“Just because I was undercover, doesn’t mean I wasn’t observant. I know where the library is.”
“Good to know.”
Nathan drove the few miles to the library. As he walked through the door, he saw a beautiful brunette behind the desk doing something with books. His smile spread across his face as he thought he’d died and gone to Heaven. As he got closer, he noticed the wedding rings on her left hand and his hopes waned.
“Excuse me, but I’m Nathan Cox with the Riverton Crossing Police Department. My Chief told me a lady named Vanessa Harper may be able to help me. Is she in today by chance?”
“I’m Vanessa,” the lady said with a polite smile.
Nathan pulled out one of the business cards and gave it to her. “Like I said, I’m with the police department. I need to look at your security video for the last ten weeks. Would that be possible today?”
“Evan Riverton is your boss?” she asked.
“Yes, do you know him?”
“I’m a couple years younger than his brother, so I don’t really know Evan.”
“Well, there goes that idea. I was hoping to get some dirt on him from his childhood,” Nathan said with a flirtatious smile.
“Why do you need our security video, Officer…” Vanessa looked at his card before she continued, “Cox?”
“An email was sent from this location that’s part of an on-going investigation between us and ATF.”
“ATF?”
“Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.”
“I see. Well, we don’t have ten weeks of discs here. We keep four weeks on site, then move them to an off-site location. It’ll take me a few days to get them here.”
“Do you have time to go through the ones you have here?”
“You need me to look at them with you?” Vanessa asked. The further she went into the sentence the slower her words became and the wider her eyes got.
Nathan saw she was nervous. “Would that be a problem?”
“No, but the machines are in the back room. I-I c-can’t leave this desk until someone else comes in, and Ms. Jane isn’t due in for another hour.”
Nathan looked at his watch. “How about I come back about eleven?”
Vanessa rubbed her hands down her black pencil skirt. “That’ll be fine. I’ll make sure we have everything ready by then.”
“Thank you.”
As Nathan walked back to his car, he couldn’t believe how nervous Vanessa Harper was. He normally put people at ease with his laid-back personality, but she was shaking from just talking to him. Hopefully, she’d loosen up a little once they started working together.
He had a couple of hours to kill, so he rode through town reacquainting himself while he called Evan.
“Riverton.”
“Hey, man. I just left the library, but have to be back there at eleven. Have you ever spoken with Mrs. Harper?”
“She’s a little skittish around men, why?”
“That’s an understatement. Thanks, man,” Nathan said before he disconnected the call.
A little over an hour later, Nathan pulled back into the library parking lot. He didn’t know how many discs they had on site or how many they’d get through, but he was prepared for a long afternoon.
“Mrs. Harper, are you available now?” Nathan asked as he approached the desk.
An older lady whom he didn’t meet before turned around at the same time as Vanessa. “Yes, Officer Cox,” she said as she raised her head from the computer screen. “Ms. Jane, we’ll be in the back going through the security footage. Please make sure this request is sent to the off-site facility to pull the following security discs and deliver them here. Thank you.”
She turned to Nathan. “Right this way.”
As Nathan followed the brunette, he couldn’t help letting his eyes scan her backside. His gaze lingered on her ass. Damn, why did she have to be married? She stopped to unlock a back door, and Nathan almost ran into her. Get a grip. She’s married.
“Officer Cox, we have the last four weeks discs here. I’ve ordered the rest and will let you know when they arrive,” Vanessa said as she unlocked the door. “We can pull up two chairs and use this big screen monitor to view the footage. Do you know who you’re looking for?”
“No, that’s where you come in. Chief Riverton said you’d know people from here or at the very least those with children. I can take a picture of them and run it through a database to see what I find.”
“Are you looking for a man or woman?”
“We think a man, but I’ll take pictures of anyone you don’t recognize.”
“We can freeze the video, and the machine can print a still picture, you won’t need to take one.”
They watched from most recent backward, and after watching two discs, Vanessa pointed out a man she didn’t know using one of the computers. They zoomed in on the computer screen to see if they could make out any features on the reflection of the screen in front of him. They had a good shot of his back, but nothing of his face. Nathan had Vanessa print out a picture anyway. Maybe Evan or Ginger would recognize his build.
“Do you have any of the parking lot?” Nathan asked. “We know the motorcycle they drive, so that could possibly narrow down the days we should look at.”
“They’re with the rest of the discs. Sorry,” Vanessa said as she tensed and leaned away from Nathan.
What the hell? “That’s okay. Let’s look at the parking lot videos first, then maybe we won’t need to go through all of the discs,” Nathan said with a friendly smile.
Several hours had passed, and they were on the last disc. “My eyes are killing me,” Nathan said. “I haven’t had to do this in a long time. I forgot how tedious it can be.”
“You’ve had to do this before?”
“On a case I worked several years ago. At least this time I have a pretty lady to keep me company. Then, I just had a large older man who smelled as if he hadn’t bathed in a month,” Nathan said with a chuckle.
A tap on the door caused Vanessa to jump away from him. “Come in,” she said.
Jane opened the door. “Vanessa, your husband is here to take you home.”
The smile on Vanessa’s face faded, and her eyes widened. “Thank you, please tell him I’ll be right out.”
Nathan moved their chairs as Vanessa put the discs away before they walked out together. Nathan followed her as before but made sure to keep his eyes forward and above her shoulders. As they turned the corner walking toward the main desk, there stood a man in a suit who was much smaller than Nathan. When the man noticed Nathan behind his wife, he flashed a scowl at her, so she quickened her steps.
Vanessa walked directly behind the desk as Nathan moved closer to the man whom he assumed was her husband. Was he jealous?
“Charles, I’d like you to meet Officer Nathan Cox. He’s with the Riverton Crossing Police Department. They’re working on a joint case with ATF and need to look at our surveillance videos. I’m helping him by pointing out people that we don’t know,” Vanessa rambled quickly. Her voice was shaking as well as her hands.
“Good to meet you, Officer Cox. I’m sure my wife will be glad to help where she can,” Charles Harper said as he shook Nathan’s hand. Charles tried to squeeze it, but Nathan didn’t put too much pressure into the shake. He didn’t want to hurt the man.
“Mrs. Harper, you have my card. Please call me when the rest of the discs come in. How long do you think it’ll take? This needs to be concluded before the Chief’s wedding.”
“I should have them by Monday, but I’ll call you,” Vanessa said looking everywhere but at Nathan.
Nathan thanked her and nodded his goodbyes to Jane and Mr. Harper. As he was leaving, he heard Mr. Harper say to Vanessa, “You’ve been locked away with him for how long?” Nathan didn’t like the tone of the man’s voice, so he sat in his car to wait for the Harpers to emerge.
A few minutes later, Nathan watched Mr. Harper walk out of the building with his hand clamped arou
nd Mrs. Harper’s bicep. He escorted her to his car, but it wasn’t gently or lovingly. She tried to pull away, but he held her arm tighter, and Nathan knew she’d have bruises on her arm tomorrow. Before Vanessa got in the car, he was in her face saying something that Nathan couldn’t hear nor could he read the man’s lips.
A bad feeling rolled through him. No damn wonder she was skittish around men.
24
It was Saturday morning. The day both Evan and Mitchell were looking forward to and dreading at the same time because today was the day they were going through their parents’ wing of the house.
Breakfast was mostly quiet. Apparently, no one knew what to say or how to act. Finally, Ginger held Evan’s hand. “It may not be my place to say anything, but I just can’t help feeling we’re looking at this the wrong way.”
All eyes turned to Ginger for an explanation. “What do you mean, darlin’?” Evan asked. “We’re going through our parents’ things and throwing them out. How can we look at this any other way?”
“I haven’t lost my parents, but I hope that when I do, I can look at their things and remember parts of our lives together—good and bad. Let’s make this a celebration of their life. Look at the things, and if you see something they wore or had that brings back a memory, share it. I want to hear stories about who they were, and I want to hear about your childhood,” Ginger said with a smile. She looked like a girl on the brink of finding out a closely guarded secret.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Kayla added. “Do y’all still have the music they listened to? Maybe we could put on some of that and make this all about your folks.”
Evan and Mitchell looked at each other with furrowed eyebrows and thin lips that said they didn’t want to go through the pain of losing them all over again. Mitchell rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Babe, you’re not losing them again. We’re bringing them back into our lives.” Kayla placed her hand over Mitchell’s heart. “We’re keeping them alive in here,” she whispered. “We never talk about your parents. If you never share them, how can they continue to live on?” Kayla’s eyes were shiny by the time she finished speaking.
Mitchell grabbed her and held her close. “Good point.”
Evan took a deep breath. “If we say we’ve had enough, we’re stopping, understand?” He looked between Ginger and Kayla.
“Oh, Evan, I don’t want to push. It’s okay. We don’t have to do this today,” Ginger said, realizing the guys weren’t ready.
“No, it’s time. I just didn’t realize how I’d feel until the time was on me. It’s okay.” He took Ginger’s hand and led her to the one wing of the house she hadn’t been in.
As they walked down the hallway, Ginger noticed all the dust. It would take a lot of cleaning to be able to use this wing. They bypassed the guest bedroom and bath and went straight for the master suite. Just like Evan and Mitchell’s rooms, there was a bedroom with an adjoining bathroom.
When Evan opened the door, he froze. Ginger squeezed his hand and whispered, “Take your time.”
Evan turned his head to look Ginger in the eyes. “Thank you for being here.”
He took a few steps inside, and Mitchell took a deep breath when he reached the doorway. The guys stood there staring at the bed. Ginger looked around the room and focused on the beautiful things in there. Not only the furniture but the artwork as well. Kayla walked over to the dresser and touched a pair of earrings lying on top of the jewelry box.
Mitchell turned. “Mak?”
She looked at Mitchell with tears in her eyes. “I would like to use these as my borrowed,” she said as she picked up the pair of pearl earrings with small diamonds attached. “You gave them to your mother for Christmas after you sold your first flip house. These are special to me because they represent both you and her.” She blinked the tears in her eyes, and they rolled down her cheeks.
Mitchell nodded, and Kayla walked straight into his arms and buried her face in his chest.
Evan and Ginger watched the scene transpire as they held each other. “Do you want to look through her jewelry first?” Evan asked.
Ginger shook her head. “No, I want you to pick out something you want me to use. It doesn’t have to be jewelry.”
Evan furrowed his eyebrows. “How do I do that?”
“You’ll know when you see it. I want it to mean something to you,” Ginger said as she cupped his handsome face.
Evan nodded. When he looked up, he saw their parents’ wedding portrait sitting on the chest of drawers where their dad had kept his personal things. Evan walked to the chest and picked up the picture.
“Mitchell, I want this to be set on the table in the foyer, and darlin’ let’s see if we can find this necklace for you. I think her pearls should be in here somewhere.”
Mitchell and Ginger both nodded. “I’d like that. They’ll match my dress,” Ginger quietly said.
Evan worked his way through his mom’s jewelry box until he found a locked box in the bottom of the standing piece of furniture. He pulled it out. “Mitchell, have you ever seen this?”
Mitchell turned and walked to Evan as he shook his head. “No. Did you find the key?”
“Not yet.” Evan felt all around for the key. “Gin, Kayla, have y’all ran across any keys?”
Ginger was cleaning our Mrs. Riverton’s drawer of delicates when she turned toward Evan. She didn’t realize she was holding a see-through nighty when she turned. “I haven’t seen any.”
“Oh, God. Darlin’, please for the love of God, don’t show me anything in that drawer. That’s a visual no son should have of his mother,” Evan said with a groan.
“Damn, throw that in a garbage bag. We will not be donating any underwear or lingerie,” Mitchell said with a pained expression.
Ginger and Kayla giggled. “Now, we know how to keep a Riverton man’s mind on his woman,” Ginger said.
“Way to go, Mrs. Riverton. Damn, I’m impressed,” Kayla said. The girls’ laughter lightened the atmosphere in the room.
“You sure you don’t want me to keep something for later,” Ginger said as she wiggled her brows.
“Gin, believe me when I tell you this is not how I want you to dress up in our bedroom,” Evan said with a pointed stare at Ginger.
Mitchell looked at Kayla. “Don’t even think about it, Mak.”
“Oh, come on. At least this shows they had a good marriage and lets us know where you two get your libido from,” Kayla said with a smile.
Ginger grabbed Kayla by the arm. “I wonder what else we’re going to find.”
Evan was running his hand underneath of the chest and felt a key taped to the bottom. He pulled it out and showed Mitchell. “Let’s see if it fits.”
Mitchell handed Evan the box. He slid the key in, turned it, and the box popped open. On top set a jewelry box. When he opened it, there sat the pearl necklace.
“Gin, here it is. What do you think?”
“Oh, Evan,” she breathed, “they’re beautiful. I’ll take care of them and give them back immediately after the wedding.” Tears were in her eyes. “Thank you.”
Evan stood and cupped her face with his empty hand before he gently kissed her. “You’re welcome.”
“Anything else in there?” Mitchell asked.
Evan looked and found two books. One had his name on it, and the other had Mitchell’s. Evan sat the box down. “Just these,” he said as he gave Mitchell his.
“What are they?” Mitchell asked.
“I don’t know,” Evan said as he opened his.
“Mine looks like some kind of journal she was writing to me,” Mitchell said.
“Mine too. There’s a passage in here about a conversation we had before I left for college.” Evan looked at Ginger. “Darlin’, does this look familiar to you?”
Ginger looked at what Evan was showing her. As her hand covered her mouth, tears stung her eyes again. “My letter you wrote me when you gave me my
ring. Y’all really had that conversation,” she said with a smile even though tears rolled down her face.
“Yeah, Gin, we really did.” Evan kissed the top of her head.
Mitchell sat on the edge of the bed as he flipped through his book. He must have come across something painful because he looked at Kayla as he closed the book.
“Mitch, what is it?” Kayla asked.
Mitchell shook his head. “We’ll look at it together later.”
“For a man who spent most of his time on the back of a horse, he sure had a ton of ties,” Evan said as he drew Mitchell’s attention from the book.
Mitchell chuckled. “I remember giving him a lot of those.”
“Would y’all mind if we kept them?” Ginger asked.
“Why would you want ties, darlin’?” Evan asked.
“Well, I was going to ask for the old wooden chair frame I saw in the barn the last time we went riding too. I’d like to refinish it and use these ties to make the back and seat. We could put it in the nursery,” Ginger said with a smile.
“That’s a great idea,” Kayla said excitedly.
As they pulled down the ties to put in the keep pile, they ran across their father’s belts. Evan ran his hand down one of them with a look of respect.
“My ass got torn up with that belt more than once.” Mitchell chuckled.
“Yeah, mine too,” Evan agreed, “but this is the belt he used when he showed me there were more than two ways to use a belt.” Evan cut his eyes at Ginger as his lips slightly tilted up. He cleared his throat before he said, “Back then we had a dog, and he’d hurt his leg. The vet said to keep him still so he wouldn’t lose too much blood until he got here. Dad took my belt and used it as a tourniquet on the dog’s leg, then used his to restrain the dog so he couldn’t move.”
Ginger caught Evan’s smile and blushed. She knew exactly what he was referring to, so she ducked her head and tucked some fallen hair behind her ear.
They spent the next several hours deciding what they were keeping, donating, or throwing away. When they ran across two infant baby outfits, the girls squealed.
“What the hell are y’all going to do with those?” Mitchell asked.
Unexpected Guest: A Riverton Crossing Novel - Book Three Page 9