Billion Dollar Mistake by K.C. Crowne

Chapter 19

JOLENE

Ineeded to get back to Whitepeak, but at the same time, I had to say something to the rest of the family. The day had been weird enough already and dipping out of lunch right after getting married most definitely necessitated saying a few words.

So, I’d popped back into the restaurant, let them all know that I had to get back to Whitepeak for work. Thankfully, they were all more than understanding and accommodating.

So was Sawyer. As he led me back out to the parking lot, he kept his hand on the small of my back, nothing about his demeanor or expression suggesting that he was upset with me.

“I’m so sorry about this,” I said. “It’s our freaking wedding day and I’m running out to do work.”

He smiled warmly. “It’s no problem at all. If anything, you’re making me more convinced that I did the right thing in putting in a good word for you with the state medical examiner.”

However, his expression turned serious after he said the words, and he raised his finger. Part of me was convinced I was about to get a scolding.

“But here’s the thing. I want you to come home when you can and relax when you get a chance. This case is looking serious, and you’re going to need all the wind down time you can get when you’re not working it. Come home, take a bath, and relax.”

I didn’t know what to say. Was this really Sawyer Williams, the cocky, charming but kind of an asshole guy I’d known since high school? There was no trace of that Sawyer as I stood there with him. He was being nothing but warm and sweet and understanding.

“You alright?” I asked.

“Just looking out for my wife,” he said with a smile. “I was hoping to give you the grand tour of the apartment after lunch, but that’ll have to wait.”

He glanced over at my Jeep.

“By the way, seeing as you’re going to be making an hour-long commute for the time being, we’re going to need to get you a more reliable car. But that’s a matter for another day.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Right now, just give me a kiss in case anyone’s looking.”

I smiled, still surprised by his behavior.

Despite myself, I was more than happy to give him that kiss. I pressed my lips against his, the heels I was wearing giving me a bit more height than I was used to – but the man still loomed over me. I fell into the kiss for a brief, wonderful moment before stepping back.

“They’re not going to be pissed?”

“Are you kidding?” he asked. “Dad and Janice are both entrepreneurs. If anything, you leaving your own wedding to go to work will score points with them. And don’t worry about rides – I’ll call Ubers for your sister and mom.”

“And what about you?” I asked. “You’re not upset?”

He grinned. “Nothing sexier than ambition. Now, get that sexy ass of yours in gear – there’s a murder to solve.”

With that, he winked before turning and heading back into the restaurant. I let my gaze linger on his backside for a few lovely moments before turning and hurrying to the Jeep.

I spent the drive going back and forth between the insanity of the fact that I was legally married, and the knowledge that another murder had taken place.

What was going on in Whitepeak? How had our peaceful, sleepy little mountain town experienced two murders in a few short weeks? It was too bizarre. While I wasn’t a detective, I still wanted to get to the bottom of it, one way or another.

I made a quick stop at my house to change into some more appropriate clothes, and by the time I pulled up to the crime scene ‒ another park just outside of town ‒ I was fully in work mode.

Like the other crime scene, the place was thick with uniformed officers, the scene surrounded with police tape. I made my way through the park, spotting detectives Hart and Cole.

“There she is,” Jimmy said when he laid eyes on me. “Back for round two, huh?”

Detective Hart gave me a quick smile and nod of acknowledgment, calm professionalism written all over her face. I debated telling them about the marriage, quickly deciding not to.

“You’re kidding me with this, huh?” I asked. “Two murders in Whitepeak?”

“No joke here,” Hart replied. “And at first blush this is looking like a carbon copy of the first one. We’ve got a man from out of town killed in the middle of a park, anything valuable he’d had on him taken. Just like the other one, he was found by some poor schlub out for a walk.”

I sighed, still wrapping my head around the fact that Whitepeak was becoming a murder hotspot. One was bad enough. Two, on the other hand, meant that there was a good chance national attention was likely to fall on our little town before too long.

“Right this way,” Hart directed.

Together, we made our way through the woods, eventually coming to a cluster of officers taking pictures and cordoning off the area in order to have it marked for forensics to check out later.

We reached the body. I had déjà vu the moment I laid eyes on it. Like the other, it was an adult male lying face-down in the mud, four shots to the back of his torso.

“Any insights into the shoes?” Jimmy asked with a wry smile.

I chuckled and shook my head before taking a look. Unlike the other man, the shoes weren’t nice at all – they were ratty sneakers.

“These definitely aren’t worth five hundred,” I said. Then I craned my neck to get a look at his face. It was half covered in mud, but from what I could see he wore a shaggy beard, his hair matted and greasy. “And he’s less well-kept than the other guy. I’d bet you anything he’s a drifter.”

“So,” Detective Hart said as I stood up. “We’ve got another John Doe, taken out in the middle of the woods with four shots at close range. I’m sure we’ll find out it’s the same gun, too.”

“I’d take that bet,” I said.

I put my hands on my hips, looking over the scene as I shook my head.

“What the hell’s going on in this town?” I asked out loud to no one in particular.

“You ask me,” Jimmy said, “Some low-life murderer’s taking advantage of the fact that we’ve got a nice safe town here where people don’t normally need to worry about this sort of thing. God knows we’re all taken by surprise.”

I nodded.

“Well, have the boys pack him up and send him over to me. I’ll let you both know what the autopsy says once it’s done.”

“Perfect,” Jimmy replied. Then he glanced up at Detective Hart, a sly smile on his face. “You want to say it, or should I?”

I was confused.

“Oh, let me,” Detective Hart answered. A big, sunny smile spread across her face. “Congratulations.”

“Huh?” I was somehow even more confused. How did they know?

Jimmy chuckled. “Jo, if you want to pull something over on a couple of people, you might want to make sure those couple of people aren’t detectives.” He held up his hand and tapped his ring finger. “We’re paid to notice things, remember?”

I glanced down at my wedding ring. I was shocked to see it there. The day had been so surreal that I’d forgotten that part of the ceremony had been placing a ring on my finger.

“Oh, God,” I said. “Sorry. Got a little single-minded when I found out about the murder.”

“When did you get married?” Detective Hart asked. “I didn’t even know you were engaged.”

“Happened kind of fast. Bumped into him a few weeks ago and then, um, one thing led to another…”

“So, who’s this new husband of yours?” Jimmy asked.

“A guy I went to high school with actually. His name is Sawyer Williams.”

Jimmy’s eyes flashed. “Are you kidding? You’re married to Sawyer Williams?”

“Who’s that?” Detective Hart asked. “Should I know that name?”

“He’s a kid from town,” Jimmy said. “And…” He trailed off as he rubbed his fingers together, making the universal sign for having money.

“Ah-ha-ha,” Detective Hart said. “Well, I hope you’re not implying Jolene here would only marry for money.”

“Of course not,” Jimmy replied. “But I’m sure it doesn’t hurt.”

I chuckled. “Well, if you guys are done speculating, I’m going to get back to the office and do my job.”

They said their goodbyes, offering more words of congratulations before I took off. On the way to the office, it struck me how easy it had been to lie, to look them both in the eyes and spout bullshit about how I’d fallen in love and gotten married after only a few short weeks.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to play the part for a while after all. By the time I reached the office I was more than eager to throw myself into work, try to forget about the other insanity in my life – at least for a short time. The medical crew arrived with the body at the same time I did, and I went into the office through the side door to avoid having to tell another lie to Megan about the marriage. She’d find out eventually, of course, but I wanted to keep my lying down to a reasonable level per day, at least.

Dave was in the basement when I entered, signing off with the medical crew after they’d placed the body on the slab.

“Is that a ring?” he asked once they were gone. “Are you married?”

“Long story,” I said. “I’ll tell it to you while we take care of him.” I stuck out my thumb toward the body.

And that’s just what I did. Dave helped me check out the John Doe, and while we worked, he peppered me with one question after another about the fact that I’d left work for the weekend single, not so much as a boyfriend, and come back a married woman.

It was good practice, really. I was stuck there with Dave, having to come up with answers on the fly while working. Like lying to everyone else, it was surprisingly easy. The hardest part was talking him out of buying me a wedding present.

A few hours went by as we examined the body. When that was done, I sent Dave home for the night, then filled out the paperwork needed to email Jimmy and Tiana. As I took care of that, the strangest thing happened – I found myself fantasizing about going home to Sawyer. It wasn’t the fancy apartment that I cared about, of course. It was the company, of coming home to someone who cared about me, if only in the arrangement sort of way that we did for one another.

Then, as if he were reading my mind, a text from him buzzed my phone as I sat in my office on my computer filling out the paperwork.

Hey. How’s the case going?

The text, simple as it was, brought a smile to my face. It was nice having someone text me and ask how my day was going – no denying it.

Same as the other, believe it or not. What a mess.

His reply came moments later.

Yeah, no kidding. Well, I’m here to talk about it when you get back – if you’re in the mood to talk about it, that is.

Party’s over? I asked.

Not much of a party. We finished lunch and that was that. Nice and simple, really. I let your sister and Mom know that you were probably going to be too busy with work to answer questions about it.

Another thing to smile about. Mom and Joann were usually pretty good about work, but Mom had a tendency to worry, especially when the case involved someone that had died under suspicious circumstances.

Thanks – seriously. This one’s going to be messy and I’m going to need time to process it.

Totally understandable. Anyway, I’ve got your information at the front desk, so you don’t need to check in with me when you get here. They’ll have a key ready and all that.

An address for downtown Denver followed, and I heart-reacted the text.

And be careful out there. You do have a murderer running around town.

Don’t worry – I know how to handle myself.

Of that, I have no doubt. A flexed bicep emoji followed, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

With a clear head, I went back to work. It ended up being a little after nine when I was all done. By the time I hit “send” on the last email, I was more than ready to pack up and get out of there. I headed to Sawyer’s, putting on some Pixies while I drove to keep me high-energy.

Before too long I reached Denver, letting Google Maps guide me to the stunning tower where Sawyer lived. A valet took my car, because of course he had a valet. The friendly employee at the front desk of the massive, modern lobby gave me a key to Sawyer’s penthouse apartment because of course he lived in the penthouse. The elevator up was one of those glass deals on the side of the building that let you look out over the city.

The elevator opened directly to Sawyer’s place.

It was two stories, the second floor looking down over the first, the ceilings two dozen feet high, the whole place so big you could’ve fit a soccer field in there. The view was breathtaking, the entire city visible from the floor-to-ceiling windows. A fire was going in the fireplace, a note on the huge, square coffee table in front of it.

Go ahead and have a relaxing evening – my home is your home now, after all. Not the most conventional wedding night, but then again, we don’t have the most conventional marriage. Your room is up the stairs and at the end of the hall on your left. Sleep well.

-S

I smiled as I set the note back down. I would’ve been fine with seeing Sawyer, but a quiet night in with a glass of wine sounded damn nice, too. I went into the enormous kitchen and plucked a bottle of sparkling wine from the fridge, taking it upstairs with a glass and opener.

It didn’t take me long to find my room with an en suite bathroom and private balcony. Minutes later, I was in the tub, glass of wine in hand, a sweeping view of the city before me.

It was beginning to sink in. I was a married woman, and the next day, my strange new life would begin.