“It’s none of my business,” he offered softly. “I just didn’t realize it was happening so soon. I guess I wasn’t ready.”
Ready for what? “What makes you think I’m ready?” I challenged. “I don’t like any of this. It all makes me uncomfortable. My stomach feels as if it’s going to explode. I keep having nightmares about being strangled by oversized white dresses. None of this is fun.”
For the first time since I’d entered his office, Jake managed a wan smile. “That’s why he’s doing it this way. He knows you’ll freak out. He knows that if he proposed in the heat of the moment, you’d likely say no before considering what he could offer you.”
“He’s doing it this way because he wants to drive me crazy!”
“He’s doing it this way because he understands you. It’s smart ... and he knows that if he gives you a few weeks to calm down, really think about it, you’ll say yes.”
“I might not say yes.”
“You’ll say yes.” The sadness was back, joined by something else I couldn’t identify. “If he’d asked you too soon, you would’ve melted down, moved out, and hidden for several months. Then you would’ve realized what a mistake you made, and he would’ve had to move you back in and it would’ve been a whole big thing.”
That did sound like me. “He’s driving me crazy.”
Jake chuckled. “I think you guys drive each other crazy, and for some reason you like it. That’s okay. I just ... was surprised he told me the way he did.”
I took pity on him. “If it’s any consolation, I think he regrets it. He said he wasn’t sure how to tell you but didn’t want you to hear from somebody else.”
“I’m glad I know.”
“I’m not sure I’m glad I know.”
“You’ll get over it.” He blew out a sigh and glanced toward the window. “As for the Santas, there’s nothing I can tell you right now. You’re on your own.”
I considered pushing him on Beau Burton but backed off for the same reasons I didn’t push Derrick. If he knew I had a lead, he would try to slow me down, which meant throwing other media in my path. We couldn’t have that.
“Fine, but if I find good stuff, I’m not telling you either,” I warned, getting to my feet. “Just be ready for me to lap you guys when it comes to getting information.”
Amusement, rich and fast, returned to his features. “That sounds like a challenge.”
“It is.” I moved toward the door. “I’m heading out the back way. If your guys in the bubble could wait for a good hour or so to tell the woman I came with that I’m gone, that would be great.”
His eyebrows migrated up his forehead. “Do I even want to know what that’s about?”
“Probably not.”
He was silent a beat and then shook his head. “Fine. I’m giving you a pass, but just this once.”
“You always were my hero.”
“I guess, in some ways, you were mine, too,” he said. “Make sure you stay out of trouble. I don’t know what we’re dealing with this go-around, but it’s going to get ugly before it gets better.”
8 Eight
I should’ve felt guilty about leaving Sabrina behind, but I didn’t. Rampant enthusiasm was one thing. Making me want to smack her head into a brick wall to shut her mouth was quite another. Honestly, I was doing her a favor. This way she got to live — and I got to think.
I drove downtown and purchased a coffee from my favorite shop, one that happened to be located directly next door to Eliot’s shop. Rather than go inside and press him for the information he promised, I planted myself on a bench and mainlined caffeine while I considered my options.
Jake wasn’t giving me much. It wasn’t that he was trying to cut me out of the info as much as he was trying to be a stand-up sheriff. I hated that about him. He needed to find a way to be a good guy while still giving me special treatment.
Beau Burton was a known name, I reminded myself. People knew him from his past deeds, even though he never spent more than a few nights in jail and made some enemies. Unfortunately, very few of those enemies came forward. As I remembered the story, the sheriff’s departments in both Oakland and Macomb counties — where Beau pulled most of his cons — declined to name the victims. I figured at the time that was one of the reasons the prosecution never went anywhere. Those he ripped off had names – big names — and they didn’t need the embarrassment. They refused to testify against him in court.
So, the question was, who had the most to gain by Beau’s death? That was quickly followed by questions regarding the other dead men. It made sense that one of Beau’s former victims wanted him to pay for stealing, philandering and any other horrible thing he probably did during the stretch he went undiscovered. But how did the other men play into it?
“What are you doing out here?”
I jolted when Eliot’s voice invaded my afternoon thinking interlude. “You shouldn’t sneak up on me.”
He plopped down on the bench next to me. “It’s awfully cold to be sitting on a bench in the middle of Mount Clemens.”
He had a point. I was so lost in thought that I’d barely registered the cold. “I went back to the scene.”
“I figured.” He settled in and prepared to listen to me for as long as it took.
“Derrick was there. He wouldn’t give me any information.”
“Can you blame him? He’s lead on the case. If there are any leaks, he’ll be blamed.”
I pinned him with a dark glare. “Whose side are you on?”
“I’m always on your side. I’m just saying that I understand where Derrick is coming from.”
I rolled my neck. “He said I had to check with Jake.”
“Did you?”
I nodded. “He wouldn’t talk either. He
