Chapter 11
P auley looked at the caller’s name and spoke into her cell. “Hiya, Mica,”
“Pauley, Angel found some interesting things on that burner phone I lifted off Blackburn,” he began.
“Such as?”
“That Macalister had the opportunity to kill him.”
“I knew it,” Pauley exclaimed fiercely.
“Not so fast. There is a message on here from someone named Kelpie telling Blackburn to move on Searcy. No explanation, nothing. Just short and sweet. Macalister could plead self-defense if challenged, although this is not a clear death threat.”
“Is there any proof Macalister was in the alley as his alias?”
“Aye, an incoming text message from his alias, Searcy, to meet him there. The timeline matches.”
“Sweet Jesus,” Pauley breathed. “Ye know what this means, don’t ye?”
“We have to give the phone to the chief and let him figure out a way to get it to Macalister without incriminating ourselves,” Mica chuckled. “If he doesn’t have information about someone named Kelpie, then we are impeding his investigation by withholding evidence we should have turned over.”
“Aye, especially since neither of us is supposed to be anywhere near the case.”
“No worries, lass. I’ll just tell Quinn that Angel was already working on the phone so it didn’t make it into the evidence box.”
“And ye think he will buy that?” Pauley asked skeptically.
“Of course not, but officially he will anyway. He wants to know what’s going on as much as we do.”
Pauley hesitated and looked around the table, her eyes landing on her son. “Anything about Luca on there?”
“Nay, ye know how it works with the gangers. Divide and conquer so the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing. Ruskag never had a burner on him, which was smart of him when he went for Luca. Blackburn screwed up when he met up with Searcy. To give him credit, he never intended fer anyone to find the phone. It wasn’t on his body. I found it by accident when I saw it poking out of a hole in a bag of fish guts in the bottom of the dumpster. He probably figured to collect it after he eliminated Searcy, and if he didn’t succeed, the burner would be forever lost in a bag of guts no one would be willing to dig into.”
“Leave it to ye, Mica.”
“Hey, ye know ye would have done the same thing,” he protested with a chuckle. “No job too dirty for a dedicated detective.”
Pauley rolled her eyes, even though Mica couldn’t see her. “Anything else?” she drawled.
“Aye. That license plate ye sent me and Quinn comes back to Highland Hatcheries, a legitimate business. But get this...they opened a brand-new hatchery around a year ago and closed down the old one. And the old one is only about 40 miles northwest of Inverness. Its remote location was the reason for closing it in the first place.”
“Who owns it now?”
“Angel is working on it, but it’s going to be hard to track down. She’s trying to navigate through shell companies to find the original source of the purchase.”
“Well, keep me updated,” Pauley replied.
“Ye bet.”
“Oh...and Mica...don’t go out there alone. If ye decide to go, call me and I’ll go with ye.”
“Don’t tell me how to investigate, lass,” Mica growled. “Ye just take care of yer son and I’ll take care of business.”
He rang off before Pauley could reply and she stared at her phone with a worried frown
“Anything new?” Jamie asked. He’d been watching Pauley as she and Mica talked. They had the easy camaraderie of friendship.
Pauley hesitated as she glanced over at Luca, but Luca caught her hesitation.
“Ye are doing it again, Mum,” Luca snapped.
“Doing what?”
“Trying to shut me out like I’m five years old and need to be protected from the big bad world. I’m too far into this for ye to hold back now, and I’m not a kid. What did Mica say?”
Pauley’s eyes narrowed at her son, but Jamie knew Luca was right. “Easy, laddie,” he murmured to Luca.
“All right, Luca, I can respect that, and ye are right. Ye are in over yer head, but it’s too late to worry about that now.”
Luca flushed but didn’t sass back.
They all listened intently while Pauley told them what Mica had reported to her.
Luca was silent for a moment, then sighed. “So, do ye think my handler killed this guy?”
“Let’s just say I hope not,” Pauley replied. “But ye need to be careful, Luca. His motives for recruiting ye are not legitimate. He has no desire to help ye even though he told ye that. Ye can take my word for it.”
“Why doesn’t he just come up here and get the information?”
“Very good question, isn’t it?” she taunted, causing him to flush again.
“I think I can help with the hatchery,” Angus threw in, his fingers flying over the buttons on his cell. Within a few minutes, he looked up. “Florence Hoppner,” he announced.
Pauley’s eyebrows shot sky high. “Detective Inspector Florence Hoppner bought it? That doesn’t sound right.”
“My cousin, four times removed on my mum’s side, used to own the hatchery,” Angus added.
“Four times removed?” Darro hooted. “How do ye even know who they are?”
Angus grinned. “Networking.”
Darro shook his head. “And here I thought ye only networked the best cooks in the county.”
Angus shot him a testy glance. “That too. But me and my dad used ta buy baby trout and other fish ta stock the ponds with on the farm from Able Hardin. He said that when they were first considering selling it, a Florence Hoppner came out to talk with him and brought along a real estate friend. The friend who wanted to handle the property asked to buy it straight out and offered him a deal that was higher than market value. He knew, because he had it appraised. Naturally, he jumped on it.”
“And who was the friend?” Jamie asked.
Angus shrugged. “He doesna remember names, but the company name on the contract was Skelpinorse Properties. They paid cash. So, no other details to go by except what’s on the contract of sale.”
Pauley sent a quick text to Mica explaining what Angus had just told her.
Mica shot a text back and asked if Angus was interested in becoming a constable. He could be fast-tracked to inspector pretty quick if he was game. He was going to talk to Quinn about Florence. Too much coincidence there for his liking.
Pauley chuckled.
“What did he say?” Angus asked curiously.
“He wants to know if ye want to become a constable and be fast-tracked to deputy,” she snorted.
“They couldn’t make enough donuts to keep Angus full,” Darro replied, his eyes twinkling at his second in command.
“Samhain festival champion three years in a row,” Angus retorted, glowering at Darro.
“That’s because no one else could bring themselves to eat all those donuts made to look like eyeballs, intestines, and other such nonsense,” Darro teased. “Lucerne said she doesn’t want to go anywhere near that contest this year with her pregnancy. Eyeballs with blood-colored filling oozing out of them when ye bite into one will have her heaving on the spot.”
They all chuckled and then Luca stood up. “If we’re finished here, I’d like to get back to help Dal with the barn cat that’s having kittens.”
“Kind of late for kittens, isn’t it?” Pauley inquired.
Luca nodded eagerly. “Dal says kitten season usually ends in September. Kittens can be born anytime actually, but they usually run between April and September, so this kitten mum is running a bit late. The mum is an orangish cat with golden eyes, so I’m curious to see what the babies will look like.”
“Well, that may tell ye who the daddy is,” Angus replied with a chuckle. “Then again, maybe not.”
“Looks like the lad is really enjoying his time with Dal,” Jamie remarked as Luca sped out the door.
“It would seem so,” Pauley agreed. “This has been a good opportunity for him. I thank ye again, Darro. And of course, Angus.” She smiled at both men as they stood up.
“Yer quite welcome,” Darro replied. “He’s a fine lad, I might add, and has been doing well.”
“That’s good to hear,” she replied with a smile.
The sound of feet running down the hallway alerted them all to incoming children. Delilah and Corey swept into the room chattering with excitement.
Corey was the first to speak. “We are carving pumpkins and turnips in the kitchen. Mum is helping us decorate them. See?” He held up a turnip that had been carved with eyes, mouth, and black yarn for hair. “Mine is a witch’s skull!”
Jamie knew that Corey was completely comfortable with calling Lucerne mum, but Delilah still held back a bit. He could understand that. She could remember her parents while Corey had been too young to remember much at all. Either way, he considered them both his step-grandchildren. “That’s a fine-looking skull ye have there, laddie,” he enthused.
Delilah looked slightly down her nose at the skull. “Mine is a pumpkin, and it’s too heavy for me to carry around,” she informed them. “But ye can see it in the kitchen.”
“Ye have been carving turnips and pumpkins all week,” Darro said with a chuckle. “How many do ye plan to have?”
Corey’s lip quavered. “Enough to light the way for mum and dad to get in the door for their snacks tomorrow night,” he informed them with innocent blue eyes. “I don’t want them falling on the steps.”
A shiver ran down Jamie’s back. “Aye...well...I’m sure they will appreciate that.” He could feel Pauley looking askance at him but he ignored it. The day of the dead coming awake to share food and gifts from their living relatives was not a Celtic celebration he took part in. He glanced over at Darro, his eyebrow lifting in silent question. Keeping the doors open on All Hallow’s Eve might not be the best option considering they were guarding Luca.
“We’ll talk about that later, Corey,” Darro said, taking his little hand. “Come on, let’s go see Delilah’s pumpkin.”
Jamie glanced down at his watch. Going on 4:00 p.m. “Do ye want to take a walk before supper?” he asked Pauley.
“Aye, that would be nice,” she replied, checking her cell phone.
Jamie took her hand and led her through the kitchen where they admired Delilah’s pumpkin, then spoke to Lucerne. “I’m taking Pauley on a little walk around the property,” he said.
“Unless ye need me to help cook?” Pauley asked.
Lucerne waved her hand and smiled. “Ye two go on, I have dinner under control already. Ye could probably do with some fresh air after being in the study for the last hour.”
“Stay away from the woods,” Angus teased. “The Ghillie Dhu doesna like anyone to come into his territory. Especially after dark.”
Jamie just rolled his eyes. “Come on, lass.”
***
P AULEY WALKED IN COMPANIONABLE silence with Jamie around the circle drive and into the tree-lined lane that went out to the main road. Bo and Misty gamboled around them, their paws sending autumn leaves from the shrubs and other trees swirling around their feet as they ran.
In the air she could smell the woodfire smoke that drifted lazily out of the chimney from the homestead. The massive fireplace in the living room provided a lot of heat in the cold, frozen winters, as well as these late days of autumn. Especially once the sun started setting.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Pauley commented. “I love the Highlands in the fall. I think it’s my first favorite time of year.” She lifted her wrist and glanced once more at her watch.
“How many times are ye going to look at yer watch?” Jamie asked, leading her towards a pasture where horses were grazing on the tidbits of green that they could still pluck out of the soil.
Pauley chuckled. “Ye noticed, did ye?”
He stopped in front of the wooden fence and lifted his thumb to brush across her cheek. “I notice everything about ye,” he said softly. “And I know ye are anxious, waiting to hear something. Ye aren’t used to playing on the sidelines are ye, little firebrand?”
She shrugged. “We could cover so much more ground if I were helping Mica,” she admitted. “I’d love to find out how Florence is involved in this.”
“Or if she even is.”
“Oh, she is, trust me. Florence and Brodie are a lot alike in their dispositions, and I don’t trust either one of them.” She frowned. “Florence was written up a few years back because of a complaint from a mother whose kid she arrested. She did admit to handling the kid roughly, but she said he was high on methamphetamines and she didn’t have a choice.”
“Aren’t people stronger when they are under the influence of certain drugs?”
She nodded. “Aye, they can be. Some big, strong men are barely affected by even a taser. Not that we all have tasers. But some do.”
“How do ye think Florence might be involved?”
Pauley shrugged. “She might be feeding Macalister inside information about the department for one thing. They were thick as thieves when he still worked there. Quinn would never partner them together because they were too much alike and would cover each other’s arse if necessary.”
“Ye don’t think she’s involved with the drug ring?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why would ye think that?”
He leaned up against the fence and hung his elbow over it. “Because Angus said she came out to the hatchery and had a realtor with her. Sounds to me like she was scouting for somebody.”
Pauley’s eyes lit up. “And if she was scouting, then she might be a mole in the office. Which might also be why we never seem to catch any big fish when we do have a drug raid.” She brought up her phone and quickly texted Mica. When her phone dinged with a reply she gasped. “Cripes, I must be slow on the uptake tonight.” She turned the phone so Jamie could see Mica’s response.
‘Good thinking, but I’m already on it.’
Jamie chuckled. “Things look differently when ye have a family member involved. Yer main focus is on Luca, as it should be.”
Pauley slipped her arms around Jamie’s waist, needing to feel his strength around her again. “Ye should have been a detective, Mr. MacNamara,” she mocked, her eyes glinting in the moonlight. “I like the way ye think.”
He ran his hand over the swell of her rear and squeezed one cheek. “And I like everything about ye, Detective MacBride.” Lifting her chin with his other hand, he tenderly dropped a kiss on her lips.
The kiss only ignited the fire already simmering in Pauley’s blood. When a sharp spank landed on her backside, she couldn’t help the squeak that escaped her lips as she grabbed her cheek in protest. “Cripes!”
Jamie simply pinned both of her hands above her waist and murmured in her ear. “Naughty, lass. It’s Jamie. We’ve been over that before, so take yer punishment stubborn firebrand.”
His firm hand spanked three sets of his previously established one-two-three rhythm on her shrinking buttocks while she cursed softly into his chest, completely loving it the entire time.
Was this man too good to be true? It seemed he liked to have a reason to spank, and she didn’t have to necessarily instigate one for him. How shocking...and refreshing. Trying to get Peter to land spanks on her backside had been like trying to push a Galapagos turtle across the sand. And she’d tried to push his buttons. Given what she knew now, it was probably a good thing that he never picked up on it. Peter had lacked real self-control, and that eroded trust in a relationship.
“And one to behave on,” he chuckled, with one last heavy spank across the middle of both globes. Then he rubbed her entire backside with both broad palms.
Pauley slipped her arms up and around his neck, thoroughly enjoying the after-care massage as the sting from his sharp spanks melted into the soothing heat of a warm blanket. Her lady parts throbbed and hummed with pleasure as she sighed into his neck and nibbled the bottom of his ear. “Ye pick the strangest places to heat a girl up,” she whispered.
“I prefer punishment immediately meted out upon infraction,” he replied, his palms sliding up beneath her jacket and shirt to caress the warm skin beneath.
She tensed and leaned back slightly to gaze up into his face, her eyes questioning. “Does this mean ye would spank me in public or in front of yer friends and family?”
He shook his head. “Nay, I’m not an exhibitionist if that’s what ye mean. Why? Are ye?”
She shook her head adamantly. “Absolutely not. I’ve hidden this part of myself my entire life; it’s not something I’d want to share with everyone around me, that’s for sure.”
He wiped his forehead in mock relief. “Whew. Ye had me worried there for a minute. Thought I was going to have to wear a disguise over my face when I took ye out.”
Pauley couldn’t help giggling at the thought of Jamie in a gorilla face mask turning her over his lap at the fountain in the square like some old John Wayne movie. “Ye wouldn’t actually do that.”
One of his eyebrows shot up and that evil grinch grin lifted the sides of his face once again. “Are ye sure about that?”
Suddenly, she realized she wasn’t sure about anything at all. Shivering with delight, she realized that getting to know this unpredictable man was becoming a high priority on her priority list. There was bound to be something she didn’t like about him, but she’d be darned if she’d seen anything yet. Suspiciously, she eyed him.
“Why are ye looking at me like that?” he asked, eyeing her back.
“Just looking for the faults. Everyone has them ye know. I wonder what yers are?”
“Would ye like me to strip so ye can inspect the merchandise?” he drawled.
“I’ve felt the merchandise, and it doesn’t appear to be faulty.”
“In that case, I guess ye’ll just have to keep seeing me to figure me out,” he responded, his hand closing over one warm breast. “I know I like everything I’m discovering.” He gently pinched her nipple through the soft bra, making it stand up and beg for more attention. “Like these greedy little fruits,” he added, moving to the other side and giving it the same attention. “Ye appear to be quite the handful, sweet firebrand.” He nipped her earlobe and then lathed it with his tongue. “Delicious. Ye even smell like peaches.”
“Ye like peaches?” Pauley gasped.
“I love peaches.”
She decided then and there that the expensive shampoo and body works set was well worth the price she’d paid. Peaches were something she liked a lot. Especially the hot wax peach scents, as well as scented candles, and anything else she could find with the fruity odor.
They were so involved in exploring each other that neither noticed the fine Palomino gelding that came up behind Pauley until he pushed into her back with his nose.
Pauley gasped and whirled around, then relaxed when she saw the beautiful animal. “Hiya, gorgeous,” she whispered, lifting her palm to the side of the horse’s jaw and stroking softly. “Where did ye come from?”
Jamie stood as still as a rock, holding his breath as Pauley laid her face on the nose of the horse as it nuzzled her chin, neck and ear. He held onto her waist when she tried to reach both arms up and around the horse’s neck. “Don’t get any closer,” he murmured behind her.
The horse immediately snorted and pranced backwards. Dancing from side to side, he whinnied at Jamie, his dark eyes fearful and angry before he suddenly whirled and galloped away.
Pauley turned around to see Jamie staring after the horse, his eyebrows drawn together in a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“Lucerne told me that the palomino hasn’t let anyone touch it since it’s been here. It was abused by its previous owner and it hates people. It only comes near the house when there’s grain to be had, and only after the lads back off. They had to lasso and confine it before the vet could even give it shots.”
“Has he ever hurt anyone?” she asked, gazing at the horse in the pasture where it stood watching her. “He seemed friendly and curious to me. It’s such a shame that he’s been abused.”
“He put his previous owner in the hospital.”
“Mayhap he deserved it?” Pauley mused, leaning her forearms on the fence.
Jamie nodded. “Mayhap. Darro was with the vet at the Crabtree farm when the horse reared up and came down on the old man. Old Crabtree yelled to have it shot as the ambulance was preparing to take him away, and Darro bought it on the spot. He has a soft spot for horses,” he added with a chuckle.
“But Darro is such a practical man,” Pauley murmured. “I can’t see him letting his feelings interfere if he thinks the horse would be a danger to anyone on Neamh.”
“True enough,” Jamie agreed. “He’s been giving it a chance to respond, but the only reason it’s still here is because Delilah fell in love with it when they took him out of the trailer. She immediately named him Sunshine and was hysterical at the thought of having it put down. Darro relented and kept it for her sake, but Lucerne doesn’t know for how much longer if they can’t do anything with it.”
“It didn’t have a problem with me.” Pauley turned around in the moonlight to face him. “I love horses, always have. I still have one at my cousin’s place in Abbotshire, but it’s too far to visit often. She’s getting pretty old now.”
“Aye. I’d say it’s pretty unusual that it came right up to ye. Mayhap it only likes females. Lucerne likes horses, but in her condition, Darro won’t let her around the stock at all except for Dancer when he’s in the barn.”
“Is Dancer her horse?”
Jamie nodded. “Aye, a fine bay. We kept him at the family farm until she married Darro, and then they moved him here for her.”
“Well, I don’t blame Darro, animals can be unpredictable,” she agreed, allowing Jamie to take her hand and walk with her back to the house. She glanced back at Sunshine, who appeared to be following along inside the pasture. “I like the name Delilah picked, Sunshine even glows in the moonlight. He’s a real beauty. Has Darro ever let Delilah near him?”
“I can’t answer that, but I doubt it. He is very protective of Lucerne and the bairns. The kids are nae allowed to run around without a watchful eye on them at all times.”
They looked up when Darro came striding out of the barn glowering and looking around. Angus was right behind him. When they spotted Jamie and Pauley, they came rushing over.
“Have ye seen Delilah?” Darro asked with a frown.
“Nay,” Jamie replied. “We just walked down the road and back.”
“I sent her to the barn twenty minutes ago to let Angus and Luca know dinner was almost ready and she hasn’t returned.”
When Sunshine’s whinny sounded through the evening air, Pauley frowned. It sounded really close and was coming through the pines at the end of the circle drive where it entered the treelined lane. On a hunch, she suddenly broke into a run towards the sound.
When she reached the end of the drive, she cut through the pines and broke into the moonlit area between the pines and the pasture fence. She came to a dead stop when she saw little Delilah standing on the bottom rung of the pasture fence, her arms around Sunshine’s neck and feeding him something from her right hand.
“My Lord,” Pauley gasped, as she froze and held her breath. Then she began to move.