Page 14

After asking Tyler to locate Ed Smith’s whereabouts, Presley was transferred to her bosses. They were sending Kayne Serruto to assist since she was the apparent target. She’d forwarded a list of equipment she needed earlier, and Kayne would bring them with him when he arrived, including a Kevlar vest for Dominic. It hadn’t occurred to her to add extra supplies to her SUV before she left the compound. The current scenario had never crossed her mind. Neither had running into Dominic Bianchi.

Presley disconnected and turned to see him leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. She owed him an explanation. He’d been caught up in her mess. It wasn’t his fight, but he’d promised to stand beside her.

“When I was a police detective, my captain tried to rape me.”

Dominic shoved from the wall, his arms dropping to his sides. “What?”

“He didn’t succeed,” she hurriedly assured him, then proceeded to tell him the entire story, including the part about Luke Colton getting him fired.

“Good. He should be in jail.”

“It was my word against his. The officer who rescued me refused to talk. He got to her.”

“What’s his name and where does he live?”

“Why?”

“I’m going to pay him a not-so-friendly visit.”

The words, combined with the look on his face, caused all her girly parts to tingle. He wanted to beat up her ex-boss for her. “Thanks, but we’ll let the courts take care of him after he’s caught.”

“One punch . . . maybe two. I’ll make them count.”

“You need to stay out of jail for Gia’s sake.”

He made a noncommittal sound. “You think he’s the one killing these women?”

That was where Presley was having trouble. She could understand him wanting revenge on her, but for someone who had made the law his career, it would take a severe personality switch to resort to taking lives. Then again, he was a man whore and potential rapist. Maybe it wasn’t such a considerable leap to assume he’d crossed over to the dark side.

“His name is Ed Smith, and I’m having my office determine his current whereabouts. The dead man who had been asking about me has been identified as Bill Fitzgerald. He’s from the town where I worked.”

“He had to be doing your former boss’s bidding.”

Ed Smith might not have set the fires himself, but it was certainly plausible to assume a career criminal had upped his game to murder. But who had shot him? Had Ed eliminated him so he couldn’t talk?

“Maybe Smith instructed Fitzgerald to kill people you knew to get you here. Once that happened, he was expendable.”

It was the same thing she’d been thinking. There was no reason to go after Charmaine, Tamera, or Jessie now that she was here. They should be safe.

Once they loaded into her SUV, Presley typed in the address BeBe had texted her for the safe house and let the onboard GPS guide her. No one shot at them as they motored out of Dominic’s driveway, so that was good. She kept an eye on the mirrors to ensure she wasn’t being followed, and when she was confident they weren’t, she stopped by a grocery store to pick up supplies. Usually, BeBe had the houses stocked, but she didn’t have time to make the arrangements on short notice. Presley told her she would take care of it.

The navigation system told her to turn, and she approached a security gate like the one at Dominic’s house. However, this one was several feet higher and looked to be electrified. Nice touch.

Presley wondered how BeBe managed to find this gem in the area. It wasn’t as if she’d been on a case for the company. She’d come on her own. The woman was incredible.

“This is—was Kurtis Ponds’s vacation home,” Dominic told her as they navigated the steep driveway. “He was a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings until they traded him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. It’s been on the market for a while.”

The house was built on a hill with an incredible view of Lake Superior. Made of cedar shake shingles with an expansive deck and a wall of windows, it looked every bit the millionaire’s hideaway. There was even a giant fountain shaped into two eights spouting water, which she assumed had been Kurtis’s jersey number.

Presley didn’t have a remote for the garage door, so she parked by the steps, and they carried their groceries and bags inside. The interior was as impressive as the exterior. Wide-planked hardwood floors, oversized leather furniture, plush throw rugs, and a plethora of green foliage that, upon further inspection, proved to be fake. It looked to have been professionally decorated. Either that or the realtor’s office had staged it for the sale.

Presley wondered about the going price for a house like this in Serenity Shores. It had to be in the eight digits. Most people around here were blue collar and didn’t have that kind of money. It might sit on the market for a long time.

The upstairs boasted three suites. Dominic insisted she take the one with the view of the lake. She didn’t argue because she didn’t plan on staying there alone.

After a light lunch, Presley set her computer up in the office slash library. Two stories high with skylights, it featured a spiral staircase leading to the upper level. If she had time, she’d explore the selection of books lining the shelves. Instead of sitting at the massive rosewood desk, she chose the red leather sofa and placed her computer on her lap.

“Knock, knock.” Dominic stuck his head inside. “Can you use some company?”

“Sure. Come in.”

He took in the space. “Nice.” He motioned to the couch. “Mind if I join you?”

A shiver of awareness shot through her. They were alone in the house. Oh, the fun they could have. “Sure.”

Before she could suggest several activities they could do naked, her cell rang. “It’s my office. I’ll put it on speaker.” She punched the button. “Hey, Tyler.”

“Hey, Presley. I’ve got some information about your former boss, Ed Smith. He’s working as a security guard for a gated community near the country club in Wausau.”

She winced. That was a colossal downgrade—police captain to glorified gate keeper. She could see how he’d resent her.

“He hasn’t missed work all week,” Tyler continued. “In fact, I have proof he’s there now.”

Presley sat up. “What? That can’t be. Someone shot Bill Fitzgerald.”

“He must be pulling strings from afar,” Tyler suggested. “I checked into Fitzgerald’s finances. No large deposits or money transfers. I’m still digging. He could have a hidden account.”

“I’m not surprised there’s no paper trail. I’m sure they used cash. And I doubt a career criminal who has been caught dozens of times is smart enough to set up an offshore account.”

“You’re probably right. Also, Ed Smith’s wife is divorcing him and it’s contentious. She’s trying to take him for everything. She’s stated under oath that he’s had several affairs and even paid off someone who insisted the sex wasn’t consensual.”

“He’s done it before,” Presley growled.

“Apparently. He has two daughters, Raye and Penny, and one son, Ed Junior. Raye is a marketing manager in Minneapolis, and Penny is a stay-at-home mom in Wausau. Eddie is a detective in Rapid City.”

Presley shot forward and almost knocked her computer off her lap, grabbing it at the last second before it crashed to the hardwood floor. “Did you say Rapid City? As in South Dakota?”

“Yes.”

Presley gaped at Dominic. “Jed Flowers is from there.”

“That’s not a coincidence,” Dominic insisted.

“What am I missing?” Tyler asked.

She explained about Jed Flowers and how he’d been spending time in Serenity Shores. “I know the detective he was working with. I’ll give him a call.”

“Hit me up if you need anything else.”

“Thanks, Tyler. I will.”

She disconnected and called Reggie.

“Branch.”

“Reggie, it’s Presley Parrish and Dominic Bianchi. Is Jed Flowers with you now?”

“No. He left last night.”

“Is he coming back?”

“No. He’s headed home to South Dakota.”

She told him what Tyler had learned and how Eddie Smith worked in South Dakota, like Flowers.

“I verified his credentials myself with his department. Hold on, I’m going to call his cell phone.” There was a pause, and then he came back on the line. “It instantly kicked to his voicemail, so he probably turned it off.”

“Do you have the number for his station?”

“Give me a second . . . here it is.” Reggie recited it to her.

“Thanks. Let me know if you hear from him.”

She ended the call and punched in the digits for the Rapid City Police Department. When it was answered, she gave her name, the company she worked for, and asked to speak with Detective Flowers.

“Flowers.”

“Detective Flowers, this is Presley Parrish. We met a couple of days ago.”

“Refresh my memory, Ms. Parrish. Where did we meet?”

“At the Serenity Shores Police Department.”

“Where is Serenity Shores?”

“Minnesota.”

Flowers laughed. “Impossible. I haven’t been out of town.”

Presley glanced at Dominic.

“Someone with your credentials was here. Do you know who might’ve taken them?”

“No, but I did lose my badge a few weeks ago and had to get a new one. I was sure it was an inside job.”

“Do you have a partner?”

“I do.”

“Is he or she there now?”

“He, and no. He’s on vacation.”

“What’s his name?”

“Eddie Smith.”