Chapter Fifteen
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Leann had quickly visited the ladies’ room while Zach paid the check. She was sorry to see their evening end so early but the case had to come first and she understood that. He’d made it clear there would be other nights so it was all good.
Too bad there wouldn’t be a kiss at the end of the evening.
Still no kiss. She was getting impatient but now at least she was hopeful. He wanted to kiss her too. She could feel it.
“Leann!”
She turned to see West’s assistant Lori entering the restaurant with her husband Brad.
“Lori, it’s so good to see you.”
They hugged and Leann shook Brad’s hand since she’d only met him a few times in the past.
“I knew you were back in Tremont,” Lori smiled, her arm hooked with her husband’s. “West mentioned it the other day. For the reunion, right?”
“Yes, it was last night.”
The girl’s smile dimmed. “I heard about Drew. Such a sad thing. Poor Jenna. I’m hoping to get by there tomorrow to pay my respects.”
“I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you. There was a full house today.”
“I’ll definitely go after church tomorrow.” Lori’s eyes lit up as she gazed over Leann’s shoulder. “I see you’re here with Zach. Looks like West didn’t scare him off at all.”
Say what?
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“West called Zach in early this morning. I couldn’t hear every word that was said, of course.” Really? You’re slipping, Lori. “But West was warning him off, although Jason seemed fine with the two of you. Good for Zach that he didn’t listen.”
“Yes, good for Zach,” Leann replied, already planning West’s slow, agonizing death.
The hostess stood in front of them with an air of expectation.
“Oops, looks like our table is ready,” Lori giggled. “Stop by the office and maybe we can go to lunch or something. I’d love a good long catch up.”
“I will. Have a nice dinner.”
Lori and Brad passed Zach as he joined her in the foyer of the restaurant. “Is that West’s assistant?”
“It is,” Leann confirmed. “I hear that you had a meeting with my brother this morning. Care to share any of those details?”
His smile grew wider, his cheeks turning a ruddy shade. “I think you already know all of the pertinent information. And the answer to your unspoken question is no. I was not planning on telling you, although I assumed you’d find out sooner or later—this being Tremont and all.”
“You’re going to have another murder to investigate because I’m going to kill West.”
Leann was going to make her brother pay dearly for interfering in her life.
“I understand why he’s upset you,” Zach agreed, wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her to the door. “But I get why he’s protective. You’re his little sister. I feel the same way about Gigi and Aubrey.”
“Did you threaten West or Travis?”
“No, but I could see that they were happy.”
It was her turn to blush. “He doesn’t get to decide if I’m happy or not.”
Opening the car door for her, he reached for her arm before she could get in, his fingers skating across her elbow and sending a shiver up her spine. “Are you? Happy, I mean?”
The question was asking a hell of lot more than her emotional state and for a second it felt like her heart skipped a beat in her chest. This attraction that had been growing between them was having a moment…right now. She’d been wanting it and here it was.
Don’t screw this up.
She smiled and squeezed his hand. “I am. Very happy. How about you?”
His smile showed off even white teeth and a dimple in one cheek. “I’m happy too, Leann.”
“Tomorrow I’ll deal with my brother,” Leann sighed, plotting all sorts of bodily harm on her sibling. “I’m going to educate him. It will be painful.”
Zach smirked. “Learning is never easy. I kind of feel sorry for the poor guy. If it makes you feel any better, your brother Jason specifically said he wasn’t going to warn me off and that you were a smart woman who could make her own decisions.”
“That makes one man in the Anderson family that’s not an imbecile. The testosterone…it burns.”
* * *
Troy Wallace hadn’t come quietly from the looks of things. His eye was already turning purple and the corner of his lip was swollen. His clothes were dirty and his sleeve was ripped. He’d put up a good fight, that was for sure. Zach couldn’t help but wonder what the officers who brought him in looked like.
The interrogation room was impersonal and stark on purpose with its puke green walls and bare furnishings – nothing but a table and two uncomfortable wooden chairs. Zach took the chair across from Troy and settled in for the long haul. His suspect didn’t look like he was in the mood to be cooperative.
“Wallace, glad you could join us tonight.”
“Fuck you.”
It was one of the nicer things that had been said to Zach during questioning.
“Now are you aware that Drew Marshall was murdered last night at the reunion?”
Slumped in the chair, a sullen look on Troy’s face, the man didn’t look like he was going to answer the question so Zach was surprised when he replied.
“I heard.” Terse and to the point. “What does that have to do with me?”
As if he didn’t know. Surely Troy had watched enough cop shows to know what was going on.
“You’re a person of interest in this case. You were read your rights by the officer that brought you in. Would you like an attorney to be provided for you?”
That had Troy sitting up in his chair. “I don’t have anything to hide. I didn’t do anything wrong, man.”
Good cop or bad cop? Zach decided on the former, based on nothing more than a gut feeling. The body language he was reading right now said this guy needed a friend. An enemy would simply make him clam up.
“I’m sure you didn’t. I just want to hear your side of the story.”
Troy’s lips twisted and he huffed out a breath. “You want to hear my side of the story? I’ll tell you my side. That little bitch Jenna led me on. One minute she’s rubbing up against me and the next she’s telling her husband that I’m hitting on her.”
“You had a crush on her in high school,” Zach said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. If Troy felt like he was being judged he’d stop talking.
Shrugging, Troy shook his head.
“Sure, I liked her. So did a lot of guys. She wasn’t as pure and angelic as she wanted everyone to believe. She screwed a bunch of guys.” Troy grinned. “She and I fucked in the back of my old man’s Chevy one night after a basketball game. Good old Drew was home with the flu. I doubt she ever told him about that, though.”
Troy and Jenna? He didn’t appear to be making anything up, his expression clear and direct. He’d made eye contact with Zach and his body position wasn’t closed off. It could be, however, that Troy simply believed what he was saying. But that didn’t make it true.
“So she was flirting with you last night?”
Troy slapped the table. “She damn well was and then had the nerve to act like it never happened. I wouldn’t have gone after her without any encouragement. You know, her being married and all.”
You’re a real humanitarian.
“So after you and Drew fought where did you go?”
“I left,” Troy emphasized the last word. “I got the hell out of there and headed down to Lucky’s where they don’t water down the drinks. I never wanted to go to that stupid reunion anyway.”
And yet you did.
“Were there any witnesses?”
Troy smiled. “A whole bar full of them. I played pool and darts and left at closing time.”
“I’ll check on that. So where have you been all day? Did you know that the police wanted to talk to you?”
“I took a load of hay up to Sullivan and hung around. The cops pulled me over when I was coming home. Are we done?”
“For now. If your alibi doesn’t check out we’ll be having another discussion, though.”
“I can’t wait,” jeered Troy, levering to his feet. “Listen, if you want someone that had a beef with Drew you need look no further than his good friend Darrell. They were…what do you call it? Frenemies. They competed for everything and poor old Darrell usually came out on the losing end. After awhile that has to piss a man off, you know what I mean?”
Darrell Madison? Based on what Wallace said, he just might fit the profile. But where was he?