Distortion Control (A Makayla Rose Mystery Book 3) Read online

  His long stride put him before me in a heartbeat, and he raised one of my hands and flipped it palm up as if he would kiss the center. I struggled to get free, but his grip tightened. He paused, and the silver eyes locked with mine. “Don’t worry. Spencer didn’t do it. I can guarantee you that. However, if you insist on doubting him, you can always forget about him and give me a try.”

  I wrenched my hand free of his hold. “No thank you.”

  Ash chuckled. “You’re cruel, Maka.”

  “Makayla,” I emphasized.

  He just continued to grin. “Well, I’ll help you investigate.”

  I spun away from him to face my computer. “Pete will let you visit Spencer, and then I’m sure you have to get back home to Virginia.”

  I felt the heat from Ash’s proximity and ducked out of reach. He sighed in disappointment and then grew more serious than he had been from the moment he stepped through the door. “I’m taking some time off from work, so I’ll be here until my brother’s name is cleared.”

  I faced him and leaned on the edge of my desk. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I said despite his flirting from earlier. “I didn’t know where to start, and having an experienced officer of the law would be a big help.”

  Ash’s gaze swept me from head to toe, and that persuasive smile resurfaced. I wondered if it was ever far from his face or if he turned off the charm. The worse part was that he behaved as if I were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

  Understand that I was never the belle of the ball. I didn’t have men flocking to date me. The decision I had made not long ago to sign up with a dating site had taken me literally years to come to. Now here was Ash looking at me as if I were on the menu. Maybe he toyed with me, but I am a woman. I liked the attention.

  “For you, Makayla, I will have this wrapped up in a jiffy.”

  “Never mind your brother?” My normal snarky attitude shined through no matter how sexy the man.

  Ash ignored the question. “Let’s go to lunch to discuss the case. You’ll have details I didn’t get from my—”

  “Nosing around?”

  He grinned. “My treat. What’s a good restaurant in town?”

  I gave in. He was a lot like Spencer in not divulging information he didn’t care to share. Rather than let it irritate me, I considered how to get him to trade. “Zekey’s is good. I’ll meet you there at noon.”

  “Uh, what about now?”

  I walked to the door and pulled it open, waiting for him to leave the spot I’d left him. “Right now, I have clients coming, and before you ask. No, you can’t stay and wait. Thank you for stopping by, Ash.”

  He stood still for a beat and then strolled toward me. “You’re going to be fun getting to know. I see why he cares about you. Not like her at all.”

  His words brought me up short. I didn’t like being compared to anyone else, and I knew right away who the “her” was he referred to—Penelope. Worse, I had seen her for myself, and I didn’t compare to the beauty that Penelope was. Not to mention that Spencer had said when we started seeing each other that he still cared about Penelope and that he couldn’t be sure he would ever love me. Now she was gone, a surefire way to immortalize her in his heart.

  I gritted my teeth. “I’ll thank you not to compare me to anyone.”

  “Feisty.” He leaned in closer to me, and I had to resist stumbling back. “You say you broke it off with my brother?”

  I gave a small guilty nod. I wasn’t the one who ended it.

  “Then let’s have some fun together while we get him off.”

  I gave the big man a hearty thrust out the door and shut it before he could say another word. Half expecting him to come back in, I leaned on the door and worked to calm my racing heart. Ash would be a handful to deal with, but I wouldn’t let it interfere with me learning what really happened.

  * * * *

  When I walked into Zekey’s at ten minutes after twelve, several voices rang out in greeting. I waved to Edna and her group. Talia at the same table, sitting beside Ollie, her fiancé, glared at me but nodded a greeting. I gave her a bright smile. Lately, Talia had been spending at least half her evenings at Ollie’s apartment in the assisted living complex a few blocks from my place, which allowed my ears a break from Talia blasting her terrible music. One would think she was a teenager with her habits.

  I scanned the restaurant to find Ash had arrived before me. He stood near another empty table with Susan Aston in a clingy purple sweater dress preening for him. I blinked in surprise. Everyone knew Susan, newly widowed, was dating her lawyer and having her nose jammed in the air most of the time meant she didn’t lower herself to visit Zekey’s.

  Before I could start forward, Talia appeared at my elbow. I blinked at her dress, the design of which was an endless cluster of oranges. The color was enough for any outfit, but to have the fruit all over, seemed a bit much. Nevertheless, I was used to such outrageous ensembles. I focused instead on her words. “Ollie says she broke up with the lawyer. She’s looking for a new man to do her bidding, and he doesn’t have to be rich since she got Alvin’s money.”

  I frowned. “Don’t be mean, Talia. It hasn’t been so long since her husband passed.”

  Talia pointed a bony finger at Susan, not caring in the least that Susan noticed. “Does that look like mourning to you? She’ll be the next Norwood, I bet. Those Norwood men like their wives rich.”

  A cold chill raced down my back, and I clamped my teeth together. Talia looked directly at me. She knew the dig she was making at Spencer, whose ex-wife had been rich. Sometimes I thought she was just misunderstood, and then there were times like this.

  “Neither Spencer nor Ash are any of yours or Ollie’s business, Talia. Don’t let me keep you from your friends.”

  I started past her, but she muttered, “Calling him Ash already? You do move fast, Makayla Rose.” The cackle she let out as she weaved her way through the tables raised my ire, and I kept moving.

  “Ash, I’m sorry I’m late,” I said with a smile and glanced at Susan. “Susan, you’re looking well. How are you?”

  “Hello, Makayla.” She eyed me, and I felt she judged the quality of my clothing, but I was used to Susan’s superior attitude and wasn’t bothered by it. “I didn’t realize Ashton waited for anyone.”

  Ash grinned at Susan and touched her shoulder. “You’re a tease, Susan. I told you I was waiting for Makayla.”

  She simpered. “You like it. Well, I’ll let you get to your…date. Call me.”

  “I will,” he said and watched her walk away.

  I flopped into my seat across from him. “You call her a tease. You are a flirt.”

  He laid a hand over his chest. “My heart is reserved for you, Makayla. All you have to do is say the word.”

  “We just met, and I have the feeling you are only interested in me because I was seeing your brother.”

  He sat down and grabbed a menu. “That would imply I was in competition with him. Too cliché. Besides, he’s the younger brother. He should emulate me.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t see Spencer doing that. He’s too stubborn and independent.”

  “See how I was robbed of being the heroic big brother?”

  My interest perked up, and I set my own menu aside, knowing what I would order. “Do tell, Ash. You’re saying Spencer was always the way he is now?”

  “Headstrong and independent? Yes. Uptight and overly moral? Not always.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He offered a knowing grin at my interest, and I tried to tone it down. Spencer had never spoken much about himself. Getting him to open up was too much of a chore, and I hadn’t tried very hard because if we weren’t going anywhere in our relationship, then it would lead to hurt. I had thought I was protecting myself, but now I wondered. He occupied my mind much more, and the plan to date again had been waylaid by Spencer’s trouble. I felt as if I were in a holding pattern, and fixing it meant finding the murderer. Will
someone tell me how my love life got tied up with a homicide and kidnapping?

  “Let’s order first,” Ash suggested.

  We did so, and Ash decided on the roasted chicken with herbs, truffles, and béchamel sauce. He added a side of soup and a beer. I went with the braised pork and gratin potatoes and a diet cola. Ash eyed my drink choice and suggested something harder. I declined with the excuse that I needed to get back to the studio and didn’t want to be too mellow to focus on the detail-oriented work.

  Ash cut a huge bite of his chicken and seemed to enjoy the flavor. After he chewed, wiped his mouth, and swallowed, he explained. “Spencer wasn’t such goody two shoes when he was a kid. In fact, we used to get into all kinds of trouble.”

  “Let me guess, you as the ‘heroic big brother’ led him into these scrapes?”

  “How cruel to think the worst of me, Makayla.”

  I raised my eyebrows at him, and he laughed.

  “Well, yes, but that’s beside the point. One particular time, we took it into our heads to shoplift.”

  I gasped.

  “He was eight. I was eleven. Living in the town we did, everyone knew our family, especially our mom, who was a judge.”

  My mouth fell open. “A judge! You’re kidding me?”

  “No, law enforcement is a family affair,” he said. “When we were caught, we didn’t go to jail.”

  “Well that’s good, isn’t it?”

  “Jail might have been preferable.”

  I laughed. “How so?”

  “The storeowner called our mom. Of course she had the phone number on speed dial.”

  “Of course,” I agreed.

  “I heard she walked out in the middle of court. Probably not, but it makes for a more dramatic retelling among the elderly crowd.”

  I glanced over to Talia and company, knowing just what he meant.

  “She skinned us both right there in the middle of the store for everyone to see. Worse, a couple of my school friends were there. Believe me, I didn’t live it down for a long time.”

  “Poor thing,” I teased. “Did it get you on the right path?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “Do I seem like I’m on the right path now?”

  “Well, you’re a policeman.”

  “A real live detective.” He winked. I think he wanted to impress me with his badge. Sorry, Charlie, I’d been around my fair share of men in uniform, both in Briney Creek and in New York. I wouldn’t tell him my experiences included being on the wrong side of the law, too. In fact, it was a miracle I had given Spencer a chance. Then again, those Norwood eyes…

  “What about Spencer?” I couldn’t resist asking. “Did the experience scare him straight?”

  “Did it ever. I couldn’t bribe him to get into trouble with me. Hence, I was denied the chance to be the heroic big brother.” Ash leaned away from the table and rested his arm over the back of his chair. “I suspect I was the model for him of what not to be.”

  “I doubt that. I’m sure Spencer looked up to you for your courage and strength.”

  “Says the woman who wouldn’t get it.”

  I smirked. “Are you going to beat your chest and declare ‘we’re men, Makayla!’?”

  He laughed. “Something like that.”

  I finished most of my food and pushed the tray away before taking a long sip from my straw. Ash’s gaze never wavered from mine. “So the moral of the story is, my brother is not a murderer. It’s not in him.”

  “You believe that because of something that happened when he was eight?”

  “Among other things,” he asserted. “He’s uptight and far too moral.”

  “Hmm, I’m inclined to agree.”

  In an instant, Ash’s expression shifted from mildly curious to calculating. He narrowed his gaze as he studied my face, making goose bumps pop out on my skin. While he had been joking nonstop and flirting with me since I met him, at that moment, I could see the detective in him.

  “You’re speaking from experience,” he said. “What did you do to cross my brother’s moral code?”

  My jaw relaxed, but I quickly clacked my teeth together and ducked my head. Ash was an astute man. I couldn’t hide that I had indeed done what I shouldn’t have, but I wouldn’t be guilted or shocked into revealing what it was.

  The truth was I had crossed Spencer once before and stood in the way of his capturing a murderer. I had my reasons, but at the time, all Spencer saw was the law. He couldn’t see how my heart broke for Inna. She was like another sister, one I couldn’t bear to lose. One day I hoped to see Inna again, but for now it was enough to know she was free. That’s all I wished for her anyway.

  Ash slapped the table, bringing me out of my reverie. “Since it appears you’re not going to tell me what’s on your mind, Ms. Rose, I guess we need to discuss how I’m going to find the real murderer.”

  “Not you,” I insisted, “me. You can help me by using your influence.”

  Amusement transformed his face, but he nodded for me to continue. I didn’t know him very well, and I would not leave Spencer’s freedom up to his cavalier actions. Ash had already admitted he came from an influential household. I had no way of knowing if his position as a detective was handed to him as a judge’s son. I knew from seeing Spencer every day that he knew his job and was dedicated to it.

  “My influence?” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “If you’re thinking I can get the police to release Spencer based on who we are, you’re wrong.”

  “Already tried it?”

  His lip curled, and he seemed to bite back a smile. “Let’s just say, my mother’s influence passed when she did, and if this were Virginia, maybe. Being North Carolina and with the severity of the charges, it might take a bit more time.”

  “You’re right. I apologize,” I said. “But I was thinking in terms of getting me access to Spencer.”

  “You?”

  “Yes, if we can talk to him and run by him whatever we learn, we can coordinate our efforts.”

  “Beauty and brains.”

  I glared.

  “My brother won’t like me involved, Makayla.”

  I raised my chin. “Well, he can get over it. This is serious, and it could mean the difference between his freedom and him spending the rest of his life behind bars. What about a lawyer?”

  “That I can arrange. He’s probably been given access to a public defender.” While he spoke, Ash dug inside his shirt pocket and brought out a business card. He had let me make suggestions already knowing he had taken steps ahead of me. The knowledge that he’d done so both irritated me and bolstered my confidence in his ability. That is, until I looked at the card.

  “This is Paul Jacobs.” I was already shaking my head no, recalling how Paul had been tossed in jail after punching Spencer in the jaw. “They have history. There’s no way Paul will represent Spencer or that Spencer will accept him.”

  Ash took the check from the waiter and removed his wallet from his back pocket. I searched my purse for a twenty to cover my half of the bill. He ignored my money and handed a credit card to the waiter. No amount of cajoling would make him accept my offering, and I sighed and thanked him.

  Ash stood up. “Let’s hope you’re wrong, Makayla, and that Spencer is desperate to take what help he gets because I’ve already hired Jacobs. I guess we’ll see soon enough.”

  Just great.

  Chapter Four

  My cell phone woke me early the next morning. I did my best to ignore it, but the person—inconsiderate and just plain rude to my irritable and not yet fully awakened mind—kept calling back over and over. I had spent much of the night before worrying about Spencer and the case. Time seemed to be slipping by while Spencer sat in a jail cell. Meanwhile, Paul’s schedule didn’t allow for him to meet with us right away. I believed he just wanted to get a little of his own back for his disagreement with Spencer. This did not ingratiate me to the man in the least.

  When my phone rang a fourth time, I decided i
t must be important and dug my way out of the covers. Of course gravity snatched the annoying thing from my bumbling fingers, and I had to chase after it on the floor to find it was Edna calling.

  “Hello?” I grunted into the phone when I answered at last. My voice sounded thick to my own ears.

  “Makayla, is that you?”

  I frowned. Okay, my voice was thick, but it wasn’t unrecognizable, and she did dial my number. Wow, was I not the best in the morning. I climbed off the floor and sat on the side of the bed while trying to reign in my irritability.

  “It’s me, Edna, but it’s a little early,” I almost whined. “Is everything all right?”

  “No.”

  I sobered in a hurry, and all sleep disappeared from my foggy mind. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Talia, dear. She’s had a bit of a scare.” Now that I was more alert, I heard the fear in Edna’s tone, and it worried me.

  “A scare? What do you mean? Is she okay?” My words tumbled out one after another, but the pain tightening my chest had less to do with Talia and more to do with Edna. I adored Edna. She was the grandmother I never knew. As a human being, I cared for the welfare of my neighbors, including Talia, but I didn’t like the sound in Edna’s voice. She wasn’t getting any younger. Talia was Edna’s close friend, and despite how self-centered Talia was, Edna cared deeply for her.

  “She’s in the hospital. They’re running tests,” Edna explained. “Can you come down?”

  “Of course. I’ll be right there.”

  I rang off and dressed as fast as I could. Within twenty minutes, I was in my car after coaxing it to start and heading down the road toward the only hospital in Briney Creek. When I pulled onto the lot, my stomach tightened. I had spent way too much time in this place and hadn’t expected to be back so soon after my ordeal. Reminding myself that this wasn’t about me, I parked and climbed out of the car. By the time, I had been given directions to where to find Talia, I was not the first to arrive.

  Talia Johnston, the seventy-something drama queen, sat up in a hospital bed surrounded by Ollie, Edna, and the two other elderly women in her entourage. David had come and Peony. I paused in the doorway, taking in the shock of white hair standing straight up on Talia’s head and the pink in her cheeks. Granted the rest of her skin seemed much paler than usual, and I detected a more pronounced tremor in the hand she raised to her head. Overall, she didn’t appear to be a death’s door.