Page 82 of Hold a Candle

Pauley shrugged. “I think it’s a great idea. But it’s none of yer business, ye nosy git,” she shot back with a smile. “We’re adults, we can do as we please.”

“If ye are playing partner catch-up, do ye need me to leave?” Jamie asked politely.

Mica shook his head. “Ye are in this one with us, Jamie. It’s about Brodie.”

Pauley’s eyes narrowed in apprehension. “Don’t tell me he’s dead too?”

“Nay, but he would be if Eva had her way,” Mica replied.

“Eva? The owner of the animal shelter?”

“Aye, but she’s no longer the owner. She sold it lock, stock and barrel this morning. Although, I suspect she just put one of her cronies in charge while she planned to take cover for a while.”

“So, what happened?” Pauley asked.

“Actually, I picked her up in the parking lot right after the hearing,” he explained. “I was just going to come over to congratulate ye on the judge’s decision regarding Luca when a black sedan came slowly driving by right in front of me. The windows were tinted, but not so much that I couldn’t see Eva in the back seat staring in yer direction. At first, I thought she was going to follow ye two because ye were just getting into Jamie’s car, but then she went the other way so I decided to follow her.”

“Why?” Jamie asked with a frown. “Why would she be watching us?” He brought the teapot over and began pouring tea into their cups, then sat down at the table.

“I thought that was a very good question myself,” Mica replied, his steely gaze cutting to Jamie. “Since she is a person of interest, she piqued my interest with her behavior. As it turns out, my gut was right.” He added some cream and sugar to his tea.

“Where did she go?” Pauley asked.

“She went to the hospital,” Mica replied. “That’s when my gut really went haywire. I tried to stay out of sight as I followed her into the hospital, but I lost her. I just went straight to Brodie’s room then and heard Quinn inside. I hung out in the loo right beside Brodie’s room and watched through a crack in the door. I don’t have a clue where Withers went, but he hadn’t returned by the time Quinn left. There was a code somewhere else on the floor and all the nurses went running down the hall way except for one. This one had on one of those masks over the lower half of her face, and she went into Brodie’s room.”

Pauley was caught up in Mica’s low growl as he told his story. “Was it Eva?”

“At first, I couldn’t tell for sure if it was or not, but she did have blonde hair. I slipped over to the door, it was half shut, and listened. I heard them arguing. When she called him Leonard and told him that filthy undercover cops, or something like that, get their just dues, I stepped out and saw her with a hypodermic getting ready to inject something into his line. The poor bastert passed out, and I managed to stop her. She’s sitting in jail as we speak.”

“What did ye overhear?”

“Enough to know that she’s right in the middle of all this, and that she was leaving town once she finished Brodie off,” he replied. “The best thing is, Quinn had a couple of bugs put in Brodie’s room, so now we have everything on tape,” he finished triumphantly.

“That doesn’t explain what she was doing at the hearing,” Jamie said with a worried frown. “Or why she was watching us.”

Mica nodded and took a sip of tea. “Aye, I’ve been thinking about that myself. I’m guessing she just wanted to know the results of the hearing and figure out if Luca might know anything,” he explained. “Still cleaning up loose ends is my guess.”

“I didn’t see her in the hearing, so it might be interesting to know who she got her updates from,” Pauley murmured, the light of battle in her eyes.

“She’s lawyered up,” Mica replied, a sour expression on his face. “Unless she’s willing to cut a deal, we won’t get anything from her.”

Pauley sighed. “So, it’s all over for now.”

“That’s a good thing,” Jamie added. His eyes roamed possessively over her, caressing her without words, relief that she was safe dancing in their depths.

“It’s only at a standstill for the moment,” Mica reminded her. “With the drug business and all that goes along with it, it’s never over. The Dunlaven Market business owners can rest easy for a while until someone new comes into power. Deficits are always filled, and then it starts all over again.”

Pauley nodded. They all sat silently sipping their tea as she reflected on Mica’s words. He was right, it was never over. She had no idea how many drug sellers and buyers she’d arrested over the years, the lesser people who were pawns in the clutches of the bigger drug lords. As soon as one was removed, another took his place. Teenagers would still die, people would continue to buy, and the circle would keep going around and around. You saved some, you lost some. And when you went down, some other would-be savior would step up to take your place. In the end, you just hoped your sacrifices made a difference to someone.

Law enforcement was a tireless, never-ending grind that chewed you up and spit you out until there wasn’t much left of your personal life. But it hadn’t been the reason she and Peter’s marriage had failed. It was just a stressor that helped to destroy the weak links that were already dead or dying.

Her gaze met Jamie’s and she suddenly realized he filled something in her life that had been missing for a long, long time. Love, respect, and acceptance. She felt tingles run along her skin and her heart swell with the sudden realization that he truly loved her. He’d told her, but she hadn’t believed him.

Staring into her teacup, she also came to the rueful realization that she didn’t trust in love. In her life, it had been capricious and conditional. Given liberally when she performed to expectations, but when she didn’t, it was withheld, and reproval and disfavor replaced it. Only time would tell if Jamie was a man of his word. She desperately wanted to believe that he was. Her feelings for him were very strong, but was it love? The kind that would last? She twisted the ring on her finger. She had eight weeks to figure it out.

At last, Mica stood up and stretched. “See ye at the office in the morning, Pauley. I’ll let ye two get back to what ye were doing,” he teased, breaking the heavy silence surrounding them all.

Jamie didn’t even flinch. He never shot her a reproving look at Mica’s words either. “Do ye know how long before I can get back into Happy Housekeepers?” he asked Mica as he stood up with him. “It’s time I got back to work as well.”

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