Vendetta (Otter Creek Book 10) Read online

  “We need to talk.”

  At this time of morning? Couldn’t be good. “This can’t wait?”

  “Afraid not. I found a body in the boys’ locker room at the center.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  A ball of ice formed in Marcus’s stomach. A body? He threaded his fingers through Paige’s and squeezed gently. “Can you tell us the identity?”

  Nick sighed, his expression grim. “Word will leak soon anyway. It’s Van Wilder. I just notified his father.”

  Sorrow and shock wrapped twin ribbons around his heart. This news must have devastated Van’s father. The single dad doted on the teen as he was the only member of his family to survive a devastating house fire soon after Marcus arrived in town. “That must have been difficult for you, Nick.”

  “Death notification is the worst part of the job. Paige, if you’re up to it, I need to ask you questions about what happened. Time is critical.”

  Paige brushed tears from her face with her free hand. “I understand. I’ll do my best, but I don’t know what else I can tell you.”

  “Take me through what happened at the center from the beginning.” The detective moved a chair to the foot of her bed and sat. He pulled out a small notebook and pen.

  “I worked late again. I have to give a report to the town council on the community center. They don’t want to approve the funds for me to hire another staff member.”

  A snort. “Mayor Parks pinches pennies so hard they squeal.”

  A fact Marcus knew all too well. Parks was on the trustee board at the church. Board meetings were never fun, but adding Parks to the board had made the meetings even more trying. The mayor always seemed to have a personal agenda in mind above the church’s business.

  When Paige uttered a watery laugh, Marcus passed her a box of tissues.

  “Thanks.” She pulled one free and dried the tears from her face. “Anyway, I heard a strange noise about 10:30, which spooked me pretty good since I was supposed to be alone in the building. I love working at the community center, but that place is creepy at night.”

  “What kind of noise did you hear?” Nick asked.

  She frowned. “I’m not sure exactly. Metal on metal, I guess.”

  “What did you do next?”

  “I was going to call the police to come investigate because I didn’t want to be the too-stupid-to-live heroine in a bad movie. I figured if the noise was the HVAC system or something, the officer who responded would have a good laugh at my expense. If the noise was trouble, I wanted a cop at my side.”

  “Smart,” Marcus said.

  “Would have been a smarter idea if my phone was in my pocket. Unfortunately, I left it on the stage in the gym when I dealt with a skinned knee yesterday afternoon. Anyway, I found my phone on the stage and was going back to my office to call the police when the door to the boys’ locker room opened. Dalton Reagan came out.”

  “What was he doing there that late at night?” Nick’s pen hovered above his pad. “Curfew is at 11:00 for teens under 18.”

  “He forgot his backpack and needed to finish some homework before class this morning.”

  “Waited kind of late to do schoolwork.”

  “His mother is working two jobs. Dalton helps his brothers with their schoolwork and baths until his mother comes home. He also cooks their dinner if his mother forgets to put something in the slow cooker for them. He was too busy to notice the missing backpack.”

  A smile curved Marcus’s lips. That’s what he wanted to hear, that Dalton actually cared about his schoolwork. Made all the hours he’d spent with the teen well worth the effort. Dalton was a good kid who was having to grow up too fast since his father walked out on the family three years earlier.

  “Go on,” Nick said.

  “Dalton talked to me for a minute, then left. I went to my office and decided I was too tired to finish the report. I shut down my computer, stuffed it in my bag, and grabbed my purse. Following my normal routine, I checked the girls’ locker room to make sure the light was off, then went to the boys’ locker room.”

  “Did you open the door?”

  “No. Before I could, the lights went off in the gym.” Her words choked off.

  “What did you do?”

  She started to talk, but couldn’t.

  “Paige,” Marcus said, voice soft. “Do you need a break? Nick will give you a couple minutes if you need them.”

  Rio walked into the room with coffee and a soft drink. “Nick, you’re awake early.”

  “Never made it to bed.”

  The medic handed the coffee to Marcus. “It’s black.” He opened the soft drink bottle and gave it to Paige. “Slow sips. Your stomach won’t tolerate much for a few more hours.”

  Since Paige didn’t seem interested in letting go of his hand, Marcus left his hand wrapped around hers. Had to admit he liked holding her hand a lot more than he should considering they were friends.

  As she drank a few sips, Marcus noticed her hand trembling. He slid a pointed look at Nick.

  The detective stood. “I need to call Madison. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He patted her foot and walked to the hallway.

  “I could have continued.” Paige scowled at the closed door. “I don’t want this interview hanging over my head.”

  “Don’t worry.” Rio propped one shoulder against the wall. “This won’t be the last time Nick asks you questions about what happened. Take your time. When did the doc say you could leave?”

  “Dr. Anderson promised to come in early to do his rounds. If he’s happy with my progress, he’ll release me then.”

  “Excellent. I’ll stick around until he springs you and take you home and drop Marcus at the center to get his truck.”

  “My car is there, too.”

  “Sorry, Paige. You’ll have to be cleared by Doc Anderson before you drive. If he says it’s okay, I’ll drop you off as well.”

  She frowned. “I thought you had to be at PSI by six. What if Dr. Anderson doesn’t arrive early?”

  “I called Josh. He asked St. Claire’s medic to cover for me if I’m late.”

  Nick returned, phone in his hand. “Sorry. I didn’t want Madison to worry when she woke and realized I never made it home last night.” He sat again. “Are you ready to continue?”

  Paige’s hand tightened around Marcus’s. “Yes.”

  He opened his notebook again. “You told me you found your phone and planned to go back to your office to call the police and the lights went out. What did you do?”

  “I thought it might be Dalton, playing a trick on me. The kids love to do that and they haven’t pranked me for a while.”

  “But it wasn’t Dalton.”

  She shuddered. “I called Dalton’s name, told him the joke wasn’t funny, but of course he didn’t answer. Someone came into the gym. I asked who was there, and instead of answering, he laughed. I told him I was calling the police.” Paige closed her eyes for a few seconds. “I started to tap in the numbers when I realized the light from my phone pinpointed my location. I ran for the hall where Marcus found me. There’s an exit to the alley there. I planned to run across the square to the police station for help. I couldn’t go out the front because the man was blocking the front door.” She dragged in a wheezing breath.

  “Paige.” Marcus waited until her gaze locked with his. “Slow and easy breaths. You’re safe.”

  She gave a slight nod and reached for the soft drink. She drank a few more sips before continuing. “I made it to the center of the gym before the man tackled me. When I fell, my phone flew out of my hand and skidded out of reach. I got free, ran again for the hall. He caught me a second time, spun me around and shoved me against the wall. I told him if he wanted money he was out of luck, that we didn’t have cash in the center.”

  “Is that what he wanted? Did he say that?” Nick asked, pen hovering over the pad.

  “He didn’t say anything. He wrapped his hands around my throat and started to squeeze. The last
thing I remember was thinking I was going to die unless a miracle happened. I woke up on the floor and Marcus was with me.”

  Just hearing what she went through had fury surging through Marcus. Why would someone want to hurt Paige? As far as he knew, she had no enemies. If he’d arrived even a minute later, the attacker might have finished the job and Marcus would be planning her funeral as well as Mr. Kirkland’s instead of hoping for a date with this beautiful woman.

  “You didn’t see his face, Paige?” Nick asked.

  “The gym was too dark.”

  “Did you recognize his voice?”

  A head shake.

  “Was it low-pitched, medium, high?”

  “Low. Not as deep as Ethan’s voice but more than yours or Marcus.”

  “Good. What about his size? Tall, average, short?”

  “Tall. Maybe the height of Rio. He was muscular, too. He was strong and had a broad chest. No matter how I struggled, I couldn’t break his grip on my throat.”

  “I’ll give you some pointers,” Rio said. “There are some easy things you can do that will work, techniques I’ve taught Darcy.”

  “I might take you up on that.”

  “Paige,” Nick said. “I want you to close your eyes and think about any scents or textures you might have noticed. What kind of clothes was he wearing?”

  Her brow furrowed as she closed her eyes. She was silent a moment, then said, “His pants were denim. He wore a short-sleeved shirt with smooth material. Soft cotton. Maybe a t-shirt.”

  “Good. What about his hair? Did you touch his hair?”

  She gasped. “Yes. It was wavy.”

  “Not curly?”

  Paige shook her head. “Wavy.”

  “Excellent. Now think about the scents. Was he wearing cologne?”

  “No, not like….”

  “Not like who?” the detective prompted.

  Cheeks pink, she said, “Not like Marcus.” Paige kept her gaze averted from his.

  Marcus smiled. Nice to know she’d noticed his aftershave lotion. Maybe she was more aware of him than he thought. That was indeed good news. He hoped his interest was reciprocated.

  “Guess that takes our pastor off my suspect list,” Nick said.

  Her eyelids flew up and the color in Paige’s cheeks deepened. “This guy carried a scent of soap, sweat, and some kind of sharp, metallic odor. I didn’t recognize the metallic one.”

  “Did he have gloves on his hands?”

  “No. The back of his hands was hairy, too.”

  “Did you scratch him?”

  Finally, a smile curved her lips. “You bet.”

  A nod from Nick. “Then we have his DNA.”

  Rio glanced at the detective. “I have my Go bag in the SUV. I carry gun oil.”

  “Gun oil?” Marcus straightened in his chair. “You think that’s what Paige smelled on her attacker?” The implications made his blood run cold. If Paige had smelled gun oil, that would mean the man had a weapon on him.

  “It’s worth a shot to let her sniff the oil. My wife is sensitive to smell and that’s how she describes it when I clean my weapons.”

  Nick motioned for the medic to go ahead. After Rio left, the detective smiled at Paige. “You’re doing great. Let’s go back to Van Wilder for a minute. Was he in the center today?”

  “He came in to play basketball.” She turned to Marcus. “You saw him, didn’t you?”

  “He was leaving as I came in to play with the younger kids.”

  “Did you notice when he came back?” Nick asked Paige.

  “I had no idea he returned.”

  “Has Van had problems with anyone?”

  Paige bit her lip and glanced at Marcus.

  He squeezed her hand again. “Tell him. He needs to know.”

  “Paige?” Nick tilted his head. “Talk to me. Everything matters now. In a murder investigation, there are no secrets.”

  “He and Dalton have been doing a little pushey-shovey on the basketball court and off. I had to ban Van from the center for three days last week.”

  “Do you know what the problem was?”

  “I asked. They wouldn’t tell me, but I saw enough to know that Van was the aggressor.”

  Rio walked into the room with a small bottle in his hand. He twisted off the top. “Is this what you smelled on the man who attacked you?”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Paige sniffed at the open bottle and jerked back, nausea building fast in her stomach. She clamped a hand over her mouth. Oh, no. Not with an audience in the room, especially Marcus.

  Rio reacted fast. He put the bottle of gun oil on the roll away table, grabbed the small plastic tub nearby, and rolled her onto her side away from Marcus. He said something to Nick that Paige couldn’t catch over the sound of her retching.

  Instead of leaving like she hoped, Marcus wrapped a strong arm around her to hold her steady and with his other hand kept her hair away from her face. If the bed turned into a black hole and swallowed her, life would be perfect.

  A minute later, something cold covered the back of her neck. When her stomach spasms finally subsided, Paige was as weak as a newborn kitten and too lethargic to bury her hot face in the pillow.

  “I’m going to roll you to your back,” Rio said. “We’ll go nice and slow. If you feel sick again, sing out. Ready?”

  She gave a short nod.

  “Marcus, keep the ice pack in place.” The medic gently eased Paige to her back.

  Instead of moving away from her as she expected, Marcus stayed in the same position. She ended up in the circle of his arms with her face pressed against his chest.

  She really should move back, but was too tired to bother and too humiliated to look at the face of the man she was interested in dating. Looked like that idea was shot now. Kind of hard to date a man when you couldn’t look at him without knowing he’d witnessed the worst moment of your life.

  Rio took the plastic tub away as Marcus positioned a second ice pack on Paige’s forehead. The nausea receded to merely annoying. Wow. Who knew ice packs worked like magic on an upset stomach?

  The medic returned with a cleaned plastic tub. “Better now?”

  “Yes. Sorry.”

  “Normal reaction to a concussion. So, did you recognize the scent of gun oil or was this a reaction to any strong smell?”

  “That’s the scent on the man’s hands.” She peered at Nick through her lashes. “Does that mean what I think it does?”

  His expression was grim. “I think it’s safe to assume he had a weapon on him. If he had chosen to use the weapon, Marcus would have discovered your body in that hallway instead of arriving in time to scare him off.”

  When Paige shuddered, Marcus eased her closer. “Not what I wanted to hear,” she muttered.

  “Are you able to answer more questions?”

  “Can’t it wait, Nick?” Marcus protested.

  “I’m sorry, my friend. Every minute counts. The longer I wait, the more details Paige will forget.”

  “It’s okay, Marcus.” Paige laid her hand over his heart. She blinked when it skipped a beat before continuing in a faster rhythm. Huh. Interesting. “Ask your questions, Nick.”

  “How did Dalton seem when you saw him come out of the boys’ locker room? Was he nervous?”

  “He was fine. Not nervous, scared, or uptight. He acted like everything was normal. He was in a hurry because of the curfew and didn’t want to worry his mother. If you’re asking if he looked as though he’d seen a body or killed someone and was anxious to leave, the answer is no.”

  Nick made a few notations, then glanced up. “What about you?”

  She frowned. “What about me?”

  The detective slanted a hard look at Marcus before returning his gaze to her. “Did you see Van’s body?”

  “No, of course not. I would have called the police immediately if I had.”

  “Did you kill him, Paige?”

  Did he seriously think she was a murderer? “I
never laid a hand on that boy. For all his troublemaking tendencies, I liked Van.”

  “You said yourself you banned him from the center last week for three days. Maybe he came in last night and you two fought. Things spiraled out of control. You lost your temper and killed him.”

  “I didn’t kill him, Nick. I never touched him.”

  “Can anyone corroborate your story?”

  Mocking laughter escaped. “Sure. Find the guy who choked me. Other than him, I only saw Dalton after seven last night. The rest of the time, I was holed up in my office wresting with numbers that won’t support hiring help without another cash infusion which the mayor will refuse to consider.”

  “Did anyone call you?”

  She started to say no, paused. “Wait. I talked to Nicole Copeland. She’s planning a surprise birthday party for Mason.” The dog groomer was crazy about Rio’s cousin and their romance was the talk of Otter Creek.

  “What time did she call?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Guess,” Nick snapped.

  She thought back through the events of the night before. “Maybe fifteen minutes before I talked to Dalton. That would make it about 10:15. I didn’t look at the clock.”

  “What phone did you use?”

  “Cell phone. The center doesn’t have a landline. The council is too cheap to put one in.”

  “I’ll need your phone.”

  Her phone? Oh, dear. She didn’t want to give up her phone. It was her lifeline to her grandmother. Gram wouldn’t be able to reach her in an emergency if Nick took her phone. “Isn’t there another way to get what you need? Gram won’t be able to reach me if I don’t have my cell phone.” Her grandmother had been receiving odd phone calls lately and Paige didn’t want to be out of touch in case she was needed.

  “Do I have permission to access your phone records?”

  “Absolutely.” She didn’t have anything to hide.

  Nick turned to Rio. “Would Fortress be willing to access the records for me?” A small smile curved his lips. “Your techs are faster than ours.”

  “No problem.” The medic pulled out his phone. “Paige, what’s your cell number?” Seconds later, Rio tapped in a number and put the call on speaker.