Off the Record: An Avery Rich Mystery (Avery Rich Mysteries Book 1)

by Sara Gauldin

  A low chuckle interrupted my attempts. “You’re going to cut your finger off. Let me help you.”

  “I can handle it." I felt a little insulted. Surely any idiot could chop up lettuce for a salad.

  Kain ignored my objection. He stood behind me and put his hands over mine. As he guided my hands to cut the stubborn vegetable, I began to relax into his grip. My embarrassment at my total lack of cooking ability faded away with the warmth of his firm hands on mine. I could not help but notice the pressure of his body against mine as we worked in tandem. His subtle scent surrounded me. In that moment, there was nowhere I would have rather been.

  With Kain's guidance, it took only minutes to chop and prepare the salad. I relished each moment silently. The soft jazz music played in time with my accelerated heartbeat.

  “There. Now we're all set, and none of your lovely fingers had to be sacrificed!” Kain murmured into my ear from behind. His breath sent an involuntary shiver through my body. He set the knife on the cutting board and pulled my right hand across my body and to his lips. He kissed my fingertips lightly. “It's a good thing, too. It would have been a shame to lose them that way!”

  “I guess you’re right." I turned to meet his lips. Our kiss was brief and passionate, but I pulled away first. We were in his home, but things needed to proceed on my terms. “How about a glass of wine while we finish cooking?” I asked.

  Kain laughed. “I would be glad to pour you a glass of wine, but if I do, you are officially banned from food preparation. I couldn’t let you put yourself in that kind of danger!”

  I laughed. “Danger? We've been dealing with criminals and dodging bullets for days. I think I've proven I can handle myself. Besides, you're the one with the injury to prove it, not me!” I traced the graze mark with my fingers.

  Kain held up his hands in defeat. “Okay, I give up. You’ve proven yourself in combat and investigation. Now, let me make you dinner as a thank you for tending to my wound.”

  “I thought you would see it my way,” I said.

  Kain found a wine glass in a cabinet and produced a bottle of red wine.

  I glanced at the label: Chateau Margaux 2009 Balthazar. Hmm. I took a sip of the smooth, red liquid. “This is really good, but I don’t think I’ve seen it at the grocery store. Where did you pick this up?”

  “Oh, I like to collect wines. I ordered it a while back.”

  “It's not grocery store stocked wine, then?” I asked.

  “Not that one,” Kain said.

  My curiosity was piqued. Where did Kain get this fabulous wine, and where could I order it from? I would research it later if I could remember the name.

  The meal Kain prepared was exquisite. It made my diet of take-out and microwave gourmet seem plain and unappealing by comparison. We sat at his small kitchen table and for the first time I saw Ryan Kain actually begin to relax. He was no longer straining to be hyper-aware of every nuance in the world around him. This Ryan was charming and humorous. He had been handsome before, but without the strange habit of spouting conspiracy theories, he was suddenly approachable and desirable. I let myself believe that this was the real Ryan Kain, not the tense and possibly delusional man I had been working with.

  The room was pleasantly warm, and the sound of the music lulled me into a wine-induced calm. I was beginning to realize how much I needed this down time. The intensity of the last few days had taken a toll on me.

  “I've told you a bit about my background…Tell me: where did you grow up?” Kain smiled and poured me another glass of wine.

  “Sandusky, Ohio. Nowhere special.”

  “Oh, that’s interesting. Were your parents from there?”

  “Um, no, they met there on a business trip.” I took a bite of my salad. As I glanced back up at Ryan, I noticed something different in his expression for a fraction of a second. It must have been the wine. The twinkle in his eye was back and in full charm a split second later.

  “I bet you were the head cheerleader, the homecoming queen, and the center of attention?” He reached across and brushed a lose tendril of hair away from my face. The slightest brush of his hand against my cheek left an intense tingle behind.

  “No, not me. I was home-schooled. I did get my black belt in Karate when I was eleven, but mostly I was home reading a book.”

  Kain laughed. “Let me guess, mysteries?”

  I smirked back at him. “How did you know?”

  “It was just luck!” He started clearing the dinner dishes from the table.

  “You're an amazing cook. I can understand why you quit police work.” I should have thought before I spoke, but the wine was lowering my filter.

  “Well, I enjoy cooking much more than I enjoy hunting down the criminal element, but I prefer to be the hunter, rather than the hunted.”

  “Are you always one or the other?” I asked.

  “Always,” Kain answered, as he carried my plate to the sink.

  The coolness in his voice left me suddenly uncomfortable. “Well, I hope we get to work together more, soon. I think Calbert wants to keep you on as a consultant throughout the trial.”

  “Yes, it looks like you are stuck with me a while longer.” Kain smiled over his shoulder as he rinsed the dishes.

  “Can I help you with the dishes?” I asked.

  “No, I can handle them. Besides, I think I'll call you a cab—you look exhausted.”

  I felt the sting of rejection. I hadn’t been sure what to expect from Kain at his apartment, but apparently, when he invited someone to dinner, he meant exactly that. “Oh, okay, you’re right. It's getting late, and I could use a good night’s sleep.”

  Kain dried his hands and called me a cab with no attempt at delay or romance.

  “I guess I’ll come back to get my car tomorrow. Will you be around?”

  “No, I have to work,” Kain answered.

  What had I said or done to make him this cool toward me? “I do too. I’ll just pick it up and head to the station. Maybe I’ll see you there.”

  "Perhaps," Kain said.

  I walked to the door. “All right. Well, thank you for dinner.”

  Kain followed me to the door and opened it for me. “Good night, Avery.”

  “Goodnight.” As I turned to go I felt Kain’s hand on my shoulder. I turned to see what he wanted, but instead stepped into his arms. He kissed me good-bye with a passion that made me want to stay. When I stepped away from him, he smiled.

  “Have a safe trip home,” he said.

  I nodded, and headed back down the steps. What in the world was all that about? Why would he kiss me hello when he was saying good-bye? The wine was not helping my ability to work out Kain’s mood swings.

  Chapter 18

  I made it back to the station, thirty minutes late. My second week of work was not beginning as I had envisioned it. I'd closed a case without the support of my coworkers, I had no idea whom to trust, and I had believed the taxi driver that had dropped me off at my car with the promise that traffic would be light.

  I made an effort to stand up straight and put my shoulders back. My head throbbed with the dull thud of too much wine as I walked to my new desk, but I was careful not to let it show. I had worked my way up to this position. I had earned my place, and I was good at my job. I would not let a rocky start take that away from me.

  I pulled out the creaky chair and sat down carefully. It jerked to the right and stayed there at a slight angle.

  “Oh, look who decided to show up to work today,” a uniformed officer grumbled in my direction.

  I faked a smile and stood up, blocking the officer’s path. “Good morning, I don’t think we've been introduced?” I looked him in the eye and waited for him to flinch.

  “Oh, I guess not,” he mumbled as he glanced at his shoes. “Officer Shaw, nice to meet you.”

  I held out my hand to shake his. “Detective Avery Rich, it's nice to meet you.”

  He shook my hand, briefly, before making a hasty exit. It was
better to establish the pecking order right away. The rest of the morning was quiet. I filed paperwork and wished for an assignment that I could legitimately work on, away from the awkward silence of my desk. Twice I flipped through my new phone’s contacts and found Kain’s number, but I didn’t call him. Something about his change in demeanor before I'd left his place last night bothered me. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like he'd been investigating me. What could he possibly have been looking for? And what in the world did he think he found out?

  I sighed and closed my phone for the third time. It was just as likely that the strange paranoia that made Kain an intense investigator also made him impossible to get close to.

  The thought of getting close to Kain made me blush, and I quickly resumed scanning evidence into the filing system for the bank foreclosure case. Accountants sure did produce a huge paper trail. The documents that were seized during the legitimate search made Kain’s pile of illegally obtained papers look inconsequential.

  The dull hum of the scanner softly churning as it copied each document lulled me into a daydream. As I recounted the last few days in my mind, a strange feeling came over me. The hair on my neck stood up. A shuffling sound behind me made me spin around in my chair. It gave a complaining creek, followed by a loud pop, protesting my sudden movement. When I turned, I saw a uniformed officer with dark hair standing in the hallway. He had a distinctive scar that ran from his ear down the right side of his neck. His eyes were locked on me. As I met his gaze, he turned and hurried down the hall.

  "Wait!" I called out. I needed to know who this shadowy guy was, and if he was whom I needed to look out for, but it was too late--he'd already disappeared around the corner. By the time I got there he was out of sight.

  After lunch, I returned to the relative isolation of my desk. The sense of camaraderie I had shared with my unit at my last position was noticeably missing. There was the same hum of people passing by in the station. Officers came and went as they brought people in for booking, went to briefings, or examined evidence. There was a steady stream of unknown faces who passed by my desk in a slow procession that did nothing to break the sense of isolation surrounding me. Some of the officers glanced my way, curious about the new detective on the force. A few looked at me with a scowl that made me want to go back to my old job.

  “Rich, in my office.” Calbert’s voice behind me made me jump. The memory of him aiming a gun at me made me feel strange about our relationship.

  “Yes sir,” I spun my chair around and followed Calbert. He didn’t look back at me until we reached his office door. He held the door open as I entered the room. “Thanks,” I mumbled.

  Calbert pulled out his chair and plopped down in it. He looked exhausted, but the burning desperation had abandoned him. “By now you know that we have a substantial case. I want to put them all away, but the truth is that we need to go after the people at the top.”

  “You mean the Georges?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but I need to level with you. If we really commit to putting them away, then we may be stirring up more trouble.”

  “You mean more danger.”

  “They have a wide reach. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that they will use whatever influence they have to make this situation disappear.”

  A shiver went up my spine. The image of Douglas White’s murder flashed into my recent memory. I swallowed hard and met Calbert’s gaze. “I understand. That's part of the job.”

  “That’s just it, Rich, it shouldn’t be. You came here to do a job, and as soon as you came through that door I put you in this situation. I guess what I mean to say is that I'm sorry. You have a promising career ahead of you. Don’t feel like this situation will hold you back. If I have any influence, I'll help you to move past this.

  “You mean when the case is closed,” I said.

  Calbert sighed. “Yeah, when the case is closed, we're putting all of this behind us. You will go on with your career, and I will have my family safe and home again.”

  I crossed my legs. “Congratulations on finding them, sir. I hope they're doing well.”

  “Much better, but I think it will take them a long time to feel safe again.”

  “Will they be? I mean, are any of us safe now?” I asked. I remembered Kain’s assurances that I could return home, but how far did that guarantee extend?

  “To be honest, it's too early to tell. For now, we have to focus on making the case so that those two will never walk. If we can make an example of them, then we have a chance to close the door to this.”

  I nodded my head. “I understand.”

  “You know that I've asked Mr. Kain to continue to consult on the case. We can’t risk leaving any loose ends.”

  “I’m sure he'll find anything that is out of place,” I mumbled. The idea of continuing to work with Kain after the intensity of what we had been through seemed a little strange. I needed to find out where things stood between us.

  Calbert coughed. “Thank you for your willingness to…umm…indulge his unconventional methods.”

  I felt the blood rush to my face. “Oh, I'm always glad to learn something new.” As soon as I said it, the words felt wrong.

  Calbert wrinkled his brow. “I’ll let you get back to work. I have a few more warrants to apply for. This whole thing is like a web.”

  “Yes, sir.” I stood up and headed for the door. I really did not want to discuss my relationship with Kain with Calbert.

  I stopped in the break room before heading back to my desk. I had to wait for a young officer who was spilling more coffee than he was collecting in his cup. I took a deep breath and hoped that he would manage to leave me a cup. Strong coffee was in order. My hangover seemed to have intensified.

  When I finally reached the coffee pot, I poured myself a cup, stirred sugar into the black liquid, and then savored the strong brew. I can do this. I just have to finish he case, and then life can go back to normal.

  I walked back to my desk, but I found I was not going to be working alone. There sat Ryan Kain in my chair, one foot propped up on my desk, reading a stack of papers.

  I clutched my coffee. Now was the moment of truth. “Mr. Kain, welcome to my desk.” I raised my eyebrows.

  Kain looked up at me. His eyes gave that undeniable twinkle, and I felt a shiver of something run through me. My sarcasm evaporated.

  “Avery, I was wondering if you were here.”

  “I've been here all morning. These papers will go on forever.” I rested my hand on the looming stack.

  “I see that. Let’s see if we can clean off your desk.”

  “That would be a great thing!”

  Chapter 19

  Kain stood in front of the evidence, arranged on a white board, studying it with singular intensity.

  “What do you see?” I asked.

  “There's more to this story,” Kain mumbled.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  Kain laughed. “There's a connection here. It may be that we don’t have all the pieces.”

  “We had enough to indict the Georges,” I said.

  “Is there enough here for a conviction? They'll have lawyers chewing away at this circumstantial evidence. You need something blatant.”

  “I doubt they'll leave a written confession.” I flipped open the file on Douglas White, sitting on the top of the stack. “We know that White was working for Will Collins, because we heard his name during White's murder, but that isn't enough. As soon as we can link White to Will Collins and whomever he was working with, the better. ”

  “The number White called when I redialed his number belongs to a disposable cell phone. We'll have a hard time tracking it to Collins or anybody else,” Kain said.

  “We've been operating on the idea that White was on the phone with William Collins. There's plenty of accounting evidence tying Collins to all of this, but do we really know if Collins was the one orchestrating this thing? Was he the front man for the Georges? I mean, Collins is i
n jail. He can’t run things from there, and the Georges aren’t calling him directly—it would be too easy to tie back to them if they did.”

  Kain shook his head. “There are others involved, but pinning them all down will be tricky. That's why we need to start at the top!”

  “The Georges have a wide reach. I would feel better if we could clean up this mess on a wider scale, and make a case that no overpaid team of attorneys can tear down.” I picked up the next file on my stack. “Let’s get back to work on the paper trail. The more minor connections we find, the more likely we are to find major ones.”

  “I can’t argue with that!” Kain slid his chair closer to the computer.

  The telephone rang, interrupting my concentration. Kain glanced up expectantly. Since we had been stationed at the desk, the phone had only rung when there were updates about indictments or warrants for the bankers’ case.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Detective Rich?” a female voice asked.

  “This is she.”

  “This is Dispatch. We have a possible body drop; we need you to report to the scene to check it out.”

  I scribbled down the address.

  Kain raised his eyebrows. “You're heading out?”

  “Apparently so. That was Dispatch calling to let me know about a body that's been discovered.”

  “A body?” Kain asked.

  “There's a body and an address. That’s all I know so far.”

  “Reprieved from desk duty, Detective Rich is back in action!” Kain's grin exposed his perfect, white teeth.

  “You're welcome to keep my seat warm. I'm sure I’ll be back at the desk before you know it.”

  “That’s all right. I'm afraid that dinosaur would just throw me on the floor. Are you sure you couldn’t use some company in the field?”

  “Not this time, Kain. I need to prove I can handle myself. If I need your input, I'll call.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I'll look forward to your return.” Kain looked at me with an expression that made me blush.

  ***

  I drove my car down the narrow, gravel road. When the dispatcher said the body had been found outside of town, I pictured the suburbs. This place was rural enough that I was shocked to find it so close to the metropolitan area. I cringed as the car’s front wheel sunk into a rut, and the car’s bottom smacked the hardened clay.