Guarded (13 page)

S
HELLEY AWOKE TO
her cell singing about Mick Jagger and his moves. She reached for her alarm clock on the bedside table and read the time: 6:45.

Whoa! Who hit her in the head with a hammer? Her head didn’t just ache, it spiked pain right into her eyes.

Man, not another migraine.

Worse, her mouth felt like she’d spent the night sucking on cotton balls. Shelley sat up slowly, pleased that the room didn’t spin, just tilted a little. The headache didn’t worsen but definitely didn’t improve.

She needed caffeine and a shower. Sometimes they could knock out a migraine without her needing to take pain meds.

Lucy, who’d been curled up in her hammock, stretched and yawned then headed to the water bottle affixed to the inside of her open cage.
Didn’t I lock that last night?

She tried to think, but that only made her head ache more. She’d think later, when the migraine spikes eased a bit.

Those moves of Jagger belted from her cell again.

“Hello? Hello?” She glanced at the phone’s darkened screen. Two missed calls.

Whose number is that?

She stared for a moment, her mind still muzzy. Searing pain burned behind her eyes, but her brain started to function again. That was Dev’s number.

All at once, yesterday came rushing back, along with today’s plans. Dev was on his way to pick her up. To. See. Jules.

Her headache was buried beneath a surge of adrenaline, and she bolted out of bed.

Shelley should call him back, but she hated to admit she’d overslept. Better to shower, dress, and be ready when Dev arrived. Otherwise, he might just show and find her soaking wet and wearing only a towel. Hmmm . . . the thought had merit, but not with her head threatening to cleave in two.

Instead, she hurried to the bathroom, stripped, and stepped under the spray. Only then did she notice her right bicep ached. She glanced at it; saw nothing but a million freckles. No time to waste. With the speed of an Olympic sprinter, she cleaned up and was running a brush through her damp hair when Dev knocked on her front door.

A flash of opening the door last night sprang to mind along with the image of David Boreanaz standing there.

That is the last time I drink that wine.

The knock sounded again, louder. The noise made her migraine grow, and the memory faded.

*   *   *

D
EV TRIED NOT
to worry when Shelley didn’t answer the phone. She could have been in the shower. But when she didn’t answer the door right away, he couldn’t ignore the feeling. She had been wary of seeing Jules. Would Shelley really avoid him to keep from going to Tidewater? God, he hoped not, but he had to admit, he didn’t really know her anymore. People change.

He knocked again. His eyes starting to water a bit at the thick scent of cleaner in the air.

“Hang on!” Shelley called, then the door swung open. She grinned up at him. The mingled aromas of vanilla and sugar wafted off her. A much better fragrance than the oranges. “I’m almost ready.”

Her wet hair hung in loose curls around her shoulders, as if she’d just hopped out of the shower. Droplets of water glistened on her pert, lightly freckled nose. But she already had on her short brown leather coat. She ran down the hallway to her bedroom, zipping up the jacket as she moved. “I need to get Lucy into her carrier.”

“Do you need my—” He started to offer his help, but then remembered Lucy’s sharp teeth. “On second thought, how about I get your suitcase?”

Shelley laughed with him as if she knew why he let his first offer trail off. “It’s by the door.”

The purple paisley bag bulged. It looked like she had tried to cram everything she owned into it.

“Light packer?” he joked.

“Not really,” Shelley admitted, striding out of her bedroom with Lucy’s cage. The ferret, up on her hind legs, wrapped her front paws around the bars and stared at him balefully. Shelley didn’t seem to notice. “I need a cup of coffee. Want one? Oh, shoot! I forgot to buy coffee yesterday.”

Dev glanced to the left where the half wall hid the entrance to her kitchen. From this angle he saw the whiteboard on the refrigerator with the words
Buy coffee, TODAY
. He picked up her suitcase, grinning. “Come on, we’ll stop at the Starbucks. My treat. If you’re nice to me, I’ll even toss in a muffin.”

Shelley gave him a grateful smile, then sucked air between her teeth and grabbed her head with one hand.

“Wow, you are a caffeine addict if you’re already getting a withdrawal headache,” Dev said sympathetically. He could relate. While he wasn’t addicted to caffeine—no, his vice was peanut butter cups—his partner was. Seth could be a real beast when he didn’t get his morning three cups. “Come on, I’ll get you fixed up.”

B
Y THE TIME
they’d pulled out of the Starbucks, Shelley had caught Dev up on her events from the night before. No wonder she had large bluish circles under her eyes. Between rescuing Beau and writing her report, she’d barely slept.

“And, of course, I pick today to have a migraine. I haven’t had one in months. It’s my own fault for drinking that second glass of wine. Cheap wine does not agree with me.” She pushed a small pill out of a blister pack and popped it into her mouth. She swallowed it with a gulp of coffee and sighed.

“Better?”

“Give me twenty minutes, and I’ll be right as rain in springtime.” She smiled, but her eyelids drooped. “Anyway, what was I saying?”

“You were talking about Tomás and Beau. Do you want me to call my friend at social services?” Dev knew Abigail Harris, his contact in the department, would love to help. And considering she’d once been Shelley’s caseworker, she’d probably help on that principle alone. “She might be able to help Tomás get an emergency allowance to foster Beau.”

Shelley yawned wide, covering her mouth with her hand. “Tomás said he’d contact CPS. He promised to call me today. If he still hasn’t done it or it sounds like Beau is going back with that awful woman, I’ll take you up on it.”

She yawned again, then fell silent. A mile passed, then two. Dev glanced at her. Shelley had dozed off. He’d ask about the thumb drive when she woke. Not like he could do anything with it right now.

Switching on the radio, Dev tuned to the classical music station. Strains of Bach drifted through the car.

With Lucy in the back seat, still safely ensconced in her carrier—thank you, very much—Dev relaxed and enjoyed the drive. The only thing about small towns he did like was the lack of city traffic.

Shelley slept for most of the hour-and-a-half drive from Elkridge to Tidewater. While she rested, Dev used the time to mentally review his murder case.

He’d called Seth just after dawn this morning, but so far no new information on the murder case. Dev hated not being able to examine the case details himself, but Seth had promised to go over everything with him this afternoon. Once Dev dropped off Shelley with Jules, that is.
Please let the reunion go smoothly.

“You don’t have to play this music for my benefit.” Shelley rubbed her eyes, yawning.

She arched her back. Her lush breasts pressed against her blue silky top. God, she had an amazing body. He really should be watching the road, not her. And definitely not at the way she shifted sideways in her seat to look at him.

“I don’t mind.” And he didn’t. He’d actually grown fond of Bach back in college. “You got me hooked on it when you tutored me. It’s very relaxing,” he said on a yawn.

“Well, we can’t have you too relaxed.” She shut off the radio.

Only the tires rushing over the road cut through the sudden silence. He would have liked to have filled the space with something other than the gentle shushing of rubber on the road, but had no idea what to say.

“How’s your mother doing?” Her question surprised him. The two women had only met once.

“She’s good.” He took the exit off the interstate and frowned at the sudden traffic at the end of the very short ramp.
This could tack on another thirty minutes to the drive.

“She’s a nurse, right?” She sipped her now cold coffee and grimaced. “Wasn’t she working toward a degree?”

“Good memory. Yeah, she’s a nurse at Tidewater General,” he said, sliding onto the highway between two tractor trailers. Once in the flow of traffic, he added, “She earned her master’s last year and is a nurse-practitioner now. She’s talking about leaving the hospital to run the community clinic my great-grandmother started. Hours aren’t great, but it’s a chance to help folks who really need it.”

Shelley reached up and pulled the band out of her hair. She’d put it up into a messy knot just before they stopped for coffee. It fell down around her shoulders in curly waves. The scent of vanilla and sugar hit his senses and arrowed straight to his groin. He’d found that fragrance erotic only on her.

*   *   *

“H
EY,
D
EV?”
S
HE
paused as if unsure, running a hand across his dashboard. “What happened to your dad’s car? Don’t get me wrong; the Lexus is amazing. But in college you said you’d drive it forever. And since you worked on it yourself, I figure it should have outlasted my Blue Bomber.”

“Your car is sitting in the parking lot at the zoo,” Dev reminded her with a grin.

She glanced at her phone and held up the text for him to see. “Yep, it’s still there. Kenny, the mechanic, left a message two hours ago that his sons were still out of town. He hopes to get to the car by tonight. And don’t think I didn’t miss that you changed the subject. Don’t tell me if you don’t want to. I’m just trying to find something to talk about to keep my mind off yesterday and . . . what’s coming today.”

Shelley shifted in her seat so she could look out the passenger window.

He was an ass.
Smooth. Way to put her at ease.
“No, it’s fine. I’d still be driving my dad’s old Charger except some drunk plowed into it the night I made detective.”

She straightened in her seat. “Oh, my gosh! You were hit by a drunk driver?”

“Nah. The car was sitting empty in a restaurant parking lot while my family and I celebrated my promotion. Seems some repeat offender from the bar across the street piled into her car, shifted into reverse instead of drive, and slammed into the Charger. She was damned lucky she didn’t kill herself or anyone else that night.”

“Repeat offender?”

“Yeah, drunk driving. Her third strike.” Dev shook his head to dispel the images of his entire extended family pouring into the parking lot to examine what was left of his father’s prize possession. “Anyway, because of the damage, I needed a new car. I have a cousin who owns a Lexus dealership. She convinced me to buy this while I rebuild my dad’s car.”

“Whoa, I knew you had a huge family, but exactly how many cousins do you have?” She smiled and placed a gentle hand on his arm. The sensation of her touch burned him through his sleeve.

“Oh, uh, eleven on my mom’s side, but that doesn’t count their kids, who are my first cousins once removed. Or are they my second cousins?”

“Beats me. I never had any cousins.” She withdrew her touch and straightened in her seat.

“Right, sorry.” Dev could kick himself for not considering Shelley might be a bit uneasy talking about all of his family relations.

“What about your dad’s side?” Shelley asked, surprising him. A quick glance at her inquisitive face and he relaxed.

“My dad was an only child. He might have cousins back in Haiti, but I have no way of knowing. His parents changed his name fifty years ago when they adopted him.”

Her eyes sparked with interest. “I didn’t know your father was adopted.”

Now it was Dev’s turn to tense. Why had he brought up his dad? He never talked about him to anyone except his family. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his father. Quite the opposite. After losing his father at fifteen, he’d never managed to get over the death.

Shelley shifted in her seat, facing forward, hands folded in her lap. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it. I know not everyone is comfortable with adoption.”

“No, it’s fine. My dad’s parents were missionaries. Story goes they helped at an orphanage where they found my dad when he was two years old. My grandparents were in their sixties when they adopted him. Pops died before I was born, but I remember when Memaw died. I was eleven. My dad pulled out the baseball Pops had given him for his eighteenth birthday. It was from the first home run my dad hit in Little League. Dad also showed me the baptism gown Memaw had crocheted for him. He told me he’d pass both to me when I turned eighteen.” Dev’s chest grew uncomfortably tight. “Damn, Shells, I haven’t thought of that day in years.”

“Painful memory?” Apology was written all over her beautiful face.

“No, a nice one. Thank you for that.” Dev cast a quick smile that she mirrored.

The traffic thinned and they turned off the highway onto the main strip of Tidewater. Twenty minutes to his place or thirty to Jules and Seth’s apartment. Maybe he should drive to Seth’s apartment, but one glance at the time and he changed his mind. Seth and Jules should be leaving for work in a few minutes.

The plan was for Dev to reunite the women at the flower shop, but Jules wouldn’t be there yet.

“Shells, we made much better time than I thought we would. We’ve got time to drop off your stuff at the cottage. Sound good? We’ll grab a bite to eat and head over to see Jules after.” He left off the part about running into the station for a few hours while she and Jules got reacquainted. Better to gauge the reunion as a good time for him to leave. Not that he had much time to spare. His captain’s dentist appointment that morning was the only reason the morning meeting was delayed until eleven. Dev had to be at the station by then at the latest. “Sounds great,” she said, a note of relief in her voice. “It’ll give me a chance to freshen up before I see her. We can even go tonight or tomorrow, if it’s easier. You know, work on the zoo case today.”

“Now that the sheriff’s office is involved, we may not have much to do.” A quick glance at the narrowing of her eyes and he amended, “I’m willing to go over the files with you and see what I can find. Just know, now that the sheriff is involved, my help may not be wanted.”

“I want it,” she replied, quickly.

“And I’ll give it. How about we talk over breakfast?” he said, unsurprised by her quick acceptance of delay. “After, I’ll take you to Jules. I know she is more than ready to see you again. Sound good?”

Shelley nodded silently.

Dev wanted to give her time to talk about her feelings and hoped she’d take the opening. She didn’t. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, hoping for inspiration to help her open up when she asked, “So one of your many cousins convinced you to buy a Lexus. Where’s your dad’s car?”

“The Charger’s in my garage.” Okay, he’d let her change the subject. “Another cousin, Ryan, is helping me restore it.”

He slowed to a stop at a light on Seventeenth Street. They were now in the heart of the business district. Several storefront owners, dressed in shorts and polo shirts, were on ladders hanging Christmas lights, taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. The blue sky reflected in the glass fronts gave an odd mural look to the shops that offered everything from puka-shell necklaces to boogie boards.

“You know, my dad’s folks gave him that car the day he graduated high school? Even after he married my mom during their freshman year of college, he hung on to it. Mom likes to say that when I came along, Dad had to choose between the car and the groceries. He joined the army instead.”

“So he got both.” She gave a light laugh. “Smart man.”

“Yeah.” Dev nodded and slowed for another light. “Mom says she doesn’t know who cried harder the day Dad announced he was going to help with Operation Enduring Freedom, her or my pa.”

Damn, for a man who never talked about his dad, he couldn’t seem to shut himself up.

“Sounds like your mom’s parents really loved your dad too.” Shelley’s lips curled into a smile.

“Yeah, Gram and Pa did love him. When Dad got called back up to Iraq after September 11, he sat me down and told me I would be the man of the house while he was away. Made me promise . . .” He paused. “He made me promise lots of things, including that I’d earn my college degree. He said if anything happened to him, I had to promise to take care of my mom. He said she’d need me.”

Dev ignored the sting of tears behind his eyes. In a weird way, he needed to finish telling her what he’d never told anyone, not even his beloved Pa. Shelley might be the only person who could understand.

“He died three months later when his helicopter crashed just outside of Baghdad. I was fourteen. I . . . I always wondered if he knew he wouldn’t come back. I mean, my pa told me Dad made out a will, set up a bank account for me, even set up a fund for my mom. Not much in there to start with. He came from poor missionaries, and she was a McKinnon at birth. But it was hers alone, and something truly from him.” He paused, then asked what he’d always wondered, “Do you think people sometimes just know they’re not coming back?”

She didn’t respond for two traffic lights. And coward that he was, he couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

Finally, she exhaled a long, slow breath. “I think . . . I think sometimes people do. Animals do. Wait, that didn’t come out right.” She waved her hand in the air. “I don’t know from people, but I know humans are more animal than mineral, so hear me out. At the clinic, there was this cat, Walter. His owner kept bringing him in because he was sick. Walter would bolt every time anyone opened his cage. He’d always head for the same spot, underneath his owner’s porch steps. Finally, she stopped bringing him in. She told me later that that was where she had found him after he passed. Underneath those porch steps. He looked like he’d just gone to sleep.”

Dev did glance at her then. Because what did a cat have to do with anything?