Lullaby for the Nameless (26 page)

They weren’t there now.

A plant had been dropped on the floor about two-thirds of the way through the greenhouse, just to Ashlyn’s right. Dirt was scattered over the side of the table above, and spilled onto the ground below, the planter half empty and the small green sprout lying on its side, half buried by the soil. She nodded in its direction.

As she approached the rear exit with Nolan right behind her, she exhaled. “It’s clear.”

“Bit premature to say that, don’t you think?”

Ashlyn turned to glance at him. “There was a truck parked outside the property yesterday.”

“You think someone was here while you were questioning Mrs. Wilson?”

She considered that. “No. She didn’t give me much, but it wasn’t like someone was telling her to get rid of me or trying to keep her quiet. It was more like being difficult just came naturally to her.”

Nolan smirked as he turned to look out the door, and the grin slipped from his face. Ashlyn turned. She couldn’t see anything because the open door was blocking her view so she stepped outside.

Nolan took another look around before he crouched down. “Shot in the back.”

One minute Mrs. Wilson had been working in her greenhouse, tending to her plants. The next she’d been fleeing out the back door, running for her life.

Only to trip and fall and be shot in the back and left to die in the dirt.

The murmur of words seemed distant, like it was coming from far away and it wasn’t until she looked up that she realized Nolan was talking on his cell phone. His gaze was fixed on her.

She walked over and crouched down on the other side of Mrs. Wilson’s body as he closed the phone.

“A team’s on its way.”

She nodded. They lapsed into silence, neither proceeding with an examination of the body or search of the area. If Nolan was tempted to have answers ready for the team when they arrived, he didn’t let on. Every second of the approaching hum of vehicles, engines turning off, doors opening and closing, gravel crunching beneath the feet of the officers approaching—it all imprinted itself on her brain as she squatted beside the body of a woman she’d spoken to the day before.

Ashlyn looked up as Nolan stood. Sullivan was approaching them. He paused as he surveyed the body, then looked at Nolan. “Is this connected?”

Sullivan’s eyes narrowed. “And where were you?”

A bit of color crept into Nolan’s cheeks. “Following up on another lead.”

“You let a…” Sullivan looked at Ashlyn and stopped himself. He turned back to Nolan. “Get her back to the station and take her statement.”

“But, sir, don’t you think we’d be more useful here?”

“In case you didn’t notice when you first joined the RCMP, this isn’t a debate club.”

“I’m sorry sir, it’s just…” Nolan paused, but didn’t look down at her, although she noticed his shoulders drop just a touch. “She doesn’t remember everything.”

Sullivan’s eyes widened, and he spoke with a forcefulness Ashlyn hadn’t witnessed from him since her transfer. “Then let’s at least try not to contaminate her memory with anything we turn up here during the search.”

She followed Nolan to the Rodeo without argument, and they drove back to the station. It wasn’t until they walked into the office that someone spoke.

“Well, well. If you’d stuck to answering phones and filing papers, you wouldn’t have had the chance to try the local hospital cuisine.”

Nolan stepped in front of her. “Shut up, Tain.”

“Touchy, Nolan. You getting a bit fond of your new partner? Must have been really hard to spend the night without her.”

Ashlyn caught Nolan’s arm as he pulled it back. It took all her strength to hold it until some of the rage faded and the force of his pull waned, and she felt the strain on her muscles, the burning bite in her own arm beneath the bandages that remained. “He’s not worth it,” she said as she let go of Nolan and walked to her desk. As she sat down, she caught Tain watching her.

He grinned and walked out.

“What? Being harassed by him or excluded by you?” Nolan’s face cooled a touch at her words, and she almost regretted them. She drew a breath. “Look, if you let them know they’ve got your number they’ll keep dialing the phone.”

“Sounds like something my father said once.”

“Well, it’s something my mentor reminded me of when we talked this morning.”

“Ah, so that’s who you were talking to.” Nolan nodded. “Makes sense.”

Part of her wished she’d held that back. “And I told him more about what I remember than I’ve told you.”

Nolan wasn’t settling down to look through his messages. An energy was still coursing through him, evident since he’d exchanged words with Tain, and his head snapped up at her words. “Constable Hart, a woman has been murdered.”

She sat locked in a stare with him, willing herself to show that she wouldn’t be pushed around. He blinked and his eyes softened for a second, a small enough measurement of time to make her doubt what she thought she’d seen but long enough for her to falter in her own stance. Part of her felt guilty for not taking the leap and trusting him, but there was a spark of anger still smoldering within her over how Nolan had treated her and tried to play her just the day before.

He had to yield something first.

Tain marched into the room, his pace slowing when he glanced at Ashlyn and then Nolan. Ashlyn broke the stare with Nolan and looked down at the desk as Tain muttered, “Get a room already.”

“But I’m not anyone else.” Tain smirked. “Must be hittin’ pretty close to the truth to get you so worked up, Nolan. Your daddy may be a sergeant, but that rank isn’t high enough to protect you from an assault charge.”

“You sonofa—”

Ashlyn was on her feet and between them before Nolan could finish. She held his arm back again, her muscles burning in protest of the strain. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Nolan blinked as he squeezed his fists, his mouth drawn into a hard line. He took a step back, turned on his heel and marched out of the room.

“It’s really so sweet that you’ve got his back,” Tain said as Ashlyn turned around. “Or is it that he’s got yours?”

Ashlyn felt the sting of skin against skin when her hand struck his face. She stepped back and glared at Tain, and thought of the look she’d seen in Nolan’s eyes. It was a rage that didn’t just border on hatred but sailed right across the line. Nolan was convinced Tain had been bumped in because of the color of his skin, and Tain believed Nolan was being carried by his sergeant father. Ashlyn thought about what Steve Daly had said to her hours before. Of course, it made sense. Steve would trust the son of a sergeant, especially if he knew him. She thought of how Steve had reacted when she’d said Nolan’s name and almost couldn’t blame Tain for his assumptions.

None of it excused the level of animosity that had been allowed to build between them, but the blame for that lay at Sullivan’s feet. She’d seen enough herself to know that he seemed to give Tain a lot of latitude, despite not appearing to like him, and Sullivan worked closely with Nolan and gave him leadership opportunities.

Tain had a way of looking stone cold and immovable at times, with a depth to his gaze that could make you feel like he could read your mind. She’d felt uncomfortable when he stared at her that way before, but he was sporting a grin that he seemed to be trying to rein in, a grin that was suppressing a laugh. His eyes twinkled with an almost good-natured amusement.

“What’s so funny?”

“You slapped me.”

“If I’d known you’d find it so funny I would have smacked you a long time ago.”

“You found your backbone.” The smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a solemn look. “Maybe almost getting killed was a good thing for you. It didn’t work out so well for Winters.” He straightened up to his full height and looked down at her. “I heard you found Mrs. Wilson’s body today.”

She looked up at him but didn’t speak. He took a step closer, drew a breath as he glanced over his shoulder toward the door and then turned back to her. “You better watch your back, Hart. The only person on this team you know you can trust is yourself.”

“Like I hadn’t figured that out already,” she muttered. She walked over to her desk and stood looking down at messages and paperwork, trying to find something to focus on.

He moved toward her and touched her arm softly. “I mean it.”

Acting like he cared.

“You almost sound concerned, Tain. I’m touched.”

The sarcasm saturated every syllable, and for a split second she thought she saw the same look in Tain’s eyes that she’d seen in Nolan’s, a softening that hinted at a crack in the armor, at a heart that pumped blood instead of ice water.

Was it possible they blamed each other for what had happened to Winters and that they’d both thought that by pushing her away and leaving her behind she’d be safe? Or was it what Steve had suggested, that they didn’t trust her because she didn’t fully trust herself?

The approaching footsteps stopped abruptly and they both turned to see Nolan standing just inside the room. His jaw muscles tightened as he looked at Tain first, then Ashlyn, then focused on returning to his desk and grabbing his jacket.

“They’ve found another body.”

“She stays,” Tain said. All the edge was gone from his voice. “I’ll go with you.”

Nolan’s head jerked up as he leveled Tain with a look. “She’s my partner. She’s going.”

“Would you two stop talking about me like I’m not even here?” Ashlyn grabbed her jacket. “We’ll all go,” she said as she reached behind her head to straighten her collar. Tain hadn’t moved, and neither had Nolan. “Is that a problem?” she asked him.

His only response was to snatch his keys off his desk, turn and walk out the door.

Nolan’s hands gripped the steering wheel with visible force, and he stared straight ahead, not uttering a word, his face as dark as the thick clouds gathering in the sky.

Ashlyn didn’t need to ask. The weather could turn fast in the mountains, and it was late enough in the year that clouds could just as easily mean snow as rain.

Tain was silent as well, a stillness about him that stood out in stark contrast to how he’d carried himself since she’d met him. He wasn’t relaxed, but he was controlled, his hand resting on the door handle, his eyes focused ahead of him. Waves of hostility rippled off Nolan, but it was as though the surge rebounded off Tain and swept back to the point of origin, Nolan’s grip on the steering wheel tightening, the color in the back of his neck darkening as the drive progressed.

Whatever tension Tain carried, he was in control of it. Nolan’s anger owned him.

Ashlyn sat in the back, at her own insistence, feeling every second of the drive.

The gaps between buildings grew, and then Nolan turned off down a road that seemed to head straight into the woods.

“I thought the body was found in a Dumpster.”

“That’s right.” Nolan sounded like his teeth were clenched.

“I’m not doubting you.” Except she was. Nolan’s inability to control his emotions, his obvious anger and frustration about things she’d been kept in the dark on, since day one.

When Nolan made another right turn she understood. The town dump, obviously, the landfill consuming the gaps where the trees had been cleared. The reduce, reuse, recycle mantra hadn’t eliminated these eyesores or prevented their expansion, and wherever possible large communities shipped their trash north to the wilderness. Out of sight, out of mind.

“How’d this come in?” Ashlyn asked.

“Anonymous 911 call.”