Playing with Fire (16 page)

“Glad I caught you, Cassie.” Harley Graham’s voice held that paternal tone to it. “I think we need to discuss something, honey.”

Her stomach clenched. “Are you all ganging up on me?” she demanded.

He was silent for a moment. “I’m not trying to lecture you, but you’ve been away from this town for a long time. There are things you don’t know, things best left alone. Griffin Hunter isn’t someone you should be letting into your house and your life.”

“Is that right?” She gripped the phone so hard her hand hurt. “Well, thanks for your concern, Harley, but Griffin and I are doing just fine.”

“Let me give you a piece of advice, then. If you’re so dead set on hooking up with him, I suggest you leave your sister’s death alone. Stir things up too much, and Hunter could end up in jail.”

She seethed, hanging onto her temper with a frayed rope. “I’m going to pretend we didn’t have this conversation, Harley. I have to go now. Bye.”

She had to restrain herself from throwing the phone across the room. After checking the time, she showered, ate a quick sandwich, and left for her appointment with Neil, girding herself for yet another attack. She’d dressed in cool navy cotton slacks and a sleeveless navy and pink top, pulling her hair up in a ponytail and tying pink and blue ribbons around it. Silver hoops at her ears completed her outfit. Texas had turned up its thermostat, and she needed comfort, not style.

She checked herself in the mirror. Not bad. Casual without being too informal. Just the right note.

Neil and Cyrus were both in Neil’s office when she got there. Her stomach knotted at the sight of them. This would not be fun. She was not in the mood for a lecture and all she could see in this meeting was disaster.

“You’re looking lovely, as always.” Cyrus rose to take her hand. “You look well.”

Okay, we’re going for charm today
. “I’m fine, Cyrus. Thank you. I didn’t expect to see you here today. I didn’t think things were so complicated it would take both of you to handle it.”

“Just making sure we cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s,” Neil told her. “Sit down, Cassie. Would you like some coffee? Iced tea?”

“Iced tea would be nice, thank you.”

Neil buzzed his secretary with the request then leaned back in his chair.

Cassie looked at both men for a long minute. “All right, let’s have it. Is this more of what you came to visit me about yesterday, Cyrus?”

“I want you to understand we have your best interest at heart,” he began.

“I’m sure you huddled together after your stop at my house, so why don’t we just cut to the chase? If you want to talk to me about Griffin Hunter, forget it. End of discussion.”

“Cassie.” Neil’s voice was firm. “You’ve been away from Stoneham for years. College, then work. I’m sure you don’t even remember the reputation he had when you lived here. And let’s not forget Diane’s death. As far as the town is concerned, he’s still the top suspect. He’s not someone you want to spend time with.”

She mentally counted to ten. “I know a lot more about Griffin than you think.” She sounded much calmer than she felt. “And I’ll bet more than you or anyone else in this town does. Besides, he was cleared in Diane’s death, remember? I appreciate your concern, but please stay out of my personal business.”

“You know, your mother’s estate could be considered sizable by some,” Cyrus persisted.

Cassie gaped at him. “You think Griffin’s after my money? How absurd. And even if he were, that’s also my business. So. Did you file the papers this morning? The courthouse can’t have so much business that you didn’t get it done. And the insurance forms.”

The two McLeods looked at each other.

“What? You think you’ll hold me hostage with paperwork?” She leaned forward and stared each of them in the eye in turn. “Guess again. I thought we could do this in a friendly manner, but I’d be just as happy to get a lawyer from San Antonio to straighten this out.”

Cyrus stood and looked at Neil. “I’m done here. Maybe you can talk some sense into her, but I doubt it.” His posture was rigid, his gait stiff as he walked from the office.

“You’re making a big mistake,” Neil told her.

“Then it’s my mistake. I appreciate your concern, but everything’s fine. Show me what I have to sign.”

At the end of a half hour, they were done. Neil used every opportunity to interject comments, but she ignored him. She sat while he faxed the claim forms back to the insurance company, making sure she got a name and phone number so she could follow up herself. Then she put all the copies of the paperwork in her purse and stood to leave.

Neil walked her to the office door. “Are you planning to stay in the house or sell it? Just curious, you know.”

“I’m listing it with Carol Markham. She came by and dropped off her card the other day. Thank you for arranging that.”

He put his hand on her arm, a gesture that made her skin crawl.

“You’ll need some help going through everything,” he said. “I’d be more than happy to do that. Your mother had great confidence in me these past years.”

She shook her head. “Thanks anyway, but I think Griffin and I can manage.”

“Cassie, you’re taking a viper into your nest. You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for.”

“On the contrary. I know exactly who I’m taking into my house.”

“Then at least rethink this nonsense about reopening Diane’s case. Let her rest in peace.”

Cassie’s jaw dropped. “In peace? With her killer still running around loose? You see, I’ll never believe Griff did it, so the real killer is still out there somewhere.”

“Honey, do yourself a favor. Clean everything up and go back to Tampa. You have a nice life there.”

“Thanks for everything, Neil. I think I can tackle it from here.” She left him standing with a polite smile pasted on his face.

She didn’t fare much better with the chief.

“It’s all over town,” he told her.

“Oh? And what is it you’re talking about here? The funeral? Does that mean I should expect a big crowd?”

“Cassie, you know what I mean. I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you.” His words were heavy with censure. “There isn’t a person in Stoneham who doesn’t know you’re playing house with Griffin Hunter.” He fixed her with a grim stare.

“Well, Chief,” she snapped, “I’m so sorry everyone here hasn’t anything better to do than discuss my private life.”

“I think you’re deliberately missing the point. Forgetting about your sister for a minute, you come from a fine family. I knew your folks real well. Griffin Hunter is pure trash. He’ll be nothing but trouble for you.”

She gritted her teeth to keep her temper in check. “I’ll keep that in mind. Do you have those reports for me?”

He picked up a large envelope from his desk, tapped it against his fingers before handing it over. “I don’t know what you expect to find here. There isn’t much. If you don’t know how to read them, you might misunderstand a lot of stuff.”

She didn’t want to tell him that for a solid year in Tampa all she did was read police dailies, looking for any kind of story to follow up. He might change his mind about giving the envelope to her.

“You might also want to remember there’s still a chance to discredit Griffin’s alibi,” he added.

“After six years?” She shook her head, incredulous.

“Fine, Cassie. Whatever. I’ll see you at the funeral tomorrow.” As she stood to leave, he rose, too. “You let me know if you need anything, okay?”

She wanted to tell him it would be a cold day in hell before she asked anyone in this town for anything, but she kept her mouth shut. This week, she still needed people to talk to her. She didn’t want to burn her bridges just yet.

Her final stop was the bank. Howard Cook had been their banker for as long as she could remember. She knew from her sparse contact with her mother he’d been a big help selling her father’s accounting practice when he died, and investing the money for her.

He came out of his office to get her as soon as she walked into the lobby. “Neil called and said you’d be down,” he said. “Nice to see you, Cassie. Come on into my office, and we’ll take care of stuff.”

“Thank you.” She swallowed a sigh, wondering what
this
encounter would be like.

He fussed with getting her in a comfortable chair, asked his secretary to bring them coffee, then opened a folder he had on top of his desk, and looked at the top sheet. “Neil told me you had all the right papers, honey. This should be real simple. All we need to do is add your signature to the account, take your mama’s off, and we’ll be set. Or you can open a new one and transfer it, if you want.”

“I want to draw it all out.”

Howard’s eyes snapped wide open. “Cassie, there’s a tidy sum of money here. All the direct deposits from the annuity go in here. That’d be a mess for you to change.”

She almost laughed at his expression. “I’d like a cashier’s check, please, and I’m taking care of the arrangements for the annuities.”

Howard sat back in his chair, hands folded in front of him, his gaze firm on her. “Forgive me for intruding where I’m not wanted, but I understand you’ve been, uh…seeing Griffin Hunter since you got to town.”

“Yes.”
Here we go again
. She took care to keep her face blank. “In fact, I’m thinking of taking out an ad in the paper, just in case there’s someone who might have missed the news bulletin.”

Howard leaned forward in his chair. “Now, honey, this is just a small town where everyone takes care of everyone else. That’s all.”

“Like you took care of my sister?” she snapped.

His face turned an ugly shade of red. “Your sister brought her troubles on herself. You’ve always been the nice girl in the family. I guess folks just want to keep it that way. You’d do well to remember that, despite his alibi, Griffin was the one person with a real motive.”

“Well, you can tell
folks
I appreciate their concern, but I’m doing just fine. I don’t believe Griffin killed my sister. Not for a minute. He’s not after my money, but, if he were, it’s my money to give. Now, may I have a cashier’s check? I’ll sign the form to close the account.”

At last, Howard gave in with poor grace, and, in fifteen minutes, she was done.

“I hear you’re selling the house.”

“My, my, the town has been busy. Yes. I’m listing it with Carol Markham.”

“Well, if you need any help going through all that stuff, sorting through things, you just let me know.”

She escaped with her temper still intact.

Before heading home, she drove to the other side of town, to the tiny Bank of America branch. They’d opened just before she left, serving everyone who didn’t want Howard Cook sticking his nose in their business. That’s where her account was in Florida, and, in just a few minutes, they’d taken care of her deposit. She felt somewhat better getting her financial affairs out of the gossip sheet.

Tired and sweaty, she headed home. But rattling around in her mind was the question of why people were so eager to help her sort through the things in her mother’s house. What was it these men thought she’d find? And were hoping she wouldn’t find.

She got that itch on the back of her neck that plagued her whenever she was on the trail of a dicey story. Someone was up to no good.

She lay on the living room couch, a cold rag draped across her forehead and a glass of wine at her fingertips, when Griffin got home.

He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “Hard day, sugar?”

“You don’t know the half of it.” She pulled off the washcloth and sat up, fire in her eyes. “I swear to God, Griff, I don’t know how you live in this place.”

He chuckled. “Get the third degree today, did you? And warnings about bad boy Griffin Hunter?”

“You don’t know the half of it. Everyone wants to mind my business for me. I don’t think they’ll be quite as friendly after everything I said, though.”

“Did you give ’em hell, sugar?” He grinned.

“You bet.” She went to him and tried to put her arms around him, but he held her away.

“I need a shower before you touch me. I have every kind of dirt and fertilizer stuck to me.”

“I’ll come shower with you.” Her boldness continued to grow.

The blue in Griffin’s eyes turned a shade darker. “Come on, then,” he told her, in his low husky voice.

Under the hot, steady stream, they took great care soaping each other’s bodies. Not an inch of skin on either one was left untouched, but, when Cassie stroked Griffin’s hardened cock, he pushed her hand away.

“Uh-uh, sugar. I’m not wasting it tonight. I have plans for later.” He nuzzled her ear, licking the rim with the tip of his tongue. “I want to do things with you that haven’t even been invented yet. I wish I could suck you into my body and keep you there forever.” Then, in direct contradiction, he leaned her against the shower wall, spread her legs with his feet and used his fingers to bring her to orgasm.

“No fair,” she gasped.

He laughed, a warm sound rumbling up from his chest. “You recover faster than I do.”

Cassie was in no mood to cook, so Griffin went to pick up Chinese takeout. She refilled her wine glass and sat down to read what she’d gotten from Barry Dangler.

The incident report didn’t offer much. The patrol officers first on the scene had given their story of finding the body. The crime scene people hadn’t been able to do much with the site. None of the ground around the area had yielded any good prints to analyze, and scour as they might, they could find nothing to indicate who might have been with her.

She turned to the autopsy report, which was a pretty straightforward document. Diane had been choked—although that wasn’t the cause of death—struck several times on the head with something hard, and her body tossed down into the ravine. Any of the blows to the head could have killed her. And, just for good measure, the fall also broke her neck.

Cassie was halfway through the rest of the details when something stopped her cold. She read it three times to make sure she was not mistaken. She was shocked, enraged, furious—every kind of angry she could think of. If Diane had been standing in front of her, Cassie would have killed her herself. She pounded her fist on the table until it ached then threw the folder across the room. She needed to tell Griff about this.