In fact, Brent’s son had been the one to deliver Julie home to her grandparents. Bart had been around sixteen years old at the time.
Dylan hadn’t revealed this detail to Julie yet, because he’d wanted to finish with the interviews first.
Was Bart Bradshaw the man Leanne had been protecting her daughter from?
He’d better wait until Sam was along to ask the questions. Dylan was too emotionally involved here.
Dylan was going to meet Sam shortly to try and talk with the Bradshaws, and then he had a bunch of errands to run before returning to work this afternoon, so he was glad when Brent seemed to be in a hurry. After allowing Dylan a virtual tour of the interior and exterior of the house, Brent left some paperwork for Dylan to go through and sign.
It was nice being able to get into his uniform again, and what a weight had been taken off his shoulders knowing he’d in charge of the office as well. He had a feeling it wouldn’t take too long to whip the records into shape, and the idea of spending most of his job outdoors again had him smiling as he drove on his bike towards town.
As he walked into the police station his mood turned slightly grim. Sam was standing in the outer office at the main desk studying some information with a frown on his face.
“Something wrong, Sam?”
Sam shrugged. “I’m not sure yet Dylan. Just reading over that investigation information regarding Leanne Thompson’s disappearance a few more times, I noticed something I didn’t see before. Let’s walk down the street and have a talk with Brent and Marilyn Bradshaw first.”
Dylan nodded. “Alright.”
Pulling out a single page from the file, Sam reached for a clipboard and inserted it onto the board with his notebook.
He and Dylan headed out through the doorway and made their way toward the real estate office which was only a few blocks away.
Sam gave him a thoughtful look. “Marilyn should be in the office this morning too, along with Brent and Bart. It’s hard to catch all three of them together at any other time of the day.”
“I was wondering why you didn’t want to finish up yesterday.”
Soon, they reached the office and Dylan pulled open the door so that Sam could enter the office first.
Marilyn, who worked as the bookkeeper and receptionist, looked only mildly surprised seeing Dylan and Sam walking inside. “I was wondering if you’d be stopping by. I heard you were asking some questions about the day that Leanne Thompson disappeared.”
“Yeah, just routine, Marilyn. We’re doing some follow up on several of our cold cases. I do have some questions for all of you.”
Bart and Brent each had offices in the back separated by blinds and glass, and Dylan could see Bart on the phone in his office while Brent was working on the computer in his with the blinds slightly closed.
Both men appeared to be preparing to come into the outer office.
There was a circular table positioned in front of the picture window, and Marilyn motioned for the two of them to be seated. Brent and Bart joined them a few minutes later.
“Coffee for anyone?” Marilyn asked.
“Nah, I’m good,” Dylan answered.
“None for me. Thanks,” Sam added.
Marilyn joined them at the table with a cup of coffee. A couple inches taller than Brent, she wore designer clothes that did little to enhance her heavy frame. But her stark gray hair was pulled back from her face in an elegant coiffure.
“What did you need to know?” Brent asked.
Dylan suddenly noticed that Sam was looking slightly puzzled. “I’m just trying to get a handle on the timeline for Leanne’s disappearance. Apparently, the three of you were actually the last ones to see her and Julie together? I know that Jim Edmonds went over all of this with you, but tell me again what happened?”
Marilyn began, “Leanne and her daughter walked by this office pretty much every Saturday during the summer. They had a routine. For years, Brent and I have usually been in the office until early afternoon, and I saw them walking down the street after they’d been to the beach like they always did,” Marilyn said. “That day, Brent had a client he was doing a final walkthrough with over at Crystal Rock Lake, and I was in the office a lot later than usual getting the paperwork ready for the sale.”
Bart started talking. “We had thunderstorms roll in that day, and I came by here after the baseball game I was playing in got rained out.” Dylan had never been able to get a good take on this guy. He was overweight and overbearing and he walked around town wearing a three-piece suit during every season of the year. And then there was the handlebar mustache. Dylan had cracked up laughing the first time they’d met, so consequently he’d ended up rubbing Bart the wrong way. It’s not like they had anything in common, but Julie obviously liked the guy for whatever weird reason. That’s why it was difficult for Dylan to imagine Bart being the bad guy from Julie’s nightmares.
But if not Bart, then who?
Sam asked, “You told Jim that Leanne and her daughter came into the office?”
At the same time Marilyn answered yes, Bart said no and the two of them stared at each other strangely.
“I’m probably not remembering right,” Bart muttered. “I was only a kid at the time.”
“They came into the office to get out from the rain,” Marilyn continued. “Leanne was obviously waiting for someone.” Marilyn stared hard at Sam. “I think she left her daughter with me because she never intended on coming back.”
Dylan was sure she wasn’t telling the truth, and when he looked at Sam, Sam gave him an imperceptible nod. Sam didn’t believe her either.
Sam studied Brent, who’d been remaining silent, before turning back to Bart. “What do you think Bart?”
Bart shrugged. “Like I said to Jim, Mom told me to drive Julie home to her grandparents. And that’s what I did. Julie’s mom never came back into the office while I was here.”
“Brent?”
“Like I told Jim, by the time I came into the office, Marilyn had the contracts drawn up and didn’t even mention anything about it until the following week, when Jim came here asking questions.” Brent stared Sam straight in the eye before turning to Dylan. “How does a game warden end up with the police chief asking questions about an old case?”
Dylan answered, “Sam thought I might like to come along since Julie and I are getting married.”
Brent’s eyes went wide, and Bart began coughing.
It was obvious that the Bradshaws had nothing else to say, so Dylan stood up from his chair. “Brent,” he said, walking through the doorway. “I’ll get back with you about that property next week.”
Brent nodded. “Alright.”
Dylan stood outside waiting on the sidewalk for Sam, who seemed to be asking a few more questions.
Sam came through the doorway looking even more puzzled than he had when they’d gone inside.
“What’s up Sam?” Dylan asked as they began walking along the sidewalk.
Sam shook his head. “It doesn’t add up,” he said, muttering to himself.
“How’s that?”
“What the heck would Marilyn Bradshaw care about Leanne Thompson? Why spread rumors that she was seeing another man? That’s what I’m puzzling about Dylan. Jim didn’t notice twenty years ago, but everyone who claimed that Leanne was seeing another man was a friend of Marilyn Bradshaw’s. Heck, she even had Julie’s grandmother believing that poison. Frankly, I’m surprised Jim never caught the connection, but then again he avoided the Bradshaws like the plague. All except Brent, that is.”
Dylan snorted. “I’m pretty sure he’s not the only one.”
Sam chuckled. “Well, I’m going to need to stew about this over the weekend and try to decide what to do next. To begin with, we need to talk to Bart alone.”
Dylan nodded his agreement. “I’m not sure he’ll say anything, but we’ve probably got a better chance of getting information out of him without his mom and dad around.”
“An
d another thing I wanna do?” Sam sighed. “I can’t imagine he’ll uncover much. The Bradshaw family has been part of Crystal Rock forever along with their real estate investments, ever since Brent’s grandfather began the business. But just for the heck of it, even though I know Jake has been working with Brent since he moved into town, I’m going to have Jake check into them by digging as deep as possible. I know Jake would’ve had Brent checked out when he first arrived in town, but it never hurts to be sure who you’re doing business with.”
Dylan became thoughtful. “Strange, but I’ve been working with Brent for the last few years, and today I was thinking exactly the same thing, Sam.” His expression turned grim. “I was planning on having someone look deeper into his background too.”
When they reached the police station, Sam halted near Dylan’s bike where it was parked in front of the door. “Congratulations on your impending nuptials by the way. That was quick work with Julie.” Sam grinned. “When’s the wedding?”
Dylan grimaced. “I’m not sure. She hasn’t exactly said yes.”
Sam barked out a laugh and kept snickering as he made his way through the doorway into the station.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Julie spent the rest of the day going through her mother’s journal, and what she read mostly left a smile on her face. Her mother had seemed so young, and that’s because she was. She’d disappeared when Julie was five years old, which meant by the time she was twenty-five, she’d been married for over six years. And wow, she’d sure been in love with Dad.
But she’d been restless with Julie’s father overseas most of the time, and living with Julie’s grandparents had been harder for her than her dad had realized. She probably would’ve been less restless if she had a home of her own. Her father had basically thought of her as a child, even after Julie had been born, and that was a huge error in judgement as far as Julie was concerned. Her mother had lost both of her parents in a tragic auto accident about a year after Jeff and Leanne had been married, but she seemed in no way incapable of caring for herself and Julie on her own.
Which meant she’d probably continued living with Julie’s grandparents to please Julie’s dad. It was time she had a talk with her dad, Julie thought and grimaced, because her mom had been worried that Jeff was such a flirt, that she wouldn’t be enough for him someday.
Besides, he’d probably got wind of the fact that Sam had been asking questions.
But maybe not, Julie thought and grinned. When she and Dylan had lunch at the Tap yesterday, she’d heard from Justine that her dad and Anne Endicott had been inseparable the entire week.
Julie checked the time on the alarm and stretched out on the bed where she’d been reading. Buster had been cuddling up with her the entire afternoon. It was after six, but it would stay light until after nine. She had no idea what time Dylan would return home, otherwise she would’ve begun cooking dinner.
Eh, maybe they would just go out tonight, she thought. She’d have plenty of time for cooking next week since she was already prepared for school to begin the following week. She’d had a long day today between setting up the classroom and digging up her mother’s journal, not to mention the time she’d spent reading through it the rest of the afternoon.
The next thing she knew, she was sound asleep.
* * *
His tongue was running along her leg, Julie realized and as she began to awaken. His mouth moved along further, at the same time he was unbuttoning and unzipping Julie’s shorts and tugging them off.
Opening her eyes, Julie could see Dylan’s hair was damp after apparently taking a shower. Reaching down, she laid her hands over his head, nearly purring when he settled between her legs. Finally, he reached the soft sensitive skin of her inner thigh, where he used his tongue and teeth to nip and tease. The tension built to an incredible degree, and finally burst free.
Flipping over him, Julie breathed deeply while pulling her tank top over her head. Now it was Dylan’s turn. She slid low and then lower still, loving the way her bare breasts and nipples felt against his rougher skin. Tension heightened as she deliberately wrapped her fingers around his length, before she licked, laved, and finally took him into her mouth. She worked slowly, deliberately, until she could feel Dylan losing control.
But she was losing control too. She felt the urgency pounding between them, and releasing him, she rose up onto her knees to straddle him.
Dylan groaned, guiding her when she took him in and rode him—until finally clamping his thighs around hers, he moved powerfully flipping her over, thrusting into her again. Pressing her on, he was driving her harder until their breaths were ragged gasps, and their senses spun.
She was trembling when his mouth covered hers, cutting off the sound as he tasted her pleasure. She ran her hands down his back and over his buttocks, urging him closer.
And they fell, hearts thundering, senses pounding as unexpectedly, Julie came again. Never before had she experienced this sense of well-being and contentment she felt with Dylan.
Trying to catch her breath, she gave Dylan a tender smile as they laid side by side.
“Julie?”
“Hmm?”
“Let’s get married?”
She snorted. He still didn’t get it. Did he?
“I don’t get it.” He must’ve read her mind. “What am I doing wrong?”
Julie grinned, snuggling up against him. “Don’t worry. I’m willing to wait until you figure it out.”
This time Dylan snorted.
A few minutes later, after tossing and turning, Dylan sat up in the bed. “I can’t seem to fall asleep. How about you?”
“Nah. What time is it?”
“About nine-thirty.”
“No wonder. I’ve been asleep for almost four hours.”
Dylan grinned, scooping her into his arms.
“Wait. What are you doing? Where are you taking me? I’m naked!”
“I am too.” He started laughing as he carted her through the house and outside from the kitchen onto the patio, following the brick path down to the lake. “Time to go skinny-dipping,” he finally said.
For a moment, she wanted to protest but it actually sounded like fun. Still holding her within his arms, Dylan jumped from the end of the pier, into the lake, and Julie squealed from the cold when they finally surfaced from underneath the water.
Until Dylan began kissing her like crazy.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
The following morning, they were awake by six, so they decided to eat breakfast at the Tap. Dylan wanted to get an early start the next few weekends because apparently, Jim hadn’t been regulating catch limits for fishermen on the lake. Dylan needed to make it clear that this was all about to change.
Finally, he was able to check in with his mom. She was looking unusually happy this morning standing behind the bar with Julie’s father. Things seemed to be progressing pretty quickly in the romance department between the two of them, and Jeff Thompson had the look of a man in love. Julie had spent some time talking to Dylan about what she’d discovered after reading her mother’s journal when they’d awoken this morning.
Dylan frowned. How was Jeff going to react after discovering his mother’s real purpose here in town? He turned to Julie, who was sitting in the booth beside him chopping up some pancakes. “How do you think your dad will feel when he finds out the reason my mom is in Crystal Rock?”
Julie became thoughtful. “I think it’ll depend on whether she’s planning on hanging around after the two of you are finished.”
Dylan nodded his agreement, suddenly feeling worried. “I haven’t talked to her all week.”
“I haven’t seen Dad all week either.”
They both grinned.
Julie rolled her eyes. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “But I’d rather not envision my mother doing that, thank you very much.”
They both burst in
to laughter.
After they finished with breakfast, his mom approached them with a pot of coffee. “How’s everything going?” she asked.
She was positively glowing today. The restaurant business agreed with her, Dylan thought, and sharing her knowledge with someone who respected her certainly had to help. Despite the fact that his parents had been deeply in love, Dylan remembered a disconnection between his mother and father when he was young, since his dad spent so much time at work.
“Great,” Julie answered. “How do you like the Tap?”
Anne grinned. “I love it.”
“What’s been happening?” Dylan asked, frowning.
“I had a chance to go through everything you and Jake sent.”
“And?” Dylan could tell that the news wasn’t good.
“No one even came close. I see that Jake even tried to dig up older pictures and do age progression of some of the men, but I didn’t recognize the guy I’m looking for in the mix. I went over the pictures and files several different times.”
Dylan sighed. “I’ll get back on it next week.” Darn it. Over fifty men had been in those files.
Anne looked at Dylan with concern. “Everything else alright?”
He grinned and looked at Julie. “Except for Julie not agreeing to marry me yet.”
She suddenly smiled, looking at Julie. “You must not be asking in the right way.”
Julie nodded her head, smirking at Dylan.
Dylan groaned.
“Oh, by the way,” Mom said, pouring their coffee. “Jeff is helping me move into your family cabin today, Julie. I guess it’s ready to go. It should be a little bit easier getting together if we need to.”
“Okay,” Dylan said, watching her walk over to the next table.
A few minutes later when they’d finished their coffee, Julie asked, “Ready?”
“Yep,” Dylan answered, standing up. He waited for Julie to slide out from the booth and laid his hand on her shoulder as they walked toward the door.
That Unexpected Kiss (Kissed By Fate Book 2) Page 15