“Does anyone else know the alarm code for the store?”
She nodded. “Me, Kim, the alarm company of course, but no one else.”
“Kim?”
“Kim Raeford. We went to school together.” She waited to see if he would pretend not to know her too.
“Ah, yes. I remember her. Dressed up like Madonna all the time.”
Bea barked a laugh. “I’d forgotten that. That cone bra was classic, wasn’t it? When she walked into biology class—”
“Can we focus on this?” His tone wasn’t condescending, but it was firm, and damned if it didn’t make her cheeks burn with embarrassment. The man was such an ass.
“By all means.” She examined her fingernails studiously, anything to avoid looking at him.
“If someone has the capability to remotely disable alarms in stores, then there has to be a connection to the alarm company.” He flipped through the notebook for a minute. “I didn’t note anything about the alarm being disabled in the other burglaries, but I’m going to pursue that lead.”
“Other burglaries?” Bea perked up despite her desire to remain indifferent to him.
He glanced up at her and grimaced. “There have been a series of burglaries at small businesses across the county in the last six months. Smash and grabs like this although yours is the most destructive I’ve seen.”
“I remember hearing about a few, but they weren’t gun stores, right? If they’re related that’s why the rangers are involved in such a small event.”
He tilted his head. “I’d say this is far from a small event for you, Bea.”
The sound of her name on his lips made a butterfly dance merrily in her stomach. Well, then, she needed a hard dose of reality to push aside her foolish obsession with his looks.
“No, it pretty well sucks donkey balls. I’d like to get everything cleaned up and repaired so I can make money to pay what will certainly be even more ridiculously high insurance premiums.” She tapped the table. “How long will it take for you to solve this crime?”
“It’s not an exact science. I observe, take notes, follow up, and beat the pavement to track down the perps. There’s no magic date or time.” He turned back to his blasted notes. “Are you a member of any small business association?”
She counted to five before she answered. He was trying to do his job, not make her crazy. At least she hoped he wasn’t or she might have to show him what she learned in boxing class.
“No, I’m not. I’ve been approached by the Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, and that sort of thing, but I couldn’t afford the time required to be part of them. Not yet. It’s been years since I took over the business, I know, but I still struggle each day to stay afloat.” Her voice thickened and her eyes pricked with tears.
Not now, Bea. Not now! Keep it together!
“Anyone too persistent to get you to join their small business group? Or anyone acting suspicious in the store?” He didn’t call attention to her emotional response, for which she was grateful.
“It’s a gun shop. People can be squirrelly when they come in, especially if they’ve never bought a weapon.” She pointed at the desk in the front of the room. “I’ve got a record of everyone who’s bought anything but not the looky-loos.”
“And your surveillance footage?”
“Stored digitally at an offsite hosting server. Unfortunately, whoever disabled the alarm system also put what looks like cooking spray on the cameras so all you can see in the footage are blurry shadows.” She was certain there was something she was missing in all this, but she didn’t know what it was.
“I’d like to see it anyway, if you don’t mind.” He scribbled away in his notepad. She watched his large hands move with a kind of fluidity she didn’t expect. Then again, Laz Graham moved like a big cat with feline grace.
“Sure. Anything else you need, Captain?” She hadn’t meant to sound testy but somehow the words tumbled out anyway. Her deep-seated issues with the man were from ancient incidents that she couldn’t seem to let go. Bea made herself a promise to look ahead and not behind. Yet one look at Laz Graham and she was ten years old again.
“Ranger Graham, not captain. Or Lazarus. Or Laz.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Or you can call me Cracker.”
Bea was transported back in time, to Mrs. Lidell’s third grade class and her first day of school in Brier Creek. She’d been chunky as a child, with freckles covering most of her face and hair that would not be tamed by a brush. When a group of boys had approached her on the playground and teased her, she did the only thing she could think of. She called the leader of the group, whose last name was Graham, a cracker, as in graham cracker. It hadn’t gone over well and Laz spent the next ten years teasing the shit out of her.
Now he turned the cracker comment into a joke?
“That’s not funny.” She got to her feet and went to retrieve her laptop. “Do you know how much I went through because you didn’t like my fat face or my smart mouth?” Bea didn’t want for a reply. She willed her hands to stop shaking as she returned to the table.
He shook his head. “I’m not that person anymore. Neither are you. I owe people apologies, including you, but I never disliked you because of what you looked like. You were different, new, pretty, and smart, and for that we treated you like an outsider.” Laz tapped his pencil. “I can’t believe I’m discussing third grade with you.”
She slammed her hand down on the table hard enough to reverberate through her bones. “Pretty? Ridiculous nonsense. And it wasn’t just third grade and you know it. How about the incident at the pond on your ranch when we were thirteen?” The memory of that day gave her nightmares and shaped her self-worth for a good ten years.
“Jesus, I never meant to hurt you. I was an idiot boy with a permanent stick in his pants.” He pushed away from the table, his gaze locked on hers. “I’m sorry, Bea.”
“You made fun of me in my bathing suit, called me Queen Bea, all round and fuzzy just like a bee. That name haunted me for years. I never accepted another invitation from Rose to go out to the Circle Eight.” She had put it behind her, she really had, but right now, seeing the man who had been the boy, the humiliation came back to her with a slap.
“I’m sorry, Bea. I’ll say it as many times as you need me to. I was a selfish asshole who never thought about anybody but myself. My father certainly told me enough times.” He gestured to the chair across from him. “We’re adults now and maybe we can be who we are now instead of rehashing who we were. I know I don’t want to live in the past.”
“Is that why you disappeared? To run from facing your past?” She didn’t like how bitter she sounded. And she sure as hell didn’t like the way she felt.
“No, I left because I could never be the man my father wanted me to be. I was a failure at being a Graham, so I had to find something else to be.” The naked honesty in his eyes pierced her. She understood all too well about not being who people wanted her to be.
She sat down in the chair and looked at him, really looked at him. “I believe you.”
“And do you accept my apology?”
She sighed. “I want to, but I’m going to have to give myself some time to recover from this conversation.”
Laz nodded. “So will I. Last thing I expected when I woke up today.”
“Damn straight.” She pointed at his notepad. “Let’s get the rest of your questions done and I’ll put the footage on a memory stick for you.”
Unbelievable as it was, Bea felt better. Like a cork popping after years of being shaken up. She was more comfortable with him.
Something she would have never expected in her lifetime.
Laz’s gut was in knots. To be brought to the mat by Bea was embarrassing. Less than he’d done to her when he was an arrogant little shit. He had treated people as though he was better than them all his life. He’d never considered anyone until the day his mother died.
He’d been out riding his favorite gelding, drinking beer although
he was only eighteen. No one dared not give a Graham liquor even if he was too young to buy it. He’d ignored his father’s calls on his expensive cell phone. He drank until he passed out by the very same pond he’d seen Bea swimming in five years before. Her curves had stunned him, and he’d lashed out, confused and flustered by his response.
At the age of eighteen, he was at the height of his miserableness as a human being. Then he arrived home hours after his father had tried so hard to call him, only to find his mother had died. She’d fallen from a ladder and hit her head. The bleeding in her brain couldn’t be stopped and she couldn’t wait for her drunk son to come to the hospital. She’d left a note for him at home before she’d left in the ambulance, one he had never shown another human being.
That was the day he shed the skin of Lazarus Asshole Graham and turned into the kind of man his mother would be proud of. A ranger. An honorable person who always did the right thing. Staying away from Brier Creek meant he didn’t have to face whom he’d been.
Returning for Bea was poetic justice. She was the one he’d wronged so many times he could hardly count. She was right to be angry and he wouldn’t blame her if she never forgave him. Laz had been hiding from the ugly truth of who he’d been. Now he had no choice but to own up to it.
He and Bea worked another thirty minutes going through everything that happened the week before the burglary until Laz felt like he had all the information he needed.
“Bea, are you back here?” A woman’s voice came from the front of the shop.
“Yeah, I’m—”
Laz put his hand on Bea’s arm. “Who is it?” he whispered.
“Kim Raeford. Remember, I told you about her earlier?” She shook off his hand. “She’s armed but only because I taught her how to shoot, helped her pick a gun, and certified her for a concealed carry permit.” Bea’s brows went up. “May I go now, Ranger?”
“Sorry, force of habit.” He got to his feet. “I think we’re done here for today.”
“Give me a minute and I’ll meet you out front with the memory stick.” Bea dismissed him while she fiddled with her laptop.
Laz had a few ideas about the crimes now that he’d been able to speak to a shop owner who was smart as hell, had good business acumen, and kept impressive records. He pushed the curtain aside to find two women standing in the middle of the store. One of them had purple hair.
The other one was his sister Rose.
Shit.
Chapter Three
‡
Laz had always had an awkward relationship with his three sisters, especially Rose. She was two years older than him and had tried all his life to boss him around. He had done his best to resist all measure of control and kept his distance from her. As a consequence, the older they got, the farther away they got until they were almost strangers. He’d seen Iris and Violet a few times since he’d left Brier Creek, but not Rose.
The very last thing he expected when she saw him was for her to gasp and press her hand to her mouth. “Laz?” Her eyes filled with tears and she launched herself into his arms.
The sensation of hugging Rose was startling and foreign, but Laz found his arms wrapping around her. It had been at least fifteen years of being apart, not even sitting beside each other. In an instant, they moved past the separation. He realized the last person he’d hugged had been his mother. Ten years without any affectionate human contact. Casual sex didn’t count.
Well, it counted, but not like this. Not even a little.
Emotions ricocheted around him and he wondered if maybe his kindergarten teacher might walk in. Or possibly the governor. Donald Duck maybe. Nothing would surprise him now. His entire life had taken an extreme right turn and he was reeling from the last hour.
She pulled back and cupped his face. “I’ve missed you.”
No recriminations or accusations, just a simple statement. Laz didn’t deserve a pass for what he’d done, however he wouldn’t turn it down.
Her hair was longer, the dark brown waves accented by the red that lay deep in the strands. She was the only sibling with pure blue eyes and they were framed by a pair of turquoise glasses.
“You look really good.” His smile was an easy one.
“So do you. Bigger than Pa.” She squeezed his arms and he had to let the comparison to their father pass without comment. Rose might not know the specifics of the feud between father and son, but she had to realize it was beyond serious to last more than ten years. “I heard you were a ranger.”
Laz wasn’t surprised she knew about his career. The Grahams were a big family with plenty of cousins, some of which he still kept in touch with.
“Was it Samuel or Grant?” The two of them and Laz were the closest, the three Musketeers, or the three Stooges depending on the foolishness of what they got into growing up.
“Samuel. He runs the auction now and I was there looking at the stock last month.” She glanced behind him. “Are you working on Bea’s break-in? It’s big enough for the rangers to step in?”
“I am.” He let his sister go and stepped back. “Sometimes little things can be part of something much bigger.”
She nodded and squeezed his hand. “I’m very glad to see you. Iris and Violet will be upset to have missed you.”
His younger sisters had been girls when he left. All awkward and knobby kneed. Now they were in their early twenties. The harsh truth was, he might not recognize them if he saw them on the street. Shame swept through him at how he’d punished his sisters over his own guilt and feud with their father.
“My job keeps me on the move. I barely live in my apartment.” He looked at Bea, who watched the siblings with more than a casual interest. “I need to review and compile all my notes. I’ll keep you updated as I investigate and probably be back next week sometime.”
Bea’s expression darkened. “I don’t think so.”
He was keenly aware of Rose and Kim listening to the conversation. Laz didn’t want to air every piece of his dirty laundry in one morning.
“If you give me your cell phone number, I can text you updates.”
“Nope.”
“Phone calls? Daily?”
“No.”
Laz scowled at her. He thought they’d moved past the worst of their history. Maybe he was wrong.
“What is it you want, Beatrice?” He didn’t like the sharp edge to his voice, but dammit, the woman was like a changeling.
“I’m staying with you until you solve it.”
He stared at her. “Pardon?”
“I’m your partner until you solve the crime and find out who did this. I get first crack at his nuts too.” She sipped at the coffee the purple-haired Kim had given her. “This is personal.”
“Every business owner feels threatened when a crime is committed. It’s norm—”
“That’s not what I mean.” She waved her hand in the air and looked at the other two women. “You know what I mean, don’t you? Whoever this was, they didn’t break in to steal. They wanted to hurt me.”
Laz didn’t like the notion that someone wanted to hurt Beatrice for any reason.
“It was damn destructive.” Rose glanced around. “I don’t think they missed a single piece of glass.”
“Maybe it was Lenny Redman,” Kim offered. “He is the only glass guy in town.” Everyone ignored her.
Laz agreed with all of them, but it didn’t mean he was going to let Bea stick to his side. “I can’t ride around with you in the car unless you’re in the backseat, and I’m guessing you don’t want that.”
Bea glanced skyward. “No, I don’t, but I also don’t want to be left here with no answers and a burning need for Texas justice.”
“That’s why I’m here, so let me do my job.”
“She’s pretty smart. I’ll bet she could help.” Kim almost sounded serious.
“Perhaps you could listen to what she has to say?” Rose suggested. “She does know everyone in town, and you’ve been gone a long time.”
/> Laz was outnumbered and outgunned. He put his hat on and nodded to Kim, gave Rose a quick hug.
“I have an appointment at eleven.” He took Bea’s elbow and led her outside, away from the prying ears and not-so-helpful comments. “Look, I appreciate your need to want to solve this. And I agree you are someone with a vested interest in the capture of the perp.”
She looked at him over the top of the coffee, her eyes narrowed. “I’m not going to like the rest of what you have to say, am I?”
“I don’t know.” He crossed his arms, needing to get away from her, from town, to clear out the nest of confusion in his brain. “I promise I’ll be back tomorrow. Give me time to do some research and compile all the information.”
“What time?”
He glanced at his watch. “Eight. I’ll bring breakfast and coffee and you can help me go through it all.”
“And then what? You ride off tomorrow and ne’er return? I’ve read that story and it sucks.” She sipped at the coffee again, the breeze lifting stray curls and making them dance. “I’ve had too many things in my life be half-done or abandoned. I made a promise to myself that I would take care of this store. It’s what my parents would have wanted. This crime is personal, no matter what you think. They spit on me and my family, and all the hard work that has been put into this store.”
The passion in her voice spoke to his soul. He wanted that kind of commitment, that kind of connection to something substantive. Oh, he liked his job and was good at it, but it wasn’t the same.
“I’m sorry this happened, but I’m not sorry to see you again.” He wanted to be honest with her at all times from now on, no matter if she believed him or not.
“Let me help you. Don’t dismiss me as an uneducated redneck who knows too much about guns.”
“That’s not who I see.”
She appeared startled by that comment. “Then you’ll let me help. Please?”
It was one of the words he never expected to hear from such a proud woman, which lent it that much more weight.
He should say no. His boss would set his ass on fire if he knew what Laz was contemplating. Civilians weren’t supposed to be privy to case details, but since she was also a victim, there was a gray area.
Circle Eight Millennium: Lazarus Page 2