Checkered Thief (A Laurel London Mystery Book 3) Read online

  “I didn’t let it change me.” I bit back the memory of how he looked at me in the moonlight that night.

  His blue eyes were crystal and very clear. I could see his feelings for me had changed and he wanted more from us than a sister-friendship.

  “We made love. And then Jax Jackson comes to town and you fall all over him.” There was still hurt in his eyes. “I made sure I put what happened in the back of my mind and let you explore a relationship with him. You and I never discussed what happened.”

  I gulped, uncomfortable.

  “Now that I’m moving forward, you get all crazy.” He shook his head. “Brittany wants to be with me. She wants a relationship. She didn’t run off after we slept together or look for a reason not to be with me. You are the one who ran to bed with Jax and expected me to be the loyal friend I had always been when you knew I wanted more than that.” He ran his hand through his dark hair, and unzipped the mechanics overalls, stepping out of them.

  He had on a pair of light blue jeans that fit him as if they were made for him. His white t-shirt contoured to his muscled chest. My mouth went dry as parts of my body tingled and my mind flooded with memories of him caressing my body and my fingers outlining what was under his clothes.

  It was a night I would never forget. Derek had just finished his last class before he was sworn in as a real police officer. He asked me to meet him and was waiting for me on the docks when I got off work. He had surprised me at our favorite spot on the river where we always hung out as kids with carry-out on a blanket and a bucket of beers.

  We spent hours talking about our past and how he had accomplished his dreams and how I was on the straight and narrow. Everything was looking good, and then I screwed it up. I leaned over and kissed him. One layer at a time, he peeled off my clothes, drinking me in with his eyes, touching me in places that hadn’t been touched in years. We ended up making love all night long under the stars in our favorite spot.

  We had talked about how we would explore the relationship without telling anyone, including Trixie and Gia, because if both of them thought there was a future between Derek and me, they would have the wedding planned.

  He was right. I jumped on Jax Jackson as soon as he got into town.

  “Right?” His brows lifted as if there was an inkling of hope between he and me.

  “Right. I’m with Jax.” I couldn’t tell him Jax was furious over my reaction to the news Derek was dating. He could’ve been dating anyone and my reaction would have probably been the same.

  “That’s what I thought.” There was a bitter look in his eyes that unsettled my heart. “Please let me have my relationship with Brittany. It might not go anywhere, but she does make me happy. If you love me like a brother, as you say,” his words stung me. There was no way I liked him like a brother. He had become a lover, one I wasn’t doing a good job forgetting. “Then let me be happy. I embraced Jax into this community even though it cut me to the core.”

  “I’m sure she’s a great girl.” There was a deep unaccustomed pain in my chest. “Why don’t the four of us have dinner tonight so she knows my true intentions are for you to be happy.”

  My only problem was getting Jax to go along with it. He was so mad, I wasn’t sure he even wanted to see me.

  “I don’t know, Laurel.” Derek raked his teeth over his lip. “I’m not sure if Brittany will want to. She was so weirded out last night about what had happened. She was acting so strange and stand-offish.”

  “I’m sure she will be fine.” I encouraged him knowing Brittany was really Bethany. It made me feel better to keep him in my sights and know he was safe. “And I will be on my best behavior.” I crisscrossed my finger across my chest. “Scout’s honor.”

  “I’ll ask.” He gave in like he always did.

  “Great!” I lurched forward and threw my arms around his neck. It took a minute, but he put his hands on each side of my back on my ribcage and patted. His nose was planted in my hair next to my ear. He took a long, steady inhale through his nose, sending chills all over my body.

  He pulled away. The look in his eyes almost broke me.

  “I. . .” He swallowed. “I’ve got to get back to work before my shift at the station.”

  “Yeah, sure.” I gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes. He turned back around and disappeared back under the hood of the Jeep.

  For the first time I felt our relationship had shifted. After we made love, I was good at ignoring my feelings and sticking the whole thing behind me. I figured Derek and I just needed to celebrate his accomplishment. We were all the family we had growing up and it was a connection that just seemed right that night. The next day when we didn’t say anything or even act like we had made love, I thought he felt like it was just a celebratory hook-up, not an emotional tie. That was why I moved on. I had never seen Derek look at another girl like he had Brittany that night at Lucky Strikes. No pun intended, but I felt like a bowling ball found its way into my gut; my heart wasn’t sure how to handle the feeling.

  Having feelings was something I wasn’t used to. I had shielded myself from any heartache. It sort of came with the territory of growing up in an orphanage and having to fend for yourself. But I also fended for Derek.

  “Derek,” I knew it was uncharted territory, but I had to get the answer, “why didn’t you tell me about Brittany?”

  “Truthfully?” He didn’t turn and look at me. He continued to beat and bang on whatever he was fixing. “In my head, if I told you, then I knew the relationship we have always had would have been changed forever and I wasn’t sure I felt enough for Brittany to change the course between me and you.”

  “We are fine,” I said. It was easier to lie to him with his back turned. I was glad he didn’t turn around. Derek had only seen me cry a handful of times and today I didn’t want him to see the puddle of tears that threatened to spill out of my eyes.

  His lack of words and body movement spoke volumes. I really didn’t care about the fate of Brittany, but I knew in my heart that I did love Derek and I wanted him to be happy. It was the least I could wish for him. And if Brittany was it, then I knew what I needed to do. Find her and bring her back to him, even if it did alter the course of my life.

  Dinner tonight was going to be easy. I would be able to be on my best behavior with Bethany by his side. So tonight should be easy, at least that was what I told myself. Only my gut told me differently.

  Chapter Eight

  “You’re late.” Sharon Fasa shook her umbrella at me. “I swear I’m not going to use your service again.”

  “Okay.” I shrugged. No sweat off my back. Shit, she never paid anyway. I was really just being nice and I could use the free time to work on finding Brittany.

  “But I’m not.” Sharon stuck her chin in the air after she got in and slammed the door. The umbrella stuck up between her legs. “Since you saved me and all, I should at least pay you in some way.”

  “What way would that be?” I asked.

  It was true. Sharon had been a victim of a violent crime with a big knock on the head and someone trying to overdose her on her insulin. She had an appointment with Drive Me and when I went to pick her up, she wasn’t waiting with a nasty scowl on her face as usual. She was face down on her kitchen floor barely breathing. It scared the Bejesus out of me. It made me come to the realization that even though we had a love-hate relationship. . . the love outweighed the hate.

  “If you don’t want my business, just say so.” She crossed her arms in front of her with a huff. “I can always walk or try to get one of the Holy Rollers to take me.”

  “I’d go with walking,” I teased and turned the car back toward town. “Only because I don’t think any of the Holy Rollers drive.”

  “Shut up and take me to your house. I want to take Trixie that pie,” Sharon ordered.

  “Is she expecting you?” I questioned. Trixie would kill me if I showed up with Sharon unannounced. Trixie and Sharon had as much of a love-hate thing
as me and Sharon.

  “Yes. I told her I was going to bring the pie over this morning. We just need to stop and pick it up.” Sharon didn’t bother looking at me. She stared straight ahead with a stiff jaw.

  When we got back to town, I took River Road instead of going down Main Street to go back to Sharon’s house. After we stopped by her place to grab the pie, I turned right on Fifth Street.

  “Look-y there.” Sharon Fasa pointed to Shear Illusions hair salon on the right. “Brittany is making her rounds, isn’t she?”

  “I guess.” I slowed to a crawl and looked in the window. Kim Banta, the owner of Shear Illusions, was cutting away on Bethany’s hair. It made me wonder if Brittany would cut her hair the same way once we resolved this mess.

  “It’s a shame about you and Derek.” Sharon tsked from the front seat.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  It wasn’t the first time people in town have rooted for my friendship with Derek to become more than just a friendship. Like Trixie, everyone thought that since we grew up in the orphanage, we should get married and live happily ever after.

  Guess what? Screw happily ever after. It left a bad taste in my mouth thinking about it.

  “Trixie swears you have an undying love for Derek and I could see it when you two saved me.” Sharon’s words didn’t sit well in my gut. Or maybe I was just hungry.

  “Listen, Derek and I are just friends.” I gripped the wheel and took a sharp left on Main Street, gunning the gas toward the orphanage house. “He is happy with Brittany and I’m happy with . . .”

  “Honey, don’t say Jax.” Sharon shook her head. “Rita Brown told me about your little tiff in The Cracked Egg and something about him finding you facedown drunk at Lucky Strikes.” She leaned over and sniffed me. “Oh dear.” She put her hand to her head. “You aren’t still drunk are you? I should’ve asked before I got in the car with you.”

  “Too damn late.” I turned into the driveway and pulled up to the front of the house, putting it in PARK. “You’ve been riding with me for forty minutes there and forty minutes back. And I’m going in here to get another swig before I go kick Rita Brown’s ass.”

  “You will do no such thing.” She flung the door open and moved faster than I had ever seen her. She bolted up the steps after me and rushed through the screen door.

  “Trixie!” I screamed down the hall as I darted toward the kitchen. “Where’s the bottle?”

  “Are you nuts?” Trixie sat at the kitchen table bench, Henrietta in her lap happily sleeping.

  “She is nuts, Trixie.” Sharon gasped for air. Her fingers grasped around opposite sides of the pie plate. “She is drunk.”

  “She is not.” Trixie’s smile met her eyes. They glistened in amusement. “I gave her the cure.” She referred to the mixture she’d given me this morning.

  “It’s five o’clock somewhere.” I slurred my words and looked up at the clock and realized I couldn’t play around anymore. It was after lunch and I hadn’t made it to my first stop.

  “See!” Sharon stuck the pie on the counter and pointed. “She’s drunk!”

  “Nah.” I flung a loose wrist in the air.

  Trixie laughed and put Henrietta on the floor before she got up. She opened the cabinet door and took out a couple of plates and a knife from the drawer. “Did you see my prize?”

  “I did.” I kissed her on the forehead. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “I’ve got some business to take care of.” I waved her off, trying to knock her off my trail. She seemed awfully curious about my whereabouts and it wasn’t normal for her to do. “You two enjoy your prize pie and watch some SyFy.” I grabbed her tinfoil hat off the counter and stuck it on top of her head. “It’s getting crazy out there.”

  She didn’t say another word when I walked out. Before I left, I headed into the office and closed the door behind me. Trixie and Ben Bassman, the lawyer from my mobster grandfather, were the only two people who knew I had blood money.

  I couldn’t think of anyone else I would rather spend it on than Derek. I would give the money to Bethany to pay off her debt and get Brittany so Derek could have his happily ever after.

  I had only kept a few hundred thousand at the house for me and Trixie. Trixie was fixing up the house and we did it a little at a time so people in town wouldn’t find out I had the money. We still kept my identity a secret because there were still family members of those my grandfather had offed out there and I didn’t want to be put in a body bag for a family I didn’t know.

  Many times I had almost told Derek about the money, but I didn’t and now I’m glad I didn’t.

  “What are you doing?” Trixie asked from the door.

  I hadn’t heard her coming because I’d been too busy unscrewing the non-working old radiator—the perfect disguise—where Trixie and I had hidden the money in the wall.

  “I. . .” I jumped up. “I am worried.”

  Think, think, think. My brain had to come up with a good lie for her to believe me.

  “Laurel, I’m not using our money to gamble.” She looked over her shoulder out into the hallway. I could only assume she didn’t want Sharon to hear us. “I have been using my pension The Gorilla,” (my grandfather’s mob name), “had set up for me. And I’m only doing the penny slots. You know that.”

  “You promise?” I asked. Thank God, she came up with my excuse to look at the money.

  “Yes.” She dipped her head. “I’ve got to go before Sharon comes looking. Right now she’s petting Henrietta.”

  “Fine.” I gave her a motherly look. “I don’t want you having a gambling problem since this casino has come to town.”

  “And I don’t want you to have a drinking problem since Brittany has come to town.” She grinned ear to ear knowing she just stung me.

  “Touché.” I laughed, sticking the screws back in the radiator. I wasn’t going to be able to get some money for Bethany right now, but I would find her and tell her I had it to use and she could pay me back later.

  Chapter Nine

  It was noon and traffic was starting to pick up going back into town. Casino visitors apparently didn’t get up early after a long night of gambling.

  Going at a snail’s pace let me glance down Fifth Street, in hopes I’d see Bethany walking out of Shear Illusions, but no such luck. But I did turn right into the Windmill Hotel parking lot. By now Louie had to be finished with his Krispy Kreme doughnut rounds.

  The hotel lot was packed with out-of-town license plates on all the cars. Brittany’s yellow Jeep wasn’t in the parking lot. I know Louie said she had car trouble, or rather, Bethany had car trouble in the middle of the night, which contributed to the fight between her and Derek. Derek could’ve easily taken her car to his shop and given her one of his beater cars he used to pick car parts from.

  Bang, bang, bang. I beat the bulletproof window that was between the hotel customers and Louie. He was on the stool, his shoulders slumped, his eyes closed, drool dripping from his open mouth.

  “Shit, Laurel!” He fell off, landing on his feet like a cat. “You scared the shit out of me.”

  “Doesn’t look like it.” I glanced down at his pants expecting to see a stain. “Hey, why do you have this bulletproof glass?”

  Not that it was a valid reason why I was there, but it was something I just wanted to know.

  “I’m glad I did.” He nodded toward the parking lot. “You can’t imagine what types of people a casino drags in. All kinds of people. And some look sketchy.”

  “Really?” I hadn’t thought about it, but I wondered if Brittany’s hostage takers were here. Come to think of it, there wasn’t anything local but the Windmill. Long shot but it was worth looking in to.

  “Yeah. Like the guy in number one.” He pointed to the first door that started off the row of doors at the ranch hotel. “He is really weird. Asking all sorts of questions about the town and people who might work at th
e casino.”

  “Really?” I snarled my nose in a playful no crap kind of way, only my curiosity was way up.

  “Yeah. And he keeps weird hours.” Louie got closer to the window where the round speaker was, he drew his lips in thoughtfully and whispered, “He carries a briefcase and has changed cars twice in one week. He doesn’t even want cleaning service. Can you imagine what it must look like in there? No cleaning for a week.”

  “He’s been here a week?” This guy was definitely someone I needed to look into. He could’ve been planning Brittany’s kidnapping all week, collecting evidence and then doing the deed. “Did you answer his questions about the town?”

  Forget about the uncleanliness going on behind the door in room one, I wanted to know what it appeared to be hiding.

  “Of course not. Well, not many,” he corrected himself rather quickly.

  “Say, this morning you said that you needed some help cleaning rooms.” I wanted to say to him that if he didn’t waste so much time sleeping on the stool, he might get the rooms cleaned and lose some weight, but this was my in. “I’m not busy right now with Drive Me,” I didn’t mention how Jax didn’t need me for paperwork detail for his private eye practice, “I thought I’d offer my services to clean a few rooms to keep me busy and all.”

  “How much would you charge me?” He perked up in interest and quickly drew back once I straightened up. “I mean, I can only offer about twenty-five bucks a room.”

  “Sure.” I shrugged knowing I was giving him a deal, but it wasn’t the money I needed. It was inside of that room of that guy asking all the questions.

  “Really?” Louie even stood up. The stool tipped over, but he was so excited, he already had a bucket of stuff in hand and was heading out of the little door to the outside world. “This is the best news all day.” He held the bucket out in front of him.

  “Right now?” I asked.

  “No time like the present.” The bucket swung back and forth between us. “That guy in three just left so you can start there.”