Blazing Summer (Darling Investigations Book 2)

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Now hold on,” Luke said, his voice friendly. “No one’s gettin’ killed today. I don’t have the time for the paperwork. You havin’ a bad day there, buddy?”

  “Buddy?” Bruce shouted, pulling up to a kneeling position and tugging me with him. “Don’t you know who I am, Luke?”

  Luke squinted. “Bruce?”

  I glanced over my shoulder and realized why Luke hadn’t recognized him. Bruce’s face was covered in blood and tears and snot.

  “Yeah,” Bruce said, “and you’re right, I’m having a really bad day, thanks to your girlfriend.”

  Luke took a few steps closer, still pointing his gun toward us. “I know she has a way of gettin’ into things,” he said in light tone. “But she’s pretty harmless.”

  “Look at my face!” Bruce shouted, and jerked me to my feet. He pointed the gun at my right temple while his left hand gripped my left bicep. “Does that look harmless?”

  “She’s clumsy when she’s drunk,” Luke said, taking two more steps closer.

  “She did this on purpose! She humiliated me!” He jammed the gun into my temple, making me wince.

  “Hey, now,” Luke said, his voice rising, “we’re havin’ a civil conversation here. No need to be gettin’ rough. And that’s not Summer’s way. She would never humiliate someone. I’m sure you just took it wrong.”

  “She made me think she was gonna kiss me, then sprayed me with pepper spray and broke my nose! I’d call that humiliatin’!”

  Pride filled Luke’s eyes, but then he grimaced, trying to affect camaraderie. “Well . . . maybe she felt threatened, Bruce.”

  “Women need to know their place! The good book says women are supposed to submit to men.”

  “No . . . ,” Luke said, inching closer. “It says wives are supposed to submit to their husbands, and unless you two had some secret ceremony that I don’t know about, that doesn’t apply to you. And besides, Bruce,” he said good-naturedly, “we both know women are the weaker sex. They need us to feel protected. If she lashed out, it meant she was afraid. Did you give her reason to be afraid?”

  “I don’t want to kill her.”

  “And you don’t have to. Just let her go.”

  “She needs to be punished for hurting me!”

  “You’re right, and I’ll make sure that happens. Just let her go.” He was about six feet in front of us now, and I couldn’t believe how confident and in control he looked. Like this was just another day at work.

  “I tried to get him to work out a plea,” I said, hoping I was giving him something he could use. “He has information on Rick Springfield.”

  “You have shit on Springfield?” Luke asked, sounding hopeful. “We can definitely work something out. But that’s never gonna happen if you shoot Summer in front of me.” His voice hardened, and he took a moment before he said, “The moment you kill someone else, there’s absolutely no compromise, and the DA will throw the book at you and the kitchen sink too. So just put down the gun and let her go.”

  Bruce hesitated. His fingers wiggled on my arm. “You’ll get time off my sentence if I tell you about Rick?”

  “I guarantee it. The DA will be very happy to talk to you.”

  Bruce hesitated. His hold on my arm loosened, and he lowered the gun from my temple.

  A loud gunshot cracked the air from overhead.

  Bruce was falling to the ground. I hit the side of the car with a hard thud as Luke dove for me, then looked up to see where the shot had come from.

  Sirens wailed in the distance. Luke shoved me under the back end of the car while he crouched next to me. “Suspect down,” he said into his radio. “Active shooter, possibly from the bar roof.”

  “Copy,” a voice crackled over his radio. “I have backup two minutes out.”

  “Summer,” Luke said, his voice tight as he leaned over to look at me, “are you all right?”

  “I think so.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Only a few bumps and bruises so far.”

  About a half minute later, muffled screams and a gunshot came from inside the bar. Luke tensed.

  “The shooter’s in there, isn’t he?” I asked, my voice shaking. “You need to go in there.”

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  “You have to help those people, Luke. I could never live with myself if someone got hurt because you stayed with me.”

  A war waged in his eyes before he said, “I want you to stay put. You hear me?”

  “Yes.” I had no desire to get shot.

  He ran over to Bruce and pressed two fingers to his neck, then ran for the back door of the bar.

  I was surprised when the door opened. Luke slipped inside.

  The night was quiet except for the sounds of the sirens coming closer and crickets in the woods behind me. After what felt like forever but was likely only thirty seconds, I heard a crack several feet away in the trees and felt a prickle between my shoulder blades like I was being watched. I couldn’t help thinking about the fact that Bruce had been shot the moment he agreed to tell Luke about Rick. And the person who’d shot Bruce knew that I had the same information.

  Rick was in the woods behind me, and I had no doubt he planned to kill me.

  Staying put was no longer an option. “Sorry, Luke,” I mumbled to myself as I scrambled out from underneath the car and dove for Bruce’s gun on the pavement. I’d just grabbed it and rolled over to my butt, lifting the barrel, when Rick walked around the trunk of the car, his gun aimed at my chest.

  “Summer Butler,” he said with a grin. “You are a tenacious thing . . .”

  “I’m gonna take that as a compliment.” My hand was shaking—so much for looking badass—but the gun was aimed at his chest. If I pulled the trigger, he’d suffer serious damage. But then again, so would I. But I planned to get him to confess for the pendant camera. “Why’d you shoot Bruce?”

  “Oh, come on now, Summer, don’t play stupid. You seem like a smart girl. You know why.”

  “Why are you gonna shoot me?”

  “Same reason.”

  “So why haven’t you done it yet?” I asked, surprised I wasn’t terrified. I was pissed.

  An evil smile lit up his eyes. “Because unlike Kitty, I like to play with my kill first.”

  The blood in my veins turned to sludge.

  “Don’t be stupid, Rick,” I heard Nash say from my side.

  I didn’t dare steal a glance at him. Was he here to help Rick?

  “I told you to stay out of it, Nash,” Rick sneered.

  Nash took several steps closer to me. “I got dragged into it the moment I saw that girl in your truck the other night. I knew she was drugged and not sleeping. Summer confirmed it.”

  “Well, she’s not gonna stick around to confirm anything.” His eyebrows rose in a menacing look.

  “She isn’t worth it,” Nash said. “Your best bet is to get the fuck out of here and run. The cops are gonna be here any second, and if they see you, you’re a dead man. Go.”

  Rick’s confidence lagged. “She’s gonna squeal.”

  “I know how to take care of her. Get out of here.” He dug into his pocket, then tossed a set of keys to his cousin. “Take my truck. Yours is too recognizable.”

  “Thanks, cuz. You’re all right.”

  Nash’s upper lip curled as though he took it as an insult. “Yeah. Go.”

  Rick ran along the back of the building, heading to the other side.

  I stared up at Nash in disbelief. “He just shot a man and you’re lettin’ him go?”

  “Are you all right?” It sounded like it pained him to ask.

  “I’m more concerned with your cousin getting aw—”

  “Put your hands up,” someone shouted on the other side of the building. Seconds later, multiple gunshots went off.

  “Luke!” I jumped to my feet, and Nash grabbed my arm in a firm grip.

  I shot him a dark glare. “You’re about two seconds away from losing the ability to fa
ther children, so I suggest you let me go.”

  He dropped my arm like it was on fire. “I was trying to keep you from running into gunfire.”

  “I realize you think I’m stupid, but I do have some sense in my head!” I spat out.

  “My mistake.”

  Luke ran around from the front of the building, then held his gun on Nash.

  “Put it down.” I patted the air as I dropped the gun to the ground. “He just saved me.”

  “Happy to hear you’re so grateful,” Nash said in snarl.

  “Yeah, well . . .”

  Luke lowered his gun but still cast a wary eye on Nash. “What are you doin’ back here?”

  “Saving your girlfriend from my cousin. He was about to shoot her to shut her up. I convinced him to make a run for it instead.”

  Luke eyed him suspiciously. “You knowingly sent your cousin into a trap?”

  Nash didn’t answer for several seconds. “Well . . . he wasn’t a nice man, so maybe I did the world a favor.” His jaw twitched, and I could tell it hadn’t been easy for him.

  “Thank you,” I said, feeling like a real bitch now.

  “I didn’t do it for just you. I think I’ll go find someone to give my statement to so I can get it over with.” Then he walked to the front with slow, heavy steps.

  I felt another rush of guilt for feeling grateful that he was gone.

  Luke grabbed my arms and looked me up and down. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and crushed me to his chest. “Jesus, Summer. You just scared the ever-lovin’ shit out of me.”

  “You didn’t look scared.”

  “I was terrified.”

  “I wasn’t tryin’ to interview anyone. I swear. I was on my way out to the truck, and I ran into Bruce—literally—while trying to hide from Rick. Bruce confessed, to everything, and he dished on Rick and April Jean too.”

  “Let me find a deputy to take your statement.”

  “Ask and you shall receive,” Deputy Dixon said as he walked toward us.

  Luke’s body tensed. “Thanks, but we’ll find someone else.”

  The deputy laughed. “What are you trying to hide now, Summer? And am I going to catch you lying to cover for her, Montgomery? She’s a joke. A humiliating joke, and she’s gonna make you lose all credibility.”

  He was voicing my worst fears, and after our semicoherent phone conversation earlier, Luke had to know that. He put his arm around my shoulders. “A joke?” he laughed. “You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me, Dixon. For the second time, she’s solved a case for you, and this time she did it while drunk. So who’s the joke now?”

  Deputy Dixon’s smile fell. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Summer not only figured out who the arsonist was, but she also uncovered April Jean’s murder. Maybe she should be workin’ for the sheriff’s department. At the very least, she should be gettin’ some kind of consultant fee for doin’ your job for you.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” he repeated with more fury.

  “Here’s the CliffsNotes version,” I said. “April Jean and Rick Springfield drugged Dixie and framed her for the arson of April Jean’s trailer. Bruce Jepper figured out what they were doin’, and instead of turning them in, he got wrapped up in it. He was the one who texted me the other night, hoping to help her for Teddy’s sake. But then April Jean got pissed off, and she made him kidnap Dixie and set her up. Only April Jean pissed Bruce off. He shot her and then started the fire to make Dixie take the fall for that too.”

  Halfway through my speech, the deputy hooked his thumbs on his belt and gave me a smug grin. When I stopped, he lowered his hands and gave me a condescending look. “You realize there’s one problem with your little story, don’t you?”

  Luke stiffened. “It’s her word against three dead people.”

  “Wrong,” Bill said, walking toward us with an open laptop. “Summer was recording the whole thing, and while some of the video is shit, the audio is perfect.” He beamed at me. “Good job, Summer. Providing us with job security once again, and I’m thankful that I was nowhere near gunfire this time.”

  I pulled him into a hug, and he scrambled to keep hold of the laptop. “You’re the best!”

  Luke gave the deputy a dark grin. “As I said, my girlfriend solved two cases for you. She’s two for oh, Dixon.”

  “Yeah,” Bill said. “Suck on that!”

  Deputy Dixon shot me a dark, dangerous look, and I knew I’d made an enemy for life. Somehow I couldn’t bring myself to care.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Luke called the DA and got Dixie’s charges dropped that night. By ten, Teddy, Luke, and I were in the waiting room of the county jail. We’d been waiting ten minutes, and Teddy and I were pacing while Luke sat in a chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “You two are makin’ me anxious,” Luke said. “And Summer already reached her quota for making me anxious for the next three months.”

  “I can’t help it,” I said, wringing my hands.

  A buzzer sounded, and the door to the back finally opened. Dixie appeared, wearing a pair of mismatched sweats that were too big for her and carrying a plastic bag.

  A female guard stood behind her and watched as she entered the waiting room. Then she shut the door.

  Teddy reached her first, engulfing her in his arms. She broke down sobbing as he cradled her, cupping her head and whispering in her ear.

  I felt like an interloper, watching something I had no business being a part of. Luke stood next to me. I buried my face in his chest, and he held me close.

  “You okay?” he asked in a hushed voice.

  I nodded, unable to explain the strange mix of relief and worry, sorrow and elation. Dixie was free, and her name would be cleared, but she’d lived through hell the last few days. How was she going to handle it?

  “You did this,” he said, tilting my face up to look at him. Pride filled his eyes. “You proved her innocence both now and in the past. So don’t you dare let men like Dixon belittle you. Got it?”

  Tears filled my eyes, and I nodded. “Yeah. But I overturned your case.” I paused. “Does it bother you that I . . .”

  “Challenged me?” he finished.

  “Well . . . yeah . . .”

  “Summer, that’s one of the many things I love about you. You’re not afraid to challenge anything that you think is wrong. Including me.”

  “But some men are threatened by strong women.”

  “You mean like Bruce? Don’t you for one second think I believe that malarkey I was spewin’ to Bruce when he was holdin’ you at gunpoint. I would have told the man I was a leprechaun who peed gold to keep you safe.”

  I grinned.

  “I love you, Summer. I love you more than when we first fell in love, because we’ve lived now and we’ve kissed a few frogs and recognize that we have something that’s worth fightin’ for, so no more listenin’ to fools like Lindy Baker. I’m so damn proud of you I could bust. Don’t ever think I could be ashamed of you.”

  Luke dropped his arms, and I realized Dixie was standing next to me.

  One look at the dark circles under her eyes, and I started to cry. “Dixie, you have no idea how sorry I am for sending you to Connor’s office. If I hadn’t sent you—”

  “Summer,” she said with a shaky voice, “stop.” Tears flowed down her face, and she took my hands in hers. “You . . .”

  She took several breaths. Teddy moved next to her and wrapped an arm around her back. “You can do this later, Dix. You need to go home and rest.”

  Stubbornness settled on her face, and she shook her head. “No. I want to do this now.”

  Teddy leaned over and kissed her head, and for the first time, I was envious of them. Sure, I was a Baumgartner, but I would never have the bond that they shared. My own mother didn’t want me. It hurt a lot more than I would have liked.

  Dixie squeezed
my hands. “Summer.” She smiled through her tears. “You and Teddy . . . You believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. You were both so sure—even years later—that I hadn’t started that fire.”

  “We know your heart,” I said. “We believed in that.”

  “But other people can believe it too since you recorded Trent’s confession about his brother. What you did . . . I have no idea how I will ever thank you.”

  I shook my head, unable to speak, and reached for her and held her close as she cried on my shoulder. “You’re not supposed to thank me, Dixie. You’re just supposed to let me be one of you.”

  “Summer, how can you say that? You already are.”

  Teddy joined us, wrapping his arms around us both while we cried, and I knew I’d made the right decision to move back. This was where I belonged. This was my home.

  Dixie took a step back and wiped her face, her eyes swollen and puffy. She turned to Luke, who, to my surprise, looked close to tears himself.

  “Dixie.” His voice broke. “Sayin’ I’m sorry seems so inadequate. If you hate me for what I did, I understand. I hate myself.”

  Her eyes widened. “Luke! I could never hate you! I’ll never forget how kind you were to me back then. I was devastated and so scared, and you held my hand every step of the way—sometimes literally.”

  “But that’s just it, Dix,” he said. “I was the person responsible for putting you in that hell. I stole your life. I stole Teddy’s. If only I’d—”

  She shook her head slowly and reached up to wipe a tear rolling down his cheek. “Luke, I could never hate you. You thought I was guilty. I thought I was guilty. But even though you thought I did it, besides Teddy, you were the only other person who stuck with me, and I will never forget you for it. Please don’t hate yourself for this, because I don’t.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and clung to him until he held her too. But I could see from the devastation on his face that her arrest and conviction would haunt him for a long, long time.

  With a soft laugh, Dixie said, “I’ve had enough of jails to last the rest of my life. Let’s go home.”

  I liked the sound of that.

  The next morning was packed full of remote morning-news-show interviews filmed in my office—half of which were live—about what happened in the parking lot of the Jackhammer. Thankfully, Lauren had hired a makeup person to help hide the dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep. (From staying up so late with Dixie, not from another sleepover with Luke—I’d sent him home so I could give my cousin my full attention.)