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Chapter Four

Drake

I groaned. Loudly. “Fucking Dolly.”

Shae swung his head around sharply. “Dolly?” I didn’t answer, just took my seat belt off. “Dolly the donkey?” Shae clarified, his eyes lighting with humor, and for a moment I had to swallow another groan. When Shae lit up like that he was stunning.

I opened my door before my body got any other ideas, just as I heard the footsteps and spotted Moira huffing a little as she tried to run. “Dolly, you naughty girl,” she scolded, and I grinned as Dolly, who was a regular escapee from her field, remained unrepentant even as Moira clipped a short rope on her halter. “I’m so sorry, Drake.” But then her eyes widened as she took in Shae, who had just gotten out of the truck.

“This is Shae,” I waved to him. “He’s a friend.” I added vaguely. I glanced at Shae, but he hadn’t moved from the truck. “This is Moira from next door.”

“Ma’am,” he mumbled, but kept his gaze lowered.

“Dolly won’t hurt you,” I assured him, in case that’s why he wasn’t coming any nearer. “She’s just a stubborn ass.”

“Donkey,” Moira corrected, her lips twitching. It was an old joke. I glanced at Shae again, but he wasn’t looking at Dolly. He shot Moira a nervous look and didn’t come closer and I wanted to slap myself. Shae was enhanced. He had a huge scar on his face. He was used to people being frightened of him, often downright hostile. “The police came and told us your house had caught fire, but you’d already left in the ambulance. A nice young man named Diesel called us to say you were fine.” She glanced sharply at both of us as if checking for injuries. “Are you both okay? I’m sorry I couldn’t help. I’m afraid I have to sleep on the other side of the house because of Albert’s snoring, and with his pills it would take an explosion to wake him.” She snorted. “And probably me.”

“We’re fine,” I assured her, knowing the damage was on the back of the house and not obvious. I smiled at Diesel being called a nice young man. “Shae loved the chicken last night.” Moira’s face lit up and, practically throwing the rope at me, she walked toward him with her arms outstretched. Shae stepped back in alarm, but the truck was behind him, and Moira had her arms around him before he got the chance to escape. She stepped back after a hug where Shae remained frozen, then clasped one of his hands and patted it with the other. “I’m very pleased to meet you.” Not letting go, she turned to me. “Shame on you, Drake Starr. The poor boy looks half-starved.” She turned back to Shae. “Never you mind. I’ll send Albert over with some peach pie when it comes out of the oven.” She frowned. “I’ve time to put some cookies in, and the ice cream should be ready as well.” She beamed, patted Shae’s hand again, then let go and stepped back to me, nodding at Dolly. “Put her in the backyard, there’s a good boy.” And with that, she left.

Shae’s mouth was hanging open in shock and I chuckled. “Come on, I might as well show you where Dolly lives. Putting her back there is a regular occurrence.”

He moved quickly, a small smile on his face, and came up to the donkey, reaching out a cautious hand and petting her neck. Seeing as how Dolly had finished the flowers, she was quite happy to go home. I handed Shae the rope and unlocked the gate and opened it, scanning the fence line looking for a break, but of course there wasn’t one. Dolly was creative. She could undo the original gate, so we changed the lock. She kicked at a fence post until it fell over, and then she stepped over the wire. She got into the field with the horses without any of the horses getting out, and we had no idea how she managed that one. Over the years, she’d never gone any farther than either of our yards, so after a while, Moira and Albert just stopped trying to corral her.

I shut the gate behind me, but we didn’t bother locking it anymore. Shae and I walked back home, just in time to see the truck from Anderson Construction pull in. I hadn’t even had a chance to look at the damage yet myself, so I was surprised that Roy was so quick. It was Kenny, his son, who jumped out, and I quickly introduced Shae. Shae shook hands this time and followed us as I explained what had happened last night.

“Damn, that’s messed up,” Kenny said and for the next hour he examined the damage, noting the worst damage was in the bedroom Shae had slept in. He gave me a price and I asked him to look at the kitchen. Between what Shae had said and my sudden determination not to let Ryan get his hands on Ellie and Jim’s legacy, I wanted to start the projects as soon as possible.

He opened cupboard doors and examined the pantry. “What sort of look are you going for?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it, then looked at Shae for some reason.

He’d been watching and listening to everything after he’d originally said he was leaving us to it, and I said I would appreciate another opinion.

“I can make this very modern,” Kenny started with, and I caught the wince from Shae. I raised an eyebrow.

“What do you think?” I prompted. If Kenny was surprised I was asking Shae’s opinion he didn’t show it.

Shae hesitated but then shrugged. “I don’t think modern fits the house.” He walked to the old butler’s sink. “This is history. Can you update without it feeling different?”

I smiled slowly, and Kenny nodded. “Of course. Are you replacing the range?” It hadn’t worked for some time.

“Yeah,” I said, liking the idea of restoring this house to its former glory, even though the devil on my shoulder asked me what the point was when I was hardly here, and it wasn’t like I had any family. Regret burned at me briefly until I got distracted by Shae asking questions about types of wood for the cabinets like he was really interested.

I leaned back and listened. Kenny had been a little hesitant at first. Maybe it was the scar, maybe it was Shae’s age. I’d kept my personal life private. Not that I’d ever dated much, and I certainly hadn’t ever brought someone here. It seemed like Kenny had been pushing his dad to specialize instead of trying to keep up in a very competitive market, and custom cabinetry was one of his ideas. He and Shae agreed that cherry was expensive, and oak was easier to source and waterproof. Kenny’s eyes dropped to the vinyl flooring, and he glanced at me. “Can I?”

I nodded and he went to the corner and peeled a small piece back, then whistled appreciatively. “Pretty sure this is the original oak flooring underneath.”

“It would look fantastic, stripped back,” Shae agreed.

I stared at him in shock. I knew Shae’s background, so where the hell was all this coming from? He saw me looking and flushed. I agreed quickly, as I didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable, or think that I doubted him.

“You have any experience with this sort of work?” Kenny asked, picking up on Shae’s enthusiasm.

“Only with my grandad before he died,” Shae said quietly. “He was a carpenter and already retired when I was born, but he had a workshop out back and used to talk about different woods.”

Kenny straightened up. “I’ll get some ideas and some prices together for the kitchen. We can start on the fire damage as soon as tomorrow.” I followed him out to the truck, telling Shae I was just going to grab the case Pink had brought.

Kenny shook my hand. “There’s a lot of work needed. Not sticking my nose in, but if Shae is hanging around and wants to help, I can show him how to start on the floor. Save me time and save you money.”

I nodded. “I’ll talk to him.” I grabbed his case and went back inside. Shae wasn’t in the kitchen. He was in his room staring at the mess. The place reeked of smoke, and I bet the small amount of clothes Shae had brought with him would as well. “You can’t sleep in here. The couch is comfortable, and you can put your clothes in my room. There’s a washing machine in the pantry. I’m starving,” I added to stave off any protests and Shae’s belly grumbled in agreement. He followed me back into the kitchen.

We needed to talk. I didn’t want him killing himself because he felt like he owed me, and I repeated what Kenny had said.

His eyes widened. “I don’t have any experience, just what Grandad showed me, and he died when I was eleven.”

“If it’s something you’re interested in, Kenny’s happy to show you.” I wasn’t going to push, but there were a lot of firms that still took on apprentices, and if Kenny was impressed and he was serious about specializing, he might take Shae on, if Shae was at all interested. “I just want you to remember you’ve got to get well.”

Shae’s joy visibly dimmed at the reminder, and I cursed to myself. I wanted to hover, but I knew Shae well enough that if I suggested he lie down he would probably move back into his shitty apartment the same day. I had to pick my battles. “Like you said, I’m not your dad, but as a friend I want you healthy, so while this house is still standing because of what you did last night and I owe you, I don’t want you doing anything strenuous at least until you get a scan this week. Okay?”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Shae said stubbornly.

Shit, I’d never even said thank you. I was a complete bastard who, even if our ages weren’t the huge chasm they were, didn’t deserve someone like him. He’d singlehandedly saved my home, and I was hung up on his stubbornness. But I could see he was uncomfortable as it was.

“Then how about we call it even?” I said. “Go stick your clothes in the washer while I make some sandwiches.” I turned to the kitchen and by the time he returned, I’d made two ham subs, adding some of Moira’s homemade coleslaw because it was fantastic. Shae washed his hands and got two waters. My cell phone rang, and I knew from the ringtone it was Diesel. “You’re on speaker with Shae.”

“I just got a call from the cops to say Dodson was found dead in his cell.”

“Shit,” I swore. First-degree arson was twenty years, but he hadn’t confessed. It had been pretty damning, but surely for a young guy there was always hope. Then I had another thought. “Suicide, or do they think he had help?”

Rawlings was silent for a moment. “He was in a holding cell with a vagrant. The vagrant started having a fit, so it was bedlam. A retired sergeant took Dodson to another cell and when things had settled, the sergeant on duty went to check up on him, and he was dead. PM is tomorrow, but until they get the tox screens back, they won’t know if he took anything or died because of a heart attack.”

Rawlings paused and my stomach dropped. I knew. I fucking knew. “Retired Sergeant David Starr assisted and took Dodson to his cell,” he clarified. “He was apparently visiting colleagues. Danny’s going to access the cameras.”

“My father’s a mean bastard that drinks. I want him treated like any other suspect.”

Rawlings simply continued. I felt Shae move closer but he didn’t touch me. “What about the lawyer?”

“Employed by Dodson’s mom. His dad treated them both like shit. She has a list of ER visits as long as your arm for tripping, falling—”

“Falling onto her husband’s fist?” I spat out.

“Exactly,” Rawlings agreed. Anyway, it took the boy getting hurt one time too many, and they both ran. They lived in a women’s shelter for a while and then she moved in with her sister. Lee only lasted there a month. Left school. Disappeared for a time until his first arrest for possession when he was nineteen. He’s been in and out of jail for the past seven years. When he gets out he goes home to his mom, but it never lasts.”

I met Shae’s eyes and saw the storm in them. He knew how it felt to have a dad like that. We both did. Except my mom never stood up for me.

“So now what?” I asked.

“We need to find the second guy. I’ve got Danny on the computer seeing what, if any, CCTV there is around your place. He’ll narrow it down to possible routes from your location because there has to be a car somewhere, and then we might have to reach out to Gael from the Florida team. It cost me three nights at Disney for all of them the last time,” Rawlings grumbled.

I gaped in shock. “ Gael went to Disney?” He was enhanced and so was their son. He hated being in the limelight for anything.

Rawlings grunted. “Private VIP tour and they did the large parks mainly in the hour they open early. Talon and Finn took their brood as well, and they all had a good time, apparently.”

“Let me know,” I said and rang off.

Shae frowned. “Why does Danny need help from Gael? I mean, he’s amazing on computers.”

“He is, but Gael can actually talk to them.” I huffed. “I don’t get it myself as I’ve enough problems working out how to use my phone, but I’ve seen him in action, and if there’s anything to see the cameras themselves will point Gael to the right place.” Shae seemed to think on that, and I wondered if he had met any of the Florida team after I left Pink’s.

“I liked your idea for the kitchen,” I said, changing the subject, knowing Shae would mention my dad.

Shae gazed at me for a moment, and I saw understanding behind those eyes. “I always loved spending time with Grandad.” We both heard the washing machine stop spinning, so Shae got up to swap his things into the dryer, and I forced myself not to run after him and do it myself, instead getting up to rinse the plates.

I had no idea what the hell was going on, but I knew I needed to call Rawlings back when Shae wasn’t here. Unless it turned out that the young guy had a heart condition or something similar, then this wasn’t just about Ellie’s house, this house. Killing someone in a police cell took a lot of money for bribes and connections. It wouldn’t surprise me if Dad was involved. Sad, but then he was a bastard that had hit his kid. Growing up I’d always thought there was something wrong with me, because my mom treated him like he walked on water. It had taken the army and this job to know things didn’t work like that.

Ryan wasn’t adding up, though. He wanted the house to make some money, sure, but he wasn’t a master criminal. I knew Rawlings would have come to the same conclusion but hadn’t said anything because he’d probably known Shae could hear him. My phone buzzed and I glanced at the screen. It was from Rawlings.

Let me no when you can talk tom am

Yeah, Rawlings knew.

Something else was definitely going on. Dodson had been deliberately silenced, and I wanted to know why.