Zeph Undercover (5 page)

He stepped back to let the dog pass and walked a wide path around the cat before he cut back to the business district. The old-fashioned architecture must date from Gold Rush Days—lacy balconies, board sidewalks, fancy brickwork.

He paused to admire the town square, an entire block of smooth grass, tidy flower beds pinched and gray in the autumn chill, and a picture perfect gazebo-like structure with lots of wooden gingerbread painted a blinding white. The place practically shouted small-town-get-togethers. He snorted and went on to linger along the block of stores that included a red brick building with a discreet sign on the door: Lincoln Wentworth, Attorney At Law.

The lock looked like easy picking, but the sheriff’s office loomed directly across the square. There might be an alley, but before he could check, a white Blazer pulled to a stop in front of him. The blocky black letters marking it as the sheriff’s vehicle brought him up short. He plastered an innocent expression on his face.

Sheriff Monty Rollins got out of the vehicle and strode over to grab his hand. “Howdy, Granger. Can’t keep away from our Allie, huh?”

God, could this get any worse? Sure it could. The whole town could be in on the scam, a la
Murder on the Orient Express
. Allie could out him. Allie’s father could get out that shotgun and… He cut that thought off. “Hello, Sheriff.”

“If you’re looking for the Judge, he’s probably gone home by now.”

“Yeah, I saw him at the house. Just out for a walk. Taking quick tour of the town.”

Rollins laughed. “Not a lot here, not compared to Lost Angels. Where’s Allie?”

Zeph winced at the slang term for the city he loved. How would it go over if he were to call this place Stoned Crossing? He smiled. “I left her at the clinic. She had some stuff to do. I guess I was in the way.”

“Heard you didn’t like Miz Bartelett’s cat much.”

Geez. From his stay with Hannah and Luke, he knew better than to expect anything approaching privacy, but still… “It was asleep. Looked like—” A pile of dead stuff. “It didn’t look too good.” He groped for a change of subject. “Being sheriff here must be easy. Every time anyone takes a deep breath, it’s all over town before you can say ‘grapevine.’”

“You got that right. Word does tend to get around about what a body does. Reckon you don’t get much of that in the big city.”

“Not so much, no.”

“Must make detective work challenging.”

“Yeah, but I rise to challenges.”

“Good thing you’re not here on business, then.” The enigmatic glance that went with the words made Zeph wonder if Allie or Hannah had confided in the sheriff. “Wouldn’t be no challenge a-tall.”

“And a good thing I’m not a crook”.

“I figure you could give me a run for my money. But, y’know, sometimes the job gets kind of interesting here. Can’t say I’m dying of boredom. Always got something to keep my eye on. Like a couple of guys from Sacramento that show up here from time to time.”

“Why?”

“Visitin’ someone out east of town. Not sure who, but I’ve got my suspicions.”

Zeph waited, but Rollins didn’t continue. “I better get going. Allie should be free soon.”

“Good idea. Martha doesn’t like people bein’ late for dinner.”

Zeph walked slowly along Main Street, mulling over his options. If he had to break into Wentworth’s office, would it be better to have established that he walked a lot at night? No flies on that sheriff.

Or Allie. Better call her. He pulled out his phone and dialed the clinic.

“I’m on my way to Dad’s. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes,” she said in a frosty voice.

“I’m not at your dad’s. I walked into town so we could talk before you get to his house.”

“Where are you?”

“Crossing the square.”

“I’ll be right there.” Her voice thawed a fraction. “Are you going to brief me for the mission, Chief?”

“Hadn’t planned on it. I need to—” He broke off as she pulled up beside him. He climbed into the truck and fumbled for his seat belt as she accelerated. “We have to be believable this evening. If you keep acting like you’re mad at me, your Dad’s going to catch on.”

Allie pulled to the curb and turned to face him. “I’m not mad at you. I just—”

He didn’t want to hear that she never wanted to see him again. “All right, not mad. But not happy to see me. Not hopeful or flirty or loving or any of those good things.” With surprise he realized how good they sounded to him. “The ice is thicker than the North Pole.”

“You want me to pretend—”

The firm should have sent a stranger. Someone to ride into town, threaten everyone, and wait for clues to drop like ripe peaches. Instead, here he was, up to his knees in a case that looked like the horse apples that littered this damned country. “I want you to act like you’re glad to see me.”

“I’m not that good an actress.”

Zeph swallowed a sigh. “Allie. Be reasonable,” he said, and wanted to bite his tongue. Any time he said “
be reasonable
” to his mother, she blew like Mount St. Helens. Allie took a deep breath and he resisted the urge to duck for cover. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t even mean that.”

She didn’t buy it.

“I know you’re ready to turn me into dog food.”

“Pretty much.”

If it hadn’t been for those sparkling blue eyes, the soft mouth that begged for kisses, if she weren’t Allie… “But you agreed to help me. And if you act like you hate me…it won’t work.”

She crossed her arms.

He squelched an urge to duck. “You’re a smart woman, Allison.”

“Okay,” she said with a sigh. “I get it. You’re right.”

“Thank you. Now tell me who lives east of town, please.”

“Why? What does that have to do with anything?”

“I’ve been talking to people. Questions come up.”

“A couple of ranches, the Thompsons and the Petersons. Our librarian, Mabel. Seldon has a little dump of a place a few miles out. The Hennetts live just on the edge of town, right next to Rodriguez.”

Rodriguez. Funny how the guy cropped up everywhere. And Seldon. “Seldon. That’s the guy we arrested last time I was here?”

“His little brother. Wendover is as mean as Lander. But a lot dumber.”

He nodded with satisfaction. “I knew you’d be helpful.” He grinned. “I look forward to having you for a girlfriend.”

That didn’t even rate a response. “I’ll keep my word. But I’m not an actor.” Her voice took on a bitter tinge. “Not like you.”

Zing. “I’ve never acted about my feelings with you, Allie.”

“How could I tell?”

The hurt in her eyes gave him a lump in his throat. “I guess you couldn’t. And if I say ‘trust me,’ that’s not going to help, is it?”

Allie laughed. Not a happy laugh, one with an undercurrent of bitterness that made it sour. “Not really.”

He leaned toward her and touched her cheek. “I’ve never had to do a job when I—when my feelings—Allie, I’m just so sorry that what’s between us is getting tangled up in this case.”

Her eyes went wide and he thought he could fall into the mountain-lake depths and drown a happy man. His hand slipped around to the back of her head and pulled her closer until her lips met his. Everything in him went soft and loose even as his blood simmered and his mouth settled over hers in a kiss that threatened to blast the top off his head. His ears rang.

Allie pulled away, and he realized that the ringing came from outside the car. He looked up and met Monty’s amused gaze. The sheriff hit his siren again, a quick blurt, and drove away, his grin wide as the American West had ever been.

“I guess that supports your cover story,” Allie said, popping the truck in gear and pulling onto the road without checking for traffic.

Zeph’s L. A.-honed nerves jumped and he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the nearest car was two blocks away. “Sure does.” He tried for a cocky grin, but everything inside him resisted. He gave up. “Allie, that wasn’t about a cover story. That was about the way I feel.”

She ignored him.

****

Allie accepted a drink from her father, who turned to Zeph to play the perfect host. And Zeph acted the perfect guest. Did either of them believe it, or were they both acting?

If only she could believe Zeph. She knew all the touching and kissing had to be faked. After That Night in L. A., she was done with Zeph. Really. But he followed her into her father’s living room, just like a—well, a date. He got her a drink. He sat beside her. Acted the boyfriend part with apparent ease. It made her heart hurt.

One day at a time. She only had to get through this evening without letting her confusion show. After fifteen minutes of suffering her father and his protective parent thing, she revised her goal. She had to get through the evening without telling her father Zeph’s real purpose in coming to Stone’s Crossing.

“Dad,” she said when Zeph excused himself to take a call on his cell. “I’m twenty-eight, not sixteen. You can stop the heavy parent routine any time. Please.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Of course you don’t. I don’t, either. Why would you assume Zeph is going to hurt me?”
Any more than he already has.

“He’s too sophisticated. I don’t trust him.”

“I do.” Sure. She trusted him to do his job and leave. Trusted him to go back to his playboy lifestyle.

When Zeph returned, her father intercepted him, almost dragging him across the room to look at some historical pictures of Stone’s Crossing in the Gold Rush days. “Here’s a picture of Luke’s old family home,” her father said as he handed it to Zeph.

Allie curled up on the sofa. The two men bent over the table. Her father solid and judge-like and dependable. Zeph dark and dangerous and…desirable. She sipped her drink and promised herself she didn’t care.

“That’s Allie’s clinic,” Zeph said, looking at the picture of Luke’s old home.

“Yes. Derek—you remember Derek, I’m sure—made sure Luke’s ranch was sold off after—”

“After Derek made sure Luke was framed for murder,” Allie put in.

“Yes,” her father finished. “I bought the house then. Derek tried to convert some of the best land in the valley to vacation homes, but I was able to stop that.”

“And Allie ended up with what I’m assuming was the original ranch house,” Zeph said.

“Yes. When she went to Davis to study veterinary medicine, I realized the property would be perfect for a clinic.”

Zeph raised an eyebrow. “Nice graduation present. I’d guess she deserves it.”

Allie’s traitorous heart kicked over. Maybe he really had come here for her. No, he hadn’t. Repeat after me: big city; other women. “It was the perfect present,” she said. “Maybe also something of a bribe.” She smiled at her father.

“Allie’s never failed me,” her father said stiffly. “And we couldn’t have our new vet setting up practice somewhere else. Stone’s Crossing needs her.” Her father’s look at Zeph might almost be called challenging. After a moment, he picked up another picture and handed it to Zeph.

Allie went back to thinking about Zeph’s case. Did she believe him when he’d said building scam? She did. Nothing else made sense. None of the stores in town were big enough to cheat on a state-wide basis. In fact, since Paul had been convinced to keep his thumb off the scale when he weighed meat, Stone’s Crossing stores were pretty much cheat-free.

As for politics, the current mayor, Bill Bartelett, believed in an open door policy. He conducted town business right out in front of everyone. Nothing flaky there.

The bank didn’t seem to be doing anything particularly heinous, just doling out small loans and generally being conservative but helpful to the community. It had even, she’d heard, foreclosed on the few summer cabins built on Luke’s old ranch. No outsiders or state-wide involvement there.

So Zeph must be telling the truth. A building scam, which had to involve the company Derek Blanton had started and run until he...left. The company had had, and still had, lots of projects outside of Stone’s Crossing, of course, because such a small town couldn’t support a big company. Zeph had no reason to trust Derek’s honesty, nor did anyone else after the revelations of last summer.

So some swindle involving Blanton’s, just as Zeph had told her. She shook her head, still almost unable to believe what Derek had done. She’d grown up with him. And Luke and Hannah. Derek had been mayor of Stone’s Crossing for nine years. Crazed with love for Luke’s first wife, he’d framed Luke for her murder, stolen Luke’s property, and then tried to kill Hannah.

Santos Rodriguez ran the company now, but as far as she knew, no policies had been changed. Could he be carrying on whatever Derek had instigated? She didn’t think so, but what did she know about the man?

Not much. In fact, Santos ghosted through town like a—well, ghost. She’d always thought he was shy. Rarely seen, he had spoken almost solely to Derek. Now—he had no one, no close friends, no significant other, as far as she knew. He might be Zeph’s chief suspect.

But the court-appointed conservator for Derek would be the first to fall under suspicion. With access to all the records, he should have caught any scams right away. The court-appointed conservator, retired Judge Lincoln Wentworth.