What Echoes Render Read online

  She had a concussion; of that there was no doubt. But she refused to be transported to the hospital for an MRI, at least not tonight. He was able to extract a promise from her that she would go in the morning, and he had every intention of making her keep it.

  After giving David instructions about watching her while she slept, and only letting her sleep for short periods of time, the EMTs cleaned up and left. Leaving Jesse sitting on the edge of her bed, her hair a mess, looking a bit lost.

  He sat down, leaned against the headboard, and pulled her into his arms. She went willingly and just lay there—her arms wrapped around his waist, her head resting against his chest.

  Several minutes later, Ian found them in that same position. A look of disapproval crossed his face, but David didn’t know if it was because they were so obviously together or because the information had been kept from him.

  “Jesse?” Ian said.

  She lifted her head from his chest and looked at her friend.

  “Do you remember anything more?” Ian asked, his voice soft.

  She dropped her head back down and shook it against David’s chest.

  “Was the door open when you got here? Or the alarm on?”

  She seemed to mull this over before answering. “I think I unlocked the door, but I know the alarm wasn’t on. I think I gave it some thought, but to be honest, I wasn’t altogether sure I’d set it when we left. I think James was the last one out of the house and, well, things have quieted down so I just wasn’t as vigilant about it when we left yesterday. And when I got home last night and the alarm wasn’t on, I figured we’d just forgotten to set it.”

  “You said you think you unlocked the door. Do you not remember?”

  “No, I remember putting my key in and turning it. But I don’t remember testing the door before I did. So it’s possible it was unlocked before I turned my key, but it might have been locked, too.”

  Ian frowned. “We need to look around the house and your room to see if we can find what you might have been hit with. Why don’t you have David take you to our place and you can stay with Vivienne tonight?”

  “Because I’m going to take her home to my place. She can stay with me tonight,” David said. Her head came up at his proclamation. It wasn’t negotiable as far as he was concerned.

  Ian’s eyes fixed on David’s before switching to Jesse in question.

  “We’ve been seeing each other for almost two months and haven’t told anyone because, as much as I love your wife and Matty, they meddle and want to marry me off. My life is complex enough that I didn’t want to deal with all the questions,” she summed up.

  Ian quirked a brow, then let out a chuckle. “She can be nosy.”

  “She’s a shrink and a detective, she doesn’t know any other way. And now that you’ve made her a happily married woman, she wants everyone else to be the same. Even though what works for her may not work for everyone else.”

  “So, no marriage in the works for you two?” Ian asked.

  “And that would be exactly why we haven’t told anyone,” Jesse shot back. “It’s none of your business until we decide it’s your business.”

  Ian’s gaze, now softened by good humor, came back to David. “And this works for you?”

  “It works for both of us.”

  Ian seemed to weigh the situation, then gave a shrug. “Whatever works for you is fine with me, but don’t discount the hell Vivienne will likely put you through when she does find out. In a loving way, of course.”

  “So you’re not going to tell her?” she confirmed.

  “Not my place to tell her, is it?”

  Jesse actually laughed. “The hell she’s going to put me through is nothing compared to what’s going to happen to you when she finds out you knew and didn’t tell her.”

  “If you ever decide to tell her, that’s probably true,” Ian said, rising from his seat. “But the good news is, I know what I can do with all that energy.” He grinned and winked at Jesse, who just laughed. “Now gather up a few things and get out of here. Hathaway, take good care of her and we’ll talk tomorrow.” He handed David a card containing his office, cell, and home numbers and left the room.

  “Ready?” David asked, looking down at her.

  She looked tired, and sounded it, too, when she answered. “More than you know.”

  ***

  Morning didn’t even feel like morning when David rolled over and woke Jesse up for the umpteenth time. Since she wasn’t hooked up to any machines to monitor her brain function, he wasn’t about to let her sleep through her concussion. Thankfully, he could take her to the hospital for the MRI today, and then if they got the green light, they could nap as long as they wanted in the afternoon. Not that he’d be able to nap too long, he still had to head out to the scene of a suspected arson north of Albany, but he could have a short rest.

  “Do I look as bad as I feel?” Her voice was gravelly as she pushed her hair out of her face. All things considered, she looked pretty good, and he told her so.

  “You’re biased.” She cuddled up against him and he wrapped his arms around her.

  “Yep.”

  He felt her laugh softly into his chest. Then she said, “And I’m glad.”

  She started tracing her fingers along the lines of his chest. Her gentle touch wasn’t trying to arouse him, which was probably why it always did, because there was nothing coy in it, just her enjoying him.

  “We need to get you to the hospital for the MRI.” He picked up her hand and kissed her palm.

  She mumbled an assent, but neither of them moved. He was just about to drift off to sleep again when his phone buzzed beside him. Picking it up, he read the number, frowned, then answered.

  “Chief,” he said.

  “We need you up at the site, stat,” came the abrupt reply.

  At the tone of his boss’s voice, David paused before answering. “I was planning to head up there this afternoon.”

  “Too bad, we need you up there now. Turns out the guy who owns the building is a key witness in a mafia racketeering case and the feds want to know everything there is to know about what caused that fire.”

  “Because they want to link it to their case?” he asked. It wasn’t unheard of, but these kinds of connections, or potential connections, had come along very rarely in his career.

  “Yeah, they want to know if one the mafia goons did it. Turns out the defendant in the case has some firebugs on his payroll and they would sure like to know if our fire shares any of the same signatures.”

  David sighed and looked at the clock. “I can be there in ninety minutes.” That would give him enough time to get Jesse back home and then him back up to the site.

  “Good, the feds are coming in and will be there about the same time.” His chief rattled off the names of the people David would meet and then hung up.

  He looked down at her. She was watching him.

  “You have to go in?”

  He nodded.

  “Everything okay?”

  He told her what the chief had told him and then they both reluctantly left the bed.

  “You still need to get your MRI,” he pointed out as he pulled on his clothes. They’d showered the night before when they’d arrived at his house. No doubt, he had crazy bedhead, but at least he didn’t have to waste time in the shower this morning when he needed to make sure Jesse took care of herself. “You should call Ian and Vivi and have one of them take you.”

  She shook her head as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail—no bedhead for her. “No, Vivi was a good sport going out to the clubs and all the other night, but she’s almost seven-months pregnant and is tired as hell. I’ll call Kit.”

  He was glad she wasn’t fighting him on this, but he still needed to be sure it would be taken care of. “Call her now and make sure she can take you. I don’t want to leave you until I know you have someone to drive you to the hospital.”

  She paused and gave him the kind of smile that did
funny things to a guy’s heart. “If I call her now, she’ll be at my house before we are. I’ll call her as soon as I get home.”

  “Promise?” He closed the space between them and wrapped his arms around her.

  “Promise.” She repeated.

  He stared down at her for a long moment. He didn’t think he would ever forget the sight of her crumpled body on the floor.

  “God, Jesse.” He pulled her close and took a moment to hold her. Her arms came around him in comfort and he brushed a kiss across the top of her head.

  “We need to go, David.”

  “I know. I don’t want to.” He wasn’t ready to let her go quite yet.

  “I know. But you have to. Everything will be fine. I promise you. Kit will take good care of me.”

  He took in a deep breath and let it go, letting her go at the same time.

  “I know. You have good friends. I think you should keep them close until we figure out what’s going on.”

  She squeezed his hand as they left his house and walked to his truck. “Believe me, David, I plan on it.”

  ***

  Jesse sat in the passenger seat of Kit’s little green convertible. Her friend was not at all happy about the fact that she hadn’t been called the night before and was feeling suspicious about not just the break-in, but about all the events of the previous night.

  She had called Ian and Vivi, dodged Vivi’s questions, and made sure Ian knew she was going to head to Kit’s after the MRI, just to have a rest. She had planned to go home, but the evidence collection team had left a bit of a mess that she didn’t want to deal with quite yet, plus Kit wouldn’t have it anyway.

  “So, tell me again what happened last night,” Kit said.

  Jesse sighed and told her. For the third time.

  “Who called the police? And where did you go last night?”

  “Kit, can we just drop this? My head still hurts and if I’d known you were going to give me the third degree I would have called Matty.”

  That shut Kit up. For about thirty seconds.

  “Oh my god! You’re seeing that guy, aren’t you? What was his name? David! That’s what it was—or is. You’ve been seeing him all along and he’s the one who found you last night. And you went to his house, didn’t you? I knew Ian wouldn’t just let you wander around all night.”

  Kit sounded so smug; Jesse didn’t even bother answering. She closed her eyes and laid her head back on the seat.

  “It is him, isn’t it?” Kit pressed, but more gently now.

  Jesse nodded, not opening her eyes.

  “How long have you been seeing him? Why haven’t I met him? I was wondering who you were texting all night at the club.”

  Jesse opened her eyes and rolled her head to the side in order to stare at her friend. When she didn’t answer, Kit spared a glance in her direction a time or two. Then pursed her lips.

  “This is why you didn’t tell anyone, right? What we were talking about at lunch that day, all the endless questions from nosy friends.”

  “Something like that, yes.”

  Kit downshifted as they climbed a hill. “Sorry, I’ll let it go.”

  “Thank you.”

  “After you answer one question.”

  Jesse let out another sigh.

  “Is it as good as you hoped it would be?” Kit asked with an unholy grin.

  Try as she might, she couldn’t stop the twitch of her lips and the satisfied smile that crept across her face. “It’s amazing.”

  “Hallelujah, amen,” Kit said, making Jesse laugh.

  “But, Kit. All joking aside, you and Ian are the only ones who know, and I would like to keep it that way for now,” she said.

  Kit’s expression sobered. “Of course. But did you just tell me Ian knows and Vivi doesn’t?”

  “He said it’s not his story to tell.”

  Kit let out a whistle, then laughed again. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall when she finds out Ian knew before her.”

  “I think Ian is kind of looking forward to it.” Jesse smiled again, enjoying the sun on her face and wind on her skin.

  “Yeah, I just bet he is.”

  ***

  Jesse rolled over and looked at the clock. She was in one of Kit’s guest rooms and had finally had a good night’s, or afternoon’s, rest. Grabbing her phone she read through a couple of texts from David. She’d sent him one earlier, letting him know the MRI had been clean and that she’d be staying at Kit’s for the night.

  Swinging her legs out of bed, she became aware of voices downstairs. Not just Kit’s but a man’s voice as well. Having slept in just her t-shirt, she slipped back into her clothes, then padded down to the main level.

  Unlike most of the houses in the area, Kit’s house was extremely modern, all glass and steel and split into three levels that descended, sideways, down the hill on which it was built. The middle level was the main living area, most of the bedrooms were on the upper level, and a gym, as well as the laundry, guest, and TV rooms, were on the lowest level.

  Stepping into the kitchen, it was obvious she was stepping into an argument as well. Two sets of golden eyes turned to her as she stood in the doorway. Her own hazel eyes went to Kit and then to the man standing opposite her.

  “Caleb,” she nodded to him.

  “Jesse.”

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Good question,” Kit interjected. Caleb shot his sister a glare.

  “And what’s bothering you so much?” Jesse asked Kit.

  “Good question,” Caleb mimicked Kit.

  “Not helping,” Jesse shot back. He put his hands up in mock surrender.

  “Kit?” Jesse asked.

  Kit shook her head and turned away to make some coffee. “I don’t know why he’s here. He just showed up while you were sleeping and he wants to know what’s going on.”

  Jesse looked questioningly to Caleb, who met her gaze with an even, expressionless face.

  “How did you know something was going on?” she asked.

  He wagged his head, clearly not willing to answer her question.

  “Ian’s here,” Kit announced with a glance at the security monitor. As a single, wealthy woman tucked away in rural Hudson Valley, Kit had a decent security system. Nothing extreme, but a camera at the entrance to her driveway was a part of it.

  “Caleb?” Kit drawled. Are you going to stay was left unsaid. He didn’t bother answering. Jesse didn’t understand the tension between the siblings, but for now, she didn’t care. She’d ask Kit about it later. After she had heard from Ian about what he’d found.

  Kit let Ian in and, not surprisingly, he picked up on the tension right away. His eyes went to Caleb, then to Kit, then back to Caleb. Jesse noted with interest that Ian didn’t look surprised to see Kit’s brother there.

  “Jesse, how are you feeling?” Ian asked.

  “Much better, thank you.” She took over the serving of the coffee and soon all four of them were seated at Kit’s sleek dining table.

  “Vivienne wants you to call her,” Ian started.

  “After we talk, I’ll do that. So did you find anything?” she prompted.

  “We found some footprints in the field headed toward the woods, the trophy that was used to hit you, and some car tracks on the dirt road on the other side of the woods.”

  “A trophy?” Jesse frowned at the memory.

  “One of Matt’s,” Ian supplied.

  “He was in Matt’s room?” The thought made her sick. “What about James’s room?”

  “It looks like whoever was there was searching for something. He or she must have started upstairs but was on the main floor when you came in and interrupted them. Was anything missing?” Ian asked.

  “I haven’t had a chance to look. Kit was going take me back tomorrow and help me clean up a bit. It sounds like we’ll have more to clean than I originally thought?”

  Ian nodded. “We fingerprinted a lot of surfaces. The rooms aren’t to
o messed up, but they will need some picking up. Can you think of anything you might have that someone would want to take?”

  “Just the usual things, computers, some jewelry, electronics, but nothing too valuable or unique. Maybe it was just a fluke thing, then?” A girl could hope.

  Caleb snorted; Ian sent him a repressive look before answering. “It’s always possible, but given that you lead a normal life and haven’t really pissed off any one that we know of, I find it hard to believe that what happened yesterday and the events from earlier this summer are unrelated.”

  “But it’s been almost two months since the car accident,” Kit interjected. “Doesn’t that seem weird to you?”

  Ian shrugged. “Since we don’t know who is targeting Jesse, or why, it’s hard to say what’s weird and what’s not.”

  “What about the footprints?” Caleb asked.

  “Small.”

  “Women’s?” Caleb speculated.

  “It’s possible,” Ian answered.

  “What aren’t you saying, Ian?” Jesse knew her friend well enough to know he was keeping something.

  He sighed. “We don’t have any proof, but we think it might be a woman.”

  A woman. For some reason, the thought sat heavy on her shoulders.

  “Why?” Kit asked Ian.

  “Given the size of the person you saw in the truck that tried to run you off the road, the footprint, and, well, the injury to your head, it leads us to believe it might be a woman.”

  “My injury?” Jesse repeated, confused.

  “I talked to Vivienne about it last night, explained where you were hit, and showed her the photos of the injury. Judging by the angle and location, she thinks whoever hit you was no more than five foot six or seven.”

  “That could still be a small man or young person,” Jesse pointed out.

  “It could be, which is why we’re not ruling anything out but rather expanding the investigation to include women.”

  Jesse frowned. “Okay. Any chance there were fingerprints anywhere?”

  He let out a rueful laugh. “Yeah, lots of them. But I’m betting most of them are yours and the boys’. And maybe—” He cut himself off.