“Not a morning person. Need time to face the day.”
Jase shook his head. Adorable.
“I’m going to take a shower while you snooze, then.”
“Mmkay.”
Jase set down the grant application he was reviewing to answer his cell phone. “Jase Larken.”
“Did Bree get a hold of you?” Tim asked.
He smiled at her name, remembering how he’d gotten her off with his hand before sending her out the door to work. “Not since I talked to her this morning, why?”
“Shit. I thought she’d call you.”
“About what? What’s going on?”
“There’s been another murder. The Chief asked her to come in for questioning.”
He pushed back his chair and grabbed his keys from his desk. “Questioning for what? Do they think she’s a suspect?”
“No, but we’re concerned. The note left on the body was addressed to her. We need her to come in and answer some questions for the record.”
“Are you with her? Of course you’re not with her, you wouldn’t be calling me. Does she have a lawyer?”
“I don’t know, man.”
“I’m on my way. Don’t let her leave before I get there. Hog tie her if you have to.” Jase pocketed his phone and stormed out of his office. “Ms. Carol, I’m out for the rest of the day. I’ll be on my cell if you need to reach me.” He marched out the door and all but ran to his truck.
His mind raced. Why hadn’t Bree called him? Maybe it wasn’t allowed. Had she forgotten her phone at work? Was she scared? Visions of interrogation scenes fromLaw and Orderfilled his head on the short drive. By the time he arrived at the police station, he had convinced himself Bree had already been arrested and charged with murder.
The desk sergeant recognized Jase and waved him through. Jase stormed over to his brother’s desk. “Where is she?”
Tim held up a hand as he finished his phone call. “She’s still being interviewed,” he said after he hung up. “She has a lawyer, and her grandmother is here as well.”
Jase glanced around, looking for an elderly lady. “Is her grandmother in the restroom?”
“No, she’s in with Bree,” Tim explained. “You didn’t tell me her grandmother is Vivianne Coffee.”
Jase started. The Coffee family was the closest thing Haven Springs had to royalty. They’d donated several million dollars over the years to the schools, revitalizing downtown, and to the police department. “I had no idea. She told me her grandfather left her some money, but she never referred to her grandparents by name. Hell, her last name is Marks.”
“That answers whether you were keeping that from me.”
“First I heard of it. What happened?”
“Same as last time. Body. Note. I don’t know what this one said exactly, but from what I gather, it’s along the same lines as the first.”
A door across the large, open office opened and Bree walked through, accompanied by two officers, another man Jase didn’t recognize, and an older woman. Her silver hair hung in a sleek, shoulder-length bob, and she was dressed in walking shorts and a sleeveless top. Watching her, he’d never have guessed she was in her mid-eighties - nor that she was worth millions. She stood next to Bree with one arm around Bree’s waist. Bree’s arm was draped loosely across her grandmother’s shoulders, but he could see the tension lines on her forehead from where he stood.
She glanced in his direction and some of the tightness left her face. She gave him a small smile and said something to her grandmother, who looked their way. In profile, the resemblance between Bree and her grandmother was evident. They shook hands with the two officers, then with the man Jase assumed to be the lawyer. They crossed the open expanse between the interview room and Tim’s desk. It took all his control not to pick her up and carry her out of there, but he crossed his arms across his chest and waited for them to get to him.
“Gran, this is Jase and his brother Tim.” Bree indicated to each of them in turn.
Tim stood and walked around his desk, holding his hand out. “Ma’am. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”
“That’s alright. I understand things have to be done a certain way.” Her soft voice carried a cultured, southern lilt that made Jase think of formal teas and cotillions.Had Bree been presented to society?Did they still do that?
“Ma’am,” Jase said, holding out his hand. She turned to him, and he accepted her outstretched fingers and gently shook her hand.
