Chapter 16

16

A nxiety zipped through Elsie’s veins. She tapped her toe against the stained carpet at the top of the stairwell and willed the key to work in the round doorknob. She’d already been a part of one break-in this morning. Even though she’d do whatever necessary to get into the apartment Malcom kept above the bar, she hoped to do so in a more legal capacity.

“The key fits.” Dean whispered and swung open the door. “Hurry.”

She brushed past him, the heat of his body causing butterflies to awaken in the pit of her stomach, and the shock of the inside of the apartment stopped her in her tracks. The gleaming hardwood floors and sleek, modern cabinets stood in stark contrast to the bar downstairs. An impressive collection of liquor bottles lined the shiny white marble.

A hand on her back prompted her forward. “This is not what I expected,” she said, spinning around to face Dean.

He let out a low whistle, darting his gaze around to take in the room. “Doesn’t make sense Malcom chose to live in the shithole where we found him when he had this place.”

“Maybe that’s because he doesn’t have any furniture in here.”

The kitchen and living room were one open space. Thick, black curtains hung from the window on the far wall, but the living room was empty.

Dean walked toward the kitchen cabinets and flipped open door after door. “Fancy glasses in here, but that’s about it. Let’s hope we find something in one of the other rooms.”

Elsie waited for Dean to lead the way down the hallway. Fear heightened her awareness, but at least there wasn’t the putrid scent announcing death like in Malcom’s other residence. She peered over Dean’s shoulder into the bathroom. The space was small but as high-end as the front of the apartment with its white pedestal sink, tiled shower, and platinum finishes.

“I can’t wrap my mind around this apartment belonging to the same man as the house we were at earlier.” She trailed her fingertips on the soft fluffy hand towel, a pristine white that looked as if it had never been touched.

“Let’s check the bedroom. There’s got to be something more in there than decorative towels and booze.” He flipped off the light and stepped across the hall.

Her nerves tightened into a little round ball. Either they’d find something useful or end up right back where they started—with jack shit to help figure out what happened to Mila.

Dean pushed open the door, turned on the light, and frowned. “What the hell?”

Hesitating, she wrinkled her nose and closed her eyes. “Should I stay out here? Do I want to see?”

“He’s using this as a storage area,” Dean said. “Looks like poker tables.”

She blinked open her eyes.

Dean crossed the room to the closet and peeked inside. Plastic cubes stored poker chips, playing cards, and folding chairs. A big black safe took up half the closet space. He tugged on the handle. “Locked, and we need a combination to open it. I wouldn’t even know where to start to figure that out. At least not without more information about Malcom.”

“What about Calvin? If he’s in front of his computer, he might have an idea.” She tilted one of the round tables to see the green felt on the other side. “Is it normal for people to have this much stuff for a poker game? I’m afraid UNO is as far as my card knowledge goes.”

“I have some buddies who take their poker pretty seriously and may have one table in their basement or man cave for an occasional game, but nothing on this scale. I mean, you only need a fraction of the chips that are in the closet for a game with people who’d fit on one table.” He dug his phone from the pocket of his jeans. “I’m taking your advice and calling Calvin.”

A quick thrill shot through her. “Can you put it on speaker?”

“Sure.” He pressed a button then held the phone between them.

She moved closer to his side to hear better. The thrill from moments before intensified.

Stop it. He’s giving his failed marriage another shot. Don’t drop your guard. Just focus on the problem.

“Hey, man,” Calvin said when the line picked up. “What’s up? Find anything?”

“A weird-ass apartment with nothing but booze and a shit-ton of poker equipment.” He locked his gaze with hers and widened his eyes as if to exaggerate his point. “Found a safe that has a combination lock. Do you have any information that could point to a four-digit combo Malcom might use?”

“Give me a sec.” The sound of clicking keys filtered through the phone. “Try his birthday. 1122.”

Dean handed her the phone then crouched in front of the safe and turned the dials. “Nope,” he said over his shoulder.

Elsie sunk to her knees to bring the phone closer to Dean.

“Okay, then 1181. That’s year and month of birth,” Calvin said.

Dean twisted the dials again. “Nothing.”

Elsie’s shoulders dropped. There were thousands of options. It would take a miracle to open the damn safe. “What about his sister’s birthday? He used her name for the other property. Might have used something related to her for this as well.”

“Good point. Let me bring it up,” Calvin said. “Try month and day first—0902.”

Dean’s fingers went back to work, and he shook his head. “Give me month and year.”

“0985.”

“Got it,” Dean said, and the door swung open.

She leaned to the side for a look inside the safe. Wads of cash lined the shelves with a thick manilla file folder on the very top. “The money’s strapped just like the cash we found in Justin’s bedroom.”

“Anything else in there?” Calvin asked.

“Cash, paperwork, and a handgun.”

He stood and she caught a glimpse of the gun at the bottom of the safe. She sucked in a breath. “What the hell is going on here?”

Dean scrubbed a hand over his face. “Looks like Malcom was heading up an illegal poker ring. Buy-in must be pretty high for this kind of cash. We need to call in the sheriff’s department. This is the kind of money people would kill over.”

“Sadie said some deputies will be by soon.” Dean stuffed his phone back in his pocket and gave the bedroom-turned-storage area a long look.

Elsie sat on the floor beside the safe and flipped through a file. “How can we have found so much that doesn’t tell us a damn thing?” Her scowl highlighted the frustration in her voice.

“It might feel like that, but we’re circling the truth. We know more about Malcom and what he was doing here, and that ties in with Justin Pauly. Which might tie in with Mila.”

She tossed the file on the floor. “How? She’s not here. She wasn’t at the other house. We don’t know where Justin is, or if he’s even the one who took her. Unless she’s hiding somewhere, or the surprise ringleader of some illegal gambling ring, I don’t see how she’s connected at all.”

Sensing Elsie was close to a breakdown, he held out a hand. “Come here.”

Sighing, she nestled her palm in his. “What?”

He ignored the jolt of heat that shot from his arm and pulled her to her feet. Dipping his chin, he forced her to meet his eyes. “I know it might not seem like it, but we’re getting closer. I feel it in my gut.”

“Well, my gut is sinking,” she said, pressing her hands to her stomach. “I feel sick and worried and I’m scared as hell. Mila has been gone for too long.” Tears slid down her face.

His heart cracked in two and he wrapped his arms around her. It felt like years had passed since he’d held her, not hours, and the anxiety tying him up inside since Gina had walked into his house this morning melted away. He’d fix what went wrong between him and Elsie, but not now. Now he had to keep her from falling over the edge.

“We know Mila was at Mrs. Pauly’s and that Mrs. Pauly didn’t see her the night she went missing,” he said, holding her close and repeating the facts of the case. He didn’t have any new information for her, but cycling through what they’d learned over the last few days was the only thing he could think of to help her see how much they’d uncovered—and prove they were on the right track. “We also know Justin hasn’t been seen since that same night, that he came to Town Tavern a lot to talk to Malcom, and he was hiding cash under his bed.”

“Which circles us back to needing to find Justin.” She took a step away from him and wiped her eyes. “We’ve been to his residence. Staked out his known previous locations. Maybe we need to dig deeper into his past.”

Now it was his turn to be frustrated. “Calvin and I have searched and haven’t found anything useful. This guy’s flown under the radar for a while.”

Elsie swished her mouth to the side. “What about his mother?”

“What about her?”

“Have you talked to her?” She raised her brows high and spoke slowly as if talking to a child.

He shook his head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“We follow the facts as they’re found. With Justin, that was tracing him through what was in his room then checking into his relationship with Malcom.”

“Mrs. Pauly mentioned she’d told her daughter Justin could stay with her as long he helped around the house. That would mean his mom was actively helping him find a place to live. Maybe he hadn’t been living with her, but he’d been in contact with her. Regardless, if we need to dig deeper into this guy’s past, his mom would be the logical place to start.”

“Good points. Let’s head downstairs and regroup. Maybe take a walk to get some fresh air while tracking down Justin’s mom’s information.”

A tiny smile poked through her misery. “Sounds good.”

He led the way back to the stairwell and downstairs, not bothering to shut off the lights. The sounds of chatter and clanking of dishes grew louder as they entered the restaurant. Ashley glanced their way from behind the bar.

“I want to give Ashley a heads up that deputies are on the way to go over the apartment,” he said.

“Good idea.”

He made a detour toward the bar and lifted a finger to gain the server’s attention.

“All done?” Ashley asked.

“Yeah. Full disclosure, we found a key and went upstairs.”

Her mouth fell open, eyes widened.

He lifted a palm. “You’re not on the hook for anything we did. We found some things upstairs and called Deputy Pennel. She’s sending some people over to take a look. If you haven’t told the staff about Malcom, you might want to either do that now or let the deputies handle it when they get here.”

Her hands shook as she filled two glasses with dark soda.

“Thank you for everything,” Elsie said. “And good luck. I hope this place finds a new owner soon.”

Ashley offered her a small smile. “Me, too.”

“Ready for that walk?” Dean asked. He wanted to stretch his legs a little and enjoy the outdoors, even if only for a few minutes. Something to recharge and maybe help calm Elsie’s nerves. Exercise had always done that for him, especially exercise that could be done with the sun on his face.

“That actually sounds really nice right now.”

Before they reached the door it swung open, sunshine pouring into the dimly lit room.

Gina walked in and beamed. “Hello, again.”

He stopped, shoulders stiffening. “Hey.”

“Gotta love small towns,” Gina said with a laugh. “Sooner or later, you’ll always run into the people you want to see. I stopped in for a late breakfast. Dean, would you like to join me?”

Elsie took a step away from him, wrapping her arms around her stomach. “I’ll leave you two alone. I have some calls to make.”

Gina’s smiled widened. “Perfect.”

Elsie made a move toward the door.

Damned if he’d make the same mistake as earlier, he snagged her hand before she could escape. She hadn’t wanted to discuss Gina earlier, but this time, he’d make sure she was present for the entire conversation. He wanted her to know exactly where his head—and heart—stood regarding Gina and their failed marriage.

“No thanks, Gina. Elsie and I have other plans.” He kept his voice firm, clipped and steady as he spoke. He didn’t have time or emotion left to waste on his ex-wife. He didn’t wish her ill-will, but she’d made her choice. A choice that had nearly destroyed him.

And now that she regretted what she’d done, he wouldn’t let her believe there was even an ounce of him that wanted to revisit their failed relationship.

Gina frowned. “But your friend said she had calls to make. We could talk a little while she does that.”

“Elsie isn’t just a friend. She’s the woman who has helped me to see beyond the pain you caused. Helped me to believe in loyalty and trust and all the things you tarnished. Because that’s who she is. She’s a woman who stands by the people she loves even when it’s hard. Even when it makes her life messy. Even when things look impossible, she keeps fighting.”

He squeezed Elsie’s hand and looked down at her partially open mouth and warm brown eyes. “I might not be more than a friend for her, but she’s more than that for me. And the fact that she doubted that, for even second, has torn me up inside.”

“But you two kissed,” Elsie said. “I thought you were getting back together. I didn’t want to be in the way.”

Leaning closer, he ignored Gina and everyone else in the room. Inches separated them, his forehead almost brushing against hers. “You are never in the way. You are everything I’ve searched for, and I don’t want anything to ruin what could be between us before we even give it a chance.”

Elsie grinned. “I don’t want that either.”

“You still want to take that walk?” he asked.

“More than anything.”

Gina’s scoff lifted his attention back to her. “So that’s it? You’re going to throw away our history to start something new because you think she can give you what you want?”

“Honey, you threw us away and left me to pick up the pieces. And now that I have, I won’t waste one more second on you. Good luck with everything, I really mean that, but your future isn’t with me. Not anymore.”

As he sidestepped the woman who’d almost broken him, a sense of peace settled in his gut. He didn’t know what was in store for him and Elsie, but he knew that he could trust her. That he would give her his whole heart because he had finally found someone worthy of his love.

He just hoped she felt the same way.