Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2012 Vanessa Devereaux
ISBN: 978-1-77130-025-4
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
For Auntie Eileen
I’d also like to say a thank you to Sue, my critique partner, for her help with this story.
LAST FIRST KISS
Vanessa Devereaux
Copyright © 2012
Prologue
Greenville
Two Weeks Ago
He spotted the son of a bitch through the gap where the lace curtains didn’t quite meet. He tapped the steering wheel waiting for the sun to go down when he’d be less noticeable. It was all her fault that they were in this predicament. As always, he was the one having to put the matter right. She never got her nose dirty, and he doubted she’d approve of what he was about to do; but neither of them had a choice.
He lit a cigarette and inhaled hoping the nicotine, as always, would calm him.
He’d done a lot of crappy and illegal things in his life before, but killing a man was a first. Shit, he’d never thought about resorting to that no matter how tempting it had sometimes been. He inhaled again, seeing his soon to be victim walk to the window and look out, almost as if he knew someone was outside lurking.
Not that he’d give him credit for being clairvoyant or anything. When you blackmailed people you couldn’t expect them not to get pissed off with you.
He stubbed out the cigarette and took a deep breath while glancing at the passenger seat. As dusk set in, the light in the parking lot of the motel came on and illuminated the knife. He pulled on the latex gloves he’d taken from the salon, so there’d be no trace of his fingerprints in the room or on the weapon. He snapped them over his wrist, grabbed the knife and kept it well hidden inside his jacket. He got out of the car and made his way to room thirty-one.
He looked around to make sure no one could recognize him being at the scene of the crime. He knocked on the door.
“So you finally decided to pay up,” he said opening it. “You’d better come in.”
He turned, and he followed him inside the room where NCIS Los Angeles was playing on the TV. A bucket of fried chicken sat on the table next to a bottle of unopened beer.
“I hope you got the amount I asked for.”
“Oh yeah,” he said, pulling out the knife. “I think you’ll find this is everything you deserve.”
Before he could turn, he slammed the knife into his back watching him slump to the ground. Son of a bitch got exactly what he was asking for.
He grabbed both the bucket of chicken and bottle of beer and headed outside.
Someone would take the blame for this, but who cared as long as it wasn’t him.
Chapter One
“Emily Richardson, you’re under arrest for the murder of Michael Ambrose. You have the right to remain silent, and you have the right…”
Bile rose from Wade’s stomach up into the back of his throat where he truly believed it would choke him. He coughed, hoping that would clear it, but instead more hot acid invaded his mouth.
This can’t possibly be happening. I must be dreaming…or worse yet, having a nightmare.
Wade wanted to punch the police officer in the jaw for even suggesting this sweet seventy-two-year-old was guilty of anything more than…No, there was nothing that Emily could be guilty of other than maybe leaving her car running in the no park zone while she hopped out to return her library books. She’d always been a pillar of the Greenville community, and Wade still believed to this day that was true. Even though he’d been away for close to eight years and hadn’t seen her for a while, he knew deep in his heart she was a good person incapable of hurting anyone. However, as a former cop himself, Wade knew Officer Albright was just following orders and doing his job.
“Could I take two pies out of the oven before we leave?” Emily’s request had jarred Wade out of his current train of thought. Albright smiled and then looked over at him before raising his eyebrows. It was almost as if he was asking Wade’s opinion about whether or not he should let her go about her business before formally taking her in.
Wade tilted his head forward. Not quite a nod, but an almost secret code between a former and current lawman. He guessed Albright was finding this whole situation just as uncomfortable and bizarre as he was.
“Okay, Emily, you go ahead and do what you have to. We have plenty of time, so don’t go rushing around working yourself and have a stroke or something,” said Albright. He took off his hat, scratched his head, and glanced over at Wade again.
“Thank you so much,” said Emily. She took a pair of oven mitts off the hook by the window and walked over to the oven while she pulled open the door.
Wade had smelled those huckleberry pies baking the minute he’d stepped through the door of the bed and breakfast. The aroma had brought back a flood of happy memories from his childhood. Now actually seeing Emily get them from the oven and place the two plates on the countertop made his mouth water.
“They always were your favorites, weren’t they, Wade?” asked Emily.
Had she seen him take a deep breath to take in more of that wonderful smell? Had he without realizing it also licked his lips?
“They sure were. Along with the cream from the Nickelsons’ farm. You could stand a spoon upright in that because it was so thick,” said Wade.
“If they weren’t for the guests I’d let you have a slice, both of you boys,” said Emily pointing toward Wade and then Albright.
When you were as old as Emily you got to call guys their age boys.
“I might have to come back and eat here with my wife because they smell and look mighty fine,” said Albright taking a few steps forward to take a closer look.
“They’re the best in Wyoming,” said Wade. “All Emily’s cooking makes a man’s legs weak. She could have any man she wanted just by cooking him one of her meals.”
Wade winked at her. She winked back.
“He’s always had a wonderful appetite ever since he was a young boy. He used to sit over on that table and eat a dozen chocolate chip cookies at a time,” Emily told Albright.
Wade felt himself blushing. Yeah, he’d been a greedy little bugger back then.
“Now if I could just let Julie who works at reception know what’s happening and that I’ll be leaving soon, we’ll be all set,” said Emily. She took her apron off and hung it on a peg by the door.
Both Wade and Albright followed her out of the kitchen and into the reception area. This was Wade’s first time back at the Mountainview B and B since he’d returned from Cheyenne six months ago. He’d stopped by once to let Emily know that he was back living in Greenville, and to tell her that he’d come by again and have dinner with her one night. He hadn’t actually gotten around to it, which suddenly made him feel guilty that it hadn’t been a priority. After all, the lady was almost like family to him and his dad.
Julie Rogers, Emily’s right hand girl, looked up when she saw the three of them approaching the desk.
“Emily, I saw the police car pulling up outside. Is everything all right?”
“Of course, just a little misunderstanding. The police think I k
illed that obnoxious man who dined here last month. You remember the one with the bald head and black rimmed glasses?”
“He’s dead?” asked Julie.
“So this police officer tells me. Obviously someone else found him just as nasty as we did. I have to go to the police station with this fine gentleman, so I want you to look after this place while I’m gone. Oh, and Mike, from the vet’s office, will be by later to check on one of the horses. She’s been acting strange and off her food.”
Julie burst into tears. “Oh Emily, how can anyone think you’d hurt someone?”
“Now, no crying, please, or you’ll get me upset and sobbing, too. Like I said, this is merely a mistake, and we’ll get it all sorted out at the station. And I have Wade here to help me, too. I bet you didn’t know he’s now a private eye, did you?”
Emily winked at Wade. He smiled. Private eye. Those words had a touch of Philip Marlow about them.
“Do you have to handcuff me now?” asked Emily.
“I don’t think you’re going to run away, Emily,” said Albright.
“No, no, if you have to do it, then let’s go ahead and follow protocol. I don’t want you getting in any trouble with your superiors because of me.”
“I can’t watch this,” said Julie, diving into the office behind the reception area.
Wade was finding it pretty uncomfortable, too, as Emily turned around, and the officer pulled the handcuffs off his belt and secured them around her wrists. The sound of metal on metal as they closed echoed around the room and made him flinch.
Wade swallowed.
“Those comfortable enough for you, Emily?” Wade managed to say.
“Perfect,” she said. “Oh, I forgot to comb my hair.”
“You can do that when we get to the station,” said Albright. “Okay, you ready?”
“Yes, let’s get this over with. Sooner we do, the quicker I can be back home.”
Wade followed them out of the front entrance. Two guests happened to be coming in carrying their suitcases. They turned and watched with their mouths open as Emily was escorted to the waiting police car.
Wade took a deep breath.
“Would it be all right if Wade rode with us?” asked Emily. “I thought we could catch up on old times while we drive along.”
“Emily, no, I can’t do that, but I’m going to follow behind. I promise I won’t leave you when we arrive at the station,” said Wade.
She nodded. Albright put his hand on top of her head as she slid into the back seat. In doing so he ruffled up her neat grey bun, which was probably going to upset her more than being arrested. Wade put his cowboy hat back on and pulled out his sunglasses as he walked toward his SUV.
Greenville police station was about a mile and half away, and it was going to be a hellish drive into town for him. Maybe he should call his dad and ask him to meet them there. Not that he could do much. He was a retired cop, and what Emily really needed was a good lawyer. In fact, that’s who she should have called to escort her there, not him. However, Wade knew why she’d done it. She’d always considered him the grandson she’d never had.
Wade turned on the ignition. Sugarland singing “All I Want to Do” blared out of the speakers. He put the vehicle into gear and hit the gas, keeping a couple of car length’s distance behind the police car. Wade didn’t know whether to turn down the volume on the radio or keep it loud so it would drown out his thoughts.
He opted to keep it at its current level, but seeing Emily sitting in the back of the car reminded him of the call he’d received from her less than an hour ago.
“Wade, I think I might need your help.”
He’d been in the middle of trying to balance his account books for his newly launched PI business when his cell phone had rung.
“Sure, what can I do for you?”
He’d expected her to ask him to go over to the B and B to fix a dripping tap, maybe change a tire on her car, but nothing had prepared him for what she’d said next.
“There’s a police officer here to arrest me.”
At first he’d thought she was playing a joke on him. Emily did that sort of thing now and then.
“Oh yeah, and what’s your crime? Have you been speeding through town again?”
“No, the police officer tells me that I murdered Michael Ambrose.”
Wade had just heard the word murdered and wondered who’d put Emily up to this ridiculous prank. But then Emily had put the officer on the phone to talk to him, and that’s when the bile had started to churn in his stomach.
Michael Ambrose’s name wasn’t familiar, but then he remembered that last month Emily had been the talk of Greenville when she’d gotten into a heated argument with the out-of-towner. According to the grapevine – and yes, the one in Greenville was always very reliable – Emily had told him to get the hell out of her establishment and Greenville or she’d kill him.
Wade swallowed and turned the music up even louder.
No, she wouldn’t, not his surrogate grandma. She’d given him a good dressing down once when he’d swatted a fly in her kitchen.
“Every creature deserves to live out a long life, no matter how much they annoy us,” he recalled her saying. She’d taken the fly swatter out his hand and rapped his knuckles with it.
She even carried spiders outside in her palm and placed them lovingly on the ground.
Hell, if this went as far as a trial, he’d get up and testify to those two facts.
The music changed to Lady Antebellum’s “I Run to You”. He usually sang along to this song, but he didn’t feel like doing it today. He tapped the steering wheel instead. Wade noticed Albright was turning into the back lot of the police station. Wade wasn’t sure he’d be able to park there, so he headed to the visitor’s lot out front.
He shut off the ignition, grabbed his cell phone from the passenger seat, and got out of the SUV. The sun passed behind a cloud, so he opted to take off his sunglasses as he made his way to the police station entrance. He nodded to one of the cops who held the door open for him.
Wade knew his way around this place because his father had once been a police officer here. He took off his hat as he noticed Albright walking through to the processing area with Emily two steps in front of him.
Albright spotted Wade and signaled for him to join them.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to mind you being here with her,” he whispered to Wade.
“Is she still doing okay?” Wade whispered back.
“I don’t think she realizes just what deep shit she’s in.”
They both looked toward Emily. “She was talking non-stop on the way here. I felt like I was in a scene from Driving Miss Daisy,” said Albright.
At least Wade had found something to smile about in this whole ridiculous scenario.
“You can go and stand with her if you want,” said Albright.
Wade walked over to Emily, who was now sitting on a bench ready to be formally booked. He’d brought in his fair share of criminals when he’d worked in Cheyenne, and none of them had looked as innocent as Emily.
“There you are, Wade. I was hoping we’d get a chance to chat. Oh, I did hear you’ve been dating Cathy Moran for what? Two months?”
Wade nodded. You couldn’t do anything in Greenville without the whole town knowing about it. And as soon as he’d taken the new beauty salon owner out for dinner word had gotten around that the two of them were an item. He was pretty sure that this week’s gossip included the fact that Cathy had gone to a beauty conference at a hotel in Jackson Hole three weeks ago, and Wade had joined her there.
“Yeah, I’m dating.”
“Good for you. And will I be getting an invitation to a wedding anytime soon?”
“I think it’s too early in the relationship to say,” said Wade.
“Don’t you drag your feet too much because you’ll be old before you know it.”
“Nope, I won’t.”
They were interrupted by Albright who
approached them to let Emily know she’d now be fingerprinted and have her photo taken.
“I should have gotten my hair done. I mean, do a lot of people see these mug shots?”
“You look just fine, Emily,” Albright told her as he took the cuffs off her.
Wade leaned against the wall and ran his fingers around the rim of his hat while he watched her being fingerprinted. He couldn’t help but smile when she requested that Albright straighten out the bun on the back of her head.
And she even smiled for her mug shot. Wade was almost on the brink of laughter.
“You want to talk to Wade one last time before I take you to the holding cells?” he heard Albright ask her when they were done.
Albright signaled for him to walk over to them again.
“I thought I was going home now,” said Emily.
“No, it’s not how this works,” said Wade. He saw what he thought was the beginning of a tear forming in her left eye. He wanted to hug her but knew they’d already been more than lenient in letting him be with her in the booking area, so physical contact was probably a no-no.
“Now don’t you worry. We’ll get you out on bail, and then we can sort everything out,” said Wade.
“Can I hire you? I mean as my private eye?”
“Sure, I’m already on the job, and it’s on the house.”
“No, I have to pay you. You have a living to make just like everyone else.”
Wade knew Emily would argue with him because she’d always believed in fairness.
“How about I give you my family and friends’ discount?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Is there an attorney I should call, because you’re going to need one for your arraignment hearing?”
“Richard Martin’s handled everything connected to the legal side of Mountainview, and I’ve always been pleased with his work.”
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