“So much for fingerprints.” Jimbo shook his head.
“Did your neighbors see anything?” he asked.
“Elenore saw some shadows while I was at the hospital.”
He’d started to walk off when I grabbed his arm.
“Tell me what you found.”
Jimbo’s frown told me I wouldn’t like the answer, but before he could speak, Keaton stepped out onto the porch. “The rest of my missing girls.”
My legs gave out, and if Jimbo hadn’t caught me, I would have knocked my head again.
He steered me over to the swing and pushed me down on the floral cushion. “Start from what led you to the landfill and don’t leave anything out.”
My mouth parted, but no words came out. My vision tunneled, and I was struggling to breathe. This couldn’t be happening.
“Those girls have been dead for over a month. They weren’t in the basement last night or this morning. I would have smelled it,” Keaton said, taking a seat beside me. “I’m her alibi up until this morning.”
“I….” I shook my head, unable to comprehend what this meant.
Jimbo’s jaw hardened. He sighed; the pulsing vein in his neck indicated his anger. “If you’re right, you realize what this means?”
“Faith is on the killer’s radar.”
“What? No,” I said, shaking my head vehemently.
“Someone wants us to believe you’re a killer, but we know better. The rats were a dead giveaway.”
“What rats?”
Jimbo folded his arms over his chest. “The mutilated dead rats around the bodies. They’re identical to the ones we found at the landfill.”
Jimbo glanced at Keaton and our adjoined hands. “You’ve got Faith while I go get the neighbor’s statement?”
“Yeah, I’ve got her. I’ll take her with me.” He met my gaze. “Wait here while I go pack you a quick bag.”
I nodded, unable to believe this was happening. I needed Veronica and Jared. One of them could easily give me the killer’s details.
Chapter 16
Keaton drove five minutes up the road and pulled into the Shady Lake motel.
“I thought you said you were staying in a motel by the airport.”
“It was better that I stayed with you, don’t you think, now that I’m your alibi and can attest that there wasn’t a dead corpse smell coming from the basement.” He grinned and got out, grabbing my bag and waiting for me to follow.
“You lied?” I asked, following him up the stairs to the second floor of red doors.
“After our little camping excursion, I wasn’t ready to leave you,” he said as he shoved a key in the door and then pushed it open wide for me to enter.
The motel wasn’t the best I’d stayed in nor the worst. The little foyer had a bath off to the side and a small closet. The room itself had two beds. Case files were opened and spread out, covering one of the mattresses. The other bed was half made, with jeans and a shirt hanging over the edge near the foot.
“Sorry about the mess. I wasn’t expecting company,” he said as he set my bag on the dresser.
I moved to the bed he’d converted to a makeshift desk. Profiles of the missing seven were laying open. There were photos. A room with furniture turned over in disarray. Another with a car door open and a purse on the ground. Its contents spilled out; lipstick, wallet, pill bottles, and tons of receipts covered the wet ground.
I picked up the picture of Ann, who looked just like my sister, Talia. Her file was thin compared to the others.
“That’s Ann Scott, but you already know that,” he said, coming to stand next to me.
“Who reported her missing?” I asked, staring hard at the picture, in which she smiled with a friend. There was another person, but only their arm was in the picture.
“Her building superintendent. He hadn’t seen her in days and reported she’d been skittish when she moved in three months ago. Quiet, kept to herself, but she started acting odd, requesting additional door locks and asked to have her name removed from the entrance buzzer.”
“She was hiding from someone?” I asked and lifted my gaze to Keaton’s.
“She never told him who.”
“What about this girl? They look to be close friends. Maybe she knows?”
“We haven’t been able to figure out who she is yet.”
“Another tenant in the building, perhaps? A coworker?” I asked just as the woman’s spirit flashed into the room. I swallowed hard, now understanding why the police couldn’t locate her. “She’s dead too.”
He squinted at me. “And you know that how?”
I gestured with a wave toward the entryway. “She’s standing right there.”
“What’s your name?” I called out.
“Maria,” she answered seconds before she vanished.
“Her name’s Maria. She didn’t give me a last name before she vanished.”
“I heard her,” he said, reminding me that he could see these spirits too. I relaxed in that knowledge.
He slipped his phone out of his pocket, dialed a number, and asked someone to pull the files of all the missing Marias in the state.
I sat down on the bed and picked up the picture of Ann again. Poor Ann. I flipped the file open, and only a few sheets of paper made up the contents.
Employment - none
Background - none
Paid rent and utilities in cash.
They really didn’t have anything on Ann. Just a statement from the landlord.
I set that file down and grabbed the one for Erin Adams, the reporter.
Her file was much more explicit. The picture of the car and purse contents laying on the ground lay over her file. A headshot from the DMV was clipped to the folder.
This one had many more pages of notes and statements.
“Erin was a journalist?” I asked.
“You could say that,” he said.
I flipped the file to Keaton’s own statement. My gaze shot to his. “You dated her?”
“We dated for three months prior to her disappearance. I broke things off when I caught her snooping in my computer at my case files.”
“She was trying to track down the missing women?”
“She became obsessed with the case, and that was when there were only three.”
“That’s how Karlee recognized you?”
He nodded. “Erin was driven. She could smell a story before it ever even happened. She was that good.”
“You respected her.”
“As a girlfriend, yes, but as a cop to a journalist, it was hard.”
I could see that. Keaton’s face turned solemn as he stared down at the picture. “She’s the reason I’ll go to my grave trying to solve this case.”
“When you questioned Brandon, what did he say?”
“Dr. Myers admitted he talked to her. He claimed she came in making wild accusations about him being an Angel of Death and killing patients.”
“She found a connection?” My mouth parted.
“Apparently she must have found one we missed,” Keaton said.
“Brandon’s not a killer,” I said. “No matter what you believe.”
“He was the last person to see her alive and she accused him of killing patients. Jimbo is checking his alibi and hospital records to try and find a connection.” Keaton’s gaze met mine in a soft caress. “So, you and Dr. Dipshit aren’t dating?”
I shook my head. “No sparks. We decided to be friends.”
His lips twisted into a smile as he touched my arm. “And what about us? Do you feel the sparks?”
I nodded and nibbled my bottom lip between my teeth. “Our sparks could start a fire.”
Keaton pulled me into his arms. “Are you sure about this?”
I nodded. My stomach was in knots, but I didn’t know if it was from the nearness of Keaton or the fact that dead bodies had been found in my home.
Dead bodies.
In my home.
My heart start
ed racing at the thought, and then Keaton’s hands were sifting through my hair, bringing my focus back to him.
The second my gaze locked with his I knew that things were about to change between us. His head lowered to mine, slow enough that I could pull away. But I didn’t want to. The first brush of his lips against mine banished all the dark thoughts from my mind, and I fisted his shirt, bringing him closer. His palm rested against my side as he slid his fingers beneath the hem of my shirt. The heat of his touch ignited something inside me, something that wouldn’t be denied this time.
Keaton took his time, seemingly not in a rush as he explored my body, his lips never leaving mine. When he finally drew away, my breathing was ragged and my heart was hammering in my chest.
I didn’t want to think about death anymore. I didn’t want to think about this case. I needed to feel…sparks.
Slowly, I removed my shirt, watching as his eyes darkened with every inch of skin I exposed. My jeans were the next to go, leaving me in my bra and panties. I watched as he stripped off his clothes, hesitating when he was down to his boxers.
“Faith, I didn’t bring you here to seduce you,” he said, but I could tell the words cost him. He wanted this as much as I did.
“I need you, Keaton.”
Chapter 17
It was all the encouragement he needed. Lifting me into his arms, he carried me to the bed and eased me down. The hard length of him pressed against me, but despite how badly he seemed to want me, he took his time. He nibbled the column of my neck then teased the edge of my bra with his tongue. A shiver raked me, and I reached for him.
By the time we were both naked, I didn’t think I could take another moment without feeling him inside me. I watched as he sheathed himself with a condom, and then he gripped my hips and slowly pressed into me. My eyes started to slide shut as he stretched me, filled me.
“Look at me, Faith. See what you do to me,” he said, his voice deeper than before.
My gaze locked onto his again, and I saw the passion flare in his eyes as he sank all the way into me. The rocking motion of his hips made the bed squeak with every thrust, and soon I was flying. Pleasure filled every part of me, tingling along my nerve endings and stealing the breath from my lungs. Keaton grunted, and I felt his hard length spasm with his release.
With his forehead pressed to mine, our breaths mingling, I knew that once wouldn’t be enough for either of us.
“I’ve wanted you since the minute I laid eyes on you,” he said.
I laughed, shaking the bed. “What was it about me that turned you on? The goggles I was wearing or the plunger? Or maybe it was the Popsicle stick in my hair?”
“You were a beautiful mess,” he said, kissing my lips again with a gentleness that touched my soul. He stared down into my eyes. His gaze caressed me before he climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom.
I lay staring up at the ceiling. I’d just slept with Keaton. A man who’d claimed I’d one day be his wife.
Within seconds he returned to the room and climbed back into bed, turning off the lights. I lay in the crook of his arm, drawing an outline of his abs. “I bet those dreams you’ve had of us drove you mad.”
Seconds ticked by in the darkened room. “They didn’t drive me mad.” He turned his head and kissed my hair. “They gave me hope that there’s more to this life than crime and deaths.”
“You do realize my work revolves around death?”
“You’re the light in all of my dreams, Faith.” He rolled until he was hovering above me. “Don’t worry. We can take things as slow as you need. Date for however long you want and learn about each other.”
“You don’t even live here, much less know how long this case is going to last.”
“You’re worth the miles until we figure things out.” He pressed his lips to mine again. “Get some sleep, Faith. I need you rested so we can go give our statements in the morning about the bodies in your basement.”
He rolled over and pulled me close again. Within minutes, tucked in his arms, I fell fast asleep.
****
We both woke with a start at the sound of banging on the motel door. “Daniels, wake up.”
My eyes widened as we both glanced at the clock. I groaned. “Jimbo.”
“Hang on,” Keaton called out. He got up and slipped into some jeans. He tossed me the shirt he’d worn yesterday, and I slipped it over my head, ignoring my need to lift it to my nose and sniff it.
It smelled of Keaton. That hot-guy scent that made a girl want to spend all day naked in bed.
I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes as Keaton yanked the door open. “Jimbo, it’s seven in the morning.”
“Is Faith here?” he asked, barging into the room.
Jimbo’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. “Uh, sorry, Faith, but I…we…need you to come to the station.”
“Uh, okay,” I said and ran my hand through my hair. “I just need a couple of minutes to get cleaned up and dressed.”
Keaton rested his hand on Jimbo’s chest and started shoving him backward. “You heard her; she needs a minute.”
As if realization dawned on Jimbo’s face, he spun around. “Sorry, I didn’t realize.”
“It’s okay, Jimbo. You’re her best friend. She’s bound to tell you all about it later.”
The door clicked closed, and I grabbed my bag, hurried to the bathroom, and took a quick shower and got dressed. From start to finish I was out in fifteen minutes. It was a new record for me.
Keaton was still shirtless when I stepped out of the bathroom. He caught me around the waist as I was walking past and leaned in, boxing me against the doorframe. His dark eyes were a lighter shade of blue today. “I didn’t give you a proper good morning.”
His fingers tangled in my damp hair, and he leaned in, pressing his lips to mine in a kiss designed to make me melt.
I shoved against his chest, his body unmoving. “You start that, and we’ll never make it to the station. Get a shower, stud.”
He winked and kissed me again. “Your wish is my command.”
I opened the motel door to find Jimbo leaning against the railing, watching the people carrying their luggage out and stuffing it into their cars. He had two cups of coffee in his hand and handed me one. “I thought you could use that.”
“Thanks,” I said and sipped. “So, what was so urgent that I needed to give my statement at seven in the morning?”
“Don’t be mad. We always have coffee at seven, and I thought you might be worried about this,” he said, pulling Mary’s satchel out of his pocket.
“Your house is a crime scene, Faith. We had to look for clues and I thought you might to hang on to that.” His face lit up fifty different shades of red.
“Thanks.” I clutched the bag tight in my hands. “Did you find any clues?”
“We found tracks outside your backdoor, not to mention the rats. We pulled a lot of prints from the basement, and we’re running them, but it’s going to take some time.”
“There’s no telling how many you’ll find down there. I bought the house from an old couple who had about fifteen grandchildren, and that used to be their play area.”
“Good to know,” he said, returning his gaze to the red taillights pulling out of the motel. “I’ll rule out yours and any of the other previous tenants that I can find on file.” He cleared his throat. “So, Daniels, huh?”
“Keaton is…” I sighed in a good way, remembering the way he kissed me. “Yeah, Keaton and I are…figuring things out.”
“I noticed,” Jimbo said. “You were wearing his shirt from yesterday.”
His shirt smelled like pure Keaton. I hadn’t wanted to take it off. I wanted his scent to linger until it was the last thing I smelled when I closed my eyes. A girl could get used to that. Maybe when he left, I’d keep one as a keepsake just in case he didn’t return. “He’s sweet and funny and smart.”
Jimbo sighed. “You’ve already fallen, haven’t you?”
“What? No. I hardly know the guy other than the time we spent camping in the woods and then at my house and then here. It’s not possible to fall for anyone I’ve known for less than a week. My head has never been up in the clouds, you know that.”
“But you like him?”
A smile slid onto my lips. “Yeah, I like him.”
Jimbo nudged my shoulder. “At least you chose a cop. I’ll rest easier knowing someone besides me is watching your back, but you might want to check in with your sisters before they go postal looking for you.”
“Oh, God, you’re right. I need my car,” I said.
“We’ll pick it up when we leave here, and you can follow me to the station,” Jimbo said.
Keaton walked out of the motel room. His hair was still wet, and it looked as though he’d just run his fingers through the strands. He had his badge clipped at his waist and was wearing his shoulder holster with his gun strapped inside.
I licked my lips as I let my gaze wander down his body and back up, meeting the sparkle in his eyes. He winked.
“Reel it in, Faith. You look like you’re ready to devour him,” Jimbo said, walking away.
“Later.” Keaton kissed me once more before resting his hand on my back and leading me down the stairs.
Today was full of all kinds of promises. The heavens were starting to shine on me, until I slid into the backseat of the SUV and Jared appeared next to me.
“I don’t like him.”
Jared’s calm voice was scarier than if he’d been pitching a fit.
I glanced down at him. “You’ll get over it.”
Keaton turned around in the seat. “I don’t like you much either.”
Jared’s eyes widened. “He can see me.”
“And hear you,” Keaton said. “So, how about we call a truce for now and we’ll figure things out later?”
“I don’t like you now, I won’t like you then,” Jared said, narrowing his eyes. “Faith, you need more knives.”
“Jared, forget about the knives. I’m not mad about them. Hell, I’ll buy a million of them if you can tell me who was in my house last night.”
Jimbo was watching from the rearview mirror.
Down and Dirty (Bennett Dynasty Book 3) Page 8