3 The Chain of Lies (2 page)

Though Emily’s husband had died over six months before that, she’d had a hard time letting go of the grief and moving on. She and Evan had been deliriously happy, or so she’d thought. He had been her knight in shining armor, handsome and strong, decisive and fearless, yet he had loved her with such tenderness and passion that she trembled with longing at his memory.

Over time, her closest friends encouraged her to think about dating again, to get on with her life, but she didn’t know how she could. So, she would respond to their promptings by putting up her defenses and maintaining that she wasn’t ready.

Isabel’s husband was a trial lawyer and he had met the new detective at a weekly basketball game he played with his buddies at the local Y. Alex had immediately told his wife about the young man.

Another of Emily’s best friends, Maggie, was teaching an aerobics class at the Y, and the new man in town did not escape her notice either.

So between Isabel, Maggie, and their friend Camille, Emily didn’t have a chance if she wanted to avoid meeting Detective Colin Andrews.

Camille was a caterer and event planner, and she had planned the whole get-together at the Martínez home, along with Isabel’s and Maggie’s help. However, all of the elaborate planning, staged introductions, and purposely seating them together could not guarantee smooth sailing. Almost from the start there were sparks and conflict.

“You really didn’t like me, did you?” Colin asked.

“Well, I couldn’t help but notice how good-looking you were, I mean I’m not blind, but after we chatted for a while about my career choices, well…you were so condescending. I just couldn’t stand it.”

“You have to admit, though, going from selling real estate to becoming a private investigator is a bit of a leap. Who could blame me for questioning it?”

“I could. But don’t worry, I’ve already forgiven you for being so irritating that day.” She smirked at him. He couldn’t have known at the time that it wasn’t
that
big of a leap, that she had helped her husband on a few of his cases.

“Thanks,” he replied sarcastically.

“But even though we had kind of a rocky start, I’m glad you didn’t give up and you asked me out anyway.” She cast him a playful smile, grateful she had not chased him off back then by her stubbornness and sass.

“You certainly made me work for it, though, but I guess part of the fun is in the chase.” The corner of Colin’s lips turned up into a mischievous grin.

“Yeah, the chase was definitely fun.”

“Here we are,” the waitress said as she set their plates down on the table. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”

“We’re good.” Colin looked over at Emily and she nodded her agreement.

“Okie dokie.” The waitress grabbed a nearby glass coffee pot, refilled Colin’s coffee cup, and moved on to another table.

“I still can’t believe that Delia McCall hired you with practically no experience.” Colin took another drink of his black coffee. “What was she thinking?”

“Oh, come on now, it wasn’t that big of a stretch.” She buttered her french toast and licked her finger. “I wasn’t a complete newbie, I did have some experience. Evan just didn’t like it known around town, for my own protection.”

“Okay, okay,” he surrendered, briefly raising both his hands slightly. “You’re right, but I didn’t know that then.”

Emily picked up the small metal pitcher to drench her french toast in maple syrup.

“I probably shouldn’t tell you this and give you a big head, but I was really impressed with how you handled Delia’s murder case.”

“You were?” Emily arched an eyebrow, wondering what he meant by her getting a big head.

“I was. But I have to say, what totally hooked me was that thing you did in New York City.”

“What thing was that?”

“When I flew to New York City to interrogate that suspect in Delia’s case—you know, that Russian mobster—and you showed up there, too, going all Charlie’s Angels on me.”

Charlie’s Angels?
Emily wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that either. The title conjured up visions of beautiful women with kick-ass moves and guns blazing. “That hooked you? Why?” As she recalled, he’d looked none too pleased with her at the time.

“Well, I wasn’t very happy with you at first, because I specifically told you to stay in Paradise Valley,” he replied, then took another gulp of coffee, “but you didn’t listen.”

“Get to the good part.”

“Well, that day you showed me you were the kind of woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer, you wouldn’t give up, and I kinda liked that.”

“You did?” She was surprised, yet pleased, at his comments. She smiled to herself as she stuck another bite of french toast in her mouth.

“It was actually pretty hot the way you marched into the detective’s area at the station, with your wild mane of blonde hair and your tight jeans, demanding to be in on the questioning.”

“I didn’t realize I came across that way.” She grimaced. “My hair’s not usually wild. It must have been from sleeping on the plane.” She ran her fingers through her hair as she visualized what she must have looked like. “Is that why your New York detective friend dubbed me the smokin’ hot lady PI?”

Colin laughed at the description. “Could be, but I had to agree with him.” He grinned and nodded at her as he cut into his omelet and took a bite. “You did look pretty hot.”

Emily looked down and blushed, taking a sip of her water. She hadn’t realized she appeared in such a brash way. When she looked up, she caught Colin still grinning at her.

They dug into their breakfasts and reminisced about the cases they had worked together and how their relationship had grown. Before long, their food was nearly gone and it was almost time for him to shove off.

“So, tell me, when did you realize you were in love with me?” Emily swirled the last little piece of french toast around in the pool of syrup on her plate.

“The night Ricardo Vega’s murderer almost shot you. I knew I couldn’t live without you.”

Emily thought back to that night and how Colin had been so terrified of losing her. She recalled him describing how he had lost his fiancée a couple of years before, shot in the line of duty, and how he had tried to fight against his feelings for Emily because of her dangerous job as a private eye.

“Now it’s your turn,” he said. “When did you realize you were in love with me?”

She looked down at her watch. “Oh, my gosh, look at the time. You’d better take me home now so you can get on the road. You have a long drive ahead of you.”

“No fair.” Colin cast her a quizzical frown.

Emily considered telling him it was from their first kiss, when her knees went weak and his touch sent tingles shooting throughout her body, but that was lust more than love.

But then there had been the multitude of suspicions and questions flying around in her head as she investigated her husband’s murder. With mistrust running rampant, a dark cloud settled over her desire to completely allow herself to trust him.

As she uncovered more facts about her late husband, Emily questioned her own judgment. If Evan was not who he had led her to believe he was, how could she know for certain that Colin was who he claimed to be?

She had wanted to trust Colin fully, give him her whole heart, but she was not convinced until the previous night, at his going-away party, that he was who he claimed to be. Her conversation with Ernie, the Paradise Valley police officer who had known Colin his whole life, had put her suspicions to rest and set her free to love Colin without reservation.

As he sat across the table from her, Colin’s questioning stare was unrelenting. She had to tell him something.

“I knew early on that I was falling for you, but I suppose it wasn’t until you first left to go back to San Francisco that I felt this enormous, gaping hole in my heart—and in my life. I knew then that I didn’t want to live without you.”

A satisfied smile spread across his face and he reached over and laid his hand on hers. “I’m sorry this visit has been so short and that I need to get back, but you have to know I feel the same way. It’s agony being away from you.”

“That’s a good word for it—agony.” Emily smiled weakly, willing back the tears again.

He waved at the waitress to bring their bill.

~*~

Colin drove her back to her home in the charming older part of town and walked her up to her front porch to say their reluctant good-byes. He gathered her up in his arms and held her close, studying her striking turquoise eyes and her rosy lips, not knowing when he would see them again.

“Don’t cry, Emily. I’ll be back before you know it.” He wiped a tear from her cheek and pushed a golden curl back from her face.

“Promise?” Her watery eyes looked into his. “San Francisco is such a long way away.”

“But I didn’t leave my heart in San Francisco, Emily, like the song says. My heart is in Paradise Valley, with you.” He kissed her deeply and fervently, as if it might be their last.

They were both very aware that life can be fragile and no one is promised tomorrow.

~*~

Before leaving, Colin agreed to phone her while he was on the road and also to let her know when he arrived at his folks’ house. “And please, Emily, keep your doors and windows locked.”

“I will,” she assured him.

“And remember that black sedan that’s been tailing you—keep your eyes open. We still have no idea who it could be.”

“I will, I promise.”

“Call Ernie, or my friend Decker at the Boise PD, if you need anything.”

“Yes, yes, I will.”

“Call me if—”

“Please, don’t worry about me, Colin. I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl—I can take care of myself. Remember? I’m a pistol-packing—”

“Smokin’ hot lady PI. I know. I know. But I can’t help but worry about you, Babe.” Being protective was in his blood. Colin had once been a marine and then he had been a policeman in San Francisco, rising to lead police detective for five years before moving to Paradise Valley. Taking over as their new police detective had been a fresh start for him, and an opportunity to heal from the loss of his fiancée.

“I know. I’ll call you if anything happens,” she promised. “You need to get going.”

“All right, but make sure you call me.”

She waved as he drove away in his red Jeep, doing her best to keep a brave smile spread across her lips. Once he had gone, she wiped a couple of tears from her cheek.

During their last morning together, she hadn’t wanted to remind Colin about the suspicious black sedan or that someone had broken into her house a couple of times searching for something. She knew it would only cause him to worry. Still, with no mention of it from her, he didn’t seem to be able to leave without warning her again.

Emily wished she knew what her stalker was after. All she could do was speculate that it had something to do with Evan and the surprising things she had recently uncovered about him, particularly the suspicious handgun, a Beretta pistol, she had found hidden in his secret safe deposit box.

Sadly, she watched as Colin drove out of sight. She missed him already. As she stood on her sunny porch thinking about him, Emily wondered when he would be able to return for good. Saying good-bye for the second time was excruciating. She wiped another tear that trickled down her cheek and then took a long, deep breath.

With resignation, she lumbered across the porch and stuck her key in the lock. As she unlocked her front door, she glanced up and down her street to be certain she and Colin hadn’t been followed back to her house.

Seeing no one out of the ordinary, she slipped into her house and kicked off her shoes by the door. She pulled her handgun out of her purse and carefully crept back to the kitchen, peeking around corners, with her weapon poised to shoot. Emily was determined not to be a victim, and she silently reminded herself of that fact.

I know how to handle a gun—I teach self-defense classes—I can take care of myself.

By the time she reached the kitchen, she was reasonably certain she was safe and alone. Setting her purse and gun down on her breakfast bar, she noticed an opened envelope lying on top of a stack of mail. It had come the day before, but she had set it aside because she was headed out to the going-away party.

Perching herself on a barstool, she pulled the folded paper out of the envelope. Addressed to Evan Parker, it was a letter from a storage facility alerting her late husband that his next year’s rent on the unit was due. She hadn’t been aware Evan had a storage unit.

Her thoughts flew to the unidentified brass key she had found in his safe deposit box a couple of months before. She still hadn’t figured out what it opened. But now, with this letter coming from the storage facility, she wondered if it would open a padlock on that unit—Evan’s unit.

Having seen Colin off, her day was wide open, and rather than spend it missing Colin, she hopped in her car and headed to the storage facility to check it out. It was only mid-morning—she’d have plenty of time to search through whatever Evan had hidden there.

Making sure she wasn’t being followed, she kept a sharp eye on her rearview mirrors as she made a series of three right turns in the center of town. Since no car appeared to be tailing her, particularly not a black one, she drove to the storage company on the edge of town.