Trouble with a Badge

by Delores Fossen

  “You actually asked him?”

  “Tried to ask him,” Jax corrected. He leaned in, lowered his voice. “Levi seems to think I need to be protected from you. I don’t.”

  Levi obviously hadn’t missed Jax’s and her conversation because he ended his call and made a beeline toward them. “Is everything okay?”

  “Sure,” Jax answered before Alexa could say anything. “Enjoy your decaf,” he added and then strolled away.

  Levi stood there volleying glances between her and his brother, and while he wasn’t glaring, it was obvious he wanted to know what Jax and she had been discussing. It was also obvious he didn’t want Jax upset.

  “Jax and I were just talking about Tasha and the baby. Oh, he brought me coffee, of course.” She touched the outside of the cup just above the cardboard sleeve. Still too hot to drink. “I didn’t say anything about Paige. Or anything else.”

  “Anything else?” Levi repeated. “Is that code for what happened between us?”

  Alexa debated her answer and went with the truth. “Yes. He said he’d asked you about it, but you didn’t volunteer anything. Neither did I.” She paused. “Mainly because I had no idea what to volunteer.”

  And there it was, the opening for him to discuss this.

  Or not.

  Levi waited so long to answer that she thought he might just turn away and get back to work. He didn’t. “You complicate things for me,” he said finally.

  She nearly smiled. Nearly. “And you complicate things for me. I have no prospects of a future. A safe, normal future anyway, and the last thing I need is a lover that I want.”

  Now it seemed as if he nearly smiled, but it wasn’t from humor. No, she recognized frustration when she saw it. “I guess you’re saying we could never be friends with benefits.”

  No, casual sex was out. Not her style. Nor Levi’s, though she was sure that with his looks he’d had plenty of opportunities in that particular area.

  “Are we friends?” she asked.

  “Allies,” he corrected. Then frowned. “Friends.” After that admission he cursed, his voice a little too loud, because it drew the attention of both his brothers.

  Levi waved them off and he looked at her. Not just an ordinary look. One that could have melted chrome. “And if there’d been a condom nearby, we’d be having a different conversation because we would have already had sex.”

  Oh, this was so not a good time to feel that heat trickle through her. Not a good time to remember his kiss. His touch.

  And the rest of him.

  But Alexa remembered and was afraid that she always would. Great day. She was really racing toward that broken heart, and there didn’t seem to be anything she could do to stop it.

  Again, Alexa got so caught up in her thoughts, and Levi, that the sound of someone saying her name gave her a jolt. But it was only Jericho making his way toward them.

  “Did Marcos weasel out of coming here?” she asked.

  Jericho shook his head. “This is about that chat room, the one the Moonlight Strangler told you to use.”

  Alexa hadn’t forgotten about it, but she’d figured it was a long shot. “And?”

  “The FBI set up a profile for you and made some posts, and we got a response.” Jericho handed her a sheet of paper.

  Alexa couldn’t take it fast enough. Like the other message, it was short.

  She read it aloud. “‘Alexa-girl, good to hear from you. Well, if it’s really you. We both know how these things work, and I’ll watch my p’s and q’s so your Fed friends don’t use this.’”

  Of course, he would be cautious. If this was indeed the killer and not some groupie playing games. But then, she was almost certain the letter was real, so maybe this was, too.

  “‘A warning,’” she continued to read. “‘You’ve got a problem child on your hands. Watch out for him and tell him I don’t like him stealing my letters. Sleep well, Alexa-girl.’”

  “Scottie,” Levi said. “If the Moonlight Strangler saw him steal the letter, that means he probably had your place under surveillance.”

  Yes and it also meant he might be watching her now. That would only add to her nightmares.

  “The FBI will let us know if there are any other messages,” Jericho told her. He took the paper and headed back to the desk to make yet another call.

  “You okay?” Levi asked her.

  Not really. And she got another jolt when she looked up and saw Marcos. Not alone. He was being escorted by two uniformed cops from the SAPD and a man wearing a suit. His new lawyer, probably.

  “Good morning, Alexa,” Marcos said, his attention going straight to her. “Here to falsely accuse me of something else?”

  Alexa stood. “No. I’m here to see how you’ll try to squirm your way out of this.” Thank goodness she sounded strong, but she was still shaking from that attack and the message from the Moonlight Strangler. Seeing the man who might be responsible certainly didn’t help.

  What did help was that Levi went to her side, silently supporting her. Marcos noticed. Smiled. As if he knew exactly what was going on between them. He didn’t, because even Alexa didn’t know that.

  “This way,” Levi told Marcos and his entourage, and he pointed to the interrogation room.

  “No need to sit down,” Marcos insisted. “I think I can clear this all up in a matter of a few seconds. I’m innocent. I didn’t hire those two men or anyone else to come after you.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Levi asked, and he didn’t bother to take out the sarcasm. “And you think we’ll just take your word for it?”

  “No, but I don’t think you’re so biased that you won’t listen to the facts. My wallet was stolen yesterday, and I’m sure the money you found with my prints was taken from my stolen wallet.”

  “Convenient,” Levi remarked.

  “The truth. I filed a police report.” Marcos snapped his fingers at the lawyer, and the man handed Levi some papers. It was indeed a police report, and it’d been filed hours before the attack.

  Sweet heaven. This could allow Marcos to walk, but there was the other evidence against him.

  “How’d your phone number get on the gunman’s hand?” she asked.

  Marcos shrugged. “That number is private, but plenty of people have it. Including you since you did some work for me.”

  Alexa had to nod. It was true. She had indeed done some PI work for him, and that was how she’d discovered his illegal activities.

  Marcos didn’t even acknowledge her nod. He looked at Levi instead. “Come on—can’t you see someone’s trying to set me up?”

  Levi’s hands went to his hips. “And who would do that to you?”

  Marcos didn’t jump to answer. He first exchanged a short whispered conversation with his attorney before he turned and faced Levi again. “I think it’s the person who’s really behind that whole money laundering and extortion operation. He set me up then to take the fall by leaving so-called evidence for Alexa to find, and now he’s trying to set me up again.”

  “Does this person have a name?” Levi snapped.

  “Yes.” A muscle flickered in Marcos’s jaw. “It’s Marshal Lockwood.”

  * * *

  LEVI JUST STARED at Marcos, waiting for the man to add more to that accusation. But he didn’t. Instead, he had another whispered conversation with his lawyer. However, his lawyer didn’t appear to be pleased about what his client had just said.

  Welcome to the club.

  Levi didn’t mind Marcos accusing Lockwood of anything. Plain and simple, he had his own concerns about the marshal. But Levi seriously doubted Marcos’s blabbering was anything more than just that.

  Blabbering.

  “The last time we questioned you here in the sheriff’s office, you said Lockwood didn’t hav
e anything to do with your criminal operation,” Levi reminded him.

  “It’s not my operation. It’s Lockwood’s. He’s the one who put it together and then set me up to take the fall for him.”

  Alexa shook her head. “When I worked for you, I didn’t see anything related to Lockwood.”

  “Because he didn’t use his real name, of course.”

  She huffed and looked about as skeptical as Levi felt. “And why are you just now bringing this up?” Levi asked.

  “Because my lawyers have advised me not to get into too many details since this will be part of my defense at the trial, but I’m sick and tired of being accused of trying to kill you.” Marcos jabbed his index finger at Alexa. “If I wanted you dead, you already would be.”

  His lawyer took hold of him, but Marcos shook off his grip. “Just think it through, Alexa. There were other names involved in that operation. One of those names is the alias Lockwood used. Why don’t you get your cowboy cop here to find out which one?”

  Levi had studied the case against Marcos. There were other names, but neither the FBI nor SAPD had been able to figure out the real identities. Was it possible Lockwood was one of them and that Marcos was telling the truth? Of course, Marcos had a reason to lie. He’d been charged because of that criminal operation. Lockwood hadn’t been.

  “This way.” Levi pointed to the interrogation room again. “Let’s put all this down on paper and make it official.”

  The lawyer clearly didn’t like that, but Marcos didn’t put up even a token objection. He followed Levi down the hall, his lawyer trailing behind him.

  “We’ve got some paperwork we need to drop off at the DA’s office,” one of the SAPD cops said. “Unless you need us here, we’ll be back in about a half hour.”

  “Take your time,” Levi offered. He doubted this was going to be a speedy interrogation.

  “I’ve been telling you all along that I’m not guilty,” Marcos insisted.

  Levi ignored him for the time being and looked back to check on Alexa. To see how she was handling all this. Not well. But then, it’d been a very emotional past couple days for her. The muscles in her face and shoulders were stiff, and she had such a grip on the coffee cup that he was surprised she hadn’t crushed it.

  “I’ll be a few seconds,” Levi said to Marcos and the lawyer, and he shut the door of the interrogation room, staying in the hall with her.

  Jericho must have realized he needed a moment because his brother stepped into the observation room where he’d no doubt be watching when Levi questioned Marcos. Alexa would, too, and that wouldn’t help her nerves any.

  “I could have screwed up,” she said, her voice trembling a little. “I could have seen Lockwood’s alias on those records and not realized he was the actual head of the operation.”

  “That’s possible,” Levi acknowledged. “Though it’s not really a screw-up. Unless you have ESP, there’s no way you could have known any of those names belonged to Lockwood. And maybe one of the names does. Marcos’s bail will be revoked if any of these new charges stick, and this might be his way of making sure that doesn’t happen.”

  She looked up at him. Nodded. Of course, considering everything it would be better if Lockwood was the mastermind, because then it could mean Marcos was telling the truth about wanting her dead.

  However, Levi wasn’t about to trust Marcos, and he was sure Alexa wasn’t about to, either.

  “I need to talk to James Moser again,” she said. “He was the one who initially clued me in to the possibility of Lockwood’s guilt, and he might know more.”

  Levi really had wanted to wait to tell her this news, but it was obvious that Alexa would be trying to call James soon. Maybe while he was interrogating Marcos. “James is missing.”

  Alexa sucked in her breath. “What?”

  “I figured you had enough to deal with, so I decided to hold off telling you. SAPD’s still looking for him.”

  “Oh, God. Something bad could have happened to him.”

  Yeah, it could have, but that wasn’t what he said to Alexa. “Don’t borrow trouble. James is a smart PI, and he might be just lying low because he knows someone could be after him.” He hoped that was true anyway. “I’ll call for an update about James when I’m finished with Marcos.”

  And because he thought they both could use it, he brushed a kiss on her cheek. A chaste one considering how close they’d come to having sex. “Just go in the observation room with Jericho and wait for me.”

  Levi opened the door for her to do just that, but Alexa hadn’t even taken a step inside when the front door flew open and a man barreled in.

  Scottie.

  Levi automatically drew his gun and stepped in front of her.

  Scottie wasn’t armed, though, and he wasn’t wearing his usual bulky coat. In fact, he looked disheveled and was gulping in large breaths.

  “Don’t!” Scottie shouted, pointed to Alexa.

  Levi wasn’t sure if that was some kind of threat, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He also didn’t have time to deal with this clown when he already had another one waiting for him.

  Scottie ran toward them, staggering a few steps. “Don’t drink that.”

  And it took Levi a moment to realize Scottie was pointing at the cup Alexa was holding.

  “What’s this about?” Levi asked the man.

  “That.” Scottie pointed to the cup again. “Someone’s trying to kill Alexa. The coffee’s been poisoned.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Before Scottie’s words even sank in, Levi had snatched the cup from her hand. “Are you all right?” Levi asked her, the concern all over his face.

  Alexa managed to nod. “I didn’t drink any. It was too hot.”

  All the others came rushing toward her. Jericho, Mack and even Jax. Jax was shaking his head before he even reached her.

  “I didn’t put anything in it,” he said as if she needed to hear it. She didn’t. Jax might not be her friend, but he was a cop. A good one. And he wouldn’t try to poison her.

  In fact, maybe no one had tried to do that. After all, the accusation had come from a man she didn’t trust: Scottie.

  “I know you didn’t,” she assured Jax and then turned to Scottie. “What makes you think it was poisoned?” Alexa demanded.

  Levi’s glare let Scottie know that he was demanding the same information.

  Scottie pointed to the diner across the street. “I overheard a waitress and a busboy talking. She asked him if he’d put the stuff in the right cup, and he said he had because it had Alexa’s name on it. Then, she asked if it’d kill Alexa, and the busboy said he didn’t know, that his job was just to doctor the coffee.”

  Heavens. Was it true? Had someone just tried to kill her again? Even though Alexa hadn’t taken even a sip of the coffee, she felt her stomach tightened into a hard, painful knot.

  “Which waitress and busboy?” Jericho asked.

  Scottie touched his fingers to his head and looked shaken. Or rather pretending to look that way. “She has short brown hair. Young, maybe twenty. The busboy was probably about the same age. Black hair.”

  Levi glanced at Jericho. “Does that sound like anyone you know?”

  “No,” Jericho answered. He took the cup from Levi and handed it to Mack. “Have the lab pick this up to be analyzed ASAP. I’m going across the street to have a chat with this waitress and busboy.” He headed for the door but not before giving Scottie a sharp look. “And so help me God, this had better not be some kind of sick game you’re playing.”

  Or a ruse to get to her again.

  Levi must have had the same thought because he moved her into the doorway of the observation room and he stayed in the hall, guarding her once again. Jax drew his gun and went to the front door, no doubt so he cou
ld provide backup to Jericho if his brother needed it. His new position also put him closer to Scottie, and Jax volleyed his attention between Scottie and the diner.

  “Is it possible the waitress and busboy are new, that they could have been planted in the diner?” she asked.

  Levi nodded. “Jericho will sort it all out, though.”

  Yes, but she hoped that sorting out didn’t launch another attack. If the waitress and busboy had indeed tried to kill her, then they might also try to kill Jericho so they could escape. If they hadn’t already gotten out of the diner.

  Alexa glanced through the observation mirror and spotted Marcos. She expected to see him smiling. He wasn’t. He was having another whispered conversation with his lawyer, and both men were looking worried. Maybe because Marcos thought he might be blamed for this.

  “You stay here,” she heard Mack say to Scottie, and the deputy made his way back toward them. “I’ve bagged the coffee and a CSI is on the way over here to pick it up to take it to the lab. It’ll be a while before we know anything.”

  Levi stared at Scottie. “But I can find out some things from you right now. Why are you here in town?”

  The question seemed to throw Scottie for a moment. Maybe because his attention was focused on the diner. Not that he could see much. There was a line of windows across the front of the building and customers were seated in the booths, but Jericho was nowhere in sight.

  “I came here to talk to Alexa,” Scottie answered finally. “I thought she’d know about Tasha’s funeral arrangements. But then I saw Marcos being brought in by those cops, and I figured it wasn’t a good time for her, so I decided I’d have breakfast and wait for him to leave.”

  Alexa had no idea if any of that was true, but Scottie’s eyes watered. She didn’t trust those tears any more than she trusted the man.

  “I need to say goodbye to Tasha,” Scottie sobbed.

  “The ME hasn’t released Tasha’s body,” Alexa informed him. “Besides, even if there’s a funeral, Tasha wouldn’t have wanted you to be there.”

  “I have to be there.” His breath broke. “And I want to see her baby. She’s a living part of Tasha and I want to see her face just once.”