Somewhere Only We Know (11 page)

"Was there an autopsy?" Maddie asked.

He stared back at her, surprised by the question. "There was a toxicology report. Leanne was not under the influence at the time of her death, but it was obvious what injuries contributed to her passing, so I don't think anything else was done. To be honest, the Parkers dealt with all that. Leanne and I weren't married. I wasn't her official next of kin at that point."

As he finished speaking, he wondered if the Parkers might have known Leanne was pregnant and chosen not to tell him.

He sat back down in the chair and pressed the tips of his fingers together. "I'll have to talk to them."

"When you've had a chance to consider everything."

He frowned. "I can't believe you're the one who's telling me to slow down. Aren't you usually full speed ahead, to hell with the consequences?"

"So learn from my mistakes," she said evenly.

He let out a breath. "Sorry."

"You know, Burke, even if Leanne cheated and was pregnant with Mitch's child, that doesn't make what happened to her anything more than an accident, because you didn't hurt her. Mitch is wrong about that. Maybe he's wrong about the other stuff, too."

"He has to be wrong. I should talk to his investigator."

"That might be wise. His words won't be clouded by jealousy and rage."

"True."

"But you still need to breathe through this a little first."

Maddie had a point. There was too much adrenaline running through his body, and he felt pinned in by the four walls of his apartment. The freedom and happiness he'd felt a few hours earlier had completely vanished. Now he felt restless, angry and confused. He needed to take some action, but he didn't need to go off half-cocked.

"I have to get out of here," he said, standing up again. "I need to go for a run."

"That's a good idea," she agreed, relief passing through her eyes. "Do you happen to have an extra key to this place, to your car? I need to get something out of my bags in your trunk."

"Of course." He grabbed his extra set of keys out of the top drawer of his desk and handed them to her. "Get your stuff, spread out, hang your clothes up in whatever space you can find. Don't worry about crowding me."

"Thanks."

"I'm going to change."

He went into his bedroom, put on shorts, a T-shirt and running shoes, then headed out the door. He broke into a jog as soon as he hit the sidewalk, and he didn't stop running until he reached the walkway directly under the Golden Gate Bridge.

By then his breath was coming short and fast and his legs were aching from the speed of his sprint across town. He put his forearms on the railing and stared up at the majestic bridge. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, but there was no fog on the horizon. The sky was clear. He just wished his brain was as clear as the view.

The run had calmed him down a little. He knew there were still things to figure out but he didn't have to race to the truth. Whatever Leanne had done or not done didn't really matter now. He couldn't change it. She was gone. Her baby was gone. Maybe that child had been his—maybe not. He should let it all go. That would make the most sense.

On the other hand, he couldn't just forget what he'd heard. He hated the idea of Mitch spreading rumors about Leanne that might not be true. She wasn't here to defend herself.

But how the hell was he going to find out the truth? Mitch would only share his version, and he was acting crazy now, leaping to conclusions Burke knew weren't true.

He needed to talk to other people, the Parkers, Leanne's friends. He didn't want to stir everyone up, but what other choice did he have?

He supposed he had the choice to do nothing, but just because he didn't talk didn't mean Mitch wouldn't have a lot to say.

He looked up at the sky and murmured, "Why didn't you tell me, Leanne? Why didn't you talk to me if you were unhappy, if you wanted out, if you wanted someone else? What were you afraid of?" He paused. "I'm going to try to find out what happened. Maybe you wouldn't want that, but I need to know. I need to move on."

He let out a sigh, then turned around and ran back home.

* * *

While Burke was gone, Maddie grabbed some clothes out of Burke's car and took a long shower. It had certainly been a wild twenty-four hours and not just for her, for Burke, too. Her shocking eviction was starting to pale in comparison to the secrets his fiancée had kept from him. She didn't know exactly what was going on. She'd been trying to piece together the facts from what both Mitch and Burke had told her, and so far the picture was very fuzzy.

One thing she did know was that Burke was stunned, completely knocked off his feet. He'd always been a man to have control over his emotions, his situation, everything. But that had been shattered today. The pain in his eyes when he'd learned about the baby, about Leanne's possible infidelity, had been so agonizing, it had been hard to look too closely at him.

She wished there was something she could do to help him.

She knew what it was like to be betrayed by someone you loved, someone you thought you knew as well as you knew yourself.

After Paul had taken her money, she'd realized that she'd ignored a lot of red flags in their relationship. Had Burke done the same thing with Leanne?

When the water ran cold, she got out, dried off, dressed and dried her hair. Then she went back out to the living room and debated her next move. She had a key to Burke's apartment. She had some cash from the bank. And she was invited to a potluck that evening. She wasn't sure Burke would want to go after the news he'd just received, but she did want to see Nicole. It would probably be better for Burke to be surrounded by family tonight than to sit at home and stew about what Mitch had told him. Hopefully, his run would bring some peace and he'd be willing to go out later.

Grabbing her bag, she decided to run out to the market she'd spied a block away. Nicole had told her not to bring anything, but she'd feel better showing up with a dish to contribute.

When she left the building, she couldn't help looking around for Mitch. She didn't see him anywhere, but that didn't mean he wasn't lurking in the shadows somewhere. As she walked to the market, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her, but it was probably just her imagination. Mitch didn't care about her.

But Paul did. Or at least he cared about her money and the possibility of her helping him.

Sighing, she realized she should be focusing on her own problems. Paul's earlier phone call had disturbed her, but she reminded herself that Paul didn't know where she was staying in the city. Even if he somehow tracked her to the apartment she'd sublet, she wasn't there anymore. Her parents were safely out of town for a few more days, so there was no way Paul could reach them. And they didn't know where she was, either.

Despite all those reminders, she felt a little better when she stepped into the market.

It was a gourmet market with organic vegetables and meats and local wines from the nearby Sonoma and Napa vineyards. It was expensive, but it was convenient. She grabbed some vegetables, deciding to make some vegetable tarts to take as an appetizer. They were usually a big hit at parties.

After checking out, she walked quickly back to the apartment. The sun was going down, the late afternoon shadows getting longer and once again goose bumps ran unexpectedly down her arms as she moved toward Burke's apartment building.

She was not ordinarily a fearful person. She'd been all over the world. She'd traveled in dangerous areas by herself. There was nothing to fear on this residential block in San Francisco's Russian Hill neighborhood.

Still, she quickened her pace. When she got to the front door, she juggled the bags in her hand so she could get her key out.

Steps came up behind her, and her heart leapt into her throat as a hand came down on her shoulder. She gasped, whirling around to see…Burke.

"You scared me," she said breathlessly.

"Sorry. I saw you struggling to get the key out." His gaze narrowed. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I just had a bad feeling walking to the market and back."

Burke glanced around. "I don't see anyone."

"It was just a feeling. Probably my imagination." She stepped back as Burke opened the door for her. He grabbed one of her grocery bags from her as they headed up the stairs.

"What's all this?" he asked.

"Just a few things. I thought I'd make something to take to Nicole's potluck, if you still want to go."

"I'm not really in the mood for my family."

"They might take your mind off things. How was your run?" she asked, as he let her into the apartment.

"It was good. I feel better now."

"You seem calmer." She set her groceries on the kitchen counter.

"I don't know about calm, but I do know that I need some answers."

"Are you going to talk to Mitch again?"

"Not if I can help it. I need a more objective person to speak to."

"Any ideas?"

"Leanne's parents, her friends, someone must know something."

She liked his renewed sense of determination, although she couldn't help wondering if getting to the truth would make him feel better. "What if you don't like the answers? Would it be better not to ask the questions?"

He gazed back at her. "I don't think I can do that."

"You might want to try. While I know you're more focused on the personal aspects of your relationship with Leanne, I'm worried that Mitch thinks you had something to do with Leanne's death. He might try to get revenge, Burke. If you start questioning his relationship with Leanne, that might set him off even more."

"I'm not worried about Mitch. I can handle him. In the meantime, I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay." As Burke left the room, she finished unpacking the groceries.

While she appreciated Burke's fearless attitude, she was a little worried that he was underestimating the depth of Mitch's anger.

Chapter Eight

Burke hadn't really wanted to go to Nicole's party. It had been a long, stressful day, and he knew there would still be questions about his black eye, which didn't look as bad as it had but was visible enough to remind everyone what had happened on Friday. But Maddie had looked so eager to see Nicole again, and she'd made some kind of appetizer that smelled like heaven, so how could he say no?

It might be good to get his mind off of Mitch and Leanne and remember that whatever had happened between them had occurred three years ago. The truth might bring him clarity, but it wasn't going to change the end game. Nothing would change that.

"Having second thoughts?" Maddie asked.

"No, I'm good."

"You're thinking a lot."

He gave her a brief smile. "I've been known to do that."

She smiled back at him. "True. I forgot."

He turned down Nicole's street and found a parking spot a few houses down. Judging by the cars he passed, most of his family was already at the party.

"Should we go in separately?" Maddie asked. "Pretend we just happened to arrive at the same time?"

"I don't think we need to make a plan. We'll just see what happens."

Her eyebrow shot up. "Seriously? Not only do you think a lot, as you just reminded me, but you love to make plans."

"Maybe you're rubbing off on me." The truth was he couldn't begin to think of an explanation as to why he and Maddie were together—at least not in the next five minutes.

"So is everyone going to be here?" Maddie asked as they walked down the block to Nicole's house. "All your siblings—all their significant others?"

"I think so. It's hard to keep track. We've practically doubled in size the last two years."

"Just wait until everyone starts having kids."

"It's going to be a madhouse," he agreed, trying not to let the mention of kids remind him of Leanne's pregnancy, but it was too late, he'd already gone there. He forced his mind back to the present. "There will be more than the immediate family present today. My mother's birthday is one of the family events that no one misses, not unless they want to get on my father's bad side, and no one does. He's not only the leader of our family, he's also the oldest of his siblings, so my aunts, uncles and cousins all tend to make appearances at events mandated by my father."

She smiled at his words. "Your dad always had such a big personality. I remember his bright blue eyes and booming voice. He loved to tell stories and when he laughed, it came from down deep in his gut. If he was in the room, you always knew it."

"That's for sure. He's always been bigger than life, and he's always had high expectations for his kids."

"You've obviously lived up to those expectations."

"I've certainly tried. My father drilled into me at an early age that as the oldest I had to set the example."

"Was that a burden?"

"Yes," he said, happy to see that she understood that. None of his siblings seemed willing to admit that he'd had to play under different rules. "My brothers and sisters wouldn't agree with you, though. They always complained how it was much harder to come after me, especially Aiden."

"You and Aiden were really different as teenagers. Talk about hell raisers…Aiden spent more time in detention than I did."

"That's true. I hope his daughter Chloe gives him as much trouble as he used to give our parents."

"My mother loves to say the exact same thing to me."

At her words, he realized how much Maddie was like Aiden, and for some ridiculously strange reason, he was kind of glad that Aiden was already married.

As Maddie reached for the doorbell, he put his hand on her arm. She gave him an enquiring look.

"Don't say anything about Mitch or Leanne," he said.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Maybe you could leave my eviction out of any stories, too?"

He smiled. "Your secrets are my secrets."

She smiled back at him. "Likewise."

The look that passed between them was almost intimate. His pulse began to race as he stared at her in the shadowy moonlight. He'd felt a pull to her for a very long time, but it had never been as strong as it was right now. But this was absolutely the worst possible time to give in to that pull.