Reckless

by Selena Montgomery

  When the door shut, Eliza lowered herself into one of the blue chintz chairs and Kell sat on its mate. A Saint-Émilion tray table stood between the two chairs with tea service prepared. “I appreciate you coming so quickly, Kell.”

  “You needed me.”

  Neither mentioned that this wasn’t likely the first time. Instead, Eliza offered, “Would you like a cup of tea?”

  “Thank you.” Kell watched silently as the china cups were filled with the strong Earl Grey tea that Eliza preferred. Cradling her cup, she finally asked, “Mrs. F, what’s going on?”

  Eliza shut her eyes, inhaling deeply. “As I explained on the phone, the police found the body of Clay Griffin yesterday morning. He’d been stabbed to death a couple of days ago.”

  “I pulled the story from the wire. But you kicked Clay out of the Center before I left. I don’t understand what his death has to do with you.”

  Eliza sighed and opened her eyes, suddenly looking every one of her years. “He’s been a nuisance for years. Blamed me for everything that went wrong in his life. He couldn’t hold a job, couldn’t stay out of jail.”

  “That’s not your fault,” protested Kell. “You gave him the same chance you gave everyone. Maybe even more.”

  “He didn’t see it that way. Clay is—was—a drug dealer and he’s been trying to recruit some of my more difficult children to join him. As much out of spite as opportunity, I imagine. But Wednesday afternoon, I caught him in the gazebo with Nina. She’s only fifteen.”

  “What happened?”

  “He tried to touch her. She ran, but he caught her and had her cornered, his hands on her. When I found them, she was terrified.” Eliza shuddered, recalling the scene. “I sent Nina into the house and we argued. He accused me of ruining his life, of tossing him on the streets like trash. He was furious, Kell. Shaking and screaming obscenities. I got angry and I threatened him. Told him if he ever touched one of my girls again or stepped foot on the Center’s property, I would kill him. And God knows, I meant it.”

  Kell felt her stomach sink. “What did you do, Mrs. F?”

  “That afternoon, nothing. Honestly.” She twisted the hem of the jacket and crushed the fabric beneath her hands. “But I started thinking about what he said. About how I had treated him differently and that I’d caused him to be like this. In all my years running the Center, I have lost four of my children, but he’s the only one that I sent away.”

  Knowing the fate of the other three, Kell said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

  “I went to the Palace later that night to see him. Talk to him.”

  For as long as Kell knew, the Palace had been a haven for the forgotten in Hallden. A place without security locks or surveillance cameras. “Did anyone see you come?”

  “I don’t think so. He lived on the fifth floor, and I didn’t see anyone in the stairwell.”

  “How did you know his apartment number?”

  Eliza flushed. “I’d visited him before. To check on him.”

  The rush of color caught Kell’s attention, and she filed away that reaction. “What happened next?”

  “I knocked on his apartment door and it opened. At first, I didn’t see anything. Then I heard a sound and walked inside. He was lying on the floor, blood pouring out of him. I tried to help, but it was too late.” On her lap, fingers trembled in horrified memory.

  Kell reached out and covered the quivering hands. “Did you call the police?”

  “No. Because, God forgive me, I saw what had killed him. There was a knife in his leg. One that looked exactly like mine. I panicked and pulled it out of him, and somehow, Kell, it was one of my knives.”

  “What do you mean it was one of your knives?”

  “Monika Bailey once lived here.”

  “The chef?” Kell had eaten in one of her restaurants in London. “I didn’t know that. But what does that have to do with Clay?”

  “She sent me a specially designed set of knives for Christmas. I recognized the handle. So I took it.”

  “What did you do with it?”

  Eliza glanced uncomfortably around the room, eyes downcast. “I hid it.”

  “Mrs. F, I need to know where you put the knife.”

  “It’s secured, Kell. Once you decide what we should do with it, I’ll give it to you.”

  When Kell opened her mouth to protest, Eliza pointed to the closed door that led to the rest of the Center, speaking aloud her deepest fear. “I thought someone from this house took that knife to Clay Griffin’s apartment and stabbed him with it. One of my children may have killed a man, Kell. But I won’t let them ruin their lives, not if I can help it. And you won’t be responsible either if you don’t know where it is.”

  She turned her hands over and captured Kell’s in a strong grip, firm and unyielding. “Will you represent me, Kell?”

  CHAPTER 4

  A knock sounded at the study door. Kell rose immediately and crossed to open it a crack. Nina stood outside, her expression concerned.

  “Yes?”

  “Ms. Jameson, Sheriff Calder is here.”

  Behind Kell, Eliza let out a soft gasp. Kell ignored the urge to turn and comfort. Instead, she leaned forward. “Please show the sheriff to the sitting room and tell him—” She paused and Nina nodded. “Tell him that Mrs. Faraday will be right with him.” Kell moved to shut the door, but Nina slapped her hand on the panel to stop her.

  “Not Mrs. Faraday. He wants to see you,” Nina corrected, not hiding her curiosity. “Said he had something for you. Is it for some big case?”

  “I don’t know,” Kell answered honestly. With the Brodie matter closed, she had nothing on the calendar sufficiently urgent to warrant a contact from the sheriff’s office. David hadn’t called with any dire messages, and he was not the type to suffer in silence. Which meant that the autocratic meter maid had turned her in to his superiors. “Tell him I’ll be right with him.”

  Closing the door, Kell returned to Eliza’s side. Composure regained, Eliza regarded her with a stern look that Kell read easily. She sat down and studied the hand-made rug intensely.

  “Kell.”

  She refused to look up, knowing that she’d see narrowed gray eyes and a mouth firmed into a thin line. “Yes, ma’am?”

  Undeterred by her recent confession, Eliza quizzed, “Why does the sheriff want to see you?”

  “I had a minor disagreement with one of his officers downtown.” With a sigh, Kell forced herself to meet Eliza’s censorious look. She took a hasty sip of lukewarm tea to wet a mouth gone abruptly dry. “It seems I accidentally parked in front of a fire hydrant on Terrell Street. Not even in front of really, so much as my bumper nudged into the red zone.”

  “So you parked in front of a hydrant,” Eliza corrected.

  Kell waved a dismissing hand. “The point is, this obnoxious man decided to write me not one but—get this—four tickets. Four of them.” Indignation in full flower, she railed, “When I refused to accept these unjustified citations, he made me get out of my car. Can you believe that?”

  “Where are the tickets now?”

  Righteous anger melted into chagrin. “On the street in front of the Magnolia B & B,” she admitted guiltily.

  “Oh, dear.” Eliza set her cup on the tray table and stood. “My defense attorney cannot be a scofflaw, Kell. Go see the sheriff and take your punishment.” She added morbidly, “Then we can discuss my possible imprisonment.”

  Together, they walked from the study down the hall to the sitting room. The sheriff waited in front of the bank of windows that overlooked the backyard. At the sound of their entry, he turned.

  “You’re the sheriff?” Kell took an involuntary step backward, until Eliza firmly pushed her into the room. “Sheriff Calder?”

  “Hello.” Smiling at the infuriated flash of recognition, he advanced to join them. He ignored Kell, instead taking Eliza’s hand in his. He raised it to his lips in a courtly gesture that would have seemed hackneyed from someone els
e. “How come you get more beautiful each time I see you, Mrs. F?”

  “Because you refuse to wear your glasses, Luke. Good for me.” With a fond pat of his cheek, she turned slightly, toward Kell. “I understand you’ve met one of my children. Kell Jameson, Sheriff Luke Calder.”

  Luke folded his arms and gave a short nod. “Ms. Jameson and I have a long and varied history together.” One he intended to add another chapter to, he promised silently. At least to see if that decadent mouth could do more than pout at him. He tore his gaze away from the heavy bottom lip and focused on Eliza. With a conspiratorial smile, he explained, “She spent the day engaged in several unlawful activities including running several lights, speeding, blocking a hydrant, littering, obstruction of justice, and leaving the scene of a crime. Quite the lawbreaker for a famous lawyer.”

  “Actually, I believe you were responsible for the litter.” As soon as the smart-alecky words escaped, Kell regretted them. Now wasn’t the time to antagonize him, but something about Luke Calder stoked at her temper and jolted her pulse.

  “Definitely a defense attorney,” Luke commented to Eliza. “Never taking responsibility for the actions of their clients.”

  Too busy fixing the errors made by the police, she thought caustically. This time, though, she managed to keep her thoughts to herself. Summoning her most placating voice, she offered, “If you’ll give me the citations, I’ll be happy to make amends, Sheriff.”

  Luke shook his head. “Usually, with this type of case, I’m required to bind you over until the court can hear your case. We’re talking major violations here, Ms. Jameson. In Atlanta, you’d be in jail already.”

  For the first time, real panic assailed her. “Jail? For a traffic ticket? You must be joking.”

  “I don’t joke about the law, Ms. Jameson. I expect you take it quite seriously yourself.” Reveling in her reaction, he reached into his pocket for the sheaf of citations. He riffled through them and shook his head. “I was wrong. I’ve got you on six counts. Forgot to add failure to obey. Then you told me to write you another ticket for fleeing the scene of a crime, didn’t you? According to the sheriff’s manual, you pose a flight risk and should be detained in the county’s facilities.”

  He’s enjoying this, Kell realized with annoyance, but she’d gotten herself into this trouble. Chastened, she repeated, “Sheriff Calder, I will happily pay all of the fines right now. And offer my most abject apology to you and to the sheriff’s department.”

  “And Jonice?”

  Kell acquiesced, recalling the name from earlier. “And Jonice.”

  “Jonice runs the local auto shop and towing company,” Eliza added helpfully.

  “Ah, yes. Jonice and Rosie. I assume that’s her assistant.”

  “Her truck,” corrected Luke. “Jonice is also the best mechanic in the county. Does excellent bodywork.”

  “That’s good to know,” Kell responded politely, relieved that the sheriff no longer seemed predisposed to arrest her.

  Luke inclined his head toward the front door. “Thought you’d agree, given that there’s a dent on your hood.”

  Relief slid into stunned disbelief. “A dent? On my Porsche?”

  “From the size of it, looks like someone hit a foul ball.”

  Kell moaned softly, “My car.”

  She started to rush out to check on the rumored damage, but Luke caught her arm. The heat from his touch cut through her dismay, and she stopped without thinking. She tossed her head back to meet his eyes. “Yes?”

  “Stay.” The command slipped out on a rasp. “We still need to discuss the fines.”

  “But my car—”

  “I’ll go and check on it,” volunteered Eliza. “You two get squared away.”

  “Why don’t we have a seat, Ms. Jameson?” Luke started across the room to the sofa, a faded rose silk that had been in the house for years. Because he had not let go of her arm, Kell followed close on his heels.

  She sat down and slid over to make as much room as possible between them. “Just out of curiosity, why is the county sheriff giving tickets in the city? Hallden has a police office.”

  “Of five. Besides, when you ran the red light, you were on a county road. The fire hydrant simply constituted the continuation of a criminal enterprise.”

  “You’d have made a good prosecutor,” Kell complimented wryly. “And how did you find me?”

  “The infamous Kell Jameson roars into town and folks will talk. I mentioned your name to one of my deputies, and she told me you’d probably hightail it out to the Center. In my line of work, they call that detecting.”

  “Who’s the deputy?”

  “Cheryl Richardson.” Luke stretched out his legs, his knee brushing hers, which were primly tucked beneath her. When she shifted away, he resisted the urge to follow. “Been with me since I started here.”

  Tendrils of sensation shimmered along her bare legs. In defense, she scooted deeper into the cushions. “Cheryl’s a cop?” Kell easily recalled the gangly, shy waif who’d been brought to the Center. “She used to be scared of everything.”

  “Not anymore. She’s my chief deputy.”

  “Amazing.” Filing away that tidbit, she shifted on the sofa away from him. Somehow, the polite distance she’d placed between them had evaporated. Again. She fixed him with a glare. “Sheriff Calder—” she began.

  “Luke.”

  “What?”

  “Call me Luke.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you haven’t yet, and I want to hear you say it.” His honesty surprised him. Yet, at the moment, he wanted nothing more. He enjoyed the smoothly precise way she spoke, trying vainly to smother the sultry hint of southern that grew more pronounced with anger. How would his name sound in the mixture of honey and vinegar. “Say it.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because we’re not friends. We’re not even acquaintances. You’re the man who has spent the better part of the afternoon harassing me.”

  “Ten minutes. And it would have been less if you’d simply accepted the first ticket.” When she opened her mouth in retort, he simply covered her lips. “I’d hate to have to fill out another citation, Ms. Jameson. I’m already at my quota.”

  Kell’s eyes spit fire, but she nodded once in terse agreement.

  “Smart woman.” Before he lifted his hand, though, he would have sworn she nipped at the flesh below his fingers. “Ouch.”

  “Problem, Sheriff?” she asked innocently.

  Kell Jameson was trouble, Luke decided, but he liked her. He’d always been one to follow his instincts, to accept the tug at his gut that said duck or the knot in his neck that signaled an ambush. With the feel of her skin still on his and the shallow bite quickly fading, he felt the tug become a yank. To distract, he laid the tickets between them. “Let’s tally up the damage.”

  Eager to be rid of his disturbing presence, Kell snatched the citations up. “I promise to write a check before I leave. City and county.”

  “And to stay out of red zones and below the speed limit?”

  “Absolutely. On my honor.”

  “Then my work here is done.” Luke gained his feet lithely. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  “Why?”

  He chuckled at the bald question. “Because you are the loveliest and the most exasperating woman I’ve met in a long while, and I’d like to be annoyed over a good meal.”

  Amused despite herself, Kell smiled. “Such a flattering invitation.”

  “Seems appropriate.” He watched her closely. “Is that a yes?”

  Tempted more than she’d have imagined, Kell forced herself to decline. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  Echoing her question, he asked, “Why?”

  “Because I don’t date law enforcement or men from Hallden.”

  “We wouldn’t be dating. It’s dinner. Pasta, a good wine, and an argument or two over the value of the Miranda warning and which Law and Order franchise i
s the best.”

  Laughing, Kell felt her resolve waver. What would it hurt? If she agreed to have dinner with him, she could subtly pump him for information on the Griffin murder investigation. Find out if the police had any leads or suspects. One dinner and she could leave Hallden with a clear conscience. The fact that he was almost sinfully handsome was simply a bonus. Before she could change her mind, she answered, “Okay.”

  “That was almost too easy, but I like to live dangerously. Should I meet you here or at the Magnolia?”

  With an arched brow, Kell responded, “I think I’m spending the night here. I never quite made it to check-in.”

  “No place to park anyhow.” Luke helped her stand and tucked her hand in his arm. “Seven o’clock too early for you?”

  Shivers danced along her skin, mimicking her spirited pulse. “Not at all. I’ve had a long week.”

  “Yep, the Brodie trial. I didn’t put the two together at first. Nice footwork. Hell of a closing argument.” He led them across the foyer. “Does it bother you that he was guilty as sin?”

  Kell stiffened, but continued walking. Every defense attorney faced the question each time she stepped into a courtroom. She supplied her stock answer, tone guarded. “Court of law said he wasn’t. Unanimous verdict.”

  “Touché.” Luke stopped at the door and faced her. “But you know better, Ms. Jameson. You know that guilt or innocence have nothing to do with a courtroom or a jury box.”

  “That’s all I care about, Sheriff Calder. I leave the philosophizing to others.” She reached past him for the knob. Pulling the door open, she tilted her head. “See you tonight.”

  Understanding he’d been dismissed, Luke tipped an imaginary hat. “Good afternoon, Ms. Jameson.” He strode down the steps and out to the black truck he’d driven earlier.

  From the porch, she could see the sheriff department insignia embossed in gold across the cab. Before he climbed inside, several boys swarmed around him, pelting him with questions. With an easy laugh, he swung one small child into his arms and rested a hand on Jorden’s shoulder. Beneath the touch, the little boy leaned closer, resting against Luke’s thigh.