Harlequin Romantic Suspense July 2021 Box Set Page 2

  He now powered down his computer with thoughts of dinner on his mind. He’d been eating so much fast food and sandwiches in the past two months he’d decided that this evening he’d treat himself and go to a restaurant and have a real, good sit-down meal. However, before he could get away, an officer stepped into the room.

  “Simone Colton is here to speak to you. Do you have a minute for her before you head out?” he asked.

  “Of course. Send her on back,” Brad replied. He braced himself for seeing her one-on-one. There was something about Simone that somehow unsettled him. More than any of the other family members, her grief haunted him and her intelligence challenged him.

  He hadn’t realized just how small his new office was until she was seated in a chair in front of his desk. Instantly he was engulfed by the smell of her perfume...an appealing scent of fresh flowers and a hint of fresh citrus.

  “What can I do for you this afternoon, Miss Colton?” he asked.

  “I’ve told you before you can call me Simone,” she replied. Her eyes appeared a startling blue today. Her medium brown hair curved around her chin, emphasizing her delicate features. She was clad in black slacks and a tailored black-and-white blouse that showcased her slender shapeliness. “I was wondering if it would be possible for me to sit in the next time you interview Jared Garner.”

  He stared at her in disbelief as he shook his head. “You know I can’t allow you to do that.”

  “Why not? I promise you I would be completely professional.” She sat up straighter in the chair.

  “That’s not the issue. You’re the victim’s daughter, and in any case, it’s against regulations.” He could tell his words irritated her.

  “I’ve spent all of my adult life studying the human mind and deviant behavior. I feel like I could help. Maybe I can see things in Jared that nobody else has seen...something that could help to get him to confess to the murders and give up Leo Styler’s location.” She leaned forward, her eyes burning with intensity. “I can help, Agent Howard. Please let me help.”

  He understood her desire...her absolute need to see that her father’s killers were arrested and went to prison. He’d worked with enough victims in his career to know where she was coming from, but there was no way in hell he could or would allow her into an interview room with a suspect. It would certainly give a defense lawyer plenty of ammunition to use and there was no way Brad would risk the case they were building against the teens.

  “I’m sorry, Simone. It just isn’t allowed,” he finally said. He watched as the flame in her eyes dimmed and instead a bleak despair darkened them. His chest tightened with sympathy.

  “I still believe I might be able to pick up on things that everyone else has missed. I’ve been studying people and their behaviors for years,” she repeated and then stood.

  “Wait,” he replied and frowned thoughtfully. An idea blossomed in his head, an idea that might give Simone what she wanted and still keep the integrity of the investigation.

  She sank back down in the chair and looked at him hopefully. God, she was so attractive. There was something about her that drew him in a very unprofessional way and that was the last thing he needed or wanted.

  “I suppose if you want to come in tomorrow morning around ten, I could share with you the interviews we’ve already done with Garner,” he offered.

  Immediately her eyes brightened. “Oh, thank you. That would be wonderful. Then I’ll see you at ten tomorrow.” She jumped out of her chair, murmured a goodbye and then practically ran from the room as if afraid he might change his mind.

  Even though he could think of all kinds of reasons why what he’d just offered her was probably a bad idea, he only hoped it helped in some way to ease her grief and come to terms with her uncle and father’s murders.

  Yes, for some inexplicable reason Simone’s grief hit him much harder than any of the other Colton family members’. It was her sad eyes that haunted his dreams, her tears that had pushed him to try harder.

  If he was perfectly honest with himself, he’d admit that the reason he’d just made the concession to allow her to see some of the interview recordings was because he’d pretty much failed her. He’d failed them all.

  He’d worked dozens of serial killer cases in the past. In each case he had successfully worked up accurate profiles that had led to arrests in almost all of them.

  In the past two months he’d done what he’d always done...tried to profile the kind of person the killer might be. Then two weeks before, a private investigator had shone a light on two nineteen-year-old college kids, proving that all of Brad’s theories about the killer had been wrong.

  He was now even more determined to prove that Jared Garner and Leo Styler had not only murdered Ernest and Alfred Colton in cold blood, but two other older businessmen as well. More than anything, he wanted to prove himself to all the Coltons, but particularly to Simone.

  And that worried him. The last thing he wanted was any kind of tangled relationship with a member of the victims’ family. Besides, hopefully it was now just a matter of days before they got Leo Styler behind bars and the case would be closed.

  And it was probably just a matter of days before he would be back home in DC. After two months of living in a hotel and being immersed in murder, he should be looking forward to getting back to his life in DC. It worried him just a little bit that he wasn’t.

  When the case was over, he wouldn’t mind hanging out here in Chicago for a little while longer. When he tried to identify why he would want to remain, it worried him that Simone Colton’s beautiful face filled his mind.

  There was no way he was going there. He was thirty-six years old and married to his work. Besides, no matter how attractive he found Simone Colton, he knew he would probably always remind her of one of the very worst times in her life.

  CHAPTER 2

  Heath had gathered the family together in Simone’s mother and father’s home. Her uncle Ernest and aunt Fallon’s and Simone’s parents’ homes shared a common backyard with a large pool, pool house and tennis courts.

  Although her aunt and uncle’s place was exquisitely decorated in a French provincial style, it was somehow colder...less inviting than Alfred and Farrah’s warm, Tuscan-feel home. Therefore, this was the place always chosen for family gatherings. Besides, with a mother-in-law suite attached, it made it easy for Grandma Colton, who lived in the suite, to be included in all the gatherings.

  They were all seated on the overstuffed sofas and on chairs brought in so everyone had a place to sit. Simone was grateful to sit on the sofa next to her mother.

  Her aunt Fallon and her mother were twins. The main way people told them apart was that Farrah’s dark brown hair was worn short and curly and Fallon’s hair was longer. Simone’s mother had always been the louder of the two. She was wonderfully loving and was the creative force in Gemini Designs, an interior design company she had started and now operated with her twin sister.

  Since the murder, the spark in her mother was gone and her beautiful green eyes often held the same sadness, the same grief that Simone felt. It hurt Simone to see both her mother and her aunt trying to deal with the unexpected deaths of their husbands.

  “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I got you together this evening,” Heath said and stood from his chair. Her cousin’s dark blond hair was shaggier than usual and it was obvious he’d forgotten about shaving again.

  Heath had stepped in as the president of Colton Connections, the company started by Ernest and Alfred and that was now valued at over sixty million dollars. The two men had created a series of innovative inventions and owned numerous patents.

  “I’m sure wondering why we’re all here,” Grandma Colton replied.

  Everyone looked at Heath expectantly. He drew in a deep breath. “Uh, something unexpected has come up concerning Colton Connections.”

  What
now? Simone reached out and took her mother’s hand in hers. Her mother squeezed her hand tightly, as if expecting bad news.

  “My office has received a letter saying that half of Colton Connections’s holdings rightfully belong to two other men. They are twins Erik and Axel Colton and they are claiming to be the illegitimate children of Dean Colton.”

  Gasps of surprise filled the room, along with exclamations of disbelief. Simone’s stomach sank. Illegitimate children of her grandfather? Was this somehow true? Or were these two men simply vultures who were trying to capitalize on a double murder? As if they all didn’t have enough to deal with already, and now this?

  Heath raised his hands to quiet everyone. “They claim to be rightful heirs because of a special codicil Grandpa Dean drew up and they are therefore due the same amount of money that went to my dad and Uncle Alfred.”

  “I certainly never heard Alfred talk about having two illegitimate brothers,” Simone’s mother said.

  “Same with me,” Aunt Fallon added. “Ernest never mentioned having other brothers and I can’t imagine Dean having an affair. But then before six months ago I wouldn’t have imagined that my husband and his twin brother would be murdered.”

  There was a long moment of silence. “So, how serious are we taking this?” Simone’s youngest sister, January, asked, breaking the hushed quiet that had momentarily overtaken everyone. January was a social worker for the county and volunteered for multiple organizations.

  “Serious enough that I’ve gotten our lawyers involved. I just wanted to let you all know what was going on,” Heath said. “And I’ll continue to keep you all up to date as this whole thing unfolds.”

  A half an hour later Simone and her sisters left the house. “Oh, by the way, tomorrow I’m going to watch the files of the interviews of Jared Garner with Agent Howard,” she told Tatum.

  “You actually got him to agree with that?” Tatum asked in surprise.

  “Wait...what’s going on?” January asked. At twenty-seven years old, she was five years younger than Simone. January looked even younger than her age and was model pretty, so she was often not taken seriously, but Simone knew her baby sister was smart as a whip.

  She quickly explained to January what she was doing the next day, and when she was finished, concern shone from January’s green eyes. “Oh, Simone, I wish you would leave this all alone and let law enforcement do their jobs.”

  “That’s exactly what I told her earlier today when we had lunch,” Tatum said.

  “I am letting them do their jobs,” Simone protested. “I’m just hoping to help a little bit. I need to do this.”

  “I know how badly you’re hurting, Simone. We’re all hurting, but I don’t want you anywhere near Jared Garner. Have you forgotten that Leo Styler is still on the loose? I don’t want you getting any attention that might put you at risk,” January exclaimed.

  “My feelings exactly,” Tatum chimed in.

  “Don’t worry. I’m just going to be in a little office with Brad Howard and nobody will even know I’m there. Trust me, I’ll be fine.” Simone hugged January and then Tatum.

  “What do you think about what we just heard from Heath?” Tatum asked.

  “I find it darned suspicious that after all these years and only after Dad and Uncle Ernest are gone, these twins magically appear out of the blue,” January said.

  “I agree, but I also trust Heath and the attorneys to sort it all out,” Simone replied. “And on that note, I’m heading home.” She hugged each of her sisters once again and then got into her car and headed back to her condo.

  Once there she found it impossible to think about what had just happened when her head was so full of what she hoped would happen the next day. She desperately hoped she’d see something on the file that could be used to break Jared into confessing to the murders.

  She changed out of her clothes and into a sleeveless summer nightgown. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she finally climbed into her king-size bed. She’d bought the bed when she’d thought she was going to have a future with Dr. Wayne. He’d lived in a cramped apartment and so they had spent most of their time together here in her place.

  But she had refused to let him move in with her and she also didn’t like him spending the night with her. In her mind that was something engaged or married couples did.

  She’d finally kicked out the doctor but had kept the bed. There were times she felt very lonely. At thirty-two years old she had the career of her dreams, but she was missing the dream man in her life.

  Eventually she wanted a big family and she’d begun to hear the faint tick of her biological clock. Still, she wanted to be married only once and so it was important she get it right the first time.

  She fell asleep almost immediately and into the dream that far too often haunted her nightscapes. She was in a graveyard and walking along a dark path between the headstones. The moonlight was full and cast down a haunting silvery light. Her heart clenched as she came to the headstone where her father’s name was written.

  In her dream she sank down to her knees before it, tears half blinding her. “Daddy, I miss you so much. You’ve always been my hero and now I’m absolutely lost without you.”

  A mist began to form across the front of the headstone, a mist that came together and became her father’s beloved face. “Help me, Simone. I need your help, baby girl. I’m stuck and I can’t move on unless you help me.”

  “Anything, Dad. Just tell me what you need me to do,” she said fervently.

  “Get the killers, Simone. See that they spend the rest of their lives in jail. If you don’t, I’ll never be at peace. Do you hear me? I’ll never be at peace.” His voice became a roar and his face twisted with rage.

  “Save me, Simone.” Skeletal hands reached out toward her. She gasped and scooted back away from the headstone, but the hands kept coming and wrapped around her neck. Cold ghostly fingers squeezed tight, making it difficult for her to scream out her terror.

  She awoke and jerked up with a deep gasp. Her breathing came in rapid pants and the horror of the dream still raced through her. Tears burned at her eyes as she thought of the beginning of the dream, when her father’s pleas to her had been so heartbreaking. She didn’t want to even think about the end of the dream. That man, that angry monster who had tried to strangle her, wasn’t her loving father.

  Still, the nightmare reminded her that she needed to do whatever she could to help find Leo Styler and she believed the answers to so many things were in Jared Garner.

  And today she would get access to his interviews. At that thought a burst of adrenaline raced through her and she jumped out of bed.

  An hour later she had showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a coral-colored sleeveless blouse. She sat at the table with a cup of coffee and a toasted bagel in front of her, counting down the minutes to the meeting with Brad Howard.

  As she ate, she thought about what her sister had said the day before about sensing some kind of attraction between her and Brad. Of course, the idea was utterly ridiculous.

  He was just a very hot-looking FBI agent in town to do a job. All she really wanted from Agent Howard was answers that would lead to both of the teenagers in jail and eventually convicted for their crimes. It was the only way her father would find peace. It was the only way she would find some semblance of peace. And hopefully when that all happened, the nightmares would stop.

  At nine thirty she left her condo. She carried with her a legal pad so she could take notes and her purse. At precisely ten she walked into the police station and asked for Brad.

  When he came out to greet her and lead her back to his office, she couldn’t help but notice how his black pants fit his slim waist and long legs and how his gray dress shirt emphasized his broad shoulders.

  He carried himself with the confidence of a man sure of himself. She’d alway
s found a confident man attractive, but only if that self-assurance didn’t border on arrogance. In Agent Howard’s case, she didn’t know enough about him to know if he was an arrogant man or not. In any case, she shouldn’t care. He was simply the man in charge of a criminal case, a case where her father and uncle had been murdered.

  When they reached the small space he worked from, there were two chairs on one side of the desk and the computer screen was turned toward the chairs.

  Simone took the chair closer to the wall. Brad closed the office door and then sat next to her. Simone was instantly aware of his nearness, not as the FBI agent who might help her, but as a handsome man whose cologne tantalized her. It was a scent of something spicy and slightly mysterious.

  “I have to confess I wrestled with myself all night long about having you here today,” he said. His eyes were a golden green today and he held her gaze steadily.

  She leaned forward and placed the legal pad on the desk in front of her. “Why would you have any doubts? I’m hoping I’ll be able to give you some insight that will further the investigation.”

  “Ultimately that’s why I didn’t call you to cancel this viewing,” he replied. “However, I want you to understand that this access to these files is highly unusual and I need to have your promise that you won’t take what you see or hear on them outside of this room.”

  “I can promise that,” she replied. He held her gaze for several long moments, as if gauging if he could trust her or not. He must have been satisfied with what he saw in her for he turned to the computer.

  “I figured I’d start with the first interview with Jared and his parents.” He pushed several buttons on the computer and then an image of Jared, his parents and Brad in a large interview room came into view. Jared’s lawyer sat in the background.

  Simone leaned forward once again and grabbed her legal pad. She then withdrew a pen from her purse as she waited for the video to begin.

  And then it was playing. Simone intently watched the interplay between all the people. She wrote down her impressions and thoughts as it played.