“Did you find anything in the real estate office?”
She shook her head. “No dead body. Just charred furniture.”
“Paperwork? Could be they were trying to hide something.”
She shrugged, wanting to sigh. Simon Mills was probably in Mexico as well. Paid off by whoever wanted her dead.
“You look exhausted.” He swung his legs off the bed, dressed in his jeans and T-shirt. Feet covered with socks.
“Want me to find your shoes?”
“Please.”
It wasn’t like she wanted to talk about how she was doing. He could see that for himself, right? Worn out and beaten up. She needed about three days’ worth of sleep and a mocha with about four extra shots.
She wound up tying his shoes for him, while a smile tugged at his lips. When she was done, she leaned back. “What?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head and held out a hand.
Ellie took it, standing up the same time he did. Drew didn’t manage to completely hide the wince when his knee was forced to take part of his weight.
He tugged her to him and slid his arms around her waist. His T-shirt was warm. Ellie pressed her cheek to it and hugged him back. Wow. This was nice. His hand rubbed up and down her back. She could get used to hugs if they felt like this.
The door opened. “Whoops…” The word dissipated, and the nurse said, “Are you standing?”
Drew pulled back from the hug. Ellie looked at the nurse holding a pair of crutches.
The nurse rolled her eyes. “You need these. To walk.”
“Thanks,” Drew said. When the nurse handed them over, he said to Ellie, “Wanna give me a ride home?”
“In your truck?”
“You’re driving my truck?”
Uh-oh. That didn’t look good. The nurse said, “I’m leaving your discharge papers. Y’all have fun working this out.” The door shut, but not before she heard the woman chuckle.
Ellie said, “Was that not okay? I guess I could’ve walked over and borrowed a department vehicle. But it was right there.”
Drew pulled her in again. “Don’t worry about it.”
He didn’t care now? Ellie wasn’t convinced he was okay with it but let it go since it seemed he was determined to do the same. Oh-kay.
She walked with him to the lobby and had him sit so she could bring his truck over. He didn’t look happy when she suggested he sit but walked away before he had the chance to argue. She pulled up at the curb where he stood leaning on the crutches. When she came around and opened the passenger door, Drew handed the crutches to an orderly.
He got in the truck.
The orderly shot her a look. She shrugged and drove him to his house. “Do you need help with your horse tonight?”
He wasn’t feeling well and probably didn’t want to walk around a bunch. She didn’t want his horse to suffer because of it.
“Neighbor kid takes care of her when I’m out of town. I called him, so Spring is good.”
Ellie nodded. She wasn’t sure what else they should be talking about. Silence filled the cab of the truck. She tried to find something good on the radio, but no sound came out of the speakers.
“Doesn’t work.”
“Oh.” She moved her hand back to the steering wheel. “I’ll be at Laney’s shop tomorrow. I help her with inventory every couple of weeks, and there’s this North picture I’ve been eyeing. I think I’m going to get it.” She shot him a smile. “I’ve had a bad enough week I can justify treating myself.”
The photo was gorgeous. A sunset over the Rocky Mountains. He had to travel all over to be able to get the shots he took. Whoever he was, he was an amazing artist.
Ellie pulled up outside his house. When she turned to him, he had the weirdest look on his face. “You okay?”
“Yes.” He grabbed the door handle and pulled on it. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ellie.” At the last second, he shifted to turn back. “Be careful. Text me when you get home so I know you got there safe.”
She wanted to ask him to do the same later, so she knew nothing happened. First time in her life she wanted to sit outside someone’s house all night just to make sure they were okay. But doing that meant she’d be dragging all day tomorrow.
Ellie sat there for a while before she turned and drove his truck back to her house. On the way, she called her dad back. Phone tag was the most annoying thing. Made more annoying when he didn’t pick up this time either.
What was he doing?
. . .
Drew had decided before he even got out of his truck the night before. Now it was morning, and Ellie was in his drive again. At least what amounted to a drive in front of Eric and Alma’s house. This time, at the wheel of her own little SUV.
He tugged the door open. “Thanks for picking me up.”
“Sure you don’t want to stay home today?” Her gaze shifted down to his knee, then back up.
“I’m sure.” He climbed in, guiding his leg so he didn’t twist his knee. He could mostly walk. “I need to be in town today.”
Especially if she was going to be there. No point staying at home, licking his wounds and moaning about how much pain he was in. Better to distract himself with activity. Even if that meant nursing a cup of coffee while he watched over her work at Laney’s shop.
Which had birthed his idea.
More of an intention, really. Drew wanted no more secrets between them. It was time she knew everything about him.
She sat silent while she drove. He could see the thoughts race through her mind. It was written on her face and in the way she bit her lip.
“Sleep okay?”
She shrugged one shoulder.
“About as good as me, then.” He smiled, not sure why he felt so much lighter this morning. Because of his decision? She would finally have all the information she needed to make up her mind about him.
He could tell she was thinking about what to do. There was attraction between them. That hug had been sweet, and part of him wanted to know if there could be more than friendship here. Wanted to know if it was worth the risk to tell her everything.
She glanced over. “Still determined to put your life in jeopardy and get close to these people just to expose them?” Her voice had a tone. He didn’t even know what to say to diffuse that.
Drew settled on, “Yes.” Because it was the truth. “Those are the kinds of assignments Mark sends my way. Going in and getting him IDs, photos, and evidence. I don’t look like a cop, and I don’t act like a cop. I’ve also never been in the military.”
She shot him a look.
“Cops and soldiers…” How did he explain it? “They have a bearing most people don’t possess. Criminals can spot stuff like that. Their instincts for self-preservation are off the charts, as are their abilities to spot when someone is lying. Makes it hard for undercover work. So they send me in because I don’t act like a fed.”
She pulled into a space on Main Street and turned to him. “So you really are a contractor?”
“You thought I was lying about that?”
She shot him a look.
He said, “In essence, yes I am a contractor.” He unbuckled his seatbelt. “Among other things. And that’s why I know I can keep you safe as well as get what we need on these people.” He paused. “We don’t have the first clue who they are. We can’t find Simon. We need something.”
She worked her jaw from side to side. Said nothing, just cracked the door and got out. Because he was right.
He met her at the front door of the store where Laney sold books and gifts, as well as local art. She glanced up at him and frowned.
He said, “I’m gonna come inside for a minute.” Or, all day.
She pulled the door open, her eyes narrowed in on him again. A bell rang at their entrance, and Laney appeared from the back room. “Drew! I’ll get your check.”
She disappeared just as fast as she’d appeared.
Ellie turned to him. “Check?”
He
nodded. “Laney sells my stuff.”
“He’s my biggest consignor.” Laney strode over, holding out a white envelope. “I’d be sunk if it wasn’t for all these North photos. I have stores across the state constantly asking me to reveal how I get them.”
Ellie’s lips pressed together in a thin line.
Laney’s eyebrows rose. “You didn’t know.” She turned to Drew and gasped. “You didn’t tell her? Was it supposed to be a secret?”
Drew didn’t answer. He kept his gaze on Ellie. “I’m the photographer, North.” His stomach churned. “I changed my last name to Eric and Alma’s as soon as I could legally do it. I’m not Drew Turner anymore, even though I use that name with the feds. Legally I’m Andrew North.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I didn’t even know your name?”
“I thought—”
“No.” Ellie held up a hand. She strode to the counter and moved behind it. She tugged off her coat. “I can’t talk to you right now.” Then she disappeared into the back hall.
Laney made a face that pretty much said everything he was thinking. “That didn’t go so well.”
He shot her a look.
She grinned, but it was short lived. “I had kind of hoped…”
“What?”
“Never mind.” She worried her lip. “Keeping that from her wasn’t a good idea.”
“Because you tell people every secret in the first two days of meeting them?”
He could see from the look on her face that she couldn’t argue with that. She sighed. “I should get back to work.”
And then he was alone in the storefront. Stood there like a lemon while he wondered what on earth he was supposed to do now. That hadn’t gone well at all. Understatement. It had been a total train wreck. Drew hadn’t exactly thought she would have reacted like that to hearing about his name change.
He sighed, and forced to shift his weight carefully so his knee and hip didn’t scream at him. He’d figured she would be able to handle the news. She liked North photographs. Why wouldn’t she be pleased it was him? And what was the deal with that name thing?
Drew’s phone rang just as he pushed the door open and let himself outside. Cold air brushed at his hair. He pulled out his cell and saw it was Mark calling.
“Morning.”
“Not a ‘good’ one, though?”
Drew said, “If it changes later, I’ll keep you posted.”
Mark chuckled. “Got a minute?” When Drew said he did, his friend asked, “You know where I can get a photo of Simon Mills?”
“You don’t have one?”
“Nothing on the real estate website, license, social media. Nothing.”
“That’s weird.” Didn’t real estate agents put their faces on everything? “Maybe I can find one.” He turned around on the sidewalk as he thought it through. Maybe Ellie and Laney had a picture of him somewhere, like on their phones. It was possible. “I’ll see what I can get, but don’t hold your breath.”
Through the window he could see them talking. Ellie’s posture was stressed. Hurt. Laney looked like she was trying to reassure her friend.
Drew sighed. Had he messed everything up?
“Did I lose you?”
“No,” Drew said. “Anything else?”
“You aren’t going to want to hear it.”
Drew said, “Whatever it is, just tell me.”
“I looked at the medical examiner’s report. For your father.”
The bottom dropped out of Drew’s stomach. “And?”
“Single gunshot wound before he fell off the cliff. The angle is consistent with a suicide.” Mark’s voice was soft.
“So he wasn’t murdered.”
“It’s still possible—”
“Don’t,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”
What did it matter if his father quit this life instead of sticking around? He’d chosen not to weather the hard times with Drew. At the end of the day his dad had made what he thought was the best decision for himself. Now it was up to Drew to do the same.
Move on. Live the way he wanted—which included having no secrets between him and Ellie. She could react however she wanted, but he’d done nothing wrong in keeping his identity to himself. Taking photos was a huge part of who he was not just a huge part of his income. He was a private investigator. He knew enough about dirty secrets kept hidden from those who were closest. This was hardly something to make a big deal about in the grand scheme of things. And when she processed her feelings about what she saw as his “deception,” she would realize that.
Mark said, “Get me that picture.” And hung up.
“Drew!”
He turned to the sound of Laney’s call. She waved him back toward the store. “Coffee will have to wait. Ellie just called in to the sheriff’s office.”
He stepped inside. “What is it?”
Ellie hung up the phone, her face white. “The receptionist. The sheriff is ruling that Natalie Benson’s death was a suicide.”
Chapter 11
She paced across the front of the store, looking at but not seeing any of the books. Figurines. Picture frames. Novelty mugs—she had so many of those at home.
The North photographs.
Laney was looking at her phone to see if she had a picture of Simon Mills. Maybe in the background of some selfie—she took those all the time. Ellie didn’t bother looking in hers. She barely took pictures of anything, unless it was so she could reference it later. Like the schedule at work or her dad’s shopping list.
“I can’t believe he thinks that’s going to fly,” she said aloud as she moved. “A suicide? That’s insane.”
There was no way she could stand still right now. Not while this much frustration rolled through her. Not to mention she’d had to choke down a smoothie for breakfast because swallowing hurt so badly.
“You think he’s part of whatever conspiracy is happening in town?”
She swung around to face Drew. “I would’ve said no. I would’ve said I could trust the sheriff.”
“But now you don’t?”
“I have no idea.” She threw her hands up, then let them fall to her sides. “That’s the problem. He let the first shooter go and then those two guys with the knife. They’ll probably get a slap on the wrist.” Not that such a decision was up to the sheriff. That was the purview of the judge. “Now I have to believe he’ll do the right thing with Natalie Benson?”
“You wanna go talk to him, find out why he ruled her death a suicide?” Drew shrugged one shoulder. “I could make my report about last night while we’re there.”
“You didn’t do that yet?”
He shrugged again.
“If I go over there, it’ll be by myself. I don’t need a babysitter.”
Laney looked up from her phone and gave her a pointed look. “Ellie.”
She blew out a breath. Chastised. She wanted to scream, maybe pull her hair out, and Laney wanted her to remember to be polite? This whole situation was enough to make her lose her mind.
If she did that she’d scream at the sheriff, she was so mad. Then she’d get fired. Then she would never figure out what was going on. Drew would get “in” with whoever it was and end up getting killed when they found out he was feeding information back to the FBI. Then where would they be?
She wracked her brain to try and figure out a solution.
“Laney, who owns this store?”
Her friend looked up from her phone, a look on her face Ellie didn’t understand. “I do.”
Drew tipped his head to the side. “That’s unusual, isn’t it? I figured you rented.”
Something moved over Laney’s face. Ellie wasn’t sure what it was or why it was directed at Drew. Then she moved it to Ellie. She wanted something from both of them? “What is it?”
Laney looked at her phone. “I’m still trying to find a picture. If I don’t have one, I’ll check the security video I have for the front door. Maybe he walked past.”
; Ellie shared a look with Drew. She shrugged. Ellie said, “You own the building?”
Laney said, “That’s just how it works in this town. Everyone owns their own property.”
“And yet, Northcorp Inland Holdings owns a huge swath of town outside city limits.”
Drew nodded. “Literally all the land on the north and west sides of the town.”
“So someone is blockading everyone in, making sure the town doesn’t spread in that direction?” Ellie asked, even though that was ridiculous. “Getting ready to turn this place into their own stronghold, or something?”
Laney’s face paled, but she didn’t lift her gaze from her phone.
“I guess that means we need to figure this out.” Ellie watched her friend’s face while she spoke. “Get to the bottom of it.” Like that wasn’t painfully obvious considering what was happening, no matter that she and Drew looked like they’d just been through a war.
Laney moved to the computer. It took awhile but they waited. Eventually she came up with a grainy picture of Simon Mills.
Drew had her send a screen grab of the image to him. “I’ll forward it to Mark. See what he can get from running the image through the FBI’s databases.”
“I’m glad to help.” She didn’t look glad, though. She looked…
Ellie didn’t know. She nodded anyway. “Thanks, Laney.” She turned to Drew. “I need to go find my father.”
He hadn’t been answering his phone. That voicemail he’d left her wasn’t helpful. She needed to talk to him. Find out what he knew about what was going on in town.
“Good idea.” Laney nodded. “I’ll be fine here. This is more important than you helping me with inventory.”
She was right. There would be time for that later. Some people might think it was strange, but she enjoyed the monotony of it. Checking off a list to marry up inventory counts was something she liked to do. While she was doing it, her subconscious could work on whatever problem—usually a case—was rolling around in her head.
Often, she came up with an answer while doing it. Plus, it helped her friend run her business since she didn’t have to do everything herself. And Ellie got a staff discount on mugs.
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