Don't Say a Word (20 page)
“Maria Bota?” Will asked.
“Yeah.”
“They were lovers?”
“Yeah. So?”
“Have you seen her here lately?”
“Nope.”
Across from them, a table of gangbangers got into a shoving match with some drunken college guys in the next booth. DeSoto raised his arm and signaled to a couple of beefy bouncers who immediately moved in to break it up and make some memorable bruises for the guys to take home.
“You cater to the Battle Street Ten guys?” Will asked him.
For the first time, the sarcastic grin faded off DeSoto’s face. He shook his head. “I don’t know nothing about them, either. We card customers, but we don’t make ’em tell us their life stories. Hey, you about finished here? I’ve got business to attend to.”
“If you see Maria Bota, tell her we’d like to talk to her.”
“Sure thing. I’ll make a point of it.”
“He’s a real jerk,” Julia said as they made their way outside. “I don’t believe a word he said.”
“Me either.”
“Let’s go. I want to go home and take a long, hot shower. That place was nasty.”
Will nodded, thinking a long, hot shower sounded pretty good to him, too, especially if it was with her.
Chapter 15
The savory aroma of chicken pot pies floated through the kitchen of Audrey Sherrod’s Walnut Hill town house as she pulled a baking sheet out of the oven loaded with perfectly browned homemade yeast rolls. Zoe was busy around the kitchen, eagerly helping her prepare the meal, and Audrey was pleased that J.D.’s daughter was well on her way to becoming a very good cook. What was more, the child seemed to truly enjoy it.
At the moment, Zoe was making a raspberry vinaigrette for Audrey’s luncheon guests. There were just the four of them at her house, and Tam and Julia were already seated at the dining room table discussing the Tongue Slasher case in hushed tones. Shuddering at the moniker with which the news media had dubbed this newest killer soon after Lucien Lockhart’s murder, Audrey stopped what she was doing and stared out the kitchen window. She still had bad dreams about the Rocking Chair and Baby Blue Murders, and now there was another killer on the prowl, terrifying all of Chattanooga. She sighed, then decided she wasn’t going to let that ruin her party.
“Okay, everything’s ready, ladies,” she said brightly.
Carrying a silver tray with four white ramekins of flaky-crusted pot pies, Zoe headed for the dining room. Audrey followed her with the yeast rolls and fresh salad. An icy pitcher of sweet tea was already on the table, and a red velvet cake sat on a white cake pedestal on the buffet. Zoe had decorated the white icing with Red Hots and red sprinkles, so dessert was ready and waiting.
When they were all seated and beginning to pass around the salad, Audrey told them the reason for her get-together. “I wanted all of you to be here today so I could ask you an important question.”
The other women halted what they were doing and looked questioningly at her. “I want to announce that J.D. and I have set a date for our wedding.”
Smiles and congratulations erupted all around the table. “And,” Audrey continued happily, “I want to ask each of you to be in the wedding party. Tam, you’ve been my best friend forever. I’d love it if you’d be my matron of honor.”
Tam laughed. “As if I’d ever say no. Of course, I will.”
“And Zoe and Julia, you’ll be my bridesmaids, won’t you?”
Zoe clapped her hands. “Can we get strapless dresses, Audrey? Red ones. I’ve been dying to wear a red strapless gown, fire truck red, but J.D. wouldn’t ever let me.”
“We’ll pick out the dresses together. I promise.” She looked at J.D.’s sister. “What about you, Julia? Can we count on you?”
“Of course. You know you can. I’m just so glad that you’ve made J.D. so happy. He’s turned into a different man since he met you.”
Audrey was touched and very pleased. She liked Julia very much and wanted them to become as close as real sisters. J.D. absolutely adored Julia and played quite the big brother now that she was in town. “Thank you so much. J.D. will be pleased.”
“So when’s the big day?” Julia asked, spooning a liberal portion of the raspberry vinaigrette over her salad greens.
“December fifteenth. That’s a Saturday. Eight o’clock in the evening. Unless there’s some kind of major conflict with any of your schedules.”
Everyone agreed they’d be available, and they chatted and asked her questions about her colors, which were going to be red and black and white. Audrey looked around her dining table and felt a new kind of joy welling up inside her. She was so pleased, so gratified that everything had turned out all right between J.D. and her, that the horrors of her past had been laid to rest. Her father was even coming around; their dinner together had been good, with both of them more comfortable in each other’s company, more so than anytime she could remember. She hadn’t asked him to walk her down the aisle; not yet. But she felt good about asking him, and she felt fairly certain that he just might say yes.
Life was close to being perfect right now. Zoe was happy again, acting like a typical teenager, with her bright and lively eyes, so eager to begin her young life. Most of the rebellious, defiant attitude she’d exhibited when she’d first come to live with J.D. had now gone by the wayside. J.D. doted on her, just like he obviously had always done with his little sister. She watched Julia laugh at one of Zoe’s girlish remarks, then take a sip of her iced tea. Julia did seem a bit distracted today, but Audrey knew the murder case she was investigating had to be troubling to her. J.D. was the same way when he was on a difficult case. In fact, the two siblings were a lot alike, and she was observing it more and more as she got to know Julia. And Julia wasn’t so much a tomboy as J.D. had intimated. She was a police officer, but she managed to be feminine and graceful at the same time. She was going to look absolutely beautiful in the red strapless bridesmaid dress that Audrey had decided on a few minutes ago. After hearing Zoe’s plea, how could she choose anything else?
“What?” Julia said, noticing Audrey’s contemplative gaze.
Audrey thought Julia had the most incredible eyes; their brown color was almost golden. Julia was really quite lovely, with her chiseled bone structure and thick black eyelashes. It was amazing how much Zoe resembled her. Each blessed with all that flowing black hair and a tall and slender athletic build.
“I was just thinking that you remind me of J.D. in lots of ways.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, unless you’re talking about his quick temper and goofy sense of humor.” But Julia was teasing and Audrey knew it.
Zoe piped up. “He’s a lot more laid-back now that he and Audrey are finally getting married. He’s even letting me go to the mall today to meet my friends.”
“She’s right. You’ve been good for him, Audrey,” Julia told her. “Not that he’s ever been a bad guy. Let’s just say he wasn’t exactly domestic-bliss material until he met you.”
Audrey’s lips curved up. “He was quite a ladies’ man, as I understand it.”
“Yeah, it must be a TBI macho thing.”
Tam looked quickly at Julia. “And you’re talking about Will Brannock, I take it?”
Julia shrugged a little. “I saw him in action at the airport. It’s hard to forget.”
“Well, no wonder. He’s a real hottie,” Zoe chimed in, clasping her hands together in feigned ecstasy. “I wish I was old enough to go out with him. I’d even ask him to go to the movies on Saturday, if I thought he’d go.”
Audrey quickly said, “Better not let your dad hear that.”
They all laughed, and the luncheon continued on a light note with everyone enjoying themselves and the bountiful array of food. While they were serving the cake, Zoe excused herself to take one of the endless phone calls she received night and day. And when it wasn’t a call, it was a text. Audrey had never seen anybody’s fingers move so fast on a touch screen. It wasn’t long before Zoe was back, cell phone still in hand.
“The girls are waiting for me at the food court. Could you drop me off there, Audrey? Presley’s mom is picking us up at four o’clock. J.D. already said I could go to the movies this afternoon with them.”
“Let me drop her off, Audrey. I’m going right past Hamilton Place Mall, anyway.” Tam grinned sheepishly. “I’m meeting Marcus, since the trial’s in recess until tomorrow morning.”
Audrey couldn’t hide her delight. “Does that mean you’re getting back together?”
“It looks that way. We’re having dinner together almost every night. We’re trying to work things out. I miss him, more than I ever thought I would. Guess I didn’t know a good thing when I had it.” Her eyes met Audrey’s. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to make it work this time.”
And Tam was thrilled about that. Audrey knew her well enough to see the pleasure in her eyes, and that made her happy, too. She knew Tam had been lonely since her separation, and every time Audrey had seen Marcus he had looked absolutely miserable. She loved them both, and this was just one more blessing in her life for which to be grateful.
Audrey and Julia bid Tam and the excited Zoe good-bye, and then they sat down together at the table over coffee and cake and smiled at each other.
“There go two happy campers,” Julia said.
“What about you, Julia? Do you think you’re going to be happy here, now that you’ve settled in a bit?”
Julia nodded. “I do like it here. I love seeing J.D. and you and Zoe so often. You know, having family around is pretty awesome. It’s been a long time.”
“What about Will? Do you like having him around?”
Julia met her teasing gaze. “He’s a good detective. We work well together. I like that about him.” Her delicately arched dark brows lowered slightly in a frown. “But he’s so secretive. It’s, well, it’s almost as if he’s hiding something.”
Surprised, Audrey examined Julia’s serious face. “What do you mean by secretive?”
“Well, we’ve been working together all day nearly every day for quite a while now, and I don’t have a clue as to where he lives, where his family is, or what he did before he landed here at the Chattanooga TBI office—nothing. If I mention something about his personal life, he changes the subject or ignores the question. Don’t you consider that a little odd?”
“Now that you mention it, I don’t think I know anything about him, either. I haven’t ever thought much about it.”
“And neither does J.D. I’ve already asked him.”
“Maybe he’s just one of those extremely private people. There are lots of them around. Maybe you ought to Google him.”
Julia smiled. “I already did, I’m ashamed to say, but it turned up very little. Mainly just listed some cases he’s worked on here in Chattanooga. No address, no phone number, which is very strange. I know it’s intrusive to do something like that, but, Audrey, it almost seems like his slate has been wiped clean. I just wish he’d tell me on his own volition. Or maybe it’s better I don’t know.”
“You’re probably right about that. The Internet doesn’t know everything about a person, anyway, unless we’re talking Facebook. My God, I can’t believe what the kids nowadays put out there for anybody to read. J.D. and I are strictly monitoring Zoe’s Facebook page. Luckily, she doesn’t seem to mind anymore.”
“I’m pretty sure Will doesn’t have a Facebook page.” Julia chuckled to herself, obviously thinking the idea pretty absurd. “I just don’t know many people who hide where they live from their own partner. Sometimes he acts almost, well, almost like a wanted man would.”
Audrey frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, watch him sometime, Audrey. He always sits with his back to the wall—not just occasionally, but every single time. Wherever we are, he’s constantly watching the entrances and exits and the people coming in and out. He looks uncomfortable if I even touch on anything personal about him or his life.”
Audrey chuckled. “Sounds like J.D. And I’ve seen you do some of those things, too, Julia. Could it be just a cop’s habit?”
“Granted, all of us in law enforcement learn to watch our backs. Will acts like he’s being stalked.”
“Well, I do know one thing about him. He likes you.”
Julia picked up her glass, swirling the ice around. She kept her eyes down. “How do you know that?”
“He told me that you were exceptional at your job.” Audrey hesitated, not sure she should bring up his concerns, but she wanted Julia to know that both she and Will were there for her, if she ever needed them. “Please don’t take this in the wrong way, Julia, but Will and I both noticed the way you reacted when we surprised you the other night. I apologize if I caused you pain or brought up any unpleasant memories.”
Julia kept her eyes focused on her glass for another moment. At first, Audrey thought she wasn’t going to speak to the issue, but then Julia looked up. “It was an incident when I worked homicide in Nashville. I was attacked by a guy high on drugs. My partner was shot and killed. I’m just jumpy sometimes, is all.” She laughed. “You guys surprised the hell out of me that night.”
“I understand.”
A rather uncomfortable silence settled over them after Julia’s admission, but Audrey didn’t want Julia to leave before offering her professional help. “If there’s anything I can do to help you work through that terrible night, Julia, I hope you’ll let me know. If you need to talk about it, or talk about the way you feel about what happened, anything at all, I’ll be there for you. Sometimes going over it with someone who understands how a trauma can affect you is very helpful in working through your emotions.”
Julia raised her eyes, and Audrey easily read the pain in them. J.D.’s sister still suffered from the death of her partner and her own attack at the hands of a brute. “Thank you, Audrey. I know you’re a grief counselor. I appreciate the offer. Maybe sometime, after we get through this case, I will want to talk it out. Right now, the Tongue Slasher murders are all I seem to think about.”
“Okay. Just so you know. I’m here anytime you need me.” She smiled. “Night or day.”
They chatted some more about the people Julia had met at the surprise party as they cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, but nothing else personal was said, nothing more about Julia’s past. Audrey bid her future sister-in-law good-bye at the door and gave her a hug, but as Julia ran down the steps and headed for the old Charger, Audrey couldn’t help but wish that J.D.’s sister would confide in her now rather than later. Audrey had been in the counseling business long enough to sense when someone was struggling with emotions, possibly even repressing some memories. In her professional opinion, Julia was doing just that.
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