Nora Roberts Land (22 page)

“It’s what makes him good. He likes to be with real people. Not all journalists do.” She thought of Rick-the-Dick. He didn’t like people. He used them and then cast them aside.

Tanner was different. He liked people. He understood them. No one could feign that interest, that intensity of listening. When he walked toward her and tapped her on the nose, her lashes fluttered.

“I suspect being with real people is a Hale trait.” He sauntered out the kitchen, Hugo trailing after him. “Do me a favor though. Try not to act like it’s such a chore to be my pretend girlfriend. Otherwise, I’ll make you a bumper sticker that says
Real People Play Bingo
and put it on your nice new Audi. Come on. I’ll walk you out.”

Her lips twitched. “I’ll do my best not to gag.”

Deep down, she knew being his girlfriend wouldn’t be a chore at all—pretend or otherwise.

Chapter 25

A
rthur Hale was as sharp as a tack. Tanner caught the gleam in the man’s eyes as he re-read the autopsy report. Seeing the legend work was like watching Brokaw or Woodward. The ground under his feet suddenly felt holier. He didn’t question it, simply enjoyed it.

They were gathered together in Arthur’s living room, sitting on a well-worn blue couch next to an antique coffee table. Tanner listened as Arthur explained all he knew. Meredith added her two cents, looking beautiful in a red sweater and gray skirt. Then Tanner ran them through what Ray had told him.

Arthur crunched down on a red hot. “Well, between the three of us, we don’t have a pot to piss in. I couldn’t reach Gene, but I’d bet my grandfather’s Winchester he left the drug use out as a kindness, like Meredith said. You’d have to know their congregation, Tanner. Something like this would send the faithful into an apoplexy. We’re still a small town. People watch out for each other without being asked. Gene knows that information won’t bring her back.”

“So, you don’t think he could have another motivation? Like making some extra dough since his stock portfolio crashed?”

Arthur tapped his cane—hard. “No, Gene may have to work for a year longer than he wanted, but he’d never make a wrong step. I’ve known him since he was a kid, playing with my boy.”

“Okay.” Who could fight against that character reference?

Arthur frowned and looked him in the eyes. “I won’t ask if you trust your source about the drugs.”

Tanner met his gaze.

“I doubt the police report will say much,” Arthur continued. “From what I’ve heard, it’s been treated as a straightforward case. Her alcohol level was well above the legal limit. She died from a heart murmur. Case closed.”

Meredith handed Tanner a file. “Grandpa compiled the names of the kids who were admitted to the ER. Have your source confirm he sold marijuana to them. If we triangulate they were his clients—”

“Then we add Jemma to the list and have something that’s consistent,” Tanner interjected.

“Exactly,” Arthur added. “Then maybe your sister, Peggy, will be able to prove the drugs were laced, like your source says. Dare doesn’t have any fancy equipment. Gene’s tests might have missed it.”

“In the meantime, we start with my source’s main supplier and follow it up the chain,” Tanner said. “Shake the bushes.”

Arthur popped in another red hot, rolling it around in his mouth. “So, your source only knows the guy who gives him the drugs at the garage. Kenny Hopkins. We need more. I’m still not clear why Jemma died and no one else. Is it because they threw their guts up?”

Tanner wondered the same. “We’ve got more questions than answers, but that’s always the way a good story starts.”

Meredith raised her hand. “Why don’t I stop by Gene’s house tomorrow night after work? That way we can keep it social.”

“Okay,” Tanner agreed. “Can you ask him to run another test if he didn’t find anything on the first pass? I want a second set of results. Gene tested her… remains. Peggy can test the drugs. It’s a different base. But please don’t tell Gene about the other test.”

Just because they trusted him didn’t mean he had to do the same.

Arthur leaned forward. “Fine. Two tests will carry more weight. Better confirmation for the courts if we find anything. Why the hell was a nice girl like Jemma smoking marijuana anyway? Such a damn waste.”

Meredith patted his liver-spotted hand. “Pete showed up at the Halloween party with another girl, and Jemma was acting out.”

Arthur gripped his cane. “I’ll ask for the police report. Even if there’s nothing useful in it, it’ll tell us who else was on the scene with Gene besides Deputy Barlow. I don’t like the fact that no one was seriously interviewed.”

“The coroner is in charge of the crime scene according to Colorado law,” Meredith told Tanner.

Arthur nodded, and then said, “Mere, ask Gene if any drugs from the party were submitted as evidence.”

“Someone might have flushed them,” Tanner suggested. “My source said he couldn’t find everything he sold that night.”

“We’ll know more after I talk to Gene.”

“How are you going to explain your questions?” Tanner asked.

Meredith tapped her chin. “I’ll tell him that Jill’s desperate to know more. He has a soft spot for her. She always bribed him with mom’s chocolate chip cookies to take her fishing.”

“He’ll buy that,” Arthur replied. “Jill is having a hard time. Details might help.”

And then again, details didn’t change a damn thing. Jemma would still be dead.

“I’d like to meet your source.” Meredith reached for a red hot in the crystal candy bowl on the coffee table.

Tanner shook his head. “No way.”

“But we’re partners. You brought me—us—in.” She looked at Arthur. “We know the local scene. We can ask him things you can’t. Grandpa, tell him.”

“No, Meredith. I would feel the same way. A good reporter never gives up his source.”

Tanner looked up and met the older man’s eyes, and a moment of complete understanding and respect passed between them.

“Give me your questions. I’ll ask the ones I haven’t covered.”

Meredith tapped her foot. Tanner was afraid steam would start spewing from her ears.

“He might have to come forward anyway,” she said in a persuasive voice.

“He’s hoping if we find enough evidence he won’t have to.”

She snorted. “Right, because he’d go to jail.”

Not answering seemed a good approach.

“You don’t give an inch.”

He stared her down when she put her hands on her hips. “I lost a source when I was young and stupid by trusting another journalist. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“That’s to your credit, Tanner.”

Arthur uncurled from the sofa, rubbing a hand on his aged back. Tanner would love to have seen the man in his prime, riding a horse through the pyramids like in the photo above the fireplace.

“And you thought Dare was going to be boring,” Arthur said.

Tanner picked up his coffee cup when he stood. “I never said boring. Just not the pressure-cooker I’m used to.”

Arthur popped in another red hot, crunching. “What’s your source doing? Still selling?”

“He said people are freaked out about Jemma and aren’t buying much right now. Plus, there’s fewer parties with the end of the semester looming. If someone asks, he’s going to tell them he’s out or forgot to bring his stash. I asked him to keep a low profile.”

“Stalling is a good plan. See what else you can find out.” Arthur unwrapped another candy, making Tanner wonder if his tongue held a permanent red tinge.

“Will do.”

Meredith reached for a piece of Dove from the crystal bowl. Funny, Sommerville hadn’t included chocolate as one of her likes in his file.

“We’ll have to wait until after Thanksgiving for Peggy to do the drug tests,” he added.

Meredith’s eyebrows slammed together.

“Problem?”

“I’m only here until Thanksgiving. Uh, maybe I can ask for more time.” She wrung her hands and frowned,

Arthur grinned.

Tanner grunted. If she left without finding Mr. Right, there couldn’t be a story, right?

“Your grandpa and I can finish this.”

She pressed her hands to her ribs. “No, I need to stay here. Finish…everything.”

He bit his cheek to stop from frowning. Damn, she wasn’t giving up.

Arthur tapped his cane. “I could always look into getting the sample tested by a closer lab.”

“No,” Tanner declared, his voice gruff. “I want someone I know.”

Arthur glanced over to Meredith. “Yes, you can always trust family to be straight with you.”

Her chin lifted, and they shared a look Tanner couldn’t decipher. Did Arthur suspect Meredith was in town for reasons other than those she’d told him? The man wasn’t stupid. Hadn’t he heard the wheels turning when she’d realized her time in town was almost up?

“Too bad you can’t ship it through the mail,” Meredith commented.

Tanner leaned down and straightened the end of the Persian carpet he’d kicked up with his pacing. “It’s too risky, and Thanksgiving’s only a little over a week away.”

Arthur put his arm around Meredith. “In the old days I could have gotten away with mailing drugs or getting on a plane with them.”

Meredith kissed his cheek. “Ah, the good old days.”

“Oh hush up, girlie.” He tugged on her hair. “Now, why don’t you run upstairs and get this old man a sweater? The gray one.”

“When have you ever cared about the color?”

“Since I started dating again. You might try it. Not the pretend kind.”

Suddenly, the black boots on Meredith’s feet fascinated her.

Tanner took the red hot Arthur offered him. “I keep telling her it can be more than a cover, but she’s stubborn.”

Meredith sauntered out of the room. “It’s a Hale trait. Besides, I’m not the one being stubborn.”

“Stop that muttering,” Arthur called as her boots pounded on the stairs. “You.” He pointed at Tanner. “Come with me.”

His radar went up immediately, but he followed Arthur into his study. Photos covered the wall, telling the remarkable tale of Arthur’s career. He forced his gaze away from a picture of Arthur and JFK when Arthur thrust a newspaper into his chest.

“Do you want to tell me why there’s a shitty article about your brother in Richard Sommerville’s paper today? Seems strange, since he’s a local councilman.”

Tanner’s heart rate doubled. Christ, hadn’t he said Arthur was as sharp as a tack?

He made himself shrug nonchalantly. “Everyone knows Sommerville’s a prick. This is shoddy, personal journalism. I can’t understand why your granddaughter married that asshole.”

Arthur adjusted his glasses. “And yet one of Sommerville’s best friends recommended you for your teaching position at Emmits Merriam.”

Tanner forced every emotion from his face, but the quiver went to his toes. Too damn smart by half. And he’d have to lie to him. Fuck.

“I didn’t know he knew Sommerville. Journalism’s a small world.”

Arthur smacked Tanner’s boot with his cane. “I certainly hope so. I don’t know you well, McBride. I had you figured out until today. Now, I’m not so sure. I intend to watch you closely.” He nodded to the closed door. “Especially since you’re cozying up to my granddaughter. Anyone with eyes can see there’s nothing pretend about it.”

“You should know I only have the highest respect for you and your family.”

Arthur grabbed the newspaper. “Doesn’t mean you haven’t gotten yourself tangled up in something. I don’t plan on telling Meredith about this article. At least not unless I have to.”

Tanner inclined his head, grateful for the reprieve.

“If you need help, the door’s open. Just make sure you don’t hurt my granddaughter, because I still believe in vigilante justice.”

He sauntered away, adjusting a photo of himself on a horse with a shotgun in his hand. Arthur looked like a teenager in the aged, grainy picture. “Another thing I miss from the old days.”

Tanner gestured to the paper Arthur had tossed on his desk. “I understand the feeling, sir.”

“I think you do,” Arthur said, studying him intently as the antique clock ticked in the silence.

Meredith sauntered into the room without knocking. “Grandpa, I couldn’t find your gray sweater, but here’s a black one instead. It’ll match your gray pants better anyway. Since you’re so worried.”

He pinched her cheek, and then pulled it over his head. “The other one must be in the laundry. You’re right. It does look better. Thanks, honey.”

“What were you two doing in here?”

Tanner stayed quiet, his insides still shaking like he had the flu.

Picking up the photo of him and the shotgun, Arthur said, “I was showing this picture to Tanner. Do you remember the story?”

She beamed. “Sure. You and Great-Grandpa Hale tracked some thieves up Sardine Canyon who’d stolen your horses right off the old ranch. I love that picture. You look so young.”

He puffed out his chest. “I was fifteen. I never did tell you the whole story, Mermaid.”

“You didn’t?”

Tanner leaned against the wall, hoping his best poker face was on.

“We got the horses back and turned two good-for-nothing horse thieves into the sheriff. Their partner didn’t make it though.”

“What happened?” Meredith asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

“He tried to shoot my dad in the back. I was coming out from behind the rock. Got my gun up in time. Killed him.”

Meredith put her hands to her ribs—something Tanner noticed she did a lot.

“Oh, my God. Grandpa!”

He sighed and put the photo down. “Think I’ll go to my grave remembering that moment, but it taught me one important lesson.” He lifted his hand to her cheek. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my family.”

He wrapped his arms around Meredith, his gaze challenging.

Tanner didn’t look away.

Chapter 26

R
ay,” Tanner called out as class broke up two days later. “Could you stay after?”

The boy immediately dropped a book. When he looked up, his red-rimmed eyes gleamed like a cornered rabbit’s. Poor kid.

“It’s about your last article,” Tanner added, putting a leading hand on Ray’s back. The muscles bunched under his green shirt. “It wasn’t up to your usual standard.” He lowered his voice but not enough to make sure they weren’t overhead. If they were going to have a cover, people had to believe it. “I figured you might be a bit distracted. A bunch of people have been upset about that young woman dying.”