Distortion Control (A Makayla Rose Mystery Book 3) (8 page)

I squeezed the bridge of my nose. When I thought to confide in David, I had not expected him to exacerbate my own fears. “He’s all we have for now. I can’t trust Ash completely, and I can’t trust Paul fully either. I don’t have anything else.”

To my embarrassment, I began to cry. David sprang to my side and drew me against his side with an arm slung about my shoulders. We drank wine and whimpered like little kids until the emotions died down. After I had indulged in a good cry, I pulled myself together with a new determination to solve this case.

I left David’s shop assuring him I would keep him up-to-date regarding Ash, Spencer, and Paul. Out on the street, I phoned Paul, and he answered on the first ring. “Hello, Paul, I just wanted to see if you would get me in to see Spencer alone.”

“Bad idea, Makayla.”

I gritted my teeth and scanned the area around me. No one was nearby. “Before you say no, there’s something I need to talk to him about regarding the case.”

His grunt of anger was unmistakable. “Then you need to tell me about it.”

“I’d rather not.”

“I’m his attorney. I need to have all the facts, or don’t you respect my ability?” he snapped.

I couldn’t help responding, “Your abilities have nothing to do with why I need to speak with Spencer before talking to anyone else. This is important.
Please.
”

I just knew he would deny me, from spite if nothing else, but to my surprise he gave in. “It probably won’t be until tomorrow.”

“That’s fine.” I hated the delay, but was glad he wasn’t saying no. “Will you call—”

“I’ll text you when you can go. Might not be much notice, so be ready.”

He disconnected the call. That part I knew was from spite. Not telling him what I wanted to talk to Spencer about had angered him. Well, I wouldn’t confide my suspicions to Paul of all people. Ash had hired him, and he didn’t like Spencer. Not a good combo.

The next morning at ten, right in the middle of a photo session, Paul informed me I needed to get to the station within the hour. I grumbled upon reading the terse communication, doubting there was such a dire need to make it in that timeframe. Still, this was a favor to me, so I wouldn’t risk a cancellation for my own stubbornness.

After I scheduled a makeup session and a hefty discount for my client, I hurried to the appointment. I puffed, rushing through the entrance into the station. “Pete, I’m sorry I’m late. I…”

My voice trailed off when I realized Pete wasn’t present. I glanced around. One of the younger officers sat behind a desk sorting paperwork. He glanced up.

“Pete’s not here?”

“Oh, Makayla.” The officer, whose name I couldn’t recall, stood. “You don’t have to rush. I expected you any time. Pete’s out. I’ll let you to the back.”

“All day, huh?” I asked.

My irritation rose. Paul had made me believe I needed to rush over to the police station. Now this officer was telling me he expected me at any time during the day. I could have finished my work at a much more leisurely pace and come when I was ready.

“Thank you,” I bit out between gritted teeth and followed him to the back. I waited in silence when we reached Spencer’s cell. The officer looked at me, and I blinked back at him. Eventually, I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head to the side in hopes he would get the picture.

“Guess I’ll leave you to it. You can’t very well get into any trouble back here, but don’t stay too long. He’s not supposed to have visitors.”

I nodded and waited until he left the area, the door shutting heavily behind him. When I turned to Spencer, he rolled from the cot to his feet and approached the bars. Stubble had formed on his chin, and I couldn’t help thinking how sexy he looked. Yet, there was wariness in his eyes that bothered me.

I moved up to the bars and covered his hands with mine. We stood so close his lips could’ve touched mine, but I resisted the impulse to lean in and give in to what I longed for.

“Do you have something to tell me?” he asked, breaking the spell.

I didn’t know how to approach the subject of his brother and about my suspicions, so I hesitated to speak.

Spencer narrowed his eyes, staring at me. “Something is on your mind, Makayla. Tell me.”

I raised my chin. “How well do you know your brother?” Of the most ridiculous questions, this was what tumbled from my lips.

He frowned. “Excuse me?”

I chuckled, feeling like an idiot. “I mean, I’m not sure he’s here in Briney Creek for the right reasons.”

“Explain yourself.”

The tone of his voice had dropped low, making very clear that I skated on thin ice. My response was anger rather than fear. I knew what had happened to me, and I knew what I suspected. I needed reassurance.

“Like I said, I’m not sure Ash is here for the right reasons.”

I explained the situation to him and outlined what had happened when Ash and I searched Penelope’s room. I moved on to the attack, and detailed how unclear it was who hit me.

At the part of my story about being hit, tension radiated from Spencer. His countenance darkened, and all I could think about was how much trouble the person who had hurt me would be in if he stood there with us at that moment.

Spencer’s reaction warmed my heart. I knew he wished with everything in him that he was free so he could be the one to protect me. The question was, was it Ash he needed to protect me from.

“I know him. He’s got his problems. I’ll give you that. But he’s not a murderer.”

“He’s up to something, Spencer. He’s got secrets he’s not sharing.”

“Fine. There’s something going on with him, and short of beating it out of him, I don’t think we’re going to learn the secret easily.”

I winced at the picture this scenario caused in my head. “So what are we going to do?”

I released his hands and paced, but Spencer called me back.

“Come here, Makayla.”

I stopped moving and looked at him. With my mind whirling, action seemed out of my range of ability. He held out a hand, but still I didn’t move.

“Please,” he emphasized.

Funny how his plea got me moving, and I approached him to place my hand in his. His warm fingers closed over mine, and he tugged me nearer. I went stock still when his lips touched mine. A warm sensation flooded my body from head to toe.

When he raised his head, he gazed into my eyes. I was unable to stir from his presence or even look away. He held on to my hand and it seemed, my soul. With his other hand, he combed fingers through my hair and found the sensitive spot. I winced.

“I’m sorry.”

I gave a nervous chuckle. “Was that your way of seeing if I was lying?”

He glared at me. “Of course not. I believe you, Makayla. We don’t always agree, but you’re pretty straightforward and stubbornly open about what you believe is right.”

“Darn tootin’,” I joked and then smirked at him. “Thanks, I think.”

His finger brushed over my lips, but I found the strength to turn my head away.

“So what should I do about Ash? Do you think—”

Spencer released me and walked away from the bars. After some moments with his back to me, he turned. His jaw was so tight, and his fingers clenched at his sides, he must have been having a hard time saying his next words. “Maybe he was having an affair with Penelope.”

I refused to confirm I had thought the same. To have Spencer say it and to know it hurt him to even imagine, killed me. I fumbled for words.

“By your response, you thought the same thing,” he said.

I could have kicked myself, but it was too late. “No, I…uh…”

“It’s fine, Makayla. There’s something I want you to do for me.”

I listened, waiting and wondering what he was about to suggest.

“I want you to get into his room.”

I gaped. Was he serious? “His room? Why would I do that?”

“Simple. You’re going to see what he’s hiding. If he did take something from Penelope’s room, I want to know what it is. Seeing it might shed some light on what he’s been up to.”

I put my hand on my hip. “Okay, that’s fine, however, how am I going to get into his room?”

“Be creative.”

“That’s all the advice you have for me?”

He blew out a heavy, impatient breath. “If I wasn’t in here, Makayla, I would do it myself. The last thing I want to do is put you in danger. While I don’t think my brother was involved with Penelope’s murder, I don’t know what he’s going on with him. He’s involved in something, and I want the truth. You said you saw him talking to someone you don’t know. I don’t know who that person is, and I wasn’t there to judge whether either of them would pose a threat to you. I’d give anything not to put you in this position, but I don’t have a choice. Can you do it?”

I gritted my teeth and wanted to tell him no. The fact was we needed to find out what Ash was doing. I was afraid and of course nervous. Excitement brooded in me as well. By now, you know Makayla Rose. She likes excitement and adventure, and nothing said adventure like breaking into a policeman’s room. So, suppressing my admittedly small common sense and self-preservation, I assured Spencer I would do it. The question was how I would do it, but I would cross that hurdle when I came to it.

Chapter Eight

“Police Department, may I help you?”

“Yes, my name is Makayla Rose, and I am…” I had everything I intended to say arranged in my head before I dialed the number. Yet, with the man on the other end of the line, his voice impatient and gruff, as if he hadn’t yet had his morning coffee, all I intended to say dissipated in an instant. “I-I’m a concerned citizen.”

Great, Makayla. Now he’s really listening.
A small grunt was the response I received, and I rushed on in case he decided this was as a crank call.

“I am a concerned citizen, and I would like some information on one of your detectives, Ashton Norwood.”

“No.”

“Sorry?” Maybe I had heard him wrong. “What was that?”

“If you want to know anything about Ash, ask him yourself. Good day, ma’am.” The line when dead.

“Well, I never.” I set my cell phone down on my desk and stared at it in confusion. No? He wouldn’t say anything? He didn’t even confirm or deny that Ash was one of his detectives. Then again, he did call him Ash instead of Ashton, which told me he knew the man.

I began to suspect that this particular officer may have been one of Ash’s friends, and since I didn’t identify myself as someone official, there was no reason for him to give me information. Great. Now I thought up the lie I could’ve said, that I was a consultant with the police department in Briney Creek. That would’ve been a great excuse, not completely honest, but still great.

So now I had to figure out what I should do next. In truth, I was somewhat putting off the decision to go to Ash’s hotel and figure out how to get into his room. What I found interesting was that Ash had elected not to stay at the inn. He did know about it since he had spoken with Pattie. Rather, he had decided to stay in the town’s only other public rest area and that was a small motel.

One advantage for me was that the doors to all the rooms had street access. I didn’t have to walk inside of a building past a receptionist in order to reach his room. In fact, I had already learned which room was his.

When I pulled into the parking lot of the local motel, many of the spots were occupied with other cars, but I was relieved to see that there was no one walking to or from the motel at the moment. Sucking in a deep breath and blowing it out, I left my car and beat a hasty path across the lot toward room 102. Just a few yards away from Ash’s door, I came to a sudden stop as Ollie Sandstone rounded the corner of the building and headed in my direction. Of all people, why did it have to be Ollie? He was Briney Creek’s biggest gossip, and he spotted me within seconds.

I searched my mind for any excuse as to why I was at the motel as I watched him approach. Wouldn’t you know that nothing came to mind?

Ollie’s eyebrows rose toward his bald head, which was already gleaming with sweat despite the cool day. He worked as a landscaper and all-around handyman for many of the companies and individuals in Briney Creek. One might say he was everywhere, which was why he always had the latest gossip. That was funny when one wasn’t the object of such gossip, but I knew I was about to painfully regret this meeting.

“Makayla? What are you doing down this end?” Ollie’s head swiveled on his neck as he scanned the lot, stopped at spotting my car, and then turned back toward the building. I saw the workings of his mind while he connected the dots. His gaze stopped at Ash’s door, and I found myself wishing the sky would open up and a sudden wind would sweep me away with all evidence of my presence here. My very reasonable wish went unfulfilled.

I continue to stand there in front of Ollie, and I assume he came to his conclusions as to why I was visiting Ashton Norwood’s motel room while his brother was locked up in jail.

“I’m just…” I couldn’t come up with anything.

Ollie held up his hands. “No need to explain, Makayla. You’re a grown woman. I’ve seen a lot here in Briney Creek, and I don’t judge anybody.”

I scowled at him. “It’s not like that, Ollie.”

Ollie stuck his hands in the pockets of his coveralls and began to whistle. I sputtered, explaining rather incoherently, but he wandered on by, ignoring everything I said. Within the next few hours no doubt, my reputation would be in tatters, but I couldn’t worry about that now. I had a job to take care of.

I got it into my mind to try to change Ollie’s assumption that I intended to go to Ash’s motel room. Off the top of my head I didn’t know anyone else who might be a resident at the motel. I was sure there weren’t many tourists in town because of the time of year. In fact I often wondered how the motel managed to stay afloat during the cooler months. Maybe they made all of their money during the summer.

So in an attempt to fool Ollie, which the rational part of my mind said was impossible at this point, I adopted a very casual walk that was wholly unnatural and continued past Ash’s door to the corner where Ollie first appeared. I stopped and spun around to call Ollie’s name, adding a ridiculous wave to my act. “Okay, Ollie, it was good to see you. I’ll see you another time.”

Even as I withdrew my arm from the air, I felt like a fool. Who in their right mind would be fooled by my performance? I myself wanted to burst out laughing at the absurdity. I wouldn’t be winning any awards today. Because my poor performance needed an extra something, I continued on around the side of the building.

I was determined to continue around the property until I reached the front parking lot again just to make my lie more convincing, and in the hopes that Ollie would’ve already left the area. While I strolled, I noticed the motel wasn’t that clean. In fact there were spots of garbage on the ground. Granted it could be that the storm of a few days ago had unsettled someone’s trash, and maintenance hadn’t had a chance to rectify the situation, but I was unconvinced.

Unfortunately, my luck took a downward spiral. I managed to meet yet another man during my journey around the building. This one was a dark haired gentleman, also wearing coveralls, and as he straightened, I noted the broad emblem on the back of his uniform and the matching one on the side of his vehicle. Well, at least the hotel was trying to combat pests. I pasted on a smile. “Hello, how are you?”

The man grunted his greeting but seemed to think again about whether or not I could be a future client. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a business card hand to me. I read the name on the card.

“Thank you,” I said.

I took the card and stuffed it in my pocket, intending to recommend his services to whomever I might know who could use them. I believed in supporting small entrepreneurs because as you know I was among them, and I knew what it was to struggle to maintain and to grow. Making a name for oneself in business was no easy task.

I continued on down the walk and turned my attention back toward the hotel. Cookie-cutter doors and windows with drawn curtains met my gaze. None of them stood out to me except maybe one where a small gap in the curtains revealed the face of a young girl peeking out at me. With no warning, dizziness assailed me, and I missed a step. My right foot fell over the side of the curb, and my knees gave until I was plummeting toward the cement. Visions whirled before my eyes, a distortion that try as I might I couldn’t set to rights.

I shut my eyes, combating nausea. Bile rose in my throat. What was happening to me? Darkness threatened to overcome my consciousness, but I feared fainting in this place. Strong hands gripped my shoulders and forced me to the standing position. I let out a small scream.

“Ma’am, are you all right?”

I turned my head to see who grabbed me, and I’m ashamed to admit I flinched. The pest control man stood there, and it kind of grossed me out to have his chemical-covered fingers touching me.

I tried to pull myself together while he stood there with his eyes wide in alarm and his mouth hanging open. He must think I was a complete idiot. I straightened and jerked from his grasp. He backed off and held his hands high as if I had pulled a weapon. “You were about to fall,” he explained. “If you hit your head on this ground…”

I nodded. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

I did know. I had started to remember something. The image that flashed in my mind was that of Spencer’s house. I recalled being there, but that was all I was sure of.

The images wouldn’t separate inside my head. Identifying what they represented seemed impossible. Only by my instinct, or was it intuition, did I even suspect the attack was what the thoughts and pictures represented—my memory returning. I wanted to rush them, to force them into some semblance of comprehension, but I resisted. This was a good thing, a sign that soon I would figure out what happened. Looking back at the man who was still viewing me as if I was some psychopath, I forced a smile. “Really, I’m okay. Thank you for helping me.”

He appeared doubtful, but he backed off, turned, and headed in the direction he’d come. I considered returning to my own car and saving the break-in into Ash’s room for another day, but with each incident, I was more convinced that I wanted either this case solved or Spencer out here helping me.

Rather than continue on with my silly journey around the back of the building, I retraced my steps to the front. The atmosphere of the motel came across as seedy, and I couldn’t understand why Ash would stay there. Unless of course he wanted less eyes following his movements as he investigated. That made sense. Something told me folks around this area minded their own business.

I came to Ash’s door once again and looked to my left and right. This time no one was around, so I raised my hand, swallowed, and knocked on the door.