Moonlight Avenue

by Gerri Hill

  “Yes, ma’am. I told them to wait.”

  “If you got their statement, cut them loose. Make sure you get their contact info.”

  “Already have.”

  She smiled at him. “Good job, Dustin. You still dreaming of being a detective when you grow up?”

  He laughed. “I have a baby face, I know, but I’m twenty-six already.”

  “Yeah, and in the blink of an eye you’ll be thirty. Don’t rush things.”

  She should know. She busted her ass to make detective by thirty. And what did she have to show for it?

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Rylee looked at Finn with raised eyebrows. “Really? Carlos is dead?”

  “It appears so.”

  “And you think Brett Peterson may have done it?” Rylee nodded at her own question. “I can see that. I mean, they had your kid and Carlos did God’s knows what to your wife…yeah, I can see him going over the edge.”

  “So can Dee.” She flipped through her contacts, finding Brett Peterson. “I’m going to call him. Try to get a feel for what happened.” Peterson had given her both his office number and his cell. She had never contacted him before and thought his cell would be the best choice. He answered on the second ring.

  “Ms. Knight, as I told you yesterday, I’m not in need of your service any longer. I’ve already sent a check out to you for the agreed-upon amount.”

  “You paid me to follow your wife and hired me for a service. Yet you don’t want a report from me and you don’t want to know who she was meeting.”

  “Frankly, that’s none of your business, is it? I should have never hired you. My mistake. My wife and I are—”

  “Carlos Hernandez is dead.” Her statement was met with silence. “He’s the one your wife was meeting, Mr. Peterson. Yesterday, in fact. When she picked up your daughter at his apartment complex.”

  “Surely you don’t…you don’t think that I killed him.”

  “Was your child abducted, Mr. Peterson?”

  He gave a nervous laugh. “Don’t you think I would have called the police if that was the case?” He cleared this throat. “I have never met Carlos Hernandez nor did I kill him. Now, I trust that—as one of your clients—that my privacy is still protected.”

  “Of course. I was simply concerned, that’s all.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that. I’ll be in touch if I’m ever in need of your services again. Goodbye, Ms. Knight. Please don’t call me again.”

  She lowered her phone with a sigh. “Hard to get a read on him one way or the other. He sounded nervous. But…”

  “But?”

  “I don’t know. Nervous…or scared.” She shrugged. “Hard to tell which.”

  “So what do we do? And don’t tell me it’s not any of our business.”

  “Rylee, technically it’s not. I just don’t know if Dee is going to be able to sit on what she knows.” She pointed down the street where a silver SUV was heading their way. “Here comes Hodge.” She looked at her watch. “About fifty-six minutes. Quite a long time to be with a hooker, don’t you think?”

  “I have no idea. What? You think he’d be in and out, then gone?”

  Finn laughed as she picked up her binoculars. “Yeah, in and out. Something like that.” Her smile faded, though. “That’s not Hodge driving. Some young guy.” She felt Rylee’s hand on her arm.

  “Check the gate. That’s the black Cadillac from yesterday.”

  The silver SUV turned onto South Bay and she panned the binoculars toward the gate as the black Cadillac pulled out.

  “Two inside the Caddy. Looks like Brian Hodge is riding shotgun. Older guy driving.”

  “Jose Hernandez? We never found a picture of him.”

  “Caucasian, not Hispanic. And I say older compared to the young guy driving the SUV. This guy’s probably fortyish.”

  Rylee laughed quickly. “I see. Older as in forty then.”

  Finn smiled but kept the glasses up, watching until the Cadillac turned onto South Bay too. She lowered the binoculars and nodded. “Yeah…old, like forty,” she said as she started her car. “Let’s follow them.”

  Rylee nodded. “Do you think you’re old or do you feel old?”

  “Both.”

  Rylee leaned back in her seat with a quick shake of her head. “There’s nothing old about you, Finn. It’s mental, not physical.”

  “Says the woman who’s still in her twenties.”

  “For a few more weeks, yes.” Rylee turned to look at her and Finn took her eyes off the road long enough meet her gaze. “Is that it? My age? Is that what bothers you?”

  “You look younger than your age. I feel older than mine. So…”

  Rylee reached across the console and Finn felt the now familiar touch on her arm. “You know what? That night…I never once even considered your age. Not at the bar, not when we were dancing…not when we kissed. And not even when we were in bed. Not once.”

  Finn felt her stomach roll over, something else that was becoming familiar when Rylee was close, when Rylee touched her. Did Rylee’s age bother her? Their ten-year age gap sometimes felt like twenty. Unlike Rylee, she had considered age that night. She had assumed Rylee was early twenties—twenty-three, twenty-four. It hadn’t mattered, however. Like she’d told Rylee…she’d looked at her and couldn’t breathe.

  She glanced at her now. Her blond hair was hanging loose today, not in a ponytail. She had a sweatshirt on rather than a sweater, a T-shirt underneath that was peeking out at the neckline. The usual jeans and comfortable sneakers.

  She said the words she was thinking. “You’re very beautiful.”

  Rylee smiled and squeezed her arm before pulling away. “I’m not beautiful, Finn, but thank you for saying so.”

  “Oh, kid, you have no idea, do you?”

  “About what?”

  “About…about what you do to me.”

  “Do I make you have butterflies in your stomach?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Because I have them too.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Rylee held Smokey in her arms, listening to the loud purring in her ear. She was tired and really wished Dee wasn’t coming over for dinner. Of course, Dee wasn’t really coming over for dinner, she was coming over to talk. The few times Dee had been over to share a meal, she noticed that she was like Finn…eating wasn’t something that really mattered to them.

  “Unlike me,” she murmured to Smokey.

  She put the cat down, then went into the kitchen. She was tired, yes. But she was hungry, and she already knew there was nothing in the house. She leaned against the counter, contemplating going out to Finn’s car and raiding her snack bag. But Dee would be here soon enough, she supposed.

  She’d already showered and changed. Finn was in the shower now. She smiled as she chased images of Finn from her mind. They would get to that soon enough, she imagined. How could they not?

  It seemed a little surreal. They’d gone from ignoring it and pretending it didn’t happen to finally talking about it. Her doing. If it had been left up to Finn, they’d still be in that state. Now? Now they were doing more than talking about it. Each glance, each look…it was there, out in the open now. In fact, she still got goose bumps thinking about it…thinking about that night. Thinking about everything they’d done…every touch, every kiss. It had been a magical night. But that hadn’t stopped her from panicking when she woke up. She’d actually been terrified Finn might wake before she could sneak from the room.

  What if she hadn’t run? What if Finn had woken? Would they have talked? Or would they have fallen back into bed? Knowing Finn as she did now, it would be the latter. Finn wasn’t much for talking.

  It didn’t really matter anymore, did it? They were here now. She only wished things could be normal and not involve a murder case they had no business being in. Her, especially. And she admitted she had been a little scared today. They’d followed the Cadillac and SUV to what Finn said wasn’t the greates
t part of town. They had turned south, off the JFK Causeway, just before the highway crossed the bay to the island. There was a smattering of abandoned buildings and warehouses, vacant and unkempt lots, and rusted boats and vessels. There were no houses, no trees, and little to no traffic. Finn hadn’t felt comfortable following too closely, and she’d pulled over, using the binoculars to spy on them.

  The SUV had stopped at a gate and the driver got out, unlocking and opening it. Both vehicles went through, then the gate was closed and locked again. Behind the wire fence was a large metal building. Once the vehicles had disappeared behind it, Finn drove them closer. The lot around the building was littered with old boat trailers, suggesting it used to be a repair shop or perhaps they built the trailers there onsite. Finn had snapped a few pictures, then went back toward the highway where they could blend in better.

  A short ten minutes later, the SUV and Cadillac had returned, minus one passenger. There was no sign of Brian Hodge. When they got to the highway, the SUV went east, toward the island, and the Cadillac went west, back toward the city. They had chosen to follow the black Cadillac. Unfortunately, traffic and a rain shower made that difficult and they’d lost sight of it.

  “Are you hoping somehow my fridge got stocked today?”

  Rylee smiled, not realizing she’d been staring at the stainless steel appliance that held only a few water bottles, an empty butter dish, and absolutely nothing else. She turned to Finn, noting the damp hair. She’d put on clean jeans and a T-shirt. Despite the cool, damp weather outside, it was quite warm in the house.

  “We have got to go grocery shopping.” She moved closer to Finn, holding her gaze. “How long before Dee gets here?” Her question was met with a blush and she laughed lightly. “God, you are too cute. But no. Not for that. For that, we need hours of free time.”

  Finn took a step away, a blush still lingering on her face. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to this.”

  “This what?”

  Finn motioned between them. “This. You.”

  Rylee frowned. “Me?”

  “It’s been forever since someone has been…teasing, playful with me.”

  “Oh, sweetie…I’m sorry. I—”

  Finn held her hand up. “No. It’s not you. It’s me. I’m…I—”

  “Finn, do I make you nervous?”

  “Yes,” she said quickly.

  Rylee tilted her head. “Do you want to sleep with me?”

  “God, yes.”

  “Good. Because I want to sleep with you.” She moved closer, close enough to see Finn’s pulse throbbing in her neck. “Consider being playful and teasing as foreplay then.” Her gaze dropped to Finn’s lips. “Actually, a kiss would be considered better foreplay,” she whispered as she looked back into Finn’s eyes, seeing them darken. It was the same look she’d seen at the bar that night and like then, she couldn’t resist it. She moved closer, their bodies nearly touching. The sound of the gate alarm stopped her from moving completely into Finn’s arms, however. It was a good thing, she supposed. Because one kiss would never be enough. “Saved by the bell,” she murmured.

  Or were they? Finn never looked away and even though they weren’t quite touching, Rylee could feel Finn’s hands on her, could taste her kiss. Instead of moving away, she moved closer, wanting—needing—some contact…any contact. Their thighs brushed and it was apparently more than Finn could stand. Before another thought could enter her muddled brain, Finn’s lips were on hers.

  The room started spinning and she closed her eyes, holding on to Finn much like she’d done at the bar. Hands were everywhere—hers and Finn’s both—and she moaned into Finn’s mouth as fingers circled around her nipples, making them rock hard. Her hips jerked involuntarily, pressing close to Finn. She moved closer still, opening her thighs, feeling Finn’s hands slide down her back, cupping her, pulling her even tighter against her. Finn’s tongue was in her mouth and Rylee’s own wrapped around it as they battled for control. She gave up the fight as Finn’s thigh pressed against her clit.

  Rylee rocked against her, not caring that Dee was on her way, not caring that she was seconds away from an orgasm, right there in Finn’s kitchen. She pulled her mouth from Finn’s, gasping for breath as her hips moved wildly, bucking hard against Finn’s thigh.

  Then Finn’s mouth covered hers again, catching her scream, strong arms holding her upright as her legs gave way.

  “Oh, my God,” she whispered as she buried her face against Finn’s neck. Should she be embarrassed? Ashamed? No. She knew it would be like that if they kissed. That’s how it had been at the bar too, only they’d stopped before things got totally out of hand. “So…that had to be the best kiss ever.”

  “I’ll say.”

  The sound of the doorbell chiming pulled her out of Finn’s arms. Finn was obviously aroused and Rylee couldn’t help herself as she slipped a hand between her thighs, pressing hard against her, feeling her wetness through her jeans. Finn jerked against her hand, her eyes closed tightly.

  “I’m sorry,” Rylee whispered.

  “I’m not.” Finn took a step away as the doorbell chimed again. “Foreplay,” she said with a wink.

  Rylee smiled at Finn’s attempt at being playful. “Definitely.”

  Then Finn cleared her throat. “So…Dee’s here.”

  “Yes, she is.” Rylee blew out a breath when Finn left. Yes. Dee was here now. So maybe she was a little embarrassed. She hurried down the hallway and into the bathroom, not wanting to be caught looking all disheveled when Dee walked in. She stared at herself in the mirror, noting her tousled hair—had Finn’s hands been there too?—her flushed face, her well-kissed lips. She looked into her own eyes, seeing the wonder there. They’d been kissing for thirty, maybe forty seconds. How could she possibly have had an orgasm in that short amount of time?

  Because Finn did that to her.

  She smiled at herself. Yes…it had been a great kiss. She was glad they’d broken the ice between them. Because tonight—as soon as Dee was gone—she planned to have her way with Finley Knight.

  And from what she remembered, Finn would have her way with Rylee…all night long.

  She could hardly wait.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Dee was about to ring the doorbell a third time when she heard the lock turn. Finn opened the door, then reached out and grabbed one of the bags she was holding.

  “Sorry. Was…was in the back. You’re here earlier than I expected.”

  Finn’s face was flushed and her voice sounded a bit odd, but she didn’t comment on it. She had more pressing things on her mind. “You were right. Mabanks yanked me from the case.”

  “Man…he’s in deep, I guess.”

  Dee followed Finn through the house. “He gave me some lame-ass excuse about letting Fender take a shot at it. Matt Fender,” she explained. “He’s been a detective for all of six months.”

  Rylee came in from the back of the house and Dee noted the look that passed between her and Finn. Rylee then turned to her and smiled in greeting. “I’ll set the table.”

  “Nothing fancy, I’m afraid. I got a couple of pizzas.”

  “That’s okay. I love pizza.” Then Rylee laughed when she saw the Pizza Jamboree logo on the box. “Appropriate, I suppose.”

  Dee pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table. “Productive day?”

  “A rather odd day, but I guess productive, yes,” Rylee said. “I’ll let Finn give you the rundown.”

  Finn set a drink down beside her and handed a cognac glass to Rylee. “What do you know about Brian Hodge?”

  Dee shrugged. “Nothing more than what you gave me on the profile.”

  “We did a little more digging. On the surface, his real estate firm is rather small, dealing with mid-range prices. Eric Lawrence, now he only deals in your higher priced homes, mostly multimillion, beach- and bay-front homes. The smallest we found for him was half a mil,” Finn said.

  “What’s this got to do with Hodge?”<
br />
  “The house Jose Hernandez owns was listed by Bay Shore Realty. That house has been the only listing for them in three years of their existence. The owners of Bay Shore Realty? Eric Lawrence and Brian Hodge.”

  “Okay. I’m sure you’re going somewhere with this.”

  “When Hodge left the house today, someone else was driving his SUV. Hodge was riding in the black Cadillac.”

  “The black Cadillac that Lori Peterson’s child was in,” Rylee clarified.

  “We followed them. They went down south in the old warehouse district. Locked gate. Abandoned site and buildings. They stayed in about ten minutes, then the SUV and Cadillac came out. No sign of Brian Hodge.”

  Dee picked up her drink, looking at Finn across the rim. “Are you suggesting they’re holding Hodge hostage?”

  “Or worse.”

  “Thanks,” Dee said to Rylee as she slid a plate with two pieces of pizza toward her. “I found the apartment that Carlos Hernandez was renting. I requested a warrant. That’s when Mabanks pulled me.”

  “How’s he been acting toward you?”

  “Distant. Very. Goes out of his way to avoid me.”

  “What about the warrant?”

  Dee nodded. “Yeah. Fender is probably on his way there now. If Lori Peterson was inside, surely her prints will be there. If that’s the case, then Mabanks can’t stop this train any longer.”

  Finn took a bite of her pizza, her brow furrowed. “What do you think Brett Peterson did? What did he do that justified his child being abducted and his wife used as payment?”

  “I don’t know. He doesn’t owe a lot of money.”

  “A sizable amount but not as much as some of the others.”

  “I think he wanted out,” Rylee said. “Daniel Frazier gets murdered. Connie Frazier gets murdered. I think he wanted out.”

  “So they snatch the kid? Threaten him? His wife?” Dee shook her head. “Why not call the police?”

  “They threaten him with exposure. He might lose his family, his career. If he goes to the police, same thing. But he would be exposing everyone, not just him. He’s a dead man then.”