Chapter 8
“As if,” Josie said, shoving him aside.
He should have known better than to assume she’d listen and stay put. He let her pass, his head still spinning like a fucking washing machine.
Josie had kissed him. Holy mother of god. He scrubbed his knuckles over his chin as she hustled to the door as if she hadn’t just knocked him on his ass.
He moved behind her as she gripped the handle, protectiveness rushing through him. “Would ya hold on a minute?” he said, placing his palm on the wood.
“No. It’s my house.” She rose onto her tiptoes to look out the window then dropped to her feet. She blinked, surprise making her eyes twice as large as usual. “It’s Cody,” she said.
He grabbed the door handle and Josie stepped to the side while he opened the door. Cody stood on the porch. Rain fell on his sporty black car in the driveway.
“Hey, hope you don’t mind that I stopped by.” His gaze moved over Josie then shifted to Quin. He lifted his arm to reveal a laptop tucked at his side. “I’ve got that information you asked for.”
Josie looked up at Quin, curiosity lifting her eyebrows.
“Do you mind?” Cody asked.
She shook her head. “Come in.”
Cody stepped inside and removed his shoes.
Quin gestured to the kitchen table and they all sat. He looked at Josie. “I asked Cody to find out who was on site when Liam . . . um.” He cleared his throat.
Josie propped her hand on her hip. “And?”
Cody pried open his laptop. “Turns out I saved the footage from that day. I’d forgotten. Of course I don’t have any shots of the area where the accident happened, but the video shows the front of the property and everyone who entered.”
“Who do we have?” Quin asked. Christ, if they could get a lead from the tape, they’d be ahead of the game.
“We’ve got Frasier, which is who I mentioned this morning.
Turns out he was in the office that day and placed an order for lumber.
There’s eight minutes where he’s not accounted for, but it’s possible he was talking to one of the guys, or even in the bathroom.
I’ll go over the others and then show you the tapes. ”
Quin’s blood pressure spiked. There was no way Frasier being there on the day Liam died was a coincidence.
“Next, we have Osmond Field. You know him, right?”
Quin squinted, the name baiting the tip of his memory.
“I do,” Josie said. “Liam helped him build his dock two years ago. I doubt he’d be involved. He’s a widower and the sweetest man.”
Cody gave a nod. “’Course. But we probably shouldn’t leave any stone unturned.”
Quin tented his fingers beneath his jaw. “Anyone else?”
Cody scrunched his face with uncertainty. “I mean, just the guys coming and going. We had some seasonal workers there, so it’s really hard to say.”
Josie leaned toward the computer. “Can you give us the names of the workers?”
“I’ve got six. I’ll email them to Quin.” He tapped the keyboard and sent them off. “I hope that helps,” Cody said, offering a weak smile.
Quin looked at Josie. She sure as hell didn’t seem reassured—only more anxious. “Can you send me the videos?”
“Uh, sure.” Cody sat a little straighter in his seat. “I’m interrupting your meal,” he said, nodding at the ramen bowls and sushi. “I should have called before coming, sorry.”
Josie slid the food out of the way. “Don’t worry about it.”
He kept his gaze on her. “Really sorry about Liam, Josie. I know I didn’t come around much to see if you needed anything. I just . . . I didn’t know what to say. We were all affected by Liam’s passing and I didn’t cope well.”
Josie lowered her gaze to the table and lifted her shoulders. “No need to be sorry,” she said, her voice flat. “I appreciate you putting this stuff together.” She folded her arms on the table then met Cody’s gaze. “Do you suspect that something was amiss that day?”
Cody slid his fingers over the mousepad then blew out a breath.
“I wish I could say yes. Quin showed me the harness, and I admit it looks as though it was tampered with. But in this industry accidents happen all too often. Either way, I just want the truth and if I can help bring peace, or catch someone, I’m down for that.
” He stood and held out his hand to Quin.
Quin got up, accepted Cody’s hand, then clapped him on the back. “Thanks, man. I’ll watch the footage and get back to you.”
Cody snorted. “There’s several hours’ worth and you’ll need some caffeine to do it.” He chuckled, waved to Josie, and left.
Quin shut the door and locked it. Turning back to the table, he studied Josie as she threaded her fingers through her hair and stared at the tabletop.
“You okay?” he asked. Tension radiated up and down his forearms. Who was he kidding? Of course she wasn’t okay. She’d just kissed him—a major step and possibly a huge mistake on her part—and then had to relive Liam’s death in the next breath. He wouldn’t be okay.
She lifted her chin. “I don’t want to talk about the kiss. Let’s just watch the videos and eat, okay?”
He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. “Okay.” He pulled out a chair and sat then opened her computer and accessed his email. In seconds he had the first video loading.
Josie shifted next to him. Inches separated their arms, but instead of the familiar crackle of electricity, he felt an icy wall.
The conversation before she’d kissed him ran through his mind, his own words playing in his head like a sick broken record.
He was the one who’d opened the door. He was the one who’d expressed his long-suppressed feelings.
She might have kissed him, but the fuckup was on him.
* * *
Eight minutes.
Josie sipped from her matcha latte and batted her heavy eyelids for the thousandth time. Cody hadn’t been lying. No amount of ramen, sushi, or caffeine was going to keep her alert. They’d been watching the tapes for the last four and a half hours.
But the amount of time Frasier had disappeared from the cameras for stuck in her mind as they watched the other, even more boring, tapes.
Like Cody had said, eight minutes could have been a chat with a worker, a phone call, a bathroom visit .
. . or screwing around with the harness that Liam had died wearing.
Quin stretched and scrubbed the back of his neck. Somehow, he’d managed to stay a heck of a lot more interested in the surveillance than she had.
I kissed Quin.
So much for not being a hussy. She’d be lying if she said her mind had never ventured into that territory before.
She’d never fantasized about him. Oh, no.
Liam had been her one and only. But over the years, she’d experienced the odd dream where she was kissing Liam only to pull away and find herself in Quin’s arms. Her subconscious mind had clearly picked up on his attraction for her, and yeah, probably the little queasy feeling that danced in her stomach whenever he gave her a longer-than-usual look.
But kissing Quin had been reckless. Now, there was a fat-ass elephant in the room and she either had to be a coward and pretend as though it didn’t happen or face the music—which she was so, so not going to do tonight.
“My money’s still on Frasier,” Quin said. “What do you think?”
“It’s definitely possible.”
“Why don’t we take a break?” Quin turned off the video and shut the computer.
She blinked and rubbed her eyes. “I needed that.”
He chuckled and sat back in his seat.
She copied his movement, letting the wooden-backed chair press into her shoulder blades.
Her stomach flopped over. If he wanted to talk about the kiss, she might have to turn in early.
She needed time to process what she’d allowed her instincts to do before she talked about feelings.
“And do what?” She kept her tone passive, despite the jumping of her nerves.
He shrugged, dipping the corner of his mouth. “What’s Josie do for fun these days?”
She grinned and shook her head. “My work is fun.”
He squinted with interest, and her insides instantly knotted. “Still making crystal jewelry?”
“Yeah, I do custom pieces now and started selling them at Dez’s store.”
He lowered his gaze to her neck. “Is that one of them?”
She picked up the citrine pendant. Normally she also wore her crystal bracelet, and she often stuck crystals in her bra when she needed to stay centered.
But she hadn’t worn anything more than the necklace for her run.
Which was too bad because her amethyst might have protected her from this morning’s incident.
“Yes.”
“Pretty. Citrine?”
Her lips tugged up into a small smile. Oh, gosh. Why was it so hot when a guy was interested in rocks and hippie stuff? “I’m impressed.”
“Don’t be. Citrine and amethyst are about the only crystal names I remember, so it was a fifty-fifty shot.”
A laugh rolled off her tongue. “You played your hand well.”
His teeth flashed at her in a full grin. And dang it if she didn’t like him even more for not mentioning the kiss. “My hand? That reminds me. I haven’t had a reading from you in a couple of years.”
She scrunched her face. “Now you’re messing with me.”
“Heck, no. If ever I needed guidance, it’s sure as shit right now.”
She clamped her bottom lip between her teeth. It was tempting. Not only would doing a card reading take her mind off the current situation, it’d also give her a glimpse into Quin’s path.
Not that she needed to know anything about what he needed in his life.
Interest got the best of her. “All right. Come.” She pushed herself out of the kitchen chair.
The blood rushed to her ankle as she stood, but it didn’t throb as badly as it had earlier.
She moved into the living room. Grabbing her meditation pillow, which was a kaleidoscope of blues and greens, she tossed it to the floor near the couch and then retrieved her wooden box from the altar pressed against the far wall in the living room.