Kissed by the Sun Read online

  He ended the call.

  McGee eyed Ben first, then Dan. “Do you have any idea how Light Foot knows?”

  Ben shook his head. “I got nowhere questioning him.”

  “And now, for my second question. Is it true?”

  Dan sighed. “Yes.” He looked at McGee. “You’ve got to move Carlee Davis. She can’t stay in that house.”

  McGee rose from his chair. “You’re in no position right now to tell me how to do my job.”

  “All I’m asking…” Dan dropped his hands to his sides. “Is that—?”

  “As of this second, you are both off the case.”

  “But—” Dan started.

  McGee gave him a dark look.

  “We deserve to be removed,” Ben stated. “Just don’t take us off the case completely.”

  McGee shook his head no.

  “Please, Lieutenant,” Dan begged.

  “You’re lucky I don’t take your fucking badges.” McGee growled. He sat back down. “You’re not the first two cops to ever succumb to temptation. You won’t be the last.” McGee aimed his finger at Ben, then Dan. “But I can’t keep you on the case.”

  Ben ran a hand through his hair. He looked at McGee, his eyes bleak. “Despite what you think, and how all of this may look, we did our jobs. Everything was secure.” Ben sighed. “At least up to this point.”

  McGee motioned with his finger toward the door. “You told me everything I need to know. Now get out of here. I need to think.”

  Ben and Dan walked out.

  Outside, Dan kicked a lamppost. “Shit. Shit, shit shit!”

  “Come on.” Ben pulled him away from the police station.

  They got in his car.

  Dan banged his fisted hand on his thigh. “We’ve got to find out who ratted us out.”

  “We’re off the case, remember? If McGee discovers we’re snooping, we’re going to lose our jobs.”

  Dan raised a brow. “What about Carlee?”

  Ben gripped the steering wheel. He pulled the car to the side of the road. Glancing outside, he said. “If we do this, we’ve got to do it so no one finds out, and so far, we’re batting zero in that department.”

  Dan snorted. “No kidding.”

  “As long as she’s still got a police guard, she’ll be okay.”

  “I’m not so sure about that.” Dan looked out the window. “I told her we’d be back.” He shook his head. “She’s going to be upset.”

  “Well, it’s the best we can do until we find out who sold us out.” Ben drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Maybe it was someone in the department?”

  “Yeah, like who?”

  Ben shrugged. He pulled the car away from the curb, easing it onto the road. “We were the laughingstock of the entire department, remember? They all knew what our cover was. Maybe one of our own said something to Light Foot.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  Ben looked at him. “Spite. They just wanted to stir up trouble for us, make our jobs harder. Maybe someone’s jealous—after all, we became detectives when a lot of the others didn’t.”

  Dan shook his head. “But it makes no sense, none at all. Doing that only puts Carlee in danger. They’d lose their job, if they did.” He looked out the window. “No, I don’t believe there’s a leak in the department. I just don’t.” He leaned his head back against the headrest. “Someone’s been watching the cottage; someone’s been watching our every move with Carlee.” He lifted his head and looked at Ben.

  “Well, if you don’t believe it’s one of our own, then who?” Ben asked as he pulled in front of Dan’s house.

  “I haven’t got a clue.” Dan got out of the car and slammed the door.

  Ben rolled down the window.

  Dan leaned inside. “But I’m going to find out. Are you with me?”

  Ben nodded. “All the way.”

  * * * *

  The next morning, Carlee woke to an overcast, dismal day.

  It matched how she felt inside.

  She didn’t get much sleep; she kept listening as the cottage settled, hearing the creeks and groans. Then again, she was usually snuggled next to Dan or Ben or…both. Those noises never bothered her.

  She tossed back the covers and rose from the bed.

  When she was dressed and feeling a little more like herself, she walked down the hall toward the kitchen.

  Her heart beat wildly. Dan said they’d be back today…

  She stopped at the entrance to the kitchen.

  The female detective, Melanie Higgins, sat at the table, leafing through the newspaper.

  “Good morning.” Carlee said, trying to keep her voice even. “Are detectives Swift and Strong here yet?”

  Higgins shook her head and closed the paper. “No Miss Davis.”

  Miss Davis.

  “I’ll be here until further notice, as well as detective Samuels.”

  Carlee sucked in a breath and released it, her pulse beating erratically.

  “I, oh.” She tried to sound casual. “I didn’t realize.”

  Detective Higgins smirked.

  Carlee didn’t like her nasty little smile.

  What in heck was going on?

  “Were the other detectives reassigned to another case?” Carlee asked while she filled the teakettle.

  Higgins shrugged. “I can’t really say.”

  Or you don’t want to say!

  Damn it.

  Detective Higgins tossed the newspaper aside. “If you need me, I’ll be in the den, Miss Davis.” She started to walk out of the kitchen. “Oh, by the way…”

  Carlee’s hand shook. She placed the teakettle on the burner.

  Higgins leaned a shoulder against the wall. She crossed her arms over her chest. “There’s a very interesting story in the paper today.” She nodded toward the kitchen table. “You may want to read it.”

  Carlee swallowed. Hard. “Why?” She could hear the swift beat of her heart, felt it pound in her chest. She wondered if Higgins could see it.

  “It’s about the Montauks’ council meeting last night.” Higgins gave Carlee another snide grin. “It makes for good reading.”

  She turned on her heel and walked out.

  Carlee worked quickly then took the mug of tea and newspaper to her room. She sat down on the bed, cross-legged and started to read:

  “…the Montauk tribal council meeting generated excitement last night. It was the first time in the Montauks’ long history that the tribe had expelled two of their own members. In speaking with the council members, many refused to shed light on the unprecedented course of action. However, some of the meeting attendees were quick to mention that Ben Strong and Dan Swift, members of the Montauk tribe, were asked to leave the Montauks due to their ‘unseemly’ living arrangement with one of Montauk’s most prominent and wealthy citizens, Carlee Davis, owner of the landmark Davis Poultry Farm. Many are against this course of action—some of the younger members of the tribe feel the council’s actions are unfair, that the expulsion of Ben Strong and Dan Swift was an act of spite and nothing more.

  “Council members remain firm on their decision, citing behavior such as Ben Strong and Dan Swift’s detrimental in their quest to receive financial gain from the United States Government…”

  Carlee’s tears fell hard and fast. She swiped them away with the back of one hand. She placed her tea mug down on the small nightstand next to her bed.

  She wished she could have been at that council meeting! She wished the council members were here right now…what she wouldn’t say to them!

  She wished Ben and Dan were here now, too.

  However, that’s what got them in trouble—her. It probably did all those years ago, too. She had been nothing more than sweet temptation for them, a white girl looking for kicks from two Indian boys. She was a foolish kid back then, her heart and mind filled with romantic notions, thinking Ben and Dan loved her.

  They had pushed her away, claiming they wanted to better
themselves, telling her she had no idea what life was like on the reservation…

  They were right. She had no idea what kind of pressures they lived under with their tribe.

  She did now.

  She flopped down on her back, throwing an arm across her eyes, feeling like she was sixteen all over again.

  Some things never changed.

  She snapped her brows together, another thought blotting out the rest.

  She grabbed the newspaper and read the article again. One sentence stood out among the rest:

  However, some of the meeting attendees were quick to mention that Ben Strong and Dan Swift, members of the Montauk tribe, were asked to leave the Montauks due to their ‘unseemly’ living arrangement with one of Montauk’s most prominent and wealthy citizens, Carlee Davis, owner of the landmark Davis Poultry Farm.

  She closed the newspaper, her hand shaking.

  How did the Montauks know that she, Ben and Dan had an ‘unseemly’ living arrangement?

  Someone knows I’m here!

  She raised her shaking hand to her lips.

  The scared, frightened rabbit returned.

  * * * *

  That same morning, Ben and Dan spoke to one of the fingerprint experts in the Montauk Police Department’s forensics unit.

  “Come on, Charlie, just give us the results. That’s all we’re asking for.”

  Charlie Lyons fixed one eye over the lens of a microscope. “No can do. You two aren’t on the case anymore.”

  Ben stood on one side of Charlie. Dan on the other.

  “That’s true, but then again, we sure as hell wouldn’t want to make things uncomfortable for you.”

  Charlie pulled his eye away from the microscope. “What in hell is that supposed to mean?” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Dan rested a hip against the counter. “Ben and I would hate to mention to Lieutenant McGee that, well…” He raised a brow. “How you’re still seeing his daughter, even though it’s common knowledge that he really, really hates your guts.”

  Charlie stiffened. “That’s great, real nice. Considering the two of you are up the creek without a paddle around here. That’s what I’ve heard.” He gave them a nasty smile.

  Dan didn’t miss a beat. “Race relations are tough around here, aren’t they Charlie? When you’re the only two Indians,” he glanced at Ben, then back at Charlie, “and when you’re one of the, let’s use the right word here, ‘person of another color,’ it can become quite sticky.”

  “Look!” Charlie aimed his finger at Dan. He leaned forward and shoved it under his nose. “McGee isn’t my boss, and even if he was, it’s no business of his who I see or when I see them.”

  Ben grinned, his smile feral. “Unless it’s his own daughter.” He sighed. “People are funny, Charlie. They can seem like such good sports—real nice people. They can spout lots of things like equal rights and all that bullshit, but then, when you’re dating their daughter—their only child? Well, that can be quite a different story, if you know what I mean.”

  Charlie fumed, his face tight, angry. “I haven’t seen Sherry McGee in a long time.”

  Ben shook his head. “Why, just a few days ago, I saw you both in the Blue Moon, huddled together at a back table. You looked mighty cozy to me.”

  Charlie looked around, his eyes darting everywhere. Under his breath, he said. “So? You saw us. Big deal.”

  “Don’t get all defensive, Charlie. Why not try using all that energy you’re wasting being on the defensive, and instead take a nice, pro-active stance. Just give us the fingerprint information. That way, we all get what we want—you get to keep seeing Sherry McGee on the sly, and we get, well…let’s just say, we get what we want.”

  Charlie ran a hand through his hair. “All right, all right. Here!” He shoved a piece of paper at Ben. “But I swear if someone finds out…”

  “No one will find out Charlie, our lips are sealed.”

  Ben scanned the report. “Look at this.” He told Dan.

  Dan’s eyes widened when he read it. “Let’s go.” Dan tossed the report on the counter.

  “Hey!” Charlie called after them. “You better not say anything.”

  Ben called out over his shoulder. “You have our word.”

  Charlie grumbled in reply, “Yeah. For whatever that’s worth.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dan prowled his living room, pacing back and forth like a caged tiger.

  “I just know it. I feel it in my gut that she’s involved.”

  Ben sat on a chair, sipping from a mug filled with coffee. He put it down on the table in front of him. “Okay, so what are we supposed to do? Go to McGee and tell him, ‘Lieutenant, we feel it in our guts that Marlene Davis is involved in the attack on Carlee Phillips.”

  “Maybe we should.”

  Ben snapped his brows together. “And when McGee doesn’t buy our ‘gut instinct’ theory, and says give him evidence, what do we do? Tell him we practically blackmailed Charlie Leffert in forensics?”

  Dan gave Ben a dark look. “We did blackmail him.”

  “Then we can’t say a fucking word.” Ben replied.

  Dan shook his head. “Then we’ve got to go about this some other way.” He sighed. “We could question her.”

  “We already did. Marlene Davis had an airtight alibi. She dined with her friends that evening—they all corroborated her story. Her maid said she was home at the time of Carlee's attack. She said Marlene was home with Todd—sitting right next to him on the couch, watching television.” He shook his head. “The only time she was out of the house was to walk her damned dog.”

  “But her prints were the only ones on that wall by that broken window in the poultry store.”

  Ben raised a brow. “That’s not conclusive either, and you know it. She was in the poultry store the day before Thanksgiving. Witnesses said she was helping Carlee.”

  “Fine. Great. So then, what was she doing over by that wall near the office?”

  Ben rose to his feet. “She could have been getting something from the office. She easily could have touched the wall.”

  Dan snorted. “Yeah. Right.”

  “Look, if we stick out necks out here, we had better have more than her prints and gut feelings.”

  “Does Carlee mean so little to you?”

  Ben’s eyes blazed, his face tightened into angry lines. “She means more to me than you could ever imagine.”

  “I’m sorry.” Dan lowered his voice. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Ben slashed his hand through the air. “Forget it. Let’s just concentrate on what we’re going to tell McGee.”

  Dan walked into the kitchen. “Want another cup of coffee?”

  “No.” Ben called out.

  Dan poured another cup for himself, then glanced at the small shelf above the sink. Carlee’s cell phone sat there. His face warmed, knowing that he kept it there as a reminder. He reached for it, putting it next to his nose. The small phone held the faintest trace of Carlee’s smell. Sweet. Seductive.

  He placed it back on the shelf.

  Grabbing his mug full of coffee, he started to walk back into his living room, stopping dead in his tracks.

  Ben frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “Her cell phone…” Dan stated.

  “Who’s cell phone?” Ben asked.

  Dan hurried back into the kitchen, the coffee sloshing over the side of the mug. He slammed it on the counter and reached for Carlee’s cell phone.

  He marched back into the living room. “Look, just look at the damned screen!”

  Ben narrowed his eyes. “It says: ‘One message.’”

  “Yeah.” Dan flipped open the cell phone. “That message wasn’t there when I took it from her at Seaside. I hid the damned phone in the bottom of my bag, in the closet of my bedroom.” He looked at the recent messages. “Look at the date.” He showed the phone to Ben.

  Ben snatched it from his hands, r
eading the number aloud. “Eight five two, seven four zero six.” He gave the phone back to Dan. “Call it.”

  Dan hit one button, then put the cell phone to his ear. “I got Marlene Davis’ voice mail.” He hit another button.

  “What are you doing?” Ben walked over to him.

  “Checking to see when the last call was made on this phone.”

  “But you just said you took it from Carlee the minute she walked into the cottage at Seaside. The last call on there would have been before she was at the cottage.”

  Dan raised a brow. “Yeah, well, look at this.” He showed the phone to Ben.

  Ben’s eyes widened. “Son of a bitch! That minx. She made a call while she was in the cottage.”

  “Look at the number.”

  Ben’s body shook. He looked at Dan. “It’s Marlene Davis’.”

  “Yeah, well, what do we say to McGee now?” Ben’s voice filled with defeat. “That somehow, someway, Carlee managed to get her cell phone and make a call. After we told him we never took our eyes off her.”

  Dan started to pace again. “I can’t stay here, I need to see Carlee.”

  “Me too.” Ben nodded. “But it’ll mean our jobs if we do.”

  Dan snorted. “Our own tribe hates us, Ben. We admitted to McGee that we fucked up, if he doesn’t take our badges, I’d be surprised. We have nothing to lose.” He pursed his lips, then spoke again. “Let me rephrase that. We have nothing to lose except for Carlee, and right now, if something happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself.” Dan patted his chest. “She’s in trouble, I feel it. Here.” He eyed Ben. “If you don’t feel the same way then—”

  Ben grabbed his jacket.

  Dan followed behind, shrugging into his coat as they sailed out his door.

  “Should we tell McGee?” Dan asked while he got in on the passenger side of Ben’s car.

  Ben started the car. The engine roared. Gripping the steering wheel, he replied. “Yeah. Call him. Tell him what we found out.” He looked at Dan, his eyes bleak. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what McGee does to us. And I’m beginning to realize, I don’t give a damned about the Montauks, either.”

  A corner of Dan’s mouth lifted.