Overkill (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book Four)

by Amy Saunders

  Jonas left his jacket and tie in the car, rolling up his sleeves and unbuttoning a couple of buttons to look and feel less like work. There were a couple other groups on the lawn, but they were mostly alone, the way he wanted it. “When you put it that way, it sounds crazy.”

  “But you do manage to solve them, so I guess it works?” She leaned her back against the tree they’d claimed for shade. Her black hair was in a ponytail, draped across her shoulder.

  “People slip up. They forget their previous lie or leave evidence behind. And most people aren’t criminal masterminds, they’re just…desperate.”

  “So you sympathize with the people you arrest?”

  That was a difficult question. One he’d struggled with since the day he was sworn in. “Depends on the crime, the circumstances, the person’s attitude. Murder isn’t always black and white.”

  “And neither are you apparently.” Ardith smiled.

  The way she looked at him made him feel awkward. Not in a bad way exactly, but it wasn’t his nature to get too serious. Especially about himself. “How about something less heavy? What’s your favorite color?”

  Ardith laughed. “I think purple.”

  “You think?”

  She looked at him indignantly. “You caught me off guard.”

  “I had no idea asking someone’s favorite color could catch them off guard.”

  “I’m not good at those sorts of questions.” Ardith hugged her left leg, pulling it closer to her body. “Ask me about diving, or work, or Disney Princess movies and I’m there. My favorite color? Not so much.”

  “Disney Princess movies?”

  “Don’t judge.”

  “Never.” Jonas stroked his chin while considering his options. “How about diving?”

  Ardith grinned, so he’d clearly made the right choice. Work was always iffy and Disney Princess movies? Not exactly his shtick. “When I introduced myself, I should probably have added that I’m obsessed with scuba diving. I loved snorkeling as a child and then I got certified in my late teens and I haven’t looked back. It’s my life’s goal to see the world’s great diving sites, like the Great Barrier Reef.”

  “Really?” Wanting to travel was definitely appealing, especially while in the middle of a murder investigation.

  “Yeah. In fact,” she repositioned herself, crossing her legs, “I’m going diving this weekend, and I was wondering if you’d want to go with me. I mean, if you know how. But you’ve mentioned kitesurfing, so I figured there’s a decent chance you do.”

  Did Ardith just ask him out? Jonas looked back into her dark chocolate eyes, waiting for him to respond. Yeah, she did just ask him out. This was no doubt the highlight of the last six months at least. “Absolutely.” Never mind that he’d never scuba’d–could you do that with the word?–a day in his life. He’d figure that part out later. Right now, Ardith was smiling back and excited he’d agreed, so who cared?

  Jonas’ phone interrupted, reminding him he did still have work. One of his colleagues had news for him on Kevin Pratt’s case, which was good because nothing else had worked out so far. The kids who hosted the party couldn’t place Kevin or tell them anything about him, so he hoped his colleague had more to work with.

  He apologized for the abrupt end and got to his feet. It had been a nice break, so he couldn’t complain too much. Though after getting a thorough look at her as she stood up, he decided he could complain a little. “Sorry to leave like this. It’s just…my life. With this job.”

  “You’re Spider-Man. I get it.” She smiled.

  Spider-Man wasn’t his favorite superhero, but he still didn’t mind the reference. “I’ll call you after I’m done and you can give me details about the diving.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  With a great amount of effort, Jonas hauled himself away from Ardith’s pleasant company and back to the station. It wasn’t his normal station because that was currently ripped apart on the inside thanks to the Kittridge family’s generous donation to renovate it, courtesy of Belinda. His station was the oldest and needed the help, but in the meantime, it meant being squished into another station, which was not equipped for all of them.

  Jonas sat down at his desk, which was jammed up against another desk so they were face-to-face. Jonas was pretty sure he’d never met the guy who now sat across from him, and equally sure he hadn’t missed anything.

  The detective glared up from his paperwork. “Good reading?” Jonas said. The guy smacked his papers on the desktop and got up and left. Jonas smiled to himself. He’d learned that emoting happiness was the quickest way to get rid of him.

  His colleague took Grumpy Detective’s seat and launched into what he’d learned. “I got through to Pratt’s college adviser,” Soto said, hands folded on the desk and leaning toward Jonas, “and she was concerned about him. He was working his way through school and had a tough time this past semester. His grades took a dive and his adviser had suggested he lighten his class load next semester. His maxed credit cards back up her concern.”

  “So what’s he doing here on vacation if he’s having money issues?”

  Soto shrugged his broad shoulders. “You were in college. You know what it’s like.”

  “True. But it’s common for kids going into fields under marine biology to spend summers interning.”

  “I mentioned that. His adviser said Kevin showed little interest in any summer programs this year. She thought he was discouraged and distracted by his money problems.”

  “Nothing like money to depress you.” Jonas twirled a pen around on his desk, contemplating if Kevin might have stolen that painting that washed up on the beach, hoping to pawn it for cash. That still didn’t explain where he stole it from. Jonas made a mental note to check in with Bennett and Belinda to see how their painting investigation was going. He hoped they already knew where it came from. “Check out Kevin’s accounts. Find out if he had any suspicious deposits or withdrawals. Maybe the lack of money will lead us to some bread crumbs.”

  Soto nodded, twirling his thumbs. Jonas wanted to get on to other things, but Soto hung around. “Anything else?”

  Soto peeked around both shoulders, then whispered, “Colleen Maguire called for you.”

  “What did you tell her?” Jonas said with way more intensity than it called for.

  Soto leaned back an inch, eyeing Jonas with interest. Perfect. The entire time he dated Colleen, he managed not to raise any eyebrows. Her name came up. Nothing. Not a flinch. His heart didn’t even race. Now that it was over, he freaked out and raised suspicion. What was that?

  “That you were out,” Soto said. “She just said she wanted to talk to you and wanted you to call her back. Is it about the case?” Soto didn’t say it like he thought so himself.

  Jonas shrugged it off. “Probably.” Colleen calling the station for him was not really a good thing. But he wasn’t keen on calling her back, especially with this little thing with Ardith developing.

  Ardith. Jonas almost smacked his forehead. He’d been an idiot and said he could scuba dive. Jonas got up and waved a hand at Soto. “Get back to me on Pratt’s finances.” But Soto still didn’t leave. Jonas arched his eyebrows. “Yes?”

  “We got a call that some kid may know something. He wouldn’t leave a name and just said he’d only talk to you.”

  Jonas frowned. “You could’ve led with that.”

  Soto shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Save the best for last, right?”

  Jonas tilted his head, reading the information Soto handed off. “A time and place to meet? Does this kid think we’re in an ‘80s TV crime drama?”

  “A kid his age gets killed, maybe he’s scared he knows too much and will be next.”

  “And that sounds like…”

  “An ‘80s TV crime drama.”

  “Thank you.” Jonas reread the message. Four o’clock. The state park, Ocean Ave. “Well, it’s something,” he muttered to himself.

  “It’s the only
thing.”

  Jonas channeled his desk mate and glowered down at Soto through the wisps of light brown hair that fell across his eyes. “Is that really all?”

  “Yep.”

  “Then get on to Pratt’s finances.” He started walking automatically toward the exit–the wrong way in this station. He still wasn’t used to where everything was and part of him wondered how long things would be like this.

  Soto picked up his pace and caught up with Jonas’ longer strides. “You headed to the state park already?”

  “Uh, no. I’ve got something else to take of care right now.” They reached a crossroads and split, Soto glancing back at him suspiciously. Jonas tried to let that go and take care of his own business, namely looking to see how quickly you could get certified for scuba diving. Once he looked that up in the privacy of his car, it was on to his mystery informant on Ocean Avenue.

  Chapter 7

  After what he considered to be a successful client meeting, Bennett returned to Belinda’s gray shingled house so they could visit the woman who bought the mystery Simone painting and hopefully get a step closer to why it landed in the ocean. That and he had to return Belinda’s car.

  The last time he didn’t have a car, he didn’t have a life. He saved every dime he earned mowing lawns, cleaning gutters, and doing small house repairs for three years before he could drive, so by the time he had a license, he could buy a car. A used piece of junk he spent a lot of time repairing, but it meant he could get a real job and not have to depend on his parents or public transportation to get around.

  Plus, he felt more ridiculous climbing out of Belinda’s silver Mini Cooper with the white racing stripes than the beat up jalopy he drove as a teen.

  Before he could make it into the house, Belinda danced out of the side door, her face lit up with expectation. She planted a kiss on his lips, which he was happy to steal a second, longer, dose of. The one good thing about his wacky work schedule right now was getting to see Belinda at odd times of the week.

  “So…” she said about a minute later. They’d missed valuable quality time like this during his legal issues and he’d been intent on making it up.

  “So…” Bennett returned, kissing her again. He knew exactly what she wanted to know, but teasing her was too much fun to resist.

  She narrowed her brown eyes, which sparkled in the light slivers coming through the overhanging tree branches. “You said you’d tell me what’s going on after your meeting. And it’s officially after your meeting. Do you have a new job?” Her face was so hopeful, he was afraid the news might disappoint her.

  “Yes–”

  Before he could explain, Belinda jumped up and down and hugged him, leaving a trail of lip gloss along his jawline. “I knew it!”

  “It’s not that big of a deal, trust me.” Though he had no trouble accepting her big time kissing spree. It felt like minutes before they spoke again, and he forgot they were still standing in the driveway.

  “You have a new job for Tate Security,” she said softly. “That’s a very big deal right now.”

  “It’s not like my other work. I mean, it’s not an event or anything.”

  Belinda leaned back as far as he let her to see him better. “Another consulting job?”

  “Sort of.” Bennett wasn’t sure how to classify it exactly. It was more than consulting but less than an event detail.

  Belinda wrinkled her nose. “I need more info than ‘sort of.’“

  “It’s Portside House Cleaning,” he said hesitantly. “They want help improving their security.”

  “Oh. I thought they were struggling?” Her face did register mild disappointment, which she was obviously trying to hide, but she also looked curious.

  “They are, and they’re hoping to buoy their reputation with better security all around.” He was stalling, and he knew he was stalling, because he wasn’t sure how she would take the rest of the news. Part of it he knew she’d like, but the other…well, he wasn’t confident this would work out.

  “Improved key security, I hope?”

  Bennett nodded. “And security cameras in the office.” He gave her a pointed look, which she pretended not to notice. “They also want me in charge of thorough employee background checks. Especially for the new manager. But there’s a condition.” And now the part he wasn’t so fond of.

  “A condition? Their business is collapsing and you’re the best in security there is and they have a condition?”

  “They want you on board for PR.” This was the catch. Getting the job depended on Belinda’s involvement. He couldn’t demand her help, and back before all this, he would’ve just told them to take a hike. But now he was too desperate to do that, and they knew it. On the flip side, they were desperate too.

  Belinda looked skeptical, but didn’t interject, so he went on, “Admittedly, they need the help. And with what happened, they believe you’re the one to help fix this with the public. With their clients.”

  “So they want me to hire them again?” she said apprehensively.

  “I think so.” The two owners hadn’t said so directly, but they’d hinted she could have her house cleaned for free. “I think with your scandal and the way things turned out, they feel you know what you’re doing, and you’re rather popular and in the community eye right now. Your peers are paying attention to you and what you’re doing and that could be good for them.”

  Belinda nodded thoughtfully, like she agreed with that assessment, which Bennett found amusing. She wasn’t usually one to simply accept a statement like that. But Bennett didn’t disagree with them. Belinda had been mum on what went down with Colleen Maguire and the embezzling scandal, but something big had happened, and he felt sure Belinda worked some kind of magic there. Her reputation had done a one-eighty overnight. And, honestly, he thought Belinda could help Portside House Cleaning’s rep, too.

  She thought about it, making up her mind about something from the fire in her eyes. Finally, she nodded again, more determined. “I’ll do it. But I have my own conditions. My help isn’t coming for free.” Bennett raised an eyebrow. This should be interesting. “I assume they want your magic and mine kept behind-the-scenes for various reasons?”

  “They’re not interested in advertising my help, for sure. It’s better if their security measures aren’t on display.”

  “Then they’ll need to help out your business some other way. Recommending you to clients having parties and so forth.”

  “Okay.” That may or may not help him, but this was her thing. She could demand what she wanted.

  “They have to clean your house for free, too.”

  Bennett frowned. So she’d guessed they’d offer their services to her for free, but he wasn’t sure he liked her condition. He’d rather not have a house cleaner.

  She held out her hands in a calming gesture. “I know you don’t care for that sort of thing, but it’s the principle. It’s only fair. They only have to come once a month if you want.”

  He let her have that. “Anything else?”

  “Probably. Give me some time to think about it.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to think about the job itself? You said yes rather quickly.” Bennett wanted her to focus on her business. If this was too much, he’d deal.

  “I don’t really need to. I’ll do it. For you.” He started to protest, but she placed a finger on his lips. “It’s decided. You tell them I’m meeting with them.” Bennett pursed his lips, but agreed. He didn’t like it, but he still needed the help. “Look on the bright side: we’ll get to work together this way.” She smiled.

  “Are you sure that’s a bright side? Couples, working together. That doesn’t always end well.”

  “It’ll end just fine. And I want to do this.” She did. He could see that. He could also see the influential Portside maven bubbling to the surface again. Portside House Cleaning was about to be at her mercy. It was kind of sexy. “Now that’s settled, let’s go find out why a painting of Simone’
s wound up on the beach.”

  Several minutes later, they pulled up to a gate and Belinda hopped out and used the intercom to get inside. “Look, they actually use their gate,” Bennett said as the two wrought iron doors slowly parted.

  “It’s not my gate, it’s my parents’ gate, and even if we did use it, you could easily hop over it anyway, so what’s the use?”

  They drove along the shell driveway onto the tree-engulfed property, which wasn’t very big for all that. The house was right off the road and they had neighbors in view on both sides. The house itself was an old brick structure with waves of ivy slithering up the sides, which looked odd amid all the shingled wood homes. The only reason to live there was visible past the edge of the house between it and the brick wall dividing the properties.

  “Look at that,” Belinda said in unadulterated awe, pointing past the land out to the open ocean. The house was elevated on the edge of a sheer cliff face with nothing between it and that view.

  The sun sparkled along the blue waves, the current noticeable even from there. “I guess I’d live in this ugly old eyesore for that, too,” she said with a smirk. “Come on. You’ll like Meg. She’s a little off-center.” She took his hand and they walked up to the stoop, the door opening before they could ring the bell.

  A woman in her late fifties ushered them in, wearing capris (he thought that’s what Belinda called those cropped pants she wore) and flip-flops. Tortoise shell glasses framed her face, and short brown and gray spirals of hair bounced around as she hugged them both, before pushing them down the hallway into the living room. The entryway felt cramped for such a house, but it finally opened up into vaulted ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the water. Now he understood where the money went.

  “So you two are talking about starting an art collection?” Meg spoke with a slight undercurrent of an accent. German, maybe? “I remember when Simon and I began ours, shortly after we were first married.” She sighed happily. Bennett turned to find Belinda gazing back at him and he hoped maybe she was thinking the same thing he was: that someday they might be starting a collection together for real.