Spenser: Stargazer Alien Mystery Brides #3 (Intergalactic Dating Agency) Page 8

  “I don’t get along with my sister,” Vi said. “But something about this doesn’t add up.”

  “She’s just the attorney,” Jana pointed out.

  But Vi shook her head. “She didn’t keep electronic records of these transactions. She knew this was fishy. And I suspect Myra is involved financially based on one of these spreadsheets.”

  “Why?” Hannibal asked.

  “Look at all those contributions ending in 12,” Vi said, pointing to the spreadsheet in question. “She never passes up a chance to slip her lucky number into a business venture.”

  “I’m so sorry, Vi,” Natalie said quietly.

  “Don’t be sorry yet,” Vi said. “Myra’s a total asshole. But I don’t think she was involved in a murder.”

  Natalie opened her mouth and closed it again.

  She had seen this exact scene play out a thousand times in her line of work.

  No one ever wanted to believe that their sibling, their neighbor, their colleague or spin instructor was capable of committing a crime, especially a serious one.

  If someone close to you could do something like that, it meant you had to acknowledge that you were capable too, or that anyone was.

  And that idea was scary enough that no one wanted to face it. It was so much easier to say she would never…

  “I just need some time to figure it out,” Vi said, looking up at Natalie pleadingly.

  Natalie fought her better judgment, acutely aware of all the eyes in the room on her, waiting. She could let this go. She wasn’t even supposed to be investigating.

  But then what would that make her?

  “I will give you twenty-four hours,” she heard herself say. “After that, I’ll have to do the right thing.”

  She got up quickly and headed out of the room.

  She knew she was the bad guy now, the suspended cop who was going to turn in Vi’s sister.

  But there was a right way, and there was a wrong way. And she was already bending the rules to the breaking point.

  She jogged down the stairs to get Barker Posey and her leash.

  Hopefully, a good walk would clear her mind.

  And maybe she could look into finding someplace new to live. If the others were as loyal to Vi as she suspected, Natalie was going to need a new place sooner rather than later.

  15

  Spenser

  Spenser watched Natalie go.

  He wavered between following her and letting her be.

  “Give her a little space,” Jana suggested quietly.

  “I’m going to think,” Vi said, heading back toward her room.

  “She’s going to play that game,” Jana said with an alarmed look on her face.

  When Vi needed to think, she played a game of her own invention, Dancypants 2, which involved a set of sensors on her pants, an amplifier, and some very loud dance music.

  “Come downstairs with us,” Fletcher suggested.

  Jana looked between the brothers and shook her head.

  “I’ll do you one better,” she offered. “I’ll go get us all some comfort food. See you guys in twenty minutes.”

  “Thank you,” Fletcher said, smiling at her so tenderly that Spenser had to look away.

  She kissed him on top of his head and headed out.

  “Let’s go down to our place,” Hannibal said.

  Spenser allowed himself to hope that Natalie and Barker Posey would be there waiting for him. But it was probably a good idea either way.

  They headed into the hallway and down to the second-floor landing. But when Hannibal opened the door to their apartment, there was no one home to greet them.

  Spenser fought to hide his emotions.

  “She’ll be back, brother,” Fletcher said, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

  “I don’t know,” Spenser said.

  It was too hard to articulate the hint of iciness he had seen in Natalie’s expression when she turned away from them, the slight exaggeration in her normally excellent posture as she walked out the door.

  These things were infinitesimal, but to him they communicated volumes.

  A wall had gone up between Spenser and his mate. And he had no idea how to tear it down.

  Or if she even wanted him to.

  “We could tell something was different between the two of you this morning,” Hannibal said. “Did she accept you?”

  “No,” Spenser shook his head sadly, wishing he could bring himself to regret restraining himself. Her desire had been so intense last night that she would have accepted him just to soothe her body. He didn’t want that to be the reason she accepted him. “But we talked about it. And I think she would have been ready to accept me soon.”

  Not soon. Tonight.

  He had hoped she would accept him tonight. And he hadn’t been sure how he would even wait that long.

  Now the future stretched out before him endlessly. A parched desert and Natalie was his only hope of rain.

  “She is your mate, brother,” Fletcher said. “She will accept you. You must give her space.”

  “Space for what?” he demanded, losing his temper. “Space to forget me, to find someone else? Space to decide she doesn’t need to bind herself to an alien?”

  He managed not to say bind herself to an alien and his whole extended family. He knew by instinct that her conflict with Vi was at least part of reason for leaving.

  But some things should not be said.

  And he could not find it in himself to truly resent his brother, or his brother’s mate.

  They were good people, and they were all just doing their best.

  A few minutes later, the door opened and Jana came in, carrying with her the heavenly scent of cheeseburgers and French fries.

  “There wasn’t even a line,” she said happily, laying out her purchases on the coffee table.

  Hannibal put a milkshake in Spenser’s hand and Spenser took a long pull.

  The cold, creamy chocolate filled his senses and he truly did feel a moment of relief from his pain.

  “Everything will be alright, brother,” Hannibal said, thumping him on the back and handing him a cheeseburger. “Just wait and see.”

  “Is this about Natalie?” Jana asked with sparkling eyes. “Man does she have the hots for you, Spenser.”

  Spenser grinned, delighted at this observation.

  Maybe his brothers were right, and things would be just fine.

  Somehow.

  16

  Natalie

  Natalie loaded Barker Posey into her car, followed by her backpack, and then herself.

  Her whole world seemed to be falling down around her ears, but at least she traveled light.

  She pulled out onto Crescent and headed for the main drag out of Stargazer, not even knowing why she was going that way.

  “What am I doing?” she asked Barker Posey.

  The big dog just grinned at her and drooled a little.

  Natalie smiled back and felt a little better.

  In times of personal struggle, she was used to turning to work to soothe her mind. But now she couldn’t even do that.

  Or could she?

  She pulled over and slid out her phone again, glad she had snapshots of all the documents.

  One of the sales agreements had an addendum allowing the owner to occupy the property for a little longer. The name on that one had looked familiar.

  “Gretchen Ramirez,” she read out loud.

  Natalie had gone to school with a Jodi Ramirez who lived out that way.

  She put her phone away and pulled her car out again. The Ramirez place was only a few miles away. She turned up the radio, enjoying the distraction of the short road trip as much as possible.

  A few minutes later, she and Barker Posey got out in front of a small cottage at the end of a long private drive.

  The door opened as they approached.

  “I hope I didn’t startle you,” a woman said. “I heard the car coming down the drive, and I don’t get ma
ny surprise guests.”

  “Good evening, ma’am,” Natalie said. “I was hoping you might be willing to answer a few questions.”

  “You’re that West girl, aren’t you?” the woman asked. “You’re a cop now. Am I in some sort of trouble?”

  “No, not at all,” Natalie said, trying to use the friendliest tone she could muster. “And yes, I’m the West girl. Your daughter is Jodi, right?”

  “That she is,” the woman said. “I’m Gretchen. Won’t you come in?”

  “We can talk out here,” Natalie said. “I don’t want to impose, especially with the dog.”

  She glanced down at Barker Posey, who was sitting politely and smiling at Gretchen Ramirez.

  “Oh nonsense,” Gretchen said, smiling back. “He’s a love. Come on in.”

  Natalie followed her into the house, not bothering to correct the dog’s gender.

  The house was small but tidy. A stack of boxes lined one wall.

  “Can I fix you some coffee?” Gretchen asked. “I don’t have much more. I’m getting ready to move.”

  “Oh, I’m fine,” Natalie said. “Where are you headed?”

  “I’m going to stay with my sister-in-law for a little while,” Gretchen replied. “After that, I’m not sure. Since Paco died, I’ve been kind of spinning my wheels.”

  “I’m so sorry for your loss,” Natalie said, meaning it.

  “Thank you,” Gretchen said. “Anyway, when that lawyer lady came to say they wanted my land, I figured it was a sign to move on.”

  “Do you know who she represented?” Natalie asked.

  “Nah,” Gretchen said. “It’s just some company. I didn’t pay too much attention when I saw they were offering a fair price as-is. I figured she was on the up and up, since she had the chief of police with her.”

  A cold chill went down Natalie’s spine.

  “What did you just say?” she asked.

  “Chief Baker was with her every time she came here,” Gretchen repeated. “Is that normal?”

  Natalie shook her head, her mind spinning.

  “Well, I’ll tell you what, they paid up fast and even let me stay an extra month to pack,” Gretchen confided. “So as far as I’m concerned, she could have brought the Queen of England if she wanted.”

  Natalie nodded.

  The truth was beginning to come together in her mind. She thought about the chief refusing to let her investigate the mayor’s death.

  She thought about the mayor, sitting at his desk with a word puzzle, and her mind latched on to something about the name of the corporation on those documents.

  It couldn’t be that simple.

  Could it?

  “You sure you don’t want some coffee?” Gretchen asked. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

  She needed to go.

  “I’m fine, really,” Natalie said. “Thank you so much for talking with me. This has been so helpful.”

  “If you say so,” Gretchen said dubiously.

  Natalie managed to get herself and Barker Posey back to the car. Before she pulled out her notepad and wrote down the name of the mystery company in block letters at the top of the page.

  KENDRA Z. BOSE.

  She crossed them off one at a time as she rearranged them into a new name in the space below. When she was through, she sighed and looked at her handiwork.

  BAKERS DOZEN.

  Apparently, Mayor Smalls hadn’t been the only one who liked anagrams. He probably never guessed his hobby wold help solve his own murder.

  Natalie studied the notepad.

  BAKERS DOZEN.

  It wasn’t exactly proof, but it was too perfect to be a coincidence. It had the chief’s name in it, plain as day. Plus the number twelve reference that Myra liked to sneak in.

  Natalie had a strong feeling that she would find all the proof she needed with a close look at Myra Croft’s and Chief Baker’s finances.

  How had they missed that?

  And what was she supposed to do with this new piece of intel? Her instincts urged her to share it with Vi and the others, but she suspected she was the last person any of them wanted to see right now.

  No. It was better for her to finish this on her own. No matter how much she wanted to lose herself in Spenser’s warm embrace and forget about the rest of the world for a while.

  Barker Posey gave her a firm lick on the ear and whined, bringing her back to the present.

  The poor thing was probably hungry.

  And she had forgotten the bag of dog food back at 221 B Crescent Street.

  “We’ll just run back and grab it, then see if we can find a good AirBnB,” Natalie told the dog.

  But it was more of a promise to herself.

  She couldn’t afford any more distractions.

  17

  Natalie

  Natalie knocked on the apartment door.

  She had only spent one night in this house, but it was odd to knock, the place already felt strangely familiar to her.

  Spenser opened the door, looked down at her, and smiled as if he had just won the lottery.

  “You came home,” he said in a deep, gruff voice.

  Home…

  Be strong, Natalie.

  “I forgot the dog’s stuff,” she said, not making eye contact.

  “Oh,” he said, stepping back immediately. “Sure, I’ll help you.”

  She could feel his pain as if it were her own, like a knife between her ribs.

  He was already heading into the kitchen.

  She trailed behind him like a ghost.

  “I will help you leave if that’s what you want,” he told her, bending to pick up Barker Posey’s water dish and heading to the sink with it. “But I hope you’ll reconsider.”

  “This whole situation is so sticky,” Natalie said, grateful that he had his back to her, so she could speak without having to look at his face. “It doesn’t feel right to be staying here in Vi’s space with her family, when I know what I’m going to have to do.”

  “You don’t know yet, right?” Spenser asked, turning to her. “Vi still has overnight to look into it.”

  “Yes,” Natalie agreed. “That’s what I promised her, and I’m a woman of my word. But I should never have made that promise.”

  “Why not?” Spenser asked.

  “Because that’s not how it’s done,” Natalie said. “Waiting gives the suspect time to cover their tracks. Every minute is valuable in law enforcement.”

  “You think Vi will warn her sister,” Spenser realized out loud.

  He wasn’t wrong.

  “Not necessarily,” Natalie hedged. “Myra’s smart. She could notice that someone has been in her files. The assistant will tell her the door was open.”

  “Hm,” Spenser said.

  She felt a tug in the bond between them.

  Being mates means we are honest with each other, no matter what…

  “I also worry that Vi will tell Myra,” Natalie admitted. “Not because Vi is a bad person, but because family is family.”

  “Loyalty is hard to shake,” Spenser said, nodding. “And Vi is a loyal person. But I believe she sees Hannibal and Jana as her family even more than Myra.”

  That was very possibly true, and the main reason Natalie had given her time.

  But a good cop wouldn’t have done it.

  She had allowed her emotions to interfere.

  And she couldn’t allow that to happen again.

  “Well, I guess we should get going,” Natalie said, nodding down at Barker Posey, who was half asleep on the end of her leash.

  “Why don’t you stay here for the night?” Spenser offered. “You can have my room. I’ll sleep in Hannibal’s since he’ll be downstairs. You can wrap things up here in the morning if you need to, and find another place if you think it’s best. But, Natalie… I hope you will stay.”

  Her heart twisted and writhed in her chest, but she took a deep breath and steeled herself. It wasn’t fair to him to keep him dangling
like this.

  “Spenser, I’m attracted to you and I care about you a lot,” she began. “But I don’t like the way I’ve changed since we got involved. It’s important to me to do the right thing. But from the moment we laid eyes on each other I’ve been sneaking around, breaking and entering, bending the rules… It doesn’t feel like me. I need to go back to my regular life. I know you’ll find another mate, someone cut out for the life you have here with your brothers.”

  His face had fallen steadily as she spoke. She watched him for a moment, hoping he wouldn’t fight her on this. She wasn’t sure she could hold up to an argument with this man who made her heart pound so fast.

  “I understand, Natalie,” he said. “I would never want you to be unhappy. But there will never be another mate for me. If you ever change your mind, I will be here, waiting for you.”

  She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

  “I still hope you will stay here for the night,” he went on. “It’s too late to look for another place. You have my promise that I won’t come near you. I just want to know you and Barker Posey are okay.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  It was impossible not to notice that in a world where her mentor was dead, the chief was involved in a shady land deal, a prominent local attorney was likely a murderer, and even Natalie herself was behaving out of character, Spenser was still himself - true to his core.

  It was going to be hell letting go of him.

  But what choice did she have?

  18

  Spenser

  Spenser lay in bed, gazing out the window at the moonlight filtering through the trees.

  It was odd to be borrowing his brother’s room, sleeping in a different bed.

  But it was even more odd to know that Natalie was just on the other side of the wall, sleeping in his bed again, this time without him.

  His heart ached at the memory of her words.

  I don’t like the way I’ve changed since we got involved…

  He loved and supported her the best way he knew how. But what she had said told him he’d gotten everything wrong.