Book Club Bloodshed (5 page)

On her way to the police station, Missy called Lee Greenberg’s office. She had the number stored in her cell because Lee had helped her mother update her will last year.

“Good morning, Missy. As much as I hope it is, I’m assuming this is not a social call?”

“I’m calling on behalf of Noreen Sullivan.”

“Don’t tell me they’ve arrested her for the murder of Anne Baxter.”

News traveled fast in Grove City. It always did. “You got it.”

“The police can never get anything right, can they? Last time they waited too long and that oaf Gordon Cooper almost squeezed the life out of you. This time they jump the gun and arrest clearly the wrong person.”

Lee was very outspoken in his political views, many of which were negative toward the police. Missy found herself in the strange position of wanting to defend Tyler, even though he’d arrested her best friend.

“So you’ll take the case?”

“You had me at Noreen Sullivan.” Most men found Noreen attractive. Somehow she managed to be sexy and yet pull off the girl-next-door quality as well. Lee was no exception and Missy remembered he’d asked specifically about Noreen last year, when she and her mother had been in his office.

“Glad to hear you’re taking the case for all the right reasons, Lee,” Missy teased.

He laughed. “What better reason is there than to rescue a damsel-in-distress from a gross miscarriage of justice?”

“Do you think you can get her out?”

“Of course.”

Missy stopped at the intersection before the police station. “How?”

“To be determined, Missy. But a good lawyer can find a way to argue about anything. That’s what they call advocacy.”

Missy shook her head. Even before one had tried to strangle her, Missy normally didn’t care much for attorneys. They were generally full of themselves and capable of talking out of both sides of their mouth. She believed there was a right and a wrong if you looked hard enough and thought that people these days hid behind their lawyers to get out of obligations.

But she was happy she’d called Lee. There was a lot of swagger in his talk, but she felt confident he could do something for her.

***

Missy walked into the police station. Chief Brody was sitting in his office, staring at her through the glass just like last time she’d been in here. This time she decided to give him a flip little wave. He nodded once then went back to his computer. She wondered what he actually did, because it seemed like Tyler did all the work.

Tyler came out of the other office. His uniform looked freshly-pressed. Missy caught herself wondering whether Jill had ironed it for him this morning...she shook the thought away and focused on the more pressing issue, like her best friend's incarceration.

"Good morning, Melissa," he said in a stiff voice. He was putting on an act for some reason. "How can I help you?"

"First, can I see Noreen?"

"I'm sorry. Only staff and attorneys are allowed back there."

She nodded, expecting that answer. "Could I have a minute of your time?"

“Of course,” he said, just as stiffly.

As they walked through the open floor of the station, Missy felt all eyes on her. No wonder Tyler was acting very formal with her, everybody was watching and the constant rumors that she was using their past relationship to influence him must have been stifling. She felt bad, for a moment, about forcing the meeting with him but then again Noreen was locked up.

He opened the door to his office. His desk was much neater than the last time she was here and to her surprise there was a bonsai tree in the corner next to a new, but empty fish tank. The room now seemed to have a little bit of a feminine touch and jealousy tore through Missy. She scanned his desk as she sat in the chair facing him and her eyes landed on a picture of him and Jill.

They were standing in front of a waterfall. The picture had a South American feel to it. Tyler's arm was around Jill's shoulders and her hand was at his waist. Jill was only a couple inches shorter than him, and Tyler was tall, so she must have been pushing six feet. Missy couldn't help but be jealous of her figure and her beauty. She was
very
attractive.

But that should have come as no surprise. Tyler was a hunk and a good man to boot, present circumstances notwithstanding.

His eyes followed hers and recognition filled them as he realized she was looking at the picture of Jill.

She couldn't help herself. "Nice picture. Where were you?"

"Venezuela, for our fifth anniversary." He spoke without emotion, matter-of-factly. "Melissa, how can I help you?"

You can help me by letting my friend go. And by not acting like we're perfect strangers.

"Anne Baxter might have been having an affair."

He barely reacted, which made her think he already knew. "Might have been?"

She nodded. "With a cop."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"How do you know she
might
have been having an affair?"

She didn't want to mention Trudy. The woman was already scared silly and giving up her identity to Tyler would only make things worse.

"I'd rather not say."

"Did you see her with somebody?"

"No. This was information passed along to me."

Tyler asked why they thought it was a cop and what had been seen, and she shared the details of Trudy's story. By the time she was done, she knew Tyler would be easily able to figure out that Trudy had shared this with her as she worked in the shopping center where this happened.

"Thanks for coming forward, Melissa." He stood. "I'll follow-up on this."

He headed for the door, signaling the end of the interview.

"Wait."

He stopped, his hand halfway to the knob.

"What about Noreen?"

"Melissa, you know I can't discuss an open investigation with you."

"You just did."

He shook his head. "No, that was you providing me with information."

She wanted to walk up and shake him. "It's Noreen, Tyler. Do you honestly think she did it?"

He opened the door. "Melissa, I cannot discuss this with you."

She hated how he was pushing her out of his office. It made her feel like he was pushing her out of his life. Even though they hadn't been that close since his return, she'd felt
something
existed between them. He was making a conscious effort to ignore it. It would be one thing if he was acting normally around her, but right now he was trying so hard to act like there was nothing between them.

"She's innocent. And I'm going to prove it."

Tyler looked at her. "Don't do this again."

"Do what? Solve a crime? Shouldn't that be your goal?"

He slammed his door. He was not an angry man so normally seeing an outburst like this from him would frighten her. But this time? This time she was happy just to get some kind of reaction. She'd gotten under his skin.

"Melissa." His hands were on his shoulders. "All the evidence points at Noreen. I don't like it any more than you do, but the facts are the facts. I can't ignore them or explain them away."

"What facts?"

He was still gripping her shoulders. His hands were so strong and warm. His touch sent a wave through her body. Her thighs tingled.

"If I'm wrong about this, that means there's a killer out there," Tyler said. "I don't want you risking your life again."

"I'm willing to risk my life for Noreen." Her anger and resolve was melting away, the longer he held onto her. "She's my best friend."

He shook his head, smirking. "I should know by now I can't stop you once you've made your mind up. You've always been headstrong."

"Me?" She laughed. "Pot, meet kettle."

"I'm a reed in the wind compared to you, Melissa DeMeanor."

She saw that old twinkle in his eye for just a moment. It had been a frequent occurrence in high school, usually preceding some harmless mischief or signaling he was about to make his move on her. In a nanosecond, she was transported back in time to one of the many moments they'd spent in the back of his car. He always knew where to park so they could have privacy. She could still feel the press of his body on hers in that seat, the windows fogging quickly.

"She didn't do this, Tyler."

He finally let go of her and she hated it.

"I'm sorry I never told you," Tyler said. She knew what he was referring to: Noreen. "But honestly, you and I had already fallen out of touch by then and it would have been weird just to email you out of the blue to let you know that we..."

He acted like that was all that needed to be said, but to her there was a big gaping black hole filled with unanswered questions. She'd never understood why they'd drifted apart so quickly in college. Sure, they'd agreed to see other people (a decision she regretted immediately) but once they had gone to separate schools for freshman year, they basically stopped talking. How had he been able to give her up so easily, when she'd spent so many nights those four years thinking about him? There had been a few other men, and there were times when Tyler was shuffled into the dim part of the back of her mind. But no matter what—no matter what—he always found a way to resurface in her thoughts at the most random of times.

She'd loved two other men, but they'd come and gone and she didn't give them much thought these days. But Tyler?

She thought about him every day. And she hated it.

Though she knew she wouldn't like whatever answer he gave, she had to ask. "You never emailed me to let me know that you guys did what exactly?"

For an instant, he looked like he was going to explain everything to her. She waited anxiously as his eyes got a faraway look and his mouth opened. But then his face hardened back into the mask he wore for his job every day.

"Melissa, it was a long time ago, back in college. It hardly matters now."

How could it not? Both of them had felt the need to keep their whatever it was from her all these years. It mattered enough to them to hide it.

He filled the silence. "It was very brief and we kind of knew that it would be brief going in...it's compl—”

"Complicated?" she asked, growing real tired of hearing that word come out of his mouth. "Just like it's
complicated
with your wife? I'm detecting a pattern here."

"Don't be cruel," he said. "My point is that it was a long time ago."

"So by that logic, our relationship hardly matters now also." She folded her arms. "It happened so long ago."

He was instantly on the defensive. "No."

"We were just kids, so it meant nothing, right?"

"No, Melissa." He was shaking his head and his face was turning red. He looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole. "That's not true, you're twisting my words."

"No, I'm trying to understand your words. You basically vanished after we went to college and I've never known why and..." There were so many more questions but she couldn't keep them straight in her mind. She needed closure. As stupid as it sounded, that was what she needed. They had drifted apart almost twenty years ago and it was still bothering her, even after all this time.

"Melissa, I really can't talk about this right now."

"When's a good time?" she said.

He opened the door again. "I have work to do."

For a moment, she didn't move. Her eyes bore into him and he squirmed under their glare.

"I have a murder investigation to close," he said.

"Yeah." She grimaced. "Me too."

As Tyler herded Missy to the exit, she peered left and right to take note of all the other male cops working there. Several of them she knew personally because they were close in age to her, but there were a few newbies, younger guys that looked like they'd just graduated. It made her feel old.

"How many people do you have working here now?" she asked, as Tyler escorted her to the door.

"Really, Melissa?"

"I'm going to find out either way. So you might as well tell me."

She hadn't kept her voice down and immediately regretted it. The desk sergeant turned in her chair to watch them. As much as Missy was angry with Tyler, she still didn't want to get him in trouble at work.

"File a FOIA request if you want," Tyler said.

Then he turned on his heel and strode back to his office quickly, shutting the door behind him.

Missy felt the sergeant's eyes still on her. "A FOIA request?"

"Freedom of Information Act." The sergeant turned in her chair back to her computer. "That usually takes about six months to get processed."

Great. Missy didn't have six months. But she did have something else. A reporter in Ellen Stein. Just as she reached the entrance, the door flew open and in breezed Lee Greenberg.

The attorney had been a year ahead of her and had given Tyler a run for his money as the high school's star athlete. Whereas Tyler was easy-going and down to earth (or at least
had
been), Lee was flamboyant, gregarious, and very Type A. In high school, the two men had been what would today be called frenemies, alternating between fiercely competitive and also fiercely supportive.

It didn't hurt Lee's ego that he was a good-looking guy. He had a jaw a male model would die for and warm green eyes. Meeting with him for the first time again last summer, she knew the moment she saw him he'd lost none of his swagger.

"Missy! Good morning to you." He flashed the smile she'd seen so often in the newspaper and on billboards, the one he used for his ads.

She looked over her shoulder to make sure Tyler was still in his office. The desk sergeant watched them closely. Missy pulled the attorney aside and lowered her voice.

"I told Tyler what I found out last night but he's not letting Noreen go."

Lee shook his head, showing what she thought was an exaggerated amount of outrage. But perhaps he needed to do that: put on a performance.

"I need to know what you know."

The cat was out of the bag. She'd already told Tyler, and he didn't seem that motivated to explore the jealous lover angle. Trudy had sworn her to secrecy, but Noreen was more important to her. Missy kept her voice lowered and shared the information with Lee.

He nodded, taking it all in. "Fear not. This transgression will not go unpunished."

"Can we meet later?"

"Yes. But keep this in mind. If you're called as a witness, you'll be forced to testify and share whatever I've told you. So our conversations will be mostly a one-way street. Okay?"

She nodded. "Just get her out of here."

"Post haste," he said. “In the meantime, assuming the impossible happens and I can’t get her released, I need you to help also.”

Missy nodded. “I’m already on it.”

“All the police exercise at WiredFit, that new place. They do all those compound, heavy movements and extreme circuits.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’m, uh,
dating
one of the trainers there.” He winked at her and pressed a card into her hand. She read it quickly: Anastasia Monroe, Personal Trainer, Certified WiredFit Health Professional.

Missy nodded.

“Just tell Anastasia you’re a friend of mine. She’ll give you a trial week, no charge.”

“Okay.” Missy wasn’t so sure about this. She’d been an athlete in high school. But that was in high school. These days, the elliptical sometimes gave her coordination trouble.

Lee leaned in so close she could smell his overpowering mouthwash. “After the workout they retire to Carney’s Beef and Ale.”

“Oh God, Carney’s…” Missy immediately put a hand on her stomach. She hadn’t been to Carney’s in years, not since she’d tried their soft shell crabs and had been sick in bed after for two days. She should have listened to her father. It was wise to never get seafood at a steakhouse, and vice versa.

“It wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on these guys.” Lee squared his shoulders and adjusted his tie. “I’ll try to get you some help, too.”

“Help?”

“I think this warrants an independent investigator.”

A private eye? Missy nodded, miffed at first that Lee thought she needed help, but finally swallowing her pride and agreeing it was a good idea. Noreen’s life was at stake, so she should be grateful for all the help she could get.

“I’ll talk to you later?”

“You bet.”