Distortion Control (A Makayla Rose Mystery Book 3) (5 page)

“Yes!” Edna brightened and clapped her hands. “It’s going to be called Sasha’s Sweet Dreams Bakery and Cafe.”

“Oh how sweet,” I said. “After the baby?”

Edna nodded. “Sasha’s a dream too, such a cute little thing. I love the name. It’s perfect.”

“I agree.”

When I had said good-bye to Edna, I checked the time and noticed I had a while yet before my appointment with Paul. First, I returned home to clean up at a more leisurely pace and to wear something more appropriate to both the meeting with the attorney and for stopping in at the studio. When I received the call about Talia, I had jerked on old jeans and a jacket. Good thing I hadn’t forgotten myself and removed it in the hospital. No one would want such an unexpectedly candid view. Okay, I hoped
someone
would, but not in those circumstances.

I returned to my studio in time to see Ash walking at the opposite end of my block with another man. I squinted, trying to make out who it was but couldn’t be sure. Ash I knew because he moved so much like Spencer it produced an ache in my chest. That along with his height and bearing made him unmistakable.

While Briney Creek was a small town with somewhere around fifteen thousand citizens, I didn’t know them all. I did, however, know at least by face most of those who frequented this part of Main Street. From my distance, the mystery man’s identity escaped me. The blond-headed, slender man Ash walked with might be older or younger.

At the corner, just before they turned out of sight, Ash cast a look behind him in my direction. I paused outside my studio and raised a hand in greeting. I’m pretty sure he saw me, but he came off more furtive than anything else. He ignored my wave and placed a hand on the other man’s upper back as if to compel him along.

I frowned. What in the world was that about? For a few moments, I stood there, wondering if I should jog down to the end of the street and see which way they had gone. Ash’s actions made me both curious and suspicious. I believed he had his brother’s best interests at heart, but what did I really know about him? He showed up claiming to be Spencer’s brother. Okay, that was undeniable unless he was a madman who had had plastic surgery to look…

I let go of these fanciful thoughts and mentally encouraged my ire to ease. Whatever Ash was doing, it wouldn’t stop me from learning the truth. Ash might use his way of investigating, but I wouldn’t forget that Spencer had asked me for my help. I unlocked the studio door and entered, blocking out thoughts that at the time he asked, Spencer had little other choice than me.

Chapter Five

I arrived outside the police station a full twenty minutes before I was due to meet with Paul Jacobs. Sitting in my car with the heater blasting, I refused to freeze my bum off outside. My nerves were a jangled bundle of mess because I did not look forward to the time when Spencer and Paul faced each other. Paul and Spencer had history—bad history, and what I wanted to know was what was Paul’s secret?

When Spencer suspected Paul of murder, he alluded to some dark past. Unfortunately, I wasn’t told the details. However, today I intended to ask Paul myself before he met with Spencer just what it was in his past Spencer found out about. I needed to know if it would affect the case today.

My car windows began to fog, and I brushed a hand over the windshield. Paul was just pulling up in his candy apple red Camaro. I reluctantly turned off my car engine and stepped out to meet him.

Paul was dressed in a gray pinstriped suit with a burgundy tie and crisp white shirt. At least I knew he was serious about his business, and I hoped it meant he would do all he could to help Spencer.

As I approached him Paul stuck his hand out to shake mine, and I reached to clasp his warm palm.

“Paul, thank you for coming,” I said. “Before we go in, do you mind if we have a little chat?”

Paul frowned. “Look, Makayla, I’m only here because I need the work. After that last fiasco, I lost a lot of clients and a lot of business. For me, this is about taking care of my family, so if you’re going to feed me a bunch of ‘poor me. My boyfriend’s been framed or misunderstood,’ I don’t want to hear it.”

I folded my arms over my chest and met his angry case. Paul had changed. Not that that much time had passed since that last incident, but I hoped we could move beyond the mistakes and the accusations that had almost landed him beneath a murder charge himself.

“Are you saying you’re going to hold what happened between you and Spencer against him?” I demanded. “You’re not going to give him the benefit of the doubt?”

He sneered. “As far as I’m concerned I don’t care if he’s innocent or guilty.”

“You’re kidding, right? How can you represent a client if you don’t believe in him?”

His lip curled in derision. “Exactly as I said. I don’t care if he’s innocent. I don’t care if he’s guilty. I will represent him and try to get him off. Outside of that, I don’t make any promises.”

A light mist began to fall, but I ignored it. I strolled a few steps away from Paul, my mind filled with turmoil. Was he the right person? I wanted to fire him right on the spot and say we would get someone else, but I wasn’t the one who hired him. Ash was, and possibly as family he had every right to.

“Makayla, are we going in or not? I don’t have all day.”

I bristled. Paul had very little sympathy for Spencer’s plight, and I hadn’t expected him to. He also still had an anger problem. One thing had been on my mind, and he hadn’t satisfied it yet. I determined if nothing else, I would learn the truth about his past. He owed Spencer that much.

With this thought in mind, my stomach knotted. I faced him and looked into his eyes. “Paul, I want to know about your past. I want to know what Spencer found out about you and the reason you moved to Briney Creek.”

He stilled, anger radiating in his eyes. His hands closed into fists at his sides. “My past has nothing to do with you or with this case.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really? Well, I want to know. I feel it’s important for me to determine whether you’re the right lawyer for Spencer.”

If I thought before I was one of Paul’s least favorite people in the world, I was even less so at that moment. Now was his turn to pace, and as he marched along the sidewalk headed toward his car, I had a brief fear that he would keep going. Panic rose in my chest, and I took a step in his direction. We needed him.
Spencer
needed him. I opened my mouth to call out, but Paul turned and headed back my way.

He pointed a finger at me, his jaw tight. “What I tell you, you keep your mouth shut about. You don’t tell anyone. If you do…”

I blinked at him in shock. He was threatening me, without remorse and without hesitation. He was doing it in front of the police station. I didn’t take him seriously, but I wasn’t crazy enough to think that what was in his past couldn’t motivate him to hurt me. In fact, I wondered if he might have had something to do with this case. After all, he didn’t like Spencer. Their fight may have been a minor one, but I had learned many people held grudges or blew their problems out of proportion and therefore committed acts of violence on others because of it.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he demanded. “I’m not some type of monster. I know what you think of me. I know what all of them think of me, and I don’t care.”

“Paul, this isn’t about you. This is about Spencer. Please tell me so I can make an informed decision about where we go from here.”

The sneer remained in place. He didn’t like me, and I, quite frankly, didn’t care too much for him. We were wasting time. I hoped our meeting would mean something in the end, however, my fears were growing.

Paul scratched his head. He glanced around the parking lot and in through the glass doors of the police station. When another visitor to the station walked up, he grabbed my arm and pulled me a little ways along the walk. I followed because I wanted to know what he would say, but he would not drag Makayla Rose around the corner out of sight. I was not that desperate for answers as to risk my life.

Paul came to a stop in an area that was clearly visible from the entrance but far enough from others no one would overhear what he said. He gestured with his hands before his words were audible. “I was…accused of something.”

“Accused of what?” I asked, my annoyance rising.

He hesitated, drew in a deep breath, and blew it out. “You need to understand who my family is, specifically my uncle.”

I kept my mouth shut in my ears open.

“My uncle was put on trial for organized crime. He was convicted and incarcerated. During that time, it was believed that I had some involvement with him, that I was also a part of what he was doing and using my position as an attorney for his advantage in his organization.”

I gaped in disbelief.

“No evidence was found. However, it didn’t stop my reputation from being dragged through the mud and the bad press affecting my wife.”

I had the feeling if Paul was involved with organized crime, he might be ruthless enough to do what it took to get at the truth regarding Spencer. That is, if he could move past his dislike.

“I gathered my family and we decided to move to Briney Creek.”

His words shocked me. Organized crime? Sure I understood it existed, but to meet someone with ties to it dumbfounded me. I didn’t know what to say.

At the same time, I wondered about how he presented his story. Paul didn’t say he was never involved with his uncle’s business. He said the police believed he was and that it ruined his reputation. He said no evidence had been found. Didn’t innocent people normally deny false accusations? His wording was both interesting and frightening.

“I was never charged with anything,” Paul reiterated, obviously taking my silence as disbelief. “Therefore, my ability to practice law was never jeopardized. However, it could have been. The situation was serious, and I decided the best action for me and for Gloria was to separate ourselves and to break ties from my family. So there you have it.” He shrugged with a look of take it or leave it. I decided to take it. What else could I do?

“Thank you for explaining it to me, and all I want to ask is that you just please do everything you can to help Spencer, not for him and not for his brother Ash but for me.”

He looked at me, and I couldn’t read by his expression what he might be thinking, but after some time he nodded and walked to the door. He pulled it open and waited for me to pass ahead of him. My nerves went into overdrive. I had heard a little of Paul’s story, but Spencer already knew it. Now, we needed to see what his reaction would be. I didn’t know whether Pete had allowed Ash to talk to Spencer or not, so it remained to be seen.

Pete met us as we entered, the frown on his face forbidding. When he saw Paul, a look of resignation came over his features. Paul moved in front of me and squared his shoulders. “I’m here in an official capacity, Sheriff, as Spencer Norwood’s attorney.”

I winced at his decision to call Pete sheriff. Pete was acting as the sheriff for the time being, but calling him by the title reminded me of Spencer’s vulnerable position, and I didn’t like it.

“What about her?” Pete asked.

Paul glanced at me. I tried to look useful. How one does that was beyond me, but I attempted to anyway. Neither man appeared fooled by it. “She’s with me,” Paul grunted. “I need to ask him questions with her there to cross-reference the stories. I’m working to get him released, so you understand I want the process as simple and short as possible.”

Pete didn’t appear to comprehend at all, but as I held my breath for approval, he at last gave his consent.

While Paul requested information on Spencer’s case, I glanced around the station. The officers that were present met my gaze briefly, and then slid away. These were the same men that I had brought donuts to on several occasions when I visited the station to see Spencer. I had a feeling they were feeling guilty and maybe they weren’t sure what to think.

I pulled my phone from my purse and selected text messaging. I wanted to see if I had heard anything from Ash. After firing off a message to him saying I was at the station and that I was with Paul, I waited for his response. Several minutes passed, and I heard nothing. Where was he? He was the one that set up this appointment. I had thought that he would join us, but I was wrong.

“Are you ready, Makayla?”

I looked to where Paul stood at the door leading to the back of the station and pulled in a deep breath before blowing it out.

Paul and I entered the area where Spencer was being held. Spencer was stretched out on the floor doing push-ups without a shirt. At any other time I might’ve enjoyed the view, however, I waited for him to look up.

Paul tapped a pen against the bars to capture Spencer’s attention. I was pretty sure Spencer already knew we were there. After all, the noise of unlocking the steel doors reverberated around the small area.

Spencer pushed out five more push-ups before he rose to his feet and brushed his hands off. His silver gaze met Paul’s, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Why are you here?”

Paul smiled, a triumphant glint in his eye. “You know why. I’m the one that’s going to get you freed, and you’re going to owe me.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Spencer looked at me. “Why is he here, Makayla? You didn’t hire him to be my attorney, did you? You should know better than that.”

“Don’t be a baby,” Paul said before I could answer. “I said I’m here to represent you. I will, and I don’t have to like you to do a good job.”

“Really? Because I don’t think you could do a good job either way.”

“Stop!” I positioned myself between the two men holding my hands up and then pointed a finger at Spencer. “You don’t have much of a choice, and you, Paul, already told me you need to work. So, boys, I suggest you get over the attitudes and let’s work together.”

Both men appeared to have eaten something sour. I would laugh if this wasn’t such a serious situation.

“Makayla,” Spencer enunciated, “I don’t trust him.”

“Well the feeling is mutual, isn’t it?” Paul shot back. “You got me. Money talks. Your brother—”

“Whoa,” Spencer interrupted, “what does my brother have to do with this?”

Spencer’s question answered mine as to whether he knew Ash was in town. “Your brother, Ash, hired Paul.”

Spencer’s eyes narrowed. He approached the bars and gripped them until his fingers turned white. “I thought I told you before we parted the last time, Makayla, I didn’t want my family to know.”

“Well, sorry, Spencer. I wasn’t the one that told him. I think Pete contacted your hometown during his investigation, and somehow Ash learned you’re in trouble. I for one think it’s a good thing that your family is here. You can use the support, and he’s a detective, which helps.”

Spencer’s nostrils flared. He looked like he wanted to throttle me, but I would not back down. I approached the bars and laid my hands over his. I looked into his eyes, and pain constricted my heart. Tears welled in my eyes, but I blinked them away. Despite that, his expression softened because he must have seen my fear.

“It’s okay, Makayla. This isn’t your fault. Where is Ash?”

I tensed. “I don’t know. I texted him, but he hasn’t answered yet. I’m guessing he’s following a lead.”

For long moments Spencer and I stared into each other’s eyes. I had fallen for him against my better judgment, but I also had my doubts about what he felt for me. He was attracted to me. Otherwise we wouldn’t have been lovers, but whether he cared more about his late wife than me might never come to light.

Paul cleared his throat, and I snapped out of my reverie. I dropped my hands to my sides and took a few steps back from the bars. Paul pulled out his briefcase and removed a notepad from it. “What I need to know is if you’re going to accept me as your lawyer.”