by Sharon Wray
That didn’t leave Rafe with the warm tinglies. “Why didn’t you assassinate Escalus before he killed them?”
“We didn’t understand the depth of Escalus’s treachery until Gerald Capel’s death.”
“Do you know who killed my momma with a misericord?”
“The villain who lured Balthasar and Escalus is suspect but has not been confirmed.” Arragon clasped Rafe’s shoulder. “Once you return, the Prince will give you permission to find her murderer and avenge her death however you see fit.”
Seeking vengeance on behalf of his momma might temporarily deflect the pain of leaving Juliet. “When I walk away tonight, I’m leaving hope behind.”
Arragon bowed his head. “As you wish.”
Rafe swallowed, except his spit tasted bitter. Like regret mixed with sorrow. “What happens after I sign the deeds?”
“You may say farewell to the Lady Juliet. Although it might be easier to disappear.”
“I can’t do that to her again. I couldn’t live with myself.” He touched his lips. That would mean his kiss on her hand would be the last one he’d ever give her.
“Lady Juliet is uncommonly strong. She’ll survive.”
“Surviving is not living. You taught me that.”
“’Tis for the best. The Prince has assured me you’ll not face the Gauntlet if you come back willingly.”
“Why? I failed.”
“Losing your love will be punishment enough.”
Punishment? Arragon had no concept of the word.
Arragon waved to the darkness behind him. “Your brothers are waiting.”
A street lamp cast a glow around a twenty-foot area. In the shadows, Rafe counted six warriors. There were probably more. One warrior waited across the street, one on top of a truck, another in the entrance next door. Two stood on nearby roofs.
Arragon whistled, and the warriors moved simultaneously. They hit their chests with their fists and bowed their heads.
Rafe closed his eyes. There’d been so many deaths, so much destruction, maybe it was time for him to go home. Just not the home he yearned for.
He opened his eyes and entered the law office. Like the Band-Aid analogy, the sooner he did this, the sooner he could work through the pain. Although the queasiness in his stomach and the sharp ache in his heart warned him this pain would last his lifetime.
Chapter 41
Calum’s house is enormous. Nate could fit six platoon bivouacs in the foyer.
He held Juliet’s arm and followed Ivers into the dining room. “What does Philip know?”
“You and Pete are helping us find something. And that we found the King’s Grants.”
“Did you find the vial?”
“No. And Rafe is on an errand. He’ll return soon. What about Garza?”
“Late. There’s a lot going on with this heroin.” After seating Juliet next to him, Nate waited for Ivers to leave. His head felt foggy, but his vision was clear. Despite the REM hangover, he was glad he’d set that alarm. If he hadn’t, he’d probably still be passed out in the club. The new pills were more powerful than Deke’s. Next time he’d cut them.
He hated the fact that he was counting the hours until his next one.
“Have you talked to Kells?” Juliet drank from a glass of water that had already been poured. “Is there an update on your men?”
Minutes later, after Nate told her about his conversation with Luke, Calum and Philip appeared.
Calum sat at the head of the table. “Everyone alive?”
“Obviously.” Juliet took another drink of water.
Nate knew he’d upset her. But he wanted her to know what was going on with the men in his unit. She’d known most of them. And protecting information wasn’t as important as rebuilding her trust.
Philip sat next to Juliet as Pete stormed in. With his dark eyes flashing, wearing a black tank, combat pants, and boots, his badass looked painted on his face. “Samantha is missing.”
Juliet rose. “She’s having dinner with you.”
“She never met me. She’s not at the store. And she’s not answering her phone.” Pete glared at Nate. “Where were you? I texted you. You were supposed to stay with her until I finished work.”
“I never got it.” Nate stood as that numb feeling in his hands came back. He’d not gotten it because he’d turned off his phone.
“Detective Garza has arrived,” Ivers said as Garza pushed past.
Calum threw down his napkin. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m taking Montfort in for questioning.” Garza paused at the end of the table. “Rafe is a suspect in a murder at the Savannah Preservation Office.”
Nate gripped the edge of the table, all thoughts gone except one. Sarah. “Who?”
“A research assistant who was working late. The SPO’s archivist found her. The woman was killed with a misericord and left in the fountain. The archivist is fine, just shaken up, as we can all imagine.”
Nate sat down again because his legs would no longer hold him up. A light-headed feeling nauseated him, and he realized he’d been holding his breath. He gripped a glass of water with both hands and forced himself to breathe normally before he started hyperventilating.
“Fuuuuuuck,” Pete said.
Garza moved toward Juliet. “Where’s Rafe? My chief has taken his head out of the heroin crisis long enough to threaten me with a suspension if I don’t figure this mess out.”
“I don’t—”
“Rafe’s not here,” Calum said. “But we have another problem. Samantha is missing.”
Garza zeroed in on Pete, who was pouring a glass of water with trembly hands. “When did you last talk to her?”
“Around five. I left her at Juliet’s store and went to my first Krav Maga class.”
Just about the time Nate was taking a pill and shutting down his phone. Because he was such a class act. “Could Balthasar have taken her? Maybe to his safe house?”
“Who’s Balthasar?” Philip asked. “And why would he take Samantha to a safe house?”
Calum started texting. “Philip, why don’t you lie down while we clear this up?”
“No,” Philip said. “I’m not going anywhere until I know where my brother is.”
Juliet put a hand on Garza’s arm. “How is Rafe involved?”
“We have a witness who saw Rafe leaving the SPO around the time the woman was killed.”
“Ridiculous,” Juliet said.
Nate drank his water, wishing it was scotch. He agreed with Juliet’s take. This entire situation was ridiculous. Green Berets. Lilies. Pirates. Murder. Maybe he was losing it like Kells and the other men suspected.
Garza slammed his hand on the table. “I need to see Rafe.”
“Why?” Rafe came into the dining room and, because missiles seek heat, headed right for Juliet. He held her tightly, one hand against her head, the other around her waist.
“They think you murdered an assistant at the preservation office,” Calum said. “And Samantha is missing.”
Rafe stroked Juliet’s back. “Balthasar has Samantha. She’s safe. For now.”
The room hushed, and Juliet left his embrace. “How do you know?”
“Arragon told me.”
“You saw him?” Calum asked.
Rafe nodded. “Arragon texted me, and I met him.”
Garza rubbed his chin with his fist. “Arragon texted you on your new burner phone?”
Rafe raised a You’re surprised? eyebrow. “Balthasar also has the vial.”
Juliet closed her eyes and leaned against Rafe’s chest again.
Finally, news Nate could work with. “We can get it from him. Right?”
“It’s too late.” Rafe ran his thumb up and down Juliet’s spine. “Because the really bad news is that Balthasar is now working
for the same man Escalus worked for.”
Juliet opened her eyes. “The man hiding behind Beaumont, Barclay, and Bray?”
Rafe tucked a hair behind her ear. “Yes.”
“It’s not too late,” Pete said. “We find Balthasar, save Samantha, and get the vial.”
Rafe lowered his head to Juliet’s neck as if he’d already been defeated.
But Nate wasn’t ready to give up. “Maybe,” he added with the most hope he’d had in days, “we’ll find out more about this law firm and how it relates to our doomed Afghan operation.”
Calum picked up his phone and started texting. Again. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Except,” Garza said, “a witness swears Rafe was near the SPO at the time of the murder.”
“Don’t speak, Rafe,” Calum said while his fingers moved across the keypad.
“Who’s the witness?” Juliet asked Garza.
“Someone who claims to have been beaten up by Rafe a few nights ago. A man named Deke.”
* * *
Juliet followed Philip, Rafe, Garza, and Calum into the police station. Nate and Pete were on their way. Since Rafe had agreed to go with Garza, he wasn’t handcuffed. It also meant that as soon as they reached the bullpen, he was sent to lineup.
She followed the men upstairs. Both floors of the station held groups standing around chalkboards and maps of the city. There were also lots of people in handcuffs while officers in blue yelled into cell phones.
“There are three task forces going on at the same time.” Garza found a chair for Philip. “Two for the explosion and one for the heroin.”
Philip held an arm against his abdomen and lowered himself slowly. She’d tried to talk him out of coming, but he’d insisted.
Calum studied the room with his hands on his hips. A Caesar surveying the chaos in his dying empire. “Is there someplace we could speak privately?”
Garza pointed to a room a few feet away. “We’re next on the list.”
She placed her handbag on the desk. “I don’t understand why I can’t be with Rafe.”
“Because he’s a suspect.” Garza picked up a clipboard from his desk and started flipping through it.
“How long will this take?” Philip said. “There’s a witness.”
“Do you want your brother to be guilty?”
“No. But it’s odd that he left us to meet Arragon and we’ve no idea where.”
“Where is he?” Deke’s nasally voice came from behind. “I wanna see the son of a bitch who killed that woman.”
She froze. The short, bleached hair and purplish bruises covering Deke’s face made a good disguise. As did the missing front tooth and bandaged ear. She’d not seen him after Rafe’s attack, but now that she realized how badly Deke had been beaten, she was grateful.
Garza took Deke by the upper arm and threw him into a chair near Philip. “Shut up.”
“Screw you,” Deke spat. “I’m a witness, not a suspect.” He saw her and blew her a kiss.
She slapped him across the face.
“Whoa.” Garza pulled her away.
She’d already told Garza everything that had happened at the club on Monday night, but right now, without Samantha to corroborate, it was her word against Deke’s.
“This is the guy who attacked you?” Garza asked.
“Yes.”
Deke flapped his arm in the white sling. “Montfort tried to kill me.”
“Because you were trying to rape me,” she said.
“Prove it.”
“Excuse me?” Philip struggled to stand. “What do you mean he tried to rape you?”
“I, uh…”
“She worked for me.” Deke leaned back, leer firmly affixed. “As one of my whores.”
Juliet launched herself at Deke, but Calum grabbed her waist. “Not here. Not now.”
Philip kicked Deke’s chair. “What the hell is going on?”
Deke licked his lips. “Your brother’s wife is a stripper at Rage of Angels.”
“She stopped that a year ago.”
“Then why don’t you ask her what she was doing there Monday night?”
Philip’s eyes widened, and he stared at her. “That’s how you were going to pay the loan?”
“I—”
“Detective,” Calum ordered, “we need a private room. Now.”
“Peterson?” An officer ran over, and Garza pointed at Deke. “Take Hammond down for the lineup.”
“I’m going with him,” Philip said. “I want to prove to you all what a mistake it’d be to let Rafe back into our lives.”
Once Peterson left with Deke and Philip, Garza banged on the nearest door. “Time’s up.”
It swung open, and two cops came out, one chewing gum, the other holding a notebook.
“I need the room.” Garza nodded toward Calum, and the detectives left with a guy in handcuffs.
When the door shut, she sat. She wanted to lay her head on the table and cry, but she had to be strong for Samantha’s and Rafe’s sakes. “Why aren’t you arresting Deke for attempted rape?”
Garza took his notebook out of his jacket and threw it on the table. “I believe you, but we’ve no other witnesses here. You didn’t file a report when it happened.”
“You saw the bruises on my face at the cathedral. You asked me about them.”
“You told me they were nothing.”
Why hadn’t she said something when she’d had the chance? Because she’d wanted to fix this on her own. “What’ll happen now?”
Calum cleared his throat. “Deke will ID Rafe in the lineup.”
Garza nodded. “If Deke ID’s Rafe, I have to arrest him.”
She shook her head. “No—”
“I can’t not follow procedures,” Garza said. “It’ll do Rafe more harm than good if I screw up this investigation.”
Calum touched her shoulder. “Rafe is more concerned about you than about himself.”
“Nate and Pete were there the night of my attack,” Juliet reminded Garza.
“According to Deke, they were also involved. Don’t forget we’re here because of a woman’s murder, not what happened to you.”
“Deke is using that fight to prove Rafe has a violent streak.”
“I know about Rafe’s violent streak. I saw it out on the Isle. You were there too.”
“You’ve no evidence to hold Rafe,” Calum said. “Just Deke’s circumstantial bullshit.”
“Unfortunately, we do.” Garza left the room for a second and then came back with two evidence bags. One held the journal she’d read this morning. The other looked like a ticket and receipt. “We also have a murder weapon found at the scene that we’re dusting for prints.”
She pointed to the bag with Rafe’s journal. “You searched his apartment?”
“No,” Calum said. “They searched my apartment. I’m assuming you had a warrant?”
“Yes,” Garza said.
“How?” she asked. “Don’t you need probable cause?”
“I had it when Deke gave us this.” Garza handed the second bag to Calum. “It’s a bus ticket stub from Kansas to Georgia. The receipt is for Rafe’s personal items from Leavenworth. It includes a journal identical to Escalus’s.”
“Which you lost,” she reminded him.
Calum held up the ticket and receipt bag. “How’d you get this?”
“Deke. He said they fell out of Rafe’s jacket the night Rafe beat him up.”
“There’s no chain of evidence, and a prison list isn’t enough for a search warrant.”
“Judge thought otherwise.”
“Why are you doing this?” she asked Garza. “I thought you were helping us!”
“I can’t ignore evidence, and I can’t play favorites. A journal similar to Escalus’s, with
the same numbering system, was found in Rafe’s bag. A misericord was discovered near the body.”
Calum threw down the receipt bag. “Who leaves a murder weapon at the scene?” He snapped his fingers. “I know. The murderer who wants to frame someone else.”
A knock sounded before Pete and Nate came in.
Pete knelt in front of her. “Have you heard from Samantha?”
“No.” Juliet took Pete’s hands and squeezed. “We’ll find her.”
Nate crossed his arms and stared at Garza. “Where’s Rafe?”
“Lineup.”
“This is bullshit,” Nate said. “What the hell was Deke doing at the SPO anyway?”
Garza picked up his notebook to read. “After getting fired on Monday night, Deke went to a friend’s house to recuperate. He was taking a walk when he found the body.”
“It’s nonsense,” she said. “Deke changed his appearance so he could get around town without being seen.”
“Deke’s appearance isn’t the issue,” Garza said.
Juliet’s head ached, and she rubbed her forehead. “You said Sarah found the body?”
Garza read his notes again. “According to Deke, he was walking by when he heard a Miss Sarah Munro scream. When he entered the courtyard, he saw Miss Munro near the body in the fountain and ran inside the SPO to call 911. The archivist corroborated.”
“But Sarah didn’t see anything?” Nate asked.
“No.” Garza flipped through his notes again. “Although, after the police arrived, she discovered a book was stolen. The Chronicle or Discourse of Virginia.”
“Oh, fuck this,” Nate snarled. “That was the book Sarah showed me today. The one with maps similar to Juliet’s.”
After Nate explained what Sarah had said about the book and the map, Calum glared at Garza. “Is it possible the murder was a diversion in order to steal the book?”
“Or that Sarah was the intended target?” Nate asked. “I’ve met the assistant. She also has long brown hair. In the dark, it would be easy to mistake one for the other.”
“They’re all possibilities,” Garza said. “But that doesn’t exonerate Rafe. I have a weapon and a witness.”
“They’re setting Rafe up.” Juliet hated the desperate whine in her voice.