Kissing Trouble (9 page)

Luis’s Adam’s apple bobbed rapidly and what little color he had remaining blanched. “What I can’t believe is the lack of empathy it would take to...”

They both lapsed into a tense silence and watched as Wendy shoved Rick from behind, making him stumble and cry out in indignation.

“I just can’t believe we never heard anything,” Luis went on after a moment. “I feel like if I had...”

Julie shook her head. “I don’t think there’s anything you could have done. The person is clearly unstable.”

Luis turned his gaze out over the basketball court where Wendy and Rick were now having a game of blind man’s bluff.

“Hopefully the police will find them.”

Julie couldn’t agree more.

It was almost ten minutes later when Mason joined them. He took the chair on Julie’s other side. Julie and Luis immediately leaned closer to him.

“They’re on their way,” Mason muttered with a hard edge in his tone.

Relieved, Julie exhaled. “Thank goodness. I should call Maureen.” Instead, she drew her knees to her chest. “But I don’t know what to tell her.”

“Just wait until the men in blue get here and sort things out,” Mason said, keeping his voice low so Dustin wouldn’t overhear. “No point freaking her out without proper information.”

Seeing no reason to disagree, Julie sat back, tucking her legs under her. A cool breeze swept across the yard, ruffling the sheer curtains around the canopy and brushing over the sweat clinging to her skin. It smelled like grass, sulfur, dirt ... and blood. Maybe the latter was part of her imagination, but it continued to perfume the picture-perfect scene she was so desperately trying to cling on to. Everything that had started with such promise felt tainted. Part of her ached to bolt into the house and shower, but she knew that would do no good. She couldn’t scrub the image from the inside of her eyelids.

“Hey.” Mason drew her attention away from the swaying branches in the distance. “Everything will be okay.”

The fact that he actually believed that, smacked her with an anger that drew tears to her eyes. “Unless you have a crystal ball, Mason, you can’t possibly know that.”

He blinked, momentarily taken aback by the sharpness of her voice. “No, I can’t for certain. No one can, but we can try and make sure it doesn’t.”

That wasn’t any better. She wanted him to assure her that everything would be okay, that he would make certain of it. She needed reassurance. But reasoning told her that he had no grounds for giving it to her, because, as he said, no one could be certain. So the fact remained, some lunatic had committed one of the most heinous crimes Julie had ever been witness to and was still at large.

“Julie! Can we go in now?” Rick shouted from the other side of the pool.

Julie checked her watch, trying to remember how long it had been since they polished off the box of cookies. Then she wondered if the whole don’t eat before swimming notion applied to cookies, or a larger meal.

“I’ll go in with them,” Luis offered, already hefting his lanky frame off the lounge chair.

He peeled his t-shirt off and dropped it onto the cushion before starting on his shoes. He was even paler under his clothes. Almost translucent. It was like the harsh glint of sunlight over freshly fallen snow, nearly impossible to look directly at.

“Are you sure, Luis?”

Luis waved a hand, dismissing her concern while he toed his sandals off and hoisted his shorts a little higher around his hips.

Grateful, Julie smiled at him before fixing her attention on the boy a few feet away.

“Dustin, why don’t you take a dip with the others?” she suggested.

“I don’t want to swim,” he muttered, his unblinking gaze never lifting from the game’s screen.

“Hey, come on,” Luis coaxed. “We can have a game of Marco Polo. I’ll be it.”

Dustin rolled unimpressed eyes upwards and pinned Luis with a dry scowl. “Seriously?”

“Dude,” Mason warned.

Dustin threw open his arms. “Does it look like I’m even dressed to swim? Common sense need not apply, right?”

“That is it!” Julie snapped. “You’re grounded!”

“You can’t ground me!” Dustin shot back. “You’re not my mom.”

Julie barked a harsh laugh. “Well, that just makes you lucky. Get inside and go to your room. What you just said was horribly rude and when you return, I expect you to apologize to Luis.”

“No fucking way!”

Appalled, horrified, and furious, Julie slapped her armrests. “Upstairs. Now! And you better believe I will be calling your mother about this.”

“That’s bullshit!”

Dustin kicked his chair back, sending it careening to the concrete. His cheeks glowed a murderous red that shone in the wires of his glasses, giving his eyes a demonic hue. The knuckles on his hands blanched white at his sides. They trembled like he wanted nothing more than to pound them into someone’s face—possibly Julie’s.

“I hate you!” he snarled through clenched teeth. “I hope you die.”

“Dustin!” Mason was on his feet, but Dustin had already shot past them and was running back towards the house.

“Leave him,” Julie said when Mason started after the boy. “He just needs to calm down.”

Mason remained standing, gaze fixed on Dustin’s retreating back with a glimmer of irritation sparking behind his eyes

“What he needs is a good beating,” he muttered under his breath.

Julie turned a deaf ear on the comment. She squinted up at Luis. “I’m really sorry about that.”

Luis shrugged his bony shoulders. “Not a big deal.” He slapped his hands together and rubbed them with a mad glint in his eyes as he twisted around to face the pair standing by the pool, watching the whole incident with looks of hesitation. “Now, who do I throw into the pool first?”

Rick and Wendy squealed and booked it as Luis let out a roar and charged after them.

Julie forced out a small laugh.

“I’m sorry as well,” Mason murmured, as he regained his seat.

Julie tossed him a glance. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because he’s my cousin,” he said evenly. “And I know he can be a little shit, but he’s never this bad.”

“It’s not his fault,” she replied. “He’s just taking the divorce really hard.”

“Yeah, but kids go through divorces all the time and it’s not easy; but you don’t take it out on everyone around you, especially not people who are trying to help you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You sound like you’re talking from experience.”

He snorted. “No, my parents are still disgustingly in love, but I was taught not to be a douche.”

“Mm,” was all she said and hoped he didn’t hear the mocking disbelief in the hum.

Thankfully, if he heard it, he didn’t comment. Instead, they both lapsed into silence and watched as Luis pitched first Wendy, then Rick into the pool before following them in with a cannon ball.

“He’s nice,” she mused, more to herself than to Mason.

But he answered. “Yeah, he is.”

“Where did you find him?” she asked.

“He answered the ad Shaun and I put out for a roommate. That was two years ago. He grows on you.” There was fondness in the remark, the one she heard often when he spoke of his family.

“I’m surprised Shaun accepted another person in your life,” she remarked with just a hint of an edge in the words. “He’s always been very possessive of you.”

Something flickered behind his eyes but was quickly masked when he lowered his gaze to the space between his feet.

“Shaun had a tough time growing up. I was the only friend he had.”

You were the only friend I ever had and yet you never hesitated when crushing my soul beneath your heel.

“I’m glad you two had each other.”

Maybe traces of her resentment had seeped from the words into the air, or maybe he knew somehow she didn’t mean it, because he turned his head and his ever watchful eyes settled on her face. She felt the heat of it against her skin, hotter than the sun. It burned her cheeks until they were glowing a faint pink.

“Julie...”

She was saved from enduring the helplessness that sparkled like embers behind his steady watchfulness when two dark figures stepped out from around the side of the house and started down the incline towards them. She recognized the brown uniforms immediately and stiffened.

“Mason.” She jerked her head over his shoulder.

He twisted around in his seat and squinted at the pair before climbing to his feet. Julie did the same and they walked together to greet their guests.

Both officers were male, but while one was tall and built, the one in front with the sour expression was clearly the one in charge. He was shorter, rounder around the stomach, and had a face made for old western movies, right down to the fat mustache. He knuckle-tipped his sheriff’s hat and glanced through narrowed eyes first at Julie, then at Mason. His expression didn’t warm. If anything, his lips curled, making his mustache twitch.

“Mason Brody,” the man drawled in a voice that no one wanted a cop to use while saying their name. It was filled with annoyance, disgust, and wary distrust.

“Deputy,” Mason muttered, looking nowhere pleased by the man’s presence.

The man tipped back his hat even further to show the thin, white line across his forehead where his tan didn’t reach. “It’s sheriff now,” he said lazily, puffing out his chest so the afternoon sun glinted off the silver badge fastened to his shirt. “Has been for near three years. You’ve been gone a long time, son.”

A muscle worked in Mason’s jaw. “Seems that way.”

“Can’t say I’m overly pleased to have you back,” the sheriff went on. “Has it really been five years already?”

The corner of Mason’s mouth quirked up in an almost smug smirk. “Time flies.”

“It certainly does.” The sheriff tucked his thumbs into the loops of his belt and rocked back slightly to peer at the pool and Luis playing with the children. “So what seems to be the problem here?”

It was hard to imagine they hadn’t seen it pulling up in front of the house. Yet if they had, they were doing a damn good job masking their thoughts on the matter.

“We had an incident about an hour ago,” she explained. “I went to—”

“And you are?” the sheriff interrupted, digging out a battered notepad from the breast pocket of his dress shirt.

“Oh, uh ... I’m Julie Brewer,” she said.

He scribbled that down in the pad. “And your business here, Ms. Brewer?”

“I’m babysitting the Vance children,” she said and gestured in the direction of the pool.

“Uh huh...” More scribbling. “And what can you tell me about the
incident
?”

Julie slanted a quick glance towards Mason, caught his eye before turning back to the sheriff.

“Well, I went to see if there was a morning paper outside and ... didn’t you see them?” she asked, glancing from the sheriff to the other officer standing mutely behind the sheriff’s round shoulders.

“We did,” the sheriff replied evenly. “So you went to get the paper and...?”

Julie frowned. “And what? They were hanging there.”

“Right and what did you do?”

“I screamed,” Julie said, annoyance growing.

“And were they there last night?”

“Of course not!” she practically shouted. “The blood is clearly fresh. It had to have happened between the hours of two and ten.”

The sheriff raised his head and eyed her. “Know a lot about blood, do you?”

Indignation sharpened her voice when she answered, “I’m studying to become a forensic investigator, so yes, you can say that.”

A brow lifted on his oval face. “Is that so?” He folded his hands in front of him. “And what exactly do your
studies
tell you happened here?”

Teeth gritting, Julie lifted herself up to her full height. “Shouldn’t you be telling us? You’re the professional here.”

If he was angered by her remark, he didn’t show it. If anything, he grinned.

“Humor me, Ms. Brewer.”

Drawing in a breath, Julie thought of the crime scene the way she’d been taught at school and hated it. Despite being perfectly aware of what her choice in professional entailed, she had never been to a real crime scene. Everything she knew, she’d learned from her books. The real thing was a whole other experience.

“I would need to run tests and examine the scene—”

“Where were you this morning, Ms. Brewer?”

Thrown for a loop, Julie faltered in her response. “I was here. I made the kids breakfast and then we went for a walk. We returned about midday.”

“And were they there when you returned?”

Julie shrugged. “I don’t know ... I would think so, but we went in through the back.”

Those piercing green eyes went to Mason. “And what about you, Mr. Brody? Where were you?”

“He was with me,” Julie blurted. “I mean, he came on the walk with me ...
us
. With me and the kids.”

“And you’ve been with Mr. Brody all morning?”

Julie nodded. “Yes.”

“How about last night?”

Heat prickled her cheeks. “We only met last night. His aunt Maureen is—”

“I know who Maureen is,” the sheriff said. “As I know who Mason Brody is.” He folded his arms and glowered at Mason. “Upped your antics, have you, Mason?”

If looks could kill, Mason would be in handcuffs.

“I don’t torture animals,” he ground out through his teeth.

The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “It’s been five years. How do I know what you do now?”

“Sheriff,” Julie interrupted before Mason got arrested for assaulting an officer. “It’s like I said, Mason was with me the whole day and it wasn’t there the night before when Mason arrived.”

“And what time was that exactly?”

“Two,” she said without hesitation. “The alarm went off. I’m sure you can verify that with the alarm company.”

He jotted that down in his pad. “I’ll be sure to do that.” His gaze roamed past them to where Luis and the children were frolicking in the pool, oblivious to the company. “Who’s that?”

“My friend and roommate,” Mason said. “He and Shaun—”

“Shaun Ryan’s here with you?” The sheriff hooted like that was just the funniest thing he’d ever heard. “Well, case closed then.” He snapped his notepad shut.

“What?” Julie looked from Mason to the sheriff. “That isn’t a closed case.”