by J. L. Drake
Oh, Merry Christmas to me!
“You were always my favorite.” Peppers chuckled heartily with a wink as he hit delete, removing me walking into the office and leaving.
“Thanks, Peppers.” I gave his shoulder a friendly pat. “I really appreciate that.”
“You know how I feel about the Youngs. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”
“I’ll try not to be.” I smiled warmly at my old friend. “Merry Christmas, Peppers.”
“Merry Christmas, Arizona.” He cleared his throat and looked down when Ken appeared again, looking stressed as normal. I rushed to the doors and disappeared into the snowy evening.
The walk home was less than nice. I was frozen, my gloves were soaked, the snow made it hard to navigate, and I took two wrong turns, which made the trip home even longer. Everything was a complete whiteout. I thought about heading to the station, but the chances of Carter still being there were slim. Besides, I needed dry clothes, like, yesterday.
On the journey home, I felt spooked and turned more than once to see if anyone was behind me. I was sure my paranoia was in full swing, thanks to my B-and-E, but still my subconscious was on edge, and I was tempted to call Carter to ask him to come meet me. However, he was working, and I wouldn’t pull him away from people who needed him more than I did. Maybe I should call Jessi? Only the fact that my phone was at the bottom of my purse and my hands were so wet and cold stopped me. The wind cut through my coat, and I nearly cried out loud with relief when I finally reached the building.
Otis raced to the door and pushed it open through the snow drift that had formed.
“What on Earth are you doing out there?” He helped me inside, where I finally took my first relaxed breath since I left the police station.
“I had no idea it was going to get this bad.” I shivered. He was already hustling me toward the elevator and hit the button for me to head upstairs. “Thanks, Otis.”
“You let me know if you want any hot soup. I can send out one of my guys to get it for you.”
“No, really, it’s bad out there, and I’m sure I have something warm I can heat up.”
My hands shook as I tried to fit the key in the hole. With one last desperate attempt, I aimed for the tiny hole as a warm hand covered mine and helped push it in with a twist.
“You scared the hell out of me,” Carter growled from behind me, and I dropped my head and felt some wet snow slide down the back of my neck.
“Let me get changed and I’ll explain everything.”
“First you need to call Nix, who was about to send a search party for your ass, but I assured him if you didn’t come home by nine p.m. I would send one myself.”
“Sorry.” I felt horrible, but as I was confident, I might be onto something, I knew he would come around. I moved inside, and he followed me like a shadow. To my delight, he helped me peel out of my winter gear and ran a hot shower for me while I finished undressing.
He left me alone to thaw, and after ten minutes under the delicious water, and in some warm yoga pants, a t-shirt, and some cozy socks, I started to feel a bit better.
Carter handed me a mug full of hot chicken soup that he must have had, because I didn’t recognize it.
“Thank you.” I blew on the top and sipped the salty broth, letting it heat my insides.
He sat next to me without a word but the occasional rub on his thigh gave away his impatience. He placed his hand on my knee.
“I’m trying not to get a complex here, but what’s with the wedding rings, Arizona?”
I dropped my gaze to my left hand and immediately felt terrible.
“It’s not what you think.”
Chapter Seventeen
Carter
I sat on the couch staring out the window at the storm. I, too, carried a wicked storm inside me as her story came out and I processed each word she spoke.
“Can you please say something?” she whispered as I sat quietly even after she finished.
“So,” I tried to keep my voice calm, “you went to your ex-husband’s place of work, where he could have shown up, broke into his office, and took pictures of some private files. All this after you overheard something you shouldn’t have at my station?”
“Yeah, it kind of sounds worse when you say it like that.” She closed her eyes and took a breath, no doubt now seeing how badly it could have gone.
“You see how this is a lot to process?”
“Carter,” she moved to sit closer, “I know this whole thing sounds crazy, and I wanted to tell you about Chester the other night, but then we…well, that was one of the best nights of my life. I totally forgot everything in the moment and, well, after.”
I looked down pointedly at the diamond and wedding band still glinting on her finger, and she followed my gaze. “I just want to ask you one more time.” I swallowed hard. “Are you still in any way, shape, or form in love with Myles?”
“No. Absolutely not.” She didn’t miss a beat.
I nodded and knew she was telling the truth as she knew it, but I couldn’t help but wonder if a small part of her did still want her old life back without her realizing it.
“Hey,” her hand landed on my arm, and I reached to hold it, needing her to anchor me for a moment, “I want you, Carter, all of you.”
I smiled, glad of her certainty, then shimmied the offending rings off her finger and kissed her bare skin, hating the scrap of gold in front of me.
“I’m sorry.” She moved in to lay her hand on my chest, and I leaned back resting my head.
“Tonight could have gone bad really quickly.” I ran my fingers down her bare arm and felt how cold she still was. Shifting to grab a blanket, I covered her small frame.
“I know,” she sounded beat, and I could see the toll the night had taken, “but I really think I may have found the link to Chester’s suicide.”
As much as I wanted to hear her out, I was tired too. Today had been long.
“If I close my eyes, will you be here in the morning?”
“Yes.” She yawned and snuggled in closer.
I started a movie, and within a few moments she was out cold. I kissed her head and slumped down farther, kicking my feet up on the table. The bed was just too far away, and I loved how she molded herself to my body. The last thing I remembered was the sound of the snow pelting against the window and my eyes closing as I drifted off to sleep.
The vibration of my phone bouncing across the table woke me from my deep sleep. Reaching around with my eyes still closed, I answered the call.
“Carter,” I whispered.
“You know what’s strange?” Cook started right in.
“You calling me this early.”
“No, what’s strange is when I went to go back to the restaurant last night, there was some guy poking around the scene.”
“Where was the night watchman?”
“Dunno. He wasn’t around when I got there. Said he went to the restroom. Whatever, the guy is human, but anyway, the guy poking around claimed his employer sent him down to the site to do his own evaluation.”
I was fully awake now and shifted to sit up. “How old?” I carefully unfolded Arizona from my waist.
“Maybe late thirties.”
“Who did he say his employer was?”
“Young, Inc.”
I felt a jolt and stared down at Arizona and wondered what beehive she had kicked over.
“That is Arizona’s ex-husband’s company.”
“Right, so, now do you want to tell me what happened last night? Call me crazy, but I think her temporary disappearance may be connected to this.”
I rubbed my face, deep in thought. “Let me pour some coffee down my throat, and meanwhile, why don’t you and Detective Ivan swing by Arizona’s place? I’d rather hash this out now than later. I have a feeling some ba
cklash might be on its way.”
“All right.”
I tossed my phone on the table and looked back at Arizona. “Just what did you do, darlin’?” I carefully lifted her and carried her to the bedroom, easing her under the covers. I wanted her to sleep some more, and I wanted some time alone with Cook and Ivan to express my concerns.
By the time I pulled on jeans, a clean t-shirt, and a ball cap, my coffee was finished and the guys had arrived.
“Hey, I brought these.” Cook handed me a bag of muffins, and I noticed my favorite, a blueberry one, was stuck in his mouth. There’d better be another blueberry one in that bag.
“Hey, Carter.” Ivan, dressed a bit more casually than his normal office attire, came in, removing his winter hat. “Wow, nice place your girl has.”
“Yeah, it is. Coffee?” I held up the pot and poured three cups and joined them in the living room.
“Jesus.” Ivan jumped when Jasper, clearly unimpressed with company, perched on the table and stared straight at him. He reached his hand out. “Is he friendly?”
“No. Not at all.” I huffed and watched his hand quickly reverse direction.
“Super.” He dripped with sarcasm.
“So, what happened last night?” Cook asked, and I spent the next twenty minutes filling them in.
“And I know,” I held a hand up to Ivan, “how bad this looks.”
“Are they still technically married?” Ivan asked.
“Technically, yes,” I hated to admit it out loud, “but—”
“No, that can work in her favor, actually.” He held his hand up to stop my words.
“Because it means she wasn’t technically trespassing when she went to her husband’s office to grab something for one of his employees. It blurs the lines a bit, and less clarity in this situation is more. Do you have the photos?”
“They’re on her phone. Let me grab it.” I stood and glanced around for her purse.
“So, is he just going to sit there, staring at me?”
“Yes.” I glanced at the bedroom door, wishing Arizona was awake so I wouldn’t have to go through her belongings.
“I think he licked his lips.” Ivan paused with a cringe. “Yes, he definitely licked his lips.”
“It’s a cat.” Cook shook his head but made no move toward the little fur demon.
“Um, hi.” Arizona appeared in the doorway of her bedroom, her hair long and curly, in pajama bottoms and a tank. Mornings looked good on Arizona. “I didn’t realize we were having company.”
“Sorry.” I poured her the rest of the coffee and warmed up the last muffin and put it on a plate. “Something came up.” I placed the warm muffin on the table next to the asshole cat and motioned for Arizona to take it. “Detective Ivan, this is Arizona Lexington. Arizona, this is Ivan. An officer I completely trust.”
Point made. She pressed her lips together and disappeared into her bedroom and returned a moment later with her phone.
“Ivan, right?” She took a seat next to him and unlocked her phone as he answered her. “I’m assuming Carter has you both caught up, so I’m just going to jump right in. I ran into Chester, and he was acting strange. He seemed scared, like someone was watching him. He warned me to be careful. Two days later, he killed himself, and a piece of paper with a specific number on it was tucked in his pocket.” She continued her quick recap. “Well, I used to work at Young, Inc., and one of my jobs was to log all the orders that came in. Every company is different in how they log orders. Young, Inc. uses the first letters of the company name and the last letters of the employee who got the order for each job number. So,” she held out her phone to him, “YI3939MY, the YI is for Young, Inc., the middle numbers are the order number attached to the company that the invoice is for, and MY could stand for Myles Young.” She glanced at me, and I nodded. “Ex-husband.”
“All right.” Ivan scribbled down her notes on his pad, ignoring the whole ex-husband comment. “Are you sure that’s the restaurant’s order number?”
“No,” she shook her head, “the paperwork only shows the items bought for that order number. I’m not sure if there’s a way you could cross reference them, but it could be a needle in a haystack too, because Young is one of the biggest companies out there.” Ivan finished her sentence with her. “Exactly.” She seemed happy he was following her train of thought.
“Hey, it’s a start, right?” Cook granted her a sympathetic smile. I was sure he was making her feel like she hadn’t risked her life for nothing.
“Out of the four of us here, you know Young, Inc. better than anyone.” Ivan turned to her. “If this is a Young, Inc. project, and if Chester came to warn you about something and then killed himself after supposedly starting a fire,” he sucked in a deep breath, “what do you think he was trying to say? You must have thought about it.”
Arizona took a long sip of coffee, and Ivan glanced at me as we all waited to hear what she had to say. She seemed to think about it.
“Has there ever been bad blood between Chester and Myles, or maybe even,” he flipped the paper pad back a few pages, “Ken?”
“Ken is all business. I don’t think that’s where the problem would be. But Myles,” she rubbed her arm uneasily, “he has a history of stomping on anyone who might make him look bad. He and Chester have always bumped heads, but his position is below Myles, so any disagreement usually stopped there.”
“What would they fight about?”
“Everything, but mostly about the choices Myles made and how he treated his team.” She rubbed her hands over her pajama pants. “Look, Myles is an arrogant ass with zero business sense, which is why his father made up a position for him in the company. He is also sleeping with his best friend, who also happens to work at the company. But,” she cleared her throat and stood then wrapped her arms around herself, “if Myles did something that made Chester nervous enough that he felt he had to come and warn me about it, well, it must have been pretty huge.” She shot me a quick glance. “Myles might be stupid, but believe me, I can attest to the fact that he isn’t someone you want to piss off.”
“Arizona.” I could tell the fear that her ex brought her was beginning to surface. “I know this is hard, so if you want to take a break for a bit, it’s okay. You’re giving us the idea that this might be a lot more than we thought.”
“No, I’m okay, but yeah, I think it might be.” She nibbled on her thumbnail.
“Do you know if Ken Young has any history with someone he might hire to look into the investigation?”
Her eyes narrowed on Ivan like she was thinking carefully.
“If there was someone poking around after what happened, it means Ken is worried about something.”
“All right,” Ivan tapped his fingers on his chin, “anything else?”
“No, not right now.”
Chapter Eighteen
Arizona
It had been a week since I had spoken to Officer Ivan, and I was restless to know what they were digging up.
I collected the files from my desk and tucked them into my shoulder bag before I turned off the lights and headed out into the lobby.
Arizona: Hey, babe, going to swing by and see Jessi. I’ll text you when I get home. Any news on the case?
I was sitting on pins and needles waiting for something to show itself.
Carter: Nothing yet. Would you mind picking up my dry cleaning on your way home?
Arizona: Not at all. See you later.
Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and we were having dinner at his parents’ house. I had spoken to his mother a few times this week about what I could bring, and they seemed beyond thrilled to have us both there.
“Hey, Ari,” Tami, our friendly receptionist, greeted me as I rounded the corner and headed for her desk. “Anything you need to go out tonight?”
“Yes,” I handed her
a spreadsheet that had the client’s number attached to it by a sticky. “Scan and email?”
“Sure thing.”
When I reached to steal a mint from her dish, I spotted a vase of yellow roses and baby’s breath sitting on one of the tables. Clients often sent us gifts, but that particular arrangement sent a familiar shiver through me.
“They arrived this afternoon.” Tami shrugged, reading my thoughts. “No card, but my guess would be Mr. Klas.”
I smiled, letting go of my nerves. It was true, Mr. Klas had a small crush on one of the other girls in the building, and he insisted on sending treats all the time.
“I wish he’d sent those heavenly brownies again.” She chuckled. “You know what my boyfriend got me for our one-year? Running shoes.”
“Well, that’s kind of thoughtful, really. Most women won’t buy things they really need.” I thought if that was me, I’d rather like the gift.
“I don’t run.” She twisted her mouth when she saw my eyes go wide. “Yeah, so, I’ll take Mr. Klas’s gifts whenever I can get ’em.”
“Good for you.” I hit the desk with a chuckle. “Have a good one, Tami.”
“You too.”
It was only a thirteen-minute walk to the rec center, so when Jessi called and asked me to swing by to help out with the kids, I was more than happy to. Carter had one more night at the firehouse, and I didn’t much like the idea of going home to nothing but my cranky-ass cat.
The chilly wind whipped my scarf around my face, blocking my view every few minutes. I tried to hold it down, but Mother Nature wouldn’t have it. At the stoplight, I hit the button a few times. I knew it didn’t speed up the process, but it made me feel like it did. Just as the light changed, I swore something dark passed by me. A frigid breath across the back of my neck brought a bone-deep shiver that alerted my senses. I glanced over my shoulder to confirm I was alone. The snowbanks were high, but I could still see if someone was around.