Читать книгу Double Exposure - Lenora Worth - Страница 15

FOUR

No matter Jennie’s desire to see her house, Ethan shouldn’t have let her in. Her private sanctuary had been violated. Rudely violated. Now she stood in the middle of her living room, fear stark and vivid in her eyes again.

He wanted to slip an arm around her shoulders and escort her from the trashed house to a safe location. Had tried it actually, but she wouldn’t budge. She’d hung with the forensics team as they meticulously collected every fiber of evidence. They, too, encouraged her to get out of there.

Did she go? No. She wouldn’t hear of leaving them to their job and not questioning every little step they took. He knew there was an element of shock in her behavior, an attempt to find some normality after today’s terrifying events.

He benefited from it, though. He witnessed the quality of their investigation. The first officers to arrive on the scene took this break-in coupled with the gallery threat seriously, calling in techies, uniforms and detectives to canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, search the house and yard, and collect items.

If they’d gotten lucky, they’d lifted a latent print and would produce an ID, but Ethan doubted their suspect had been so careless. Still, he’d have his sister Kat keep after her Portland Police Bureau friends to see if any items collected tonight produced a lead.

Right now, he needed to give Cole a heads-up. They were taking no chances. Someone might go after Madeline, too, and Cole was leading her protection detail.

Ethan pressed his brother’s speed dial. While waiting for him to answer, he double-checked the new lock the locksmith had just installed on the front door.

“How’s it going, bro?” Cole asked.

“We had a break-in at Jennie’s house.” Ethan explained the situation. “I wanted to let you know to be on your guard.”

“Will do.” A long yawn filtered through the phone.

“Little early for that, isn’t it?”

“You’re having all the fun. Madeline’s detail is downright boring.”

“This guy might be coming your way so keep your eyes open.”

“I will. For the next hour, anyway. I’ve arranged for Derrick to spell me tonight so I can get some sleep and come back first thing in the morning.” As the youngest brother of the family, Derrick embraced all assignments, as did his twin, Dani, so they generally got stuck with the worst shifts—if, in Dani’s case, they were given shifts at all.

“Do you think we don’t let Kat and Dani in on the action enough because they’re women?” Ethan asked.

“Where’s that coming from?”

“Kat commented on it this morning when I made assignments for this case.”

“I don’t know, man. I’ve never thought about it, but I guess it’s possible.”

“So maybe you can ask Dani to take a shift, too?”

“What about Kat?”

“I’m taking Jennie to Kat’s house to spend the night.” He looked at Jennie again and imagined the challenge of convincing her to stay with Kat. “At least, that’s what I hope will happen.”

“You having trouble over there, bro?”

“Nothing to worry about. I can handle it.” Ethan said goodbye and hung up before his perceptive brother probed deeper.

“Okay, miss.” The slender man heading up the forensics team stood. “We’re finished here.”

“So I can clean up now?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He slid a finger through residual black powder from fingerprinting work. “Sorry about the extra mess.” He lifted his case, the weight pulling down his slight shoulders, and headed out the door.

Jennie looked around the room as if not sure what to do.

“You should pack a bag, Jen. You can’t stay here tonight.” Ethan gestured at the mess surrounding them for emphasis.

“I won’t let them run me out of my own house.” She crossed her arms and straightened her shoulders.

“I can’t let you stay here.”

“They got what they came for. There’s no reason for them to come back.”

“But you don’t know that for sure. The guy came for you on the train. Since he didn’t get what he wanted, he’ll probably come back.” He went closer, softened his tone. “You can stay with Kat tonight, and then we’ll figure out a more permanent solution tomorrow.”

“Your sister? She doesn’t need me hanging around her place.”

“She’ll be happy to have the company.”

“I don’t know, Ethan. I mean, I hardly know her.”

“I’d suggest you stay with a friend, but you really don’t want to bring someone else into this mess, do you?”

“Isn’t that what we’d be doing with Kat?”

“She’s part of the team and trained to handle something like this.”

“Still, I don’t want to impose on her.” Jennie looked around, and her shoulders sagged a bit. “I’ll go to a hotel.”

“Hotel logistics make it harder for me to keep you safe. It would easier if you stayed with Kat.”

“I don’t know.”

He had to appeal to something she wanted enough to be willing to inconvenience Kat. “If you stay at Kat’s house, she can run your protection detail for the night.”

Her eyes brightened. “Really? You’d go home?”

He didn’t think she’d jump on this so enthusiastically. It made his gut hurt again. More than a little. “Yes. Kat is quite capable of keeping you safe for the night.”

“Okay.”

“Great. Go pack a few things and we’ll get out of here.”

She turned without a word and left the room.

When she was out of earshot, he hissed out his frustration. Was it always going to be like this? So different from the past, when he’d believed they knew exactly what the other was thinking and feeling without asking. Until the end.

“Women,” he mumbled and texted Kat, another woman who often pushed his buttons. Normally he’d call her and ask if she’d let Jennie stay with her, but as soon as his sister realized their client was his old girlfriend, she’d hound him about how he felt.

When Jennie bailed, Kat had been there for him and helped him heal. They were still close. More alike than any of the other siblings, they often worked through problems together.

He heard wheels rolling down the hallway’s wood floor, and he went to meet Jennie.

“I want to check my email before we leave.” She left her suitcase and headed for her office.

He’d rather they get out of here, but she should have received the email from her warehouse manager by now. It would be smart to get someone started on investigating the tattoo connection as soon as possible.

He joined her, leaning on the doorjamb and waiting. She clicked away on her laptop, her face intent and the horror of the day lingering in her eyes.

The printer whirred to life on the credenza, spitting out paper. She retrieved and handed him multiple pages. “This is all the information my manager has on Javier Caldera. In her email, she said again what a great employee he is. He’s always asking how things are done and trying to learn as much as he can about the charity.” She sounded as if she thought these were good things.

Not Ethan. He saw it as the guy asking too many questions to find a vulnerability in the organization so he could exploit it, but he’d hold his tongue until he had proof to confirm his theory. “I’ll pass this on to my colleague in Texas and have him follow up.”

“I need him to be discreet. I don’t want the agency to get into trouble for sharing this.” She closed her computer and put it into a protective sleeve.

“Don’t worry, Jen. Patrick is a professional investigator.” He folded the email and stuffed it in his back pocket. “C’mon. We should get going.”

She hesitated as if her feet were planted to the floor. He cupped her elbow and directed her out of the room before she came up with another reason to stay. She sighed, and he walked behind her, keeping quiet, though he wanted to talk with her about the lingering fear he caught on her face. Simple, plain talk, without dancing around their past as they’d done all day. To help her come to grips with the threat to her life.

But there was no point. She wouldn’t let him help. Never had. She’d always been too proud to accept any help. When they’d been together, he’d worked hard to get her to open up. She’d shared very little about her past, so he’d never understood her reasoning. And now, even when she needed a friend the most, nothing had changed. Even if a killer had her in his sights, she wasn’t going to let him in.

* * *

Jennie used the final minutes of their drive to Kat’s house to watch the scenery pass by and to breathe. To focus. To center herself and find some semblance of calm. So what if the guy who stalked her this afternoon was a killer? So what if he’d trashed her house, making her feel unsafe in the place that had always been her haven? She had capable men and women surrounding her and this Munoz guy didn’t know she intended to go through with the show yet. So for now, she was safe.

They turned into the affluent West Hills of Portland and climbed high above the city twinkling with white lights. This area of town was foreign to Jennie, though she knew its reputation. It had the same wealth and trappings as many prestigious neighborhoods in the country, just not the formal dress code. Gore-Tex was more common here than cashmere, but the narrow streets they wound through still reeked of money.

Ethan pulled to a stop in front of a fifties-style home in Forest Park. Jennie clutched her camera like a lifeline and waited until he got her suitcase from the jump seat and signaled it was okay to get out.

He came around the front of his truck and opened her door. Earlier he’d put on a scarred leather jacket that, even as worn as it appeared, smacked of money and privilege so fitting for this neighborhood. She didn’t know if he’d wanted to cover his bloody shirt or if he was reacting to the falling temperature. She also didn’t know if he’d ever tended to his injuries.

“How’s your arm?” She hopped down and caught a whiff of his musky aftershave on the evening breeze.

“It’s just a scratch.” He gestured toward the walkway.

“I wish you’d have someone look at it.”

“It’s fine.” His gaze moved in sweeping arcs over the area, avoiding her concern.

She let the subject drop, and before they could reach the entrance, Kat opened the door. She was smiling as she stepped forward, but her mouth quickly formed an O of surprise. She stared at Jennie, and Jennie returned the favor, taking in Kat’s high cheekbones, glossy shoulder-length hair and bright blue eyes.

“You’re that Jennie.” She socked Ethan’s shoulder. “You should’ve told me.”

“Can we come in?” Ethan ignored his sister as he pushed past her.

“Welcome, Jennie. It’s been a long time.” Kat stepped back so Jennie could enter.

“I’m surprised you remember me.” Jennie moved into the open foyer with stairs straight ahead, a dining room on one side, and living room on the other.

Kat closed the door. “Are you kidding? Ethan moped over you for years.”

“Enough, Kat,” Ethan warned.

“What? You haven’t told her, huh?”

“Told me what?”

“I said, enough, Kat.” Anger pierced his words.

Jennie expected his tone to hurt Kat, but she seemed unaffected.

“Any word on the picture I emailed earlier?” he asked, setting Jennie’s suitcase at the bottom of the stairs.

Kat smirked. Jennie remembered how close the two of them were and how easily Kat saw right through him as she seemed to be doing now. She simply stood and watched him until he faced her again.

“I’m not going there, Kat,” he warned. “Just tell me what you found out.”

She didn’t speak, as if she wanted to push the subject Ethan avoided.

“C’mon, Kat, just answer my question,” Ethan said, his tone brooking no argument. “Jennie’s had a tough day, and I need to get out of here so she can get some sleep.”

“Fine. Narcotics confirmed the tattoo is the Sotos gang’s mark. Also, after Cole gave me Munoz’s name, I called the detective in charge of the gallery break-in and passed the information on. He’ll issue an alert for Munoz and bring him in for questioning.”

“I don’t suppose they’ll let you be present for the questioning.” Ethan’s phone rang, interrupting the conversation. He dug it out and looked at it. “It’s Cole.” He clicked Talk.

Jennie could hear Cole’s deep baritone rattle something off before Ethan could say anything.

“Slow down, bro,” Ethan said and listened.

“Can’t you just tell me what it is?” He looked at Jennie, and the darkening of his expression told her something was wrong again.

“I’ll call you back after we see it.” He disconnected and turned to Kat. “Can we use your computer? Cole’s texting a link for an interview Madeline’s assistant did with the newspaper today. He says we need to read it.”

“This way.” Kat headed into the dining room and through her kitchen boasting avocado-green appliances.

Ethan’s phone chimed a text just as they entered a bedroom furnished with floor-to-ceiling shelves and a large antique desk jutting from a wall like an island.

Kat had taken her place behind a flat-screen monitor.

“Here’s the address.” Ethan moved next to his sister and set his phone on the desk.

As Kat typed in the URL, Jennie joined Ethan. She instantly felt the tension radiating off him like heat from the sun. The news clearly would not be good.

She watched as the webpage opened and the headline came into focus. Her heart started to pick up speed.

Local Photographer Not Afraid of Thugs. Show Will Open as Scheduled.

She gasped.

“I second that,” Kat said.

Jennie forced herself to read the article adjoining her official head shot, photos of the trashed gallery and a picture of crime-scene tape strung around her house. Linda Becker, the gallery assistant, had told the reporter all about both break-ins. She extolled Jennie’s professionalism, said she kept a spare set of negatives and announced that the show would proceed as planned.

Jennie couldn’t pull her eyes from the screen.

Oh, Lord, how could You let this happen?

“How did they get this on here so fast?” Kat asked.

“Madeline’s assistant already had an interview scheduled today for a PR piece,” Jennie answered. “All she had to do was call with an update.”

“So much for keeping a low profile,” Kat mumbled.

“You think?” Ethan slammed a fist onto the desk, making Kat and Jennie both jump. “I was standing right there when Madeline warned Linda not to tell anyone. She knew better than this. She might as well have painted a bull’s-eye on Jennie’s back.”

Distress brought a lump to Jennie’s throat. “Why would she do this?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” He stormed around the desk and out the door.

Jennie charged after him, hearing Kat’s footfalls not far behind. By the time Jennie caught up to him, he was in the foyer, talking on his phone.

“I don’t care how you do it, Cole,” he barked. “I want to talk to Madeline’s assistant. Have her at the gallery by the time I get there.”

He clapped his phone closed and jerked open the door.

“Ethan, wait.” Jennie rushed forward. “I want to go with you.”

He turned, his eyes all hard and angry but softening a touch when they met hers. “It’s better for you to stay here.”

“But I—”

“Please, Jen.” His anger faded more, and he sighed out a long breath. “You’re safe here. Taking you to the gallery would just invite danger.” He looked at Kat. “I’m certain no one knows Jen is here, but don’t take any chances. Lock up and stay alert.”

With a final glance at Jennie, Ethan left. She felt his loss the moment the door closed. All day she’d wanted him gone. Wanted to be anywhere but with him, and now she wanted nothing more than to see his caring face looking at her. To hear him tell her everything would be okay even though she knew in her heart things had just gone wrong. Very wrong.

* * *

“Ethan, wait,” Kat called from behind as he jogged down the sidewalk.

He stopped to allow her to catch up.

“Are you going to talk to Jennie?” Kat asked.

“I don’t have time for this, Kat.” He turned away.

She grabbed his arm. “It’ll take a while for Cole to bring in the assistant.”

“Then I’ll help him.”

“You’re making a big mistake in running from Jennie with so much unresolved between you. It could jeopardize both of your lives.”

“Really?” He studied her. “Suppose you enlighten me on that.”

“You’re wound as tight as a clock. If you let this fester between the two of you, it might cloud your vision and get in the way of your job. You have to clear the air.”

“So what do you propose I say to her, then?” he asked, hating how his sarcastic tone made her tense up. “That after she bailed on me I spent every free minute for a year trying to find her? How about that I turned over every rock in Seaside and every other place she’d lived until I tracked her down like some lovesick weirdo? Or maybe that I found her father and uncovered the past she’d tried so hard to avoid telling me about?” He’d tried to keep his tone free from self-disgust but it filled his words. He was still ashamed of how pushy he’d been, how he’d refused to back down until he’d forced to light things Jennie had had every right to keep hidden. Only then had he learned his lesson and backed off…but not before learning one thing he’d never wanted to know. “No matter what I say, I’ll come off looking like a loser.”

Kat placed a hand on his shoulder. “It wasn’t like that and you know it. You just needed some closure.”

“Well, I got it all right, didn’t I?” He looked up at the clouds and remembered the pain of finding out the woman he’d loved could replace him in less than a year. “I could’ve lived without finding out she’d taken off for Texas with that guy.”

“It helped you move on.”

“I appreciate your concern, Kit Kat. I really do.” He squeezed her hand then gently removed it. “But getting to the bottom of the threat against Jennie has to come first. When the time is right, I’ll talk to her. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Hoping the time was never right, he hugged his sister and headed for his car, feeling her appraising eyes on him even after he drove off.

On the short drive, he tried to think of anything but the hopelessness he’d felt after Jennie had taken off. He’d been desperate to find out why she’d really left. At first, he’d thought it’d be easy to find her. Seaside wasn’t that big of a city. But she’d moved and he’d had to go all the way back to her high-school records to track down her father. He’d learned so much about her past and even discovered that she’d given up a baby for adoption.

Surprising, shocking actually, but he saw God’s hand in this. He’d never believed his birth mother had loved him. If she had, why give him away? Through Jennie’s selfless actions with her daughter, he finally believed his birth mother could’ve given him up because she loved him and wanted a better life for him than she could provide. So he’d sought her out and found a very similar story. Now they had a strong relationship and it was all thanks to Jennie. But his shame from digging into Jennie’s past wouldn’t let him tell her about it.

He parked in front of the gallery and pounded on the door. Cole headed down the long, narrow space, now free from debris. Ethan wasn’t surprised to see the gallery floor already cleaned up. Madeline didn’t let anything get in the way of what she wanted, and she wanted Jennie’s show to open on Friday.

Cole unlocked the door.

“She here like I asked?” Ethan pushed past Cole, who snagged Ethan’s arm.

“Hold up, bro.” Cole stood firm. “Don’t rush in there in this mood. Take a minute to cool off first.”

Cole was right. Ethan needed to catch his breath. He pulled the email about the warehouse manager from his pocket and handed it to his brother. He explained the tattoo connection and Caldera’s position at the Photos of Hope warehouse in Texas. “I’d like you to call Patrick and get him to work on this. Have him report back to you, and you can keep us updated.”

Cole’s eyebrow rose.

“What?” Ethan asked.

“What happened to would you do this?”

“Sorry.” Ethan rubbed neck muscles as hard as rocks. “Something about this case is getting to me.”

“Something or someone?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Kat told me our client is the infamous Jennie who bailed on you.”

“Does no one in this family ever mind their own business?” Ethan scowled at his brother and headed toward the back of the gallery.

He could feel Cole’s eyes burning into his back. Too bad his brother chose this topic to take an interest in. Since he’d come home from a second tour in Iraq, he’d rarely gotten involved in anything personal, and Ethan hated to shut him down.

Fresh paint fumes caught his attention and he noticed a new coat of paint covering the ominous message. Good. He’d rather not see the threat again. He found Madeline and Linda in the refreshment area. Madeline stared down on Linda, who was sitting in a wrought-iron chair and fidgeting with the cuff of her jacket.

As he neared, Madeline looked up. “Ethan, good. Now we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

She moved her focus back to her assistant. Working hard to keep his anger over Linda’s betrayal from his face, he nodded a greeting and waited for Cole to settle. He leaned against the wall, his ankles crossed in a casual pose, but Ethan saw the intensity in his brother’s eyes. Intensity constantly present since his return from Iraq. Linda cast him a wary gaze, so Ethan sat next to her, drawing her attention.

He kept his posture relaxed and leaned toward her. “Why don’t you tell me why you contacted the newspaper?”

“It’s my job.” She met his gaze with a hard stare, but her hands trembled, making him think she was hiding something.

“Explain.”

“I’m in charge of PR. After all the news stories ran about the break-in, I knew people would assume we’d canceled the event and no one would show up. If we don’t get a good crowd at an event, Madeline blames me.”

He ignored her jab at Madeline. “Do you routinely make this kind of decision?”

“Depends on the event.”

She was stonewalling him and his anger was starting to bubble up again. “But for this event you had the freedom to make all the PR decisions?”

“Yes.”

Madeline took a step closer and her painted-on eyebrows rose. “You knew I didn’t want the press to know about our plans.”

“No, I didn’t.” Linda looked away, but Ethan caught a flash of guilt in her eyes before she turned.

She was hiding something, but what? Had she decided to leak the info about Jennie to the newspaper on her own or had someone coerced her into doing it? Or did she simply not like working for Madeline and wanted to cause trouble?

Madeline circled the table and got in Linda’s face. “Don’t lie to me, Linda. I told you our plan was to keep publicity to a minimum and just call the invited patrons.”

“I—”

“Don’t lie again and say you didn’t know that.”

Linda crossed her arms and glared at Madeline.

Ethan was more certain she was concealing something, but he still didn’t know what, so he merely kept a curious gaze trained on her and waited for her to speak. People often talked during prolonged silences, revealing something they didn’t plan to say, just to cut the tension.

His phone rang, and he glanced at the caller ID. Jennie.

“Excuse me.” He moved away for privacy. “Everything okay?”

“Fine. I just wanted to see if you were done talking to Linda.”

He sighed out a breath. “Not yet.”

“But you think she’ll tell you something to help us find this creep, right?” she asked, hope blossoming in her tone.

He heard Madeline’s raised voice in the background, threatening to fire Linda if she didn’t come clean. He glanced back at them. Linda still had her arms crossed and glared up at her boss, defiance now mixed with anger. Even if he kept questioning Linda tonight, he doubted she’d admit her reasons for calling the newspaper, or any connection to the gallery break-in. They’d need to do some legwork to find out why and how she was involved.

He turned his attention back to the phone. He hated to do it, but he had to tell Jennie that they were no closer to finding and stopping her attacker from coming after her again.