Don't Say a Word

by Beverly Barton

  So when she heard Will’s tires crunching over the gravel outside her window, she headed outside to meet him. Jasper had beat her to the door and started baying as Will walked down the path toward them. His step was lighter, he was smiling, and she hoped in her heart that his good spirits had everything to do with her. She opened the screen door, and he wasted no time grabbing her against him and giving her a long, satisfying kiss that lasted until Jasper decided enough was enough and jumped up on Will’s back, barking.

  “I forgot to tell you that Jasper’s the jealous type,” she told Will.

  “Yeah? Well, so am I. Looks like we’ll have to fight for your attention.”

  Will kept looking at her mouth, and she decided Will was going to beat Jasper at that game every single time. Attempting to get her mind on something other than the way Will felt pressed up against her, she decided she needed to get their minds back on business. They had all night to enjoy themselves in bed. The idea brought a ridiculous blush rising up her throat.

  “Did Phil have anything else on the Tongue Slasher?” she asked him.

  “Yeah. The killer cleaned up pretty well after himself this time, too. They did find a drop of blood that they presume to be the killer’s, but the DNA hasn’t matched it up to anyone in our databases.” He hesitated. “They found something else at the Varranzo crime scene, too. A couple of dog hairs.”

  “I didn’t see any sign of a dog at her place.”

  “She didn’t have one. That’s the significance.”

  “What breed?”

  Will hesitated. “Actually, it’s from a bloodhound.”

  They stared at each other a moment, both thinking the same thing. “So you think it’s Jasper’s?”

  The bloodhound reacted at the sound of his name, lying down at her feet and presenting his belly for her to rub. She knelt and obliged, but she didn’t like the idea that she may have been so careless that she contaminated a crime scene with Jasper’s hair.

  “I didn’t say that. It could be from another bloodhound, some kind of transference. I’ve seen how careful you are before you enter a crime scene.”

  “I’m trained to do that, of course, but it can happen. It never has before—never, not once—but I guess it’s possible.”

  “Send a sample of Jasper’s coat over to forensics and find out. Don’t beat yourself up until you know for sure.”

  “God, I hope it’s not Jasper’s.”

  Will glanced down at the CDs in her hand. “Are those Varranzo’s files?”

  “Yes. It looks like we’re going to spend lots of time checking them out.”

  “Not as long as you think. I just put in some really awesome computer equipment.”

  “It’s still going to take time. I want to get through it all tonight.”

  “What’s that you said not so long ago? Something about all work, Jack, dull boy—remember that?”

  “This case has to come first.”

  Will’s smile faded as he acknowledged the truth of her statement. “I know, but we have to eat and sleep. And make love.” He looked at her mouth again, with a lust he no longer even tried to disguise. He was going to have to stop doing that, or they weren’t going to get anything done. Man, the rippling cold chills he could give her. “We’ve got to get to know each other better, Jules, and there’s so much more I want to show you.”

  Julia knew exactly what he meant and was glad to hear it. Okay, the sexual tension was gone, but now that she knew what it was like in his bed—his hands all over her body, the desire she felt—the idea of making love with him again was even more titillating. Jeez, she was going to have to get a grip and lock up her carnal urges, not to mention corral Will’s lusty bedroom appetite. She changed the subject.

  “Are you sure you want me to bring Jasper along?”

  “Sure. He can get to know my dogs.”

  “You have dogs?”

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of dogs?”

  “Two beagles,” Will said, then admitted with a sheepish look, “and a toy poodle.”

  “You, Will Brannock, own a toy poodle? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “It’s Mom’s. When they moved to Las Vegas, she was afraid a scorpion or snake would get her, so she insisted I keep her here. She said my life was way too lonely, anyway, and poodles love unconditionally.”

  “That sounds like Betty. What are their names?”

  “The beagles are Rover and Spot.”

  “How ingenious. And the poodle?”

  “Don’t laugh.”

  “I can’t promise that.”

  “My mother named her, not me.”

  “So, let’s hear it.”

  “Baby Cakes.”

  Julia laughed out loud. The idea of a big, virile, strapping man like Will cuddling a little lapdog named Baby Cakes struck her as more than funny.

  Will frowned. “Don’t tell J.D., okay?”

  “Oh, he and the other guys are going to have a heyday with this one.”

  “I’ll have to think of a way to convince you to keep my secrets.”

  At that, Julia became serious at once. He was now opening up to her about every aspect of his life. She didn’t want to do anything to make him reticent again.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about the dogs?”

  “I tend to keep my cards close to the vest, remember?”

  “You wanted to protect your dogs?”

  “Don’t you?”

  Julia couldn’t disagree with that and admitted she’d found yet another facet of Will Brannock’s personality that she absolutely loved and that fit hand in glove with hers. Tread carefully, she told herself as she picked up the CDs and her backpack. She wasn’t used to having a romantic relationship and neither was he. They were already close to getting carried away with the euphoria of it all.

  As it turned out, Will lived out on Chickamauga Lake. His place was just off Gann Store Road, in a gated waterfront community not too far from downtown Chattanooga. His property was enclosed by a tall brick wall with KEEP OUT signs and BEWARE OF DOG warnings.

  “Beware of dogs? Don’t you mean beware of Baby Cakes?”

  “Ha-ha. I don’t like the idea of people sneaking up on me. I’m careful. And for your information, Baby Cakes yaps louder than the other two put together.”

  “The IRS probably couldn’t even get to you out here.”

  “That’s an added perk, true.”

  The gate was activated with a card sweep. A camera was positioned on the gate. “The president could stay here without the Secret Service and still sleep without a care in the world,” Julia commented.

  “I like my privacy.”

  “Well, at least you won’t get any door-to-door salesmen. How much land do you own?”

  “Five and a half acres.”

  The tarmac road wound up through a well-kept grassy lawn to a large contemporary house covered with dark wood siding and white brick. It was all dark except for a few lights on the ground floor.

  “How big is this house? It looks huge.”

  “Eighty-four hundred square feet. Or thereabout.”

  “Is that all? Just a little bachelor pad, huh?”

  “It’s got four decks and lots of windows overlooking the lake. I like looking at the water, just like at your house.”

  “I just have one window.”

  “But it’s got a good view of the river.”

  They drove around the house to the three-car garage. The view was beautiful to behold, all right, and a House Beautiful house to go with it.

  “Wow, Brannock. You Daddy Warbucks, or what?”

  “I bought this place for the security systems. It’s hard to break in here.”

  “Well, you got whatever you paid for this place, and more. I guarantee it.” She looked over at him as he hit a button on the remote attached to the visor above the driver’s seat, and the garage door slowly began to rise. They drove inside, where she saw his black-and-chrome Mercedes motorcycle and red Co
rvette convertible.

  “Okay, I have one question. Where do you park the Rolls-Royce?”

  “No Rolls-Royce. Way too flashy.”

  “Are you kidding me? No Rolls-Royce. What do you take to the opera and all those posh charity galas?”

  “I like vehicles, and I told you I’m part owner of the Taste of the South franchise. I’m not as rich as you obviously think.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “That’s a 2005 magnetic-red Chevrolet Corvette hardtop. What do you think of it?”

  “I think you should sell it to me, cheap.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  “Maybe I’ll take it in a New York minute.”

  “Maybe I’ll just buy you a matching one. You know, his and hers.”

  “You’re talking my language, baby.”

  Will laughed, but the beagles had heard the garage door and were outside Will’s car door, barking up a storm and letting their master know they had missed him in the worst way. Jasper looked highly interested but was too well trained to go to pieces.

  “Your guard beagles aren’t going to attack my bloodhound, are they?”

  “Nope.” He opened his door but leveled a gaze on her. “At least, I don’t think so. They don’t attack Bab”—he cut that off, apparently not ready for another round of jokes—“the poodle. The poodle might attack him, though. She thinks she’s a Saint Bernard, or something. She’s quite a handful.”

  Handful was right, Julia thought as they entered the house and the aforementioned canine slid around a corner with a great clicking of nails. The poodle was tiny, even for her breed, but her bark was as shrill as any ambulance siren. More so, in fact. Jasper looked like he wanted to lie down and put his paws over his floppy ears. Baby Cakes slid to a dancing halt on the glossy hardwood floor and stared suspiciously at Jasper.

  “Stay, Jasper,” she ordered. Jasper obediently sat, still eyeing the tiny pooch as if it were the creature in Alien and was just hankering to hook itself on his face and explode through his chest.

  Still chaperoning the sniffing-and-summing-each-other-up dogs, she looked around the interior of Will’s house. Jeez, she thought, definitely no expense spared. “The Taste of the South franchise must be doing one hell of a business, Will. You ever get lost in here?”

  “C’mon, give me a break.” He turned his head and raised an eyebrow. “Wait until you see my bedroom. You’re going to like it, trust me.”

  “I’d like it if it were a cot and a horsehair blanket.”

  “Good answer.”

  Their laughs were easy and genuine, and they were getting more and more comfortable with their new closeness. That was good. Will led her into the great room, which had floor-to-ceiling windows with a fabulous view of the glistening lake; but then again, every room they passed through had that magnificent outlook. The kitchen had every conceivable convenience, Kitchen-Aid and Sub-Zero appliances, cherrywood cabinets, and black marble countertops. Anything and everything a cook could ever need.

  “Well, I must say, I am mightily impressed. I bet it even echoes like the Alps when you yell from the top of that grand staircase.”

  “I yodel there every chance I get.”

  The idea of Will yodeling there or anywhere also amused her.

  “I’m getting the impression you don’t like my house.”

  “I love it, but where’s the Olympic-size heated swimming pool? I must have my Olympic-size heated swimming pool, you know.”

  “It’s down beside the lake. See? Look down that way. Not quite Olympic, but big enough for both of us.”

  “Wow, I’m speechless,” she said, looking and wishing she were in it, or in the big spa feeding it with a warm, steamy waterfall.

  “It’s heated. Hop in anytime you want, winter or summer.”

  “I will, believe me. Right after we wrap up this case. And speaking of this case, how about you show me your cool computer room and let’s pop in some attorney-client-privilege CDs and get back to work.”

  Will led her through several equally spacious and expertly decorated rooms, all done in a noticeably masculine style, but still the work of a talented interior designer. Lots of dark wood, leather, and glass. Masculine and modern, but that was okay with Julia. She was just tomboyish enough to like it that way. She supposed it beat the doilies, portraits of sullen-faced ancestors, and lace curtains of the boathouse, although she liked that, too.

  “The master bedroom’s upstairs. I’ll show that to you later tonight, and every other night for the rest of the year.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that, Brannock.”

  “Promise?”

  With Jasper padding beside her and Baby Cakes still yapping in their wake, Julia followed Will down an adjacent hallway that led to a large room with French doors that was obviously Will’s home office. It overlooked the big, sparkling swimming pool. All four walls were lined with a variety of computers, printers, faxes, scanners, and some electronics that Julia didn’t recognize. “Do you launch the space shuttle from in here, too?”

  “No, but I probably could.”

  Julia didn’t fall for that. “How long does Baby Cakes bark before she collapses from exhaustion?”

  “She just wants some attention,” Will said, scooping up the tiny dog and cradling her against his chest. She lay like a baby in the palm of his hand, shut her eyes, and squirmed in delight when he scratched her belly. Julia knew how the tiny mutt felt. Chagrined, she squirmed, too, just remembering.

  “Where do I go to work?” Her voice was curter than she intended. They would be working in close quarters together here at Will’s house. Temptation was already rearing its sensual head. At least, for her it was.

  “So, do you like my place?”

  “What’s not to like? It’s beautiful.”

  “I love the water, and the way the trees reflect off of it.”

  “It’s beautiful, Will. I love it out here.”

  Will grinned. He was pleased that she was pleased, she could tell. It was really easy to read his emotions, now that he didn’t drop that sturdy steel curtain down to shield his every feeling, good or bad. He was really opening up.

  “I need to make a couple of calls and feed the dogs. How about I take Jasper out to run with my dogs? The property’s completely enclosed, so he can’t get out.”

  “Sure. Looks like he’s raring to go.”

  Will left her sitting in front of the HAL supercomputer setup, with Jasper dogging his heels. Yes sir, Will was a techno-freak, all right. Waiting for all the bells and whistles to warm up for her pleasure, she gazed out the window at the water. It was funny that both of them liked the water so much. She stared at Will’s race boat down at that honey of a double dock on the water and wondered if he water-skied. He was so athletic that she bet he did.

  A few minutes later, she heard a sharp bark and saw Jasper and the beagles running down the backyard toward the lake, frolicking together like little puppies. Jasper wouldn’t stray, but he might explore. She hoped Will didn’t have land mines along the perimeter of his property. He was überserious about his security, and for good reason. Turning back to the computer, she slid in the CD and began the long and tedious ordeal of reading through all of Gloria Varranzo’s cases and cross-referencing them with the ones in which Tam had found a connection between the judge and the shock jock. She was sure that when they found the right case, they’d find the Tongue Slasher. But, whoa, was she ever going to be computer blind by morning.

  Chapter 22

  Three hours later, Will and Julia sat outside on a white brick terrace and devoured fried bologna sandwiches loaded with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and mayonnaise. The dogs sat in a semicircle in front of them, even Baby Cakes—three emitting low, imploring growls; one a periodic shrill yap of demand. Then they returned to their twin computers, silent, serious, both focused intently on their screens.

  After about an hour, Will stopped for a moment and rubbed his temples with his thumbs. He was tired. His eyes a
ched inside the sockets and a headache was well on its way. He swiveled his chair around and stared at Julia’s profile. She looked the same as always, pretty and damn provocative. No matter how many hours of sleep she got and how hard she worked, she still looked great. Since the first day they’d met, he had branded her as unintentionally sexy. She made no effort whatsoever to make herself so, but was still a woman most men tripped over their feet to stare at. Being with her so much, he’d noticed that reaction from other guys. He didn’t blame them; he’d done the same thing the first time he’d seen her. He felt that sexual chemistry every time he laid eyes on her.

  “What?” Julia inquired, swiveling in her desk chair and returning his stare.

  “I was just admiring you. You look sexy in that baggy Tennessee T-shirt and those cutoff jeans.”

  “Yeah, right,” she said, laughing as if that was ridiculous.

  “I mean it. You got it, babe.”

  “So do you, babe. What I wish I had, however, is a connection that would solve this case and give us a Google road map to the perp’s hidey hole.”

  “We’ll get him.”

  “We need to get him yesterday. Because he’s lurking around somewhere right now, casing out some poor victim.”

  “If he hasn’t already finished the job.”

  “You think he’s already struck?”

  “He doesn’t seem to waste much time between murders. It’s like he’s got an agenda and he’s determined to carry it out before something goes wrong.”

  Julia inhaled deeply and ran slender fingers through her loosened hair. “I’m not stopping until we find the link, whatever it is. My gut tells me it’s right here in Gloria Varranzo’s caseload. I know it is.”