The Pursuit of Lies, A Romantic Suspense Novel (Book #4, Paradise Valley Mysteries)

by Debra Burroughs

  He stirred something in her she hadn’t felt for a long time and her body was on fire. Standing under the moonlight reflecting on the bay, she resolved herself to do whatever she could to prove this man innocent. If she couldn’t set him free and make him her husband, she was certain she would be consumed by the flames that raged within her.

  Her arms passionately tightened around him until she felt him wince. His embrace opened and she stepped back. His kisses were so deliriously delicious that for a moment her mind had been caught up in another time and place.

  Colin stepped in and gently laced his arms around her once more.

  She reached out to him, too, this time aware she would have to refrain from holding him so tightly.

  He began to hum their song and gently sway to the rhythm, like he had the night before at her house. This was their song—the one that they had chosen to define their relationship and celebrate their engagement. Words were unnecessary. When he hummed the song, her heart told her it was his way of saying that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with no other woman but her.

  The raging fire within her gradually died down to a warm glow. She loved the way their bodies moved in unison. If only they could shut everything else out, and stay in their own perfect little world on the edge of the bay.

  ~*~

  They drove through the night, back to Paradise Valley, taking turns sleeping and driving. Once Colin took his pain pills beyond eastern Sacramento, Emily took over and drove up into the Sierras. She stayed behind the wheel for the next eight hours.

  Colin took the last three hours while Emily curled up in the passenger seat and drifted off to sleep. By the time they were almost to Paradise Valley, Colin’s pain was returning. So he threw a small handful of Advil into his mouth and downed it with a couple of swigs from his water bottle. He pulled his fake red hair off and unpeeled the mustache from his upper lip before pitching them both into the backseat.

  “Baby,” he sang sweetly, patting her arm, “it’s time to wake up. We’re almost home.”

  “What time is it?” Emily mumbled, her eyes still closed.

  “Almost seven thirty.”

  “Can we get some coffee?” She shifted in her seat toward him. Her wig had shifted as well.

  “Sure, but you might want to do something with your hair.”

  Chapter 23

  “Hey, sweetheart, we’re here,” Colin said. He pulled the Honda into a parking space in front of Moxie Java.

  Emily opened one eye and glanced around. “Already?”

  “Babe, I wasn’t kidding about the hair.”

  She sat up straight in her seat and pulled the sun visor down, exposing a mirror. “Oh, my! Why didn’t you warn me?”

  “I did.”

  She pulled the lopsided wig off her head and ran her fingers through her hair. “I can’t go in there looking like this. Is there a hat in that bag in the backseat?”

  “A ball cap, I think.” Colin reached back and brought the bag forward.

  Emily rummaged through it and came up with a white cap. “This will have to do.” She stuck the hat on her head and grinned at Colin. “What do you think?”

  “Looks good enough for the coffee shop.” He opened the car door and climbed out.

  She frowned in the mirror then got out and followed Colin into the café.

  “Good morning, Emily,” the attractive male barista cheerfully greeted as she and Colin approached the counter. He wore the requisite black logoed t-shirt and ball cap.

  “Hey, good morning. I see your beard is growing in nicely,” Emily said.

  “Thanks. What can I get for you?”

  “Can I get a nice hot mocha cappuccino and a black coffee?”

  “Absolutely.” He punched their order into the computerized cash register. “That’ll be seven forty-two.”

  Colin stepped to the counter and handed the man a ten. Once the barista gave him his change, he and Emily moved off to the side to wait for their drinks.

  “You know this guy?” Colin whispered to Emily.

  “Yes, that’s Andy. He’s been working here for a few months.”

  “Guess I haven’t been here for a while,” Colin said. “His eyes seemed to light up when you walked in.”

  “Jealous?”

  “Should I be?”

  She grinned and elbowed him playfully.

  “Careful where you throw that thing,” he half-heartedly warned.

  As they stood to the side waiting, they discussed their plans for the rest of the day, getting together for dinner, and spoke a little more about their search for the elusive Kevin Bates.

  “Once we get some rest, I want to see if Isabel can get the FBI lab to—”

  “Number twenty-three!” the young woman behind the counter called out.

  “That’s us,” Emily replied.

  ~*~

  Emily arranged to trade cars with Peter before she could drop Colin off at Ernie and Marlene’s place. They fended off Peter’s barrage of probing questions with promises to tell all at a later date.

  With her Volvo back, she dropped Colin at the Kaufmann’s house to check in with Ernie so he wouldn’t suspect they had gone too far out of town. Colin hoped there wouldn’t be too many questions, he was exhausted from the interstate road trip and just wanted to take a nap.

  Marlene greeted him at the door. “Come in, dear.” She swung the door open wide. “How are you feeling? Did Emily take good care of you?”

  He stepped inside. “Yes, she took very good care of me. Is Ernie home?”

  “No, he’s already gone to work.”

  “Guess I should give him a call, let him know I’m back.”

  “So Emily took good care of you, huh? That’s so nice. She’s such a lovely girl. Here, let me help you get your coat off.”

  “That’s okay, I can manage. I’d like to lie down for a while, take a little nap. I think I overdid it with Emily and I could use the rest.”

  “Oh, my, so it was like that.”

  “What? No, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about Emily.”

  “Don’t worry, dear, I understand.” She grinned up at him. “We were young once, too. I remember back then Ernie and I were so much in love we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.”

  Colin shifted his weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable with the direction their conversation was heading.

  “Oh, you’d never know it, but that man was a frisky devil.” Marlene’s gaze drifted off as she smiled to herself, appearing as if she was remembering a particularly romantic moment. “But you don’t want to hear about that. Let’s get you tucked into bed.”

  “I think I can manage by myself, but thank you.” Colin ambled down the hall to the bedroom.

  ~*~

  Barely able to keep her eyes open, Emily went home and climbed in bed, hoping to sleep for a few hours. No sooner did her head hit the pillow than she was out.

  When she got up, a little after eleven, she phoned Colin. He had mentioned that he hadn’t seen the condo video and was anxious to get a look at it.

  “Be careful when you come over here to pick me up,” he warned. “Marlene has this idea that we spent the last two days making mad passionate love.”

  “Oh, really.”

  “Talk about uncomfortable. She started telling me how she understood young people in love and about how Ernie had been—how did she say it?—a frisky devil.”

  “Ernie and Marlene? Eeew! Now that image will be stuck in my head for hours. Thanks a lot.”

  “Sorry.”

  “How about you watch for me and come out when I pull up? I don’t think I want to run into Marlene this morning.”

  “I’ll be waiting. By the way, I got a call from the Boise police that I can pick up my Jeep. Guess the CSI is finally done with it.”

  “I wonder if they found anything.”

  “If they did, they would have sent a report to Alex. I’ll give him a call while you’re on your way ov
er—I should check in with him anyway.”

  Before long, she picked up Colin and took him to get his vehicle. After that, he followed her back to her house to check out the security video.

  “It’s kind of creepy watching yourself doing something you know you didn’t do.” He stood, arms crossed, staring at the computer screen that was perched on the breakfast bar. “I’ll admit, it does look like me, but I know it’s not because I was never there.”

  “So how do we prove that wasn’t you?” She opened a folder and pulled out the photo of his vehicle that was captured in Allison’s condo parking lot. “Take a look at this.”

  He took the photo and examined it. “That does look like my Jeep…and that’s definitely my license number. But you have to believe me, Babe, I wasn’t there.”

  “You know, Kevin Bates had a long time to sit in his cell and plan out every detail of this frame job,” Emily said.

  “And he has the technological skills to pull this off too.” Colin laid the photo on the bar. “What if we can’t prove it was someone else?”

  “Don’t go there, Colin. There’s plenty more we can do. I still need to call Isabel, see if the FBI lab can enhance the video. We’ve got to find some telltale sign that this man is someone other than you.”

  Colin stared at the screen as it replayed the scene. “This video is pretty low quality and grainy. Surely there’s something they can do to improve it.”

  “Maybe there’s some tiny detail that’ll stand out, something we’re missing.”

  Emily phoned Isabel to ask for the FBI’s help. Isabel said she’d have to see if one of the techs could fit them in that day. She promised to phone her back.

  “Why don’t I make us some sandwiches while we wait?” Emily offered.

  She went to the refrigerator and began pulling items out. Her phone jingled on the breakfast bar and she snatched it up. “That was fast,” Emily said.

  “Excuse me,” came an unfamiliar female voice on the other end of the line.

  “Oh, sorry. I thought this was someone else. How can I help you?”

  “Is this Emily Parker?”

  “It is.”

  “Ms. Parker, this is Buffy Drewett. My husband and I own Hope Blooms.”

  “Oh, yes, hello.”

  “My husband gave me your card. He said you were asking about a pot of cyclamen we may have sold and wanted to know if we had any video cameras.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Mark didn’t know, but I do have a security camera in the store—a nanny cam actually. You know, one of those teddy bears with a camera in one of its eyes. I put it up right before I went out of town.”

  “Do you think you have that sale on tape?” Could she be that lucky?

  “I might. I just got back today, so I haven’t seen the footage myself. You’re welcome to come down and look at it with me. I’m here ‘til six.”

  She peered down at her watch, then over at Colin. “I can be there in half an hour. Thank you so much.”

  Emily clicked off the call, grinned at Colin, and set her phone down. “See, I told you there was plenty more to do.” She spun around and went back to making the sandwiches.

  He slid up behind her at the counter and wove his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him. “I don’t know what I’d ever do without you, Emily.”

  She whirled around to face him, wielding a mayonnaise-covered butter knife in one hand. “You’ll never have to find out.”

  “That’s my hope.” His hands splayed across her back as he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly.

  Chapter 24

  Emily ducked into the flower shop, out of the light afternoon rain shower. The little brass bells on the store’s front door jingled as she entered Hope Blooms. She spotted a young brunette behind the counter doing some paperwork. The woman lifted her head at the sound of the bells. Emily assumed she was Buffy Drewett, the lady who had called.

  A wide smile spread across the woman’s face. “Hello. How can I help you today?”

  “I’m Emily Parker. You phoned me a little bit ago.” Emily stepped up to the counter.

  “Oh, yes, yes, Emily Parker. I’m Buffy.” The woman gathered her papers and shoved them in a drawer. “You wanted to see the video tape. Do you mind if I ask why?”

  “I’m a private investigator and I’m looking for someone. I think the man who purchased that pot of red cyclamen might the man.”

  “Did he do something wrong?”

  “Possibly. I’m hoping the tape will give me a little more information about him.”

  “Why don’t you scoot around behind the counter, and I’ll play the video on my computer. My husband said it was Thursday of last week that you asked about.”

  “That’s right.” Emily nodded as she made her way to the computer. “I’m so glad you have a security video. Hopefully it will tell me something.”

  “I’m happy to help.”

  “Do you mind my asking why your husband didn’t know you have it?” Once the words were out of her mouth, Emily realized it was none of her business. “Forget it, you don’t have to answer that.”

  “No, it’s okay. It does seem funny, doesn’t it? It’s just that his favorite niece works for us part time, and I thought she might be pocketing the cash purchases. So I got a nanny cam and stuck it up there on the shelf.” Buffy pointed to an area to the side of the counter. “I didn’t want to tell Mark until I had proof.”

  Emily wondered why he hadn’t mentioned the niece when she asked him if anyone else worked there. Was he hiding something?

  The woman stuck a thumb drive in the side of the laptop and started the video. “Sorry it’s pointed mostly at the cash register. The customers’ faces don’t really show up all that well.”

  Emily fast-forwarded the video until she came to a man who bought a pot of cyclamen. The date stamp showed it was that Thursday morning, the day of the murder. The ceramic pot looked similar to the one in the photo from Allison’s condo. Could this be the man?

  The ball cap he was wearing and the angle of the camera prevented a clear shot of his face—not even a good profile—but as he handed the store clerk the cash, Emily noticed something on the man’s right hand between his thumb and index finger.

  Emily stopped the recording and backed it up a little, then played it again in slow motion. She paused it when his hand was in clear view.

  “What is that?” Buffy asked, pointing to a darkened area on the customer’s hand.

  “That’s what I was wondering.” Emily squinted at the object. “A small tattoo perhaps.”

  “Or a scab, like maybe the guy burned his hand or scratched it on something.”

  Emily knew Colin didn’t have a tattoo on his hand. As for the scab, if he had one it would likely have been from the fight in jail after his arrest.

  “Do you mind if I borrow this thumb drive?”

  “I’d rather keep it, but I can make you a copy.”

  Emily nodded her head.

  “I’m sure you didn’t notice this, Ms. Parker, because you were so focused on the man, but the cash he handed to our niece went directly into her pocket.”

  ~*~

  What was that on his hand? Emily rolled that question over in her mind as she drove home. Could it be that such a tiny detail could prove the killer was someone else?

  As soon as she returned home, she went straight to her computer. Something about the condo video was beckoning her to take another look. She pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator and slid up on a barstool at the breakfast bar.

  She pushed the play button and watched the video, repeatedly. There had to be something there, something she was missing. From the angle of the footage, the camera appeared to be mounted high up, maybe ten or fifteen feet away, pointing down at an angle toward the entry door. From the poor quality, it was hard to tell if there was indeed something on the man’s right hand, like she had seen in the flower shop footage.

  There could be some
thing there, or was it just a shadow? She couldn’t tell.

  Isabel had phoned Emily as she was leaving the flower shop and said the lab tech could look at the video at four thirty. Maybe he could help answer that question.

  “Wait a minute!” Emily hollered, as she hit the pause button. “How tall is Kevin Bates?”

  She flipped through the file, looking for the information Colin had given her about him. There wasn’t much, only a page where she’d jotted down the man’s description as he had remembered it—mid-thirties by now, dark blond hair, blue eyes, about six one.

  Emily’s breath caught in her throat. She could feel her pulse quickening.

  That’s it—it has to be. Colin is six four!

  She snatched up her phone off the counter and called Colin to meet her down at Allison’s condo building at three p.m., before their four-thirty appointment with Isabel and her tech at the FBI building.

  “What are we doing at the condo building?”

  “I need to do a little experiment,” Emily explained. “I’ll fill you in when I see you.”

  Then she phoned the condo manager and asked if she could get a copy of that day’s taping. He balked at first, but with some convincing, she got him to agree to meet her for the experiment and then make her a copy of that video.

  ~*~

  Emily was waiting by the front door to the condo building with the manager when Colin drove up. As he pulled in, she noticed his front license plate was missing. When Colin parked, the rear of his Jeep faced her, displaying his license plate just like the security photo had shown from the night of the murder.

  “So tell me, what’s this all about?” Colin asked as he approached from the parking lot.

  “Stop, stop,” she yelled, sprinting toward him with both her hands extended.

  He halted as she directed. “What’s going on?”

  Emily turned back to the building manager. “Mr. Barbour, could you step away from the door for a minute? To the left.”

  “Like this?” The man moved a few feet away from the entrance.

  “Perfect! When Colin approaches, unlock the door.” Emily turned back to Colin, who looked perplexed.

  “Explain.”

  “I’m doing a little experiment that I think will prove you aren’t the killer.”