Chapter Twenty-Nine
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Easton’s heart was in his throat when Dizzy walked into his office, right behind Zach. He’d been pacing the floor waiting for her to arrive but now that she was there he didn’t have a clue as to what to say or do. It wasn’t his style to start a personal conversation with other people in the room and he damn well didn’t need their input. He already knew their feelings about this topic. He needed to talk to Dizzy alone. Perhaps he could finagle a way after the call from the police about their questioning Trip.
Carter sidled up to Easton and leaned down to speak into his ear. “Damn, Dizzy looks good.”
She did look stunning. She’d dressed for the business environment in a slim black skirt and simple white blouse. Her hair had been coiled up on top of her head but a few strands had escaped and they had the privilege of caressing her creamy pink cheeks.
“I swear to God I will beat the ever-loving shit out of you if you ask her out,” Easton said between gritted teeth. “Stay away from her.”
Chuckling, Carter spread his hands wide and grinned. “The question is can she stay away from me? After all, look at me.”
Easton growled at his younger brother, thoroughly frustrated and pissed off. He hadn’t slept well last night without Dizzy in his bed. “I’m looking at the biggest fool in the Anderson family. Now sit the hell down and shut up.”
To his surprise Carter did just that, right after snagging a coffee from the cart that his assistant had wheeled into the office. Dizzy and Leann were quietly chatting in one corner while Zach and Jason talked in another. Easton was the odd man out in this group. From the hostile waves coming off of Leann, he had a feeling he was barely being tolerated.
Walking around his desk, Jason refilled his coffee and then moved to stand by Easton.
“Are you going to apologize to Dizzy?”
“What exactly would I be apologizing for, cousin?”
“Being an asshole,” Jason shot back with a smile. “In general. Seriously, just say you’re sorry. I’m sure you both said things you regret.”
“So I should be the one to apologize? Is that what you do? Just roll over and play dead when Brinley’s pissed off?”
“If you apologize I guarantee she’ll apologize as well. But if you’re stubborn and want her to do it first, then you might be waiting for awhile. Or worse, you might find that she moves on to someone who doesn’t need everything their way. Take some advice from an old married man…being together is more important than keeping score as to who was right and who was wrong. Keeping count is good in business but in relationships? It’s petty and spiteful. Are you planning to keep track of how many kisses she gives you compared to what you give her? Are you planning to count orgasms? Hugs? Gifts? Where’s the line?”
Easton didn’t answer but he was already trying to digest Jason’s advice. When described that way it did sound petty and nasty. But…Easton hadn’t been wrong. Her parents did hate him and the Anderson family and as far as he knew that hadn’t changed in the last twenty-four hours. There was also that fact that he and Dizzy were different. Of course, one of the reasons he loved being with her so much was because she wasn’t a carbon copy of himself or the other women he’d dated. Leann had been right. He’d been bored with them. He needed something that so far only Dizzy had been able to give him.
All he’d asked for was a break. Was that so terrible? Was he the bad guy here?
The phone ringing had everyone whirling around to face the desk. Easton pressed a button as the group gathered around, anxious to hear any news. They were lucky that West was the mayor and that the name Anderson had influence in Tremont.
As a former law enforcement officer, Jason was taking the lead on this. “This is Jason Anderson.”
“Anderson?” A male voice came over the speaker. “This is Detective Harry Larkin, West’s former partner.”
Ah, that’s how this was happening. The detective in charge of the case was West’s former partner. That’s how it worked in a small town. There were only five or six detectives at any given time in Tremont so this wasn’t a shock.
“Hi, Harry. Did you speak to Stanford this morning?”
Jason glanced at his watch and Easton followed suit. The conversation hadn’t taken long.
“You know I shouldn’t be commenting on an ongoing investigation.”
Smiling, Jason nodded, although the man on the other side of the phone couldn’t see him.
“I know and I appreciate your help on this. We’re not planning on going to the newspaper with any of this. We just want to know if you learned anything today. I have Dizzy Foster under twenty-four-hour guard right now so I think I have a vested interest in this case. We don’t want any more dead bodies in Tremont, now do we?”
“We certainly don’t.” The voice had a grim tone. “Listen, Stanford came in with a lawyer and refused to answer any questions on advice from counsel. We got nothing from him except now he’s aroused my suspicions since he won’t talk. If he’s got nothing to hide, why did he lawyer up? Anyway, he was calm and nice but he wouldn’t answer anything. We did warn him to stay away from Miss Foster and his lawyer said that he would.”
Easton didn’t trust Stanford or his attorney to leave Dizzy alone. From the expression on Jason’s face it appeared his cousin agreed with that sentiment. Zach didn’t look convinced either.
And Dizzy looked like she might cry. She’d had so much hope that this might move the case forward and those hopes had been crushed. Easton had to stop himself from putting his arms around her in comfort. She wouldn’t welcome that.
“I appreciate that, Harry. What’s your next move? We’re still going to keep Miss Foster under guard here.”
“We’re working on getting a warrant to search Stanford’s home and vehicle. Actually, you might be able to help us, Anderson. We’d like to search his office too but we’d need permission from someone at Anderson Industries. He has no expectation of privacy at his workplace.”
Easton didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Permission granted. How soon can you be here? I’ll escort you personally.”
“Wait.” Leann held her hand up. “Just because he says our employees have no expectation of privacy doesn’t mean that’s the actual case. We need to check what’s in writing at Anderson Industries.”
“The law would trump our corporate policy,” Easton argued, happy to see that Jason was also nodding in agreement.
“I’m not arguing about the law,” Leann said. “I’m arguing that our employees have a level of trust with management. We can’t just allow the police to search someone’s office if we’ve said that is something that we wouldn’t allow. If we don’t have a policy regarding this or we say that they have no expectations, then fine. But if we do…I think we need to have a warrant before we allow them in. I know this is personal for us but we have to look at the bigger picture.”
“I don’t want you to do anything that’s unethical,” Dizzy declared, nervously tugging at the strap on her handbag. Funny how after only a few weeks he knew her well enough to notice her little gestures. “I don’t want Trip to be able to get off on a technicality either.”
Giving in gracefully, Easton shrugged. “Then we’ll have to get back to you, Harry. Give me an hour and I’ll go through our employee handbook with a fine tooth comb.”
Although it looked like Leann was already on it, tapping furiously into her phone.
Jason bid the detective goodbye and hung up. “Well, I can’t say that I’m shocked that Stanford lawyered up. If he were stupid he would have already been caught. At least Harry is now suspicious. Hopefully they can get that warrant.”
“And if they can’t?” Dizzy asked, her expression stormy. This had to be the hardest on her. She was still in danger and Easton didn’t know what to say or do to make it all better. He’d only made it worse.
“Then they’ll find another way,” Zach replied, confidence in his tone. “He’ll mess up eventually. They all do.”
The meeting broke up and Zach pulled Easton aside in the hallway. “I just wanted to let you know that Jason and I talked about this morning and we’re going to put a twenty-four-hour guard outside of Dizzy’s house as well as me staying there. I’m going to stay put in Tremont until we get some resolution on this.”
Easton appreciated what Zach was doing but the truth was he wanted to be the one helping and protecting Dizzy. They needed to talk about things and now would be a good time for that. Maybe he could take her out for a cup of coffee and a Danish.
“Thanks, Zach. I know that you’re doing your best and I appreciate the extra manpower. Hopefully once Dizzy and I sit down and talk I’ll be back and able to give you a hand.”
“It’s good news that you’re going to work things out.”
“I’m planning to ask her for coffee.” Easton looked back into the office but it was empty. “I didn’t see her leave.”
Shifting on his feet, Zach tugged at the collar of his buttoned-down shirt. “She and Leann walked right past us when we came out here. I think they left.”
Okay, he couldn’t ask her for coffee. Time to go to Plan B. Whatever that was.