Whiskey For Breakfast Page 12

  The Dragnet theme filled the car and I dug around in my purse until I found my phone. The theme song belonged to Kate.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “I just heard over the police scanners that Mr. Tannenbaum’s body was found this morning. Looks like homicide.”

  “Shit. I just spoke with him at his house yesterday.”

  “You might want to let the investigating officer know that before they find your prints.”

  “Let me guess. Nick’s the investigating officer.”

  “Right the first time.”

  “Fuck.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line and from Savage as well. He’d pulled to the side of the road instead of taking the turn off to head to Charleston.

  “Is everything okay?” Kate asked. “I can relay the message if you want me to.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it. And it’s probably best I relay the message myself. I’m not armed at the moment, so I can’t shoot him.”

  “As your friend I’d advise against it. The paperwork would be a bitch.”

  Kate hung up and I gave Savage the news about Tannenbaum. “Let’s take a detour and drive by the scene. I need to let Nick know I was there yesterday before he goes ballistic when he finds my prints.”

  “I was under the impression you and Dempsey had patched things up. You seem a little hostile for someone who was wearing yesterday’s clothes this morning.”

  “It’s not what you think,” I said, and then I remembered it had started out being exactly what he was thinking. “At least not really. I mean, I was drunk and sometimes alcohol makes me a little…amorous. So I probably would have but Nick turned me down. And then I would have again this morning because apparently I’m a sex addict with no willpower, but then he got called to a crime scene and my brain started working again before I could do something stupid. Now I’m just mostly pissed. I’m not much for casual sex. And apparently I’m a big fat loser without a modicum of self-control because I can’t seem to tell him no.”

  “Hmm. Maybe you should pretend he’s me. You don’t seem to have a problem telling me no.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Not really. You had feelings for the guy and then he dumped you. That’s not something that’s easy to get over, and it’s understandable you might slip up now and again if he shows interest in you. Maybe all you need is to get him out of your system once and for all.”

  I gave Savage an arched look.

  “I was a psychology minor,” he said, shrugging.

  “So you think I should sleep with him one last time? Like a cleansing?”

  “Possibly. Then you’ll be free to move on to something better.”

  It was my turn to hmmm. I could read between the lines there. I was almost positive that Savage would be miraculous in bed. Like an oversexed Captain Kirk, exploring uncharted territory. But Savage was the kind of man who probably wasn’t good for a woman’s self-esteem. And believe me, after being left at the altar for a Barbie doll and then left again while stuck in the hospital with a gunshot wound, I definitely had some self-esteem issues. Savage was larger than life and just a tad scary. I had a feeling that being in bed naked with Savage would bring all my insecurities to the surface. He certainly wasn’t a comfortable man.

  Nick, on the other hand, was handsome in an approachable way. Unless he had his cop face on, then all bets were off. His body was a work of art and he had that aura about him that made men want to drink beer with him and women want to rip their clothes off. But when we were in bed together I never wondered if I looked stupid or if I needed to lose five pounds. If I ever went to bed with Savage, I’d never be able to just enjoy myself.

  It didn’t take long to get to Mr. Tannenbaum’s house. He lived over on Hall Street not far from Nick’s parents. The street in front of the house and to the side was cordoned off and a couple of police cruisers and Nick’s truck blocked it so traffic couldn’t drive through.

  Nick must have picked up his truck from his parents’ house before coming to the crime scene. Probably it wasn’t a good idea for a public servant to drive around a car that cost six figures.

  “Why don’t you just badge us through?” I asked.

  “Because it’s always good for the local police not to hate your guts on sight. I might have to work with them again, and cops have long memories.”

  “If I had a badge I’d use it for everything. Cutting in line at the Piggly Wiggly and to get discounts on movie tickets.”

  “Everyone who has a badge uses it for that stuff. Sometimes you’ve just got to be more circumspect when dealing with the local cops. They have badge envy.”

  “Is that like penis envy?”

  “It’s the same principle.”

  I broke out in a smile and got out of Savage’s SUV. “I’ll give you a hundred dollars to say that to Nick.”

  “Not while he’s armed.”

  Savage and I waited just outside the perimeter while the uniform went inside to get Nick. I popped my knuckles a couple of times and realized I’d chewed off my lipstick. Nick wasn’t going to be happy with me. But I figured it probably served him right because I sure as hell wasn’t happy with him.

  Nick walked out of the house and I could already tell it wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. He still wore the same worn jeans and thin charcoal sweater he’d put on that morning, and if it wasn’t for the weapon at his side and the badge clipped to his belt most people would never place him as a cop. Unless they looked at his eyes.

  “Agent Savage,” Nick said, nodding.

  “Detective Dempsey,” Savage nodded back.

  I could feel the testosterone pumping between them and I looked back and forth a couple of times just to make sure they weren’t going to jump at each other’s throats in the middle of the street.

  “I won’t assume you guys were just in the neighborhood,” Nick said, his brow arching.

  Nick had issues with Savage. Most of those issues had to do with Savage’s interest in me. I knew Nick’s jealousy was legitimate. I wasn’t so sure about Savage’s. Sometimes I had a feeling that Savage’s interest in me had more to do with winning and Nick than it actually had to do with me.

  “We’re working.”

  “I didn’t realize Kate was hiring off duty FBI agents now.”

  “Savage is doing me a favor.”

  “Just make sure the price isn’t too high.” Nick directed those words right at Savage, and I watched as Savage smiled. It wasn’t a reassuring smile.

  “I guess it’s a good thing I have an extra five hundred dollars in my pocketbook.” My eyes narrowed to slits and I felt myself getting angry again at the way things had gone between us the night before. “Besides, this is all your fault. If you’d told me this morning you were the primary on Mr. Tannenbaum I could have done all this sooner.”

  Nick growled and his fingers twitched down at his side like a gunslinger.

  “I think I’ll wait in the car,” Savage said. “The temperature here is dropping pretty fast.”

  Now that he mentioned it, I was starting to feel the cold. My anger had kept me warm before. I hadn’t brought a jacket with me, and I crossed my arms over my chest and shivered as I explained my connection with Mr. Tannenbaum to Nick. He stood perfectly still as I relayed the information. Nothing but blank cop’s eyes looked back at me.

  “Do you know if he was successful at getting his will changed?” Nick asked.

  “I have no reason to believe otherwise. He had an appointment with his attorney to sign the papers the afternoon he came to see us. His plan was to leave his entire fortune to his child or any grandchildren if that child was deceased. The step-children were the ones getting cut from the money.”

  “They’re on my list of people to talk to. Two of them were at the rehearsal dinner last night. The stepdaughter is a bridesmaid and the stepson is a groomsman.”

  “Small world.”

  “When people have as much mone
y as Mr. Tannenbaum and my parents, then yes, it’s a very small world. What makes it even better is Tannenbaum’s attorney on record is none other than Charles Dempsey.”

  I winced and couldn’t help feeling a little sympathy. Things were likely to get very ugly as this investigation progressed.

  “What was cause of death?” I asked.

  He ran his fingers through his hair like he did when he was agitated. “Blunt force trauma is my first guess. I’ll have to wait for the ME’s report before I can be sure. The murder weapon still hasn’t been found, so I’ve got uniforms canvassing the neighborhood. Where are you going with Savage?”

  “I’ve narrowed down the list of possible Tannenbaum heirs and we’re going to talk to a lady named Rose Parker.” Technically Savage had been the one to narrow it down, but I figured it wasn’t in my best interest to mention Savage at the moment.

  “Fine, but why are you going with Savage? Why not Kate?”

  “He’s been helping me out lately. Besides, I don’t have a car at the moment and needed a ride.”

  “I’m going to be a few more hours, but as soon as I’m finished I’m coming to your house and we’re going to finish what we started.”

  I thought about what Savage said and getting Nick out of my system. “Maybe it’s for the best,” I nodded. “Like closure.”

  “The last thing I have in mind is closure. If I have to prove it to you all night long then that’s what I’ll do. I’m going to leave such a permanent imprint on you that you’ll start walking funny every time you think of me. We’re going to settle this between us once and for all tonight.”

  I gulped at the threat. I knew he wasn’t bluffing. “I don’t know when I’ll be home. Maybe you should just come tomorrow.” So I had time to move out of the country.

  Nick pressed his lips together and turned and headed back toward the house. I had my hand on the door handle when he turned around and called out.

  “Oh, and Addison? Next time you need a ride take the Audi. I don’t need a psych minor putting ideas of closure in your head.”

  “You ran a background on Savage?” I asked, shocked that he’d pegged the situation so quickly. Mostly I was shocked because I hadn’t thought to do a background check on Savage myself. I had had the forethought to run one on Nick, but I couldn’t dig out anything more than the basics.

  “Of course I did. Just like he ran an in-depth check on me. Be careful with him, babe. He’s a dangerous man.”

  Nick walked back into the house and I stood next to the car, debating whether or not I should get in. I finally did because I couldn’t feel my fingers from the cold. I knew deep down that Savage was a dangerous man. Just like I knew that the persona he’d adopted on the surface probably wasn’t the real Savage. It was hard to say what the real Savage would be like. But it would pay to remember that in Savage’s line of work he had to learn how to read and manipulate people to get the results he wanted. I could never let my guard down around him. I finally got in and buckled up.

  “I was wondering for a second there if you were going to walk to Charleston,” he said. His dark eyes were unreadable and I tried to use my woman’s intuition to see deep into his soul. How dangerous was Savage? I was thinking my safety probably wasn’t an issue. He was way more dangerous to my libido. I had a brief moment where I wished I’d start my period so I’d have an excuse to send both Savage and Nick away, but unless there was divine intervention that wasn’t going to happen.

  “I was thinking about it,” I confessed.

  “Let me guess, Dempsey told you he ran a check on me. He told you I was dangerous and that you should be careful. That my methods are sometimes unconventional and about that hostage that almost died when I was assigned to the Miami office.”

  I stared wide-eyed at Savage, wondering what the hell happened to the hostage in Miami. “Yep, that’s exactly what he told me.”

  “Sometimes you’ve got to take chances to bring the bad guys down. That’s what it’s all about. Making this world a little safer so there’s room for more of the filth on the streets to multiply.”

  “That’s a little depressing.”

  “It’s a dark world, sweetheart. Dempsey and I just do our jobs and hope at the end of the day we make it home. That’s all we can really ask for.”

  Jesus. I knew men like Nick and Savage put their lives on the line on a daily basis, but it was almost a periphery thought. I was used to it. I’d grown up the daughter of a cop and I’d watched my dad put on a weapon and fight the good fight for almost thirty years. I was probably pretty good material to be a cop’s wife in all actuality because I understood the long hours and the frustrations. But part of how I coped was not thinking about the possible situations the men in my life might be getting themselves into. Just like it was probably for the best if they didn’t think about the situations I was getting into on a daily basis.

  We drove to Charleston in silence and Savage turned the radio on classic rock. I had two hours to think about my life, but thinking is pretty hard work so I dozed off at some point. Savage woke me once we crossed over the river and into Charleston.

  Rose Parker lived with her daughter and son-in-law in a little row house on Wentworth Street. Savage pulled into the driveway behind a beige Cadillac that was at least ten years old, and four people had just gotten out of the car and were staring at us as they waited to see who we were.

  “Crap. They’re just getting home from church.” I was mostly Southern Methodist, but lately I’d been paving the pathway to hell by sleeping in late on Sundays and fornicating outside of wedlock.

  The older man, who I assumed was Rose’s son-in-law, wore a gray suit. The woman next to him wore a tasteful navy pinstripe dress and pearls. The young man who had to be James Parker’s grandson, and Rose’s great-grandson, stood watchful with his hands in the pockets of his khakis and the top button of his golf shirt undone. He was still thin and gangly with youth. His hair was dark auburn and swooped low on his forehead and his face was baby smooth.

  The last woman wore a dress of neon pink that made my eyes bleed and zebra striped shoes that made me dizzy. She had a handbag to match the shoes. I had a feeling I was looking at Rose Parker. Her bones could barely support the weight of her clothes and her skin was so loose it looked like someone had zipped her up in a flesh colored body bag and dunked her in the river.

  “You get pretty uptight about church. You need to relax.”

  “You don’t worry about going to hell?”

  “I figure that’s where all the good stuff is happening. Besides, I spent most of my summers on the reservation. We don’t believe in hell.”

  “Must be nice.”

  We got out of the car and went to introduce ourselves, but I let Savage take the lead. This was the part where him having a badge was pretty handy.

  “Are you Rose Parker?” Savage asked the woman in the hot pink zebra. Her hair was white and fluffed around her head like a dandelion puff and her eyes were a vivid blue.

  “I am.” She looked him up and down a couple of times and I was starting to wonder if she was going to start stuffing money in his pants. Savage had that effect on women of all ages.

  “I’m Agent Matt Savage with the FBI and this is my associate, Addison Holmes. Would you mind if we ask you a few questions?” He flashed his badge and she read it over carefully.

  “You don’t look much like an FBI agent,” she said. “I don’t see a gun. And you’ve got on jeans and a sweatshirt. What kind of sweatshirt is that? My eyes aren’t so good anymore.”

  “It’s my alma mater. Harvard.”

  My mouth dropped open in surprise. I didn’t actually think Savage had gone to Harvard. You could buy Harvard sweatshirts at Walmart for crying out loud. I figured it had been an old girlfriend’s or he’d found it at a rummage sale. I still had an old NYU sweatshirt I’d gotten from an old boyfriend. The shirts of our past weren’t supposed to actually mean anything. Hell, I even had an FBI T-shirt I’d bought online t
o wear while I watched X-Files every week during college. My whole closet of advertising paraphernalia was a lie.

  “Hmm,” Rose said. “I guess that’s pretty impressive. How come you’re just an FBI agent if you went to Harvard?”

  “I went to law school. I like being an agent much better than I liked being an attorney.”

  “Attorneys are bloodsucking assholes.”

  “That was pretty much my thought too.”

  “Well come on in,” Rose said. “This is my daughter, Caroline, and my son-in-law, Richard. And the young’un here is little Jamie. He’s my great-grandson,” she said proudly. “That means I’m really old. Caroline put in a nice roast before services this morning. You want to eat with us?”

  “I appreciate the offer, but we’ll pass. We’ve got to get back to Savannah this afternoon.”

  “Savannah? I haven’t been to Savannah in thirty years.”

  We followed Rose into the house and my stomach immediately growled. The roast reminded me of every Sunday morning I’d ever had growing up in my house. My mother would put it in the oven before we left for church and then we’d come home to the whole house smelling like meat. Of course, since it was my mother the roast was always dry as a bone and hard as a rock, but it still smelled good enough to make my mouth water. I was willing to bet that Rose Parker’s daughter didn’t have dry roast.

  “Can I get y’all something to drink?” Caroline asked.

  Niceties always had to be seen to first in the South. I knew the drill. Eventually we’d get around to what we came for, but there was an order of etiquette to be observed. I looked over at Savage and saw he was impatiently tapping his fingers against his thigh. I hadn’t known Savage long, but these rituals seemed to confound him. I’d always figured Savage was a Yankee through and through, and the Harvard thing pretty much confirmed my suspicions.

  “I’m fine, thank you,” I said. Savage and Rose declined the offer, and Rose’s daughter disappeared back into the kitchen and left us alone for privacy.

  “This is a lovely room,” I said.

  Rose had led us into a formal living area done in soft creams and golds. Two off-white microfiber sofas faced each other and a coffee table sat in the middle. An upright piano stood against the wall with family photos on top and little lace doilies sat out on the end tables. The house wasn’t huge by most standards, but it was tasteful and homey.