Chapter Three

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Jason cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear as he poured his morning cup of coffee. He hadn’t slept well – again – and it was going to take at least two or three cups to really get going today.

“So what did you find?” he asked Jared Monroe. Jared was a former small town sheriff that had joined Jason as a partner in his new law enforcement consulting business. Currently located in Seattle with his wife, he was a computer geek who could find the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Jason had called him last night after he’d seen Brinley to her home and poured her a glass of wine. She’d been upset – and rightly so – about being questioned. Hopefully she was feeling better this morning.

“I’m still working on it but I do have some information. Roger Gaines was twenty-six years old and lived in the apartment above the garage in his brother’s house in Billings. His parents are dead and I couldn’t find any other relatives other than the brother, Stuart Gaines, age thirty. He’s married to one Lisa Johnson Gaines. She’s a special education teacher. No kids. Roger graduated two years ago with a degree in psychology from the University of Montana. From what I can see he’s had a series of entry level jobs in restaurants and retail establishments, the last one about six months ago.”

“A college graduate and he worked minimum wage? No wonder he lived in his brother’s garage. Anything else?”

“From what I can tell from his Twitter posts he liked to sleep late during the week. He has several unpaid parking tickets in Missoula but no arrest record. He does have a car registered in his name – a white 2003 Toyota Camry – that looks like it used to belong to his brother.”

Jason took a gulp of the steaming brew, almost burning his tongue. “Brinley’s a teacher too. Maybe there’s some connection there.”

He was grasping at straws but that’s all they had at the moment. The connection between Gaines and Brinley could be whisper thin.

“Did you do that other thing we talked about?” Jason asked. He’d hated to do it but he didn’t have a choice.

He’d asked Jared to investigate Brinley. And he felt like a total shit about it. He felt guilty about going behind her back even though he shouldn’t. He was doing his damn job. Sure, he could ask her but she might leave something important out. Better to have an unbiased third-party doing the investigating.

“I’m working on that now. I’ll have more for you later today.” There was a pause before Jared spoke again. “Just how personal do you want me to get?”

“Very personal. Money, credit, the whole works. I need to know why Gaines had Brinley’s address in his hand.”

“It could have absolutely nothing to do with why he was murdered,” Jared warned. “It could have been random. Or maybe a drug deal or robbery gone bad.”

Random crimes were a bitch to solve unless they had good forensics. If Gaines was shot for a reason Jason would find it.

“I’ll know more this morning when I get a look at the crime scene. The autopsy should be today as well.”

“Then I’ll let you get to it. I’ll touch base later today.”

After hanging up Jason topped up the travel mug and grabbed his keys off the counter before heading to his truck.

For the first time in a long while he had a purpose. A goal.

It felt damn good.

*

Brinley had barely slept the night before but she made sure she was showered and dressed by eight forty-five the next morning, a cup of coffee under her belt. She was determined to accompany Jason to the crime scene today to learn more about Roger Gaines and why he might have been coming to see her.

All night she’d tossed and turned, the man’s ghostly face from the photo haunting any attempt to fall asleep. She’d never seen him before. Never heard his name. But there had to be some connection. She couldn’t rest until she found out what it was.

Slinging her gigantic handbag over her shoulder, she grabbed her car keys and pulled the front door closed. The lock clicked into place and Brinley waved at Fran Kelly, the woman who lived in the house on the other side. She had an adolescent daughter who was involved in several extra-curricular activities that kept both mother and child very busy. The husband, on the other hand, appeared to be the epitome of laid back and mellow, watching his wife bustle around with loving indulgence.

“It’s early,” Fran called, a visor shading her eyes and gardening gloves on her hands. In shorts and a tank top, she was definitely dressed for the weather. The temperature was expected to top the high eighties today, but then June was usually warm in any part of the country. “What are you doing today?”

“Errands,” Brinley replied vaguely. She still wasn’t quite used to small town life where everyone knew your business. Her Chicago neighbors barely acknowledged her existence and she’d thought they’d had a good relationship. “I thought getting an early start would be a good idea. I think it’s going to be a hot one today.”

The sound of an engine captured Brinley’s attention from her neighbor. Greg pulled into the driveway and then hopped out of his car, two paper cups of coffee in his hands and a big smile on his face.

Dammit, with everything that had happened last night she’d completely forgotten about him, which of course didn’t bode well for any sort of relationship they might have. Nor did the fact that his sudden appearance without a phone call irritated the crap out of her. She had places to go and people to see. All signs pointed to letting Greg down nicely and both of them moving on with their respective lives. Separately.

“Hey, you look pretty today. I brought coffee to try and make up for last night.” Greg held up the two cups triumphantly. “Why don’t we go inside and catch up?”

Catch up? How do you explain to someone that a dead man had your address in his hand? It didn’t matter because she wasn’t going to talk to Greg about it. She wasn’t going to talk to anyone about it. Not until she knew something more about the victim.

“I don’t really have time. I’m actually running a little late.” Brinley didn’t want to be cruel but things with Greg were going nowhere fast. “It’s very sweet of you though. Thank you. I wish I could stay.”

Apparently he wasn’t used to being turned down. He only smiled wider and sidled closer, his cologne too cloying for her tastes. “C’mon. It’s Saturday. You should relax and smell the roses. I brought your favorite.”

He would know since they had met at the local coffee shop. But she wasn’t going to be deterred from her mission today. Finding out about Roger Gaines trumped anything else she may have had planned.

“I wish I could, but unfortunately I can’t. I really am very late.”

Brinley made it sound as if she had an appointment which wasn’t the case, but she could see that Greg wasn’t the “taking no for an answer” type.

“Just a few minutes? Surely you can spare me that. I’ll write you a tardy note,” he wheedled, not giving up in the least. It felt like he was trying to bully her to get his way and she wasn’t having any of it. “Isn’t that what they use in school?”

“I can’t,” she answered flatly, no longer trying to cushion her words. He’d shown up here unannounced and uninvited. Now he was pouting. “I have to go.”

Brinley turned to Fran who had watched the exchange with interest. “Have a good day, Fran. Anything planned?”

Fran looked up at the cloudless blue sky. “I’m doing yard work. If the weather cooperates we’ll be out here most of the day. Richard is working on building a trellis in the backyard.”

“That sounds lovely. I can’t wait to see it.”

“We’ll see how much we can get done today. Have fun.”

Fran waved and headed back to the storage shed while Brinley took a few steps toward her vehicle. Greg, however, darted in front of her, blocking the path, a sulky look on his face as if she’d denied him dessert.