Don't Say a Word

by Beverly Barton

  “I know. Slashing the tongue could have been a warning to her, but why use the judge to send the warning?”

  “Unless he’d been coming down hard on one too many of their members.”

  “I’ll let you check that out, too,” Will said, forking one of those delectable dumplings into his mouth.

  “I’ll get on it today.”

  They continued to discuss the case while they ate, making sure to keep their voices low. Except for the tongue removal, the pertinent facts of the murder hadn’t hit the news yet, but it was only a matter of time. Problem was, they had lots of leads but no real clues. That was not a good thing. She needed to come up with something concrete, or she and Will Brannock would still be discussing the same possibilities over chicken and dumplings a month from now. Something was bound to break, something hiding in plain sight that she’d been missing. She’d go home, get out the crime scene photos, and study every detail. All night, if she had to. She was missing something significant, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t find it.

  “Well, well, lawsy me, if it isn’t the prettiest little detective this side of San Diego,” said a man’s deep voice close behind her.

  Julia jerked around and found Maximilian Hazard standing right behind her. He grinned down at her, looking as handsome as ever, all tall and broad-shouldered in his loose blue- and yellow-flowered Hawaiian shirt, flip-flops, and long khaki shorts. Charming and devil-may-care, Max had sun-bleached blond hair long enough to tuck behind his ears, blue eyes the exact color of today’s August sky, a square chin, clean-shaven cheeks, and a sensual mouth that was always smiling or laughing. He used to make her laugh like nobody else. Too bad he lived up to his last name.

  “Hello, Max. Funny meeting you here. Are you following me again?” He had followed her around, once upon a time in Nashville when they were investigating the same murder. Since he lived in and investigated out of Chattanooga, she hadn’t seen him since that case had ended nearly two years ago.

  “Mind if I join you?” Max said, and without waiting for an answer sat down beside her, forcing her to scoot over.

  “Yes, I do. This is a private conversation.”

  “Please, please, don’t tell me you’re married to this guy,” Max groaned, giving Will a considerable once-over. “It’ll break my heart if you are, Julie girl. I won’t survive it, I tell you. I’ll die.”

  “What do you want, Max? I thought I made it clear I didn’t want to see you anymore.”

  “But that was then, and this is now. And I am here, and so are you. So who’s Mr. Grim across the table? He doesn’t like me one bit—I can tell.”

  No wonder Max thought that, Julia decided, judging by the hard look Will was giving him. Will’s dark eyes didn’t waver.

  “Who is this guy, Julia? Is he bothering you?”

  “You bet I bother her—hot and bother you, right, sweetheart?” Max reached across the table, extending his hand to Will. “Maximilian Hazard, private eye. M. Hazard Detective Agency. East Brainerd. Glad to make your acquaintance, Julia’s Stern Lunch Companion.”

  Julia suppressed a smile. Will looked at Max’s hand as if it were a large, hairy spider, and then back at Julia. She shrugged one shoulder, but she wished Max would go away. She watched Will break down and shake Max’s hand, albeit with distaste. “Will Brannock.”

  “You stealin’ my girl, Brannock?”

  “Shut up, Max, would you? Will’s a special agent with the TBI, if you must know. We’re working together on a case.”

  Max turned to Julia and put all his attention on her. “I’ll shut up, if you’ll go out with me tonight.”

  “I’m busy.”

  “How about tomorrow night?”

  “I’m busy.”

  “How about any night between now and the day you die?”

  Julia laughed and shook her head. Will stared unblinkingly at Max, this time as if he was thinking about heaving the guy bodily over three or four of the nearest tables. He was probably big enough to do it, too. The idea made Julia laugh again.

  “Get out of here, Max. I mean it. We’re talking business. You’re interrupting us.”

  One thing about Max, he always knew when to stop. It was an acquired knack of his. Usually right up to the point where he was about to get punched in the nose or thrown out by a bouncer. “Okay, sorry about that, but I saw you and almost passed out from the sheer joy of being so close to you again, so I had to come over. I couldn’t stop myself. I mean it. Charlie told me you were moving to Chattanooga, and here you are. He gave me your cell phone number again when I saw him yesterday, so I’ll be calling you soon. Decide where you want to go on our future first date, and I’ll make it happen. Anywhere you say. Anywhere at all. Anytime at all.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then gave a sarcastic salute to Will. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Brannock. Take good care of my girl here.”

  Max strode off with his usual cocky saunter, saying something to their waitress that made her laugh out loud.

  Silence reigned at their table.

  “So, who’s the clown?” Will asked, his eyes following Max’s retreating back.

  “He’s okay. Just likes to goof around. He’s pretty good at his job. I ran into him on a mutual case a couple of years back. Had to arrest him for trespassing. Twice, actually. He’s been asking me out ever since.”

  More quiet. “And have you gone out with him?”

  “And you’re interested in that, why?”

  Will looked nonplussed by her question. “Never mind. You’re right. It’s none of my business. No need to get so touchy, though.”

  Well now, me touchy? Will Brannock’s one to talk. He is the king of touchy, Julia thought, but she said as pleasantly as she could, “I’m not being touchy. I’ve never gone out with him, but I might someday. He can be entertaining enough when he wants to be. He’s good at his job, but not above bending the rules now and then. That’s his negative point.”

  “He looks like a California beach bum to me. I bet he’s got a surfboard hanging on his living room wall.”

  “That pretty much nails him. That’s where he’s from. San Diego. LA before that.”

  “Here, I’ll treat,” Will said, conversation now obviously over. “I’ve got to get going. I’m supposed to meet somebody. I don’t want to keep her waiting.”

  Julia immediately stood up and grabbed her brown leather purse. As he put down a tip, she bid him so long, not waiting for him to go to the cash register and pay the bill and walk outside with her. As she left the front doors and stood on the big veranda with the rocking chairs, she wondered who the she was that he was in such a hurry to meet. Well, there was probably a myriad of choices in the Will Brannock Magic World of Maniacal Privacy. Why, heavens above, it could be Pam, the redheaded airport bombshell, perhaps, back in town for another romp in the hay. Or Ginger, the vampiest vamp of the Elite Escort crew, who let it be known loud and clear that she was even more available than available could be. But probably for a price—or maybe not, considering Will’s hot factor.

  Somehow Julia didn’t like the idea of him meeting up with either one of those women. Her thoughts hit the stop button and skidded to a shuddering halt. Oh my God, she thought, what was this all about? Surely she wasn’t starting to fall for him. Surely his good looks, face and body like a Greek god, and overwhelming masculine sex appeal didn’t affect her. Surely not. But, oh no, yes, it did, Julia realized with not a little trepidation. One thing she did know: she certainly didn’t like the idea of taking a running jump onto the Will Brannock Love ’Em and Leave ’Em Fan Club bus with the arena full of other women who found him just as attractive and desirable. Uh-uh, that would not do, not for one teeny little minute. She was going to have to step back and give herself a biting lesson in self-restraint, corral the troubling thoughts of sexy Will that were beginning to run wild and reckless through her mind of late, and bid those roiling romantic notions a fond adieu. Will was her partner right now—off-limits, and that was that. So ge
t a grip on yourself, boiling hormones.

  As Audrey Sherrod drove into the Lookout Valley Cracker Barrel’s parking lot, she felt a long shiver course down her spine, and tried not to think about the horrible scene she had experienced the last time she had been summoned to this particular restaurant. It was the day they’d found Jill Scott’s body. Jill was the Rocking Chair killer’s second victim. The poor girl had been propped up in one of the country restaurant’s porch rockers, and in her arms was a child’s tiny skeleton wrapped in a blanket. She swallowed hard, remembering. Those murders had happened over a year ago, but it had affected her in so many terrible ways, revealing deeply hidden secrets in her own family that had come back to haunt her and turn her world upside down.

  Trying again not to dwell on the past, she got out of her cocoa-brown Buick Enclave. No, the idea of eating at the scene of a previous murder wasn’t particularly appetizing to her. But she wasn’t there to eat. She was there to visit the gift shop, and she never would have set foot in the place if it hadn’t been for Zoe. The teenager had begged her to pick up a specific T-shirt that she wanted to wear to the surprise party that Audrey was planning, to welcome J.D.’s sister, Julia, to Chattanooga. Tam and her mother, Geraldine, had thrown a surprise party for Tam’s father’s birthday at the Read House in downtown Chattanooga the year before, and it had been a great success. It would be the perfect place for Julia’s party, too.

  Grabbing her Coach bag, she got out and hurried across the parking lot, avoiding the end of the porch where the poor girl’s body had been found. All the wooden rockers in that area had been removed, replaced by long benches under the windows. No one sat on them. She wondered if everybody else remembered that day as vividly as she did. Trying again to put it out of her mind, she pulled open the door to the gift shop.

  The only good thing about that day, of course, was that she had also met J.D. Cass, right here in this parking lot. Not that she had liked him one little bit at the time. No, at first glance she had considered him a condescending creep. A man she had later learned was alienating his own darling daughter, Zoe. But then, as the case progressed and she’d spent more time with Zoe, and therefore with J.D., she had seen the true man. They’d been together for a year now, and she was ready to commit. She’d told him once that if he hadn’t proposed to her in six months, she would do the honors. So it was long overdue, and another happy reason to have a party.

  Once inside the busy eatery, she was surprised to find JD’s colleague, Will Brannock, walking quickly toward the exit. She smiled and held out her hand. She liked Will a lot. He had been the TBI agent with J.D. the night they’d finally captured the Rocking Chair killer as he attempted to smother his last victim. Will seemed like a nice man, not that she knew all that much about him—except that, in J.D.’s words, he was one hell of a TBI agent.

  “Hi, Will. It’s good to see you again.”

  “Yes, it’s been awhile.” Will Brannock kept looking around at the other customers. Who was he looking for? “Are you meeting J.D. for lunch?” he asked her.

  “No. He’s still waiting around at the trial.”

  Will gave her one of his half smiles. He was a very handsome man, she decided, but she’d always thought so.

  “I guess that tells me what kind of mood he’s in,” Will said.

  “He’s no happy camper, that’s for sure.” It was Audrey’s turn to glance around. “Are you here alone?”

  “Julia Cass had lunch with me, but she took off a few minutes ago.”

  “Really? Well, that’s a coincidence, because I wanted to talk to you about her.”

  “Me?”

  Audrey grinned up at him. “So, what’s it like working with her? J.D.’s always bragging on her, telling me what a great detective she is.”

  “He’s right. We probably ought to try to get her to defect over to the TBI.”

  “She’s very pretty,” Audrey noted then, watching for his reaction. What a cute couple they would make, both so tall and good-looking.

  “I haven’t noticed.”

  Audrey laughed at his obvious lie. She knew enough about Will Brannock to know that he would have noticed something like that first thing. “Yeah, I’ll bet.”

  He looked uncomfortable with the subject, and she decided he had definitely noticed Julia’s beauty.

  “What’s up about her, Audrey?”

  “First, you have to swear yourself to secrecy. I don’t want her to find out about this.”

  Will hesitated, frowning a little. “Okay, I guess.”

  “I’m going to have a surprise party for her. You know, to welcome her to town. It was Zoe’s idea, and I’m inviting all our friends and colleagues. J.D. says she won’t have time to make new friends very fast because she has a tendency to obsess about her cases. Do you think that’s true?”

  “Yeah, I’d say so. I can’t find fault with that, though. That’s what makes her so good.”

  “True. J.D.’s the same way. I’d like to invite some of her friends, too, if she’s got any here in town. J.D. gave me a few names. Do you know if there’s anyone she might want to have there?”

  “She’s staying at a friend’s house. Cathy Axelrod is her name. Her husband’s name is Lonnie. Charlie Sinclair down at the courthouse is an old friend of hers.”

  “The bailiff? I know him. He’s so nice. But I didn’t know he was friends with Julia.”

  “Don’t know of anyone else. She saw a guy today, here at the restaurant, a man named Maximilian Hazard, but I’m not sure she likes him much. J.D. probably knows more about her friends than I do. Julia and I haven’t known each other very long.”

  “I’ve already asked him.” She hesitated, gazing up at him. He was even taller than J.D. “I have another favor to ask you, Will.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Would you mind picking up Julia and bringing her to the party? We’re having it downtown at the Read House. Just think up any excuse that makes sense. J.D. can probably help you out with that.”

  “No problem.”

  Somehow, however, Audrey sensed that he wasn’t thrilled with the idea. “Will, I’m getting a funny vibe here. What’s wrong? Don’t you want to bring her?”

  Will shook his head. “No, it’s not that. I’m just not sure Julia Cass is the kind of woman who likes surprises. I could be wrong, but that’s the way I see it.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. I just get that feeling. You might ought to ask J.D. if he thinks a surprise party’s a good idea.”

  “I’ll do that. He didn’t say anything negative when I first brought it up.”

  “Okay. Just let me know when, and I’ll think of a way to get Julia there.”

  They chatted a few minutes, and then Audrey watched him walk swiftly away. It hadn’t occurred to her that Julia might not like such a surprise. She had better discuss it a bit further with J.D. and make sure it truly was a good idea. Turning, she headed inside the gift shop, hoping they still had the T-shirt that Zoe had described in such detail to her: black with lots of sparkly sequins in a red-and-silver fleur-de-lis design. Zoe was already like a daughter to her, and she hoped that relationship would become a reality, sooner rather than later. She smiled to herself. And it would, if she had anything to do with it.

  Chapter 10

  It was nearly nightfall on a hazy and hot late August evening, the heat finally beginning to let up over the city as the sun went down. Downtown Chattanooga was still fairly busy, people straggling out of office buildings, trying to get home in time to cook dinner, make that Little League game, or watch the Atlanta Braves play the St. Louis Cardinals.

  City buses, cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs whizzed by in both directions along the street where the Tongue Slasher had parked his vehicle and waited patiently for his next victim to show up. He welcomed the falling darkness, but he seriously doubted if anyone would recognize him. The late-model white Ford Fusion he’d rented for the occasion was suitably nondescript. No one would be expec
ting him to be there, lying in wait, dressed impeccably in a brown UPS uniform and cap. A large UPS package sat on the passenger seat beside him.

  Resting the back of his head against the seat, he tried to sit still, to relax completely and remain calm. It was hard to do, but it took that kind of focus to kill efficiently. He was so eager to do it again, finish off the despicable man that he’d chosen as number Two. How he hated this man, this foul-mouthed, ignorant, biased, filthy, rotten SOB. He clamped his teeth hard, felt his muscles tense up and grow rigid. He wanted so bad for this guy to die, wanted to make him suffer, make him beg, make him crawl. He was going to enjoy every minute of it, even more than he had enjoyed Lucien’s terror and choked-off screams.

  He had picked his second victim because he had been the one who’d said the most salacious and vile things back then. Two had caused such pain and heartbreak, such utter despair. He was going to pay, pay dearly, and soon. It was strange, this hardness inside his heart. He had always considered himself a sane man, a rational man, a good man. Maybe he wasn’t so good. Maybe he never had been. If he were, he’d regret what he’d done, what he was going to do. But he didn’t regret anything. He looked forward to the next killing with a pleasure, a kind of sheer ecstasy, that he’d never before felt in his life.

  Tired of waiting, bored, he took off his aviator sunglasses, folded them, and slid them into the case he’d attached to the visor. Turning his head, he gazed across the busy street. His next victim worked downtown in a prestigious and beautifully designed chrome and glass building, but even its luxury didn’t measure up to the apartment the bastard lived in. Yes, Two’s apartment building was pure luxury, all champagne and caviar and top-of-the-line everything. It must be nice to have the kind of money that would buy that kind of lifestyle. Only the highest paid, the most elite of Chattanooga’s wealthy could even dream of setting foot inside that spacious marble lobby. The tall doorman in his spotless black uniform and a cap that sported gold trim and a patent leather visor guarded the portal at all times. He made sure that no mere commoner dirtied the shiny, pristine floors of the rich and arrogant.