Skeletons in the Mist (The McCall Twins) (7 page)

She lifted the small tub of cream cheese out of the paper sack and opened it up while she waited for the bagels to pop up. Chas returned a moment later. He didn’t look particularly worried about anything so she assumed Luci must have cooperated. He dove back into his coffee, taking a huge sip.

“Does she still hate you?” she couldn’t help
asking.

“Nah. She loves me. I’m her favorite brother. She was just mad is all. She gets over things quick.”

“That’s what you think, big brother.” Luci McCall glided into the room, giving her brother a smack on his behind as she passed him. She tossed an embarrassed smile at Roxy. “You’ll have to excuse me for freaking out last night. I was tired and I had a fight with my boyfriend.”

“Don’t worry about it. I felt bad for barging in on you.” Roxy smiled, deciding she liked Luci after all.

“My mother would have skinned me if she’d heard the tantrum I threw. There are times when my brothers get on my last nerve. Chas wasn’t the first one to stop by yesterday. Brody and Trace were both here, yelling at me about spending their money on shoes.” She looked down at her feet, which were enclosed in a pair of very trendy and very cute flip flops. Then she shrugged her shoulders and went to work spreading cream cheese on her bagel.

Chas grinned at Roxy over his coffee cup, but didn’t comment. It was obvious that he enjoyed
giving his little sister a hard time. It was also obvious that he cared for her a great deal.

“So what are you two up to today?” Luci asked, looking curiously from Roxy to Chas. It was evident that she had the wrong idea about what was going on here. Roxy opened her mouth to speak but Chas beat her to the punch.

“Nothing that concerns you,” he informed his sister, now serious. “Worry about getting yourself to practice.”

“It’s not like I’m gossiping,” she said incredulously.

“Sure you are. And by the way, there’s nothing to gossip about here anyway. I’m in the middle of a case and Roxy’s a part of that case. Do you get me?” He gave her a stern look.

She rolled her eyes. “I get you. Calm down.”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Don’t you dare buy clothes with this, Luci. I’m not kidding this time.”

Luci smiled as she took the twenty-dollar-bill her brother offered her. “Thanks, big bro. Love you!” She smiled and winked at Roxy as she
grabbed the other half of her bagel and disappeared from the room.

Roxy couldn’t help but smile back. “She’s nice.”

He shoved his wallet back into his pocket and picked his coffee mug up. “She’s a good kid. Smart mouth and extremely high maintenance, but good.”

“I suppose you aren’t high maintenance?” She raised a brow at him.

“Do I look high maintenance to you?”

He had a point.

“Give me a ratty pair of Levis and a t-shirt and I’m happy. Toss a broken in pair of old work boots into the mix and I’m ecstatic.” He grinned at her as he reached for a bagel. “You don’t impress me as the fashion conscious type either.”

She let that mull over in her brain for a moment, then frowned. “I think I’ve just been insulted.”

He laughed, then shook his head. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just saying that you seem to appreciate the simple things in life. I’m used to the women around me being pretty high maintenance. Even the women I work with.”

“Yes, I suppose you are.”

“You’re taking my words out of context.”

“I don’t think so, Detective.”

It was his turn to frown. “I don’t think we need the formality anymore. Apparently you’ve slept in my bed.”

Heat climbed up her neck before she could stop it. Of course he had checked! She shrugged her shoulders, trying to act nonchalant. “I didn’t want one of your siblings to come home, not expecting me to be here, and climb into bed with me.”

He raised a brow, lifting his coffee cup to his lips. She hated when he was silent. It spoke louder than any of the words the man spoke.

“So, what? You think I picked your bed for some other reason?”

His smile never faltered. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

“You are an egomaniac.” Avoiding his gaze, she went to work covering her bagel with cheese spread.

“Roxy, I’m kidding.” He cleared his throat, now sounding a little uncomfortable himself. “And for the record, I’m not an egomaniac.”

“Of course you are,” she said, feeling a little stupid for making such a big deal out of his teasing.

“You’re wrong, but suit yourself and think what you want. Just do me a favor and call me Chas.”

She was quiet a moment. “That’s an interesting name. I heard Luci call you Chase last night. Is that your real name?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It is. When we were little, Trace started calling me Chas and it stuck.”

“Is Trace his real name?” She didn’t know why she was getting so nosy with him but she couldn’t help herself. He interested her, whether she wanted him to or not. She chalked it up to the fact that he was a twin, just as she had been at one time.

“His real name is Alexander Tracy, if you can believe that one. My parents had some interesting ideas.” He grinned and took a long sip of coffee before speaking again. “I started calling him Trace about the same time he started calling me Chas, because I couldn’t say Alexander.”

“Let me guess,” she said, finding herself enjoying the story. “It stuck.”

“It did,” he replied, still smiling. “It’s a good thing he started calling me Chas. Otherwise we would have been Chase and Trace.”

Roxy found herself laughing at that.

“You had a twin. You were both R’s. You know how it goes with the twin thing…” The words died on his lips and he immediately gave her a regretful look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think before I…” He grew silent again.

This conversation was not taking a good turn. She forced herself to shrug her shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s been a long time.” She took her cup over to the coffee pot and re-filled it. “Shouldn’t we be heading to the city to see my brothers?”

“We’ll get on the road in a minute. I like to finish my first cup of coffee before I brave traffic like early morning rush hour in Spokane.”

“It has to be better than Seattle.”

“It is, a little.”

“Did you get a hold of the public defender who will be taking Devon’s case?” she asked, when the silence became uncomfortable.

“I did. Scott Briggs is someone I went to school
with. He’s a decent attorney. I still recommend getting your own representation.” He watched her closely. “It’s possible you could receive some money from your aunt’s estate, once things are sorted out. There’s the house and any stocks or bonds she had. That could add up to a sizeable amount. It’s likely that there’s a life insurance policy too.”

“Who knows how long it will take to free up money like that? The house will have to be sold and the estate sorted out. Insurance companies love red tape. That kind of thing could take months. I don’t have that kind of time. Your friend will have to do.”

Chas looked as though he wanted to argue, but instead, shrugged his shoulders. “If that’s what you want.”

“Of course it’s not. I have no other choices. Besides, if this man is your friend, why would you recommend I find someone else?”

“I didn’t say he was my
friend
, I said I went to school with him. And as I said before, he’s a public defender. He has a pretty hefty case load and he doesn’t turn anyone down. He’s paid a flat rate by the county and it ain’t much. His office distributes
cases amongst its inhabitants, those of which have no requirement other than that they pass the Bar. It’s just not the same as interviewing and hiring someone yourself—someone you know has plenty of experience in the type of law you’re looking for.”

“Forgive me for being obtuse, but we don’t know that Devon even did this, Detective. I think I’ll talk to him before I make any rash decisions.”

“For the last time, call me Chas. And if he
didn’t
do it, that’s all the
more
reason to get him good representation.” He reached for his jacket and slipped it on.

“Where are we going besides the jail?”

“We’ll meet with Briggs and Devon and then we’ll be heading over to Social Services. You do want to see Dylan, don’t you?”

She hadn’t thought far enough ahead for that. “Of course I do.”

“Good. I’ll give the social worker assigned to his case a call. I have her card in my truck. He’s already in foster care. Are you prepared to do something about that?”

She set her coffee cup in the sink before turning
and looking at him. “Like taking him home with me, you mean?”

“More or less. I suggest you meet with him a few times first.”

“Why?”

“Because he doesn’t know you. Unlike Devon, he was far too little when you were around to remember you. Has that fact crossed your mind?”

“I’m his sister. He’ll be happy to see me.” At least she hoped he would. The truth was, she had been so worried about Devon that she hadn’t given much thought about what she would do with Dylan’s immediate situation.

“Listen, Roxy, I think you should give the kid a chance to get to know you.” He adjusted the strap to his shoulder holster, then took one last gulp of coffee. “You may bite off way more than you can chew if you don’t.”

“Can you speak plain English here? I’m having a hard time connecting the dots. You called me because you wanted me to come here and handle my brother’s care. You told me last night that I am now his guardian.” She gave him an even stare. “I
did hear you right, didn’t I? I mean isn’t that the whole reason I came here?”

“He’s twelve. He’s scared and traumatized. You are a stranger to him.”

“And this foster family isn’t?”

“More or less. But they’re a temporary fix. He’s smart enough to know that. I just think you should be careful, that’s all. I can tell you from what I know about him, just from the time I’ve spent reprimanding him at the station, that he’s a resourceful, mischievous and troublesome kid. He’s
smart
and he’ll know how to get to you. You’re not a parent so you won’t see that.”

“And you are?”

He folded his arms over his chest arrogantly. “I handled my sister well, didn’t I?”

“Maybe. But the two situations are hardly similar. Dylan will know that I’m here to help him. So will Devon. I’m all they have.”

“Okay. I can see you’re going to go about this your own way. That’s your prerogative.”

“It is,” she agreed defiantly.

“So are you ready?”

“I’ll get my bags. I assume you’ve figured out what to do with me tonight?” She shot him a nasty stare and he grinned in return.

“I’ll let you know when I do. You may spend another night in my bed.”

“In your dreams,” she snapped, trying to sound self-assured when she was dying inside. She wasn’t used to guys like this one. He was the most arrogant egomaniac she’d ever met.

“You have the wrong impression of me,” he said, after watching her for a moment. “But I’ll let that go for now.”

“I think I have exactly the right impression of you.”

“We’ll see,” was all he said.

SIX

Nothing ever went off without a hitch, Chas figured, as he watched the road in front of him. The normally thirty minute drive from Cavern Creek to Spokane was taking more like an hour. There had been several pockets of road construction, and then he’d had to pull over to answer a call. Trace wanted to know what he had planned today. When he’d told his brother he was with Roxy Tavish, he’d received a whistle in response. Then Trace had given Chas a friendly piece of brotherly advice, as he’d called it. The advice consisted of five words:
don’t fuck up this case
.

Chas would have to have a more in depth discussion with his twin when he got back to town. Obviously his brother had the wrong idea. He wasn’t quite sure why. He hadn’t given off any signals that indicated he was interested in Roxy
Tavish in any way other than professionally.

Had he?

“Are you going to tell me what your brother called about? It was obvious from your responses that the conversation had something to do with my brothers—with me.” Her voice interrupted his thoughts and he looked over at her. She’d taken the time to pile those curls of hers loosely on top of her head in some sort of top knot. It looked good, he decided, but he liked it better down.

He frowned when he realized he had no right to an opinion about her hair.

“What?” she asked again, now sounding agitated. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?” He turned back to the road.

“Like you’re the spider and I’m the fly.”

“I did not look at you that way. You’re being dramatic.”

She raised her brow.

“My brother is working on questioning witnesses and that sort of thing. We just like to be in sync when we’re working on a case, that’s all.”

“That’s not the way it sounded to me.”

“How did it sound to you?” he asked, almost afraid to hear her answer. He inwardly cursed the speakers on cell phones. They were far too loud.

“It sounded to me like he was worried about something. What I want to know is what it is he’s worried about.”

He didn’t look at her. Better to keep his eyes off her face, he decided.

“Hello?”

“Look, I can’t discuss official police business with you. It’s nothing for you to worry about. We check in with each other every day, multiple times, when we’re not together.”

“You can’t discuss police business with me, even when it concerns me?”

“It doesn’t concern you. Can you ease up?”

“You’re cranky. You need more coffee.”

“I am not cranky.”

“You are. You’re obviously not a morning person.”

“You’re judging me falsely again.”

She leveled him with a glare. “Ever since you talked to your brother you’ve been a world class
grouch. I didn’t ask you to drive me here, you know. If you have something else to do I can always call a cab.”

“I said I would take you and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

They both stared straight ahead quietly for several seconds. He broke the silence first. He’d never been one for tension. “My brother didn’t call about anything to do with your case. Not officially anyway.”