Hunted, page 15
“Well, when you put it that way,” she whispered, touching his chin. “It’d be rude of me to say no.”
His kiss was soft, almost reverent. “Let’s go upstairs. We don’t have to make love, but I’d like to hold you.”
Beth could have wept from the sweetness of him. “What if I’d like to make love?”
He smiled, then laughed. “Well, when you put it that way…”
As they went inside, it felt like coming home. Tomorrow might bring disaster, but for today, she was going to hold on to whatever happiness she could find.
Chapter 27
This time, Ethan was the one who left a sleeping Beth curled up in his bed. As he went downstairs quietly, he thought about how edgy she’d been during their intimacy, almost desperate. He understood that desperation as he’d been feeling some of it himself in recent days.
He was getting used to the idea of actually having a relationship with her. They’d spent quite a bit of time together over the last few days, and while it was true that a good portion of that time had been spent making love, there’d been a deeper intimacy too as they talked about this or that.
While he’d never been a bed-hopper, he’d been in enough casual relationships to know what they felt like. This thing with Beth wasn’t remotely casual. Seeing her so uncertain of her welcome earlier had shaken him.
“I wonder if you have any idea of how seriously I’m taking this,” he said as he started a load of laundry.
Once that was going, he went back to the porch and got the half-empty beer. He stared at the bottle, trying to convince himself he was strong enough to pour it out. His drinking was getting out of control, he knew, but he barely wanted to admit that to himself. When he managed to dump it on the ground outside the porch, he used that success to bolster his denial.
“See? You can choose this when you want to. It doesn’t choose you.”
The nagging voice inside his head told him otherwise, but he ignored it. He’d gotten good at doing that as well in recent months.
His phone rang as he was gathering up the trash a few minutes later. .“Yo,” he answered.
“Are you busy?” Stacy asked.
“I’m working around the house. What’s up?”
“That little matter you had me look into? I have some results. Do you mind if I swing by your place in a bit so we can discuss it?”
Ethan imagined his expression was similar to that of a deer in headlights. “Here? You want to come here?” He cleared his throat. “Now?”
Stacy, drat her, laughed. “Sure. I mean, you’re only working around the house, right? Detective Moore, do you have a secret houseguest?”
“Hush.” Cursing under his breath, he leaned against the counter. “If you give me your solemn word not to cause mischief or tell anyone what you see, then yeah, I guess it’s all right if you come here.”
“If it’s really a problem, I won’t.”
“No,” he said, feeling ridiculous. “You’re fine. Come on out.”
“Okay. Want me to bring food? Pizza maybe?”
He considered the contents of his fridge and the clock. It was almost three, and he’d worked straight through most of the morning, fueled only by some scrambled eggs and toast, not stopping until Beth had arrived. “Sure, that’d be good.”
“Will do. See you in a bit.”
Once he ended the call, he laid the phone on the counter and rubbed his face with a groan. “Should I wake her up or let her sleep?”
For now, he decided to let Beth rest. She’d been so tired it’d have been cruel to disturb her. But he would also make sure the door was pulled around upstairs before Stacy got to the house. That way if Beth woke up and wanted to come downstairs, she could, and if not, she’d still have privacy.
As he finished taking out the garbage, he had to admit that he was curious to find out exactly which would be her preference. It might give him an idea of what direction their relationship was going without him having to break down and ask. He didn’t want to throw the question out himself, because he wasn’t ready to face the reality of an answer he didn’t want to hear.
By the time Stacy arrived, he was mostly over his earlier panic. Common sense and reason had set in. He trusted her, and while he fully expected to be the target of some good-natured teasing, he knew she wouldn’t spread gossip about him and Beth.
Of all the people he worked with, Stacy was one of his favorites. Ethan thought of her as a little sister, and she knew she could trust him not to put any moves on her. More than once in recent years, she’d come out to the house with food, needing a place where she wasn’t alone and didn’t feel pressured to offer more than friendship. She tended to keep most people at a friendly arm’s length, and Ethan felt privileged to be allowed closer.
Not wanting the doorbell to wake Beth, he kept a close eye on the driveway. When Stacy pulled up and parked, he met her on the porch.
“Now, where have I seen that SUV before, hmmm?” she asked as she came up the steps, bag and pizza box in one hand, large foam cup in the other, and a wide grin on her face. “Maybe I should run the plates to see who it belongs to.”
Ethan huffed and held the door open. “You know good and well who it belongs to. She’s asleep upstairs.”
Stacy’s teasing countenance changed to concern. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just been a rough few weeks, and it’s catching up to her. Let’s set up in the kitchen.” The dining room and living room were open, and sound tended to carry straight upstairs.
“So how long have you two been seeing each other?” she asked as she washed her hands.
Ethan paused as he got down paper plates. There wasn’t any point in denying it. “I… a few days.”
Stacy smiled. “It’s about time. I told her you were interested in her.”
He fumbled the forks. “What? When?”
“The day you bit her head off for having the audacity to set foot in the sheriff’s department.” She tapped on the plastic lids of the salads she’d brought. “These are huge, so I figured we could all split them.”
He was absolutely flummoxed by the idea that she and Beth had been discussing him. As he went to the fridge for salad dressing, he glanced at Stacy. “I’ve not been very nice to her in recent months.”
“No, you haven’t. You’ve each been sniping pretty hard at the other. I’d imagine you can make up for that if you want to, if you try.”
As they dished out the food, Ethan observed her. “What made you decide to drive out today—not that you aren’t welcome. The door’s always open.”
“I know,” she said with a smile. “I was a bit tired of my own company, that’s all.”
They each took a seat at the island. Ethan had just forked up some salad when his phone vibrated. When he saw that the text was from Beth, he frowned.
Is someone here?
He texted back.
Just Stacy. She brought pizza. Come on down?
A moment later, he heard the bedroom door creak open, and he smiled.
“Wow,” Stacy said quietly, her eyes wide as the stairs creaked.
“What?”
She gave a little shrug. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that. By the way, is it okay to talk about the Ruby thing with Beth?”
“Sure. She might have some insight.”
Soft footsteps sounded, and Beth appeared in the doorway, arms crossed over her middle. Her cheeks pink, she smiled. “Hi, Stacy.”
Stacy grinned back. “Fancy meeting you here. I brought food.”
Ethan scooted out the third barstool, then held out his hand. “Come on in.”
With a somewhat sheepish laugh, Beth joined them. She didn’t seem upset, just flustered.
Seeing that, he let go of some of his tension. “What do you want to drink? Coke? Water?”
“Coke would be perfect, thank you. So is this a social visit or work-related?” she asked Stacy as she grabbed a plate and a slice of pizza.
“Both. I needed to get out of the house, and I had some information to bring Ethan.”
He handed Beth the Coke and resumed his seat. “I had an encounter with someone on Thursday at the courthouse after I left your apartment. I wanted Stacy’s take on things.”
Beth frowned. “What kind of encounter?”
He speared a cucumber slice as he tried to figure out how to explain it. “The kind where nothing’s overtly wrong but your gut lights up.”
“Really? About the break-in and the pictures? Or something else?”
“I don’t know. It may be related, and it may not be.” He handed her a napkin.
“Okay, don’t leave me hanging here. Who’d you run into?” Beth asked.
“Ruby Sloane.”
She stared at him for a few seconds, her lip curled, then gave a twitching shudder. “Yuck.”
“Exactly,” Stacy agreed with a chuckle, raising her cup in a salute.
“You know Ruby then,” Ethan said.
Beth nodded. “Oh, yes. She’s… not a nice person.”
He pursed his lips. “Okay, that’s the diplomatic version. What’s the uncensored story?”
“Both barrels?”
He spread his hands. “Unload on me.”
Beth raised her eyebrows and wiped her hands on her napkin. “All right then. She’s a money-grubbing, power-hungry, white-trash, two-bit whore who’d sell her mother if it would get her ahead. None of that has a thing to do with where she comes from or how she was raised but everything to do with her character, in case you wondered. Her mother is actually a very sweet lady who deserves better for a daughter. And yes, I mean most of that in a literal sense—even the whore part. She’s not a slut, which is different.”
“Sluts do it for fun; whores do it for money, right?” Stacy asked.
“Yep. And that’s the self-proclaimed kind of slut I’m referring to, not the nasty name-calling slur.”
Ethan was both amused and appalled by her description, the emotions warring with each other to take the top seat. Amusement won out, and he laughed. When Beth and Stacy looked at him with consternation, he coughed. “Sorry. Dare I ask what you base this evaluation on?”
“Personal observation, overheard conversations involving Ruby herself discussing her rates, and my brother’s unfortunate tendency to attract exactly the wrong kind of women.” She scooped up some salad and put it on her plate. “Back… three years ago, maybe? Jason had just gotten his first really big promotion. You know how this town is—everyone knew about it, and it got him a lot of attention with the ladies. Anyhow, he was out on patrol, pulled her over for speeding, and from what he said, she propositioned him every which way but loose. As his common sense was stronger than his hormones and what have you, thank God, he turned her down. She spent the next few weeks harassing him. Danged near drove him nuts. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you about it.”
Ethan shook his head. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
Beth grimaced. “He was awfully embarrassed, so he might not have wanted to tell you about it. He had to go to Wyatt and have him intervene, had him contact her boss at the public defender’s. It got so bad she was calling him all hours, and he said it was almost like she was…” She stilled. When she spoke again, she was subdued. “He said it was almost like she was stalking him. Oh, God.”
Every inch of his flesh broke out with chills, and Ethan stared at her, stunned. His gut churning, he looked at Stacy. “What’d you find out?”
She laid down her fork, her face serious. “Nothing like that, but nothing good either. I have a reliable informant who works closely with her, and from what they told me, she’s nothing but a troublemaker at work. My source isn’t sure how she still has a job there, but they speculate she knows something on someone high up and that protects her.”
“That meshes with what I’ve heard too. Were you able to find out anything about her personal life?” Beth toyed with the salad, but she didn’t eat. “Who she’s seeing, that kind of thing?”
Stacy nodded. “She’s keeping company with that new ER doctor who came in about a year ago. Chad Ormsby.”
Beth dropped her fork and shoved her plate away. “Jackpot. That can’t be a coincidence.” There was no triumph in her gaze, only disgust and deep concern.
He was equally concerned, and he took her hand, lacing their fingers together. “No, I don’t think it is.”
“How does Ormsby tie into this?” Stacy asked.
Ethan told her about the doctor’s interest in Beth and his attempts to rekindle the failed courtship. “I interviewed him after the slip package came in, when you mentioned the roses. He was an arrogant prick, but he had an alibi for the night of the break-in, and he didn’t seem the least bit interested in anything I had to say.”
“Was his disinterest genuine, or do you think he was too uninterested?” Stacy asked.
He considered the question. “Aside from him being a jerk , nothing about the interview stood out to me. If he truly is part of all this, he’s a good actor. When was the last time you spoke with him, heard from him?” he asked Beth.
She looked at her plate. “At the Riverwalk the day I met with Gordon. We were finishing up our meeting, and Chad approached us. It wasn’t a comfortable conversation. He made some unpleasant remarks about my taste in men, made sure I knew his door was open if I wanted something more… ‘highbrow,’ I think is the word he used, and left.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes. “If Ruby and Ormsby are somehow pulling this stalking gag together, why? And wasn’t Ormsby in some of the pictures you received Thursday?”
“He was. As to why… who knows? They both have massive egos. Maybe it’s something stupid related to that.” Beth leaned her elbows on the counter. As she rubbed her face, she gave a tired sigh. “How would we even begin to prove they’re behind this?”
It was a good question, one he didn’t have an answer to. “We might be able to start surveillance on them, see if anything comes up that would open the door for us to question them or what have you, but beyond that… we could steal their garbage and sort through it and maybe do background checks.” Ethan swirled the ice in his cup as he tried to figure out how to put the question he needed to ask. “Does Ruby have any friends in the department, Stacy?”
She studied him. “A few. Are you worried about loose lips?”
He shrugged. “It had occurred to me. I don’t think anyone would willingly compromise an investigation, but like you said, loose lips.”
“What about going through Charlie Clark? I use him when I can’t readily find what I need on people for stories.” Beth picked up a piece of tomato and dredged it in a bit of the salad dressing, then popped it into her mouth.
“Wyatt would probably authorize that,” Stacy said. “Especially if he’s already familiar with Ruby and the history with Jason.”
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow morning, first thing,” Ethan promised. “Are you making any headway on your big case?”
“The altars and lights?” Stacy shook her head. “Not really. There haven’t been any new reports in a few days, so maybe it was kids.”
Beth held up her hand. “Hang on. One of my sources asked if I thought the stalking and the altars might be connected. The stalking came up in conversation while we were discussing the altars.”
Ethan turned a puzzled look on her. “Which source?”
She glanced down. “Gordon.”
Frowning, he crossed his arms. “How many times have you met with him?”
She frowned right back. “Twice. Why?”
He gave a quick shake of his head. “Just wondering.” He wasn’t about to tell her that the way she’d protected the guy’s name on Thursday had raised a red flag for him—or rather, the green flag of jealousy. “What’d he have to say exactly?”
“Not much, just that he wondered if there was a connection. That I’ve acquired a stalker at the same time as I’m digging into this altar thing, it’s a bit of a coincidence. Judging from the pictures and when they were taken, it started around the same time as my investigation.”
“Who is this guy?” Stacy asked.
Beth sighed. “He’s an extremely reliable source, and I can’t tell you more than that. I’m sorry.” She bit her lip. “There may be more to the altar thing than you know. I’m waiting on a callback, which I should get tomorrow, before I share my information with you.”
“Let me guess who the call is from,” Ethan said darkly. When she hissed, he held up his hands and stood. “Sorry. I’m sorry.” He got the pitcher of tea out of the fridge and refilled his cup.
“What kind of information do you have?” Stacy asked in the awkward silence.
“The kind that either makes me look like a nutcase conspiracy theorist or the kind that turns your investigation on its ear. I talked to Marshall about this late Friday, and what with everything that’s happened the last couple of days, I’ve not had a chance to focus on it much. Once I hear from Gordon, I should have something solid. I’ll need to bring it to you if my suspicions are correct.”
“Since we’re working on these as separate cases, if they are related, we’ll need to bring them together. Is this something Wyatt would need to sit in on?” Stacy asked as Ethan sat back down.
Beth nodded. “I think so, yes. What I’ve found, it isn’t insignificant.”
Stacy made a face at her. “You do realize part of the prerequisite for this job is being curious and you’re killing me here, right?”
She smiled. “I’m sorry. I don’t like not being able to share this.” She glanced at Ethan. “As soon as I know, you’ll know.”
Stacy didn’t linger long after that, and as they stood on the porch watching her drive away, Beth turned to Ethan, hands on her hips. “Should I just start calling you Bruce Banner now?”
He scowled at her, irritated with himself more than anything. “Because I turned green?” he asked, crossing his arms.
