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* * *
Luke ducked under the crime-scene tape and slipped a pair of blue bootees over his shoes while studying the mechanic shop. Eric did the same. So much for getting a solid night’s sleep. Crime never rested, and he wouldn’t have been able to anyway. Piper was back and mixed up in this somehow. A train sounded in the distance. Horns blared and tires squealed over Poplar Avenue, piercing through the chilled night.
A uniform filled him and Eric in on the scene at hand. “Girlfriend said he didn’t come to bed. Found the vic in the bay. His face is pretty mangled.”
Luke followed the officer into the bay, the smell of oil and exhaust wrinkling his nose. A Caucasian male, early thirties, lay in a pool of blood, a stained tire iron beside him. That would definitely rough up a face. Brought back memories of poor Ellen Strosbergen.
It might have been used to bloody the vic’s face. But from what Luke could tell, it wasn’t the cause of death. The man’s head was lying at an odd angle.
“Neck broke?” Eric asked.
“Pretty sure. I’m interested to know which came first, the bludgeoning to the face and head or the snapped neck. Medical examiner on his way?” Luke browsed the area. Two cars raised on jacks, a few tires lying around. Tools in disarray, but not due to someone tossing the place—just seemed business as usual. A few greasy rags dotted the grimy concrete floor.
“Yeah. Crime-scene unit, too,” the officer said.
“Name?”
“Tyson Baroni. Thirty-four. Owns the shop. We called his next of kin. Has a brother that lives in Arlington.”
Tyson Baroni. He was hardly recognizable. Luke’s stomach soured, and he chomped on the inside of his lip. Squatting, he carefully retrieved Baroni’s wallet. A card fell out.
He read the name scrawled across the middle.
God, why now? I’m finally getting beyond it after all this time.
“Whose card is that, Ransom?” Eric asked.
“Piper Kennedy’s. Business card for her dojo in Jackson.”
“The granddaughter from the hospital?” Eric’s eyes held questions.
“Yep.” Piper claimed she wasn’t involved, that she was clean. “I want to talk to the coroner and the girlfriend. Rule her out.” He reached into his jacket pocket and popped two antacids. With skilled martial-arts training, Piper was more than capable of snapping a neck. Was the girlfriend? Dread churned like a frosty tornado.
“What do you think she had in common with him?” Eric stared at the body, squinting.
Everything. “Ten years ago, Baroni ran with Chaz Michaels. A low-life dirtbag who got his jollies burglarizing the elderly who lived in wealthy neighborhoods. He was the wheels.”
“You think he had something to do with the robbery-homicide earlier? How does that link with the granddaughter?”
Luke stretched his neck from one side to the other. “Piper Kennedy was Chaz Michaels’s girlfriend for a while.” And much more. “She and Baroni were friends.”
Eric stroked his thumb across his lower lip. “So, you like Baroni for the robbery and think the Kennedy chick retaliated for knocking her grandmother around?”
Possibly. Whoever was in Mama Jean’s basement had a mission. The question was: Did they accomplish it? Did they find what they were after? And if not, what next?
“Let’s interview the girlfriend, then pay Piper a visit when sun’s up and ask.” Luke had hoped he wouldn’t have to see Piper again—at least not under these circumstances. Where she was concerned, he had a hard time discerning truth.
God, give me the strength to see clearly.
TWO
“It has to be Chaz. A tire iron? Interesting choice of weapon.” Piper gnawed her thumbnail. Had she made the right decision not calling Luke or the police in general? Her thigh throbbed.
Harmony laid a hand on Piper’s shoulder. “No way. Why now? It makes no sense.”
“He’s come to get even. He has to believe I knew Luke was undercover the whole time.” Which she hadn’t. By the time she found out, she was already in love with Luke. “He blames me for Sly getting caught and going to prison for assaulting Ellen Strosbergen. Or he thinks I took something from the house.”
“Did you?”
“What do you think?” Piper paced the kitchen floor. “I should call the police.”
Harmony sighed. “You said yourself Luke suspects you. Will he believe your story?”
“Probably not.” She had no one to blame but herself for that. She had no concrete evidence that she had even been attacked. Luke might accuse her of making the whole thing up to throw suspicion off her. Call her a liar. Again.
No way was it random. Not after the attack with a tire iron.
Harmony took Piper’s cold cup of tea to the sink and dumped it. “Maybe you should come with me to the Realtors’ conference. Get out of Dodge.”
“And leave Mama Jean? No way. I have to find out who this is.” With or without Luke’s help. Piper rubbed her chilled arm. “Because if Mama Jean saw the attacker, he might come back to finish off what he started. Could be why he came after me tonight—he might think she told me who it was.” Confusion twisted in her chest.
Harmony sank in a kitchen chair. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. But for tonight, I think it’s best if I sleep in your master bedroom. You’ll be safer upstairs. If he comes back, I want to be downstairs where I can hear.”
“You’re scaring me, Pipe.”
“I’m trying to protect you.” Piper was scared, too. And she had no idea what to do, but maybe by morning she’d have a clue. It was after midnight now.
Harmony grabbed Piper’s hand. “I’ll go upstairs. But I don’t suspect either of us will be sleeping.”
There was truth to that. Piper followed Harmony to the master bedroom. “Why do you need this house? It’s huge.”
Harmony switched on the light. “It’s my way of hoping for a family.”
A dream they both shared. But Piper had relationship paralysis. The few men she’d dated, she’d measured against Luke. Every single one came up short.
Hairs prickled the back of Piper’s neck again, as if a presence was in the house. Or outside. Watching. She switched off the light.
“Hey—!”
“Shhh.” Piper peeked out the window that overlooked the backyard and beyond into the woods. “Where does that lead?”
“A creek and then I don’t know. I’ve never taken a jaunt.” Harmony closed the blinds and then flipped on the lamp. “I think we’re safe. And if we aren’t, I’m counting on you being able to take down a grown man.”
Piper could. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t frightened.
Harmony left the room, and Piper hurried and unpacked then threw on a ratty pair of gray sweats and a Shotokan T-shirt with the tiger emblem on the front pocket. She’d been studying Shotokan karate since she was eighteen. Since Luke kicked her out of his life with one word. Run.
At twenty-nine, she’d worked hard and made it to the position of Shihan-Dai—fourth-degree black belt. She was still working toward professor of the art. But no amount of martial arts could fight off the past that seemed to be colliding with her present, choking her.
Piper slid into bed at 12:52 a.m. and stared at the clock until her eyes grew too heavy to hold open.
A creak pulled her from sleep.
Her eyes shot open as a cloth smothered her face.
A sickly sweet smell and taste filled her nose and mouth. She reached for the bulky hand and broke free. She gulped fresh air, but her head spun, and nausea swept over her.
He came at her again.
Couldn’t. Think. Clearly.
Piper punched him in the sternum, cutting off his air supply, and bounded out of bed, but whatever she’d inhaled had weakened her. Grabbing the lamp, she chucked it at him. It crashed into the wall behind the headboard. Barreling forward, the attacker tackled her to the floor near the bathroom. She reached up and grabbed his mask, pulling it from his face.
Not Chaz.
Drawing her knee up, she made contact with his groin, garnering a wail from him and giving her time to wiggle free.
Her head was still fuzzy and pounding, but she scrambled for the door. Needed a weapon. Her phone.
“Piper!” Harmony yelled.
The assailant turned toward the sound of Harmony’s voice and bolted. Piper raced across the bedroom, but she was off balance, shaky.
A door slammed.
Harmony stood midway on the stairs, a bat in hand. “What’s happening?”
Piper ran to the back door and turned the locks, panting. “It wasn’t Chaz.”
“Who wasn’t Chaz?”
“A man. Here. I saw his face.” Piper’s pulse hammered, dizziness flaring. “He put something over my mouth.” The rag. She rushed to the bedroom and retrieved it.
Harmony stood at the threshold. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. Some kind of drug. Glad I wasn’t sound asleep.” Piper bent at the waist, her mouth watering. “Get me a plastic bag for this. I’m gonna be sick.” She scurried to the bathroom.
Harmony returned with the bag as Piper flushed the toilet. She dropped the rag inside the gallon-sized Ziploc.
Piper leaned against the wall, eyes burning. It wasn’t Chaz. But whoever came after her at the hospital wasn’t working alone. Someone drove the van. “Chaz could have sent someone to kidnap me.” He could be outside right now, waiting. Her stomach churned.
“Kidnap! Why?” Harmony paced the bathroom floor.
“Why else drug me?”
“If it was the same guy from the hospital, maybe he wised up and knew he couldn’t take you without evening the playing field.” She froze. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
Piper rinsed her mouth, her vision clearing and nausea subsiding. A few seconds longer and she’d have been out cold. “No. You’re right.”
“I’m not going to that conference, Piper. I can’t leave you.”
Piper’s temple throbbed. “Now more than ever, you need to. It’s the only way to keep you safe.”
Harmony’s eyes pooled with tears. “What about you? Will you go to the police now?”
Piper wasn’t sure. But one thing was clear. Whoever was after her wasn’t going to stop.
* * *
Piper sat on Harmony’s bed as she scrambled around in a frenzy trying to pack. It was almost 6:00 a.m. “I have to call Luke. He may not believe me, but...”
“I understand.” Harmony rifled through drawers, tossing random things in the suitcase. “You sure you don’t want me to stay?”
Piper folded what she’d dumped inside. “I’m sure.”
Harmony dug in a top drawer, undergarments falling out. “I don’t even know what I packed. I can’t think straight. This is a bad idea.” Her hands shook as she clawed through the items.
Piper placed her hand over Harmony’s. She had to be strong for her. “Let me. What do you need?”
“A scarf. I don’t even know. Black. Gray. Who cares?” Harmony collapsed on her bed, hands over her face. “I can’t go to a conference and concentrate when I know bad stuff is going down here.”
Piper calmly combed through the scarves and undergarments. “I’ll feel better knowing you’re out of this mess.” She paused. Wait. Something caught her eye, buried under the scarves. “Harmony, this is the guy! The guy in the house!”
Harmony’s face paled, and she grabbed the photos. “Are...are you sure?” She stared at them. “I should’ve burned these.”
“I’m positive. Who is this? Why are you in a photo with him?”
Harmony’s lip quivered, and then her eyes widened. “Oh no.”
“What?” Piper demanded.
“That’s Boone. Pipe, he must have mistaken you for me last night. You were in my bed.”
“But why?” Piper shook her head. Seemed too coincidental with the earlier attack.
Closing her eyes, Harmony groaned. “I dated him for, like, two seconds. Found out he was trouble, and I broke it off. Until now, he’s only called a few times and shown up at work. He was probably trying to scare me quiet, as if I’d ever rat him out.”
“Do you hear yourself? Guys don’t drug their ex-girlfriends to scare them. And rat him out for what?” What in the world was going on here? “We definitely have to call the police.”
Harmony shook her head. “No cops. Not about this.”
“Why?” Piper stared her down. “What did he do?”
“He robbed a convenience store six months ago, and I was with him.” She squeezed her eyes closed and shuddered. “I had no clue he was going to do it. I was in the car, but if I go to the cops with that story—with my past—they’ll never believe I wasn’t intentionally in on it. And you can be sure Boone won’t only come after me—again—he’ll falsely incriminate me. I can’t. You can’t.”
Another headache was forming. Harmony had never attracted a nice guy.
Neither had Piper. Until Luke.
“He’s dangerous, Harm. This wasn’t some scare tactic to shut you up.”
“I’m sorry.” Harmony hugged her. “Give me to Monday to figure it out. I’m scared with our history and Luke pointed on us like a bloodhound. Please, Piper, don’t do anything for now. I mean, if you wanna call about what happened to you at the hospital, fine. But nothing about Boone. I just...can’t.”
Piper understood the fear. The confusion. “Go to Vegas, and on Monday when you get back, we gotta talk seriously about this guy.”
“I’m so stupid!” Harmony wiped tears with the back of her hand. “Come with me.”
“Mama Jean needs me. And I can’t run.” She helped carry Harmony’s luggage outside and lobbed it in the backseat. “In fact, I’m heading that way after you leave.”
Harmony slid into the driver’s seat. “How did he get in?”
“I don’t know. We know some tricks, so he probably does, too.” When Harmony left, Piper would check entry points.
“Text and let me know how she’s doing. You sure I shouldn’t stay?”
“Go.”
“It’s gonna be okay. It has to be, right?”
“Don’t worry.” Easier said than done. Could she really keep this from the police? Would her conscience let her?
Harmony drove off, and Piper searched, finding scuffs and splintered wood on the back door, which told the tale.
If nothing else, Harmony was getting a security system installed ASAP. If the ex was involved in burglaries and robberies, he could have ties to Chaz. They could be working together. A nagging feeling that her past had returned with a vengeance plagued her.
The doorbell rang.
Piper peeked through the hole. Great. Luke and the guy she saw at the hospital with dark hair and a leather jacket. Her throat tightened as she opened the door. “Is it Mama Jean?”
“No,” Luke reassured her. For a moment his features softened with his voice, but then he hardened his jaw.
Piper eyed him. “So what’s going on?” Did someone witness the attack at the hospital and tell him?
“Can we come in?” Luke didn’t wait to be welcomed and stepped inside.
“Sure.” Swinging her arm out, Piper motioned for the other detective to enter. “Do you want coffee?”
“Since when do you drink coffee?” Luke asked, and he flinched when his partner gave him a quizzical expression. Didn’t seem as though he’d let the other detective in on their connection to each other. Couldn’t blame him.
“Do you want any or not?” Patience wasn’t a virtue, and Luke had made it clear last night there was nothing but a case between them. So why make with the pleasantries?
“I’d like a cup.” His partner extended his hand. “Detective Hale.”
Piper shook his hand and sized him up. About two inches shorter than Luke, putting him at six-one. Lush, pitch-black hair, kind brown eyes. Easy smile.
“Piper Kennedy.” She grabbed a mug from the cabinet and started pouring Detective Hale a cup. “Luke? I mean, Detective Ransom?”
Luke shook his head, and she looked at Detective Hale. “Cream? Sugar?”
“Black, thanks.”
She handed him his cup and sat at the table. “Any news on Christopher Baxter? He have anything to do with the break-in?”
Luke glanced at his partner. “This is about a new case. Tyson Baroni was murdered.” Luke scrutinized her as if waiting for her to admit guilt.
“How?”
Luke cracked his knuckles. “ME says his neck was broken. Right after someone mangled him with a tire iron. You know anyone who could do that? Snap a man’s neck?”
A tire iron. Piper’s stomach nose-dived, but the accusation flared hot.
She inched out of her chair, narrowing her eyes. She knew he’d never believe her. “Get out.”
“I’m just asking a question. Why so defensive?”
Eric put his cup on the table and studied them.
“You’re not asking me a question. You’re implying. Could I snap a man’s neck?” She placed her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Yes,” she hissed. “Would I ever? No.”
Did he really believe she could kill someone?
“When is the last time you saw Tyson Baroni?” Eric interrupted their standoff and Piper slowly turned her head in his direction.
“I haven’t seen or talked to Tyson in a decade.” Why would she?
Disappointment filtered through Luke’s eyes and he sighed. “Then why did he have your business card in his pocket, and why were your prints on it?”
The air deflated from Piper’s lungs. How did Tyson get her business card? “He’s never been to the dojo, at least not that I’ve noticed. And I haven’t seen him here. I came straight to the hospital, and I need to be there now or I’m going to miss visiting hours.”
Luke tightened his lips, his eyes impassive. No trust in them whatsoever. Could she expect him to trust her after the lies she’d told years ago? Lies to protect him, but he’d never once come to that conclusion. Still smarted.
“I am sorry about that, Miss Kennedy,” Detective Hale said. “But you can see this presents a problem. Straighten out the confusion for us.”
“I can’t!” Piper threw her hands in the air. “I’m as confused as you.” The past was back. Blaring everywhere she turned. This couldn’t be a coincidence, but how would anyone know she was in town? Seemed as though she’d been here just long enough to be framed for murder and attacked twice. The reality pushed her to her seat.
“Piper?” Luke laid a hand on her shoulder. “What is it?” The warmth seeped into her bones. She’d missed his touch. His comfort. His strength.
“Nothing. It’s...nothing.” If only that were true.
“Where were you last night after you left the hospital?” Detective Hale asked.
Luke folded his arms over his chest. She buckled under his intense gaze.
“I didn’t kill Tyson. I don’t even know where he lives.”
“He lived in a small apartment attached to his shop in Midtown. And that’s where we found him.” Luke drew his notepad out. “If you would just tell us the truth, it would help.”
The truth? Harmony was going to go ballistic, but Piper had no choice. They could believe her or not. “Fine. The truth is...”
Luke scooted his chair closer to hers, his knees touching Piper’s.
“The truth is...?” Luke leaned down, forcing her to make eye contact.
“Something happened in the hospital parking lot. And then...here.”
Luke’s face grew taut—the protective expression she’d seen hundreds of times. “What happened, Piper?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, doubted he’d believe her, but told him everything.
“What!” Luke bulleted to the back door and studied the scuffs. Would he think she put them there herself? “Why didn’t you call me?” He turned on her, grabbed her shoulders, eyes brimming with emotion she hoped was concern and care. “You could have been killed!”
“I didn’t have your number.”
“You could have asked for me at the precinct. I would have come. Immediately.”
Piper wanted to collapse in his arms and cry. But she didn’t.
Detective Hale stood. “Can I have a look at that rag?”
Piper wiggled free of Luke’s gentle but firm grasp and retrieved the bag and photo from Harmony’s room. To know he still cared whether she lived or died meant everything. She handed Detective Hale the bag. He opened it and took a whiff.
“Chloroform, maybe. Or antifreeze.”
She handed Luke the photo of Boone and Harmony. “This is the guy.”
He kneaded the back of his neck. “You should have called 9-1-1, Piper. I need to talk to Harmony.”
“You can call, but you’ll get voice mail. Her flight already left.” She gave him her number.
“Why didn’t you call 9-1-1?” Luke studied the photo.
Piper almost laughed. “You already think I had something to do with this. I’m on my own.” She clenched her teeth. “Just like I’ve always been.”
Luke’s eyes flashed with torment. “I believe this. And I would never want to see you harmed. Ever.” He pointed to the back door and raised the photo. “I need this guy’s last name.”
“I don’t know it.”
Luke laid his hand on her shoulder again. “I don’t know what his motives were. Mistook you for Harmony. Trying to take you out to get to her. To take you both.” He shrugged. “But the guy at the hospital... I don’t think it was this Boone character. Why go after you there?”
Good question. “Two isolated events? Maybe Chaz is back, and he and Boone are in cahoots?” She had no clue which it was, but her gut said Chaz was in the thick of it.
“It’s possible, and that brings us back to Mama Jean’s basement and what was hiding down there.”
He still thought she had something to do with this, if even indirectly. Luke rubbed his stubbly chin. “Don’t go back to Jackson, Piper. We’re not done, and you aren’t safe here. Can you stay somewhere else?”
Piper folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not going anywhere. And by that I mean Memphis or this house.”
Luke worked his jaw. “I don’t like you here alone.”
“I don’t care what you like or don’t like. I’m still standing.” No one would protect her like she could protect herself. And she didn’t want Luke protecting her—much. It hurt.
Luke pinched the bridge of his nose, nostrils flaring. “You are so stinking stubborn.”
“I’m not leaving.” She jutted out her chin.
“Let me drive you to the hospital.”
“No.” She wasn’t going to rely on Luke. She couldn’t.
Looking at Detective Hale, Luke shook his head. “I don’t know what to do with her.”
Detective Hale scratched his head. “We could kick you out and call this a crime scene, as it is, and force you to leave.”
“I like that idea,” Luke said.
“Get real. Boone’s prints are probably all over this place. They dated. You’re both being jerks.”
“Technically, we’re doing our jobs.” Eric smirked. “But okay.”
Luke frowned, and they seemed to carry on a silent conversation.
Detective Hale left them at the door. Luke turned to her, his voice quiet. “Baroni had your card. Somehow you’re connected. And I hate leaving you alone.”
“You left me on my own ten years ago. Now shouldn’t be any different.” Piper dared him to respond.
Luke opened his mouth to say something else, then clammed up. A wave of grief splashed across his face. “You’re right about prints. Doesn’t mean I won’t have them come out anyway. You’re out of the house, at least for a while today. Call if you need to.” He handed her his card then phoned the crime unit. “I’ll wait outside until they get here. But you’re free to go see Mama Jean.”
His protectiveness sent a skitter into her pulse. Luke closed the door behind him and she beelined it to her cell to call Braxton, one of her karate instructors.
He answered on the second ring. “Hey, Piper. How’s your grandma?”
“Stable.” She snatched her car keys. “Hey, quick question. Did anyone by the name of Tyson Baroni come into the dojo recently? About five foot ten, a ginger with freckles.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“If I send a picture, could you tell me if you’d seen him?” She snagged a banana and hurried to the front door.
“Probably. Is everything okay?” Concern laced Braxton’s voice.
“Yeah. Just checking on something. Thanks.” She hung up and stepped onto the stoop. Luke and Detective Hale were in the driveway staring at her car along with two other officers.
“What’s going on?” Piper asked and slowed her pace.