Chapter 9
Nine
Damien knew better than to hope no one noticed what he was wearing when he got to work. They were usually fairly casual, and showing up in a button-down shirt and black slacks was a red flag that something was out of place.
“Do you have an interview later?” Jude asked when Damien sat at his desk.
Damien snorted. “Nope.”
“What’s with the clothes?” Rhett chimed in, turning his chair around from the pair of desks behind Damien and Jude’s.
Rhett and Jude were the same age and had bonded over local sports and beer.
Rhett was an easy third when Damien and Jude needed it.
Montgomery insisted everyone worked together, but they all had partners.
Rhett was still getting used to his new partner, Eve.
It was not going well.
“Didn’t have a chance to change,” Damien admitted.
He could feel Rhett and Jude exchanging a look.
“Change after what?” Jude asked slowly, drawing out each word.
“My date last night.” Damien glared at his partner, waiting for the news to sink in and knowing it would warrant a reaction.
“The doctor?” Jude asked, a slow smile curving his lips.
“You went out with your doctor?” Rhett asked. “I don’t think that’s really allowed.”
“She’s not his doctor,” Jude explained. “She’s a Ph.D. student. The woman who saved Grant Pickens.”
“She’s hot. I’d go out with her,” Rhett said.
Eve snorted.
Rhett gave her a look.
Damien and Jude shared a look. Rhett and Eve fought more than they agreed in the time since Eve joined the team. Damien liked Eve and respected her. He was fairly sure Rhett did, too, but there was a reason the two of them didn’t get along.
Damien had a few guesses.
“Anyway,” Jude said. “You spent the night at her place?”
“Yeah. She was warned to stay away from me, then followed. I showed up right before the woman got to Harmony’s apartment.”
“Whoa, seriously? What did you walk into?” Jude asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I called Marcus when I was going to Harmony’s last night, but the woman got away. Told the two cops who came in behind me that I was attacking someone.”
“And they didn’t bother to pay attention to why they were there in the first place?” Rhett snapped.
“Marcus straightened them out.” Damien was angry the cops went after him instead of the woman, but he couldn’t do anything about it.
“After the psycho got away. What did she say to Harmony?” Jude asked.
“That I was dangerous and she should keep her distance. Harmony got out of there right away, which the woman expected and followed her. I asked the manager to see the security footage, and thankfully she looked at it and showed me a screenshot of the woman and sent the video to Marcus. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known and followed her home. ”
“Do you think it has anything to do with Grant Pickens?” Jude asked.
Damien shrugged. “No way of knowing. The woman could have seen Harmony on the news and decided to try for a payday and steal her money.”
“I hate to say I hope that’s it, but I hope that’s it,” Rhett said.
Damien nodded. “Same.”
“Did you ever find out what the deal was with Pickens?” Jude asked.
Damien shook his head. “I asked her. She said he was odd, but she didn’t say anything definitive about him. If he doesn’t come out and threaten her, he’s just a jerk.”
“And if he does?” Jude asked.
“I’m going to keep an eye on her,” Damien said.
“I bet you are,” Jude replied.
Rhett snorted.
“Joseph!” Montgomery shouted from across the room.
Damien winced. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t done anything wrong, he didn’t like being called to the boss’s office.
Jude and Rhett teased him as Damien stood and made his way to Montgomery’s office.
“You called Marcus last night and didn’t think to tell me about it?” Montgomery asked when Damien walked in.
“I didn’t realize you needed to know.”
“He always needs to know,” Walker St. Brown said from the couch. Damien hadn’t noticed the hulking man there. “Marcus called me when he couldn’t get Mont or Zeke. I didn’t know anything about it, but Marcus said he didn’t think there was a reason to call them.”
“There wasn’t.”
“You were almost arrested. Could have been shot,” Montgomery said. “Are you all right?”
Damien nodded. “I’m fine. Marcus handled it.”
“He’s going to speak to his officers today. He apologized and said it never should have happened. I agree with him. It never should have happened.”
“Thanks,” Damien said.
“How’s the woman?” Montgomery asked.
“Shaken up. She’s not sure who she can trust or what is going on.”
“She clearly trusts you. Marcus said you offered to stay with her, and judging by your clothes, you did.” Montgomery missed even less than the rest of them.
“I did. I wanted to get here and do some research on Grant Pickens.”
Montgomery and Walker shared a look of interest.
“What are you researching about Grant Pickens?” Montgomery asked.
“Just following a hunch.”
“What does that hunch tell you?” Montgomery sat on the edge of his desk and crossed his arms. To an outsider, he looked casual.
Damien was not an outsider and knew it was a stance of warning. His boss wasn’t happy to hear the direction of Damien’s thoughts. “The break-in doesn’t add up. With Harmony in the middle of it, I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“And you have reason to believe it has something to do with Grant Pickens?” Walker asked.
Damien shrugged. “I don’t know. The press conference was strange. She looked like she was afraid of him. When I asked her, she said he was odd but didn’t elaborate.”
“Then why are you pushing?”
“Is it pushing to do a little digging?” Damien defended his position, widening his feet and crossing his arms.
Montgomery and Walker both noticed. Montgomery’s brows went up, and he slid a look to Walker, who smothered a grin.
“Point taken,” Montgomery said. “Will you come to me if you find anything? I don’t want you pulling a Lance and skipping town without telling anyone where you’re going.”
Damien nodded. He was one of the team assigned to help when Lance brought his now-girlfriend back to Niagara Falls after chasing her to Kansas when she was kidnapped. Damien hadn’t understood the desire to skirt their boss before, and he wasn’t about to push that line now.
“For the record, I hope you’re wrong and don’t find anything,” Montgomery said. “But if you do, we need to make sure we loop Marcus in before we do anything. Grant Pickens is a town hero. Taking him down could run us out of business if it ends up feeling like a fight.”
“Understood.” Damien didn’t like it, but he got it. It didn’t mean he’d hide, though.
Montgomery’s phone rang, and Damien headed for the door as Montgomery answered it. He was almost out of the office when Montgomery stopped him. “Damien’s right here,” Montgomery said into the phone.
Damien turned and found his boss staring at him.
“Are you sure?”
Damien glanced at Walker, but he was watching Montgomery.
“He’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Thanks, Marcus.”
Montgomery hung up the phone and exhaled roughly, closing his eyes before he leveled Damien with a look that had him stepping back.
“The woman you followed last night is dead.”
“Harmony?” Damien breathed, his chest tightening.
“No. The other one. The one who was after her.”
Damien let out a sigh of relief, hating that he was grateful for another person’s death. “What happened?”
“That’s what Marcus is trying to figure out. He needs you to come down and answer questions.”
“Am I a suspect?”
“Marcus knows you’re not, but he needs to do his due diligence. If you want an attorney, we can call one.”
“Do you think I need that?” Damien asked.
“No, but I can’t advise you if you feel you do.”
“Be straight with me. I’m not going to come after you if you say don’t get one or get one. I need the truth. Do I need a lawyer?”
Montgomery exhaled a long breath that had Damien on edge. “I don’t know. I know you had nothing to do with the woman’s death. Marcus knows it, too. But it sounds like the cops you had a run-in with are pointing the finger at you. It could get ugly before it gets clear.”
“I was with Harmony all night. I didn’t leave her apartment until we went to breakfast this morning. Hell, I saw Pryce and Edie at breakfast. Then I came here.”
Montgomery sat up. “You saw Pryce?”
“Yeah. Harmony wanted to go to Bob’s Diner, and they were there.”
“You have nothing to hide,” Walker said. “You did nothing wrong. But they’re going to question the time you say you were asleep. Can she confirm you were there all night?”
Damien glared at Walker. “Are you asking if I was in bed with her? The answer to that is no. I slept on her couch.”
Walker held Damien’s gaze. “It makes no difference to me. I trust you. If you say you were there, I know you were. All I’m saying is I know how these things go.”
Damien shook his head. “Still think I’m crazy for wanting to figure out what else is going on?”
“Harmony is going to be a suspect, too. The two of you having each other as alibis isn’t going to help either of you,” Montgomery said.
“Then find some cameras. Find something that can show we never left that building,” Damien said.
“Do you want me to call Isla?” Montgomery asked.
“Who?” Damien asked.
“The lawyer,” Walker provided.
Damien shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll go talk to Marcus. If I need a lawyer, I’ll call you.”
Montgomery nodded. “Damien, we will figure this out.”
“Thanks.” Damien let himself out of Montgomery’s office and went straight for the door. He ignored the looks of his teammates, not wanting to get wrapped up in any of their discussions. He was almost to the door when Jude caught up to him.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m going to the police station.”
“What? Why?” Jude asked.
“Because the woman who followed Harmony is dead, and the cops who tried to arrest me last night are saying I’m responsible.”
“But you spent the night with her.”
“They don’t know that, and they probably don’t believe it,” Damien said.
“Fucking hell. I’m going with you.”