Private Bodyguard

She knocked a few more times and waited.

And waited.

“Room service. I’m coming in,” she sang again in a lower voice. She slid the key into the lock and turned, an excuse for her intrusion ready on her tongue.

But no one yelped in surprise or yelled in anger. Aside from the TV, the room was still and spotless. Maybe Dan had gotten it wrong, Darling thought. There was no luggage or bags of any kind, the trashcans were empty and all the lights were off. She walked past the two double beds and peeked into the bathroom, hoping for some kind of clue that would prove Nigel Marks’s mistress had been there.

However, the proof she found was more than she had bargained for.

Lying in the bathtub was a woman wrapped up in the shower curtain. Blood was everywhere.

Chapter Two

“And you’re sure she won’t be a problem?” Nikki asked after Oliver more or less summed up his visit to the police station. He had admitted to knowing Darling, just not how he knew her.

“I’m sure. She was just curious, that’s all,” he said for the third time. Nikki might not have been fond of taking on Nigel Marks as a client, but now that he was under contract, she was going to make sure nothing bad happened. “Listen, I don’t blame her. This place is impressive. I’d have done the same thing. If it makes you feel better, I’m catching up with her when Thomas and Grant relieve me tonight. I’ll bring it up again and if she lies to me, I’ll catch it.”

“Well, just try not to tick off the long-winded gate guard, George, while you’re there. I’d really like to avoid talking to him again.”

Oliver agreed and they ended the call. He looked through the window to the gatehouse down below. George Hanely had been like a kid on Christmas as he recounted the story of how he had saved the Markses’ home from the more-than-suspicious private investigator. Oliver had been at Nigel Marks’s home for less than ten minutes, and in that time he had watched George reenact what had happened.

He had led Oliver from his post in the small one-room, half-bathroom house that sat at the front of the drive around to the garage. It, like the house, was large. It could easily fit several cars. Darling had been spotted next to the side door. Her story of just being close to the gate that surrounded the property was hard to believe. The iron gate was a good forty to fifty yards away. If she had been trying to get back over the fence, then why come so close to the garage?

Oliver could guess the answer. She was trying to get into the garage. But why?

Ever since he had seen Darling, he had been assuming that she was still the same girl he’d known before. The fact that she was in jail to start off with had proven the opposite. And a private investigator?

He smiled to himself. That he could believe. Darling had loved the challenge of a good mystery.

He remembered the first time he’d met her. She had been butt up in a Dumpster behind an office complex, rooting around in discarded papers and files. At the time he’d assumed it was a part of some weird bet. She hadn’t looked homeless with her designer clothes and perfectly manicured nails. Then, when she found exactly what she didn’t want to find, she had opened up in a burst of emotion to the nineteen-year-old him. Her world wasn’t over, but it had changed. Through the next few months the once-spoiled, once-naive teenager transformed into a thoughtful, compassionate young woman. The people around her hadn’t appreciated the changed Darling, and slowly she had become isolated. Oliver, however, had formed a bond with her, staying by her side until...

Self-loathing pulsed through him at the memory of the last night he’d seen her. Time can heal all wounds, but seeing the girl whose heart you shattered only breaks out the salt and pours it into the gashes, he thought with a frown.

Seeing her after all those years had been a shock to his system. One he wasn’t sure was entirely good or entirely bad. As he tried to clear his mind, he marveled at the fact that he still felt so strongly about what had happened almost a decade ago.

Oliver left the guest bedroom Nigel had assigned to him and started to go through each room of the house. He checked windows, catalogued all exits and got his bearings of the Markses’ second home. Its large size didn’t surprise him in the least.

After finishing his sweep, he made his way back over to the gatehouse. George, a slight man in his thirties with dark hair and a pasty complexion, could barely keep his excitement at bay at having someone to talk to. Oliver didn’t blame the man one bit. Even though Nigel Marks hadn’t been at his house in years, it was still George’s job to watch the gate daily. If it had been Oliver’s job, he would have hated it. However, George seemed to take pride in his tasks, and Oliver spied a movie player and several movies under the front desk, which must have made sitting in one room day in and day out a little more bearable.

“So, have you ever met Mr. Marks in person?” George asked when Oliver was satisfied with each part of the property. Aside from the gatehouse, garage and house, there was nothing but open land surrounding the acres the Markses owned.

“No,” Oliver admitted. “My boss handles the client interactions before the contract start date,” he explained. “Do you see him often? I was under the impression he didn’t come visit much.”

George shrugged. “He calls to check in from time to time and ask about things,” he said. Oliver noticed the gate guard puffed his chest out a bit. “I keep him informed on what’s going on in Mulligan.” There was no mistaking that George definitely took pride in working for Nigel. Oliver could respect that, even if he wondered what kind of social life the guard was left with after the hours he worked. Having a good boss was an absolute must for Oliver, especially after the nightmare of what had happened with his last. “That’s how I knew that woman was up to no good.”

They had just stepped outside the gatehouse and were facing the private drive. It wasn’t as cold as the Montana case had been, but there was a chill in the air that moved with the breeze. Oliver tilted his head as another gust pushed against his clean-shaven face, and he thought about his next words carefully before speaking.

“You mean the private investigator? She seemed harmless enough,” he said, not believing himself as he said it.

George snorted. “Private investigator. Yeah, that sounds a lot better than what she really does.”

Oliver raised his eyebrow. “What does she really do?”

“Sneak around, break the law and ruin lives. Just like the rat of a man she got her office from,” he explained with a surge of anger.

“From what I could tell Derrick seemed to like her,” Oliver added.

“Deputy Derrick and her are close, if you know what I mean.”

A quick burst of jealousy flashed through Oliver. The idea that Darling was with someone romantically hadn’t yet breached his thoughts. Not that it should matter either way.

“And as for the chief, he’s one of many people here that have fallen for her charms. If you ask me, she uses her looks to get what she wants. It’s repulsive. She should be using her time better, you know? Get married, have some kids.”

Oliver’s brief jealousy turned to a not-so-brief anger. It was true he couldn’t claim to know this new, older version of Darling the same way he had known the younger one, but he seriously doubted she was this repulsive person George was claiming. He was about to set the man straight when his cell phone beeped.

“They’re almost here,” Oliver said instead. “I want you to call me if anyone other than my team and Nigel comes to this gate. No matter the time. Are we clear?”

George straightened his back and almost looked as if he was ready to salute. “Yes, sir,” he barked.

Within minutes a black SUV came up the drive, followed by a sleek silver two-door Audi. Originally, Nigel was supposed to be escorted from his home in California to Mulligan, but a week ago he had changed this detail, much to Nikki’s frustration. He had spent two days in the neighboring city, working to put out business-related fires due to his company’s newest merger while he stayed at a four-star hotel less than a block from that branch of Charisma Investments. The other two members of Team Delta had been ordered to pick Nigel up that morning, officially starting their contract time frame.

Oliver nodded to Thomas Gage, Orion’s newest recruit, as he rolled down the SUV’s tinted driver’s side window just before the gate. His build was on the lean side, with narrow shoulders and arms toned but not as built as the rest of Team Delta. He had light brown skin, dark hair and bright blue eyes that Nikki had commented on more than once. Thomas never sported facial hair, and that decision often got him mistaken for younger than twenty-five. This was his third job as a Delta agent. Oliver liked his humor and lingering innocence.

“Hey there, Boss,” Thomas greeted Oliver with a smile. He motioned to the backseat, where Nigel Marks sat with a laptop on his lap and a phone to his ear. He looked up and gave a quick wave before turning his attention back to his work. “He had an emergency call that couldn’t wait,” Thomas explained.

Oliver motioned through the gatehouse window for George to open the gate. George didn’t hesitate, and Thomas moved the SUV the rest of the way up the drive, parking in front of one of the garage doors. Grant Blakely arrived next, driving Nigel’s high-end rental. He was already grinning as he paused next to Oliver.

“This assignment may not completely suck after all, especially if we get to play with his toys,” he said as soon as the window was down. He petted the dashboard.

Oliver chuckled. He missed working with his old team of Jonathan and Mark, but he had grown fond of Grant. The thirty-four-year-old was the epitome of intimidating without even trying. Tall, wide and thick with muscles, the dark-skinned bodyguard never looked as if he couldn’t win in a fight.

“Just wait until you see the house,” Oliver said. “Any problems getting here?”

“No, sir. It’s about a thirty-minute commute with no traffic. How about on your end? Did you deal with the private eye?”

“The threat wasn’t as threatening as we thought, but just to make sure, I’m going to ask a few more questions after my shift.” Grant nodded, and Oliver once again told George to open the gate.

“The man driving Nigel is Thomas, and the one in the Audi is Grant,” Oliver explained to George. “You have all our numbers. Don’t hesitate to use them if you need to. At all times there will be two of us with Nigel.”

George took the three cards with their numbers and put them in his pocket. Although he said he understood, Oliver could tell his attention had moved toward the cars, where his true boss had just exited.

Nigel Marks was over six foot, of average size and dressed in a proper suit. His salt-and-pepper hair was cropped close to his head, with a pair of reading glasses resting on top. The file Oliver had been given said Nigel was fifty-three, though he looked years younger. The file also said he was an avid runner, competing in marathons and triathlons in his spare time. That would account for the toned body his suit did little to hide. As Oliver approached, Nigel ended his call and extended his hand.

“Sorry about that,” Nigel said with a smile. “This merger has made everyone forget how to do their jobs. You must be Mr. Quinn.”

Oliver shook. “Call me Oliver.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Oliver. Nikki spoke very highly of you and your team. Hopefully you won’t get too bored on this job.”

“It’s a good sign when a job stays boring,” Oliver replied.

Nigel seemed to consider this and laughed. “I suppose you’re right. Well...” Nigel waved to his house as Grant and Thomas joined them. “As I told Nikki, feel free to treat this as your home while here. There are no off-limits areas, but I do ask my office be left alone unless I’m with you. I have a feeling that my free time will be spent in there.” He paused as his phone rang. His pleasant mood seemed to slide away in an instant. Replacing it was the look of a tired man. “My work is never done.”

* * *

DARLING FELT AS if she was frozen yet couldn’t stop everything around her from moving. It wasn’t until her vision started to tunnel that she realized she was about to pass out. With a quick dose of good sense, she backed out of the bathroom and crouched, flinging her head down between her legs. In the moment she couldn’t remember why that stopped a person from fainting, but she knew she needed to try it nonetheless.

So there she was, crouched just outside of room 212’s bathroom and its body in the tub, trying to calm her stampeding heartbeat and erratic breathing.

This case was nothing but bad, bad luck.

A car door shut in the parking lot some time later. Whether it was seconds or minutes, she wasn’t sure. The room hadn’t been the only aspect of her reality that had warped when she had seen the body. However, instead of sending her into a bigger fit of worries, the sound of the outside world started to make her focus.

She took two deep breaths and slowly righted herself. The camera around her neck slapped against her chest, reminding her of the reason she had been there in the first place.

Nigel Marks and his mistress had been in this room the night before. He had gone, but his mistress hadn’t checked out. It wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to guess it was her unfortunate fate that she was the one wrapped up in the tub. Darling knew she had to call the police, just as she knew that once she left the room, she’d never be allowed back in.

At the moment, it was a thought that didn’t sit right with her. So, blaming the impulse on her desire to solve mysteries, even ones seemingly cut and dried, she took her camera from her neck and walked back to the bathroom doorway. With hands she let shake, she snapped a few pictures of the bathroom and its deceased guest before she turned back and took a few of the bedroom. Another car door slammed shut in the distance. She glanced once more toward the bathroom.

Darling felt a mixture of anger and sadness pull at her heart. Nigel Marks might be a powerful man in the business world, but by killing this woman, he had unwittingly stepped inside Darling’s domain.

Darling hurried to the main office and was thankful that Dan was still alone. He didn’t look up when she came in, he just raised his hands.

“I know nothing,” he said, still in a bubble of humor. It was a bubble she was about to pop.

“Dan, you need to call the police. There’s a dead body in room 212.”

Dan laughed, thinking it was a joke until he finally met her eyes. Darling figured she must have looked as serious as the situation was. She watched his face and mood sober.

“Where?” was all he could manage.

“Wrapped up in a shower curtain in the tub.”

His lips thinned, and his brows pulled together. “You better give me the key and leave, then,” he said after a moment. He pulled the only landline phone the office had from the second shelf of his desk. Darling felt a quick wave of fondness for the man. He was always trying to cover for her.

“I don’t want you to lie about how you found the body,” Darling said. “I’ll tell the deputy the door was already open.” She handed the key back to him. “We don’t have to tell anyone about the key. Though I don’t think they’ll care either way.” It seemed obvious to her what had happened.

Dan nodded and pocketed the key.

“Then you call them,” he said, already shrugging into his coat. “I want to go see it for myself.”

Darling sat behind the front desk with a very loud, long sigh and did as she was told. Deputy Derrick wouldn’t be happy she had managed to get into this mess, but at least this time she wasn’t guilty. Not that she would have admitted she had been guilty that morning. Instead of dialing 9-1-1, she called the man directly. In a small town like Mulligan, where the members of police force could be counted on two hands, Derrick had the dual duty of being their trusty investigator as well as deputy. Instead of puttering around with someone else in the bull pen, Darling went straight to the source.

“Deputy Derrick,” he answered on the second ring.

“Derrick, it’s Darling. I hope you’re not busy right now.”

She heard him snort. “Is that your way of trying to ask me out? We both know how well that works,” he said, all humor.

“Well, not quite.”

“Where are you calling from?” he asked after a pause. She knew him well enough to recognize something close to suspicious concern creeping into his tone.

“The Mulligan Motel,” she paused for a moment and then dove in. “There’s a body in room 212, wrapped up in the tub.”

“A body?”

She nodded. Then, realizing he couldn’t see her, she said, “And Derrick? The last person seen leaving the room was Nigel Marks.”

There was silence on the other end.

“Stay there and tell Dan don’t let anyone else in that room,” he finally said. “And I mean it, Darling. No one else goes in there.”

Darling agreed to his no-tampering-with-a-crime-scene rule. Suddenly her morning indiscretion didn’t seem as bad. She even bet Oliver’s need to question her would disappear when he found out.

Oliver.

She pulled his card out of her back pocket and looked at his number.

If Nigel did kill whoever it was in the tub, where did that leave Oliver?

Chapter Three

Oliver didn’t answer when Darling called him.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt she owed it to him to give him a heads-up that the man he had promised to guard was about to need a lot more protection than he could offer. Oliver had said she wasn’t a threat, vouching for a woman he no longer knew. Plus, it was no fun to be blindsided. She knew that from experience.

“This is Oliver Quinn. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible,” his voice mail recording answered. Darling felt her face heat up after the beep to leave a message came and went. She realized then that giving him a heads-up might also give Nigel one before the cops were even able to see the body in the tub. She didn’t want to be the one responsible for giving the number one suspect time to lawyer up or possibly run. Although he probably had already done one or the other. It wasn’t as if the body could have gone unnoticed for too long.

“Um, hi, it’s Darling,” she floundered. “I need you to call me as soon as you get this. Something’s happened. Thanks.” She let out a long sigh as she ended the call. She liked to believe she was a very confident and sure woman, but mix any part of Oliver into her life and she suddenly felt off her game.

Darling went back up to the second floor to find Dan, trying to push thoughts of her ex clear out of her head. She had walked into the crime scene that, most likely, her current client’s husband had created. That gave her a new set of problems and concerns without adding the complication of the man from her past.

“I talked to Deputy Derrick,” Darling told Dan, who was standing in the doorway to room 212. “He said no one else needs to go in there until they get here.”

Dan didn’t answer right away. His eyes were stuck on a point somewhere in the main room. She wondered if he had peeked in the bathroom yet. When he met her gaze, she knew he had. He looked haunted.

“Do you think he really did it?” he asked. “Nigel. Do you think he really killed her?”

Darling shrugged. “I can’t say for certain, but I can make the leap and say I think there’s a pretty good chance he did. You said yourself that he stayed the night here.”

Dan nodded, but there was no enthusiasm in it.

“Do you want me to wait in the lobby and send the cops up when they get here?” she asked when it was clear Dan wasn’t going to talk. He nodded again and returned to staring into room 212. She patted him on the shoulder and made the walk back, thinking a dead body in your hotel couldn’t be good for business.

Darling sat behind the desk again but didn’t let her mind wander. Instead she thought about Elizabeth Marks, the only other woman who knew about her husband’s affair. Or, at least, she had thought so. If Nigel went to jail for murdering his mistress, she’d be in the clear to take what was hers, and possibly his, and leave without any strings attached.

A coldness seeped into Darling’s heart.

She pulled her phone out and went to her email. Searching through discount offers and social media updates, she found the itinerary Elizabeth had sent to her after she had signed on to the case. During the duration of Nigel’s work trip, Elizabeth would be with her mother in the Bahamas. She claimed that if she were far away with no chance of accidentally spotting Nigel and his mistress, he might get careless. It would be easier to catch him, she had said with vigor. If the schedule Darling was looking at was correct, the two women would have left for the trip on Sunday, two days ago. That meant Elizabeth wasn’t even in the country when the woman had checked in.

Plus, why would you hire a private investigator if you were just going to kill the problem?

All at once, Darling realized there was an easy way to figure out who the mistress was.

Jumping up, she hurried to look out the door to make sure no one was coming. Derrick had been at the police station when she had called, which meant she had very little time left before he arrived. She ran back behind the front desk and pulled a big leather-bound registry book out. Dan hated leaving it on the desktop because he claimed it got in the way of his crosswords. He only pulled it out when a new guest had already handed over the money. It was also the only way he kept tabs on the people who checked in and out. Darling could have slapped herself. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of looking at the registry as soon as she had come in.

She flipped through a few pages until she found the entries from the night before. Three people had checked in. All were after 6:00 p.m., and none of them were Nigel Marks. A car door shut in the parking lot, and for the second time that day, Darling took a picture of something she probably shouldn’t have. This time it was with her phone, but that reminded her she needed to hide her camera or else Derrick would take it from her. He was always suspicious of her, which, she guessed, was deserved in this case. She grabbed the camera, put it in the bottom drawer of the desk and replaced the registry seconds before Deputy Derrick came into the office.

“Two times in one day, huh?” she greeted him. Derrick didn’t think it was funny. She sobered. “Sorry, it’s been a weird day.”

Whatever he had been about to say, he must have changed his mind. His face softened.

“What room?” he asked.

“Room 212. Dan is waiting outside. I told him not to go back in, like you said.”

Derrick nodded. Behind his knitted brows, he was probably running through police procedures.

“You okay?” he asked when she kept staring. “I mean, like emotionally,” he tacked on. He had never been that great at talking about feelings, so the question surprised her.

“Yeah, I didn’t really see much.”

He nodded and turned for the door that led to the stairs outside. He paused long enough to add, “And Darling, don’t leave. I have a lot of questions for you.”

“I know.”

* * *

“I NEED YOU to call me as soon as you get this. Something’s happened. Thanks.” Oliver hadn’t recognized the number, but he sure did recognize the voice and the oddness behind it as he listened to Darling’s message. He didn’t have long to think about it, though, before his phone rang again.

This time it was George.

“Oliver, the police are here,” he started. “They want to know if they can come in.”

“The police?”

“Yeah, they say they need to talk to Mr. Marks.”

Oliver looked up as if he could see his client through the ceiling.

“Let them in,” he answered, ending the call.