Because of You: Just Because Series, Book 1, page 4
He’d spoken the same words to her before, but for the first time, she could see, could feel the truth behind them.
Her friend was right, Tommy would hate to see her so consumed by grief and loneliness. However, her heart also knew that were the situation reversed, there was no force on earth that would stop her husband from seeing justice served. Didn’t she owe the same to him?
Chapter Four
Jess was halfway between Saratoga and Denver when her cell phone rang. The return trip home was slowly erasing the positive effects of her vacation. The tension she’d managed to shake loose was returning to her shoulders. She dreaded the return to her cold, lonely apartment, facing long nights waiting for her faceless caller to begin tormenting her again.
She snatched the phone up from beside her on the car seat. “Hello?”
“Jessie?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“Hi, this is Dawnette.” Jessie was surprised to hear Tommy’s secretary on the other end of the line. She hadn’t spoken to the woman since Tommy’s death. There had been several times when she’d wanted to call to talk to Dawnette about her suspicions, but the secretary had taken his death hard, blaming herself for not staying late to work with him, and Jessie hadn’t wanted to add to the poor woman’s pain.
“Hey, Dawnette. How are you?” She’d always liked her husband’s assistant.
“I’m doing fine. I hope I’m not calling at a bad time.”
“Actually I’m on my way home from Saratoga. I’ve been visiting a friend.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” Dawnette’s voice seemed distant, distracted. “Listen, I’m actually calling because, well, because there’s been a bit of a problem at the accounting firm.”
“A problem?” she asked.
“More than a problem. An arsonist burned the whole place down.”
“What?” Jessie asked.
“Two nights ago. The fire marshal found some sort of incendiary device and he’s sure it was foul play.”
“Oh, how awful. Was anyone in the building?”
“No, the cleaning crew had just left, so no one was hurt at least. Thing is, they think the fire started in Tommy’s old office.”
Jessie considered her words. “Dawnette, the day Tommy died, he called me and mentioned finding something interesting in an audit he was doing. Do you have any idea what he meant?”
“Interesting?” Dawnette asked. “I remember he was stressed out for a couple of days prior to his, um, accident. You know how he was, always so calm, cool and collected. It was weird to see him so uptight.”
“Do you know what account he was working on? What could have possibly upset him?”
“He was a brilliant accountant. He always had five or six accounts on his desk at one time. It’s hard to say for sure, but I’ve been a secretary in accounting firms for years, and nothing short of an IRS audit or embezzlement gets an accountant as worked up as Tommy was.”
Embezzlement? The word resounded in Jessie’s mind and she tried to recall whether or not she’d noticed his anxiety at home. They’d both been bogged down with work. Perhaps the signs that something was bothering him had been there all along and she hadn’t been paying attention.
The image of Tommy as he lay dying alone, outside in the cold, came into her mind, only this time the picture changed and Jessie imagined someone was with him, standing over him. What if someone knew Tommy was getting close to uncovering evidence that would expose his crime and the villain had decided to silence him forever?
“I’m sorry to bother you at all,” Dawnette continued, “but something told me you would want to know about the fire.” The soft, urgent tone of the secretary’s voice clued her in that Dawnette had heard about Jessie’s visit to the firm and about the nature of the questions she’d been asking. She was grateful to the woman not only for her information, but also for her call. Clearly Dawnette was one of the minority who didn’t think Jessie’s concerns were unfounded.
“I can’t tell you how glad I am that you did.”
“Well, goodbye, Jessie.”
“Bye, Dawnette.” She hung up and tried to focus her attention on the road. She considered the woman’s comments about the fire starting in Tommy’s office. She had gone over the day of her husband’s death so many times she thought she’d lose her mind. Since then, she had been mugged and plagued by phone calls.
Her immediate suspicions fell to Tommy’s partner, Rex, but why would he torment her and why would he burn down the firm? If he’d been part of an embezzlement scheme, he had access to all of Tommy’s records. He could have destroyed or hidden all the evidence long ago. There was no logical explanation for him to burn down his own building. However, given the fact she was questioning him about who Tommy had met with, the man knew she was suspicious.
Dawnette’s comments also suggested that the villain could be someone who worked for the targeted company, and once again, she felt frustrated by Rex’s silence in telling her the names of the clients Tommy had met with that last day. Was Rex protecting someone? Jordan said he’d met with Tommy that morning and her husband had been acting normally. Who had Tommy seen after that? And why would the embezzler turn his attention toward her after Tommy’s death? She didn’t know his identity. She had no proof against him. Or did she?
She sighed and signaled as she approached the exit that would put her on the highway that would take her back to Denver. Her head ached and the familiar coldness that had permeated every part of her body returned with a vengeance.
“So much for that vacation,” she muttered as she felt all traces of the optimism and happiness she felt in Saratoga drift away.
* * *
“Why are you there, Jessie?”
She shrugged, then grinned as she became aware of the fact that Jordan couldn’t see the gesture through the cell phone. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m simply a glutton for punishment.”
“You’ve just returned from a lovely vacation, young lady. You should be wading through a sea of mail and laundry. Instead you’re sitting outside a burned-out building. Why?”
“Hell if I know,” she admitted wearily. She’d been unable to sleep more than a few hours last night as she’d tossed and turned, thinking of all Dawnette had said about the fire and the possibility of embezzlement. “The answer to Tommy’s death may have been in there.”
“Well, if it was, it’s been reduced to rubble and ash. This isn’t healthy for you, Jessie. I wish you’d take a few steps back from this investigation and take care of yourself. I thought that trip to Saratoga might help you see that continuing down this path will only lead to exhaustion and pain.”
“I thought you understood,” she said sadly. Jordan had been her only confidant, her staunchest supporter as she attempted to puzzle out the mystery surrounding Tommy’s death. The idea of continuing the search alone again depressed her.
“I do understand and you must know I’ll help you in any way I can, but I care about you and I have to admit to being more than a little worried about you. You’ve become the daughter I never had, dear Jess, and I would give anything to see you happy again.”
She smiled at his kind sentiment. “Just help me see this through to the end, Jordan. Your friendship, your belief in me has meant more than I can say.”
“Then that is precisely what you’ll continue to have. So how long are you going to sit there?”
She laughed lightly. “Not long. I’ve got too many errands to run downtown today to dawdle for long.”
“Well then. I’ll leave you to your ruminations, Sherlock Holmes. I have a board meeting to attend. Goodbye, Jessie.”
“Goodbye.” She clicked off her cell and looked at the burnt-out shell of her husband’s office building. She recalled the day he and Rex had decided to open the firm together and smiled as she remembered Tommy’s excitement as he led her through the building the afternoon they’d signed the contract to buy it. She was glad he wasn’t here to see his dreams, his future plans reduced to a pile of charred planks and dirty ashes.
She was surprised when a car pulled up beside her. Glancing over into the driver’s seat, she found Rex looking at her. Obviously, he wasn’t happy to find her here. She forced a faint smile and opened her car door as he opened his.
“Hey, Rex.”
He looked tired, sad. “What are you doing here, Jessie?”
“I guess the same thing as you,” she replied. “Remembering.”
He crossed to the front of his vehicle and leaned against the hood. She joined him.
For a moment, she felt sorry for him.
At least, she did until he spoke. “Still trying to build conspiracy theories out of thin air?”
She fought back her anger at his hostile tone. The man had suffered a second major blow to his career in less than a year, so she struggled to make her reply kind, non-threatening. He and Tommy, while not bosom buddies, had worked together in relative peace and harmony for many years. Losing his partner and now his office had to be taking a toll on him.
“I’m just trying to make sense of all of this, Rex.”
“Dammit, Jess. Sometimes life kicks you in the teeth just for the fucking hell of it. Why does it have to mean something?”
Her temper rose at his casual dismissal of what he had to see as further proof that her suspicions weren’t unfounded. “What is wrong with you? Are you so apathetic, so cowardly, that you prefer to close your eyes to everything that’s going on around you rather than confront it head on?”
“What am I facing? Tommy fell and hit his head. It was an accident. An arsonist threw a Molotov cocktail in the window of my office building. In case you failed to notice, we live in a relatively large city where crime is on the rise. Jesus, you were just mugged. Surely, you aren’t pretending that crime doesn’t exist in Denver?”
“How did you know about the mugging?” she asked, shocked to discover he knew about it.
“Jordan mentioned it the last time he was in.”
She nodded and considered his answer. Jordan, true to his word, had been trying to discover more information regarding Tommy’s clients, and she suspected her dear friend had been harassing Rex relentlessly. The thought offered her a bit of petty pleasure. Rex had always been the weaker of the two accountants, perfectly content to ride Tommy’s coattails as her husband landed account after account, building their firm into one of the most prosperous in the city.
A new thought occurred to her. How was Rex doing now that he was the driving force of the firm? What if he’d burned down the building himself in an attempt to hide the fact he was failing on his own?
She mentally shrugged. Rex’s lack of business savvy certainly didn’t explain Tommy’s death, the mugging or the damned phone calls.
“What accounts was Tommy working on?” she asked when Rex turned back toward the destroyed building and sighed heavily. She hoped his obvious exhaustion would weaken his defenses.
“You’re relentless,” he said, turning toward her, anger written on every line on his face. Stress had taken its toll on the man as she noticed how much he’d aged in the last year. Tommy had always called him his pretty boy partner, teasing Rex relentlessly for his vanity and playboy lifestyle. His typically clean-cut face was shadowed with a couple days worth of growth. He had dark circles under his eyes and his mouth was drawn tight, his ever-present cocky grin missing.
“I prefer the word determined,” she said.
“You’re a fool.” He raised his hand quickly and she fought to hide a flinch. He shook his finger in her face angrily and by his loud, harsh words, she knew she’d pushed him too far. “And an annoyance. I’m going to tell you one more time, Jessie. Tommy’s death was an accident and this was a random act of arson. Now I want you to get off this property before I call the police and have you charged with trespassing. I don’t want to see you here again.”
She started to argue, but whatever restraint he’d held on his fury slipped completely. “Get the fuck out of here!” he yelled.
She sucked in a breath at his livid tone and cold face. She’d never been afraid of Rex, but at that moment, with his narrowed eyes and clenched fists, she sensed a cold-blooded hostility she’d never seen before.
She climbed into her car and pulled out of the parking lot, fighting to still her trembling hands. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she could see his heated gaze following her as she drove away. Apparently she’d lied to Todd. Her move to Saratoga would have to wait.
* * *
Caleb dragged himself into the ranch house after pulling a double shift. He was pleasantly surprised when he opened the front door to find the place back in order and all the guests finally gone.
“Hey, Doc,” Jacob called, coming down the stairs with a full garbage bag. “Everything okay at the hospital?”
“Yeah, the flu seems to be making its rounds though. Left us short one doctor and two nurses.”
“You got home late from the party,” Jacob said, placing the heavy bag down. “Or should I say early?”
Caleb rolled his eyes. No doubt his brother was hoping for some juicy details. “I’m tired, Jake. I’m going to bed.”
“Too tired to talk, huh? I wonder what on earth could have made you so tired.”
He shook his head and grinned. “Not going to let me rest, are you?”
“Nope, so you might as well spill it all,” Jacob replied. Caleb resigned himself to telling Jacob about his night. He had always been closest to his baby brother, despite the wide gap in their ages and the fact they shared few common interests.
Jacob was a reader, a writer, an artist, while Caleb lived his life firmly ensconced in the sciences. Jacob liked loud rock music, while he preferred a slow country melody. Caleb was a red-blooded heterosexual male, while Jacob…well, Jacob was not.
It had taken him some time to come to grips with the idea that his youngest brother was gay, but seeing the transformation in his brother, who’d always been too quiet, too insecure while growing up, was worth the effort. Jacob had grown into a confident, outgoing young man and Caleb was extraordinarily proud of him.
“Jessie is an amazing woman,” he said.
“So I hear. Todd is crazy about her,” his brother said, “and worried about her.”
He nodded. “Her husband died about eight months ago, some sort of accident.”
“Yeah, I remember Todd telling me about it at the time. Said Jessie shut herself up. Never went out, didn’t cry, talk, smile.”
“She loved her husband,” he said, the image of Jessie crying softly in bed returning to him. “We made love,” he added quietly.
“Made love or had sex?” Jacob asked. “There’s a difference, you know.”
“I know,” he confessed. “And I said it right the first time.”
“Shit, one night and you’re falling for her.”
He shrugged and turned away from his brother. “If I am, it doesn’t matter. Jessie’s not ready for a relationship.”
Jacob placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “She may not be ready now, Doc. That doesn’t mean she’ll never be ready. I’m just happy that you’re finally putting yourself out there. At last. Started to think you were going to milk this damned bachelor lifestyle until the grave.”
“Kind of jumping the gun, aren’t you? I spent one night with a woman who isn’t ready for a relationship. Let’s face it, Jake, it’s probably a little too late for me to be considering the dating scene. I’m too old and set in my ways.”
“You’re not old at all. The only thing wrong with you is that you’ve spent your whole life giving to others and now you’ve forgotten how to take something for yourself.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Caleb asked, confused by his brother’s comment.
“You give one hundred and twenty percent of your attention and time to that hospital, to your patients, to us, but, Doc, when’s the last time you took something because you needed it? Hell, when’s the last time you took something just because you wanted it?”
When he’d graduated from medical school, all he’d wanted was to help people, to be a success. As the eldest brother, he’d taken on the responsibility of caring for his brothers after their parents passed away. He’d never been involved in a serious relationship because he’d never had the time. His one night with Jessie supported the truth of his brother’s observations. He was lonely, and the lovely widow had uncovered some latent yearnings he’d never realized were there.
“You know, for someone who thinks he’s so smart, you would think that talent would carry over to buying decent condoms. Where in the hell did you get that one you gave me that night?”
“You gave it to me,” Jacob said.
“When?”
“When I was heading out to junior prom.” His brother adopted the same deep voice he’d used last night, this time, no doubt trying to sound like a pompous, younger version of him. “You said, ‘Jake, I know how boys are and prom is a big night. Make sure you practice safe sex’.”
“I thought you were mimicking Dad last night with that line.”
“Shit, when would Dad have ever given us condoms and said the word sex to us? You were the one who explained the birds and bees to me.”
“Looks like I did a hell of a job,” he joked and Jacob laughed.
“You did fine, dumbass. Holy hell, you didn’t try to use that thing, did you? It’s ancient.”
Caleb bit his tongue, unwilling to confess his idiocy. “Why are you still carrying the damn thing?”
“Sentimental value. I like to think of it as my lucky charm. Actually, if you don’t mind I’d like it back.”
He felt his face flush a bit at Jacob’s request.
“Crap, you did use it.”
“You didn’t mention wanting it back,” he said.
“Yeah, well. I didn’t actually think you and Jessie would hook up and then I figured you were smart enough to realize I was imitating you and that you’d see how fucking old the thing was.”
“It was dark and I was more than halfway to drunk, Jake.”
