Chapter Eleven

For the second morning in a row, Jett woke to Burt pounding on the door and yelling, “Boss, are you in there?”

She sat up and looked beside her to where Griffin slept on his side. His chest was bare one arm was thrown over his head. She clutched the sheet to her naked chest and prodded him. “Wake up! Griffin, wake up.”

“Later,” he muttered. But then he sat bolt upright and said, “What the fuck?”

“Burt is at the door.” She hurried out of bed. “Don’t open it until I get dressed.”

Griffin was already up and pulling on his jeans. She hurried to put on her clothes as she heard Griffin yell, “Give us a minute!” When she was dressed she rushed into the living room. Griffin pulled open the door.

“Cops are looking for you,” Burt said, his voice rushed. “Portland is dead.”

“Yeah, Brett told me last night. We had dinner at Stef’s.”

They’d discussed this after they’d gone to bed. To try and be surprised when they were told of Portland’s death would be a mistake. Best to keep as close to the truth as possible.

“The cops have been to your place,” Burt said. “They threatened to arrest me unless I took them there. Thankfully all the guests were sleeping in their rooms. They wanted to know why there was a second resort. I told them it was for guests who didn’t want kids around. Not sure they believed me.”

“Let them get a fucking warrant,” Griffin said, just as Tricky came through the door.

“State cops are outside, and they’re not waiting for an invitation.”

“That’s right, we’re not.” A large African-American male stepped into the room. “Sgt. Jack Tyler.” He didn’t offer his hand. “Griffin Flack? I’d like to take you to Las Vegas so we can have a little talk.”

“We can talk here,” Griffin said. He sat down on the sofa. “Burt, have Celeste bring us coffee and breakfast. I’m starved.”

“This isn’t a party,” Tyler said. “You are coming with us.”

Two other cops appeared behind him.

“Are you arresting me?” Griffin asked. “I may be a resort owner now, but once upon a time I was a lawyer. I know my rights. I’m not going anywhere with you unless you arrest me. And you’re not going to do that because you don’t have enough evidence to bring charges against me. So why don’t you have a seat, we’ll eat, and talk.”

Jett wanted to scream at him not to antagonize the cops, but like he’d said, he was a lawyer. Hopefully he knew what he was doing. She crossed the room and sat down next to him.

“Who are you?” Tyler asked.

“Jett Montgomery,” she said.

“My lover,” Griffin added. “She lives in Santa Fe and has to go back this afternoon, so ask what you want to ask her now.”

For a moment, Jett thought Tyler would pull out his handcuffs. He glanced back at the two cops standing behind him. One of them shrugged, and Jett understood the exchange perfectly. He was one of the officers she’d talked to last night, but he didn’t recognize her. She hadn’t recognized him, either, although she hadn’t looked at him. It had been so dark out, and there had been little light.

“Ms. Montgomery, was Mr. Flack with you all night?”

“Yes.” She put her hand on Griffin’s knee. “We had dinner at Stef’s Steakhouse, and then we came back here and made love.”

“We were sleeping until Burt knocked on the door.”

“You were here, in this cabin all night when you got back from dinner?” Tyler asked. He’d finally sat down in a chair. The other two officers stood near the door.

“No, we had sex in my office first,” Griffin said. “Then we walked back here.”

“And whose vehicle did you drive last night?” Tyler asked.

“The fleet truck parked outside,” Griffin said. “My own truck was low on gas, so I decided not to push it, or have to stop for fuel on a date. Kinda awkward, you know, the old joke about running out of gas with a young lady in the car?”

Griffin took her hand and squeezed. At that time Burt came in followed by a man she hadn’t met. They both carried trays filled with food Celeste followed them all with a large coffee urn. Tricky took it out of her hands and put it on the counter.

“Help yourselves,” Griffin said.

“We’re not here for food,” Tyler said. “I think I’ve said that before.

“Suit yourselves,” Griffin got up. He still had hold of her hand and he pulled her to her feet. They went to the kitchen bar where Celeste was filling coffee cups.

“What did you have for dinner last night?” Tyler asked.

“Steak, and the most unbelievably delicious garlic mashed potatoes I’ve ever tasted,” Jett said. “It was the first time I’ve ever eaten there, and the food was incredible.”

Griffin put down his plate and fished in his back pocket. He pulled out his wallet and handed Tyler a piece of paper. “Here’s the receipt, which is time stamped as you know.”

Tyler took it, folded it and put it in his pocket.

“Yeah, keep it, by all means,” Griffin said as he picked up his plate. He sat back down, and Jett took her place beside him. They started to eat.

“You didn’t make a pit stop on the way home?” Tyler looked between the two of them.

“Haven’t you already asked that?” Griffin said.

Jett looked down at her plate before she picked up her burrito. She took a huge bite, mostly to make it hard to talk. Just when she swallowed, Tyler said, “Do you want to add anything to the conversation, Ms. Montgomery?” He frowned. “Wait, Montgomery. Are you related to the sheriff?”

“No.” she said. “And no.”

“You see, right when Portland died someone tried to break into his house coming through park service land.” Tyler smiled. “It was a man and a woman.”

“Did you pick them up on surveillance cameras?” Griffin asked between bites.

“In the woods?” Tyler asked.

“Well, I know Portland had cameras on his property.”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”

“Cause they point toward my land,” Griffin said. “We’ve had discussions about it. I put up my own to try and keep him off my property.”

“Would you be willing to show me the footage?” Tyler asked.

“In a heartbeat,” Griffin said. He got up and refilled his plate. “The footage is loaded onto the computer in my office.” He sat back down and started to eat a second burrito. There was a third one on his plate. “I have nothing to hide,” he said between bites.

“Then let’s go,” Tyler said.

“When I’m done eating.” He waved a burrito in his direction. “It’s a shame to waste all this good food.”

To back up the point, Jett took a bite of her own and murmured, “So good,” as she chewed.

A slight smile pushed up the edges of Tyler’s mouth. “Fine, we’ll eat. Guys, help yourselves.”

Jett worked to hide a smile as the officers rushed to the food.

“You know, if you were the ones on the park service land last night, I’ll find out,” Tyler said. He hadn’t made a move toward the food.

“Bully on you,” Griffin said. “But if this duo was on park service land, what makes you think they were trying to break into Portland’s cabin?”

Tyler finally went to the bar. Jett turned her head and watched as he took a cup of coffee that Celeste poured for him, then accepted the plate she’d loaded with food.

“Why do you think someone would want to kill Portland?” Tyler took a sip from his coffee.

“Other than the fact that he’s a giant douche bag?” Griffin asked.

“Behave,” Jett said softly.

“Sorry, Jett is reminding me to behave.” He leaned over and kissed her. “She’s nicer than I am. I can’t be nice to someone in death when they were an enemy in life.”

“Griffin!” Jett squeezed his leg. Why was he antagonizing the officer?

“Something wrong, Ms. Montgomery?” Tyler asked.

She wasn’t sure what to say at first, but then decided it was best to be truthful. “I didn’t know Portland, but from what I’ve heard he wasn’t a nice person. Still, it’s not good to speak ill of the dead.”

“We should invite his ghost for coffee,” Griffin said. He drank from his own cup. Jett put hers on the table and turned her angry gaze on him. She wanted to tell him to stop being an ass, but she could see his point. She continued to stare at him, and then her mouth lifted into a smile.

“As my grandmother would say, daisies grow on all graves, but the ones with the most manure produce the most blooms, which is good because no one brings flowers to their graves.”

“Crappy men produce their own flowers,” Griffin said. “Touching.”

“Grandma always had a way with words,” Jett said.

Was it her imagination, or did Tyler chuckle? The cop got out of his chair and went to the kitchen counter. Jett glanced at Griffin.

“You’re not helping the situation,” she whispered.

“I’m not going to pretend he’s a nice guy to prove my innocence,” he whispered back. “I can be an ass sometimes.”

Jett shook her head and laughed softly. Too late she realized Tyler was back in his chair. He had a cup of coffee and a pastry of some sort.

“Did I miss a joke?” he asked. Neither of them said anything, and he continued, “Are you laughing because you think you pulled the wool over my eyes?”

“Jett and I are just learning about each other,” Griffin said. “We’re at that stage where men try to seduce the ladies, and the ladies giggle, even after they’ve had sex a few times.”

Tyler responded by taking a bite of his pastry.

“Listen, why don’t you let us download the footage onto a jump drive and bring it to you,” Griffin said.

“Nope.” Tyler finished his food in two bites. “I want to see it first hand, and then I’ll decide if I want a copy. So let’s quit wasting time and get to your office. If we don’t go soon I’ll think one of your workers is cutting and splicing footage.”

“Then let’s go.” Griffin stood and took her hand. Once she was on her feet he said, “We have nothing to hide.”