Travis ignored Kir’s long, thoughtful look, and hoped the man would be able to handle the truth.
Chapter Five
Grimm walked into the police station, smiling and waving to his co-workers. Rina had laughed her ass off when he’d first explained this part of the scheme, loving the simplicity of what he had in mind. She’d been extremely useful in hiding Solberg’s body, freezing it solid, then watching as he shattered it into a million pieces. She’d swept up the debris and dropped it into a nearby lake, claiming the fish would appreciate the snack. She was certain that Travis and Val would be toast once he got a hold of them. Her faith in him was a hell of a turn-on, almost as much as her viciousness. “Did we get anything back on those forensics yet?”
Detective Mancinelli nodded. Her cold hazel eyes held a hint of the hunt, that lure that pulled people into police work and kept them there. “You’ve got good instincts, Solberg.” She rifled through some papers, stopping when she reached the one she wanted. “Seems the Luminol test showed large amounts of blood on that fun-room floor.” She shook her head. “What the fuck did they do to that man? There was spray pattern all over the fucking place. Just from the way the drops fell, it looks like he was stabbed and slashed repeatedly.”
He hid his triumphant grin, plastering a look of intense concentration on his face. “Has his wife reported him missing yet?” Thank you, Rina, for calling in the missing person report. Without that even he would have had a hard time convincing the police to investigate his murder.
“No, but the bitch took over the company not four weeks ago. Man, her lawyer was pissed when we called with that warrant.” She closed the papers, her expression hard. “I wanna talk to her, find out where she thinks the darling hubby’s at.” She smirked. “How much you wanna bet she gives us some song and dance about him bein’ off with his mistress? ‘Oh, Officer, boo-hoo, he left me, now I get to live off all this money and fuck my boy-toy into next week. Whatevah shall I do?’ ”
The amused cynicism in the detective’s voice as she batted her lashes at him had him laughing out loud. Oh, she was going to be a pleasure to tame. Too bad she seemed resistant to his persuasive powers .
He sighed. If he could just get into her head, he’d have even more pleasant diversions to look forward to than watching one hot, dedicated cop take down the banes of his existence. He might even be able to explore whatever it was in her ancestry that gave her the ability to resist him.
Snapping fingers in front of his face brought him back to the present. “You payin’ attention, Danny-
boy?” He looked up to find her staring at him in amused disdain. “’Cause my eyes are up here.” She pointed to her face with the sheaf of papers, before shaking her head and slapping them against his chest.
He caught them on pure reflex as she turned and walked away from him. “Want to work on gettin’ the warrant for poor old Mrs. Grimm’s place?”
“I don’t know. I’m leaning more toward the son and his friend, Travis.” She stopped, turning to frown at him. “Rumor has it the old man had a fight with both of them not long before he disappeared.” A couple of other phone calls had made sure she heard those rumors too. “There’s no indication that Mrs. Grimm was anything other than happy with Mr. Grimm.”
She rolled her eyes. “Tell you what, get search warrants for all three places.” She turned and headed back for their shared desk, her hips swaying enticingly.
“Sure, no problem.” He smirked. Damn, he liked watching her walk away. When all of this was over, he’d have to make sure to enjoy the good detective for a while. From the gleam in Rina’s eyes the first time she caught sight of Detective Mancinelli he didn’t think she’d object to a little fun herself.
He sat at his desk and dialed the phone. “Hello, Judge Foster? I need to discuss some search warrants with you.” He smiled, infusing his voice with just enough power to get exactly what he wanted. He’d already gotten the judge to issue the warrant for Grimm and Sons. This, with actual evidence, would be a piece of cake.
Jamie grinned when her brothers Magnus and Morgan showed up at the condo for lunch, sniffing the air appreciatively.
Ah, the lure of the Philly cheesesteak. She bit into her sandwich, slapping Jeff’s hand away when he reached for her hot peppers. “Get your own,” she mumbled around a bite of gooey, cheesy goodness.
Magnus just shook his head at her as he settled on the floor in front of the coffee table. Her love of hot peppers was something of a legend in the family, as was Jeff’s attempts to steal them. He popped the tab on a can of soda and took a healthy drink before unwrapping his sandwich. “How’re you feeling, munchkin?”
“Like I was run over by a truck.”
Magnus winced, unable to keep from visibly tracing her bruises.
“I don’t blame you, Mag.”
“Don’t matter. He blames him.” Morgan sat next to his twin and unrolled his sandwich. “Hell, I blame me too.”
“The only one to blame is Grimm, and you know it.” Travis sat next to her on the sofa, his can of soda right next to hers. He had a bowl of chips cradled in his right arm. He waved away her attempt to take it from him, placing it between them after he’d set his soda down. She’d never had the chance to watch him so closely before. Seeing how he handled his lack of a right hand had been something of an eye-opener.
Things she took for granted, like holding her phone and texting her friends at the same time, Travis had to find work-arounds for. But not once had she ever heard him complain or seen him act uncomfortable. More than once her fingers had twitched, wanting to help him button his shirt, but she’d held back. He didn’t need her help, and frankly she didn’t have the right to touch him that way.
“Here.” A hand reached around and gave Travis his sandwich.
“Thanks, Jeff.”
Her twin slid onto the third spot on the sofa next to Travis. “Welcome.” He bit into his sandwich with a happy moan. “Mmm. Geno’s.”
“Heathen,” Magnus coughed.
“Pagan.”
“Children.” Kir joined the brothers on the floor. “Play nice.”
“Or what?” Morgan asked, balling up and tossing his empty wrapper at Jeff.
“Or Logan will keep all the cheesecake for himself.” Logan helped Jordan into the chair, handing her a soda and a sandwich before heading off into the kitchen again.
Jeff frowned. “Since when do you drink Sprite, Jordy?”
“Since today.” She took a sip and made a face. “Blech.”
“Gimme, I’ll drink it.” Jamie stood to take the can of soda from her sister.
Travis pulled her gently back down. “Let her be.”
What the hell? “I was just gonna switch drinks.”
“Sit.” Travis’s eyes narrowed, but something about his expression was off. He was hiding something from her, and she didn’t like it one little bit.
“Woof.” Jamie matched Travis’s glare, but it was hard. At least most of the swelling was finally gone, so glaring at him was no longer painful. Of course, now she looked like a goth Rainbow Bright, all greens and purples in unattractive places.
He sighed. “Trust me. Don’t switch drinks.”
“Why not?”
“Yeah, why not?” Jordan stood, but got put back in her seat by Logan, who sat on the arm of her chair.
Logan stared down at Jordan, a frown on his face. “Do you want me to tell them why not, or would you rather tell them?”
Jeff was watching them, speculation in his eyes. “You’re pregnant.”
All sound ceased as Jamie and her brothers stared at Jordan.
Jordan rolled her eyes, and pandemonium erupted. It was so loud Jamie barely heard the doorbell ring.