He climbed the steps and once again was struck by the contrast of hominess and wealth. He found that same contrast in Sam and his brother Grant. Saturday night they’d looked as though they’d belonged to the Memphis elite, but tonight they were dressed in sports shirts and khaki shorts. If he ran into either man in a hardware store, he would never guess they had taken a small parts store their father left them and turned it into a franchise with stores all over the United States.
Judging by the laughter around the pool as everyone chowed down on Sam’s burgers, the two preferred being regular guys. He watched as Grant limped toward a table. He’d noticed the limp Saturday night and had meant to ask Kelsey about it.
Brad swung back and forth on interviewing the men here in Sam’s home. Probably be a breach of etiquette, but if the opportunity presented itself, he’d grab it.
“Burgers are good, aren’t they,” Kelsey said as she sat in the patio chair beside him.
“Best I’ve had in a long time.” He glanced up to see why she sounded so upbeat. Her smile stretched almost from ear to ear. “What’s going on?”
“I asked Mom about the house, and she’d been meaning to tell me the people backed out.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“I know. I’ve been worried about where I’d live after this was over. I’ll miss seeing Lily every day, but—”
“Aunt Kelsey, Mr. Brad, watch me!”
His gaze followed Kelsey’s to the pool, where Lily was on the diving board. “Does she know how to swim?”
“Since she was three.”
The girl hit the water in a cannonball. “She’s fearless. I don’t think I could swim when I was six,” he said.
“She’s been around Kelsey too much,” Grant Allen said as he set his half-full glass on the table. “Mind if I join you two?”
“After that comment, yes.” Kelsey’s warm grin said otherwise.
He sat in the wrought-iron chair and propped his left foot in another before he felt his shirt pocket. “Don’t think I’ll ever quit wanting a smoke after dinner.” He reached for the toothpick on his empty plate and stuck it in his mouth. “So, Paul’s remains have been found,” he said and immediately winced. “Oh my goodness. There I go sticking my mouth in my foot again. Sorry, Kels.”
She shrugged. “That’s okay. Like I told someone earlier today, it’s all surreal.”
“What do you know so far, Brad?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I missed that.”
Kelsey laughed. “I bet he’s still focused on the mouth in the foot picture.” She turned to Brad. “Grant always gets his metaphors backwards.”
“I do not, just that one,” he retorted and repeated his question.
Brad mentally sorted through what he could tell him, glad for the opportunity to perhaps get information. “Actually, I’m hoping you can fill in some of the missing parts. Does anyone stand out in your mind from that time who might have wanted him dead?”
The older man stared off in the distance. “Before Paul was offered the director’s position, I was collections manager and had applied for the job. But they chose Paul, brought him back from Egypt to take it. Always liked him, though, and we talked a lot. I told Sam he ought not go after Cynthia even though they’d been divorced for three years. You see,” he said, turning to Brad, “Paul thought she’d eventually go back to him. Not that my brother ever listens to me. But he certainly wouldn’t do Paul harm.”
“How long had you known him?” Brad asked, noticing how Kelsey hung on to every word he said.
“Met him when Sam and I signed up for a dig in Egypt. He and Cynthia were already married then.”
“So you all have known each other awhile.”
“Yep, since early college days. Paul was Sam’s archaeology professor. Cynthia’s too. And I met him on the dig. Sam was heartbroken when she chose Paul over him.”
The picture Brad was getting didn’t reflect badly on Sam, but it did show a reason for wanting Paul out of the way. Grant shifted his leg and rubbed it. “What happened to your leg?” he asked.
“I can tell you that,” Kelsey said. “He broke it saving Sam’s life.”
“Aw, girl, it wasn’t anything like that.”
“That’s not the way I hear Sam tell it.” She turned to Brad. “They were caving and fell off a ledge. Sam wasn’t hurt, but he’d fallen farther than Grant and couldn’t get out.”
The older man chuckled. “He sure didn’t have your rock-climbing skills.”
“Anyway, Grant had broken his leg in the fall, but he was closer to the top and was able to climb out, broken leg and all.”
“And the leg didn’t heal properly,” Grant finished for her. “I just remembered something about Jackson King.”
Kelsey held her finger up. “Let me finish. Sam didn’t want him trying to crawl out with a broken leg, but Grant did. He got out and dragged himself half a mile before he found help. By the time the rescue team got to Sam, hypothermia had set in. He would have died if Grant had waited like Sam insisted.”
“Wasn’t that big a deal. If I hadn’t gotten out in the sun, I would’ve died too.” He folded his arms across his chest. “About Jackson. Seems to me, he had sticky fingers.”
Brad sat up straighter. “What do you mean?”
“The way I remember it, Paul caught Jackson helping himself to a package of typing paper and some pens. I thought Paul ought to get rid of the boy, but as usual, he gave him another chance. Who’s to say King didn’t graduate to some of the artifacts?”
He had a point, but Jackson had only been eighteen and possibly didn’t think of it as stealing even though it was. Still, Brad had a hard time thinking Jackson King could be involved with the killing. “How about Robert Tomlinson? What do you remember about him? Or his brother?”
“Knew Mark better than Robert. And he was just as negative then as he was the last time I saw him. Maybe because he always had so much responsibility on his shoulders. He put his brother through college, you know.”
Maybe he’d stolen a few of the artifacts to help out. Except Brad couldn’t find a trace of any of the artifacts being sold.
Grant slid his foot to the ground and stood. “You might want to look at Julie Webb too. Seems like her brother got into some serious trouble about that time. I remember her asking me where she could borrow a significant amount of money.” Then he nodded. “See you around.”
“That was certainly interesting,” Kelsey said after he was out of earshot.
“Yeah. I need to check with Rachel and see if she’s the one who interviewed him.” He’d like to compare notes. Call him suspicious, but it seemed odd that Grant pointed the finger at everyone but himself.
Lily bounded up. “Did you see me? Did I make a big splash?”
“You did,” Kelsey said. “And I can’t believe how tall you’re getting.”
The girl stood taller and pulled on her swimsuit. “I know. That’s why I have to have a new suit. Mom says it’s too little. Can you go with us tomorrow?”
Brad smiled as Kelsey made a face. “I have to work tomorrow.”
Lily frowned. “Then come play Go Fish with me. You too, Mr. Brad. Mom’s playing.”
“He doesn’t want to play a card game, but I’ll come,” Kelsey said. When her niece ran to get the cards, she said, “You can thank me later.”
“I’ll thank you now. What time do you want to leave?”
“Give me about forty-five minutes. I miss being with Sabra and Lily.”
His cell rang. It was Lieutenant Robinson from the Bomb Unit, and he answered it.
“Thought I’d let you know the apartment has been released. Ms. Allen is free to do whatever she wants with it.”
He thanked the lieutenant and decided to wait until they left to tell Kelsey, since she seemed to be enjoying her time with Lily. He wandered around the patio area to a rose garden his mother would love and bent to sniff a red and white rose.
“That’s a double deligh
t,” Cynthia said from behind him. “Do you like roses?”
He turned around. “I do, but my mom likes them even better.”
“When this terrible time is finished, I’ll invite her over for tea. Do you have any idea . . . ?”
“I hope soon.” He’d love to be able to say they’d have this madman caught tomorrow.
“Do you know when Paul’s, uh, remains will be released? I want to plan a simple memorial service.”
“No, ma’am, but I can find out tomorrow.”
He followed her gaze to where Kelsey was playing cards with Lily.
“This has been really hard on my daughters,” Cynthia said. “Especially Kelsey. She worries about someone else getting hurt.”
“Yes, I was thinking that earlier. But I’ve learned one thing about her in this investigation—she’s resilient.”
“Oh yes. I’m sure you’ve also learned she’s Little Miss Independence. She thinks there’s nothing she can’t do.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed she doesn’t like help.”
“That’s stating it mildly. I’ll never forget when Sam bought a computer for the house. Kelsey was ten. She got the how-to manual that came with it, and by the time she was twelve she was creating her own programs.”
“So Sam is good with computers too?”
“Not as good as Kelsey or even Grant.”
Brad tucked that bit of information away to discuss with Rachel. He tilted his head. “Have you thought of anything more that might help with the investigation since we talked the other night?”
She shook her head. “Sam would be a better person to talk to. And Grant, but I saw you talking to him. They both have had many more dealings with the museum than I have. Grant, especially. I don’t know if he told you, but he applied for the directorship at the same time as Paul, but Paul was more qualified, and older.”
“He did. How badly did Grant want the job?”
Brad held her questioning gaze.
“Not bad enough to kill Paul, I can assure you. The museum was absolutely not the right job for him.”
Still, at the time it could have been a blow to Grant. “How about Sam? How did he and Paul get along?”
The question brought pain to her face. “My husband did not have anything to do with Paul’s death.”
“I hope you know I don’t enjoy asking these questions,” Brad said, gentling his voice.
“I know that, and before you ask, Sam and I were only friends before my divorce and his wife’s death.”
Brad didn’t doubt that one second on her part. But he wasn’t too sure about Sam’s.
43
KELSEY STARED AT BRAD as the gate closed behind them. “You mean we can go right now and pick up my clothes?”
He laughed. “Yes, ma’am. Lieutenant Robinson said you’re free to do whatever.”
“Oh, wow. I hope they don’t smell like smoke.” She could also assess her furniture to see how much of it she could move to the house on Snowden. Her mind whirled with plans. Abruptly she sank back into the seat and groaned. What was she doing? She couldn’t move. She couldn’t do anything until this madman was caught.
“What’s wrong?”
“I want my life back!” She pressed her fingers to her temples. “I’m ready for this to be over.”
“We’ll catch him, Kelsey. I promise you. He’s getting cocky, and he’ll make a mistake. The announcement about your father being found will shake him up, and he’s bound to feel us closing in.”
“We have a list of people my dad thought could be stealing. Why can’t we hack into their computers and see if there’s anything incriminating in them?”
“Maybe because it’s illegal? And we don’t know that it was a list of suspects. Besides, I’d have to have a court order to do what you’re suggesting, and I don’t have enough evidence against any of the people on the list to get one.”
Brad’s way was so slow. “What’s wrong with fighting any way you have to? Even Jesus said to be cunning as a snake and guileless as a dove,” she said as they stopped at a traffic light.
“Kelsey . . .”
When she looked around, frustration was stamped in his face.
“Don’t quote Scripture at me, especially something taken out of context. I want this guy as bad as you do, but if I do what you’re suggesting, any evidence I found would be thrown out, and he could go scot-free.”
Her cheeks burned from the truth of his words. “The light changed,” she mumbled. When had she slipped past bending the rules to outright breaking them?
With a sigh, he gunned the motor. She was still mulling that thought over when Brad pulled into Sabra’s drive. He parked and came around and opened her door.
“Ready to go up?” he asked and held out his hand for her to take.
“Yeah. Look, about what I said. I know you can’t break the law . . . I just feel so helpless.”
“So do I. But we’ll catch him with plain old investigative work. Knocking on doors, talking to people, following leads. It works, maybe not as fast as you’d like, but when we catch him, the evidence will stick.”
The intensity in his voice raised goose bumps on her arm. She took his hand, feeling his strength. The world needed more men like Brad Hollister. Impulsively, she kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks.”
He touched his face. “What was that for?”
Kelsey ducked her head. “For keeping me on the straight and narrow.”
He lifted her chin until she was gazing into his hazel eyes.
“You’re a strong woman with a good moral compass. You would have come back to it, just like you did.”
He thought she was strong? And noble? Joy bubbled up from deep within her, and she straightened her shoulders. “I hope so.”
“Trust me, you would’ve. Shall we go up the back stairs?”
She stared at the garage. “Is the apartment safe?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t a huge bomb, and it won’t take a lot of money to repair the damages. Could’ve been a lot worse.”
He didn’t have to tell her that. Inside the apartment, she avoided the front area. “What’s stinging my nose and eyes?” she said.
“Burned electrical wires.”
“Have they been able to tell what kind of bomb it was?”
“It was a homemade bomb,” he said. “And, unfortunately, the materials are easy to get. Our suspect has already demonstrated he has the intelligence to make one.”
Kelsey hurried to her bedroom. The sooner they got out of there, the better she would feel. She grabbed her makeup and several sets of clothes that could be easily washed and worn. As they backed out of the drive, she said, “At least I can use my bedroom suite in the house.”
“When you get ready to move, I’ll help you.”
“You mean you’re going to hang around when you don’t have to?”
“Yeah, you’ve kind of grown on me.” He winked as he wheeled out of the drive.
Pleased, she leaned back in the seat. Once her life did return to normal, it’d be interesting to see where Brad fit into it.
44
THURSDAY MORNING, BRAD WOKE EARLY and dressed, strapping the ankle holster to his leg, then checked his watch. Just enough time to give Tripod a little exercise, so he took a Frisbee from the closet.
Tripod’s tail thumped the ground when he stepped out into the humid air. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “I can’t go running this morning. Too hot and I’m already dressed.”
The dog sat on his haunches and whined. Brad laughed and tossed the disc. With a bark, Tripod was after it.
“He’s pretty special,” Kelsey said from the patio.
He hadn’t heard her come out. Whoa. This morning she was wearing dressy jeans and a soft green sweater the color of her eyes. Her short hair was still wet and more pixyish like yesterday than spiked, but she still looked saucy. He found his tongue. “Yeah, he is special. You’re up early.”
“I thought I’d make breakfast.”
“Pretty and you cook too? Better be careful. I might propose.”
“You better wait until you taste it,” she said, laughing. “It won’t be anything like Elle’s.”
For a second he imagined what it would be like to be married and have someone to share things with and no more lonely meals. Tripod nudged him and dropped the Frisbee at his feet. A good thing too—it hadn’t been Elle he imagined being married to. He grabbed the Frisbee and tossed it for Tripod to run after again. “Let me get washed up.”
“Thanks for breakfast, even if it did make us late,” he said when he turned off Central into the museum drive. It was after nine and he’d hoped to be on the way to McNairy County by this time, especially since thunderheads were forming. “And for the record, the proposal still holds.”
“Yeah, right. Can’t believe you’d marry someone just for their cooking.”
“You haven’t tasted mine. It’s how I stay so skinny.”
“You’re not skinny, you’re lean. You know—lean, mean, fighting machine.”
He shot her a quick glance. He didn’t know when or how, but they had turned some sort of corner. Other than Andi, he rarely joked with a woman. For a second, he thought about asking if she wanted to drive to Coon Creek with them. No. Kelsey would be too distracting, and he needed to keep his mind on the case right now.
“I expect we’ll be back in three hours,” he said when he parked his car at the back of the museum. “Try not to get into any trouble while I’m gone.”
“Moi?” Kelsey raised her eyebrows.
“Yes, you.”
“Just because you and Rachel are going to be out of town doesn’t mean I’ll do something crazy.”
If only he could be sure of that. “What are your plans this morning?”
She patted her computer bag. “First I want to check my computer and see if he’s hacked in again.”
“You still have the program running?”
“Yeah, and I didn’t see any evidence of him hacking in again yesterday morning, but I was too tired to check last night.”
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