Back in Black (McGinnis Investigations Book 1)

by Rhys Ford

  It was finally Sunday, and the Brinkerhoff case had been put to bed, or at least my part of it had been. I’d inflated the three-foot-high above-ground pool before the sun had come up, filling it up with water and locking down the steel-girder deck that came with it. It was something I was getting pretty tired of doing, and I made some noise to Jae about maybe us just putting in a permanent pool, to which he rolled his eyes and reminded me all I had to do with this one was empty it out and give it a good scrubbing. Since I had spent a few summers cleaning pools for spare change as a teenager, my memories quickly threw up every disgusting thing I had found in the filters.

  Those flashbacks were dramatic enough that I stood shivering in the early hours of the morning, holding the hose in place while the pool filled high enough for me to fix it into the ladder and go back into the house.

  People began arriving at about one, despite us telling them two was really the earliest everybody should get there. As a result of that, Jae and I had to scramble out of bed, where we had fallen back after a leisurely breakfast and a very erotic shower. I could have killed my brother when I opened the door, but he grinned knowingly at me, glanced down at my bare wet chest and the old pair of jeans I’d barely gotten up over my ass in time, then handed me my niece.

  I’m not saying Jae could be usurped by a hazel-eyed little girl with sun-streaked brown hair, but I would die for her. Hands down. Simply die.

  And she knew it.

  Which was why I was forbidden to take her shopping by myself, because the threat of a pony was a real one, and I knew from experience, Mike and Maddy had enough room in their backyard to host one.

  I studied Lisa for a little bit, trying to remember where I’d seen that motion before. Then I chuckled. “That’s how Maddy runs when she’s got her running blades on. A hell of a lot faster, but I think that’s what she’s doing. She’s mimicking her mom.”

  “Okay, first I’m sorry I said the thing about the silly walks, because that’s probably offensive,” Bobby muttered under his breath, reaching for his beer, sitting on the ground next to the chaise longue he’d claimed as his own. “I need some help here, Princess. Is that okay for her to do? I’m not up on the whole political correctness thing. I mean, Maddy’s missing her lower legs and her daughter’s trying to run like her? Is that cool? And shit, even talking about it makes me nervous as hell. Your sister-in-law’s got some bite to her.”

  “I don’t think Maddy would be offended if she heard you. You guys go back a long way, and she tries to take things as learning experiences.” Thinking about it for a second, I shrugged and sat up, straddling my own lounger. “Lisa’s probably trying to figure out how it feels or what the world looks like when Maddy does it. She’s learning how to experience what other people see or feel. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. She’s not making fun of her mom, and Maddy’s good about explaining stuff like that. I think Lisa’s trying to understand her, understand how she moves. You’ve raised a kid. Shit, you’ve got a grandkid now. You know kids are curious and they’re going to ask about stuff. Maddy’s right there. She’s got this. If it was a problem, she’ll say something. They probably talk stuff out all the time.”

  The backyard was pretty packed, but there was a late straggler who slipped in through the gates and got a round of jeering for showing up with store-bought potato salad. O’Byrne blushed as she handed the container to Scarlet, then turned even redder when Claudia embraced her in a bone-crunching hug. I knew those hugs. In anticipation of an assault, my ribs creaked every time Claudia came near me.

  Jae met my eyes from where he was poking at the chicken on the grill, giving me a broad smile and holding up a bottle of beer, lightly rocking it back and forth to ask me if I needed a new one. I never thought I would see the day when I would have a secret, silent language with a husband, but there it was—an unspoken question I clearly understood like he fully comprehended what I wanted from him later when I bit my lower lip and grinned. If anything, he turned even more crimson than O’Byrne did. Ichi said something to him, and he jerked his attention back to the conversation he’d been having with my two brothers, but I could still see the blush on his cheeks even as he turned away.

  O’Byrne grabbed a diet soda from one of the ice chests on the broad, circular outdoor kitchen we’d built away from the house. I’d strung the screens up to block out a lot of the sun, taking care with the wisteria climbing up the posts and across the perimeter. It left the area cool, with the mature trees along the fence providing enough shade to keep the heat from getting too much. She dragged over one of the chairs and plopped down, cracking open the soda once she got settled.

  “No beer?” Bobby questioned. “Driving or still on the job?”

  “I don’t trust myself not to fall asleep,” she said, saluting him with her drink. The circles under her eyes were still there, but she’d gotten some sleep since I’d seen her last. “Just came back from the station. Stanley Voelker just cut a deal for a reduced sentence. He might not be the smartest guy on the block, but he apparently remembers everything he hears. He could tell the DA about everything Marie Watson was up to. They’re still trying to pin Ivan Brinkerhoff’s murder on her, but I don’t know if they need to. She’s already confessed to killing Adele and her other accomplice. I should be used to this kind of shit, but I’m always surprised what people do for money.”

  “What about Arthur?” I pushed back in my seat, stretching out my legs. The loungers were fairly high off the ground, something I was thankful for because both Jae and I were pretty tall and there was nothing graceful about trying to get back up from a piece of furniture that was nearly lying on the ground. “What’s going to happen to him? Last time Marlena picked up one of my calls, she told me he’s pretty shaken. Like the wind’s been kicked out of him.”

  “The district attorney’s office is on the fence about charging him. He was clearly forging art, and then there’s the embarrassment of his granddaughter being assistant DA up in SF while he goes through an indictment and everything else that follows. It looks like they’re going to offer him probation, because there’s no way in hell he’ll survive a trial. He’s an old man that’s lost pretty much everything,” O’Byrne murmured, shaking her head. “I don’t know. Guess we’ll find out in the next couple of weeks. One thing’s for sure—Marie Watson is off the streets, and I don’t have to worry about someone trying to kill you when you go to get a cup of coffee.”

  “Like he even gets his own beer,” Bobby snorted, giving Jae a broad smile as he approached with two newly opened bottles. “One of those for me?”

  “You would complain like a baby if I didn’t have one for you,” Jae replied, passing one of the beers over to Bobby, then resting one of his knees by my hips, balancing himself against me. He put the other bottle between my legs, smiling as he said, “That’s just going to have to keep you company for a while. Maybe it will help you cool off.”

  The icy chill went a long way in pulling back any arousal my body had stoked up, and my belly shivered in response. He smelled good—like vanilla and a bit of salt. His fingers were on my shoulder, their tips tracing over my collarbone, and I hooked my arm behind his thighs, pulling him in.

  “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something, Mac,” O’Byrne said, giving Jae an apologetic grimace. “And now that I think about it, it’s probably something you should hear too, Jae. Captain Book dug out a couple of uniforms who were feeding info to individuals outside of the force. Internal Affairs is dealing with it, but we don’t know how long they’ve been leaking things out or to whom. He wants to use police consultants more until he and the rest of the brass know how bad it is. So, I guess I’m asking you if you’re willing to get dragged around on a couple more cases.”

  “I don’t know. I guess it depends on if Dawson here is finally coming to work for me,” I replied, slanting Bobby a sly look. “Asshole won’t be my partner, so I guess I’m just going to have to pay him a salary or something. Think we can talk the LAPD
into another one of those shiny cards with his name on it this time?”

  “I think something like that needs to be talked over with Ichi,” Bobby growled at me. “What makes you think I want to work for you, Princess?”

  “If you’re going to get stabbed or shot at, don’t you think you should at least get paid for it?” I shot back, giving Jae a quick hug. “What do you think, agi? Would you mind if I helped out O’Byrne more often?”

  “Of course not. Because I love you and I want you to be happy, which means you digging into other people’s lives.” Jae’s response was light but sauced with sarcasm. “Just tell me one thing, Dell. Are you going to be giving him his guns back, or is he just going to have to throw his phone at everyone who shoots at him? Because if he is, I’ll just put a duffel bag full of rocks on his back seat. Just in case.”

  “I love you too, babe. And none of that was O’Byrne’s fault.” I chuckled at Bobby’s disgusted huff. “Besides, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Sure, this one was kind of crazy, but really, after all of this, what’s the worst that can happen?”

  More from Rhys Ford

  A Cole McGinnis Mystery

  Cole Kenjiro McGinnis, ex-cop and PI, is trying to get over the shooting death of his lover when a supposedly routine investigation lands in his lap. Investigating the apparent suicide of a prominent Korean businessman’s son proves to be anything but ordinary, especially when it introduces Cole to the dead man’s handsome cousin, Kim Jae-Min.

  Jae-Min’s cousin had a dirty little secret, the kind that Cole has been familiar with all his life and that Jae-Min is still hiding from his family. The investigation leads Cole from tasteful mansions to seedy lover’s trysts to Dirty Kiss, the place where the rich and discreet go to indulge in desires their traditional-minded families would rather know nothing about.

  It also leads Cole McGinnis into Jae-Min’s arms, and that could be a problem. Jae-Min’s cousin’s death is looking less and less like a suicide, and Jae-Min is looking more and more like a target. Cole has already lost one lover to violence—he’s not about to lose Jae-Min too.

  A Cole McGinnis Mystery

  Description:Sequel to Dirty Kiss

  Loving Kim Jae-Min isn’t always easy: Jae is gun-shy about being openly homosexual. Ex-cop turned private investigator Cole McGinnis doesn’t know any other way to be. Still, he understands where Jae is coming from. Traditional Korean men aren’t gay—at least not usually where people can see them.

  But Cole can’t spend too much time unraveling his boyfriend’s issues. He has a job to do. When a singer named Scarlet asks him to help find Park Dae-Hoon, a gay Korean man who disappeared nearly two decades ago, Cole finds himself submerged in the tangled world of rich Korean families, where obligation and politics mean sacrificing happiness to preserve corporate empires. Soon the bodies start piling up without rhyme or reason. With every step Cole takes toward locating Park Dae-Hoon, another person meets their demise—and someone Cole loves could be next on the murderer’s list.

  A Cole McGinnis Mystery

  Sequel to Dirty Secret

  For ex-cop turned private investigator Cole McGinnis, each day brings a new challenge. Too bad most of them involve pain and death. Claudia, his office manager and surrogate mother, is still recovering from a gunshot, and Cole’s closeted boyfriend, Kim Jae-Min, suddenly finds his teenaged sister dumped in his lap. Meanwhile, Cole has his own sibling problems—most notably, a mysterious half brother from Japan whom his older brother, Mike, is determined they welcome with open arms.

  As if his own personal dramas weren’t enough, Cole is approached by Madame Sun, a fortune-teller whose clients have been dying at an alarming rate. Convinced someone is after her customers, she wants the matter investigated, but the police think she’s imagining things. Hoping to put Sun’s mind at ease, Cole takes the case and finds himself plunged into a Gordian knot of lies and betrayal where no one is who they are supposed to be and Death seems to be the only card in Madame Sun’s deck.

  A Cole McGinnis Mystery

  Sequel to Dirty Laundry

  Sheila Pinelli needed to be taken out.

  Former cop turned private investigator Cole McGinnis never considered committing murder. But six months ago, when Jae-Min’s blood filled his hands and death came knocking at his lover’s door, killing Sheila Pinelli became a definite possibility.

  While Sheila lurks in some hidden corner of Los Angeles, Jae and Cole share a bed, a home, and most of all, happiness. They’d survived Jae’s traditional Korean family disowning him and plan on building a new life—preferably one without the threat of Sheila’s return hanging over them.

  Thanks to the Santa Monica police mistakenly releasing Sheila following a loitering arrest, Cole finally gets a lead on Sheila’s whereabouts. That is, until the trail goes crazy and he’s thrown into a tangle of drugs, exotic women, and more death. Regardless of the case going sideways, Cole is determined to find the woman he once loved as a sister and get her out of their lives once and for all.

  A Cole McGinnis Mystery

  From the moment former LAPD detective Bobby Dawson spots Ichiro Tokugawa, he knows the man is trouble. And not just because the much younger Japanese inker is hot, complicated, and pushes every one of Bobby’s buttons. No, Ichi is trouble because he’s Cole McGinnis’s younger brother and off-limits in every possible way. And Bobby knows that even before Cole threatens to kill him for looking Ichi’s way. But despite his gut telling him Ichi is bad news, Bobby can’t stop looking… or wanting.

  Ichi was never one to play by the rules. Growing up in Japan as his father’s heir, he’d been bound by every rule imaginable until he had enough and walked away from everything to become his own man. Los Angeles was supposed to be a brief pitstop before he moved on, but after connecting with his American half-brothers, it looks like a good city to call home for a while—if it weren’t for Bobby Dawson.

  Bobby is definitely a love-them-and-leave-them type, a philosophy Ichi whole-heartedly agrees with. Family was as much of a relationship as Ichi was looking for, but something about the gruff and handsome Bobby Dawson makes Ichi want more.

  Readers love Rhys Ford

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  “Not only are things high octane, but the story is twisty and clever and every time it seemed like I knew where things were going, there was another surprise.”

  —Joyfully Jay

  “Suspense and mystery mixed with romance and characters that are so well written, you feel like you’ve known them for years.”

  —Diverse Reader

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  “Rhys Ford is just amazing with the written word and storytelling. There are quite a few parts in this novel where the writing is just poetic and is very emotional. It’s a must read!”

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  “Rhys Ford has a knack for drawing a reader in and then leaving them on the edge of their seats.”

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  “An author with a broad scope of genres under her belt, Ms. Ford dazzles the reader with descriptions that satisfy the soul.”

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  “Rhys Ford somehow makes every emotion…every bit of anger and love and fear and happiness seem so real by painting this amazing picture with their words.”

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  RHYS FORD is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and is a two-time LAMBDA finalist with her Murder and Mayhem novels. She is also a 2017 Gold and Silver Medal winner in the Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards for her novels Ink and Shadows and Hanging the Stars. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.

  She shares the house with Harley, a gray tuxedo with a flower on her face, Badger, a disgruntled alley cat who isn’t sure living inside is a step up the social ladder, as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep of a 197
9 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.

  Rhys can be found at the following locations:

  Blog: www.rhysford.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhys.ford.author

  Twitter: @Rhys_Ford

  By Rhys Ford

  MCGINNIS INVESTIGATIONS

  Back in Black

  COLE MCGINNIS MYSTERIES

  Dirty Kiss

  Dirty Secret

  Dirty Laundry

  Dirty Deeds

  Down and Dirty

  Dirty Heart

  Dirty Bites

  RAMEN ASSASSIN

  Ramen Assassin

  415 INK

  Rebel

  Savior

  Hellion

  MURDER AND MAYHEM

  Murder and Mayhem

  Tramps and Thieves

  Cops and Comix

  SINNERS SERIES

  Sinner’s Gin

  Whiskey and Wry

  The Devil’s Brew

  Tequila Mockingbird

  Sloe Ride

  Absinthe of Malice

  Sin and Tonic

  HALF MOON BAY

  Fish Stick Fridays

  Hanging the Stars

  Tutus and Tinsel

  HELLSINGER

  Fish and Ghosts

  Duck Duck Ghost

  WAYWARD WOLVES

  Once Upon a Wolf

  There’s This Guy

  Dim Sum Asylum