Guarded (18 page)

Dev glanced toward Shelley. Unsure whether Jules’s emotional reaction would make her feel good or send her running for Elkridge. “Told you she’d be happy to see you, Shells.”

“You were right.” She turned to her sister. “You know, you weren’t this emotional when I arrived.”

“You had a kitten lodged in your underwire and blood on your shirt. I was a little focused on saving your skin and the cat’s neck. Forgive me.” Tears sprang to Jules’s eyes. “I can’t believe he really found you.”

She let go of Dev and threw both arms around Shelley.

Shelley blinked once, then again. To Dev’s surprise, she let her tears fall too.

Dev glanced to Seth for support. His partner shrugged and hiked a thumb over his shoulder, saying, “Precious, Jones and I are headed to the station. You two going to be okay for a while until we get back?”

Jules mumbled something incomprehensible and waved them off.

“See you in a little while, Shelley.”

“Dev, wait.” Shelley let go of her sister and pulled him aside. “I know I promised you I’d stay for a few days, but I really think I should get back to Elkridge, today. I’m really worried about the tiger cubs.”

Maybe she’s not as happy with this reunion as she appears.
“I thought we were going to go over what you remembered when I get back?”

She shrugged. “Without my notes, I really feel like I should head back to Elkridge.”

Her cheeks reddened, and he knew she was lying. He tried not to be pissed. Tried to understand this was probably all a bit overwhelming for her, but couldn’t quite kill the feeling. But he
could
hide it until they had time to talk later. “Okay, Shells. I get it. But I’m needed at the station right now. Can you wait a bit to go back?”

“I don’t know.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I suppose. I mean, it’s not like I’ve been able to reach Tomás yet. But he’s probably working or taking care of Beau or both.”

She shifted from foot to foot as if too anxious to stand still. With every passing second, Dev grew more certain she was afraid and wanted to run. He had no idea what had set her off, but he was positive her sudden need to return to Elkridge was less about the animals and more about her own fears.

Well, he wasn’t about to let her run from him.

“Tell you what,” he said, nodding toward Jules. “You enjoy the day with Jules. I’ll work and then tonight I’ll take you home after dinner. I’ll even get another room in Elkridge and stay there until we solve your mystery. Sound fair?”

She blinked and narrowed her eyes at him. “Considering I thought that was why you had come to town in the first place, yeah. I think that’ll work. And don’t worry about a hotel. You can stay at my place.”

But her place only had one bed and a very uncomfortable couch.

Does she mean . . . ?
Maybe he wasn’t one of the things she was running from.

Jules pulled Shelley back into the office, and Seth ushered Dev out into the sunshine.

Stay with her in her apartment. Oh yeah. Things were looking up.

“W
HAT MAKES YOU
certain the animal bite occurred after death?” Detective O’Dell asked Dev.

Dev, who’d only been in the station two minutes prior to the meeting and hadn’t yet read the coroner’s report, glanced at Seth for help.

“According to the coroner’s report, the lividity showed the bite on the left hand happened after the victim was killed,” Seth answered.

As usual, when Peterson called Dev, Seth, O’Dell, and Reynolds into his office, O’Dell and Reynolds, the actual homicide detectives, took the only available chairs. Dev leaned against the captain’s credenza while Seth leaned against the opposite wall near the window.

Captain Peterson, a balding man in his early fifties, sat behind his large cherry desk, his fingers steepled. To Dev’s surprise, the man addressed him, “What do you think of this case, Jones?”

“Honestly, sir. I’m not sure what to think.” Dev ignored the impulse to whack Reynolds in the back of the head when he snickered. “I’ve been out of town and was only handed the latest update as I walked into your office.”

“Reynolds,” the captain said, turning his eagle glare to the man. “Catch him up.”

Reynolds, who looked like he’d rather play with cat puke, cleared his throat. “Okay, kid, here’s what we know. The vic, Colbert Rush, was embezzling money from McGivern’s Jewelers for about ten years before his partner found out. Vic disappeared one night last week. Wife says she didn’t report it right away, because she thought he was on a business trip. She called McGivern and found out there was no trip. She reported her husband missing. A search of her place turned up a key she doesn’t recognize, and close to fifty grand in cash.

“Yesterday, pieces of the vic start showing up on beaches from Chicks Beach down to Tidewater Bridge. Not in the water. Dump sites. Someone broke his neck then cut him into pieces. The hand on his left arm had a single animal-bite mark. Too big to be dog or coyote. We have no idea what decided to take a nibble out of this guy.”

If a scavenger had bitten him, it would have continued to gnaw until it had eaten its full. But what kind of big animal would bite and let go without eating? And why?

“Ideas, Jones?” The captain put him on the spot. Dev should be flattered. He knew that part of the reason they’d solved their last case was because he found a connection to the killer no one else had. But he’d also done a buttload of research while Reynolds and O’Dell slept.

“I think, sir,” Dev began and prayed he was right, “what we should do is talk to someone who might be able to help us identify the bite wound. If it was a clean bite, perhaps we can work backward. If we figure out what bit him, then maybe we can identify the actual crime scene.”

Captain Peterson’s brows drew together to form one long salt-and-pepper one. “Good idea. Anyone have other suggestions?”

“The key,” Seth and O’Dell said at the same time. The men glared at each other, then Seth added, “We’ll go back and talk to the wife again. If we can get her to let us search the house, maybe we can find what the key went to.”

“Didn’t you say she thought the key went to a house of some kind?” the captain asked Reynolds. When the man nodded, Peterson said, “Good. You two search public records. See if this guy had any other property in his name. Give whatever you find to English and Jones, then get back to working the construction-site homicide. I have the builder’s association breathing down my neck wanting that case solved.”

Reynolds and O’Dell nodded. The captain dismissed them but asked Dev and Seth to wait. Once the door had closed, he said, “Jones, I need this case solved. I know you asked for time off, but dismembered bodies take priority. Keep it quiet. I don’t want the press hearing about this story until we have a killer in cuffs.”

“Understood, sir.” Dev nodded.

The captain picked up his office phone and began to dial. Recognizing the action for the dismissal it was, Dev and Seth walked out.

Once at their desks, Seth said, “I thought you told Shelley you’d go back to Elkridge tonight and help her solve her mystery.”

“I did.”

“How are you going to do that and solve this case with me too?”

Damn good question.

*   *   *

“S
O
,
WHICH
ONE
are you? The middle one or the baby?”

Shelley, who’d been settling the kitten in an old box, glanced up at Diana’s question. The girl held out a white plastic bag containing two cans of kitten milk, a two-ounce bottle, four nipples, cotton balls, and a heating pad.

“Ah, thank you, Diana. You’re a lifesaver.” Shelley smiled at the girl, who beamed with pride. “And I’m the middle sister. I take it you’ve heard about me?”

“A little.” Diana’s smile faded. “Enough to know that Jules has been looking for you. Does this mean you’re going to come to work here too? I’m never going to get promoted.”

Shelley chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m a vet in Elkridge. I’m just back here for the weekend.”

“So you’re
not
staying?” Then Diana muttered, “TGFT.”

“Diana, I’m glad you’re back.” Jules hurried into the office, making the small space feel even more cramped. “We still need nine dozen roses wrapped before four, and there are two women out front wanting to review some of your floral arrangements for their dog’s gravesite. Can you go help them and keep the front covered while I wrap?”

“Sure thing, Jules.” Diana started toward the archway between the back and the storefront, then paused to ask, “Are we closing early tonight?”

“If Mrs. Marcos picks up the roses on time, we are. Do you need to call your mother to tell her?”

“Nah, I’ll just ask Dev to drive me home again.”

Something ugly and sharp erupted in Shelley’s chest. Jealousy? No way. She couldn’t be jealous. She’d seen Dev for what twenty-four hours? Who was she to care if he was . . . ? But jeez, that girl was
young
.

“Ignore her,” Jules said, laughter in her whispered voice. “Diana’s been chasing after Dev since the first time she saw him.”

“I don’t care. It’s none of my business,” Shelley replied, although that ugly spark died a quick death. But that didn’t make her jealous. Did it?

Opening the bag and pulling out the bottle and one of the nipples, Shelley glanced around. “Got a coffeepot or hot teapot in here somewhere?”

Jules blinked and pointed to the coffeemaker sitting on a gray filing cabinet behind her desk. “I only use it for hot water for tea, though. I might have some instant coffee somewhere in my desk.”

Shelley held up the supplies. “No worries. I need to sterilize the bottle and nipple before I feed Callie.”

As if recognizing her new name, the kitten began to meow. She crawled around the inside of the box, sucking on the blanket.

“Is that normal?” Jules asked with a frown, pulling down the coffeemaker.

“She’s just hungry. Actually, moving around is a good sign. I should have thought to ask for a rectal thermometer to check her temperature, but she’s not shivering anymore.”

Jules grabbed the glass pot off the heating element and headed for the door. “I doubt Diana would have bought it. Don’t let her fool you. She’s pretty squeamish about bugs, boys, and butts.”

Shelley stripped the wrappers off the bottle and nipples. The nipples had been pre-pierced with two tiny holes. Go Diana! She’d found and bought what were likely the best nipples at the store. Shelley set them aside and picked up Callie.

Jules returned, poured the water into the coffeemaker, set the pot on the element, and turned it on. “Should be ready in three minutes. Do you think the water will be hot enough?”

“It’ll do in a pinch.” Shelley would have preferred a rolling boil, but that wasn’t an option.

Jules was staring at the kitten with longing in her eyes.

“Want to hold her?” Shelley asked, then grinned when Jules practically danced over. Shelley carefully set the kitten in Jules’s hands. “Okay, be careful, her little claws are pretty sharp.”

“I deal with thorns all day. This is no big—ouch.” Jules shifted the kitten so she could snuggle Callie against her chest. “Wow, they are sharp. No wonder you were such a mess in the bathroom. Lucky you had such a large sweatshirt on. That’s Dev’s isn’t it?”

Shelley glanced down at the white letters on the shirt. Virginia’s Finest, indeed. “Yeah, we were at breakfast when we decided to take a walk on the beach. I didn’t have my jacket with me.”

Jules didn’t reply. She just stroked the kitten and grinned.

Heat burned up Shelley’s neck. “Anyway, I figured my own shirt was destroyed, so I put it in Callie’s box. At least I lost it to a good cause.”

“And you had Dev’s shirt to wear now. TGFT.”

“Diana said that too. TGFT. What’s it mean?”

Jules’s smile flashed to surprise, then a grimace. “Great, now Diana’s got me talking in text speech. TGFT is ‘Thank God for That.’”

“Diana seems nice. I need to thank her again for the bottles and food.” Shelley heard the tightness in her voice and wanted to cringe.

“She lives for this stuff. She might dress tough, but she’s got a big heart.”

“Is . . . uh, she in college?” Shelley asked,
not
fishing for information about Dev’s potential suitor. Because, yeah, she’d seen the way Diana had lit up when Dev came through the door.

“No, she’s only eighteen but will start at Tidewater U next fall. Like I said before, Diana’s been chasing after Dev for weeks, but he’s definitely not interested.”

“Oh.” Shelley tried to ignore the little thrill of relief that drained the tension from her shoulders. “Well, that’s . . . um, fine.”

“Yeah, you’re so hot for him, you’re practically melting.”

Stunned by her sister’s rather accurate description, Shelley blurted, “How is it that I haven’t seen you in thirteen years and yet you still seem to know what I’m thinking?”

“Ha, you weren’t thinking. You were feeling and it was written all over your face.” Jules laughed, then glanced at Callie and frowned. “Uh, do kittens have bladder control at three weeks?”

“Sort of. They can go on their own without help. Why?”

“I think Callie just christened my apron.” Jules handed the kitten back and sure enough, there was a little wet spot right in the center of the white apron. Jules laughed. “I guess this means she likes me.”

Shelley put Callie back in her box. “No, I think it just means she had to pee. But I’m glad she did. It’s a good sign. Means she wasn’t exposed to the elements too long.”

“Jules,” Diana called from the archway. “Mrs. Marcos just called. She’s going to be here at three to pick up the flowers. Something about the caterer got the time wrong when he placed the order.”

“Oh, dear.” Jules tugged on her left ear. Something she did when she was worried back when they were children. “I’d love to help you with Callie, but I need to wrap about a hundred roses in silver and blue ribbon. Individually.”

The coffeepot hissed, then clicked off, indicating the water was ready. “Tell you what, let me finish feeding Callie, then I’ll come help you.”

“You know how to wrap roses?” Jules arched both brows.

“No, but my sister’s a good teacher. She taught me to read. I figure she can teach me the fine art of rose-wrapping.”

Jules’s eyes misted. And shoot if Shelley’s own eyes didn’t too.

“Go work.” Shelley shooed Jules out of the office. “I’ll be in to help you soon.”

Jules hugged her and left. Shelley could still feel that hug and smell Jules’s strawberry scent lingering in the office. For a moment, she let herself imagine what it would be like to live in Tidewater. See Jules every day. See Dev every day. Have a real home. A real family again.

Then she thought of Nate and Jill, Momma and Daddy, even old Barty the Bay retriever, and the ache of losing them stole her breath. Just as it stole her sleep more nights than she wanted to count. Of course, Jules, Hannah, and her ex, Cam, hadn’t died, but they had all left. Sure, Jules was here now, but what about in a week or a month or a year? Everyone Shelley had ever loved had died or left her.

She couldn’t stay here. Not with these people. She had Lucy and Miah and all the animals at the zoo who needed her. They needed her to care for them, protect them, and solve the mystery of the disappearances. She couldn’t abandon them . . . not after the way they’d been there for her after all the times
she
had been abandoned.

She needed to get out of Tidewater and back where she belonged in Elkridge.