Dark Legacy by Jen Talty (reading books for 4 year olds .txt) 📗

holding up the bag and a fresh mug of bitter brew.

“You are the best.” She stepped from behind her desk, tucking damp hair behind her ears and adjusting her bangs.

He set everything down and rested his hands on her hips. He knew she shouldn’t, but he couldn’t resist the pull she had over him. Or the desire. “How are you holding up?”

“Not well, honestly.” She placed her hands on his shoulders. “I can’t thank you enough for bringing me food. You didn’t have to drive all this way.”

“I wanted to see you.”

“To talk about Be—”

He pressed his mouth against her plump lips. She tasted like wintergreen on a cool summer’s night. He pulled her closer, feeling her full breasts against his chest.

Shannon was different than his ex-wife, Jasmine. Besides not being independently wealthy, Shannon had heart. She cared deeply about those around her, even if she obviously had some serious daddy issues. He’d told himself when he left Jasmine that he wouldn’t get involved with another woman who had issues with men.

Except here he was, in a lip-lock with a lady he didn’t know or understand, and yet he felt like he’d known her forever.

He took a step back. “I did—I do want to talk to you about your client, but I also wanted to see you and make sure you were okay.”

“I will be, and food and more caffeine will certainly help.” She snagged a bagel and hopped up onto the corner of her desk. “I spoke to your friend, Westerfield.”

“He’s a good cop.”

“He seems to think Belinda was murdered and that her new boyfriend, Clayton, who is now missing, did it.”

“They think he’s at the bottom of the lake.”

Shannon took a big bite of her bagel and nodded. “Murder-suicide?”

“Is that what Westefield told you?” Jackson asked.

“He was tight-lipped about a lot of things,” Shannon admitted. “I asked them about her roommate, Janice, as well, but they refused to comment.”

“My partner, Katie, and I are going to pay her a visit later today.” The only reason he was going to follow up was because of Shannon. Otherwise, there was no reason. His case was over. “Whatever I find out, I’ll pass on to you.”

“I appreciate that.” She swung her legs back and forth. “I’ve lost patients before, though not many. But two in twenty-four hours…it’s too much.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” He grabbed his coffee and made himself comfortable on the sofa, glancing around. She displayed nothing personal, and yet she managed to make the space feel homey and comfortable.

“Not much to say. My patient relapsed and then had a bad reaction to withdrawal or managed to get drugs while in the hospital. She ended up killing herself and harming others.”

Jackson pulled off the top of the paper mug and set it aside. He blew into the dark liquid. “There’s something Westerfield probably didn’t tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s no way it was murder-suicide with Belinda because he believes the body was moved to Long Island.”

“Then why did he tell me that?”

Jackson shrugged. “Knowing Westerfield, he was probably trying to gain more insight, or he’s making sure the press and the public don’t have the details because he’s sure the killer is still out there, watching and waiting.”

Shannon set her bagel down and wiped her mouth. “I can’t imagine who would want to kill Belinda.”

“She had a past, and it wasn’t pleasant. And from what Westerfield told me, the new boyfriend wasn’t much better. He was involved in some underground sex club and—”

Shannon knocked her coffee to the floor. “Fuck.”

Jackson quickly set his cup on the table and snagged a few napkins, racing to clean up the mess. “In the six months or so I’ve known you, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that word.”

“There is a time and place for everything, and that was some damn good coffee.”

“You can finish mine.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” She jumped from the desk, just as Jackson’s cell rang out.

She stumbled forward. Her arms flapped wildly, and she landed right on top of him, shoving him onto his back.

“We really have to stop meeting like this.” He wrapped his arms around her and planted a quick kiss on her rosy lips before helping her to her feet and finding his phone. “It’s my partner, I need to answer it.” He tapped the green button. “Hello.”

“I spoke to your girlfriend’s uncle.”

Jackson’s heart fluttered.

“And?” He turned as his cheeks flushed. He faced the bookshelf and folded his arm across his middle.

“Well, he didn’t have a good relationship with his brother the last few years before Dwight died, but he recently moved back to town, and he’s trying to reconnect with family.”

“Are you buying that?”

“Yes, and no,” Katie said.

“Why?”

“Because he moved from Vermont to Lake George, so really not a big move, and the only reaching out he’s done has been to Shannon via sitting at the top of your driveway and a few phone calls. But I did find out that he was busted when he was in his thirties. Something about giving some dude a blowjob in the parking lot of a park.”

“That’s interesting.” Jackson glanced over his shoulder. Shannon sat on the sofa with her feet tucked up under her butt as she pulled at the last few bites of her raisin cinnamon bagel. “How is this important?”

“I take it you’re not alone.”

“Correct.”

“Well, to my knowledge, he’s not gay. Or at least he’s not out of the closet. He’s divorced with a couple of kids and currently in a relationship with a chick he works with.”

“What else do I need to know?”

“After I talked to him, I took it upon myself to do a little research, and the arresting officer was someone Jacob knows, so I gave him a call. It turns out that arrest was the reason Ned and his brother Dwight had a falling out.”

“Interesting. Why?”

“Jacob’s friend, now retired, stated that Dwight let his brother spend the weekend in jail. When he picked him up, he made a