Blazing Summer (Darling Investigations Book 2)

by Denise Grover Swank

  My stomach dropped. I’d hoped that Lauren had put her to work and had maybe confiscated her phone. But no. She’d never even made it to the office.

  “You sure about that?” Teddy asked.

  “Yeah. We know Summer left her at their office to deal with that psycho couple. Then we noticed she wasn’t at the fire this afternoon. We figured Summer had left her behind again.”

  Teddy shot me a glance as though asking if I believed her.

  I turned to Connor. “Congrats on getting to the scene of the fire so quickly. Y’all are gonna have great coverage for the show.”

  “Thanks.” But he seemed off and refused to look me in the eye.

  “If you see Dixie, will you let me know?” I asked.

  “Yeah, sure,” he said, confusion covering his face. I was sure it was because he wasn’t used to me being nice to him.

  We went outside and stood on the sidewalk in front of Luke’s truck. He was where I’d left him, but now his phone was pressed to his ear. The irritation on his face suggested the conversation wasn’t going well.

  “Do you believe them?” Teddy asked.

  “Yeah. I do.”

  “When did Dixie leave your office?”

  “I don’t know, three thirty. Three forty-five at the latest.”

  “It’s five thirty now,” he said as he scanned the street. “Two hours.”

  “Yeah.” A lot could have happened in two hours.

  “You rode in together this morning, so she didn’t have a car. She planned to walk from your office?”

  “Yeah. And I saw her headin’ in this direction,” I said.

  “So something happened to her between your office and here.” Teddy glanced up the street. “We need to find out if anyone saw her.”

  “It’s after five thirty. Everything’s closed.”

  “Not Maybelline’s.” Then he headed across the street.

  Luke was still on the phone, so I sent him a one-word text—Maybelline’s—then hurried to catch up to Teddy, not an easy feat since his legs were nearly twice as long as mine.

  “We should start calling her friends to see if they know where she is,” I said.

  “That list is pretty small, and I suspect it’s the same people who were at that party last night.”

  “While we’re at Maybelline’s, let’s place a to-go order and take it back to my office. I can fill you and Luke in on what else I know, and we can place some calls. We need to work out a game plan.”

  He stopped walking and stared down at me like I’d lost my mind. “Dixie’s missing and you want to eat?”

  “Teddy . . .”

  He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, then opened them. “You’re right. It’s a good plan. It’ll seem less suspicious if we ask Maybelline questions after we make an order.”

  We continued walking, but I pulled up the Sweet Briar page to see if news had broken out about Dixie.

  Teddy glanced over my shoulder. “Anything?”

  I scrolled down the page until I got to the post about Amelia nearly running Margo and me down. “There’s a post about the fire and the speculation about a body. There’s a mention that I caught a glimpse of the arsonist, but nothing about who died or Dixie being a suspect.”

  His mouth pursed. “That won’t last long. Not in this town.”

  “Push comes to shove, we can ask Maybelline to post on the page and find out if anyone’s seen her.”

  Teddy shook his head. “She’s already a suspect. If the sheriff’s department finds out that she’s missin’, they’ll presume she’s run off because she’s guilty.”

  “But she’s innocent, so at least they might find her.”

  “Yeah, then slap handcuffs on her and toss her in a jail cell. You didn’t see her before, Summer. Being arrested nearly destroyed her. That’s not happening again.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Besides, we have a better shot at findin’ her than they do. People will be more willin’ to talk to us.”

  “Even more so if Dudley Do-Right isn’t with us.”

  I started to protest, but he had a point. “We’ll deal with him on a case-by-case basis. He didn’t force his way into Connor’s office.”

  He pressed his lips together and didn’t comment. When we reached Maybelline’s, he held the door open for me and then followed me inside. The place had gotten a lot busier than when I’d been there earlier, and all eyes were glued on me as Teddy and I headed toward the counter.

  Maybelline darted right for us. “There’s my girl.”

  I gave Teddy a grimace, and he rested a hand on my shoulder in support.

  “And look at you, Theodore Baumgartner! You finally came off that farm and deigned to walk into my café.”

  He grunted. “It’s not like that, Maybelline.”

  “When was the last time you came in here?” she asked.

  “Maybelline . . .”

  She waved him off and glanced around. “Where’s Dixie? She and Summer are like two peas in a pod, and this is twice today I’ve seen Summer without her.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” Teddy said, leaning closer. “Summer sent Dixie on an assignment, and now Dix’s phone’s died. I was wondering when you last saw her.”

  “Well . . . ,” she said, her mouth twisting as she thought, “I guess it would have been during the ruckus Margo and Harold made outside the Darling Investigations office.”

  My heart sank. “You didn’t see her after that?”

  Her eyes narrowed on me. “You don’t know where she is?”

  “Like I said,” Teddy said good-naturedly, “Dixie’s phone died, and see . . .” He lowered his voice. “She and Summer had a little bit of a disagreement, and I’m tryin’ to make these two stubborn girls make up. You sure you haven’t seen her? She left the office around three thirty to three forty-five and was headed down to Connor’s office.”

  Once again, Teddy’s quick thinking impressed me. He’d taken exactly the right tack.

  Maybelline chuckled. “She must’ve been mighty pissed if she ran off to Connor Blake’s team. What did ya do, girl?”

  I made a face. “I was stupid, and now I’m trying to find her so I can apologize. You sure you haven’t seen her?”

  “Sorry, darlin’. But if I do, I’ll tell her you’re lookin’ for her.”

  “We want to order some food to go,” I said. “Do you mind if we ask around while we wait for it?”

  “Help yourself,” she said. “How about I make up a couple of Tuesday specials?”

  The door opened, and Luke filled the opening, drawing the eye of every female in the place, Maybelline included, although to be fair, they’d shifted their attention to Teddy before Luke showed up.

  “Make it three,” I said, then turned to meet Luke in the middle of the room.

  He leaned into my ear. “I’m supposing Lauren was a bust.”

  “Yeah. No one saw her.” My chest tightened at the admission. “And Maybelline doesn’t know anything.”

  “Hey,” he whispered, tilting my chin up to look at him, “we’ll find her.” Then he leaned over and gave me a soft kiss.

  A man catcalled, and Teddy shot him a glare so dark the guy looked like he wanted to run out the back door.

  I pulled Luke’s head down to whisper in his ear. “We’re tellin’ people that Dixie and I had a fight, and I’m tryin’ to find her to apologize.”

  He straightened and gave me a look of pride. “Good thinkin’.”

  “It was Teddy’s idea.”

  He grinned, but it looked strained. “No one ever accused the Baumgartners of being stupid. Stubborn as the day is long, but never stupid.”

  That was debatable, as far as I was concerned.

  “What do you know about the fire, Luke?” a younger guy called out from a booth.

  Luke held up his hand. “The sheriff’s department is handling the case. I’ll let them make a statement.”

  “Why aren’t you handling it?” a woman called out.

&n
bsp; “Because,” Luke said, wrapping an arm around my back, “this is the fourth fire, and the sheriff has handled two of the other cases. They have better resources to handle it, so I deferred to them. Of course, I’m willing to give them any assistance they need.”

  “That’s good to hear,” a man said from the door, and I turned to see Officer Dixon standing in the doorway wearing a smart-ass grin. “The first thing you can do is help me find Dixie Baumgartner.”

  We’d just lost our advantage.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Teddy plastered a grin on his face and turned to the deputy. “I’d love to help you with that, but I’d rather tell you outside. It’s a little sensitive.”

  The deputy tilted his head and focused on Luke. “I’d rather hear it from the police chief.”

  “That won’t do you much good,” Luke said, “since I don’t know where she is. Seems like her brother’s a better source. Besides, as you can see, I’m off for the night and about to have dinner with my girlfriend.”

  Deputy Dixon’s attention shifted to me. “When was the last time you saw your cousin?”

  I had no idea what Teddy planned to tell him, but I decided to stick with the truth . . . or at least part of it. Answer the question and volunteer nothing more. “This afternoon after the ruckus outside our office.” I cocked my head. “What makes you ask?”

  He ignored my question. “Do you know where she went?”

  “No.” She had never arrived at Connor’s office, so it was technically true.

  Teddy gestured toward the door. “You ready, Deputy?”

  Deputy Dixon scowled but turned around and walked out onto the sidewalk. Teddy followed, never giving me a second glance.

  “What’s Teddy going to tell him?” Luke whispered in my ear.

  “I have no earthly idea.” But I was worried. Wouldn’t it be a crime if Teddy lied to him? But then, he’d worked with the sheriff’s department. Surely, he knew the rules.

  “We’ll need to keep a low profile,” Luke said.

  “We were plannin’ on goin’ to my office after we get our dinner. I have more info I haven’t told you all yet, and we need to make a plan. I’ll pull the blinds, and no one will know what we’re up to.” I paused. “Who were you talkin’ to on the phone?”

  He frowned. “It was about another case. Bruce Jepper’s fire.”

  “Oh?” I perked up.

  He gave me a long look. “It’s official business, Summer, and nothing to do with this.”

  “Are you certain of that? They’re both fires.”

  “Only Bruce’s didn’t contain a body and—” He cut himself off. He had more information, and he wasn’t sharing it with me. But I was doing the same thing, so how could I complain?

  “Here’s your food, Summer,” Maybelline called out behind me.

  I reached into my purse and handed her cash as Luke went for his wallet. “Thanks, Maybelline.”

  She leaned close and lowered her voice. “Why’s Deputy Butthead lookin’ for Dixie?”

  “Deputy Butthead?”

  “He tried to pin Otto’s murder on you when any fool could see you were innocent. He’s a butthead.”

  I chuckled. “I’ve missed you, Maybelline.”

  “Damn right you have.” She motioned for the door. “Now get goin’.”

  By the time Luke and I got out to the sidewalk, Deputy Dixon was gone.

  “What did you tell him?” I asked.

  Teddy shook his head. “You don’t need to know. Now let’s head to your office.”

  It was a short walk, but I had my keys out of my pocket and ready to unlock the door, only to find it was already unlocked—Bill, Tony, and Chuck were sitting at Dixie’s desk and in client chairs eating sub sandwiches. For some reason, it hadn’t occurred to me that my crew would be there too.

  “What’s going on, Summer?” Tony asked. “Why did you run off?”

  Bill gave me a wide-eyed stare. “Was Dixie in that fire?”

  I glanced back at Luke, unsure of what I should and shouldn’t say, but Bill had stuck with me throughout Season One. He’d risked his life to get the footage of Cale. And despite everything, he clearly cared about Dixie. He had a right to know, and I should have told them sooner.

  Luke mouthed No, but I turned back to Bill and said, “No. But she’s the prime suspect.”

  “Summer,” Luke said in a stern tone. “A word.”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s one of us.”

  “That was confidential information, Summer.” His words sounded stiff.

  “Bill kept all kinds of secrets with the Otto Olson case. He won’t tell anyone.”

  He flung a hand in the direction of Tony and Chuck. “And the other two?”

  “Hey,” Tony said as he got to his feet, “we all signed NDAs. We want to help . . . whatever it is you three are up to.”

  “You don’t even know what she’s accused of doing,” Luke said.

  “Starting the fire, right?” Tony asked.

  “And murder,” Bill said quietly. “Who was in that building?”

  “April Jean,” I said.

  He lowered his head. “Shit.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So what do we do?” Chuck asked.

  “You all are goin’ home,” Luke said. “We’ll take it from here.”

  “You’re not in charge,” Tony said. “Summer’s our boss.”

  “I’m helping,” Bill said in a tone that said he wouldn’t be dissuaded. “I’ll work this on my own if I have to.”

  “No,” Teddy said, “you can work with me.”

  I held up my hands. “All y’all stop right now. We’re all workin’ together.”

  “Summer,” Luke said. “A word.”

  With a huff, I stomped back to the editing room, then spun around to face him as he shut the door.

  “I’m not investigatin’ this on your show. Is that your intention?”

  I crossed my arms and pushed out a breath. “I don’t know.”

  He flung his hand toward the door. “You have to know that if they’re working with you, it’s goin’ on the damn show.”

  Dammit. He was right.

  “You’re seriously willing to exploit Dixie’s disappearance and impending arrest for your TV-show ratings?”

  I gasped at his crassness. He was missing the point—deliberately. Once word got out that Dixie was a suspect, everyone would presume she was guilty. If it went to trial, a jury of her peers would be tainted. But if we got footage of people’s preconceived notions of her guilt, we might have a chance to prove she’d been arrested based on her poor reputation alone. God knew people got up in arms about true-crime shows that did a good job of proving bias.

  Or was I just telling myself that to feel better about the whole thing?

  What would Dixie want? I suspected she’d tell me to make it part of the show, but would she really mean it, or would she say it just for my benefit?

  Luke was waiting for an answer, and I didn’t have a decision yet. I dropped my arms to my sides. “I don’t know.”

  Disgust washed over his face. “Then maybe you’re not the person I thought you were.”

  Tears filled my eyes. He hadn’t even let me explain. “You really mean that?”

  “If you’re gonna use your cousin’s misfortune for your personal gain, then, yeah, maybe I do.”

  We stood facing each other for several seconds, then he flung the door open hard enough to hit the wall. Moments later, I heard the ding of the bell on the front door.

  It was all too much. I was terrified that something awful had happened to Dixie, and I had no idea how to find her. Deputy Dixon was looking for her—probably to arrest her—and now I was pretty sure I’d just lost Luke.

  Tears welled in my eyes, and I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat.

  Teddy appeared in the doorway with a somewhat aggravating mixture of sympathy and satisfaction on his face. “So he’s not working with us anymore?”


  Given the way Luke had walked out, I didn’t expect him to come back, but now wasn’t the time to give in to self-pity. “I guess not. How much did you hear?”

  “Pretty much all of it.”

  Great. I wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Do you think less of me now too?”

  He leaned his shoulder into the door frame. “The way I see it, your cameras might get us access we might not get otherwise.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “People in this town are eager to be on your show. Your cameraman just told me that people tend to spill things because they forget the cameras are there. Your cameras could be the key to helping us find Dixie and ID’ing April Jean’s murderer.”

  I nodded, more tears flowing down my cheeks. I’d been so focused on protecting Dixie, I hadn’t even considered that the person who killed April Jean was still out there, possibly preparing to hurt someone else. Maybe he or she had Dixie.

  Teddy closed the distance between us and pulled me into a hug. “Summy, I’m sorry it didn’t work out with Luke.”

  I laughed despite my tears. “No, you’re not, but thanks for not sayin’ I told you so.”

  He lifted my chin and grinned. “I’m waiting until we find Dixie so I can tell the both of you together.”

  My chin trembled. “What if we don’t—”

  He grabbed my upper arms in a tight grip. “We’re gonna find her.” He released his hold and took a step backward. “Now let’s get out of here and figure out a plan.”

  I wiped my face again and followed him into the office area. All three guys looked solemn.

  “Sorry about that,” I said, then took a breath to steady myself. “As you’ve probably figured out, Luke has decided not to work with us.”

  “Thanks for stickin’ up for us,” Bill said. “And you should know that these walls are pretty thin. We heard most of what he said.”

  I nodded. I’d figured that out, thanks to Teddy. “You were part of this before. I know I can trust you.”

  “There are ways to work around the cameras, Summer,” Tony said. “If you think someone won’t talk on camera, we can put a hidden camera on you before you interview them, then figure out a way to coerce them into signing the release after the fact.”

  “Do we have any of those cameras?”