Keller County Cops Book Seven: Code of Vengeance

by Melanie Atkins

  "I'll do whatever I have to do to win this election."

  "That's what scares me."

  "It damned well should," he growled. "I'm your worst fucking nightmare. Now... knock on that door again and find out if they're really about to tie the knot, or else."

  "Why would Willa have sent out that press release if it wasn't true?"

  "Because she wanted a smoke screen. Something to counter that scathing report you aired. Hell, Blaylock's not that different from me. He's trying to save his campaign."

  "All right. Fine. I'll knock on the door again, but don't hold your breath." Mindy gritted her teeth and ended the call. Her hands shook as she tucked her phone back into her purse. What was she going to do if the sheriff and his fiancée -- or whatever Keegan Riley was to him -- continued to ignore her? She had to find a way to get Maillet off her back.

  The early June heat shrouded her in a blanket of uncomfortable humidity as she got out of her car and marched onto Blaylock's front porch for the second time this morning. Her knuckles were sore from knocking so long the first time and yet here she was again, making another futile attempt to get them to talk with her. She needed answers, and she needed them now.

  "Sheriff, Ms. Riley... it's Mindy Ravens!" she shouted as she pounded on the door again. She used the flat of her hand this time, hoping to irritate them enough so they'd open the door.

  No response.

  She slammed the flat of her hand against the door. "Damn it, I know you're in there. Both of you! I saw you drive up and roll into the garage."

  The thud of footsteps echoed from inside the house.

  "I'm not leaving until I speak with you!" She rapped again, using her knuckles, and winced when pain streaked up her arm. Damn that Henry Maillet. She rubbed her sore hand. "We received your press release, but my producer wants more. He sent me here to question you about your engagement. Please help me... I need this interview."

  The door swung open. Startled, she gripped the back of one of the white rockers flanking it to keep from losing her balance. Sheriff Blaylock put out his hand and urged her to come inside. She raised her brows in surprise.

  "Don't you want to come in?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. "You've been pounding on my door like a madwoman for the past forty-five damned minutes."

  "Yes, of course," she managed, still struggling to recover her equilibrium. Once she got her feet under her, she released her stranglehold on the chair and stepped past him into the house. Keegan Riley sat on the couch with her chin held high and a brand-new diamond ring sparkling on the ring finger of her left hand. Damn. True engagement or not, they'd really gone all out.

  Keegan came to her feet. "Good morning, Ms. Ravens."

  "Hello, Keegan. Sheriff," Mindy replied, flashing him a fake smile and keeping her tone cool. "Congratulations on your engagement."

  "Thank you." Blaylock stepped close to Keegan and slid his arm around her waist. "We're very happy."

  "Yes, we are." Keegan leaned close and pressed her hand to the center of his broad chest.

  Mindy dropped her gaze to the glittery piece of jewelry winking at her from the woman's left hand. "Wow. That's a gorgeous ring. You two must've gone shopping this morning."

  "Yes, we did," the sheriff snapped, his stormy eyes drilling holes in her. "Except you already know that. You saw us at Hansen's, and then followed us back here."

  "No." She scowled. "I just got lucky and spotted you at one of the lights on Magee Street. My producer sent me here to follow up on the press release Willa sent out today."

  "Without your little flunky?" Blaylock glanced around as if searching for Bob or Paul.

  Mindy narrowed her eyes. "Yes, I'm alone. I'm looking for fodder for a story, not an on air interview. I don't need a cameraman for that."

  "The press release gave you the story, so you didn't need to come here," the sheriff said, a dangerous glint in his eye. "Keegan and I are engaged. That's pretty much it."

  "That may be what you want everyone to believe, Sheriff," she threw out, her heart thumping, "but do you really intend to marry her? Or is your engagement merely a scam to help you win back the hearts of your constituents after that scathing story I aired last night?"

  "Excuse me, Ms. Ravens?" Keegan dropped her hand off Blaylock's chest.

  Mindy studied the other woman's tense body language. "You heard me. You two have only known each other for a few days. At least, no one I've spoken with has ever seen you together before the incident at the coffee shop, and certainly not out on the town. Going on dates, enjoying each other's company, falling in love."

  "Haven't you ever heard of love at first sight?" Keegan turned to face the sheriff, and her features softened. Damn if she didn't look like a woman in love. Or was that lust?

  Mindy smirked. "Of course I have. Love at first sight is one thing. However, marrying after knowing each other less than a week is another."

  "We're not getting married today." Blaylock pulled Keegan closer to him. "In fact, we haven't even set a date yet. We're going to take our time and just enjoy being together."

  "Why the need to buy a ring so quickly, then?"

  "Why not?"

  "Touché, Sheriff." Mindy couldn't help laughing at his smart comeback. "Still, neither of you are spring chickens. You've both been around the block enough to know you don't have to rush into anything."

  "We're not rushing. We just know we want to be together, so we don't see any point in playing games. We're both too old for that." Keegan sent her fiancée a grateful look, smiled, and then wrapped her arm around his waist, too. They made quite the handsome couple. The older, worldly-wise sheriff and the pretty court artist. "Like Rick told you, we're going to take our time. We'll set a date when we're ready."

  "How big an age difference is there between you two?" Mindy asked Keegan, changing tactics. "I mean, you and I have both mentioned that neither of you are fresh out of the box, but the sheriff turned forty on his last birthday, I believe." She turned to him. "Didn't you, Rick?"

  "Yeah, I did," he said with a dark scowl. "Not that it matters. Neither does the age difference. We're both mature adults, and we can do whatever we want."

  "True." Mindy sighed. They had certainly erected a unified front. What the hell was she going to do?

  The sheriff released his fiancée. "Why are you really here, Mindy? And why'd you do that vicious story last night? I mean, you've always had an aggressive streak, but this is the first time I've ever seen you deliberately trash someone's reputation using nothing but circumstantial evidence. You usually don't report anything until you have all the facts."

  "I--" Shit. She didn't know what to say. He'd read her like a book, and she had no defense.

  He stepped closer. "Someone put you up to this. Was it Maillet?"

  "Thank you both for being so candid with me," she said, popping out the words in bullet fashion. She needed to exit stage left before he backed her into a corner. "I think I have everything I need, so I'm going to go. I have to get back to the station."

  "Wait. I'm right, aren't I?" Blaylock grabbed her elbow. "Maillet sent you here to grill us. He also paid you to dirty me up, and you used Keegan to do it."

  "Let go of me." Her heart in her throat, she jerked away. He'd hit the nail on the head.

  Blaylock grinned, the action a veil for the flat anger lurking behind his eyes. "I know he's behind this. What I want to know is why. You make good money as a news anchor, so unless you have a mountain of debt, I can't imagine you needing the cash."

  "I'm not going to justify that suggestion with an answer."

  "Oh? Why, Mindy? Are you a gambler?" He got in her face. "Do you like to play poker?"

  "I've never set foot in a casino." She lifted her chin. What she'd said was true. She'd worked too hard and been forced to do too many things she abhorred -- including stripping -- to get where she was today. She'd never jeopardize that by throwing good money after bad.

  He backed off and studied her. "For some reason, I think
you're telling the truth."

  "I am. I had to work too hard to become a news anchor to wreck my career by showing my face in one of those gaudy dens of iniquity."

  "Isn't that a little holier than thou?" Keegan barked laugh. "Please. You certainly don't hesitate to destroy people's lives on your news broadcast. To me, that's just as bad, if not worse, than playing a few hands of Texas Hold 'Em."

  "We all have lines we won't cross," Mindy said, her soul bitter. She turned toward the door. And that's only one of mine. I'll never strip again, either. Or sleep with that bastard Maillet.

  Keegan folded her arms. "Even so, Rick is right about what you did. You have no real evidence that I did anything wrong -- maybe because I never did -- but you still didn't hesitate to rub my face in the dirt and use my connection to Dirk's murder to hurt Rick's campaign."

  "What did Maillet promise you if not money?" The sheriff stepped between Mindy and the door, blocking her exit with his broad body. "Tell me, please."

  "I want to know, too." Keegan crowded close to Mindy from the other side. "Hell, after last night's report, the least you can do is tell us the truth."

  "Come on, Mindy. Spit it out." Blaylock's eyes frothed with intent.

  Mindy's breathing quickened. She didn't know what to do. She'd been looking for an out, and maybe this was it. If the sheriff knew the truth, then perhaps he could stop Maillet from releasing the story about her past. If not, however, and Maillet learned she'd spilled the beans, he'd send her stripper story to every media outlet in the southeast, and that would ruin her career.

  Keegan gripped Mindy's arm. "Did he threaten you? Promise to hurt you physically?"

  "Or did he resort to blackmail?" Blaylock tilted his head. "Tell us how he pressured you."

  "Damn both of you." Tears welled in Mindy's eyes as she pulled free of Keegan's grasp, and she dashed them away. Her whole body trembled. She longed to run for the door, but they had her hemmed in. Keegan had widened her stance and looked ready to fight. Hoping to catch her off guard, Mindy shoved her. "Get out of my way."

  "Stop it." The sheriff caught her arm. "Just tell us the truth, and we'll let you go."

  "Fine!" she finally shouted, sick to death of hiding her secret and covering for Maillet. Another tear trickled down her cheek. "He didn't exactly blackmail me, because that involves money, doesn't it? But he knows something about me -- something I don't want anyone else to know -- and he threatened to make it public. I had to go along to save my career."

  "That's extortion." Blaylock cursed.

  "What does Maillet know?" Keegan drew her brows together in puzzlement. "I mean, how bad can it be? You're a rising star. Smart, beautiful, talented... and with a good education and a growing resume."

  "Ha. Don't let my resume fool you." Mindy released a caustic laugh. "Do you have any idea what I had to do to get that good education? How low I had to sink in order to drag myself off rock bottom?"

  "Not really. Since your star rose so fast, I've always assumed you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth that resulted in a lot of connections."

  "Either that," Blaylock added with a frown, "or you slept your way to the top. Is that what you did? Slept with someone to get the anchor job?"

  "Hell, no," Mindy snapped, anger flying in to absorb the hurt racing through her. "I stripped to pay my way through college. At a little club over in Biloxi. I'm not proud of it, but it's a part of me now. I've paid my dues, damn it. I deserve a little happiness."

  "Seriously?" Keegan's mouth dropped open.

  The sheriff just stared at Mindy. "Damn."

  A fresh spate of tears flooded the reporter's eyes, and she swiped at them. "That's right. I called myself Cherry Delight, and I was quite a hit for a while. Paid my way through college, and then I quit. Moved to New Orleans, impressed the folks there with my degree, and got a job writing ad copy. Later, I filled in at the anchor desk."

  "Then this job opened up and you moved here, to a smaller market," Blaylock said.

  She nodded and rubbed away her tears. A sob caught in her chest. "It... It was a chance to actually be an anchor and not just fill in for some well-known name. I love it. It's what I was meant to do, even if I never get to move back to a larger market, and if Maillet ruins it for me--"

  "That son of a bitch." Keegan fisted her hands. "I'd like to choke him for you."

  "Keegan--" Her fiancée sent her a warning look that made Mindy curious.

  Keegan relaxed her hands and held them up. "Don't worry. It's just an expression."

  "What was that all about?" Mindy's asked, going back over their words in her head. Even when she was upset, she could sniff out a story.

  Blaylock quirked his mouth. "Nothing."

  "Just a running joke." Keegan smiled at Mindy, but the motion seemed forced. "That's it."

  "I see." Even though Mindy thought the other woman was lying, she decided to cut her losses and not press the issue. Her main concern was suppressing the little tidbit about her past she'd just shared. She glanced at Keegan, and then zeroed in on the sheriff. "Doesn't matter. Please... don't tell anyone about me. If the station manager finds out about that part of my life--"

  "It's not us you have to worry about. It's Maillet," he said, fire returning to his eyes. "But don't worry. I'll take care of him."

  "How? No one will believe you unless you tell them what he's holding over my head." She swallowed, hard. "And I can't let you do that."

  "Don't worry. I'll get a couple of my detectives to check out Maillet. They might find something we can use to keep him quiet."

  "Good luck finding something that big." The reporter scoffed. "I've looked, believe me, and I didn't find a single thing. If he's got skeletons in his closet, they're buried deep."

  "Will Mindy's word be enough to take down Maillet if you go to the DA instead?" Keegan asked. "That might be easier."

  "I don't know." Blaylock turned to Mindy. "Do you have any proof of the extortion?"

  "Only a few texts and emails." Hope blossomed in her chest. "And phone calls. I can contact my provider and get a list for you. Will that be enough?"

  "It'll help."

  "Good, but don't go to the DA just yet," she said, fear overriding the thin thread of optimism winding through her chest. "Let your detectives check him out first. Everyone has things to hide. I can usually root 'em out, but Maillet is clever. Your people have resources I don't have, and they might have better luck."

  "Even so, I think you should consider making a pre-emptive strike." Keegan lowered herself onto the couch and looked up at Blaylock. "We could get Willa to write a human interest story about Mindy, highlighting her rise from adversity."

  "You mean tell everyone I used to strip?" Mindy gaped at the other woman before sinking down beside her. "That's what I'm trying to hide."

  "I know, but if you handle it right, you have no need to hide anything anymore." She shrugged. "It's just an idea."

  "It's actually a good one." The sheriff dropped into an armchair perpendicular to the sofa. "You'll diffuse the threat."

  "I don't know..."

  "Let Rick talk to Willa." Keegan looked at her fiancée. "She can write the story."

  "Yes, and she'll keep anything you tell her confidential," he assured her. "No matter how inflammatory it might be. She's extremely trustworthy."

  "What about your detectives?" Fresh tears filled Mindy's eyes. "Will they say anything?"

  "No. I trust them with my life. If I tell them to keep something under wraps, they will."

  "Well..." Mindy's heart rose into her throat as she looked back at Keegan. "Okay. Let's do all of the above, except for talking to the DA. You can ask your people to look into Maillet and line up a time for me to talk with Willa."

  "Will do," the sheriff said, pulling out his cell phone. He got someone named C.J. on the line, and then rose and walked into the kitchen to talk with him.

  Keegan put her hand on Mindy's arm. "You're doing the right thing."

  "I hope so
." She put her hand over Keegan's and released a shaky breath. "Otherwise, I'll have to reinvent myself, and I'm not sure I know how to do that."

  *****

  "Well, I'll be damned," C.J. said the second the info flashed onto his computer screen. The sheriff would love this. He turned to Jonah. "Look what I found."

  "What is it?" His fellow detective leaned back in his chair and shot him a curious glance.

  C.J. grinned. "Mindy Ravens isn't the reporter's real name. Seems she was born Mindy Ann Herrington. Her dad owned Herrington Furniture Company over in Long Beach."

  "I remember that place. It went under when I was in high school, I think."

  "Yep, it sure did." C.J. tapped the screen. "And guess who owned the loan outfit that foreclosed on the company?"

  "No idea."

  "Henry Maillet."

  "Holy shit. And now Herrington's daughter is helping that rat bastard get elected? Bet she doesn't know he's responsible for her dad's bankruptcy. The man lost everything and became an alcoholic, from what I remember." Jonah scowled. "You'd better call Blaylock ASAP."

  "That's next on my list." He snatched up the phone. "This might break things wide open."

  His boss answered on the second ring. "Hello, Detective. Found something already?"

  "As a matter of fact, yeah." He settled back and stared at the computer screen. "Didn't take me long to dig up something juicy on Maillet, and you aren't gonna believe it. Figured I'd better share with the class before you go and marry that girl."

  "You know the story on that."

  "Do I, sir?"

  "Yeah, you do. Every last word," his boss growled. "So... what'd you find?"

  "Do you remember Herrington Furniture over in Long Beach?" The sheriff said he did, so C.J. filled him in on the whole story about Mindy and Maillet and her father. He finished up with, "I doubt Mindy has any idea Maillet is the guy responsible. Her dad passed away last year, if I remember correctly. From complications due to alcohol abuse. He never recovered from losing everything."

  "Son of a bitch. Email me that link, will you?"

  "You bet. Want me to keep digging?"