Old Flames Never Die (Valentine Mystery)

by Harte, Jenna

  “Well, maybe it should.” She brushed, spit and rinsed.

  “You want to stand by your man and listen to me tell about Liv while Daniel gloats.”

  Tess suspected Daniel might gloat, but that wasn't why he wanted her during the police interview with Jack. “As I said, what's there to gloat about? I already know.”

  She turned to him and he reached out to wipe the edge of her mouth. “You missed a spot.” His thumb brushed over her lips. “That towel doesn't hide much.”

  “Sorry, champ. You had your chance. Now we don't have time.” She patted his hand away from the edge of her towel.

  “What chance?” he asked as she walked away.

  She looked at him over her shoulder. “Your towel didn't hide much either.”

  ~~~~

  At nine-thirty, Jack and Tess walked into the Jefferson Tavern Police Station, just as Liv's interview finished.

  “Jack? Tess? What are you doing here? It's not because of me, is it?” Liv asked.

  “Don't worry about it, Liv,” Jack said.

  “I didn't tell them anything,” she said.

  Tess winced. That sounded a little like a conspiracy.

  “I mean I had to answer their questions about us, but it was so long ago. I can't imagine what they want to ask you.”

  “I don't know either,” he said.

  “This is just crazy,” Liv said. She turned to the man standing beside her. “Can you do something?”

  “I can't dictate how the police do their business,” he said shaking his head. “Hello, Tess. Thanks for the referral.”

  Tess nodded. “Jack, this is Lance Gray. He works with Tom. Lance, this is Jack Valentine.”

  The two men shook hands. “How did it go?” Jack asked.

  “Like police work,” Lance said. “They're scrambling to pin this on Mrs. Danforth, but she's got a solid alibi.”

  Daniel entered the waiting area. “We're ready for you.”

  “I'm so sorry for dragging you into this, Jack,” Liv said.

  Jack waved her concern away. With a hand on Tess' back he said, “Ready?”

  ~~~~

  Jack and Tess took a seat in the interrogation room. Daniel's partner, Sam Collier, sat at the table, but Daniel stayed standing. Jack got the impression he was uncomfortable. He couldn't imagine why. It wasn't his sordid love life about to be put into a police record.

  “We just have a few questions regarding Mrs. Danforth. You probably know about Mr. Danforth,” Sam said.

  Jack nodded his head.

  “What is your relationship with Mrs. Danforth?”

  Jack rolled his shoulders and took a breath. “She's an old girlfriend.” Normally he might have elaborated on the fact that he hadn't seen nor spoken to her in a year, but Tess was a stickler about answering only the question that was asked.

  “When was that?”

  “A little over a year ago.”

  “Did you know she was married?”

  “How is that relevant?” Tess cut in.

  “We just want to know what Liv told him about her marital status at the time.”

  Tess nodded to Jack. “She told me she was separated and planning to divorce.”

  “So you knew she was married?” Sam asked again. Jack looked to Daniel, whose eyes were on Tess. But he didn't see gloat in Daniel’s expression. He saw discomfort.

  “He told you what she said,” Tess interjected.

  “And where were you last Saturday at 1:00 p.m.?”

  Jack hadn't expected that and a quick glance to Tess told him she hadn't either. Jack realized that this meeting wasn't just about getting information about Liv. They wanted to interrogate him for Charles Danforth's murder.

  “I was having lunch with a friend in Washington.”

  “D.C.?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have receipts?”

  “I can get them. Or you can call Brad Chancellor. He'll confirm my itinerary for the entire weekend.”

  “What about March 5th? Were you in Washington then too?”

  Jack frowned. “Yes. Tess and I were both there the first week of March.”

  “Interesting that you and Mrs. Danforth were in Washington at the same time.”

  “So was the president.”

  “When was the last time you saw Mrs. Danforth?” Sam continued on.

  “You mean besides two minutes ago? Last night. She and Ms. Madison and I had dinner together.”

  “Why?”

  “Why?”

  “For what reason?”

  “We're old friends.” Jack was now thinking he might have preferred to have Daniel leading the interrogation.

  “You brought your current lover to dinner with a former lover…?”

  “Collier,” Daniel's voice warned.

  Jack looked to Tess. Had Daniel just pulled the reins on Sam?

  “She was distraught over Charles' death and wanted to get out.” Jack explained.

  “With an old flame?”

  “We concede that Mr. Valentine and Mrs. Danforth had a relationship over a year ago, but that isn't relevant to this case,” Tess said.

  “Did she ever call you over the last year?”

  “No.”

  “How about March 5th?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  Jack felt Tess' hand on his thigh. “Did Liv say something?” she asked.

  Daniel stepped forward. He reached for a paper in front of Sam and pushed it toward them. “Cell phone call from Liv to Jack on the 5th.”

  Jack felt a panic in his gut. How was it possible that it could happen again? He was being accused of murder on evidence he knew nothing about. “I never—”

  Tess' hand tightened on his thigh as she scanned the document. “This call is too short to suggest they talked.” She pushed the paper back to Sam.

  “What about voicemail?” Sam asked.

  Jack shook his head. “I didn't have a message from her.”

  “And I'm sure your tech guys could verify that,” Tess said.

  “You didn't notice it on your missed calls list?”

  “Maybe. But if someone doesn't think their call is important enough to leave a message, then I figure it's not important enough for me to call back. I can tell you I don't recognize that number.”

  “Would you have called her if—”

  “That's not relevant.”

  “That's all we need for now,” Daniel stepped forward again. “Thank you for your time.”

  Sam didn't look happy about Daniel's interference, but didn't press.

  Jack helped Tess from her chair and led her out. Neither said anything until they got outside.

  “Tess, I never got a call from her until yesterday.”

  “I know.” He searched her eyes to make sure he didn't see the shadow of the walls or the fear that lingered there when she doubted him. He only saw confusion and worry.

  “Tess, Jack.”

  Jack turned to see Daniel coming toward them. Jack readied himself to speak his mind, but Tess' hand on his arm stopped him.

  “I'm sorry about that,” Daniel said.

  “What was that?” Tess asked.

  Daniel shrugged. “I can't go into details, but let's just say Sam is being thorough.”

  “And you couldn't stop him?” Jack asked.

  “He's the lead. And thorough. I remember a few months ago, Tess was asking us to be more thorough.”

  “That was ridiculous,” Tess said.

  “I figured you never took the call. We'll call Mr. Chancellor and Jack will be cleared,” Daniel said.

  “Cleared! So I am a suspect?”

  “She has an alibi,” Tess explained. “Which means someone else killed Charles. But since they suspect her, they're looking at people who are or were close to her who might have killed him for her.”

  Daniel nodded.

  “Jesus,” Jack scoffed.

  “Once we clear it up, you won't be bothered. But I w
ould recommend staying away from Mrs. Danforth.” Daniel's phone beeped. He looked at the screen then said, “I've gotta run.”

  Tess linked her arm through Jack's as they started towards the car.

  “Amazing. How do we get involved in these things?”

  “We?” Tess asked. “You. You get involved. I'm just along as the sidekick.”

  He grinned down on her, glad that she was able to make light of the situation.

  “Maybe when all the craziness with the Worthingtons and Liv is done, we can take a little trip. How about a long weekend in the mountains?” Jack said.

  “I'd rather go to a beach,” Tess said.

  “We can go to Virginia Beach,” he said, imagining Tess in a bikini.

  “I was thinking along the lines of Aruba.”

  “We could, except it involves flying,” he said, as they stopped and waited for the light to turn green.

  “So?”

  “I don't fly.”

  Tess turned to look up at him.” Why?”

  “Airplanes defy logic. They're like bumblebees.”

  Tess laughed. Just a little at first, but it soon swelled.

  “It's not funny,” Jack said tightly.

  “It's pretty funny.”

  “Lots of people don't like to fly.”

  “It's safer than driving.”

  “It doesn't matter what I know. It only matters how I feel,” he said, abruptly guiding her into the intersection to cross the street.

  “Don't you ever have to fly to business meetings?”

  “Not since I hired people to do that for me.”

  She shook her head in disbelief. “I would have never guessed you had a phobia.”

  “It's not nice to make fun of people's shortcomings.”

  “I'm sorry,” she said, but Jack could tell she was still more amused than sympathetic. “I just thought with all the money and time you have, travel would be top on your list.”

  When he stepped up on the curb, he stopped and turned her to him. “If it was really important to you, I might be able to…possibly…” But jeez, just the thought of flying made his heart jackhammer in his chest.

  “You know, they have great chocolate in Europe.”

  “Which I can buy here,” he stated flatly.

  She gave him a slow, coy smile. “You'll never join the mile high club if you don't fly.”

  That had another part of his body responding. He gave her an anguished look. “You're killing me, you know that?”

  She waggled her brows. “It could be fun.”

  “In theory, yes, except that with all the medicinal help I need to fly, I don't think I could perform adequately.”

  “Oh well,” she sighed.

  He took her hand as they continued toward the car. “Perhaps I can offer you something else.”

  “We're in public now.”

  He gave her an annoyed look. “I meant other than that.”

  “But I like that.”

  He'd created a monster. An alluring, sexy monster, but a monster nonetheless. “How about the Outer Banks? It has a beach, but we can drive.”

  “How about Okracoke? We can search for pirate treasure.”

  They reached Tess' car and Jack opened the door for her, but he blocked her from getting in. “There's only one treasure I want to find.”

  “You'd think you'd have found it by now.” She rose up on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips.

  “It's never enough,” he laughed. “But before we can go, I've got to get things settled with the Worthingtons.”

  “And you probably want to hang around for Liv.”

  Jack nodded and hoped Tess wouldn't be upset about it. “It sounds like Daniel's partner would like me to stick around as well.”

  “I don't know how you managed it Jack, but in less than three months you have gotten yourself involved in two murder investigations.”

  He grinned. “Life is one adventure after another.”

  Chapter Three

  It was not turning out to be a good day, Jack thought. Summoned for a police interview, airing his dirty laundry to his nemesis and then watching Tess drive off to rebuild her old house when she had a perfectly fine home with him. Now he sat at his desk at the Worthington building recovering from Lauren Worthington's demand that he implement her plan that would lay off hundreds of employees. But now he had a minute to breathe before diving into financial statements.

  The intercom beeped. “You have a call, Mr. Valentine. A Ms. Danforth.”

  Jack rolled his eyes. Would it ever stop? “Thank you, Mrs. Stauffer.” Jack picked up the phone. “This is Jack Valentine.”

  “Jack?”

  The voice on the other end quivered. “Liv? What's wrong?”

  “They're destroying my home.”

  “Who is?”

  “The police. They barged in here and started ransacking the place. I know you're working, but can you come over?”

  “Do they have a warrant?”

  “I guess. I don't know. It's all mumbo jumbo to me.”

  “Did you call the lawyer Tess recommended?” Jack tried to remember his name. Lance something.

  “I haven't had the chance. I don't understand why this is happening. Please, Jack. I have no one else. Can you please come over now?”

  “Yeah, sure. I'll be right there.” But when Jack hung up the phone, he didn't immediately get up to leave. Liv needed a lawyer. He thought about asking Tess to step in just in this one instance, but immediately dismissed it. Despite his feelings of obligation to Liv, he understood that asking Tess to help would put them all in an awkward position, especially considering Tess' feelings about the murder. But the police were focused on Liv as a suspect, which meant she really needed a lawyer. He stood and grabbed his coat from the back of the chair. He'd go to Liv's, try to calm her down and then get her to call Lance the lawyer.

  ~~~~

  The police cars were still parked outside Liv's estate home when Jack arrived. Charles Danforth had taken his inheritance from his father's cosmetic fortune and moved to Virginia to a lavish horse farm estate. Jack had never been there, but the images he'd developed based on Liv's description were about right.

  Jack barely made it up the steps when Liv came flying out the door and into his arms. “Thank God you're here.”

  “I'm sure it's just routine,” he said, patting her back while at the same time trying to put distance between them.

  “They're making such a mess and treating me like a criminal. Can they do that?”

  He tried to wrangle away, but Liv had him in a vice grip. “Yes. You really should call the lawyer.”

  “How can they think I did this? I was out of town.”

  The door opened again and Daniel emerged. His brows lifted in surprise and then just as quickly furrowed in disapproval.

  Great, Jack thought. Could this day get any worse?

  “I guess I'm not surprised you're here,” Daniel said.

  Jack stepped back from Liv, who was trying to look as innocent as possible. It was innocent, dammit, and yet somehow, he knew it looked bad. “I guess I'm not surprised you're here either.”

  “I'm working. How about you?”

  “I was working until I got a call saying you were destroying Mrs. Danforth's property. I assume you have a warrant?”

  “Of course.”

  Jack turned his attention back to Liv. “You need to call your lawyer. I can be a friend, but you need legal advice.”

  “But I—”

  “Don't say anything,” he warned. “Just call the lawyer that helped you this morning. Do it now.”

  ~~~~

  Tess spent the morning checking on the progress of her home reconstruction and trying not to think about what would happen between her and Jack when it was finished. Her other major project was trying to figure out what she was going to do about a job. She sat at the desk looking at a blank computer screen while tapping a blank piece of paper with a pen. She was supposed to be plotting
her career, but instead her brain was as blank as her writing materials. The fact that she hadn't jumped right back in to rebuild her law practice seemed to be an indication that a law career wasn't what she wanted. At least the law career she'd mapped out for herself years ago. She was relieved when a knock at the door allowed her a reprieve from career planning.

  “Daniel?” she said when she opened the door.

  “Hey, Brat,” he greeted using the name he'd started calling her when she was a bratty teen.

  “Is this a professional visit?” Daniel was her friend and they spent time together, but he didn't usually visit in the afternoon. She had a nagging feeling his timing was to avoid Jack.

  “No.”

  She stepped away from the doorway to let him into the foyer. “I have some coffee.”

  “Perfect.” He followed her into the sunny kitchen that maintained much of the home's original feel, but had all the modern conveniences. “Nice place.”

  “Yes. Jack bought it for his mother when she was sick.”

  “What a guy.”

  Tess shot him an annoyed look.

  “I guess I should get into my reason for being here.” He sat at the beechwood table and took a sip of the coffee Tess set in front of him. “We did a search of Liv Danforth's home.”

  “I'm not surprised.”

  “I didn't think you would be.”

  “How'd you manage it?”

  “It wasn't easy. But we found a brand new insurance policy on Charles Danforth. And several of his buddies didn't think much of the wife.”

  “Did you find anything during the search?” Tess asked, stirring the fake sweetener into her coffee.

  “No gun, which would be ideal.”

  “It would certainly make your job easier.”

  “Are you sure things are over between her and Jack?”

  “I know you care about him, but you two were out of touch for a long time. People change.”

  “Daniel, why don’t you stop wasting time and spit out whatever it is you came here to tell me.”

  “He was over at Mrs. Danforth's when we searched the place.”

  Tess had that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She told herself it meant nothing and ordered her stomach to calm. “He was there when you got there or she called him when you tossed her place?”