Hardheaded Brunette (25 page)

Gilda shrugged. "Just Mildred Palmer that I know of. From what I heard, her husband built this place for her then he got sick and died. After she passed away, the property went into foreclosure, which was how I got it so cheap."

Marion narrowed her eyes and frowned. "Didn't Margaret have family who could take care of the house when she died? I'm sure Charlie wasn't the only relative she had."

"Maybe they cleared out the stuff they wanted then abandoned the place." Gilda rubbed her eyes. "If they had no need for the house, maybe they just let it go and didn't bother with the bank until they foreclosed."

"Or they were in jail and had no control over what happened to the old lady's estate." Kane flopped onto the couch. "Charlie was locked up when she died."

"Anything's possible." Mick mumbled, oddly quiet, despite the state of her house.

"But wouldn't the lawyers have to freeze everything until he was released?" Gilda asked.

Marion made a soft noise. "Not if he had to make restitution to someone. I think they could sell the place to recover costs or pay bills, especially his lawyer's fees."

She closed her eyes and considered Marion's original suggestion. "Maybe when Charlie was released from prison, he used the grand opening as a way to come back to look for something he'd left here years ago. He could have created the fake invitation to referee the fight Mick scheduled between Gomes and Kane."

"Why not? It happens all the time in the movies." Marion shrugged. "Usually someone buried treasure or a body in the backyard and didn't want it discovered."

"A body?" Gilda sagged farther into the chair, her stomach churning. "No way. I've dug up pretty much the whole backyard for my garden. If there's a body buried back there, I would've found it by now."

"Depending on how deep you dug, love," Kane said.

Gilda shuddered and blew out a long, slow breath.

Razi threw open the front door and stood in the doorway, his face red and hair rumpled. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Marion leaped to her feet. "Yeah, she's fine. Luckily, she wasn't here at the time."

"I'm fine." Gilda stood and hugged her arms around her belly.

He strode across the room and grabbed her into a quick hug. "Fabio called me to come but did not say why. I was afraid I would see another body. Why would someone destroy your living room?"

Gilda backed away from him slightly. "My living room is the tidiest part of the house. This time they ransacked the whole house." Her voice caught in her throat. Not only was the room still in shambles but the intruder had even broken the lamp she curled up next to every night to read.

Razi glanced around them. "What are they looking for?"

"I still have no idea." Gilda rubbed her face with both hands.

"You are no longer able to stay here." Razi put his hands on her shoulders. "You must go home with Marion and be safe. Mick and I can stay in this house to protect it from bad people."

Marion folded her arms. "Are you saying I can't protect a house?"

Mick winced. "No, he's saying he wants you to get Gilda out of the house to somewhere safe. I think it's more a compliment that he thinks you can protect Gilda."

"Good answer," Gilda said. "But what if they come back? What if they're not done?"

"Then we'll catch them and toy with them a little." Kane waved a hand.

Fabio groaned from the doorway with Thayer right behind. "I did not just hear that."

Gilda surveyed the damage. "I thought Gary was installing surveillance cameras."

"He is." Mick frowned. "He got them today, but hasn't had a chance to put them up."

"That's it." Thayer puffed out his chest. "You're
all
leaving. We're putting a surveillance team on Gilda's house, just in case the burglars strike again. Gilda, take what you need and get out. Just leave us a key so we can get inside if we have to."

Mick stepped between Thayer and Gilda. "Wait a minute. I think we need to discuss a few more things."

"Oh no." Marion grabbed Gilda's arm and tugged her into the bedroom. "Come on. Pack some stuff and let's get out of here. There's way too much testosterone in this house even for my liking. You and me are getting a pint of ice cream and a bag of cookies and heading back to my house. Got it?"

"Got it." Gilda blinked back tears as she reached into the yawning closet for an overnight bag and searched for a set of clothes to pack. "I'm sure things will calm down by tomorrow."

"I'm sure they will." Thayer leaned in the doorway of her bedroom. "I'll need your key."

She handed him her spare house key. "That's all you get."

"That's all I need."

Gilda hesitated then reached into her pocket. "I found this on the beach after Charlie died. It's the necklace he was wearing the night of the party."

Thayer's jaw tightened and his lips turned white. After a long minute, he nodded. "Thanks. I'll give it to Fabio."

Since Marion had run over from work, Thayer drove them to the grocery store up the street to shop for junk food. He followed them up and down the aisles, cringing and complaining as Marion tossed ice cream, cookies, and chips into a shopping cart. Two packages of each. "You guys are going to regret binging in the morning."

"Oh yeah?" Marion turned to stare him down in the middle of the soda aisle. Calming down seemed to be the last thing on her mind. "What are you going to do about it? You talk the talk, but you haven't done one thing to protect this girl. She's coming with me and we're having a party. If you've got a problem with that, take it up with someone who cares."

Thayer glanced at Gilda then sauntered off toward the checkout counters.

Gilda forced a small smile. "I guess he doesn't have a problem anymore."

Marion snorted. "Oh, that man has problems, but it's nothing junk food will cure."

After he dropped Gilda and her off at Marion's house, Marion yanked open one shopping bag and stuck the contents in the freezer. She slammed a tub of strawberry ice cream on the counter and, while she ranted, pulled out a pack of chocolate-covered graham cookies and two bowls. Before long, she'd filled both bowls with a healthy dose of ice cream and crumbled cookies over the mound then placed two cherries on top.

Gilda curled up on one end of Marion's plush gray couch and tried to disappear into the soft throw pillows with her arms around her stomach. "I'm really not hungry."

Her friend scowled. "Having ice cream and cookies isn't about being hungry. It's about anger, frustration, and problem solving."

"Problem solving?"

"The way I see it, you have two major problems." Marion flopped onto the couch. "Number one is finding that kook who keeps breaking into your house."

"And number two?" she asked.

Marion set her spoon in her bowl. "What to do about the three men in your life."

Gilda's mouth dropped open. "Three? What are you talking about? I'm only dating one guy. Mick."

"Uh-huh." Marion sat back. "That doesn't seem to bother Kane or Thayer much."

"Thayer and I have been done for a long time."

"And Kane?"

Gilda stared at her ice cream. "Forget Kane. There's nothing going on between us."

"No?" Marion shoveled a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. "Then why does he follow you around like a moony-eyed, sword-wielding puppy?"

"A moony-eyed, sword-wielding puppy?" She laughed. "That's a strange image."

"He's a strange guy. You want wine?"

"No wine." Gilda shook her head and took a couple bites. She really didn't want the ice cream either, but the blend of strawberry ice cream and chocolate-covered cookies was hard to pass up. It also gave her an excuse not to answer Marion's question.

Her phone remained oddly silent, even after all the excitement of the evening. She was grateful not only for Marion's company, but for the movie she put on to distract them. While Gilda couldn't focus on the plot or even remember the movie title, it gave her mind something less real to focus on.

As her eyes grew heavy, her mind wandered back to another movie she'd seen recently. The fight Mick showed her between Kane and an unknown fighter. It brought along that nagging feeling as if she'd seen the other fighter before. She thought about texting Mick and asking who the second fighter was but knew he wouldn't tell her. If it took her several texts, she had a hunch the information would be worth finding out.

Rather than reach for her phone, she sighed and fell asleep.

Once Marion left for work the next morning, Gilda walked home via the beach, despite numerous promises she'd stay put for the day. The sun warmed her face and the breeze off Lake Erie encouraged her to take deep, relaxing breaths.

She'd made a list that morning to clean up the mess in her house, replace what needed to be replaced, then take a short vacation at her mom's house while everyone else worried about tracking Charlie's killer and whoever kept breaking into her house.

After she'd walked through the back gate into her garden, she paused. In spite of the overnight police presence, her garden and lawn bore a handful of fresh dirt mounds and shovel marks. She huffed. Whoever did the digging had shown her plants no mercy.

Two car doors slammed out front and men's voices carried around her house. She prayed it was the police officers Fabio had promised to keep an eye on her home. While she didn't expect officers to sit around waiting for the bad guys, she hoped they'd be a visible presence.

Gilda blew out a breath. Forget vacation, she had half a mind to grab what she needed and move out of state within the hour. Her heart raced and her hands shook as she tried to open the back door, impressed she only dropped her keys once. She peered in the doorway, surprised to see no officers inside her house. As she crept from room to room, no one rustled through her belongings. No one waited around dark corners. The house was empty.

Gilda's heart raced as she turned toward the kitchen. She was glad she'd given Charlie's necklace to Thayer. No more secrets. She was tired of fear—and housecleaning. All she wanted was to get her things and get out. She'd call Fabio on her way to Marion's house and ask if he'd figured out what the key was for. And where the officers he'd promised were.

As she reached the living room, her front door opened. Instead of police officers, Gomes and Sanchez stepped inside. Both seemed as startled to see her as she was to see them. She opened her mouth to scream but reached into her pocket for her phone instead and found Fabio's number on speed dial. "What are you two doing here?"

"Relax." Gomes held up both hands. "We just came to talk. Did you know your front door was unlocked?"

"My front door was locked." At least she hoped it was since she'd given Thayer her spare key last night, which seemed like a better idea than having him kick the door down.

Sanchez flinched to move forward, but Gomes held him back. His nostrils flared as he growled. "We want whatever it is Charlie left behind."

From her hand came Fabio's voice. "Gilda? Is that you?"

She tucked the phone out of sight. "Charlie never left anything here. Whatever he did leave was long gone by the time I moved in two years ago."

"You're a liar." Sanchez yanked away from Gomes but remained near the front door.

Gomes grabbed his arm. "We need to get out of here. She called the cops."

Gilda took a step back. Worst-case scenario, she could run out the back toward the beach, screaming as she ran. "What is it everyone is looking for? Money? Buried treasure? Golden boxing gloves?"

Gomes frowned. "Why would you say buried treasure? Has someone been digging in your yard?"

She flinched. "Were you two the ones who did this to my house?" If they were there to threaten her, she'd better make sure Fabio knew whom she was talking to. "Gomes? Sanchez?"

Sanchez raised his eyebrows. "You mean you're not a slob?"

"No, I'm not a slob." She clenched her jaw.

Gomes gazed around the room and frowned. "Then someone must have beat us to it."

"Beat you to what?" Gilda asked.

Sanchez's entire body appeared to tighten from head to toe until he vibrated with anger.

While Gomes straightened a photo on the wall, Gilda took another step back. Over the phone in her hand, Fabio called to Thayer.

"You're right—she's already called the cops. Let's get out of here before they show up." Sanchez's steely gaze bored into Gilda's, leaving her with a gut feeling something had changed, and someone was in serious trouble.

She really hoped it wasn't her.

"Good idea." Gomes gave a slight nod then followed his coach out the front door. Their car had barely pulled away from the curb when Fabio and Mick ran up the walkway.

Mick bristled with anger as he hugged her. "What the hell are you doing here? You were supposed to stay with Marion."

"I did." Her stomach lurched. "I just came to pick up a few more things."

"Was that them?" Fabio asked. "Sanchez and Gomes."

"Yeah." Gilda sank to her knees, her entire body shaking. "They didn't do this. They looked as surprised as I was."

Mick knelt in front of her and took both her hands in his. "Then who did?"

"I don't know, but Sanchez was furious someone had beat him to whatever they were looking for." She winced. "You know how he's always kind of angry and cranky? Well, now he's really mad."

Mick glanced to Fabio. "It sounds like someone must have double-crossed him."

"I'd say so." Fabio hugged Gilda around the shoulders. "You need to get out of here and stay out until we catch whoever is doing this. Stop wading back into trouble before you get hurt."

"Oh, I'm out of here. Don't worry." Even her voice shook. "I'm leaving town and going to my mom's."

Mick frowned. "No, you can't leave town. Come stay with me. I have a guest room. Or even with Marion, if that's less scary, but I need you here. The Phoenix school needs you here."

"I'm not safe here." She blinked back tears. "I didn't realize quite how serious this is until Sanchez walked into my house and got that look… I mean, this has all been scary, but seeing that look in his eyes—"