Damsel in Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 1) (15 page)

Peter Anderson stood and strode over to the bar in the corner of the room. Silver-haired but still vital and energetic in his mid-sixties, he’d been the driving force behind Anderson Industries since its inception forty years ago. What had started as progressive ranching had grown into mining, oil, and banking making their father one of the richest men in Montana, if not the entire western half of the country.

“If we’re going to talk about that murder twenty years ago I’m going to have to have a drink. Anyone want to join me?”

Peter poured four glasses of whiskey and West helped him pass out the drinks before they all sat back down.

“So you do remember the murder.” Jason tossed back the liquor, enjoying the burn all the way down to his belly. “I guess we were all at college.”

“All three of you boys were gone at the time. It was a terrible thing, really. Everyone in town knew that Linda and Dell had marital problems. Linda loved to spend money and she was frustrated with Dell’s ideas about living a frugal life. She hated that house. Thought it was way too small. She wanted something she could throw lavish parties in and decorate expensively. Never made a secret about it either. Her complaints were loud and frequent to anyone who would listen.”

“So everyone thought Wendell did it?” West prompted. “Did you?”

“No, but I don’t know if I would call Dell a nice man either. He could be ruthless in business and he definitely didn’t lack self-esteem. But a murderer? I doubt it. From what I remember he hated guns. He only had them in the house for protection. They’d been robbed a few times.”

Robbed more than once in a town like Tremont? That alone was strange.

West cleared his throat noisily. “So you say Wendell didn’t like guns, Dad? And that they’d been robbed? That wasn’t in the police report.”

“Dell hated guns. He begrudgingly bought one when they were robbed about six months before Linda was shot.” Tom frowned and took another sip of his whiskey. “I don’t remember what the burglars took though.”

“The cops found him at the lake. He said he was fishing in the middle of the night. Was he a fisherman?”

Tom sighed and shook his head. “Not that I ever heard of. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t. We weren’t close friends, only acquaintances. Maybe Damian was into fishing.”

“What happened to him?” Jason’s fingers tightened around the highball glass. So far he hadn’t learned anything earthshattering. “The file doesn’t say a thing and I don’t remember him at all.”

“He was younger, of course.” Peter rubbed his chin in thought. “A nice boy. Very smart. When Linda died Dell sent him off to boarding school in upstate New York. I don’t think he ever came to visit his Aunt Gail, which is a shame. She’s a sweet woman and deserved better treatment than she got by Wendell.”

It looked like there was plenty of animosity to go around in the Barnes family. But if Jason could finally solve Linda Barnes’s murder, he would bet that he would solve Roger Gaines’s at the same time.

“I’ll be talking to Gail,” Jason revealed. “And I’m going to need to talk to Wendell and Damian as well. Plus anyone else who might have had a motive.”

“It’s a two for one. We find one killer it will lead us to the other.” West finished his whiskey and slapped it down on the coffee table. His father went back to the bar and poured himself another.

Travis picked up his cane and struggled to his feet.

“Neither Wendell nor Linda were very well liked in this community. Some people might not want to walk down that memory lane with you so be careful.”

“Like who?” West asked, getting to his feet. “I’m not giving the rich and powerful a pass on this investigation.”

“I have a distinct memory of Wendell in the study with Dad and another man. Wendell and that man were at each other’s throats and Dad was trying to keep the peace.”

“So who was it?” Jason stood as well, too restless to sit still.

Travis grinned, the look of pain and fatigue temporarily falling away. “Mayor Leon Cavendish. Of course he wasn’t the mayor then. Have fun questioning him.”

West groaned and slapped his forehead. “Shit. Just…shit.”

Jason and West were about to dig up a few buried secrets in this town, and it was not going to go over well.

*

“So how long
have you known Jason?”

Marie Anderson was probably somewhere in her sixties but looked ten years younger. Her eyes were the same shade of green as Jason’s and she had the same easy smile. The older woman had been delicately asking Brinley questions about her family, Chicago, and teaching but apparently the pussyfooting was over and done. The questions were becoming more direct and she didn’t mind a bit. Of course Jason’s mother would want to know who her son was spending time with.

“Not long actually. Until the whole…well, murder thing…we were really just acquaintances. Waving and smiling as we went about our lives.”

“Such a sad incident. And you say you didn’t know this man at all?” Marie Anderson pulled the roast from the oven and then sat down at the table with Brinley. “We’ll let that rest for a few minutes and then serve dinner.”

“Not at all. He was a complete stranger. But that’s why I want to get to the bottom of this.”

“I thought you had.” Marie frowned in confusion. “You said he had your address because of the murder that took place there twenty years ago.”

Brinley blushed and shifted in her chair. “Well, yes, but I want to know who killed him and why. Was he shot because of what he knew about Linda Barnes or is it another reason? Something completely unrelated?”

“You sound like my sons,” Marie laughed. “Since they were kids they’ve been curious. It wasn’t a surprise when West and Jason went into law enforcement.”

“They seem like they know their jobs.”

A strange expression passed over Marie Anderson’s face, leaving behind a shadow of sadness.

“I’m not unhappy that Jason left the DEA. I always worried about him. And then of course the worst really did happen. We had no idea what happened to him for weeks. I thought…”

Brinley couldn’t stop herself from reaching out to this woman. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. The waiting. Not knowing. It must have been a nightmare.”

Her eyes bright with unshed tears, Marie nodded. “A parent wants their child to be happy and healthy. But I knew that if they hadn’t already killed him that he was neither of those things. You should have seen him when he first escaped. Thin as a rail and covered in sores and cuts. He spent some time in the hospital also because he was severely dehydrated.”

Brinley squeezed Marie’s hand. “He’s a strong man.”

Jason’s mother took a deep breath and smiled. “All my boys are, my daughter Leann too. They get that from their father. Still, I worry about Jason. I can’t imagine that a person could go through something like that and not be changed in some way.”

Brinley didn’t want to mention how Jason couldn’t sleep so many nights.

“Time is a great healer,” she said instead, feeling awkward knowing something Marie Anderson didn’t know.

“Yes, it is. Will you be there?” the older woman asked with a shrewd look on her face. “I know I’m being nosey and it’s none of my business, but will you be around in the future? I think you might be just what Jason needs.”

Brinley didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t have the answer herself. They were playing it day by day, not looking too far ahead. The good Lord knew Brinley had feelings for Jason. Strong ones.

“I’ll be there as long as he needs me,” Brinley found herself answering. It was at least honest. Even if they weren’t romantically involved she would always want to be his friend. He’d only been in her life a few days really, but already she couldn’t imagine a life without him. “He’s done so much to help me. I want to help him too.”

Jason’s mother smiled in satisfaction so she must have liked the answer well enough. “Good then. If you want to go through I’ll bring out the meal. I know the men are probably chomping at the bit for dinner.”

Brinley felt like she’d passed some sort of test that she hadn’t been given an opportunity to study for. Or at least the first hurdle.

If she wanted a future with Jason his mother wouldn’t stand in their way.

Which was good news.

The only question now was…did Brinley want a future with Jason? Signs were pointing to yes.

‡

“Y
our parents are
nice,” Brinley said as they drove away from the Anderson family home. She hadn’t been happy at first about attending their traditional Sunday dinner but his family was friendly and charming. “You and your brothers look so much alike too.”

“I guess we do look like Dad. I think my sister Leann looks like Mom. She’s working in Florida right now so that’s why she wasn’t there today.”

“It sounds like you were close growing up.”

Brinley had been close to her brother and sister when they were young but as they grew older their lives seemed to diverge.

“I am with my brothers but Leann came along much later so we’re not as close as we could be. Honestly, we didn’t have much choice,” Jason laughed. “Three boys in five years stretched my parents to the limit – emotionally, physically, and financially. Dad was just starting out then and they didn’t have much money. Mom helped do the ranch books and took care of us. That wasn’t an easy task. We were typical boys and I swear one of us was in trouble at least once a day. The house we had then was small and the three of us shared a room. Mom never sent anyone to their room as a punishment because then the other two would go in there and the next thing she knew we’d be rolling around and wrestling or something. She had to get creative. Punishments were much more participatory. Cleaning out the garage or scrubbing garbage cans.”

Not once had Brinley wrestled with a sibling. She couldn’t imagine her sister even getting her clothes dirty. And her brother the muscle factory would have had her pinned in seconds.

Cleaning trash cans sounded smelly and gross.

“My mother would give us a timeout but I didn’t get punished very often. There wasn’t much trouble to get ino and I didn’t have a smart mouth or anything.”

In fact, Brinley had always tried to make her parents happy, not give them a hard time.

Jason glanced at her before returning his gaze to the road. “That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard, honey. You need to raise some hell. And I think I know just that place.”

Grinning from ear to ear, he quickly changed lanes and did a U-turn on the two lane road. Her pulse quickened at the idea of doing something exciting. Something…naughty.

“Did Logan say something to you?”

“No, should he have?”

The sun was setting behind the trees and normally she’d be in for the evening, either reading or maybe watching television. But not tonight. She was going to do something out of the ordinary and with this very extraordinary man.

“I–I just mentioned that I didn’t want to play it safe so much. I wanted to take a few chances,” she admitted. “Not anything dangerous. Just not be so predictable all the time.”

“I don’t think you’re predictable in the least,” Jason declared. “And this won’t be dangerous, I promise. We’re going to have some fun. I think we both need it after the last several days thinking you were in danger. Now that we know that you’re not we can relax and enjoy ourselves. Do you trust me?”

She’d trusted him with her life, so trusting him with some fun was a no-brainer. She couldn’t wait to raise some hell with the best looking man in Tremont.

Bring it on.

*

The beat from
the band inside could be felt all the way to the sidewalk. Brinley’s hand was firmly entwined with Jason’s but her heart was still racing with trepidation. The sign outside the building said this was “Harley’s Honkytonk. Good eats, cold beer, and pretty girls.”

“You’ll love this place,” Jason assured her as he pulled the door open and a blast of music almost knocked her on her ass. He had to lean down right next to her ear so she could hear him. “Some friends of mine play here every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.”

“We’re going to dance?”