Chapter 5
The next morning Anna woke up early. It was almost six o’clock. She had a quick shower, got dressed and then made up the bed. With a last glance around the place to see if she left anything behind, she grabbed her bag and walked down to the kitchen. If she was lucky, coffee might be on; if not, she would slip out and head home. The animals needed her.
At the kitchen she stopped to see several people up already. “Wow, I thought I was the only early riser.”
With a light grin shining in his eyes, Flynn stood up. “I heard you moving around and figured you’d be sneaking out early.”
She glared at him. “I wasn’t sneaking anywhere.”
“Good, because Alfred’s cooking breakfast.”
She smiled in delight. “I wish I could steal Alfred away from you.”
“Not happening,” Levi said, “and you’re certainly not the first to try.”
She sat down on the far side of the table, watching as everyone came in the room in various states of wakefulness.
When Katina came in and saw her, she dashed over to give her a big hug. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see you when you got in last night. I was really tired.”
Anna studied her friend. She caught sight of a blush across her cheeks. She’d let her friend get away with the white lie. If Anna had been sleeping with someone like Merk, she might’ve had a reason to go to bed early too. She winked at her friend and watched the pink deepen on her cheeks.
Katina smiled. “I was thinking about coming to your place for the day. Maybe I can help out. If nothing else, I can keep you company. It’s got to be lonely as hell there.”
“We can spend a few hours there, but that’ll be all,” Merk said quietly. But there was no doubt he meant what he said, and he wasn’t budging on the time line.
Katina looked at him and frowned. “Why?”
“Going to Gunner’s place. He has information he wants to discuss in regard to Flynn, Logan, and another man named Brendan.”
Katina hadn’t heard the other news last night.
Neither had Anna. After it was quickly explained to her about this Brendan, she frowned at Flynn. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He raised his eyebrow. “Why would I? That was a long time ago. It’s a dead issue.”
“Apparently not.” She turned to Logan. “And your father confirmed that Brendan is living locally?”
Logan nodded. “Supposedly he’s staying with his brother right now.”
She dropped her gaze to her coffee cup. “As much as I’m happy he might be a suspect in this killing, it is also kind of unnerving that somebody would hate Flynn so much to kill somebody else.” She took a sip of her coffee and added, “How does any of that make sense?”
“We don’t have any answers at the moment,” Flynn said calmly. “But what you will find is when we do, it will make more sense. Maybe not in the way you would understand, but to the killer, it always makes sense. That’s one of the few sad things about people who kill. In their own twisted way, they have a good reason for doing what they do.”
“Scary thought.” After that, the conversation went to general topics. She watched as platters of sausages, bacon, and eggs came to the table. “Alfred, how can you possibly feed this many people all the time?”
He laughed. “I love it. The bigger this place gets, the happier I’ll be.” And on that note he turned and walked out.
She raised an eyebrow at Levi. “How big are you planning on making this place?”
“No idea yet,” he said cheerfully. “We have lots of room to expand. Depends on the work and need for our services.”
She nodded. “It’s still empty without animals though.”
He laughed. “You’re not the first to mention that. Personally, I think all the women want me to bring in a bunch of dogs and cats.”
“Well, if that’s the case, I do have a few that need homes,” she said brightly. “Just let me know, and I’ll deliver them personally.”
He shook his head. “No way are we going there yet. It would have the workmen in all kinds of chaos around this place.”
Flynn raised his head. “Workmen? What’s happening next?”
“We’re reworking a couple apartments and planning to build a lab. Ice seems to think we need some kind of morgue.”
Anna gasped, her gaze zooming toward Ice. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Not really. But it could be a cold room for keeping foodstuffs as well.”
“All the health authorities would love that,” Anna said with a laugh. “And those guys aren’t easy to keep happy at any time.”
“Have any of the regulatory bodies made life difficult for you?” Ice asked. “I mean, when we talk about having enemies, very few people actually consider institutions, like health authorities, coming in and closing them down.”
“I’m sure groups like that are on some people’s list,” she said with a smirk. “But no, I haven’t had any trouble with anybody.”
“Interesting that the best suspect is actually somebody who went to your place as your bodyguard,” Levi noted.
Anna glanced at Flynn and quickly said, “That doesn’t make him responsible.”
“I’m not for bringing him there,” Flynn said. “But I might be for pissing him off enough that he wanted some payback.”
She leaned forward. “And how does killing Jonas give him that?”
Into the silence that suddenly filled the room, Flynn said, “If I get charged with murder, one I didn’t commit, that’s a hell of a payback.”
“But to kill a man?” She shook her head. “I just don’t get that. But I don’t live in the same world you guys do. Killing is very alien to me. I’m in a world of saving lives, even if they’re mostly four-legged furry ones.”
She glanced at her watch and said, “And speaking of which, I need to get going.” She stood up and grabbed her dishes, walking into the kitchen. Alfred was there, loading the dishwasher. “Let me rinse these first.”
He turned, saw the dishes and smiled. “I’ll handle it, my dear. You take that basket there. It’s got lunch and some coffee for you, as well as a few muffins just in case you get hungry. You don’t know what kind of mess your kitchen will be in,” he rushed to add. “Remember the police were there, and they tore your house apart all day. It could be very upsetting for you when you get home.”
“I was trying hard not to think about that.” She gave him a sad smile. “It’s just work. I can clean it up. I hope the animals survived the night without too much stress. The last thing they need is any more upset.”
She walked back into the dining room and picked up her overnight bag she’d dropped in the hallway. She turned to Levi and Ice. “Thank you so much for giving me a place for the night. I need to go and check on the animals.”
To the chorus of good-byes, she waved at everybody and headed back through the garage out to her car.
And found Flynn standing at the passenger side.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going with you,” he said calmly. “You have no idea what you’re going into when you get home. You shouldn’t be alone.”
She frowned, realizing she really didn’t want to be, but it wasn’t good to leave him stuck there. “Don’t you want to have your own wheels so you can come home again tonight?”
“You forget several of the guys are going to Gunner’s place. I can always catch a ride home with them.”
Her face cleared of worry. “I had forgotten. I get to see Katina for a few hours today too.” On that much happier note, she got into the car, turned on the engine and waited for him to get in and buckle up, then she pulled out of the compound.
*
Damn, he thought they’d gotten well past that point. But it seemed like she really didn’t want him around. Or at least not at night, and that made no sense, considering there had been an intruder at her place, inside as well. He had no intention of leaving her alone in that house, not until this was resolved. The fact that somebody was after him could possibly mean he was putting her in danger. But why didn’t this guy face him? There was nothing worse than having an asshole sneaking behind your back, causing mayhem and murder.
He’d had enough trouble living with it in the military as it was. He was sent on missions to ferret out these assholes one by one. But it wasn’t something you expected when you hit home ground. And he’d been out of the military now for almost two years.
But apparently, he’d also lost his edge. And that would be a concern. If not to him, then to Levi. If they didn’t think they could trust him, then they wouldn’t assign him to help out on missions. The others had to know he was there to watch their back. And he had been watching hers.
As the asshole had gone inside her house after Flynn had left, had the killer been watching her place? Had he known Flynn had left? For good? Or had he expected Flynn to be there to take the hit instead of Jonas?
The drive was smooth and fast. When they pulled into the front driveway, cop cars were still parked there. He could almost sense the waves of relief coming off of Anna, presuming the cops had been here since yesterday, so nobody else would have shown up through the night.
He got out, leaving his stuff in the backseat. She hadn’t noticed he’d brought an overnight bag, and at the moment, that was fine with him.
He reached the front door ahead of her, found it unlocked and walked in. Nobody was inside. He turned back to her and said, “I suggest we talk to the cops first.”
She nodded. “Works for me.”
But instead he went to the kennels. Of course she pitched in. Very quickly they had all four dogs moved to the outside pens. After scratches, cuddles, and boisterous good mornings, they turned their attention to the cops and walked around the feed shed.
Flynn watched one man, standing on the far corner, taking pictures of the entire property. He pointed him out to Anna. “Two cop cars are outside the house. There should be at least another man around.”
With a heavy sigh she said, “It’s a big property. He must be here somewhere, digging into things he shouldn’t, most likely.”
“There you are.”
Flynn turned to see the second cop coming out of the shed. “Good morning.”
The cop nodded. “We’re almost done here. But while we’re working, we don’t want you wandering around the property disturbing things.”
Beside him, Anna huffed with annoyance. Flynn stepped in before she could say something. “We came to look after the animals. We’ll try not to disturb you.”
The cop nodded. “We appreciate your cooperation.”
“I presume I can go inside and get clothes, etc.?” Anna asked.
The officer nodded. “The house is fine now. That’s not where the killing took place.”
“Where was he killed?” Flynn asked.
The officers studied them quietly for a long moment and then said, “Out back of the shed.”
Anna slipped her hand into Flynn’s. He squeezed her fingers reassuringly and asked, “Was he stabbed?”
“Don’t have an autopsy report, but it looks like it from our initial viewing.” The officer stepped back and said, “Of course you realize I’m not allowed to discuss anything else in the case.” He gave a curt nod and walked back to the shed.
“What could he possibly be doing after all this time in the shed?” Anna asked as they turned away. “Hopefully we won’t need to grab any dog food out of there today.”
“I filled up all the bins before I left.”
“Good. They won’t steal any, will they?”
He laughed. “I don’t think that’s an issue. But grabbing anything with forensic evidence, like blood, they would. On the other hand, they only want the packaging, not the dog food in it.”
She shrugged philosophically. “Okay, let’s take care of the animals.”
Flynn was surprised at how easy it was to fall back into the same routine he’d had for several weeks. They moved down the aisles, cleaning cages, watering, feeding, and changing dishes. Thankfully, there actually weren’t many animals.
Then he remembered the cats. As he walked over to the big playhouse, they were all in various states of snoozing. He loved that about cats. The rest of the world could go to hell in a handbasket and they would just lie there and say, Yeah? And what’s it got to do with me?
The litter box, however, was a pretty major deal. They had three in that one room. All had to be changed out every morning. He took care of that as Anna filled the food bowls with a mix of wet food and brewer’s yeast in some kind of a broth. He knew nutrients were added to it, and apparently the cats didn’t mind.
At the sound of Anna and him coming into the room, they all woke up. They twisted around his legs and acted like they hadn’t eaten for at least a month. He knew better. This was their daily routine.
He picked up a ginger-colored tom and gave him a hug and pat. The cat bumped his forehead against Flynn’s chin over and over again, but his motor was running like a Mack truck. No doubt the cat had kind of stolen Flynn’s heart. But no way was he set up to have pets. He gave the cat a kiss, walked him over to the food and dropped him down beside the dish where there was an open space. The diesel engine noise never stopped. But the cat dove in and started eating.
With that done, he followed Anna back into the house. They stopped and surveyed the kitchen. Things were just shuffled about, but there didn’t appear to be anything missing. She had a ton of clutter around as it was. And a lot of it had to do with the animals—leashes, collars, and all kinds of doggie and treat bags.
He walked to the coffeemaker and checked to see if she had coffee in the cupboard. Seeing several packs, he opened up the coffeemaker, placed a filter in it, added water, then coffee, and put the glass pot under it to catch the drips. He didn’t know how long they would be here, but he assumed he had enough time to drink a pot.
As he turned to see what she was doing, he found her sorting through a stack of mail on the table. “Is that today’s?”
She shook her head. “No, these are bills that have been stacking up for a while. They hit the third and final notice before I pay attention.”
He winced at that. “That’s got to put a lot of stress on your shoulders.”
“Yes, but it’s the only way I survive. If anybody gets their money early, then somebody else has to do without, and those really get nasty.”
It also explained why there was rarely any food in the fridge, the cupboards were damned near bare, and why she was not so much skinny as borderline scrawny. There had to be a way to get more money to help out at the shelter so she could keep some food on the table for herself.
He studied her clothing. They seemed to have seen years of wear, and even her shoes were cracked with her socks peeking through the front outside seams. He knew she was prideful, but she really needed help. He just wasn’t sure he had anything to offer. He wasn’t wealthy, and his bank account sure proved it.
But he did know lots of people. There had to be a way to get some interest in this place. Or she would have to disband and find another way to make a living.
Then he realized this wasn’t her way to make money. For that, she did all kinds of other jobs. But everything she earned went into keeping this place running for the animals, and all the charitable donations went toward the center.
Shit. With all the cops here, donations would be nonexistent from now on.
She picked up an envelope with no return address and frowned. She quickly ripped it open and out popped a check. She gasped, and sat down in a kitchen chair, hard.
“What’s the matter?” He strode across the kitchen floor to study her. She held it up so he could see. It was a bank check for $10,000.