You Really Got Me (21 page)

“Good thinking, Chief.” Barden eyed him. “Are you still fixated on the fiancé?”

“I’m not fixated on anyone,” Jason snapped. “We need to check out all three of the people who went into that room Saturday.”

Her mouth twitched, but she said, “Nothing much turned up in the search of Vioget’s car.”

“I know that.” Jason’s jaw tightened. They’d found hair whose DNA matched samples taken from Natalia Debarros’s hairbrush, but that didn’t mean a damn thing. Of course she’d ridden in her fiancé’s car, many times. There’d been nothing more than that.

“Chief.” Marco poked his head into his office. “The media are really pushing for something on this.”

“Okay. Fine. Tell them we’ve recovered evidence. Tell them it is
not
a body. And that’s all we’re saying right now.” He looked at Barden. “Let’s go.”

A bloody lab coat. Hidden in the ceiling. His stomach contracted hard. All the self-doubts and guilt came flooding back, all the crap he’d tried to put behind him when he left the bureau after the monumental failure he’d endured. The media attention wasn’t helping. Any mistakes would be broadcast for the whole world to see. The mayor was watching the case. It had already attracted the attention of the national news media, and now if they had a murder on their hands, there’d be no stopping them.

He gritted his teeth. He could do this. He had to do this.

If he hadn’t been so desperate for coffee and sugar, he would’ve avoided Mel’s Churros like he avoided chick flicks and shopping at Sephora. Because he knew the whole town was going to be buzzing.

Sure enough, he’d barely ordered his coffee and donut from Raven when people converged on him.

“Chief. Do you think there’s a serial killer on the loose in Las Colinas?”

He looked at Buddy and frowned. “No.”

“We heard you found some evidence in the lab. Does that mean Natalia Debarros was murdered?” Joe Vasquez, owner of the Stagecoach Bar and Grill spoke up.

“You heard….” Jason stared at the man incredulously. Christ, these people had probably heard about that before he did. “I can’t comment on that. Yes, we’ve recovered some evidence but we don’t know what it means yet.”

“People are getting nervous, Chief,” Raven said, setting his coffee-to-go on the counter in front of him. Her dark eyes wore a troubled look.

“I really don’t think there’s any reason to be afraid,” he said firmly. Whatever had happened to Natalia Debarros, this whole thing did not raise any serial killer warning flags.

“Maybe she’ll turn up and it will all be a big misunderstanding,” Raven said with a sigh.

“If she’d taken off because she got cold feet, the police woulda found her by now,” Buddy said, nodding his head sagely. “Right, Chief?”

Jason gave a little huff of laughter and shook his head, smiling. Then he caught the eye of Denny, his neighbor, sitting on the stool on the other side of Buddy. Denny smiled wryly at him and shrugged.

“I wish I had more to tell you all,” Jason said. “I know how disturbing this is for everyone. But rest assured we’re doing everything we can to find out what happened to her.”

“We have faith in you,” Joe said, giving him a jolting slap on the back. “You’re a smart guy, Chief.”

“Uh…thanks.” While Jason appreciated their confidence, he wasn’t sure where it came from. It wasn’t like he’d been solving complex crimes day after day since he’d arrived in Las Colinas. He himself wasn’t feeling all that confident. But he smiled at them. “I better get back to it.”

He grabbed his coffee and donut and headed back to the station.

After another early morning tour of the vineyard, Kendall, Garcia and Michael had decided which grapes would be harvested that day. She paused at the back door and removed her boots, feeling heavy and tired and irritable.

Today should have been Kevin and Natalia’s wedding day.

She didn’t think she’d slept more than an hour in total last night, rolling and shifting endlessly in her bed, itchy and fidgety, her mind unable to stop thinking about things. About the wedding. About where Natalia was. About Kevin’s prevarication.

Especially about Jason.

She pressed a hand to her lower tummy as she poured a cup of coffee, then leaned against the counter and closed her eyes. Despite the worry she felt about what was happening with the investigation, she wanted him again, wanted more. She ached down low inside.

It was building inside her, the stress, one problem layering on another. For a little while with Jason, in his bed, with him taking control and giving her more pleasure than she’d ever known existed, she’d forgotten everything else, the cancelled wedding, Kevin’s heartbreak, the unhappy Debarros family, worry about Natalia, and on top of it all the damn
weather
and the pressure of making decisions about harvest. She’d let go of the burden of guilt she’d been carrying her whole adult life. She’d been free, free to just feel, free to let go and allow someone else to take over.

The clear blue sky outside made her want to grind her teeth.

She lifted her head to peer out the window at the sound of car tires crunching the gravel in the driveway. Erin. Kendall hurried to the back door.

“Hey sweetie,” Erin said. “How’s it going?”

Kendall smiled at her friend. “Peachy. Come on in.”

Erin smiled too and slid an arm around her shoulders to hug her. “Here. I brought you these.”

Kendall took the bag she offered and peered in. Animal crackers. She grinned. “Thank you. I’m all out and I really need these.”

She ripped open the bag inside and popped a lion into her mouth, closing her eyes briefly at the pleasure of a fresh box, sucking on the cookie for a moment before biting down on it.
Ah
. The buttery sweetness spread sensual gratification and comfort through her body.

She offered Erin a cracker, and she plucked one out and ate it too.

“Want coffee?” Kendall said.

“Absolutely.”

Kendall filled a mug for Erin and refilled her own.

“I was about to see if there’s any news,” Kendall said, moving to flick on the small television in the kitchen, just in time for a news report about the case.

“A law enforcement official who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity as the investigation continues has advised that evidence was found and has been removed from the UCLC lab where Natalia Debarros was last seen alive.”

Kendall’s head whipped up and she took a step closer to the television, clutching the box in one hand and a zebra cracker in the other. She stared at the screen. Erin moved closer too.

“We have not been able to obtain an official statement but will continue to bring you any breaking news on this story.”

Jason.
“I have to talk to Jason,” Kendall muttered. “What did they find?” She turned and met Erin’s eyes. “Oh Lord. What if…what if it’s a body?” Her fingers began to tremble so much she had to set the box down and grip the edge of the counter. She tried to breathe, her lungs tight.

“It’s okay, Kendall.” Erin rubbed her back. “We’ll find out.”

What had they found?

“I’ll try calling Jason at the station.”

But when she was put through, she got his voicemail. She didn’t leave a message, but clicked the phone off and set it back on the charger.

She sucked on her bottom lip as she stood there, trying to decide what to do next. She glanced at Erin. “Maybe I could find him if I go to the station.”

Erin eyed her uncertainly. “Maybe. But he’s likely pretty busy. I’m sure he’ll call, hon.”

“Yes. He’s been really good about keeping us informed about the investigation.” She closed her eyes briefly. “Kevin. I have to tell Kevin. And Mr. and Mrs. Debarros.” She moved away from the counter.

“Hang on, Kendall. There’s only a report from someone anonymous. Nothing official. And ‘evidence’ could be anything.”

Kendall bit her lip. Rubbed her forehead. Crappity crap crap. “I guess I should wait until there’s something more to tell them.”

“It could be good news,” Erin offered. “Something indicating Natalia’s still alive.”

But as their eyes met, Kendall knew Erin didn’t believe that.

“Sit down. Let’s drink our coffee. And eat animal crackers.” Erin nudged Kendall toward a chair at the kitchen table which she sank onto.

Kendall sucked in a deep breath and let it out.

She and Erin sat for a while, talking. “Even though the weather isn’t cooperating and we have such an early harvest, it’s lucky in other ways,” Kendall said. “Because of the wedding, I kept my calendar clear of business commitments. Normally I’d be busy meeting with distributors or the local wine marketing coalition, or hosting dinners for buyers.” She shook her head. “Thankfully I don’t have to worry about that stuff right now.”

“But you do still have a business to run.”

“That’s true. And I should catch up on the emails I’ve been neglecting all week and make some phone calls. We have some reds that’ve been aging for nearly twenty-four months that we should taste. And I just got quotes on replacing some of our older fermentation tanks I need to look at and discuss with Kevin and Michael.” She paused. “Except Kevin’s missing in action. As usual.”

“I’m sure he’s devastated by all this.”

“I know.” Kendall looked down at her coffee mug. “But the least he could do is show his face at work.” She sighed.

Erin said nothing but grimaced.

“He’s too young to get married,” Kendall blurted out.

“He’s twenty-four.”

“I know, but he’s only been out of college for a year. He’s just starting his career. And the way he’s dealing with this tragedy shows how immature he is.” She shook her head. “I mean, I feel for him. God! This is awful.”

 
Her heart ached for her little brother. Nothing in his life had ever come easy for him, although sometimes that was his own fault, and she’d do anything to help him. But she was getting increasingly frustrated by his unwillingness to tell her what he’d really been doing last weekend and by the way he was hiding out. He wasn’t exactly stepping up and dealing with this like a man.

 
“When you were twenty-four, you were raising him and running a vineyard,” Erin said.

Kendall gave a wry smile. “Yeah. I kind of had no choice though.”

“Sure you did. You didn’t have to do that. But you did.” Erin reached out and squeezed one of Kendall’s hands. “Hang in there, hon. It’s all going to be okay. Eventually.”

After Erin left to go back to her grandma’s lavender farm, Kendall walked over to the tasting room to find that Dedra had arrived for work.

“Hi, Kendall.”

She smiled at Dedra but the other girl frowned at her.

“Are you okay?” Dedra asked. “You look…tired.”

“Thanks a lot.” Kendall grimaced and ran a hand over her hair. Then her gaze sharpened on Dedra’s pale face. “Actually, you do too.”

“Oh. I’m okay.”

“Me too.” Kendall forced another smile. “On top of everything else, the grapes are ripening early. We had to start harvesting already.”

“Oh wow!” Dedra’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes. What can you do? Mother Nature doesn’t wait for anyone.” She kept her smile in place.

Dedra nodded. “If there’s anything I can do…let me know.”

“Thanks. You’re a sweetheart. How’d the microbiology exam go?”

Dedra grimaced and shook her head. “You always remember what I’m doing.”

Kendall blinked. “Well, sure.” She studied Dedra, taking in her pallor and the tightness at the corners of her mouth. “Hey, are you okay? Did your test go badly?”

“Oh.” Dedra looked away as she removed stemware from the glass washer behind the big counter. “It didn’t go that well. I was having a hard time concentrating. I didn’t get much studying done.”

“Oh no. Is this whole thing about Natalia bothering you too, hon?” Kendall stared at her in dismay. God, this was affecting everyone.

“I guess so. I know she wasn’t like my best friend or anything, but it’s still awful.”

“Yes. I suppose people are nervous too. If something happened to Natalia, there could be a killer out there.”

C
rash!
The glass Dedra was lifting out hit the tile floor and shattered. Kendall’s nerves jolted.

Dedra covered her mouth with her hands, eyes wide. “Oh no! I’m so sorry…it slipped out of my hand.”

“It’s okay,” Kendall said, working on calming her own jitters. “I’ll get a broom. Don’t worry, it’s just one glass.”

They were lovely glasses to be sure, etched with the Château Vioget insignia, but they bought them wholesale in massive quantities. Together she and Dedra cleaned up, but Dedra’s hands trembled as she worked and she didn’t look at Kendall.

“Dedra.”

“Yes.” Her gaze flicked past Kendall’s.

“It’s okay. It’s just a broken glass. You seem really upset.”

“I…I feel bad. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she repeated, her voice softening. She put a hand on Dedra’s forearm, just above the scrollwork braceleting her wrist, another of Dedra’s tattoos. “I know everyone’s all jumpy.” She apparently wasn’t the only one living in a perpetual state of stomach-knotted anxiety. “I…I just hope it’ll be over soon. Did you hear they found some evidence in the lab?”