Chapter Twenty-Two
Why hadn’t she put two and two together? There was one common denominator that pointed right at Irving as the true target, the stalker letters. She’d bet her paychecks for a year that they were somehow connected.
“Remember I mentioned that Irving has been getting creepy letters from an anonymous sender? He didn’t make a big deal out of them because there was no overt threat.” She lifted her gaze to his and gave him a quick recap. “It’s possible the sender upped his or her game and decided to take Irving out.”
Sam backed out of the driveway. “We’re going to find out.”
The hospital loomed in a mix of brick and glass as they walked in and followed a sign to the elevator. Irving was watching a news program while Alvin stood watch from the doorway like a giant sphynx hovering over the boy king.
“Why don’t you take a break,” Jess said to the behemoth of a man. She didn’t trust him 100 percent—after all, their history was sketchy—but he was loyal to Irving and that’s what counted.
Alvin nodded and left. Irving muted the TV. “I told Alvin he didn’t have to play guard dog but he’s stubborn. He thinks the sniper will blast me while I’m eating my peas and pudding cup if he isn’t lurking.”
He indicated the empty cup and plastic spoon.
Jess walked over and poured him some water. “He cares about you. We all do.”
Irving sipped. “I pay him to care.”
“We both know that’s not the reason,” she scolded and straightened his blanket over his skinny tanned legs. Some of his color was back. “To know you is to love you.”
Irving brushed her hands away when she moved to plump his pillow. “Stop fussing. Between Gretchen, Taryn and you, I don’t get any peace.”
Despite his grumbling, she knew he loved to be fussed over. They were the daughters he never had. Since his wife passed and he was estranged from his son, the crew at Brash &Brazen was his family. He loved them all.
“What about the whole ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead’ thing you say when we suggest you slow down?” she said. “If you want peace, we can get you a room at Shady acres. You’ll have lights out at nine and all the bingo you can handle.”
“Are you trying to kill me?” A slight smile showed perfect porcelain choppers. He’d recently upgraded from his old pair.
Footsteps in the hallway caught their attention. Blond, tanned, and beautiful, Summer breezed in like a ray of sunshine in a floral sun dress. Jason was on her heels. He sent Jess an apologetic shrug as his wife hurried to Irving.
“I should have known you’d get in trouble if I left town.” She leaned to kiss Irving’s liver-spotted head. He grinned. Summer was his favorite, or so Taryn and Jess liked to tease. She looked down at his bandaged leg. “Why didn’t you duck?”
“I didn’t have time.”
Summer clucked her tongue and hugged Jess. “You know I couldn’t stay away,” she whispered. “We’d have come yesterday but all the flights out were full.”
Jess held her tight. “It’s good to have you back.”
Alvin slipped into the room. “You didn’t have to cut your honeymoon short,” he groused. “Everything is under control.”
“I know it is,” Summer said. “You couldn’t have known that Irving was also a target. Now that you have the facts, the sniper won’t have a second chance.”
This seemed to mollify the big guy. Summer had a way with men. One look or a softly worded comment, and they’d follow her off a cliff. Oh, to have that power.
“We brought you a present,” Summer said, turning back to Irving.” Jason handed the package over. “I hope you like them.”
Grinning like it was Christmas, Irving opened his gift. The smile deepened to crinkle up his entire face when he lifted the brightest blue, yellow, and orange plaid PJ’s and matching slippers from beneath tissue paper.
“Look, it says ‘Aloha’ on the breast pocket. I thought you could wear them while you recover.”
Irving nodded and dabbed at the corner of one eye. “I’ve missed my golf pants.” He tugged at the light blue hospital gown. “My rump is chilled from hanging out all the time.”
“No one wants to see that,” Jason joked.
“I knew you’d want your plaid back.” Summer sat next to the bed and took his hand. “I’m so happy that you’re okay.”
He squeezed her fingers. “Me, too.”
Yep, Summer was his favorite. Oddly, Jess wasn’t jealous. Summer was too good a friend and too sweet to dislike. And Irving had enough love to go around.
They talked about Hawaii and personal updates from everyone before talk drifted to the case. It was the elephant in the room that was impossible to ignore. Well, that and Alvin.
Jess explained her suspicion about the letters. “The letters are the only connection I could come up with. Sam and I went through three years of cases, and nothing stood out. Yes, we have dealt with sketchy characters, but no one that fits hiring a sniper for revenge.”
“It’s a pretty big leap from stalker to killer,” Irving interjected. “And why you? The letters came to me.”
“That’s the unanswered question,” Sam said. “Nothing about this case makes sense.”
He explained that it had been all but confirmed that the first victim, Tom, was not the target. “We looked into his ex-wife and ex-best friend and both had solid alibis. They also don’t have the money needed to hire a professional hit. They’re underwater with their house and are living on credit cards.”
“We keep assuming the hit was a professional,” Alvin piped in. “Yet she missed, twice.”
“Unless killing wasn’t her goal,” Jason said.
This had been something Jess and Sam had discussed. “We’ve considered that angle,” she said. “There’s also the chance that this person isn’t a hired hit at all. She might be just a hunter with a grudge against Brash for some unknown reason. A lot of women hunt in this state.”
Summer nodded. “I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Why don’t we table these theories for now and start with the letters.”
* * *
Sam and Jess returned to his SUV a few minutes later, drove to the far edge of the parking lot, and let Spike out near a bush. They stood side-by-side watching the dog wander around the grass at the end of his leash.
“Do you really think the letters are the key?” Jess said and leaned her shoulder against his. For some reason, when she was stressed, she liked to touch him. He wondered if she noticed she did that. Maybe not, but he liked the contact.
Sam thought about the case so far. He wanted to give her a thoughtful answer. “From years of experience in law enforcement, I can’t give you a solid 100 percent yes. There are always solutions to cases that come out of left field. But they seem to be the only connection that makes sense, given Irving being shot.”
“It’s the church attack that doesn’t fit,” Jess said, finishing his thought. Spike walked over.
Sam loaded the dog into the vehicle and joined her inside. “If the sniper is hunting Brash employees, and not just Irving was the intended target, then why you and not Taryn or Summer?”
“Taryn has been laid up for the last ten days and Summer was on her honeymoon. They’d be hard to hit.”
“True,” he said. “Although if our theory is correct about the stalking, then the sniper—or whoever hired her—has been watching you for longer than the couple of weeks Summer’s been gone.”
At her concerned expression, he reached out and took her hand as she said, “That’s just creepy.”