by Vella Day
“That old coot? Why would he know anything about it?” She stared at Pritchard. Surely, he could put two and two together. Pritchard’s mouth opened. “Oh, crap. You think it broke off an alien spaceship?”
“Maybe.”
“You have proof you gave it to Earl?”
“No, but his place was ransacked this morning. They took the cone and something else of his—the fuel cell off a spacecraft engine.”
He shook his head, clearly not believing her story. “Earl will corroborate this?”
“Drive to his house, and you can see for yourself. They beat him up and wrecked his house. I called Phyllis Tucker this morning to help clean up.” She lifted a finger. “Afterward, I asked Harvey to photograph the scene and write up the report.” She forgot to ask him if he’d done what she’d asked. The lazy slug probably hadn’t.
“I’ll check it out.” Pritchard took notes then flipped through some pages. “It says here you had an accomplice when you broke into the factory.”
Not that again. No good could come from giving up Kane. “I went alone.” That wasn’t a lie since she and Kane had driven separately. “I didn’t break into the factory. I entered the shed at the side of the property with the key card.”
“Did you procure a warrant?”
“No. There wouldn’t have been enough for probable cause.”
“I see.” He pulled out the other photo Chief Lapahe had shown her. Kane stood off to her right, but all one could see was a silhouette of a tall man and her face brightly lit by a flashlight. Pritchard tapped the photo. “Who’s that?”
She crossed her arms. “He was there when I arrived.” That also was not a lie.
“If you don’t come clean with me, I’m finished.” Pritchard stood.
“What do you mean you’re finished? We need to find out who’s framing me.”
“It’s your word against theirs about the artifact. As for the B&E, you’ll plead guilty.”
This wasn’t what she expected to hear. Her heart palpitated. “I can’t go to jail.” She pushed back her chair. “Come on, Ted. You’ve known me forever. I’m as upstanding as they come. I was doing my job, investigating a murder, and the clues led me to the factory—a factory that I believe is really a secret underground military base.”
He jerked as if she’d punched him. “You have proof?”
“No, which is why I was there. Only I didn’t see anything.” Kane did, but she wouldn’t break that confidence. “Who’s claiming I stole their property?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
“That’s bull. You’re my lawyer. You have to tell me.”
The air seemed to escape his lungs. “I don’t know, and that’s the truth.”
“Do I have to wait until I’m in court to learn who’s out to get me?”
“Perhaps.” He closed his briefcase. His cheeks sagged, and his tilted head told her he seemed to feel sorry for her. “Let me check out the photo of you holding the silver object, and we’ll take it from there.”
“Remember to check the time stamp. Did my accusers say when I stole this object?” She was gaining speed, creating her own case.
“The papers weren’t specific.”
“Well, ask them to be specific. I can prove I had that object in my possession over two weeks ago. Do they have any pictures of the object in their insurance papers to prove they owned it?”
His smile came out weak. “You have a point. Don’t worry. We’ll work this out.”
If not, she’d spend the better part of her life in jail.
Two hours later, Lapahe finally took her back into his office where the light through the Chief’s office window was brighter than the light eking through the bars in the holding cell. The air smelled a hell of a lot fresher too, helping to release the tension squeezing her temples.
He waved the grainy download. “This photo is time stamped, so for now, you’re off the hook for the theft. I wish I’d known you had this sooner.”
She was about to say she wished he’d told her what she’d been accused of stealing a lot sooner too, but she bit back the sarcastic retort. “That’s okay. I didn’t think of it until my lawyer showed me the picture.” She inhaled the clean air and dragged her palms down her pants. “Who was trying to frame me?” She tried to sound casual, but her voice turned raspy.
“The U.S. Government.”
Her chest caved. This was her worst fear. Stopping some crazed maniac was one thing, but taking on the government was an entirely different matter. “Did they say why they targeted me?”
“Sky, please sit.”
Dear God. Her stomach tumbled again. Doing anything wrong tore her apart. “What is it?” His clenched hands implied she wasn’t going to like what he said.
“I’ve suspected for a while there was something funny going on at that perfume factory.”
“Bowl me over with a steamroller.” She wanted to ask why he’d withheld that piece of important information, but maybe he thought it was on a need to know basis.
“I saw no reason to mention my concern until this mess with your B&E came up.” He avoided eye contact this time, but if she’d been in his position, she probably wouldn’t have told her either. He drained the coffee from his mug. “An hour ago, I spoke with someone who works there and learned there were deep ruts in the ground leading behind the factory. These ruts could only have been made by a lot of heavy machinery going back and forth on a day-to-day basis.”
She picked up the paperweight at the edge of his desk and twirled the object in her hands. The cool glass felt good in her palm. “Did these people you spoke to ever see the military come or go or witness any odd happenings at night?” Maybe she could pick up a good piece of intel.
“I checked. The Fleur de Paris is locked tight at six p.m. and no one is allowed back after that time. The factory has a high level of security. Even the people who take care of the flowers have a strict schedule.”
“That aligns with what Mr. LeFloch, the owner, told me. He’s afraid someone will learn his secret formula.”
“Given the plant is in the middle of nowhere, I think that’s a cover.”
“I agree.” The military was a sneaky bunch. “Now what do we do?”
His eyes widened. “You aren’t going to do anything.” She was pretty darn tired of hearing that phrase. “There is still the issue of the B&E and taking evidence from the property room without permission.”
“Come on, Chief. Those are trumped up charges, and we both know it. I forgot to sign it out. I didn't do it with any intention of breaking the law.” Okay, so she had planned to look inside the factory. “What do they really want from me?”
He tucked his cheek into his mouth. “You won’t like it.”
“Tell me.”
“They want to know who you were with the night you were caught sneaking around.” If only they didn’t have that damned photo. “The government doesn’t consider you a threat, but they believe your accomplice is dangerous. They want him.”
Mr. Military-I’m-a-security-guard Kane was dangerous? She was positive her heart was beating so fast, her shirt was moving. “I went there alone.”
“That’s not what I was told. They’re serious, Sky. Deadly serious, if you get my drift.”
Her insides turned soft. If she’d been standing, she wasn’t sure she’d be upright at this point. “I’m sorry to have brought you into this mess.”
He folded his arms over his chest again. Man, did she hate that stance. “If you tell me his name, I’ll drop all charges against you.”
He was resorting to blackmail now? She held up her hands, palms up. “Why won’t you believe me? I drove there with me, myself, and I.”
“So you swear the man who called you doll was a stranger?”
“Absolutely.” She said it with conviction because in reality Kane practically was a stranger. She didn’t know his favorite food, which side of the bed he slept on, or how he liked to make love. He was as much of an enigm
a to her as she was to him.
“Go home. You’re suspended until I figure out what to do.” His blustery attitude had dampened somewhat. The military clearly had gotten to him. That was a shame, but she wouldn’t throw Kane under the bus. She’d let him decide how to proceed.
“Thanks.” I think.
On her way out, she told Harriet everything—okay, not everything. Not that Kane had been with her. Even though she trusted Harriet more than anyone in world, she didn’t want to put her friend in a position to lie. She contemplated telling her dad the whole truth, but he’d grill her more than the Chief had, and she wasn’t ready for that confrontation until she’d had time to figure out a few things.
Sky kept her voice low and her back to the Chief’s office as she spoke to Harriet. “Did you get a hold of Kane?”
“I called, but he didn’t answer. His cell went straight to voicemail.”
Meaning he’d turned off his phone. “If he stops by or calls, tell him I’m home.”
Sky wasn’t sure if she wanted to lock herself in her house, especially since some military or FBI suit had possibly gone inside, but until she regrouped, she had no place else to go. She thought about seeing how Earl was doing, but if someone followed her there, no telling what they’d do to them. She firmly believed the military had ordered one or two of their snipers to scare her and Earl off after they killed Randall Tyler. Add in trashing Earl’s house and she had to stay away from him before they seriously hurt the old man.
So home it was. The idea of a hot bath and a glass of wine in the middle of the day appealed to her decadent side.
As soon as she arrived, she headed straight to the bathroom, not even wanting to know if the intruders had messed with anything else in her house. She filled the bath with steaming water and then dumped in a ton of lavender salts. The tangy aroma eased her senses, and while she didn’t normally drink at two in the afternoon, she figured a nice glass of Merlot would help calm her frayed nerves.
In the kitchen, she removed the bottle of wine from the rack and was about to get a glass from the cabinet, when the front door clicked open. Her hand stilled, her pulse raced, and her muscles froze. She could have sworn she’d locked the door. The image of two men in black garb trying to either plant something that would incriminate her for real this time, or kidnap her once more, nearly paralyzed her.
Gun. Where was it? Crap. The Chief had confiscated her badge and weapon. Damn, damn, double damn. Her spare was in the glove compartment of her car.
Chapter 22
“Sky?” The deep, gravelly voice that heated her blood came from Kane, and she set down the bottle and sank back against the kitchen wall.
She glanced at the ceiling and exhaled the anxiety she’d been holding in her lungs.
He leaned against the doorjamb. “You okay? You look pale.”
Only pale? She’d been petrified. “I thought you were someone else.”
He edged toward her, acting as if she were some feral animal ready to attack. When he reached her, he slowly raised his hands, cupped her face, and kissed her forehead. “You’re safe now.”
My God, he acted like he really cared for her and that did wonders for her heart. “Thank goodness it was you.” No lie there. Even with the new locks Kane had installed, a sense of danger lurked behind every closed door.
“You thought it was the boogie man, huh? Or maybe an alien?” His smile made her chuckle.
She punched him in the arm. “Maybe.” She didn’t say which one.
“I’m sorry I scared you. I just spoke to Harriet, and I can’t believe your boss tossed you in jail.” Before she had a chance to respond, he enveloped her in his strong grasp, and his hug was way better than any bath or glass of wine, though she wasn’t sure why he’d had a sudden change of heart. It didn’t matter though. She was in his strong, protective arms now, and she was going to enjoy it.
He smelled like sunshine and clean wind, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, loving what that muscular torso did to her body. She’d never been given the chance to get this close without danger pounding at them.
With her face against his chest, she remembered why she’d been so scared and worked hard not to let the flood of tears flow. She sniffled and stepped out of his grasp, wanting nothing more than to drag him to bed. Too bad, he wasn’t ready for that type of commitment. “I guess I should tell you what happened.”
She clasped his warm, palm-calloused hand and led him over to the living room sofa. She dropped down at one end and he scooted next to her then wrapped both her hands in his.
“Tell me everything and leave nothing out,” he said.
“I thought you were mad at me.”
“I am.”
“Why are you being nice then?”
“Sky, hon, it scares the crap out of me whenever you’re in danger. I’m nice now because I can only imagine how scared you were sitting all alone in jail.”
How sweet was that? “I was scared.” She told him about the harsh way Chief Lapahe treated her, about Earl’s beating, and the depressingly dingy holding cell.
He squeezed her hand tight. “Why didn’t you tell them you were with me?”
Because I’m falling in love with you and I didn’t want to see you in jail. “We’re a team, remember? Black face paint and all. Oo-rah?” The instant flashback of him picking her up by the waist when she’d stumbled in front of the Senator’s RV caused her to nearly lose it. She withdrew her hands from his grasp, since touching him messed with her train of thought. “The military wants you for something—something that could get you locked up for a long time, or worse, killed.”
He dragged a finger down her cheek and shot her a puppy dog look. “Don’t tell me you’re turning soft about me?”
She jerked back, almost as if he’d gently pushed her. Yes, dammit, she was crazy about him, but she wasn’t ready to reveal her feelings. If she spoke the words out loud, he’d feel more responsible for her—or just plain guilty because he couldn’t return the sentiment in the truest sense.
Sky straightened her shoulders, refusing to jeopardize their mission. When this case was closed, she’d reevaluate her decision.
“Me, getting soft? Not Sky Nash.” She threaded her fingers together, not sure what to do with her hands that wouldn’t give away her feelings. “Listen, I didn’t tell them because there’s no logic to their demand. They tried to frame me for that metal sculpture, but then backed down when I showed them I’d found the cone days before. They should have just said they found some secret documents at my house, or else planted an alien artifact or a lab report on my desk and said I’d stolen that.”
“They’d have to doctor their logs to say you’d snuck inside their Base.”
“They’d have to do that with the cone too. I can’t see them admitting they broke into Earl’s house.”
He frowned. “I wish I had all the answers to your questions, but I don’t.” He glanced at the ceiling for a moment. “If their surveillance is so good that they saw you with me, why didn’t they stop us before we made it to the shed?”
“Perhaps the guard saw me waving the white key card.”
“Maybe. At first, I thought the military might have had facial recognition for every employee so they didn’t need to ask for our ID. I guess it took them a while to realize our pictures weren’t in their system.”
She dragged a hand through her tangled hair. “How sure are you of the General’s honesty?”
He cocked a brow, looking like she’d asked if the Pope was Catholic. “General Stentfield is on the up and up. He’d never betray me if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Just thinking out loud.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cushion, feeling truly safe next to Kane.
He snapped his fingers. “We need to beat them at their own game by finding out what they’re up to and telling the world before they succeed in silencing us.” Kane’s voice came out hard.
She sat up straighter. “How do
you propose we do that? We can’t go back there without getting into deep trouble.” She held up a finger. “Didn’t Harriet tell you I’m on suspension until further notice?”
“Yes. That’s why you need to tell them I was with you.”
She was impressed he was willing to sacrifice himself for her, but she wouldn’t do it. “They’ll arrest you. You can’t find anything out from jail.” And you can’t protect me from there either.
“True.” He placed his hand on her thigh, and her leg tingled. “I guess one good thing about being on suspension is that you won’t have to spend time at the office.” There was a gleam in his eye.
“Meaning what?”
“You won’t have to lie about your whereabouts, and I’m betting they won’t be checking up on you.” He lifted a lock of her hair and twirled it around his fingers, and the sensation ignited her body.
“Good point,” she said, trying to keep her breathing under control.
“What if we contact Whistleblower2 and find out what he knows about getting inside the Base undetected?”
Her pulse shot up. “Are you kidding? You must not be well versed in conspiracy theories. From what I’ve read, the government kills whistleblowers or harms their families. The real whistleblower wouldn’t chance coming out of the cold for us. Even if he were willing, how do you propose we find him? If the military can’t find him, I doubt we can.”
Kane leaned in closer, his face having a predatory look. “Ah, my pretty. You underestimate the power of the computer.”
“Don’t tell me you’re a hacker?” Kane was bright and strong, but she didn’t picture him as the computer geek type.
He laughed, and the sound lightened her mood, almost to the point of excitement. “No, but the General has the best talent in the world at his fingertips.”
“Wow. You’re going to use the military to fight the military.” She kissed his cheek. “You truly are a superhero.”
After Kane’s bright idea of trying to find the whistleblower, she’d spent most of the day contacting more than ten people who she considered diehard conspiracy theorists, but they had no idea about how to reach him despite the fact he was well known in the alien believer community.