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“Yes. And he won’t be happy. Like I said, he knows the background.”
“You want to fill me in on that? It’s hard to evaluate the risk without complete information.” He took a piece of pizza too, keeping his manner relaxed and conversational, hopingshe was receptive to his question. Because if the cozy setting on her home turf didn’t create a comfort zone conducive to sharing confidences, there wasn’t much chance she’d open up anywhere else in person. He might have to resort to more phone conversations.
She wound a strand of hanging cheese back onto her pizza and replied at once, putting that fear to rest. “When I joined the unit, all I saw was Travis’s charm and good looks. I expect I sent subliminal signals indicating I was attracted, and he responded. We started chatting on breaks, over meals. I was friendly. Interested, even. Until the day he cornered me in the locker room and showed his true colors.”
Marc stopped eating. “Are you saying he assaulted you?”
She picked a piece of burnt crust off her pizza. “No, but he did come on strong. Very strong. I resisted. But I don’t know what would have happened if someone hadn’t interrupted us. The incident shook me up pretty bad. I’d never had a guy grope me like that before.”
“Did you report it?”
“No. I was embarrassed. Also worried I’d sent the wrong signals. That what happened was at least partially my fault.” She waved a hand over the box. “Keep eating or the pizza will get cold.”
Marc took another piece, but his mind wasn’t on food anymore. “For the record, if a woman says no and a guy ignores that message, he owns his bad behavior.”
“I won’t dispute that, but when you’re in a situation like that, it’s hard to be objective. In any case, I spoke with him after that and told him in no uncertain terms to leave me alone.”
“Did he?”
“There were no more physical incidents, but he began hanging around outside my apartment, showing up at the coffee place I liked, sending harassing notes. Once, I was in a supply closet at the base and the door swung shut and lockedon me. I could never prove he did it, but I’d bet a week’s salary it was him. And I don’t like confined spaces.” Her voice hitched, and she took a drink of soda. Helped herself to another piece of pizza.
Coming on the heels of her admission a few days ago that she often felt as if the walls were closing in on her, that comment was worth following up on. But first, he needed to hear the rest of the story about Travis.
“How did you deal with all that?”
“I threatened to get a restraining order. When that didn’t stop the harassment, I spoke to my boss, who had a long talk with Travis. I think once he knew his job was on the line, he realized he’d better clean up his act. He stayed away from me after that, but he never got over being angry—and a few weeks ago he pulled the same maneuver with another woman. Except she didn’t just threaten him. She took legal action. It sounds like he’s in a boatload of trouble.”
“He also appears to be MIA.” Marc continued to eat, though his appetite had diminished. “I agree with your brother. I don’t like this. But why would he come all the way to St. Louis to heckle you? He’s already up to his neck in problems. Why complicate his mess?”
“What other explanation could there be for everything that’s been going on?”
He finished chewing his bite of pizza, wiped his mouth with a paper napkin, and laid out the theory that had been gaining traction in his mind. “I don’t think we should discount the fact that all of these incidents occurred in rapid succession after Kavanaugh’s death—and after you began digging into his fire and delving into the puzzle he left behind. Someone who doesn’t want any of that investigated may be trying to discourage you from uncovering incriminating evidence.”
Her expression didn’t change, suggesting she was already thinking along the same lines.
What she said next confirmed that. “I can’t refute your theory. If Les was getting close to figuring out how the cases on his list were linked, and if foul play was involved in those, that could provide the perpetrator with a strong motive for murder.”
“As you’ve suspected from the beginning. It took me a while to get there, but you have impressive instincts. You had a feeling something was wrong with the Kavanaugh case, you pursued it, and you’ve uncovered evidence that suggests your intuition was spot-on. That could be making someone very nervous.”
“Or Travis could be behind everything that’s happened. Or it could be someone else. Or I might be the victim of a series of unlucky coincidences.”
Marc picked up another piece of pizza. “I’m not buying the coincidence explanation. And while there could be a wild card at play here, if you have two legitimate possibilities, those seem like the obvious place to start.” An image of the file folder on his desktop materialized in his mind, and he picked up a wayward mushroom that had dropped onto his plate. Repositioned it on his pizza. “Although pursuing the obvious doesn’t always lead to answers.”
A few beats ticked by.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re suddenly speaking from personal experience?”
At the question, he looked over to find Bri watching him, those insightful eyes of hers trained on him, their probing intensity at odds with her casual tone. Proving once again she had sound instincts and that not much got past her.
She’d also given him an opening to share a few details about his past.
And the temptation to confide in this woman who hadn’t even been in his life a month ago was strong.
Strange, when he’d never shared his darkest secret with anyone.
Also scary.
Because there was no going back once he made that leap.
