Deadly Rivalry (Hardy Brothers Security Book 17) (10 page)

“
W
here is she
?”

James stormed onto the second floor of the parking garage and swept the expansive concrete area with furious eyes as he looked for his wife.

“She’s in the police cruiser,” Heidi said, pointing. The sheriff’s deputy questioning her scowled when she interrupted his flow. “I’m sorry, but you’re bugging me. My friend did not murder someone and I don’t like the way you’re treating her or me. I can’t be nice when you’re being a douche.”

“You tell him, Heidi,” James said, striding toward the car. Mandy sat in the back, her hands cuffed behind her, and her blue eyes widened when they landed on James. “I want my wife out of this car right now.”

The cruiser door was shut and Mandy opened her mouth to say something before snapping it closed and fighting to hold back tears. She looked lost. James rested his palm against the window. “I’ll have you out in a few minutes, baby. It’s going to be okay.”

Mandy pressed her lips together and wordlessly nodded.

“I love you,” James said.

“I love you, too.” James couldn’t hear the words as Mandy mouthed them, but his heart rolled as he studied her face. She was on the brink of breaking down. He had to get her out of there. “Who is in charge here?”

James swiveled away from Mandy and fixed the closest deputy with a challenging look. “I want my wife out of that car.”

“Your wife has been taken into custody for the murder of Madeline Stokes,” the deputy replied. “If you don’t like it, you can take it up with the murderer you married.”

“Don’t push me,” James hissed, reaching for his phone. “This is unbelievable.”

Grady picked up on the first ring. “Do you have her?”

“She’s locked in the back of a patrol cruiser and then won’t let me near her,” James raged. “Get me the best lawyer money can buy in this parking garage in twenty minutes. I don’t care how much it costs.”

When James got the call from a panicked Heidi that Mandy had been arrested he was dumbfounded. Initially he thought it was a prank. When Heidi burst into uncontrollable sobs, though, James took her fear seriously and raced to the courthouse. Now that he was in the middle of things and could see the body in Mandy’s trunk his disbelief had turned to frustration.

How could this have possibly happened?

“I’ve been on it since you left,” Grady said. “Peter got us John Givens. He’s the best defense attorney in the state.”

“He’s also the go-to guy for every legitimate criminal in the area,” James pointed out.

“Does it matter if he gets Mandy released?” Grady challenged. “We both know she’s not guilty. We also know she’s going to crumble if she spends a night in jail and you’re going to break if you’re separated from her. What do you want?”

“I want Givens here,” James said. “I want my wife.”

“I’m on my way, too,” Grady said. “I’ve already put a call in to Sheriff Morgan. He didn’t pick up, but I left a message. If I have to go to the sheriff’s department and stalk him, I will. What else do you want me to do?”

“Find out who killed Madeline.”

Grady sighed. “I started the search like we talked about,” he said. “Jake is focusing on it right now and he and Finn are going to go through every ounce of information we get. We pulled Maverick in to help because we need answers fast. We’re working on it.”

“I know,” James said, his voice cracking. “I don’t know how this happened, though. Madeline is dead and Mandy is on the hot seat. I … why can’t Mandy catch one single break? Why is this always happening to her?”

“I don’t know,” Grady said. “We’ll fix it. We’ll clear her name.”

“Hurry up and get down here,” James instructed. “I want my wife, and if they don’t give her to me in exactly five minutes, you’re going to be bailing me out, too.”

“
I
’M
SORRY
it took me so long, but Peter briefed me on what was happening over the phone on my way over here and I am ready to reunite you with your wife.”

John Givens was tall and well dressed, his tailored suit perfectly pressed. He carried himself with an air of authority and entitled charm, although James wasn’t in the mood to bow down to Givens until he started working for his retainer.

“Get my wife out of that car!”

Givens didn’t appear worried about James’ tone or manic appearance. “Who is in charge here, please?”

A deputy moved away from Mandy’s Ford Focus and closed the distance between Givens and himself. “I’m Detective Mark Mason. This is my case.”

“Well, great,” Givens said. “You’re going to be the first person we sue if you don’t release Mrs. Hardy from that vehicle in the next thirty seconds.”

“Excuse me?” Mason arched a challenging eyebrow. “Amanda Hardy is a suspect in a murder investigation. Who do you think you are to dictate her release?”

“And what evidence do you have?” Givens asked, not missing a beat. “Oh, and for the record, I am her attorney. I thought you understood that. I can speak slower if it helps.”

James fought the mad urge to laugh. He liked Givens’ style given the circumstances.

“You mean other than the woman in question being found dead in the back of her car?” Mason asked, his tone droll.

“Yes,” Givens said. “Amanda Hardy was in the county courthouse for the entire day. She sat through jury selection in a case, and she was with that woman at The Pantry for lunch.” Givens pointed toward Heidi for emphasis. “When did she have time to kill someone?”

“We won’t have a time of death until the medical examiner does an autopsy,” Mason said. “It looks like she died during the night. Was she in court then, too?”

“No, but she was with me the entire night,” James argued.

“You can account for your wife’s whereabouts for every minute between five yesterday afternoon and nine this morning?” Mason didn’t look convinced.

“As a matter of fact, I can,” James seethed. “You see, I spent the afternoon at work with her because my co-worker took my Explorer home from a Mount Clemens restaurant after lunch. Yesterday was a busy day for us. We had sex in my wife’s office during the lunch hour. It was the talk of the courthouse. You can ask anyone.

“I sat in the courtroom for the entire afternoon and then walked back to her office with her when court was over,” he continued. “Then we picked up Thai food and drove home, where we proceeded to eat the Thai food.”

“Uh-huh.” Mason looked annoyed. “And then you watched her every second after that?”

“Pretty much,” James confirmed. “We got naked and crawled into our hot tub with a bottle of wine, where we proceeded to talk and have sex for the next three hours. Then we went into our guesthouse because we were too lazy to walk to the house and had sex again.

“There’s a bedroom on the second floor, so that’s where we went to sleep around eleven,” he continued. “She sleeps on top of me every night. That’s right, on top of me. She didn’t move until this morning. Neither of us did.”

Mason’s mouth dropped open. “Are you seriously using sex as an alibi?”

“I’m using the truth as an alibi,” James countered.

“Nice,” Grady said, moving to take the spot next to his brother as his expressionless eyes scanned the scene. “I see you’ve taken your bragging to a whole other level.”

“I don’t care what he thinks,” James muttered. “I want my wife.”

“Sir, your wife is the only suspect in a brutal murder,” Mason said. “I think you’re going to have a long wait.”

“What’s going on here?” Sheriff Aaron Morgan strode into the parking garage, his gaze bouncing between Mason, James, and Givens before settling back on Mason. “I understand you found a body?”

“Yes, sir,” Mason replied, straightening. “Shortly before three this afternoon we received an anonymous tip about a body in the trunk of a car. We came to the location, found the vehicle in question, and opened the trunk. At that point we found one Madeline Stokes, age thirty, deceased. She’s been strangled, although we’re still trying to ascertain if a tourniquet was used.

“We tracked down the owner of the car, one Amanda Avery-Hardy, and when she entered the parking garage shortly after five we took her into custody,” Mason said.

Morgan glanced at James. “Do you know Madeline Stokes?”

“We’ve been working a job for her,” James replied. “That job ended yesterday.”

“Sir, the anonymous caller said that Mr. Hardy was having an affair with Ms. Stokes and that’s why Mrs. Hardy killed her and hid the body in her trunk,” Mason volunteered.

James scowled. “I am not having an affair,” he snapped. “I don’t cheat on my wife. I just told you she was with me all last night.”

“And she was with me all day today except for lunch,” Judge MacIntosh said, joining the fray with a concerned look on his face. “As for lunch, I happen to know she walked across the street and had breakfast items with Heidi during that time. They talked about what they ate upon their return. I believe it was eggs, hash browns, and bacon. She hasn’t had time to kill someone. Besides that, she’s not the type of person who would kill someone.”

“Didn’t Amanda Hardy kill Lance Pritchard four weeks ago?” Mason pressed.

“I will … .” James reached for Mason, but Grady grabbed him before he could touch the belligerent peacekeeper.

“Don’t make things worse,” Grady hissed. “He’s trying to bait you.”

“It’s working,” James muttered.

“I can vouch for Mrs. Hardy in the Pritchard situation,” Morgan said, taking everyone by surprise. It wasn’t like him to insert himself into an investigation. “Pritchard broke into the Hardy home and planned on stealing his grandchild once the baby was born and killing his daughter and Mrs. Hardy. Mrs. Hardy could do nothing but what she did if she didn’t want to die.”

“With all due respect, sir, that seems like a convenient excuse,” Mason said.

“Listen, you little maggot! My wife had to deliver a baby under threat of a knife from a prolific rapist and killer,” James seethed. “She delivered her nephew and then protected him and his mother from an animal. Don’t you dare say anything about her!”

“Mr. Hardy, please calm down,” Givens said. “You’re not helping matters and the sheriff’s department has no right to take your wife into custody. If they continue down this road, you’ll own every single one of them before the year is out.”

“That doesn’t help me now,” James spat.

“You can’t sue me,” Mason scoffed. “I’m doing my job. I have a dead body in the trunk of a car. It doesn’t get more clear cut than that.”

“Except for the anonymous caller who happened to know where the body was who also conveniently managed to point you toward Mrs. Hardy because of an affair that absolutely no one can corroborate,” Givens pointed out. “Mrs. Hardy has multiple alibis and you don’t have a time of death.”

“So?” Mason challenged.

“So, how is it that you took Mrs. Hardy into custody – and that’s what you did because she’s in cuffs and locked in the back of a cruiser – without evidence pointing toward her guilt?”

“Who else would it be?” Mason asked.

“I’m not here to do your job for you,” Givens said. “Either release my client or charge her. If you charge her, be forewarned that I will be going in front of a judge first thing tomorrow morning for a directed verdict that allows us to sue the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department for negligence and emotional distress. You will not be able to bring charges a second time. I can guarantee that.”

Mason shifted so he was facing Morgan. “Sir, she has to be guilty. The body was found in her trunk.”

“After an anonymous caller conveniently pointed you in her direction,” Morgan countered. “I hate to agree with Mr. Givens – actually, you have no idea how much I hate to agree with him – but you don’t have enough evidence to hold Mrs. Hardy. I want her released.”

“What if she murders again?” Mason asked. “Killing Pritchard probably gave her a taste for it.”

“I will … .” James reached for Mason again, but Grady managed to stop him, if only barely.

“Release her,” Morgan repeated. “It’s an ongoing investigation. Mrs. Hardy has ties to the community. She is expected to stay in Macomb County until this matter is resolved, and if she doesn’t, we will immediately take her into custody.”

Morgan’s warning wasn’t lost on James. “Great,” James said. “Give me my wife right now.”

Mason dragged his feet as he walked toward the cruiser, taking as long as humanly possible. He forcefully yanked Mandy out of the car to unlock her cuffs, causing Mandy to whimper and James to growl. Once free, Mandy rubbed her raw wrists and scurried toward James.

“I want to go home,” Mandy said as James pulled her in for a hug. “Take me home.”

“Okay,” James said, rubbing the back of her head. “It’s going to be okay, baby. You’re innocent. This will work itself out.”

Mandy forced a smile for James’ benefit as she pulled away. “I know it will.”

James glanced down at the red marks on her wrists and carefully lifted her left arm so he could study it. “Is there a reason my wife’s wrists are rubbed raw?”

“She’s a criminal,” Mason replied, shooting James a dark look. “Criminals have to wear handcuffs. They’re not supposed to be comfortable.”

“There’s another reason,” Givens interjected, catching James’ eye. “Please take multiple photos of Mrs. Hardy’s injuries. They’ll help us get more money when we file a lawsuit. Until then, take your wife home. I will confer with your colleagues and we will have another discussion tomorrow morning.”

“That’s it?” James asked.

“That’s it,” Givens confirmed.

“Come on, baby,” James said, wrapping his arm around Mandy’s waist as he directed her toward the door. “Let’s get you home.”

J
ames was dejected
as he watched Mandy trudge into the living room and slide onto the couch a half hour later. She’d barely said a word during the ride home. She was depressed, maybe even in shock, and he felt as if he was losing her all over again.

“I’m going to order some pizza for dinner, baby,” James said quietly. “Do you want your usual?”

“I’m not really hungry.” Mandy’s voice was so low James could barely hear it.

“Ham, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, breadsticks, and wings it is,” James said, tossing his keys on the counter and moving toward the phone. “Do you want any dessert?”

“If I say no are you going to order a cake?” Mandy’s voice was stronger this time, and even though the last thing he wanted to do was fight, James was bolstered by her rebound rate.

“I was thinking more along the lines of pie,” James said. “You know how much I love pie.” James was going for levity, but the look on Mandy’s face told him he’d missed the mark … by a lot. “It might be a little while before the pizza gets here. You should change into something more comfortable.”

“An orange jumpsuit?” Mandy suggested.

James rolled his neck until it cracked and ran his tongue over his teeth. “Do you want to get into this now or wait until you have food in your stomach … or to throw at me?”

Mandy scowled. “I’m going to take a bath and go to bed.”

“You’re going to take a bath and change into pajamas and then come back down and have dinner with me,” James corrected.

“You’re not the boss!”

James sucked in a breath to calm himself. She was irate. She was worried, terrified, and sad. Those emotions were manifesting as anger, and he was the only target in sight. He couldn’t blame her. “Tonight I
am
the boss,” James said, keeping his voice low. “Tonight I’m going to take care of you and you’re going to let me because you need someone to hold you and tell you it’s going to be okay.”

“Even if it’s not going to be okay?”

“I won’t lose you, Mandy. I won’t let anyone take you from me. It
is
going to be okay.”

“You can’t promise that,” Mandy challenged. “You can’t promise that we’re going to get our happily ever after. Not now.”

“I can promise that,” James argued. “You need to have faith in me. I know it’s hard. I know you got thrown for a loop today. I know you’re frightened. I will fix this.”

“I’m not sure you can, James.” Mandy’s response was dull and muted. It was if she’d already given up the fight.

“Never doubt what I can do to protect you,” James said. “Go upstairs and take your bath. I’ll take care of dinner. If you don’t come back down, I’ll follow you up and force feed you pizza. You’re not going to like that and it’s going to tick you off and cause a fight, but I almost think screaming would make you feel better so I’m willing to give it a shot.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Mandy said. “I’m perfectly capable of feeding myself.”

“Prove it.”

M
ANDY’S
fuzzy
Jaws
pajama pants and matching slippers almost made James laugh when he caught sight of them forty minutes later. Her hair was wet from her bath, her face devoid of makeup, and he was sure she’d been crying given the red tinge to her eyes.

James carried the mountain of food into the living room and dumped it on the coffee table. He settled next to Mandy on the couch and handed her the remote control. “I put
Bait
in. I figured you would be in the mood for a little social commentary with your shark munching.”

“We need to talk,” Mandy said, her voice strong and clear as she took the remote and dropped it on the coffee table.

“No, we don’t,” James shot back. “I cannot sit here and let you turn this into a deep conversation about some horrible thing you see in our future and need to beat to death with words. It’s going to piss me off and make you cry and I cannot deal with that right now.”

Mandy ignored the honest statement. “You need to protect your assets,” she said. “When I get charged someone from Madeline’s family is going to come out of the woodwork to sue us. You need to separate your money so people can’t get at it through me.

“We didn’t have a prenuptial agreement, but I think the judge can force a postnuptial agreement through tomorrow so all of your money is protected,” she continued. “We’ll make it so I’m not entitled to anything you have, including the house. We’ll have to get a new deed issued so I can sign everything over to you.”

James was flabbergasted. “I’m sorry, but are you suggesting we modify the rights of our marriage so you have absolutely nothing and I have everything?”

“Yes. It’s the safest thing to do so you don’t lose anything.”

“I’m not going to lose anything regardless,” James countered. “That includes you. Stop talking nonsense and eat some pizza.”

“James, they found Madeline’s body in the trunk of my car,” Mandy pressed. “They’re going to arrest and charge me. We both know it.”

“I know nothing of the sort,” James said. “We both know you’re innocent. That’s what we both know.”

“We’re the only ones.”

“We’re not the only ones,” James said. “The judge believes in you. Heidi believes in you. Heck, I’m pretty sure Sheriff Morgan believes in you, too. That’s on top of our family. You’re not going to jail, so you need to knock this crap off.”

“We have to be prepared in case it happens,” Mandy said. “Do you want to lose all of your money?”

“Baby, I would gladly give away every cent I have to keep you,” James replied. “You’re not going to jail. I don’t care what I have to do to stop it.”

Mandy narrowed her eyes, suspicion rolling off of her. “What are you going to do?”

“Who said I was going to do anything?”

“Whenever you answer a question with a question it means you’re hiding something,” Mandy said. “What are you hiding?”

James sighed, resigned. “Grady is meeting with Peter tomorrow,” he said. “We’re forming an exit strategy so we’ll know if an arrest is imminent. If that happens, we’re going to run.”

Mandy hopped to her feet, her eyes wildly darting around the room, almost as if she was looking for a hidden camera. “Are you crazy?”

“I’m crazy about you,” James answered. “I’m hopeful Morgan can hold his deputies off until we find out who really did this. It’s obviously someone who has a grudge against Madeline or us. If this individual was watching Madeline, he might’ve realized he had a great alibi in us. We’ll find answers in her past and we’re already weeding through that.

“I won’t lose you, though,” he continued. “If we have to run, we have to run. That means you need to put together one essential bag so we have it in the front closet if it becomes necessary to flee.”

“You’re going to take off and leave your family?”

“I’m going to get you out of the country and then the rest of the family will eventually join us,” James clarified. “Don’t bother trying to talk me out of it. That’s what’s going to happen. You don’t have to worry about taking everything. Grady and the others will pack up the rest of the stuff you want once we’re settled. Pack the most important stuff, though.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Mandy said, her eyes filling with tears. “James, for crying out loud, you have a business to run. Your family is here. What about Avery?”

“You’re my family,” James said. “I have additional family, but you’re the key piece. I will not sit by and let someone take you from me, especially when we’re being framed. It’s not going to happen.”

“James, I love you more than anything, but … we can’t live a life on the run,” Mandy said. “If I go to prison, you’ll be upset and lost for a little bit, but then you’ll be able to move on. I’ll grant you a divorce so when you meet someone … .”

“Shut your mouth,” James yelled, climbing to his feet, his face flushing an angry crimson. He clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides as he fought to keep hold of his notorious temper. “We married for life, Mandy. There will be no divorce. There will no new wife. There will be no prison!”

“You say that now, but in time … .”

“You’ve already given up on us, haven’t you?” James gripped the front of his shirt with one hand, rubbing against the spot above his heart where she usually rested her head, and reached for the arm of the couch with his other hand to steady himself. “Do you love me at all?”

“What?” Tears coursed down Mandy’s cheeks as she locked gazes with her husband. “How can you even ask that? I’m doing this for you.”

“No, you’re not,” James said. “Whatever is going through your head isn’t for me. It’s for you and whatever twisted rationale you’ve created to steal my life from me. Well, here’s a promise you’re not going to like, Mrs. Hardy. If you try to divorce me or force my hand on anything regarding this marriage, I’ll park my Explorer in front of a train and die. Will that make you happy?”

“Don’t say that,” Mandy choked. “Why would you say that?”

“I thought it was Ridiculous Night at the Hardy house,” James said, grabbing a throw pillow so he could squeeze it and get out his aggression. “If you’re going to stay stupid things like I’ll get over you and find someone else, well, I’m going to retaliate by explaining in excruciating detail how I’m going to kill myself.”

James knew it was an empty threat because suicide wasn’t in his wheelhouse, but he wanted to hurt her as badly as she’d hurt him.

“James … .” Mandy opened and closed her mouth, but couldn’t find the words to make things better.

“Take your pizza upstairs and go to bed, Mandy,” James said. “I’ll sleep down here.”

“But … .”

“I can’t be around you right now,” James said, cutting her off. “I know you don’t like it when I dictate the fights, but I can’t even look at you after you said that. I think you wanted to hurt me because you’re hurting and misery loves company. Congratulations. You pulled it off.”

“Are you going to make me sleep alone?”

James’ heart almost broke at the shattered expression on her face. “Why not?” he challenged, refusing to buckle. “You don’t love me anyway. You should be fine.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Go, Mandy,” James snapped, his own tears threatening to overflow. “You want me out of your life. You can have a test run tonight.”

J
AMES
barely slept
the entire night and when he rolled over on the couch to find Grady watching him the next morning he was surprised he nodded off long enough to allow his brother unnoticed entry.

“Don’t you knock?”

“I didn’t want to wake you guys in case you had a long night,” Grady said, his eyes somber. “Why are you sleeping on the couch?”

“It’s a perfectly nice couch,” James said, swinging his legs over the side and pushing himself to a standing position. “I need coffee.”

“Yeah, but … I thought for sure you’d be draped all over Mandy to make her feel better,” Grady said, following his brother in the kitchen. “Where is she?”

“Who the hell knows,” James replied, his bitterness coming out to play. “She’s probably on an online dating site looking for a new wife for me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“That makes two of us,” James said. “As far as I can tell, Mandy has been snatched up by an alien and I’m now living with a pod person. My pod person wants to get our financials in order so we can’t be sued. She thinks I should get a post-nuptial agreement taking all of our joint assets away from her.

“Then, when she goes to prison, she’s going to sign divorce papers so I can immediately start dating and find someone else,” he continued. “I don’t know about you, but I think she might be the best wife ever.”

“It sounds like you two had a rough night,” Grady said, pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead as he mulled over the situation. “I think she might be overwhelmed. You know she wouldn’t have said any of those things if she were right in the head. Being thrown in the cop car and accused of murder isn’t exactly easy to deal with.”

“Yes, well, I can’t look at her right now so I’m not sure how she’s dealing with anything,” James said. “She can stay up there the entire day for all I care. I’m sick of her and the nonstop moping.”

“That’s a nice thing to say about your wife, man,” Grady said, his temper flaring.

“Haven’t you heard? I’m getting a new wife. I don’t need to say nice things about this one. I can be as mean as I want.”

“Mandy probably said some stupid things last night, but you’re saying them this morning,” Grady said, lowering his voice to a dangerous level and locking eyes with his brother. “Do you remember how you felt walking into that saloon and thinking Mandy was dead behind the bar? Do you remember bargaining with God if he would spare her? She’s alive, but she’s struggling.

“You have got to get over this and be the adult this time,” he continued. “This is clearly too much for her to bear, so she’s going to have to accept it in increments. She can’t do it alone.”

James opened his mouth, a hateful retort on the tip of his tongue, but no sound came out.

“Don’t bother insulting me,” Grady said, moving toward the kitchen stairwell. “It’s time to grow up. You’re a husband, and your wife needs you. Suck it up and be a man.”

“Where are you going?” James challenged.

“What do I always do when this happens?” Grady asked. “I’m going to fix it … and this time you’re going to give me a raise when I do it!”