Serial Games (Virginia Justice Book One) (21 page)

Maggie stood, yanked off her top and walked to the bathroom. The reflection in the mirror caught her attention. Mussed hair, smudged eyeliner, no lipstick. She grimaced. Had she looked like this in the elevator? Brandon had called her beautiful. Maggie watched the color flood to her cheeks. She smiled.

Maggie arrived at command and control the next morning before Brandon. She breathed a sigh of relief. She’d repeated a mantra the entire morning to repair the crumbled walls of security around her heart. Her subconscious was doing its own work, attacking each new ounce of confidence with thoughts of Brandon’s kiss, his hands, his voice whispering
her
name — not Emily’s.

Instead of staying with him in the elevator and perhaps exploring where their attraction could lead, she’d rushed out of the elevator without a glance back. Brandon hadn’t texted or called, and when Maggie had finally drifted off to restless sleep, she knew retreating to her room had been the right decision.

Today was a fresh, new day with an opportunity to start on the right foot. Following the true path would leave little room for distraction and ultimately, her heart’s destruction. The sooner she started working, the less of a chance any awkwardness could set in. Bernie approached her table and handed her a cup of coffee. She thanked him and watched as he sipped his own. His lips fought a smile. She wondered whether Bernie knew
every
detail of her dealings with Brandon.

Maggie drank her coffee and kept her gaze on the paperwork in front of her. She didn’t know whether to be embarrassed the whole affair played out in front of Brandon’s best friend, or relieved she had a supporter.

“Give Brandon time,” he said softly.

Maggie’s glance snapped up. Time?

“He’ll come around and you won’t be disappointed.”

Maggie’s jaw slacked. Bernie received a call and excused himself but her gaze followed him across the room. Did Bernie mean Brandon felt the same way about her as she did about him? Could she wait for him? She remembered his words in the elevator:
I don’t know if I can let her go
. Maggie decided the only safe thing to do was to shield her heart from any more illusions. Too bad they came in the form of a muscle-bound US Marshal who she couldn’t escape until the case concluded.

Brandon walked through the door and stopped when he saw her.

Maggie emplaced her shield. She ignored how her heart rammed against it, struggled to be free. She repeated her mantra as her eyes drifted over the mussed hair and droopy eyes. Had he slept at all last night? She nodded a greeting and turned away, nearly bumping into an agent who handed her a fax. The cover sheet was addressed to her from the DA’s office. Maggie read the summary of the findings on the other escapees. The DA provided a link analysis of their connections and an overview of their financials. A thorough review of those individuals didn’t tie anyone to Burrows. The report disappointed Maggie, but didn’t surprise her. A finding would have made it easier to predict Burrows’s next move but for now, being on the right bus at the right time allowed Burrows to escape. Maggie didn’t believe in coincidences.
Well, I’m still at square one. At least that’s not a setback. And I have Happy Gilbert
.

“Maggie.”

Maggie shivered at the sound of her name. No man ever pronounced it quite like he did. She couldn’t explain it, but the sound electrified her. She walked to the side of the table farthest from him. “Marshal.”

She heard him groan. She fought the urge to smile, remembering how often he had asked her to refer to him by his given name, but then irritation set in. She’d been here before and she wasn’t about to let his voice, his presence, or the thought of his kiss distract her again.

He came forward and touched her arm. He whispered low, for her ears only. “Maggie, look, can we talk in private?”

She searched his gray eyes and in them found…hope.

“Agent Weston, you have another fax.”

She turned in the direction of the voice and instead of waiting for the agent to deliver the fax to her, she walked to meet the man. “Thank you.” Maggie briefly skimmed the first paragraph of the fax from her office. It was the detailed summary of the profile workup on Happy Gilbert.

The first line told her everything she needed to know. Happy was clean. She needed an excuse to keep busy and deter Brandon, so she carefully read every minute detail of a report that eliminated Happy as an accomplice. It also offered no useful information about Burrows’s motives. Well, on paper at least.
No one would suspect him so he’d be the perfect accomplice
.

“Maggie.” Brandon once again touched her arm, but Bernie called to her at the same moment and she responded to him instead.

“Is that the fax on Happy Gilbert you were waiting for?”

“Yes, Bernie.” She walked over to the table where he sat and handed him the stack of papers. “Basically, Happy is who he says he is. Longtime resident of Culpeper, he first knew Burrows’s mother when Burrows was a child. Lifelong bachelor with zero dependents, he has a stake in a string of businesses here in Culpeper, but the photography shop is the one he currently manages.”

“So, that gets us nowhere.” Bernie sighed his disappointment.

The feeling of being out of her element threatened her confidence again, but she called upon her training and decided returning to the scene would be a step in the right direction. She would bring Doug with her and together with fresh eyes, hopefully get a better perspective on things. “My money is still on Happy aiding Burrows somehow. Just because he’s clean on paper doesn’t mean his hands aren’t dirty.”

She glanced at Brandon, who watched her intently. Eventually, she’d have to face Brandon, but right now her emotions were still a bit too raw. She decided to leave Brandon where she should’ve left him days ago, at square one. As soon as she regained some emotional stability, they would talk.

“Bernie, would you like to join me for a ride over to the Burrows place? I’m going to solve this thing once and for all.” She slung her purse over her arm and marched toward the door. Before she reached it, Doug entered the room. He waved at her, and she motioned for him to join her.

“Hey!” A warm hand on her upper arm steered her past Doug, out the door, and across the hall into another conference room. She spun around to see Brandon close the door with a click.

“Brandon, I don’t have time for this.” If she started strong, she’d end strong — with her heart intact.

He smiled. “Well, at least we’re back to ‘Brandon.’”

Maggie didn’t return the expression. But her cheeks warmed. Brandon’s eyes wavered and a look of remorse came over his features. “Look, Maggie, I’m sorry about yesterday. I crossed a line.” His eyes held fast to hers. His lips twitched slightly upward. “And I’m not talking about what happened in the elevator.”

She ignored how her body immediately began to sweat. Maggie tried to focus on the door behind him and how she could escape. The look in his eyes pulled at her heartstrings, and if they were wrenched any further, all the barriers she erected would tumble down.

He raked a hand through his hair. “I haven’t been myself since Emily died. Letting God heal the pain is easier said than done. Then you came along.” His eyes smoldered. “All the emotion I thought I’d buried just…” He took a step closer, his breathing heavy. “You stir everything up.”

Maggie didn’t trust herself to speak. The sincerity in his eyes and in his voice stripped at her armor. Yet, he couldn’t be hers. Unless he was willing to heal from the pain of the past, he couldn’t embrace his future…and she couldn’t be in it.

“Please, forgive me,” he whispered, his heart in his eyes. “I’m trying.”

Maggie believed him, but he didn’t say the words she wanted to hear. She would pay a high emotional cost if she gave in to him too soon.

Maggie nodded her head once. “Okay. I know you’re trying, and I appreciate it.” She tried to sidestep him for the door.

Did her arm just want to be in his hand, or did he once again detour her from her destination? She faced him, her back to the door.

“Maggie, don’t.” His eyes bore into hers, his voice desperate.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t be like this,” he pleaded.

“Like what?”

“Closed off. Shut down.”

Did he really? “Oh, like you were closed off to me?” Why did that come out? He had just apologized and she had accepted it. He owed her nothing now and well, neither did she. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. I didn’t mean it.”

She turned away but gasped when strong arms went around her waist and she landed decidedly against his muscled chest. His mouth took hers so hungrily she could do nothing but allow him to taste. Her purse hit the floor with a thud; her arms wrapped around his neck.

Everything that needed to be said or wanted to be heard was in his kiss. It left her no room to misunderstand what she meant to him. He had loved Emily, and might always love her in some way, but he was moving on…with her. Her rigid body relaxed. His arms wrapped her closer. She tingled with delight at his deep, satisfied moan.

A knock at the door had Brandon pulling away slightly, and Maggie sucking in the air she needed for her heart to keep beating. Brandon took a few steps toward the door, and then turned. “You ready?” he whispered. His eyes still simmered as they looked at her.

Maggie fluffed her hair and picked up her purse. “Yes, thank you.”

Brandon opened the door to Bernie’s amused face.

He stepped inside. “Doug and I are ready when you are, Maggie.”

“Okay,” Maggie breathed. She watched as Bernie scrutinized her, and then Brandon. A look of triumph crossed his face.

“Well, I guess that means everything is cleared up. Good for you two.”

Brandon smirked. “You could always read me like a book, couldn’t you?”

Like a book
. Maggie’s brows knitted, and then rose. She felt her eyes grow large. “Like a book!” She snapped her fingers.

“What?” Brandon came forward.

“Now I know where I saw that photograph. He was the boy in the album.” She shook her head in disbelief.

“What photo album?” Bernie asked.

Maggie looked at him. “The one at the photography shop.” She turned toward Brandon. “The same album down in the lower basement on the bookshelf, in the Burrows residence.”

“You never mentioned an album. It was at the photography shop?” Brandon’s eyes narrowed.

“Yes! I’m sure of it. I would need to look at the binder to be certain, but I’m positive. I wondered why the photo of the boy I saw looked so familiar. The picture in the shop was worn, but the boy…the boy is Burrows.”

“Why would Happy have the album? And when would he have gotten it since we searched the house before you ever met Happy at the shop?”

“Plus, the surveillance teams have noted no one coming or going from the residence, including Mr. Collins, who is the only other person here with a key to the place. A key you confiscated, correct?” Bernie added.

“Right. I have that key,” Maggie confirmed. “But for all we know there is another one floating around.”

“There must be another way into the place. Something we’ve missed.” Brandon’s mouth tipped downward, his voice grave. “We need to get a team over there right now. For all we know, Burrows has been moving right underneath our noses.”

“I’ll go pick up our friend Happy Gilbert,” Bernie offered. “And you have my word, he won’t be so happy after I’ve spoken to him.” He was out the door.

Brandon caught Maggie’s eye. He smiled, a gleam of the hunt in his eyes. “This is it.”

She nodded. “I know. I feel it too.” But she wondered at the goose bumps that littered her arms and the small pang of fear deep in her gut.

****

Maggie and Brandon pulled up to the driveway of the Burrows residence. The property teamed with agents and police dogs. Brandon called a few of the agents over to give additional instructions while Maggie entered the house. Bernie and Doug would soon have Happy Gilbert in custody, and they would know exactly how and why he aided Burrows.

For a moment, Maggie stood still and listened for any signs of movement in the house. After nothing registered, Maggie filled her lungs with air and moved toward the kitchen and the entry to the basement.

“Margaret?”

“In the kitchen.” Brandon entered. His look of concern faded when his eyes rested on her. Maggie warmed all over. She barely had time to consider how her feelings had changed since the hotel. It would have to wait. Instead, she gave him a smile to ease his tension. He smiled back. Those lips…

Oh no, I don’t need to fall down the stairs again
. She tore her gaze from his mouth.

“I have the agents searching the woods behind the house again. Hopefully the dogs will pick up a fresh scent.” He moved to her side. His hand rested gently on her arm.

“Bernie will call us when he has something from Gilbert, right?” Maggie asked.

“Right. Hopefully we’ll get answers on how Gilbert got the album.”

Why did Gilbert have the album? Did any patrons of the photography shop recognize Burrows as the boy in the pictures? Maggie hoped not. Whatever Gilbert’s role in the grand scheme, it sickened her.

Brandon tugged at the door that led to the second-level basement. Maggie attempted to step inside but his hand on her shoulder restrained her.

“Why don’t you let me go first?”

“Are you suddenly concerned for my safety?” she teased.

“Not so much sudden. It has been gradually coming on.” He moved in front of her and gave her a quick wink. “Besides, you’re a consultant, remember? I can’t afford to let anything happen to you.”

Maggie noted the seriousness in his voice and thought of Emily. It was more than just concern for Brandon. “I’ll follow you then.”

He began the downward climb. “This room is always going to stink,” he murmured. Brandon pulled the light cord and the small, dank room lit up.

Maggie stepped away from the ladder. “I’m sure I saw the album over here.” She moved toward the bookcase. She shined the flashlight on the shelf where she recalled fingering the label. The position where the album last rested showed an empty space.