Seams of Destruction (4 page)

She stopped speaking once again.

Mitch waited a few moments and then asked, “Was he at your apartment?”

“Yes, he was there.”

“So . . .”

“Reannan was there, too.”

“And . . .”

“They were in bed together,” she said, a devastated look on her face. “In
my
bed.”

Jade stared at Mitch, attempting to gauge his reaction to her last words. She wasn’t disappointed. She could tell he was furious when he swore in a low vicious voice. It made her wonder. His reaction seemed a little exaggerated considering he didn’t really know her, probably didn’t even like her.

“I was so shocked, I couldn’t move. Was this the man I had loved since high school? The man I planned to spend the rest of my life with?

“I screamed for them both to get out and I left and drove around. Before I walked out the door, Reannan had the nerve to taunt me about not only sleeping with David, but doing it right in my apartment, in my bed. It was obvious, she got some kind of strange kick out of tormenting me.”

“How did David take all this?”

“He just stared at me as though he couldn’t believe how hysterical I was. As though I shouldn’t be upset, which had the effect of making me scream even more. The last thing I said to him was that I never wanted to see him again. Later when I came back, he and his suitcase were gone.”

Jade stopped and grew thoughtful.

“That night, I became angry with myself. I had wasted years on someone who obviously didn’t appreciate my qualities. I couldn’t believe this man whom I had known since high school would turn to someone as manipulative, shallow, and lacking in morals as Reannan. Any feelings of love I had ever felt for him were gone.”

They were silent, both deep in their own thoughts.

“Oh, Mitch, I’m so afraid I’m going to end up in jail for something I didn’t do,” Jade said suddenly.

“That’s understandable. But it’s going to be okay.” He couldn’t help but hope he was right even though he wondered if she was really innocent as she kept saying she was.

“How can you say that?” Jade demanded. “I am a suspect in a murder. Probably the only reason I’m here in Italy is because my attorney happens to be the Police Chief’s brother-in-law.”

“They’ll figure out you’re innocent.”

”They’re not going to be looking for anyone else.”

“Then we’ll just have to find out who did it, ourselves.”

“How?”

“Tell me about the other employees of Sorrento’s and their relationship with Reannan. Start with the owner, Giovanni Sorrento.”

“Giovanni was obsessed with her. He admired her photographic memory and her talent in the fashion industry. He actually seemed to enjoy her fits of temper, many of which were directed at him. As I already told you, he bought her a BMW convertible, a condo on the beach, designer clothes, and countless trips to Europe. He created a monster, but he couldn’t control her.”

“Isn’t he married?”

“He is. But his wife apparently became tired of his affair with Reannan and went back to Italy.”

“Do you think he found out about her and David and killed her in a fit of jealousy?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Reannan had never made it a secret that there were others beside Giovanni. He never appeared to care.”

“That seems like a strange relationship after all the money you said he spent on her. You would think he would want her to be exclusive.”

“You would think so, but it appeared he was satisfied to have even a small part of her.”

“Who’s next?”

“There’s the quality control supervisor, Danilo. He’s from Central America and rather quiet and timid. But when Reannan screamed at him, as she sometimes did, he could become violent.”

“Violent? How?”

Jade thought for a minute. “Once he threw a pair of scissors at Reannan. Another time he destroyed some dresses he was inspecting, which she had just brought in from one of the contractors.”

“That must have been upsetting to Giovanni. Did he fire him?”

“No, Giovanni called him into his office after the episode. I don’t know what he said to him, but whatever it was, Danilo is still there.”

“If Giovanni had been on the receiving end of Reannan’s screaming, perhaps he understood how disturbing it was to Danilo. Maybe he was sympathetic.”

“Could be. Giovanni can be very kind when he wants to be.”

“Who’s next?”

“The pattern maker, Bennett. He was there the morning we went to Sorrento’s. He was the African American man. He’s usually very polite and likeable. But one time when he was leaving the warehouse, for some reason the security gate on the doors failed to operate. In a panic, he shook them, and yelled profanities. For some reason, the feeling of being locked in made him go crazy. After that, Reannan teased him unmercifully.”

“Has he been in prison?”

“I don’t know, but having experienced a night in jail, if he has been, I can totally understand his reaction.”

“Anyone else?”

“Just Lautaro. He’s the shipping manager. He’s from Belize. He loves Giovanni. Sometimes when Giovanni has nothing to do, he will go out and help Lautaro with the shipping. Lautaro always calls him ‘Maestro’. He told me he hated the way Reannan screamed at Giovanni, so one day he asked his family in Belize to send him some herbs.”

“Whatever for?”

“He sprinkled them in Reannan’s desk, hoping to invoke a special voodoo that would remove her from the company.”

“Perhaps he wanted to remove her permanently.”

Jade slowly shook her head. “He doesn’t seem like the kind who would kill someone.”

“Under the right circumstances almost anyone could kill.”

“Do you think I could?” she asked in surprise.

“What if your life was being threatened? Wouldn’t you kill in self-defense?”

“I guess under those circumstances, I might.”

“Any more employees?”

“Only Alice, the woman who works in the office. She’s an older lady and pretty much ignores Reannan.”

“Can you think of anyone else who Reannan has mistreated?”

“I did hear, she continually harangues the contractors who sew up the fashion designs. The word around Sorrento’s is they all hate her.”

“How many contractors are there?”

“Four.”

“When we get back to LA, I’ll need their names and addresses so I can talk to them.”

Chapter 4

Mitch was in the shower and Jade was handcuffed to a heavy table next to an easy chair as was his usual procedure when he couldn’t be in the same room with her. At first his lack of trust bothered her, and she argued with him every time he felt it necessary to cuff her. He finally convinced her, although he would prefer not to do it, he had to do as instructed.

“Who’s going to know?” she asked.

“I will,” he said firmly, as he lifted her wrist.

After that, she stopped arguing with him.

The phone rang and knowing Mitch wouldn’t have heard it, she reached over with the one hand that wasn’t cuffed and picked it up from the table. When she heard David’s voice, her first impulse was to hang up.

“Jordan, please, don’t hang up on me,” he said, as though sensing her intent. “I need to talk to you.”

She hesitated before she said, “I’m not interested in hearing anything you have to say.”

“You may not be, but I need to say it.”

“All right, if it will make you feel better, go ahead.”

“I want you to forgive me for sleeping with Reannan.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“Why did you?”

“I’m not sure. She was different from anyone I had ever met and I just couldn’t resist her advances.”

“I trusted you.”

“I know you did and I’m sorry. I still love you. I want you to quit Sorrento’s. Leave Los Angeles. Come back to Colorado. We’ll get married.”

“I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth,” Jade said, slamming up the phone, and promptly bursting into tears.

She had just buried her face in her hands when she felt the handcuff around her wrist being released.

“Jade, what’s wrong?” Mitch asked, kneeling down beside her, his voice sounding full of concern as he tipped up her chin with one forefinger.

“I hate him,” she sobbed, tears running down her cheeks.

“Who?”

“David.”

“I know,” he said.

She glared at him as though he was somehow responsible.

“You won’t believe what he said to me.”

“Tell me.” His deep voice was soothing, a sympathetic look in his steel-grey eyes.

“While you were in the shower, the phone rang and I answered it. It was David and he had the nerve to tell me he was sorry he had slept with Reannan. Said he still loved me.”

“Do you still love him?”

“No, of course not,” she said, frowning at him. “I trusted him and he slept with that . . .” She stopped.

“Can I ask why you’re crying?”

“Because I’m angry. To think of all the years I wasted on that jerk. Would you believe he asked me to come back to Colorado and marry him, after what he did? Knowing I would have to give up my job with Sorrento’s? Do you know how much money my parents spent to send me to Barbizon’s?”

“Barbizon’s?”

“The modeling school I went to in New York City. It’s one of the most prestigious in the country. I wanted to have a modeling career and in order to do so, I had to go to school to learn how to become a model.”

“I didn’t realize that. I guess I thought it came naturally to women like you.”

Jade smiled through her angry tears. “No, we have to learn how to walk, how to put on our makeup, how to pose for the camera, etcetera.”

“Uh-m-m.”

“I don’t want to talk about David,” she said.

“Okay, but before we change the subject, I want to ask one question.”

“What is it?”

“Earlier you said you were twenty-six.”

“Yes.”

“If you’ve gone with David since High School, and you were engaged, why haven’t you married him before now? Sounds like you’ve been with him for at least ten years.”

She was thoughtful for several minutes as though it took some time to figure out the question.

“It just never seemed to be the right time. First, I wanted to go to modeling school. So I moved to New York City. After I graduated, I signed with an agency who got me the job with Sorrento’s House of Fashion. That required my moving to Los Angeles and since David lived in Colorado, it didn’t make sense to get married. He promised me he would either try to transfer to LA or look for a job there. But that never happened. I loved my job with Sorrento’s, so I wasn’t about to give it up.”

Jade stared at the flag tattoo on his right arm and traced the outline of it with one finger. “Can we talk about something else now?”

Mitch nodded as he wiped the tears from her face with his fingers. She hiccupped, an aftermath of her tears.

“What did you do in the Marines?”

“I was in a Recon Battalion and did two tours of duty in Afghanistan.”

“What’s Recon?”

“Recon stands for reconnaissance. We’re trained to operate behind enemy lines.”

“How long were you in?”

“Four years. After my best friend was killed, I decided I had had enough of war and when the opportunity came to be discharged, I didn’t re-enlist but went home to LA, went to the police academy there and after graduation, joined up with the LAPD.”

“Was it painful to get that tattoo?” she asked, as she continued to run her finger over it.

“Not if you don’t mind having a needle stuck in you a hundred times. I did it as soon as I enlisted in the Marines. Now they don’t allow you to get tattoos after you join up.”

“Why not?”

“Some men were getting carried away with sleeve tattoos, numerous other tattoos, etcetera, and the
Powers That Be
didn’t think it fit the image they were trying to portray.”

She traced the flag again noticing how firm his muscles were in his upper arm.

Mitch smiled down at Jade and lifting his hands, he smoothed the hair back from her face. “Feeling better now?”

She nodded, slightly chagrined.

“Why don’t you shower and dress and I’ll take you out for dinner?”

“I’d like that. I think I’ve worked up an appetite.”

He smiled again as he stood. He wondered if he was making a mistake by being so sympathetic to Jade. He needed to back off and put some distance between them. There was no way he wanted to develop any warm feelings toward her. If she had killed Reannan, he wasn’t about to be visiting her in prison. He grimaced at the thought.

“Go shower while I put on a shirt.”

As Jade went to shower, Mitch’s cell phone rang. The caller ID told him it was Chief Castillo.

“Yeah, Chief,” he said. “What’s up?”

“You know the two suspects I told you about?”

“The shipping manager and the man in the inspection department?”

“Yes. They are no longer on our list of suspects. They both had a solid alibi. So that only leaves Jade. I’m afraid when you return from Milan, we’re going to have to book her as Reannan’s murderer?”

Mitch didn’t know why that should have surprised him, but it did. Had he subconsciously been hoping she would be proven innocent?

“What about the box cutter? Did you find any prints on it?”

“No, it looks like whoever used it was wearing gloves.”

“Get an ID on the plates of the car that was following us there in LA?”

“Unfortunately, the plates were stolen, so that’s a dead end. Having any problems with Jade?”

“Nope.”

“Well, I’ve got to run. I’ll talk to you when you get back unless something else comes up.”

Mitch decided not to mention his conversation with the  Chief to Jade and when she came out of her bedroom thirty minutes later, it was all Mitch could do to keep from whistling.

“You are so beautiful,” he said instead.

He couldn’t believe it when she blushed and looked away. She doesn’t even know how beautiful she is.

He knew he wasn’t the only one who thought so. Even without makeup and her hair back in a ponytail, he had seen men giving her admiring glances. But she didn’t seem to notice. She was one of the few beautiful women he had met over the years who never appeared to play upon their looks. But he wasn’t about to get caught up in the trap of thinking Jade was something she wasn’t.

Knowing he was going to be escorting Jade around Milan, Mitch had packed one suit and several casual outfits. He was wearing one of them now, a pair of dressy black slacks, with a white, short-sleeved knit shirt which accented his dark tan.

With their height and Jade’s looks, they made a striking couple. He knew he was falling for her. But he had told himself time and time again what a big mistake that would be even though the longer he was around her, the less he believed she could be guilty of murder. But even if she was innocent, he shouldn’t fall in love with her. He knew it was a dead end street since he was almost ten years older than her and he was a cop. He was sure there was no way a model like Jade would want to be involved with a cop.

“Do you always carry that gun?” she asked as she appeared to notice the holster he was wearing for the first time.

“Yes,” he said as he shrugged into a black leather jacket.

“How did you get through security with it?”

“The Chief of Police made arrangements with the airlines.”

“But how about here in Italy?”

“We had a special permit overnighted to my office in LA.”

“Do they know why you are with me?”

“No, the chief only told them I was assigned to guard you.”

“Won’t they wonder why?”

“I believe he told them you had had a threat on your life.”

She looked thoughtful. “Do you think you might need the gun?”

“You never know.” He changed the subject. “Are you ready?”

She nodded and followed him to the door. He stood back as she stepped out into the hallway. They rode the elevator down and when they stepped out on the street, Mitch was surprised when Jade slipped her arm through his.

Falling for her would be a big mistake. He reminded himself again he was several yea
rs
older. Maybe his age wasn’t so bad but the fact that he was a cop would probably be a deterrent
.

What could she possibly see in him? What if she really was guilty of murder? That would certainly put paid to any hope he might have of a future relationship with Jade.

When he had e-mailed his brother about the way he was beginning to feel about the model and the reasons it couldn’t possibly work, Matt had written back, saying she would be crazy not to fall for him. Matt had also told him to go for it. He wondered if he should. But until he knew if she was innocent or guilty of Reannan’s murder, he had better cool it.

“Where are we going for dinner?” Jade asked.

“It’s a restaurant within walking distance where I understand they have one of the best risottos in Milan. They have a buffet where you can sample whatever you like and artichokes fixed in a dozen different ways, along with a lot of parmesan cheese.”

Jade laughed. “You’re making me hungrier than I was before.”

Mitch couldn’t help but notice the admiring glances Jade was receiving from the men on the street as they walked toward the restaurant. Even though he wasn’t sure he liked it, he knew he was proud to be seen with her. But he was glad Jade didn’t appear to notice the attention she was getting.

“Tell me about your time in Afghanistan,” Jade said as they finished their dinner.

“I don’t like talking about it.”

“You’ve made me talk about things I didn’t want to talk about,” she reminded him.

“You’re right,” he said, but made no effort to say anything further.

The waiter approached their table and asked if they would like dessert. Both passed and Mitch ordered coffee.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you,” Jade said after coffee was brought for Mitch.

“Shoot.”

“When I told you about finding David in bed with Reannan, I thought your response was a bit over the top. Why would you even care? You hardly know me. And I sometimes have the feeling you don’t even like me.”

He didn’t comment on her last sentence. “It reminded me of what happened to my best friend.”

“Tell me.”

“It’s not something I like to talk about.”

“Please . . .”

He hesitated, reluctant to begin. It was hard to resist her pleading, green eyes. He took a deep breath, blew it out, and began to speak.

“I had known Chase since we were in fifth grade. We went into the Marines together, we took basic together, and Recon training together. We had done one tour of duty in Afghanistan and before our second tour, we were given leave. Of course, we used it to go home to LA. Chase was married to a beautiful girl named Lisa. He wanted to surprise her, so he didn’t tell her he was coming home.”

Mitch stopped to take a swallow of coffee.

“When we reached LA, I went home with him because I had left my car parked at his apartment complex. When we left LA, we wanted to take a cab together to the airport so we wouldn’t have to worry about meeting up before our flight. Chase wanted me to come in and say ‘hello’ to Lisa. Chase quietly unlocked their apartment door and put his fingers to his lips to tell me to keep quiet.”

When he stopped talking, Jade asked, “Was she surprised?”

“She was surprised all right,” he said grimly. “We heard voices coming from the bedroom. Lisa’s voice and a man’s voice. I can still remember the puzzled look on his face as Chase looked at me before he walked down the hall. I stayed by the front door. As he reached the open doorway, he stopped for a minute, gave a loud bellow of anger, and charged into the bedroom.”

He stopped, stared out across the restaurant trying to block the next scene from his memory. It didn’t work and he continued.

“After he disappeared inside the bedroom, I heard yelling and screaming. I ran down the hall to the bedroom. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Lisa was in bed with some man and Chase was hitting him with his fists, time and time again. I was finally able to pull him off before he beat the guy to a pulp.”