Acres, Natalie - Sex Club [Cowboy Sex 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (22 page)

“I’m with her. I’m with her until the end. That’s all I can tell you.”

Brock clicked the
off
option and set the phone down. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he saw the worry creeping into his eyes. And he knew why the concern was there. Mitch didn’t love Jordie. He felt responsible for her. He felt he owed her something.

The woman Mitch Colony loved was sleeping just a few steps from where he sat, and that fact troubled Brock. He wanted his lifelong friend happy, even if it later meant sharing Trixie with him, but if that future was one they’d all soon face, he wanted Jordie Anne out of the picture once and for all.

Rory entered the bathroom. “Was that Mitch?”

“Yeah,” Brock replied. “He talked to Jordie Anne earlier tonight. He hasn’t talked to her since. He gave me the name of a woman who supposedly offered Jordie a place to stay while she’s in Marion, awaiting Mitch’s release from prison.”

“You could put this to rest now if you called her up and asked to speak to Jordie. There’s no way she could’ve made it all the way back to Marion. It’s at least a two-and-a-half-hour drive. If she isn’t there, then we’ll know for certain she’s here.”

“You’re right.” Brock picked up the phone, punched four-one-one, and waited for an operator. “Give me Mae Leonard’s phone number in Marion, Virginia.”

“Do you know the street, Sir? We have two M. Leonard listings.”

“Try Main.”

“Here’s your number.” A moment later, the digits were given by an automated response. He pressed the
one
key for an instant connection.

After two rings, he heard, “This is Officer Stephens with the Marion Police Department. May I help you?”

“Did you say you’re an officer?”

“Yes. Who is this, please?”

“My name is Brock Sheldon. I’m calling to speak to Jordie Anne Colony.”

“We’d like to speak to her, too, Mr. Sheldon. Do you have any idea where we might find her?”

“No, I’m an old friend of her husband’s.”

“I see. Would that be Mitch Colony?”

“Yes.”

“Mrs. Colony isn’t here. If you see her or talk to her, please tell her to contact the Marion Police Department.”

“Wait,” Brock said, hoping to stop the officer from disconnecting the call. “Can you tell me what this is about?” Small-town cops often shared the local gossip. Obviously, if he were there at Jordie’s place in the middle of the night, and answering the phone, there was a significant problem.

After a brief hesitation, the police officer responded. He said, “She’s wanted for questioning in the murder of Mae Leonard. We have reason to believe she poisoned her and then left town in her car.”

“What kind of car does Mrs. Leonard have?”

“It was
Miss
Leonard, Mr. Sheldon. Mae never married, and she was a personal friend of mine, a dear old woman who spoke to me often about how much she feared for her life. She was afraid something like this would happen. She said Mrs. Colony had begun to throw unreasonable tantrums and had started acting strange, like she was paranoid. Mae was scared of Mrs. Colony.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Brock said, watching Rory run interference as Trixie made her way to the bathroom. “Maybe I can help. If you’ll give me the information I need, I’ll return the favor. I’ll tell you where I think you’ll find Jordie Anne Colony.”

Chapter Ten

Jordie Anne was certifiable. How she convinced that poor old woman to take her in, Brock would never understand. The greater mystery was found in how she was able to persuade a medical board to free her when she obviously still had serious mental issues.

Placing a final call after discussing what he’d discovered with Trixie and Rory, he was relieved when Ansley picked up and said, “Doesn’t my sister let you rest?”

“Not often,” Brock admitted. “How you holding up, kid?”

“Who are you now, my daddy?” she teased. “I mean it’s not like I don’t already have enough of them.”

“Put your boy on the phone.”

Ansley laughed. “You mean Tristan?”

“Yeah.”

“He’ll love to hear that you called him a boy.”

“Let me speak to him, hon. It’s late and I’d like to catch a few hours’ sleep.”

“You’ll have to call back. I have one foot in the shower already. I’m naked.”

“A little late to be bathing, don’t you think?”

“A little late to be prying, don’t ’cha think?” she fired right back. “I’ll have him call you.”

“Ansley, now.”

“Shit, Brock. I’m—”

“Do I need to drive over there? I know you’re staying at The Grove Park Inn. I could bust up whatever party you already have in progress.”

“Hang on,” she grumbled.

“Put your clothes on first.”

“Now you are acting like my dads.”

“Just looking out for you,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips. She was so much like Trixie it was scary.

A few seconds later, she yelled, “Tristan! Phone! It’s my brother-in-law!”

“He’s coming.”

“God I hope not,” Brock mumbled.

“You’re not cute, Brock.”

“Your sister might debate that statement.”

“I’m sure she would, but she actually is the dumb blonde in the family.”

Brock laughed. “I’ll tell her you said so.”

“I’m sure you will,” she said. “Here he is.”

A few seconds later, he heard a muffled sound. He shuddered as he imagined what they were discussing or the exchange of looks between them. Knowing Ansley, she hadn’t bothered dressing. Rather than consider the worst, he waited impatiently, growing more and more irritated the longer he was kept holding. If Tristan was using his request as a free ticket to seduce Ansley, he was in some serious shit.

Brock ran his fingers through his hair. Who was he kidding? He’d seen how the two of them reacted to one another. In many ways, Ansley and Tristan reminded him of the early days he and Trixie had enjoyed.

“This is Tristan.”

“Took you long enough.”

“What can I do for you, Mr. Sheldon?”

“Call me Brock. And we have a problem. This thing with Jordie Anne is serious. Let me summarize. Maybe then you’ll have a better idea of what you’re up against.”

“I’m listening,” he said. “Wait a second, hang on.” A beat later, Brock heard him say, “Ansley, go ahead and shower. I’m gonna be a minute.”

Brock grated back a round of warnings and curse words.

“I’m back.”

“Uh-huh,” Brock muttered. “Maybe I should keep you tied up for the rest of the evening. What do you think?”

Tristan laughed. “From what I’ve seen so far tonight? I’d strongly warn against it. A man can keep a woman waiting for only so long.”

“Careful,” Brock warned him. “Ansley is like my sister.”

“We’re talking about Jordie Anne, remember?”

“Yeah. And I take it Ansley isn’t open for discussion?”

“You’re right.”

Good. The man couldn’t be scared away too easily. Brock liked that quality in a guy. Tristan seemed like a decent fellow. He was exactly what Ansley needed.

“Ten years ago, Jordie Anne was a camp counselor at Cow Camp. Several of us—Mitch, me, and Rory, Trixie’s other…husband—well, we were all involved. Anyway, back then we all partied pretty hard when the kids were tucked in at night. We’d leave a few counselors in charge, and everyone else would have a grand old time at a nearby property.

“Anyway, Mitch introduced Jordie Anne to a drug called Ketamine. Are you familiar with it?”

“Actually, yes. I recently watched a show about the lasting effects of the drug.”

“Right, well, you can probably figure out how this all ended. Jordie Anne loved using Ketamine. Even after Mitch discovered she had a problem, she wouldn’t taper off. Ultimately, she was institutionalized because of her drug addiction. And she hasn’t been the same since that unfortunate summer.”

“Where do Trixie and Ansley fit in all of this?” Tristan asked.

“Trixie went to work at Cow Camp several years after Jordie was placed in the mental institution. Somehow, maybe because she’s lost her sense of time, Jordie believes Trixie took her job. What makes this worse is Trixie and Mitch were involved for several months. Tonight I discovered the last time Mitch spoke with Jordie, she threatened to kill Trixie. Mitch says he admitted to being in love with Trixie, and his confession was more than Jordie could process, even though Mitch and Jordie didn’t marry until after Mitch and Trixie called it quits.”

“So you’re pretty certain that Jordie thinks Ansley is Trixie?”

“Yes.” He paused. The forthcoming words would likely be the man’s undoing. If Tristan cared about Ansley, he’d show his true feelings in a matter of seconds. Brock braced for his reaction and continued, “After speaking with Mitch tonight, I called Mae Leonard’s house. It’s about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from here to Marion, Virginia, so I called, hoping Jordie Anne would pick up the phone, I guess.

“She didn’t. A local cop answered. Tristan, Jordie Anne is wanted for questioning in the murder of Mae Leonard.”

“What? She’s already killed a woman?” he yelled. “Do you know what this means?”

“Keep your voice down. I don’t want you to alarm Ansley.”

“That’s the problem,” he snapped, his voice low. “She isn’t taking any of this seriously. She isn’t afraid. She doesn’t fear for her life. She acts as if this is some bad joke, a prank someone is pulling on her for kicks.”

“I’ll talk to her if you want.”

“I’ll handle her.”

As he should and as Brock expected. “There’s more.”

“She knows we’re at The Grove Park Inn?”

“No, well at least I hope not, but what I started to say is this—we’ve definitely confirmed that your first suspicions were right. The local cop there in Marion said he’d spoken with two brothers, Grant and Max Murdoch. They run a private investigation firm there in Virginia.

“Anyway, turns out Jordie had hired them to find Trixie. She paid them to obtain photographs and wanted a lot of images. Since they couldn’t find Trixie, or more than likely didn’t search long enough, they—”

“Took the next best thing?”

“Don’t let Ansley hear you say that,” Brock said, chuckling.

“That’s not what I meant,” Tristan said, obviously lacking a sense of humor. Then again, Brock certainly understood. The man obviously cared a great deal about Ansley, and any attempts to lighten the mood would and should fail.

“And yes, these so-called investigators took a number of photographs, turned them over to Jordie, told her where Ansley worked, and made her believe they’d followed through on their job as they handed over the requested information.”

“I’ll kill ’em myself,” Tristan said, his outrage evident.

“Whoa there, Tristan. The only thing you need to focus on now is keeping my sister-in-law safe.”

A heavy knock fell upon a door in the background. A second later, Brock heard a squeaking sound and running water. “Are you all right in here?”