Hidden Judgment Page 10

  Whatever had attracted her to Sam thirteen years ago still resonated. She liked his quick brain, the occasional flash of humor when he wasn’t being so controlled, and while she didn’t think him conventionally handsome, what he had did it for her in spades.

  This whole fake engagement thing had definite disadvantages. Two healthy unattached adults, a lot of time spent together, and a few fake kisses to make it look good could turn into a recipe for disaster.

  On an impulse, she returned to the mudroom for her coat, grabbed the dogs’ leashes, and after snapping them on their collars, took them out the back door, through the gate, and out of the pen. With Cleo and Tony nosing and sniffing everywhere, she wandered Sam’s property. She didn’t find any fresh footprints on the slope but followed the rock wall past the posts marking his property line to the top of the ridge where a view of the valley spread out before her. The hill dropped steeply to a road below, and beyond that a stand of trees lined the swirling dark waters of the river.

  Returning down the hill, she and the dogs circled to the front of the house. The deep red leaves of a Japanese maple gave a splash of color at the front corner of the house. Bright orange mums flowered next to the steps to the porch and Ellie made a mental note to bring some of the blooms inside. She couldn’t imagine they would survive much longer given the cool temperatures.

  She returned to the house, and after taking off the dogs’ jackets, she opened a bag of treats. “Okay, babies, sit.” They both went down on their haunches, quivering, staring fixedly at the little bone-shaped biscuits in her hand. They each took the treats politely, carrying them to their bed to enjoy.

  Ellie poured herself coffee and made her way to the front room with her steaming mug to where she’d left her laptop on the coffee table. The dogs followed her, lying on the area rug beside the couch. Her phone chimed with a text from Linc.

  L: Met case admin Finster. He’s an ass. He found out I’m assigned to Creed’s court and about fell over himself to tell me he found the judge in a lip lock with hot fiancée. (I’ll omit crude comment about fiancée, but what the hell, El?) Immediate impression – he’s not our guy. Whatever he’s thinking comes out his mouth. Still bears investigation, but don’t think he has the self-control to plan anything beyond his next meal.

  As usual, Linc was able to cut through the bullshit and get right to the core. She ignored his reference to the kiss when she replied.

  E: Tend to agree. Finster’s a cheap thrill kind of guy. Can’t see him planning for a long game. Talk guns with him?

  L: No. Will work it into conversation later.

  E: Thx for update.

  While it was possible that there was more going on in Finster’s head than they gave him credit for, and he did have connections with the gun rights community, she agreed with Linc that they needed to keep looking for the source of the threats against Sam. Computer humming, she searched for information on Drew Martin. Figuring Drew was short for Andrew, she went to work.

  Sam may have been convinced his brother wasn’t part of any plot, but Ellie wasn’t so certain. She searched one database, then others without much luck. His name was fairly common, and she tried different search parameters to narrow the field.

  It would help to know his middle name. That came up on census data, and with that information she was finally able to make some progress.

  Drew hadn’t served in the military and didn’t turn up in any federal criminal databases. She dug deeper, even doing newspaper searches, until bingo, she found an incident from five months previous. A woman had filed a complaint that an intoxicated Andrew Martin had showed up at her home and threatened her. The woman claimed that the reported incident hadn’t been the first time since she’d ended a romantic relationship with him that he’d come to her home uninvited. She’d obtained a restraining order. The reporter had mentioned that Andrew Martin was the stepbrother of Judge Samuel D. Creed. Drew’s lawyer had managed to get the charges reduced to trespassing and Drew had been sentenced to thirty days in jail, less time served.

  Ellie wondered if she could get a copy of the police report. She’d get Seth on that. Sam must know about his brother’s brush with the law and had made a decision not to tell her about it. He’d been insistent that his brother wasn’t involved with the threats, but Ellie thought Sam was being willfully blind. Family loyalty could cloud the judgment of the most rational and clear-thinking individuals.

  Sunlight glinted off glass through the front window. Ellie rose to her feet to watch a truck turn onto the driveway. Speak of the devil. Barking wildly, the dogs rushed to the back door, nails clicking on the wood floor. Ellie shut the top of her laptop, then dashed up the stairs to grab her Glock from the gun safe. Down the back stairs, she slipped into the kitchen and stashed the gun in a drawer under neatly folded kitchen towels.

  She opened the door to find Drew standing in the driveway, staring at the destruction under the white oak. Today he was hatless and wore a Sherpa-lined denim jacket open in front. He also wore a gun in a holster on his belt.

  He glanced over as she crossed the dogs’ enclosure to the wire fence, the beagles running ahead of her. “What happened here?”

  “Someone with a pickup drove back here and spun donuts in the mud when Sam and I were out yesterday.”

  “Well, shit. Who’d do that?”

  “Don’t know.” She pointed to the camera at the corner of the house. “Camera caught the truck, but we weren’t able to make out the license plate or the driver.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “When did Sam put cameras in?”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t think to ask him.”

  He scanned the eaves, then the garage, before turning to face her. “You asking me in, future sister-in-law?”

  She eyed the gun at his waist and gauged how to play the part. “I don’t know, future brother-in-law. Seems weird that you showed up here when you know Sam would be in court, and with a gun on your belt.”

  “Oregon is an open-carry state, so it’s legal.”

  “That may be, but my concern remains the same. Why did you come, Drew?”

  Something flashed across his expression she couldn’t decipher. “I thought you should know what you’re getting into by marrying Sam. I don’t think he’s told you the truth, or at least the whole truth, about how fucked up our family is.”

  “And somehow you’re concerned about me and want to correct that omission.”

  He hitched a shoulder in the jacket that hung loosely on his shoulders. “Sam gets every damn thing laid at his feet. He should at least be honest before he gets you, too.”

  She studied him. If she’d truly been Sam’s fiancée, she’d tell Drew to get lost. But she was a marshal charged with protecting Sam, and his brother might have information that would benefit her team’s investigation. “I’ll invite you in, but the gun makes me uncomfortable. I’d like you to leave it in your truck.”

  “It’s my right to carry a gun.”

  “Not on someone else’s property, it’s not.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “You a lawyer, too?”

  “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  He looked at the house, then at her, and appeared to weigh his options. Whatever he wanted to tell her must have won out, because with a muttered oath he went to his truck and locked the gun inside.

  “Thank you.” Ellie held open the gate for Drew to pass through.

  Once indoors, Drew paced the kitchen floor. He stopped at the window, stared out at the yard with a frown on his face, then paced again. The dogs sat on their cushion, eyes tracking the visitor.

  “Would you like coffee?”

  “Yeah.” She moved to prepare it, and he said, “You know I’d never been in this house until my brother inherited it.”

  “No, I didn’t know that.”

  “Sam’s aunt thought he walked on water. She tolerated me, acted nice enough, but I wasn’t kin so she didn’t see me as part of her family. Had to have native blood for that. Left thi
s place to Sam, and not a penny to me.”

  She handed him the mug.

  “Got nothing to say to that, sister?”

  “I’ve moved up from future sister-in-law to sister? That’s quick. And no, I have nothing to say about that. Obviously, I never met Nan Beauchamp, and have no insight into her decision.”

  “You’re a cool one, aren’t you? No wonder Sam fell for you.” When she didn’t respond, he continued. “My mom married Sam’s dad when I was a little kid. Sam tell you we aren’t real brothers?”

  “He refers to you as his brother, but did acknowledge that you’re step-siblings.”

  “Mom worked like a slave for Joss Creed. Cooked for him, kept the house clean, even trucked feed to the cattle and mucked stalls if she had to. When I was old enough, I worked my tail off, too. Learned a lot, but got my ass whipped more times than I can count. Worked on that ranch more than Sam did. Sam didn’t like the old man’s discipline style so he’d take off every chance he got. He and Ben would go fishing, hiking, rock-climbing, whatever they wanted to do. Or he’d come here and stay with his aunt. Leave me behind.”

  Ellie wasn’t even sure Drew remembered she was in the room. Once again he stood at the kitchen sink, sipping coffee as he stared out the window, seemingly lost in the past. Then he turned to face her and he was totally in the present, anger flaring hot behind pale eyes. “The old man let me call him Dad, said I was his son, and I stayed on at the ranch even after my mom died. He acted like I meant something. Then last year the fucker up and dies and he doesn’t leave me shit. Left the ranch a hundred percent to Sam, because I don’t have his blood coursing through my veins.”

  He pointed a finger at her, emphatic in his air jabs. “But you know what really burns? My holier-than-thou brother, the man who sits in judgment over others, didn’t make it right. He didn’t tell that lawyer to add my name to the deed. So now I’m working my ass off again, for nothing.”

  He set the mug on the counter with a snap. “That’s what I got to say to you, sister. You should know who it is you’re marrying. May seem to you that bagging a judge gives you a nice, secure future, but he’ll screw you over like he does everyone else. Like he did me.”

  Once again, Drew began prowling the room, then jabbed a finger toward the window. “Must have pissed someone off big time to have them coming on his property to destroy shit. His line of work, he pisses off folks regular. He sends honest, hardworking men, men who are true patriots, to prison every day. No one should have that much power and privilege. You should consider that before you marry him.” Drew’s shoulders slumped and his anger seemed to have run its course. “You’ve been warned. That’s all I got to say.”

  He slammed out the backdoor, and through the window she watched him tramp across the yard to his truck.

  Ellie picked up her phone, and when Seth answered, she said, “We have a suspect.”

  ***

  Sam scanned the crowded diner and spotted Ellie sitting in a booth toward the back. His heart gave an unexpected lurch, and he rubbed the heel of his hand over his chest to ease the discomfort. He made his way across the floor, weaving between occupied tables. A few people said hello as he passed, or waved to acknowledge him, but he didn’t stop.

  Ellie looked up from the menu she’d been studying as he dropped onto the bench across from her. The smile she flashed him had to be for effect, but he couldn’t ignore how it transformed her face. He leaned forward, cupped his hand behind her neck, and caught her lips with his, reining back the desire to take it deeper. Anyone looking would see Judge Creed greeting his fiancée.

  He couldn’t help the satisfaction at her flustered expression when he released her. She cleared her throat. “Sam.”

  “Eleanor. How was your morning?”

  “Interesting. How was yours?” The mundane words belied the charged physical greeting he thought neither of them was ready to acknowledge.

  “Routine, other than lots of congratulations on our engagement. Want to tell me about your interesting morning?” The group at the table nearest them left so there was little chance their conversation would be overheard as long as they spoke in quiet voices.

  “Your brother came by this morning, guess he wanted to welcome me to the family.”

  He kept his expression relaxed even though a muscle jumped in his jaw. He was saved from having to respond by the arrival of the short, round woman holding a steaming coffeepot who rubbed a hand on his shoulder.

  “Hey there, Judy.”

  Judy wasn’t an inch over five feet and wore her bright red hair tied back in a frizzy poof behind her head. She carried menus tucked under her arm and had a pocketed apron tied around her waist that bulged with pens and straws, and wore more eye shadow than anyone he’d ever met. And she was hands-down one of his favorite people.

  He rose from his seat to give her a hug. When he stepped back, she asked in her raspy voice, “How you doing, boy?”

  “Better now that I’ve seen you. I want you to meet someone.” He turned. “This is my fiancée, Rachel.” Guilt gnawed another hole in his conscience as he considered how many people he was lying to.

  “Wondering when you’d introduce me to your girl. Got wind of your engagement yesterday when Barb Herrera came in.” She frowned. “You never told me you had a girlfriend, and now you’ve got yourself a fiancée.”

  Ellie stood, extending her hand. “Hello, Judy. It’s nice to meet Sam’s friends.”

  Judy shook her hand. “You’re a tall one, aren’t you? We’ll be fine as long as you treat my boy right.”

  “I intend to.”

  “Good. Now you two sit and tell me what you want for lunch.”

  They gave their order, and Judy left after filling their mugs with coffee.

  Sam bent forward, speaking softly. “Drew give you any trouble? He knew I’d be at work.”

  Ellie mimicked his posture and kept her voice pitched below the chatter around them. “Not really. He had a gun on his belt when he arrived. I met him outside and said I didn’t feel comfortable with him coming in the house armed. He didn’t like it but he left it in his truck.” She gave Sam a considering look. “He didn’t have a gun when he came by on Saturday.”

  “Because he knows better than to try that with me. I’m glad you called him on it.” He picked up Ellie’s hand and rubbed his thumb over her engagement ring, then brought it to his lips. He bit back a laugh at the scowl on her face. “Isn’t this what an engaged guy would do when he meets his fiancée for lunch? He’d want to let her know he missed her. You should be smiling at me with little hearts in your eyes.” He knew good and well that if they hadn’t been in a dining room full of people, she’d bust his chops. “I’m new at this, so you’ll have to tell me if I’m wrong.”

  “How should I know? I’ve never been engaged before.” She tugged her hand and he let go. “But it feels over the top to me.”

  Sparring with her gave his mood a boost, and that after the heart-jolt when he’d spotted her. He felt a little like when he’d slid down an ice chute while hiking, unable to get traction. With effort, he reordered his thoughts. “What did Drew say?”

  She tucked her hands under the table. “His basic implication was that you’re a greedy bastard for inheriting the house from your aunt and the ranch from your dad when he didn’t get a penny. He thinks you’re privileged and that he’s been treated like he’s not part of the family.”

  The reminder of Drew’s animosity had Sam’s mood plummeting. He flattened his hands on the table when what he really wanted to do was hunt his brother down and give him a good kick in the ass.

  “He shouldn’t have dumped that shit on you. What he didn’t tell you is that Dad did make provisions for him. It’s not a lot because Dad’s money was tied up in the ranch and he was cash poor, and Drew won’t get that money until he turns thirty-five. Joss Creed was a strict son of a bitch and didn’t suffer fools gladly. He didn’t think Drew had the maturity to handle the ranch or a chunk of cash. I ten
d to agree. I told Drew I plan to give him a share of the ranch, but he’s resentful that I haven’t done it on his timetable.”

  “Are you waiting until he’s older?”

  He leaned back against his seat. “That was my original plan, but I don’t know anymore. I’m not sure age will make a difference. Some people never become responsible adults. He had a girlfriend who kept pushing him to come to me for money, fed him a line that he deserved more, that I should put him on the deed to the ranch immediately. They confronted me, and I told them there was no way in hell that was happening. Guess she decided to cut her losses when it was apparent Drew wasn’t coming into quick cash. She broke things off with him, so there’s another thing he blames me for.”

  “He left out a lot when he came to set me straight about your family.”

  Sam gave a disgusted sigh. “Of course he did. Drew also had a run-in with the law that makes me question his judgment even more. He tell you about that?”

  “No, but I’ve been looking into his background.” She held up a hand when Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Doing my job. His case popped up.”

  “Then you’ll understand why I’m in a wait-and-see mode with his inheritance. I’ll see how he deals with his issues, drinking being one of them, before I give him anything.”

  Ellie sipped her coffee, blue eyes steady on his over the rim of her mug. “That’s a crappy position to be in, isn’t it?”

  “Yep. Drew resents me, and I don’t see that changing.”

  “You’re doing what’s best, Sam, even if Drew doesn’t understand it.”

  Sam felt a knot of tension in his gut loosen. He wasn’t used to confiding in anyone about his issues with his brother. Ben knew, and Pete, but somehow telling Ellie lessened the burden, made him think how it could be between them if they were truly engaged. Which they weren’t. He needed to keep reminding himself of that fact.

  “He doesn’t. But he has a roof over his head and work when he cares to do it; he just needs to get his shit together.”

  Their order arrived with extra avocado heaped on Ellie’s cobb salad, and a huge slab of corn bread on the plate beside his turkey chili.