Chapter Seventeen
Marissa stared at Red Fred in disbelief. She’d been so sure that her teens had been innocent.
“Shut up,” Jose growled at Red Fred.
But his friend didn’t back down. “I’m not gonna let you take the fall for it. That would be wrong,” Red Fred said. “It wasn’t Jose’s idea. It was mine.”
“Why?” she asked him. “Why would you vandalize and steal?”
“What?” Red Fred frowned in confusion. “We didn’t do that. Tell them, Jose.”
“They don’t believe anything I say, man,” Jose said.
“You haven’t actually said much,” Marissa reminded him.
“What’s the point? Cop Dude doesn’t believe me,” Jose said. “Look at him. You can read his face like a book.”
Marissa looked at Connor. Yes, he was wearing his impassive don’t-mess-with-me expression. “That’s his cop face,” Marissa said. “He looked at me that way when I was in the Founders’ Day Parade. It doesn’t mean he thinks you’re lying.” Marissa nudged Connor. “Tell them.”
“It means you’re in trouble.” He expanded his glare to include Marissa. “All of you.”
Jose immediately leaped to her defense. “Library Lady didn’t know what we were planning. Don’t involve her or she’ll lose her job.”
“What are you talking about?” Marissa said.
“Molly told us that she heard that crabby old library board dude threatening you yesterday at the library booth.”
“He didn’t actually threaten me,” Marissa said.
“Then what did he actually do?” Connor asked.
“You already know that he’s not a happy camper about our teen program,” Marissa said. “He was just spewing off steam about that.”
Connor returned his attention to Red Fred. “So if you’re not confessing to the theft and vandalism, then what are you confessing to doing?”
“Dios mio.” Mrs. Martinez sank into a faded plastic chair on the front porch.
Jose turned to her in concern. “You need to go inside and take your medicine. It’s too hot out here for you. Let me help you.”
Mrs. Martinez shook her head. “I won’t desert you if you’re in trouble.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “Marissa will look out for me, right?”
“Yes,” she said. “Absolutely.”
“Don’t say a word until I come back,” Jose ordered Red Fred.
The instant Jose was inside, Red Fred said, “He’s my bud so he’s looking out for me as best he can.”
“Were you at the festival after closing time?” Connor asked.
Red Fred nodded.
“Why?”
“We heard that a number of the booths in the Food Hall were tossing their leftover food to start fresh the next day. So we hid until after closing time and went Dumpster diving. My mom is having a really hard time lately. She’s too proud to go to the food pantry or get food stamps or ask for help.”
Marissa’s heart broke at the thought of her teens having to grub in the garbage for food. “Why didn’t you say anything? You know you’re not the only one who’s having money trouble right now.”
“My mom made me promise not to say anything to anyone.”
Jose rejoined them. “I should have made you promise me the same thing.”
“Are we going to jail?” Red Fred asked, fear making his voice tremble.
It was all Marissa could do not to pull him into her arms and give him a reassuring hug.
Connor’s response was slightly different. “That food can make you sick,” he said.
“We only took stuff that was still wrapped and nonperishable. They were wasting it. We didn’t steal it because they’d already tossed it. We heard them say something about the town regulations not allowing anything that was already opened. Even hot dog buns and stuff.”
“What about the graffiti and the food pantry money
box?”
Red Fred stared at him blankly. “We only took food from the Dumpster. Nothing else. No money box. And we sure didn’t stop to leave any graffiti. We’re not stupid. Why leave a message that we’d been there? Tell them, Jose.”
“We’re not stupid,” he said. “You want us to swear we didn’t tag nothing or steal no money, we’ll do it. We’ll swear on my grandmother’s Bible.” Jose went inside the house and returned a moment later with a well-worn Bible in his hand. He thrust it at Connor. “You hold it.” He placed his hand on it, as did Red Fred. “We swear we didn’t steal any money or vandalize nothing.”
“Anything,” Connor corrected.
“Huh?”
“Didn’t vandalize anything,” Connor said.
“We didn’t vandalize anything,” the two teens said in unison.
Jose glared at Connor as he retrieved his grandmother’s Bible. “That good enough for you?”
Connor nodded. “For now.”
“Don’t tell my grandmother,” he said. “Or Red Fred’s
mom.”
“Where do they think the food came from?” Connor said.
“That we were paid with groceries for helping at the library booth,” Red Fred said. “My mom doesn’t ask a lot of questions.”
“Unlike you,” Jose said, with another glare at Connor.
Connor’s expression remained impassive. “I’m just doing my job. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make the tag look like your work. Who has a grudge against you?”
“Old Library Dude was not pleased that I won that poetry jam at the Rhubarb Festival,” Jose said.
“I remember,” Connor said. “He complained to me about it. Anyone else seem angry with you lately?”
“Besides you?” Jose said before stepping back at Connor’s glare. “No, not really. No more than usual.”
Fifteen minutes later, Connor and Marissa were sitting together in his police SUV.
“They didn’t do it,” she said. “You believe that, right?”
His cell phone rang, preventing him from answering. It was the mayor calling. Connor put him on speakerphone. “I heard you’re in front of Jose Martinez’s house,” the mayor said. “Did you arrest him?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m still conducting the investigation,” Connor said.
“I don’t want anything ruining the reputation of the Corn Festival,” the mayor said. “We’ve got folks coming from all over the state. Rumors are already circulating about the robbery and vandalism. I need to assure everyone that the culprit has been caught.”
“And that will happen when I find the culprit.”
“It’s Jose.”
“I lack sufficient evidence to prove that,” Connor said.
“Chester told you he saw him running away.”
“Chester had an ax to grind with Jose, so he’s not what I’d call an impartial witness,” Connor said. “Look, I’ll let you know when I have more information.”
“It better be soon,” the mayor warned. “Real soon.”
After disconnecting the call, Connor told Marissa, “Someone went to a lot of trouble to make that tag look like Jose’s work. I can’t see Chester risking his position in the community by pulling something like this.”
“I can’t believe the mayor is eager to throw a fifteen-year-old kid in jail.”
“He’s eager to pin the blame on someone.”
“Then we have to find the right someone, the real guilty party.”
“What’s with this ‘we’?”
“Don’t sound so panicked. I’m not talking about picking out wedding china for us. I mean, you’re my rebound guy.”
“Is that all last night meant to you?”
“Why are you sounding crabby? I thought you’d be reassured that I wasn’t trying to build a white picket fence around you.”
“I already knew your views on marriage,” he said.
“I’m not real eager to jump back into that. And I know you’re not interested in marriage. You’ve made that clear. So trust me, you don’t have to worry that I’ll be needy. I can stand on my own two feet.”
“So you wouldn’t mind if I dated other women?”
“Would you mind if I dated other men?” she countered.
“Hell, yes!”
“Then you’re saying you want this thing between us to be exclusive and monogamous?”
“Damn right,” he said emphatically.
She smiled. “That works for me.”
“Good. Now, getting back to this case…”
“Right,” she said. “All we have to do is figure out who is trying to frame Jose.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t get involved in the investigation.”
“I’m already involved. I care about Jose and Red Fred and the rest of the gang.”
“I know you do.”
“And I know that you care about them, too, even if you do have your own unique way of showing it.”
“I’m not going to respond to that comment.”
“I don’t expect you to. If Chester wasn’t involved, then who else had an ax to grind from the poetry jam?”
Connor shrugged. “Anyone could have been upset at Jose’s taking the Lord’s name in vain or using the word penis in his poem.”
“Did anyone other than Chester complain to you?”
Connor shook his head. “I can check to see if anyone lodged a formal complaint with the department but nothing Jose said or did was illegal.”
“I heard something about someone else thinking they should have won.”
“The mayor’s granddaughter,” he said.
“Really? That’s interesting.”
“You think the mayor planned the vandalism?”
“No, but his granddaughter might have had a hand in it.”
“She’s never been in trouble before.”
“There’s always a first time.” Her words reminded her that Connor had been her first and here she was, sleeping with him again. And it was as good as ever. Better. They were both older and more experienced. Well, he was probably more experienced than she was.
She was still rather amazed at the way she’d gone to his place last night and told him she wanted him. That was so Rissa the Rebel. Not that she’d ever done that back in the day.
True, she’d kissed Connor before he’d kissed her when they were teens but that was as far as her bad girl act went. After that Connor had made the moves and she’d appreciated them. Okay, she’d done more than just appreciated them. She’d encouraged them.
But the bottom line was that she hadn’t been the one to make such a bold move. To come out and state what she wanted.
As far as her ex was concerned, Brad had been the one to chase her. And it seemed that once he had the wedding ring on her finger, she was no longer a challenge for him. She hoped the day would soon come when her ex would no longer play any part in even a passing thought of hers.
As she’d told Connor, she wasn’t foolish enough to think he was the One. Or that even if he was, he’d feel the same way about her. She just wanted to live in the moment and enjoy every single orgasm as it came.
Was that so wrong? Did that make her a wicked woman? Did she care if it did? She was single and so was he.
Okay, what were they talking about before thinking about having sex with Connor distracted her? Who had framed Jose. Right. She could probably think more clearly if she wasn’t sitting next to Connor.
“I need to go question more people at the Corn Festival,” he said. “And no, you may not come with me.”
“I wasn’t going to ask to.”
“Liar.” He made the accusation sound like a sexy compliment, which went a long way to appeasing her irritation at his dismissal. Not that she needed him. She had contacts of her own.
“I’ve got plenty of things to do,” she said as she exited his vehicle.
He got out and accompanied her to her demon VW, opening the door for her and closing it once she was inside. The second she started the car, the music started blaring.
“?‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ by Green Day,” Connor said. “This is where I came in.”
“I still can’t get the damn thing to stop. It’s possessed. It plays whatever song on the CD playlist I did up. I can’t get the CD to eject or the music to stop.”
When Connor leaned toward her she thought he meant to kiss her. Instead he reached for the CD player on the dash and forcefully punched the eject button. To her amazement, the CD obediently popped out and silence ensued.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she said.
“I have the magic touch,” he said with fake modesty.
“Yes, you do.” She gave him her best version of a sultry look. “I’d kiss you but I suspect that half the neighborhood is watching us. So I’ll owe you one tonight.”
“I’m holding you to that,” he said huskily.
“I’m counting on it,” she replied. “I’ll see you later.”
He nodded and stepped away from her car.
Had he stayed a moment longer, she doubted she’d have been able to resist giving him that kiss she’d promised. This was starting to feel a lot like love and not just lust. She felt a moment of panic before shoving it aside. Living in the moment meant not worrying about the future.
Jose was the one she needed to be worried about clearing. The sooner she did that, the better.
* * *
Connor spent the rest of the morning re-questioning people of interest working at the festival. The security people hadn’t seen anything. Since the event was a temporary one, there was no monitoring from video cameras. He spoke with Brenda and Flo again as well as people working the neighboring booths.
“The mayor said that Jose did it,” Flo said. “Why are you still asking questions? I thought the investigation was over.”
“It’s not.”
“You don’t think I stole the money, do you?” Brenda demanded.
“We’re not ruling out anything at this point,” Connor said.
“But you are ruling out that I stole it, right?” Flo said.
“Like I said, we’re not ruling out anything.”
Flo glared at him.
Connor put on his sunglasses to ward off her evil eye. He’d told his deputies to be extra vigilant today. “I expect you to wrap this thing up ASAP,” the mayor told him before hurrying off to moderate one of the many presentations going on at the main stage.
Connor was able to grab some award-winning grilled corn on the cob for lunch. As he passed the Kernel Fabulous popcorn stand, he remembered Marissa’s sister, Jess, getting some for her birthday. He wondered if Marissa liked it, too. There was still a lot he didn’t know about her.
He was looking forward to making more discoveries tonight. In the meantime, he headed to headquarters to file required paperwork about his investigation. En route, his cell rang. It was his paternal grandfather, Buddy Doyle.
“I heard via the grapevine that the two Polish broads from Chicago visited you a few weeks back,” Buddy said.
“Logan told you, didn’t he.” Connor made it a statement not a question.
“He said something about you calling him crying from your balcony.”
“Logan is delusional. I was not crying.”
“I’m glad to hear that, boyo. Not that your mother hasn’t made grown men cry before. She sure made your dad weep in his beer on more than one occasion.”
“I don’t think she ever forgave him for not giving up alcohol for her,” Logan said.
“It wasn’t that easy,” Buddy said. “Your dad had a disease and it took him years to acknowledge that and get help. But he’s sober now.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“What about you?” Buddy asked. “Have you forgiven him?”
“I don’t think about stuff like that.”
“Right. That sissy emotional stuff, huh?”
“Look who’s talking. The man who’d rather walk on hot coals than admit to emotional stuff,” Logan said.
“Ingrid has taught me a lot.”
His grandfather had married Ingrid West more than a year ago. Ingrid was Logan’s wife’s grandmother so once again the family tree got tangled. God knew his dad’s various marriages and Connor’s much younger half brothers already created a complicated web.
“Is Ingrid still talking about the Swedish mob?” Connor asked.
“Ingrid talks about all things Swedish. She’s very proud of her heritage.”
“As are you. Irish through and through, eh?” Logan said.
“Ingrid and I make a good combo. Logan seems to have found a good combo in Megan as well. I don’t know why he fought meeting her for so long. Stubborn. That’s what you boys are.”
“My mom blames that on my dad.”
“Ha!” Buddy paused a moment before sheepishly admitting, “She may have a point there.”
“I hope you’re taking your meds and going to your doctor appointments.”
“Ingrid is worse than a Marine drill sergeant regarding those things.”
“Sounds like she’s taking good care of you.”
“Yeah. It’s mutual,” Buddy said. “How are things going with you?”
“Good.”
“Logan said there’s a new woman in your life.”
“We already confirmed that Logan is delusional.”
“Don’t make me come down there,” his granddad growled. “You know my interrogation skills can’t be beat.”
“You don’t have to come to Hopeful.”
“Then tell me what’s going on.”
“Why this sudden interest? First Mom grills me and now you.”
“I’ll bet she was trying to matchmake, wasn’t she? That’s nothing new. Why did that spook you?”
“I am not spooked,” Connor said.
“Because Doyle men don’t get spooked?”
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I sure as hell don’t.”
“Right. And that’s why you left your job in Chicago and hightailed it out of town.”
“Being burned-out isn’t the same thing as being spooked. Undercover work is…”
“I know what it is,” his grandfather, a longtime veteran of the Chicago Police Department, said. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“I know you don’t approve. Logan stayed and I left. So that makes me what…a coward in your eyes?”
“No way. Sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is move on. I know too many cops get professionally numb over the years. They have to, in order to survive. But it can make them less of a cop. You always wanted to do good and to make a difference. You were always like that. Even as a little kid. I’m guessing that’s easier to do where you are now?”
“Yes.”
“So how does the woman fit into this?”
“We’re working together on a program to help teens at risk.”
“A lot of the local departments have a special school liaison. So she’s a police officer?”
“No.”
“A teacher then?”
“No. She’s a librarian.”
“Uh-oh,” Buddy said. “Your brother married a librarian.”
“I’m aware of that,” Connor said. “I was there. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Don’t you think it’s strange that you’re having trouble with a librarian?”
“Who said I was having trouble?”
“Logan.”
“Don’t the two of you have anything better to do than gossip about me?”
“Maybe I could give you some help, you know…in the romance department.”
“I don’t need any help in the romance department.”
“Well, you never have in the past,” Buddy said. “But you seem to have run into some difficulty with this new girl.”
“I’ve got to go.”
“If you need help, you know you can call me.”
“Right. Bye, Granddad.”
“Hold on. That offer goes for cop stuff, too,” his grandfather said.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t let something eat you up inside like Logan did.”
“His partner died. I didn’t have that experience.”
“Maybe not, but you had something happen that hit you hard deep inside, where healing doesn’t come easy. Like I said, you can talk to me anytime.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
Connor knew all about the intervention his granddad had staged with Logan, who was having terrible nightmares and suffering from guilt about his partner’s shooting. The guy had died in Logan’s arms.
There was something about having someone die in your arms that changed you forever. Connor was trained to deal with emergency situations but there was nothing like the trauma of a kid’s bloody death to destroy any idea that life was either fair or predictable.
Connor’s undercover work had ended that day. He’d stayed on the force for a while longer, working with kids. He’d tried to steer them away from gangs and drugs and toward programs and places that could help. But he’d failed so many times that something inside of him had atrophied.
He’d ended up walking away. Just like he’d walked away from Marissa all those years ago. He’d made a mess of things. He hadn’t expected or wanted to fall for Marissa back then. He’d just had his heart broken by his first love, who’d dumped him, and he wasn’t looking for complications.
He still wasn’t looking for complications but he sure as hell had them. Only this time Marissa was the one who’d had her heart broken by her cheating ex and he was the one with questions.
Earlier today, Marissa had cheerfully explained to him that he was her rebound guy and that she wasn’t looking for anything serious. Her statement should have reassured him instead of irritated him.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Connor didn’t have time to ponder that question because Spider and Nadine were waiting for him at the station.
“We need to talk to you,” Spider said. “In private,” he added. “It’s urgent.”