by Jane Godman
When Shane smiled, the similarity between the brothers became more apparent. He caught on fast to what Brayden was saying and turned to Esmée. “I guess that means you, me and Stumps have the rest of the day to ourselves?”
“Got to go.” Brayden clicked his fingers and Echo reluctantly moved away from Stumps. As he opened the back of his car, Brayden spoke quietly to Esmée. “For the sake of my sanity, stay with Shane.”
She nodded. “Don’t worry. We’ll see you at dinner.”
Shane watched as Brayden drove away. “Was that really my brother?”
Esmée frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Just wondering what’s been happening since the last time I saw him. It’s like he’s been taking lessons in how to be human.” He shrugged. “What do you want to do now?”
“Grab a coffee and interview you about Demi.” Although she would have an opportunity to observe the half siblings together over dinner, Esmée wanted to hear Shane’s thoughts about his sister.
“Ah.” He whistled and Stumps, who had been examining the strip of grass at the front of the building, hurried over as fast as his stubby legs would carry him. “You’re that Esmée.”
Shane drove to Main Street and pulled up outside the Hideout coffee shop, a place Esmée already knew was popular with the K-9 cops because dogs were welcome. “I came here instead of Good Eats because I figured you’d probably already spoken to Quinn.”
“Will we be able to talk without being overheard?” Esmée asked.
“It’ll be quiet at this time of the day,” Shane assured her. “And I know which tables are the best for anyone wanting privacy.”
Shane was right, the place was almost deserted. While he went to the counter, Esmée slid into the booth he indicated. Stumps took a moment to consider his options. Apparently deciding against curling up under the table, he hopped onto the bench at Esmée’s side and rested his head on her knee. She stroked his head and the dog gave a sigh of bliss before closing his eyes.
“How is Bray holding up?” Shane asked when he returned with the drinks. “This whole Groom Killer thing blew us all away, but he has to stare it in the face every day as part of his job.”
“The hardest thing is that he’s so worried about Demi. He refuses to believe she’s guilty.”
Shane stirred his coffee, his gaze shifting to the street outside. “She’s our sister.”
“Look, I’ve promised Brayden and Quinn that I won’t make my documentary until the Groom Killer is caught and convicted,” Esmée said. “Nothing you say to me now will impact on the case against Demi.”
He frowned. “So what’s the point of this conversation?”
“Because these real-time thoughts and feelings are important. After it’s all over, it will be easy for people to say, ‘Oh, I knew that.’ And the three of you are the ones who know Demi best.”
“That’s just it. We barely know each other at all.” He sipped his hot coffee for a moment or two, appearing to gather his thoughts. “Do I think Demi is capable of killing Bo Gage in anger if they got in a fight? I don’t like the idea, but I sometimes wonder if that might be possible. Shooting him and stuffing a cummerbund in his mouth? That’s not her style. And the idea that she would go on to kill other men—men she doesn’t know—just because they’re getting married and she isn’t?” Shane’s expression became more determined. “No, that’s not Demi.”
“Does that mean you agree with Brayden? You believe she’s innocent?”
“She’s not acting like an innocent person. By running away, she has the whole town crying out that she’s guilty.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I wish she’d get in touch. That way, we could help her.”
“When you say ‘we,’ you mean you and Brayden?” Esmée asked.
His eyes were sharp as they scanned her face. “You think she wouldn’t do that because of Bray’s job? Because she knows he’d have to choose between helping his sister and turning her in? I never thought of it that way. They always were the closest out of the four of us. But that’s not saying much.”
“You don’t think she’d ask Rusty for help?”
He almost choked on the coffee he’d been drinking. “Have you met Rusty?” Esmée nodded. “Well, then. I think you just answered your own question.”
“Quinn said you thought it would be easy to frame someone for these murders.” She wasn’t sure how he’d react to her skirting around the subject of his own past.
Shane didn’t seem concerned. “It’s easy to frame someone for any murder. But some of these details are pure drama. They’re not really evidence. The finger dipped in blood spelling out Demi’s initials? The locket? Witnesses claiming to see Demi running from superfasts—and in one case, actually shooting someone? Witnesses who’ve both ended up dead? Too easy.”
Esmée didn’t want to interfere in Brayden’s life, but she could see that the wall around his heart had been built during his childhood. Quinn and Shane had similar issues. Demi probably did, too. For some reason, the hurt went deeper with Brayden. Part of it was genetics. He had that built-in reserve. Maybe it was also to do with his first and only experience of love. Was it too late for this group of siblings who were almost strangers to grow closer? Esmée, who had her own unique insight into murder and its impact, thought they might still have a chance. Perhaps something could be salvaged from this situation.
As for her place in it...all she knew for sure was that she had never felt as alive, or as secure, as she did with Brayden. She didn’t know what the future held for them, and maybe now wasn’t the time to decide. That was what her head said. Her heart was trying to make other plans.
“What do you want to do now?” Shane indicated their empty cups.
“I need to go and get my little boy from Sarah Mull’s house, then we may as well go back to Brayden’s place and I can start preparing dinner.” She prodded the sleeping dog in her lap, who opened one eye. Reluctantly, Stumps jumped down and Esmée got to her feet.
“You’re staying with Brayden?” Shane raised his eyebrows as they left their table.
“Yes. Sorry. You got thrust into the role of bodyguard without any information to go with it.” Aware that he was regarding her with a curious expression, she frowned. “Is that a problem?”
“On the contrary. It explains something that’s been puzzling me.” He grinned as he held the door open for her to pass through ahead of him. “I wondered why my big brother was looking so happy.”
* * *
Lifeless Creek got its name because it was almost dry for most of the year. A narrow channel that ran along the base of the Coyote Mountains, it came to life in spring when melting snow turned it into a stream. Brayden and Echo trudged through the surrounding mud to reach the place where the body had been discovered, close to the bank. Yellow crime-scene tape marked the area and a forensic team was already at work.
A white, protective tent covered the remains. Ordering Echo to stay, Brayden ducked inside. The sweet but pungent smell hit him and he took a moment to adjust. Sadly, his job occasionally brought him in contact with dead bodies. Mostly, the fatalities he encountered had occurred recently. Now and then, he came across corpses that were older. He never got used to the rank aroma of death.
“The hikers who found this guy are waiting to make a statement.” Dr. Alice Wilson was photographing the scene and didn’t turn her head.
“I wanted to find out what your first impressions were before I spoke to them.”
She did look around then. Stepping aside slightly, she allowed Brayden a clear view of the remains. He winced as he looked down at what had once been a person.
“My first impressions? I won’t put anything on the record until I’ve completed my examination, but let me tell you what I think happened to this guy. Whoever killed him thought they could cut him up, presumably to make it easier to dispose of him. But the
y misjudged how difficult it is to do that, especially as they seem to have tried it with an ordinary knife.” Brayden thought of Esmée’s description of the hunting knife she had found. “So they gave up and buried him out here. Except the runoff from the melting snow has brought the creek to life and washed the top surface of the soil away. Sure gave those people who came out here for a pleasant walk a nasty shock.”
“I don’t suppose you can give me an idea of when he died?”
She shrugged. “It’s difficult to say because he’s been buried and then exposed to the elements. By the condition of the body, I’m going to say weeks rather than months.” She reached a gloved hand down toward the corpse, bringing up an item and holding it so that Brayden could see it. “The people who discovered him found this a few inches away.”
Although the document was dirty and ragged around the edges, the print on it was clear. It was Richie Lyman’s driver’s license.
“I know what you’re going to say.” Dr. Wilson wasn’t known for her sense of humor, but there was a faint twinkle in her eye. “You want this case treated as a priority?”
“I’d appreciate it,” Brayden said.
“So much for my quiet life. It’s like this town has gone crazy in the last few months.” Brayden followed her as she stepped outside the tent. “I’ll be in touch when I’ve completed the examination.”
The young couple who had found the body were huddled together on a nearby rock. Their dog, a border terrier, sat at their feet. They weren’t local and explained that they had left their car in the town center, had set off early and followed the Coyote Mountain trail.
“We hiked for a couple of hours and came back down into the valley,” Steven Halford said. “As we were walking along the edge of the creek, Buddy found something. He kept sniffing at it and wouldn’t come away when we called him.”
His wife covered her lips with a shaking hand. “It looked like a bundle of old rags, but when we got up close...” Her eyes filled with tears. “How could anyone do that to another person?”
Brayden took down their details, but it was clear they didn’t have much else to tell him. They had done all the right things, calling 911 immediately and not touching the body. Although the remains were in poor condition, it was clear the dead person had been a victim of violence. Since it was obvious he had also been dead for some time, the Halfords hadn’t felt it was necessary to leave the scene to ensure their own safety.
“You’re free to go.” Brayden couldn’t see any reason to keep them there. The forensic team were moving the body and the late-afternoon sky was darkening with the threat of rain. “I’ll be in touch if I need any further information.”
As the Halfords left, Brayden stepped back to view the scene. From where he was standing, he could see in a straight line up from the creek to the mountain trail. The Eagle’s Nest was immediately above this point. Dr. Wilson would determine whether Richie—and it seemed likely it was Richie—had been killed here, or if he’d been murdered elsewhere and his body dumped here. But it struck Brayden as odd, or possibly coincidental, that Esmée’s encounter with the shooter had taken place on a ridge that was directly above the point where this body had been hidden.
The forensic team was carrying the covered body toward their vehicle, and there was no further reason to stay here. Calling Echo to him, Brayden headed to his car. He may as well return to town and grab a coffee to take out before filing his report.
Chapter 15
Esmée and Shane left the Hideout and headed for his car. Just as they reached the vehicle, she gave an exclamation of annoyance. “I meant to get some coriander for this meal I’m making.”
“You can get that from the Spice Rack.” Shane indicated the deli across the street.
“I’ll be two minutes.” Esmée had already started to cross the road as she was talking.
A quick glance first in one direction, then the other, showed her the street was free of traffic. She was almost in the middle of the road when she heard a dog barking. The sound attracted her attention and she paused. It wasn’t Stumps. The bark was too low-pitched. It was definitely Echo’s bark. If Echo was close by that meant Brayden was, too. In the same instant that she turned her head, a black car came racing out of a side street opposite to where Shane was parked. It was heading directly toward her.
Esmée spun around just as a pair of strong hands grabbed her by the waist and hauled her out of the path of the vehicle. She took a moment to register it was Brayden and then they were sprawled on the sidewalk as the car, a black SUV, screeched past at high speed. Moments later, Shane had jumped into his own vehicle and was racing after it.
Brayden brushed himself off and turned to Esmée. “Are you okay?”
“Just a little shaken.” It was an understatement, but he looked so worried that she wanted to reassure him.
“I need to call this in. Can you walk?” She took the hand he held out to her and leaned on him as he supported her to his car.
Although she wasn’t injured, her legs were shaking and she was glad of Brayden’s strong arms as he helped her into the passenger seat. Leaning her head back, she tried to fight off the waves of shock. Her insides were cold, her stomach cramping. Her heart was pounding so hard against her rib cage, it felt like it was about to explode with each beat, and her breathing was coming hard and fast. Although her skin felt clammy, she started to shiver and wrapped her arms around herself.
She was conscious of Brayden’s eyes on her as he gave quick, concise details of the incident to the PD dispatcher. “A black SUV heading down Main toward Rattlesnake. Shane Colton is in pursuit.”
When he ended the call, he leaned across and drew Esmée close to him, using his warmth and strength to comfort her. She melted into his embrace like it was where she belonged, his arms around her restoring a level of peace despite the horror of what had just happened.
“If Echo hadn’t barked when he did, I’d have been right in the path of that car.” Hearing his name, the dog, who was on the back seat, shuffled forward and nudged her shoulder with his nose. Esmée obliged by turning to stroke him. “You are such a good boy.” She raised her head to look at Brayden. “And you...” Her voice quivered and she took a moment to get it back under control. “You saved me. Again. But you came from nowhere. Why are you here?”
“I’d finished up at Lifeless Creek. There wasn’t much to do out there. I was driving back here to the Hideout to get a coffee. I saw you and Shane come out and had just gotten out of my car when you started to cross the road.” His expression darkened. “What the hell was that brother of mine playing at? I thought I asked him to take care of you?”
“To be fair to Shane, I was only going to the deli to get coriander. He couldn’t have known someone would try to run me down.” Esmée looked down the road. “And now he’s gone racing off in pursuit. Anything could happen to him.”
“Looks like he’s okay,” Brayden said as his brother’s car reappeared.
Shane parked behind them and got out, his whole appearance expressing fury. “Lost him.” He leaned in the driver’s-side window of Brayden’s car. “He jumped a red light at the intersection of Rattlesnake and James. Almost caused a three-car pileup.”
“Did you get a look at the driver?” Brayden asked.
“No. The vehicle had tinted windows and no registration plates.” Shane scuffed a booted foot on the sidewalk. “I’m willing to bet good money that car won’t be found.”
“I have to go in and file a report about the dead body out at Lifeless Creek,” Brayden said. “Is there any chance you two could manage to stay out of trouble for a few hours while I’m gone?”
Shane started to protest, but Esmée laughed. “We can try, but I still need coriander.”
“Then Shane will go get it, while I stay here with you.”
“You can’t treat your brother like an errand boy...”
Shane shook his head. “He’s a tyrant, Esmée. Get used to it.”
As he strode off toward the deli, Brayden took hold of Esmée’s chin, tilting her face up to his. “Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw that car heading toward you?”
She started to speak, but, ignoring the fact that they were in full view of anyone passing by, he bent his head and kissed her. “Groom Killer,” she murmured when she was finally able to say something. “I know a public kiss isn’t the same as an engagement ring, but we need to be careful.”
He raised his head, gazing into her eyes. “I don’t give a damn.”
“Well, I do. From now on, let’s keep the displays of affection behind closed doors.”
The smile in his eyes replaced the chill in her veins with sweet warmth. “You give a damn?”
When he looked at her that way, keeping her own rule about no kissing in public was going to be harder than she’d anticipated. “Brayden, I give several.”
* * *
When Brayden arrived home a few hours later, Esmée was preparing dinner in the kitchen while Shane was slumped in front of the TV. Echo bounced into the family room to greet Stumps.
“Why is the house so quiet?” Brayden looked around in surprise. “Where’s Rhys?”
“Taking a quick nap before dinner. He’s tired himself out. Kitten overload.”
Shane followed Brayden into the kitchen. “Why doesn’t your TV remote work properly?”
“Ah.” Esmée gave Brayden an apologetic look. “It may have found its way into Echo’s water bowl.”
“Rhys likes to find out if things can float,” he told Shane. “Hang on to your cell phone.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Shane said. “We still have a few hours before dinner, right?”
“We’ll eat at about six. We’ve turned your brother’s routine upside down and forced him to keep two-year-old hours.” Esmée and Brayden exchanged a smile.
“I’d come straight from my last job when I met you in the PD parking lot. I’ll go to my place, dump my stuff, freshen up and collect Quinn. We’ll see you later.”