an interesting name. No Spot or Rover or Buddy or Sam?”

  “Jasper was the name of Max de Winter’s dog.”

  “Daphne du Maurier. I remember that book. Max de Winter’s the guy with the crazy housekeeper named Danvers, who burned down the house at the end.”

  “You’ve read Rebecca?”

  “Yeah, I thought the guy in the movie was a little chauvinistic. Treated Joan Fontaine like a pet instead of a wife. The Germans used that book as a code source in World War Two. Did you know that?”

  “You’ve read Rebecca?” she repeated.

  “I went to college. English lit. Pride and Prejudice. Emma. Stuff like that.”

  “No, you’re not telling me that you’ve read Jane Austen, too?”

  “No, actually I’m kidding, but I’ve seen the movie where Keira Knightley plays Elizabeth. I try to see all her pictures.” Actually, his mother was the fan of those kinds of movies. So was his sister, Colleen. He usually dozed off in the middle of them. All that formal bowing, and those stiff collars made his neck itch.

  “To answer your question, Special Agent Brannock, Jasper was my K-9 partner until I made detective. I trained him from a pup. I still make him available if a law enforcement agency requests my help.”

  “Does that mean you’ll use him at the Chattanooga PD, too?”

  “Of course,” she said as if he were somebody with no dog smarts at all. “Chief Mullins asked me if I’d be willing to work him at the department. I’ll work detective in the criminal division. But I’ll be on call to deploy him whenever and wherever he’s needed. Jasper’s cross-trained to work search, cadaver, and explosive tasks.”

  Will went down on his haunches and rubbed the dog’s ears. The bloodhounds and other service dogs were
valuable assets to law enforcement. They performed a dangerous service and had saved the lives of many an officer and soldier in the field. Truth was, he loved dogs, too, mutts and otherwise. Actually, he had three of his own waiting at home right now.

  “Hi ya, Jasper, boy,” he muttered, roughing up the dog’s long ears and patting his back in the boisterous way his own dogs liked. At least, two of them did. “I bet you put all those other police dogs to shame, don’t you, boy?”

  Jasper leaned up against his leg, looking up at Will with some big, liquid brown eyes, already liking Will a lot better than his owner did. When Will smiled up at Julia, she was gazing down at them with approval. Aha. Will now knew the way to Detective Julia Cass’s heart. Not that he was interested in her heart. Nope, not a bit. But if he were, that certainly would be the way to go.

  “It’s a good thing I brought my truck. He can ride in the back.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “On the other hand, I’ve got a big front seat.”

  Julia did smile this time. For an instant, Will could see her resemblance to J.D. He wondered if she had J.D.’s gut laugh, too. But, holy cow, shock and awe, the lady was warming up toward him. That was a good sign. No fisticuffs or cursing matches on the way to J.D.’s house.

  “So which way, Special Agent Brannock?”

  “I’m parked out front. Call me Will. Please.”

  Suitcases and dog in tow, they made their way out of the terminal to the busy access street. As they left the coolness inside the terminal, the August heat hit them like a bomb blast. Will headed for his truck, remembering that J.D. had called her a “real sweetheart.” Will hadn’t seen a lot of that thus far. In fact, Jasper was a hell of a lot friendlier than Julia Cass, at least in the licking department. And Jasper wagged his tail when Will pooch-talked to him. But he wasn’t giving up. The luscious detective was a challenge. Nobody loved challenges as much as he did. She was going to be his friend, come hell or high water.

  “Here we are,” he said, gesturing proudly at his black-and-chrome honey of a truck.

  “Oh my God, that’s yours? You’ve got an H2 SUT Hummer?”

  Julia Cass looked first at the Hummer, then at him, awe evident in her eyes. She was practically drooling over his truck. He did so love a woman who knew her trucks. “Yeah, I just got her two weeks ago.”

  “I figured you for a red Corvette.”

  Will frowned, somehow sensing that was some kind of indirect insult. “Why’s that?”

  “So you could pick up lots of flight attendants. Why’d you think?”

  “You injure me, Cass. I guess you’re saying women won’t be impressed by my Hummer?”

  “Probably not. Except for me. I love it. In fact, I almost got one myself.”

  “Almost? What did you get?”

  “Nothing yet. I drove a Mustang in Nashville, but I sold it cheap to my neighbor’s son, Josh. He’s getting his driver’s license next month. Now I want a truck or SUV. I was looking at Hummers like this one on the Internet a couple of months ago, but they’re a little too pricey for me.”

  Absurdly pleased that she liked his truck, he said, “Well, consider this a test drive. Maybe you can get a good deal here in Chattanooga.”

  The traffic was wild and woolly around the airport, especially around the noon hour, but he took Airport Connector Road to 153 and they were on their way. Will glanced over at Julia again and liked the way she wasn’t getting all freaked out that the sunroof was blowing her shiny black hair all over the place. Out in the sun, he could see some red glints in it. In fact, she acted like she loved the feel of the wind whipping through her hair. Man, she was so damn good-looking. He wondered what kind of cop she was. If she took after her brother, she’d know her stuff inside and out. Something told him she was not just good but very good at her job, and at lots of other things, too.

  J.D. lived over on Signal Mountain, which would take a good fifteen or twenty minutes, so Will decided to make nice. Maybe they could get to know each other. Be friendly. “So, how do you think you’re going to like living here?”

  Julia glanced at him. Man, those eyes, he thought. Just like his mother’s heirloom topaz earrings.

  “I’m going to like being closer to J.D. I haven’t seen much of him for the last few years. Not as much as I’d like, anyway.”

  “So you didn’t get together much, huh?”

  “He usually made it to my house for Christmas, but that’s about it.”

  Will knew he was making a mistake with his next question but couldn’t help himself. He had to know. “You married? Engaged or anything?”

  “No.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  “No.” Julia paused, looking a trifle uncomfortable with the conversation swinging toward personal, and Will braced himself for a sharp retort. Instead, she merely said, “What about you?”

  “No one special.”

  “That redhead looked pretty special. Could’ve fooled me. Guess it was all that making out and groping each other that you did in public.”

  “We go out when she’s in town. Doesn’t happen very often. It’s not serious. Just good friends.”

  Julia didn’t comment. He wondered what she was thinking and decided it was better if he didn’t know. He liked Pam, respected her, but he wasn’t in love with her.

  “Mind if I call you Jules?”

  “Yes.”

  “J.D. calls you that sometimes.”

  “He’s my big brother. He’s got special privileges because I like him a lot.”

  “So tell me, Jules, that’s quite a hound you’ve got. Slobbery but sweet.”

  That brought a small, reluctant chuckle. Wow, he’d cracked the ice—a minute little hairline crack, true, but a thaw might be possible, given ten years or so.

  “As I said, I raised him from a puppy. He’s part of the family. And he’s a decorated law enforcement officer. So treat him with respect, or you’ll deal with me. And he doesn’t slobber. Much.”

  Will glanced down at Jasper where he lay on the front seat between them. His ears were blowing in the wind, too, and he was enjoying the fresh air coming in from the sunroof. Huge, soulful brown eyes gazed up at him. He was slobbering, but just a little. “He’s well behaved. You must be a good dog trainer.”

  “Thank you. That’s where I’ve been, actually. Conducting a law enforcement K-9 training seminar in Boca Raton.”

  “So that’s where you got that dark tan.”

  “I did get to the beach a time or two.”

  “A beach sounds good to me. I like to surf.” Julia didn’t answer, so he said, “K-9 work takes a lot of patience.”

  “And a lot of brains. More brains than all you special agents need. Just ask J.D.” She looked straight ahead but the corners of her mouth were turned up. She was teasing him, that was clear, but her words were provocative. He put on his turn signal and passed an old lady in a poky green Ford Taurus clogging the inside lane.

  “My brains are so massive, so impressive that they’d leave yours in the dust, Detective Cass.”

  “That sounds highly unpleasant.”

  “Okay, Jules. If you’re so brilliant, what’s the capital of Montana?”

  “Helena.”

  “What’s the capital of Wisconsin?”

  “Madison.”

  “North Dakota?”

  “Bismarck.”

  “Norway?”

  “Oslo.”

  “Thailand?”

  “Bangkok.”

  Will frowned. What was this girl, a geography major? “What’s the capital of Marakistan?”

  “Batke.”

  “Gotcha, Jules. I made that up.”

  “So? I made mine up, too.”

  They laughed together. Julia said, “Okay, your turn to answer some questions, Brannock. You look like you might be a real whiz at chemistry.”

  “If it’s between a man and a woman, I know it well. I feel it now.”

  Julia presented him with a quick and
deprecating look. “Oh my, the charm of you. I don’t think I can stand it.”

  “You can’t stand it in a bad way, or you’re so taken with me you can’t stand the excitement?”

  She changed the subject. “What kind of weapon do you carry?”

  “Glock Seventeen.”

  “You’re kidding. I do, too. Seventeen-round magazine. Four-and-a-half-inch barrel.”

  “Laser target indicator. Leather hip holster.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Okay, I guess we’re just two peas in a pod.”

  Julia laughed. “I bet I can shoot better than you.”

  “I bet you can, too. J.D. brags to us now and then about all your sharpshooting medals.”

  “Chicken.”

  “I do happen to know how to shoot down anybody that gives me trouble,” Will told her.

  “Are you including me in that remark?”

  “Sure. Watch out. I’ve shot up plenty of defenseless women in my life.”

  “I’m not defenseless, believe me.”

  “No, and I haven’t shot that many women, either.”

  “I have an idea. Why don’t you concentrate on your driving before you kill us both? I’m warning you, don’t even think about having a wreck with Jasper in the car. He’s dear to me.”

  “Yes, ma’am, Detective Jules.”

  That got another chuckle out of her, one she cut off almost at once. Will was more than pleased. Good grief, she might even like him a little. He actually made her forget to be prickly—for a few seconds, true, but, hey, that was a start. Crossing to the passing lane, Will increased his speed. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. He was eager to get Julia Cass home and then take his boat out on the lake. The crappie would be biting just before dark, and he meant to be there to catch a mess of them.

  “You like fishing?” she suddenly asked him.

  Well, the two of them were on the same wavelength, all right. “I was just thinking about fishing. Are you a psychic, or what?”

  “You’ve got a Bass Pro Shops catalog on your floorboard. And fishing gear in the back. That’s the extent of my psychic abilities.”

  “I do love to fish. Why?”