Rebels and Roses (Winslow Heights #2)

Chapter 3

3

T he next morning, Jane crawled out of bed after a restless night. She hadn’t been able to shut down her brain after Cooper had told her the text was from his ex-wife. What did she want? Why was she here?

Did she want Cooper…back?

It wasn’t unheard of for divorced couples to reunite. Jane would rather cut off her right arm than get back with her ex-husband, but she was sure that there were other people out there who might not feel the same. Was Cooper one of them?

They weren’t a couple. Yes, they were exclusive. That didn’t mean that they were in love or committed. It just meant that they weren’t screwing around with random people.

I don’t love him or anything. If he wants to get back together with her, it will be fine. I should be concentrating on school and my new career anyway. It’s all good.

After class, Jane headed to the bookstore for her shift. The store seemed quiet and boring with only a few patrons browsing the shelves. She made a beeline for the coffee pot in the cafe area, pouring herself a large with lots of cream and sugar.

“Piper dropped by with some lemon pound cake if you’re hungry. There are also cinnamon rolls, too,” Lucy said, clearing up some clutter around the coffee pot.

“With raisins?”

Jane hated raisins with a passion. They didn’t belong in cinnamon rolls, messing up a perfectly lovely pastry with their unneeded presence.

“Piper knows you. Not a one. I don’t mind telling you that I polished off one already, and I have a backup on my desk for later. They’re to die for.”

“Then don’t mind if I do. I’m starving. I didn’t have time for breakfast.”

The pastries must have been popular because there were less than six left, and Piper always brought two dozen.

“Did you have a rush of customers this morning?”

Jane bit into the confection and almost groaned with pleasure. It was damn delicious. The only way to make it better might be to warm it up a little in the microwave.

Nah, I’m too hungry. I’ll eat it like this.

“The usual. A few people waiting at the door for me to open, and then the early morning arrivers. It wasn’t bad.” Lucy tilted her head as her gaze rested on Jane. “Are you okay? You look pale. Are you coming down with something? Maybe you should go home and rest.”

Lucy wasn’t just a good friend, she was a great boss, too. She actually cared about her employees.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep all that well last night.”

That much was the truth.

“Are you thinking about graduation? I know that you’re so close.”

“All I need is to finish this summer class, and I’m done. It is sort of overwhelming.”

But that wasn’t the reason she hadn’t been able to sleep. Lucy, however, didn’t know about Jane and Cooper.

I want to confide in her. She’s my best friend. But…I’m not sure I want anyone to know.

It simply felt like ten kinds of wrong to keep this a secret from Lucy. Her best friend hadn’t done anything to make Jane think she wasn’t discreet. Lucy wouldn’t tell anyone if Jane asked her not to. She wouldn’t judge either.

Cooper hadn’t seemed to want anyone to know, and Jane had been in complete agreement. Honestly, she hadn’t expected their “fling” to still be going on months later. She’d thought they might get to together a few times, maybe a bit more, but not this long. She was also pretty sure that Cooper was surprised as well. Usually, his attention wandered quickly.

Not that it meant that Jane was different than the other women he’d been with. She wasn’t that delusional. They were fuck-buddies at best. Friends with benefits. That sort of thing. They genuinely did like and respect each other, but she wasn’t looking for romance. If she had been, she’d be barking up the wrong tree with Cooper Winslow. He wasn’t the commitment type.

Maybe he was just slowing down now that he was in his mid-thirties. He wasn’t looking to change out the female in his life every couple of months anymore. He was going a bit longer with them.

Inwardly, she laughed at the idea of ribbing Cooper that he was getting older and slowing down. He’d probably toss her on the bed and show her exactly how young he felt.

“You have a weird expression on your face,” Jane heard Lucy say, pulling her from her reverie. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I am,” Jane assured her. “So…is there any good gossip this morning?”

She wanted to make the question come out as casually as possible, not wanting to raise any more suspicious.

She might want to confide in Lucy, but it didn’t seem the prudent thing to do. She could only imagine the expression of horror on her friend’s face that would be quickly masked by great concern. Cooper was known for going through women like tissues during allergy season. It was madness to get involved with him.

It would be madness if I thought I could change him. If I had deluded myself into thinking that I would be different somehow. I know that I’m not. Feelings are to be avoided at all costs. Not that I’m in danger of falling for Cooper Winslow. I’m not.

“I don’t think so,” Lucy replied, her brows pinched together. “Why? Have you heard something?”

It sounded like the citizens of Winslow Heights didn’t yet have a clue that the ex-spouse of Cooper was in town. This would be big news when it was public. Huge. Colossal. All those adjectives. Every female in a hundred-mile radius - or more - would want to see what woman had managed to get the town’s most eligible bachelor down the aisle.

Jane couldn’t deny that she was curious, too. If she asked Cooper questions, he’d probably answer. He was an honest man - except for the whole mystery author thing - who didn’t pussyfoot around a subject. He either talked about it or would bluntly tell you that he was not going to talk about it. There wasn’t much gray area. It made him easy to deal with usually.

But if she asked him point blank…the whole topic was out there. As curious as she was, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear him wax poetic about his ex-wife and how they fell in love. Especially if she and Cooper were naked at the time.

“No, I haven’t,” Jane said, bringing herself back to this moment in the bookstore. She was letting her thoughts drift. “I guess I was just hoping for some casual gossip. Something to make my own hectic life disappear for a few minutes.”

“Hmmm,” Lucy replied, tapping her chin. “I can understand that. Escapism is nice every now and then. How about Albert Pilson is definitely courting Ruth Davis? Does that count? He met her for coffee a few days ago and brought daisies.”

“I hope he hurries because they have to both be in their eighties.”

“Zack and I have a bet going that they’ll be married before Labor Day.”

“Which side are you on?”

“I think they will be. Zack thinks Christmas is more likely, but Albert is completely smitten. Ruth is all blushes and smiles when they’re together. I don’t think it will take long.”

The octogenarian couple were seriously adorable. Before long, the whole town would be rooting for them.

“Jane, is there anything that you want to tell me?”

Lucy’s question had Jane physically tensing in response. She did have something she wanted to tell.

So, she lied.

“No. No, everything is fine. You’re worrying too much. I’m just stressed because of school, that’s all.”

Lucy gave her a shrewd look that said she didn’t believe a word out of Jane’s mouth.

Okay, my acting skills suck. But thank you, Lucy, for not pushing and calling me out. You know I’m lying.

“Then we should do something that will knock that stress right out. How about a girl’s night? Rom-coms, pizza, ice cream. What do you say?”

“I think I say yes. It sounds like the perfect evening.”

“Good, let’s make plans. You’ll be relaxed in no time.”

Normally, Jane would agree wholeheartedly. But as of now, the future was iffy. Cooper’s ex-wife Fiona was in Winslow Heights.

It was going to be major news when it hit.

And there was nothing this town loved more than a good story.

“We’re going to talk to some small-town cop?” Tom whined the next morning as they walked to the sheriff’s office a few blocks down. “Fiona said that you knew detectives and FBI men in the States plus inspectors from Scotland Yard. She said you knew ex-KGB and Massod.”

Is it too early in the day to drink? I’m not sure I have the patience for this. Why am I even entertaining this nonsense?

Right. Guilt. It’s a powerful force.

“I do, and they’re not going to be interested in a guy who thinks he’s being followed but can’t prove it. Let’s start with Finn and go from there,” Cooper replied.

Cooper was once again reminded of why he and Fiona had divorced - one of the reasons anyway. She’d been a bit spoiled and self-centered. Tom, unfortunately, had inherited those traits as well. They’d had many other problems during their marriage, of course. He wasn’t any great prize of a husband, to be honest, so it was probably all even.

As a roommate, Tom wasn’t great. And it had only been one night.

He’d hogged the hot water, and he snored like a buffalo. Cooper wanted to take him aside and tell him to see a doctor. Anyone that snored that loudly needed a sleep study or something. The guy wasn’t even forty yet, and he wasn’t overweight either.

Tom was also an early riser. The worst kind that thought that because they were up, everyone else needed to be up and at ‘em, too. He’d been banging around the kitchen making coffee and toast around five-thirty. Cooper had vivid memories of a younger Tom sleeping until noon every day. Funny how some things change, and some other things don’t.

If I can solve his problem, will he go home?

“How do I know I can trust this guy?” Tom asked as they walked into the sheriff’s station. “Do you trust him?”

“I do. Wholeheartedly. But I’m not sure why you don’t, to be honest. Do you think he’s somehow involved in the shadowy figures that have been following you?”

“Now you’re just making fun of me.”

“I’m not, although I could.” Perhaps it was time to be a bit blunter than he’d been in the last twelve hours. “Tom, you are not the main character that the rest of us simply orbit around. We all have our own lives and problems. Until I introduce you in a few moments, Finn doesn’t have a clue as to who you are, and his life will be full and happy whether he meets you or not.”

Tom didn’t appear to take offense, simply smiling more widely.

“I’ve actually heard you say almost the same words to Fiona.”

Did I? No wonder they came easily to me this morning.

“Then take them to heart. Not everybody is involved in a super-secret plot to infiltrate your life and uncover the skeletons in your closet.”

Frankly, you’re not that fascinating.

Cooper had called Finn this morning, making sure that he had time to meet with them. He’d filled in the lawman with the barebones details, but he was sure that there would be more questions for Tom.

Finn waved them into his office at the back of the building, closing the doors behind them after inquiring whether they wanted water, coffee, or perhaps a cold soda. Tom had opened his mouth to put in a refreshment order, but then snapped it shut when Cooper gave him a warning look.

They weren’t here for beverages and a cookie. This was business. Besides, Tom had been sucking up coffee since before sunup. Cooper would have been flying on the amount of caffeine the younger man had ingested in the last three hours.

Finn prompted Tom to tell his story, encouraging as much detail as possible. He and Cooper didn’t speak until the younger man was finished. Tom’s gaze darted from Cooper to Finn and then back again, waiting for their response.

“So? What do you think? I’m not crazy. I’m really being followed.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Finn said, steepling his fingers together as he sat across the desk from them.

Really? Because I’m not so sure.

Cooper, however, didn’t express those thoughts out loud.

“Let me ask you a few questions,” Finn went on. “Do you feel as if you’ve been followed or watched since you came to Winslow Heights? Or on the way here? In the airport? On the plane?”

“No,” Tom said with a shake of his head. “Thankfully, no. I actually feel pretty safe here. I don’t think they know I’m here. At least not yet.”

“They?” Finn asked. “You think it’s multiple people?”

“Well…I don’t know for sure,” Tom stammered, his cheeks pink. “I mean…it has to be, right? One person can’t be everywhere all at once. There would need to be at least two people doing this. Maybe more.”

“Okay, I have questions, but I’m going to cut to the chase,” Finn said. “I can ask you all sorts of details, but I only met you today. You know yourself and your life far better than Cooper or I ever could. Who do you think is doing this?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Tom replied. “I wish I did. I don’t think I’ve pissed off anybody that I know of. I can’t imagine who might do this.”

Christ on a whole-wheat cracker.

“What about the girlfriend you’re cheating on?” Cooper queried. “You don’t think she might be pissed off?”

“She doesn’t even know that I’m seeing anyone else.”

Finn cleared his throat and looked studiously down at the notes he’d been taking while Tom had been telling his story.

“What you mean to say is that she hasn’t told you that she knows,” Cooper corrected. “If she knows, she might tell you or she might not. Or maybe she suspects, and she wants to make sure. You can’t say for certain say that she doesn’t know. I don’t know how they do it, but women often know. They know somehow, and you don’t have to tell them shit.”

If Cooper had a nickel for every time he’d seen some asshole get caught cheating all the while thinking they were completely under the radar…

“Erica would never do that to me,” Tom denied. “She loves me.”

Finn was rubbing at his temple where Cooper was sure a nasty headache was blooming.

“Let me see if I have this straight,” Finn said. “You think you’re being followed and watched. You are also cheating on your girlfriend at the same time. Do I have this right? Son, I think you might need to open your eyes to a few more possibilities. I’m not saying that she’s having you followed, but this might warrant you finding out for sure.”

“Have you told her you think you’re being followed?” Cooper asked. “What does she say?”

“She says that I’m imagining things. Even after my apartment was broken into. She said that it didn’t prove anything.” Tom leaned forward in his chair. “I can’t just ask her if she’s having me followed. What kind of question is that?”

“It might throw her off balance if she’s the one doing it,” Finn replied. “She won’t expect you to question her, and she just might admit it. If she’s the one, of course. I’m not saying that she is. I’m just saying that it’s a possibility that you should look into.”

“I don’t think I can do that.”

Finn glanced at Cooper for a moment before continuing.

“Is there anyone else that you’ve talked to about this? Anyone at all?”

Tom gave Cooper a quick look.

“My sister, Fiona.”

“What did she say?”

Another look was shot Cooper’s way.

“She told me to stop being a man-baby, and that I was too boring for anyone to want to follow me.”

That sounded like Fiona. She’d never coddled Cooper during their marriage. She was strictly on the side of tough love. She’d been one of those people who prided themselves on being brutally honest.

It had taken Cooper several years to realize that most people who say they’re brutally honest were more interested in being brutal than honest.

“Fiona doesn’t even live in the same state I do,” Tom went on. “Her opinion isn’t really important here. I just told her because we’re very close. We tell each other everything.”

Finn had a few more questions, but eventually, it came down to any advice he might have.

“What I would tell you to do,” Finn said, “is to get proof of what’s happening. Hire your own private investigator if you can. The police aren’t going to be able to help you unless they have something to work on. What have the police said about your apartment break-in? Any leads there?”

“No, they just gave me a police report to give to my insurance company. I don’t think they’re investigating it at all. I guess I could hire an investigator of my own to look into that.”

“I would suggest it,” Finn agreed. “I wish I could give you more concrete advice, but there’s nothing actionable here except your burglary. You might also have a friend follow you around, staying in the background. They might see someone following you while they’re doing it, too. You might benefit from a pair of eyes in back of you for a day or two. A private investigator can do that as well. I might also suggest security cameras around your home plus a camera in your car for both the front and back views. Get one of those tracking apps they have for phones and share your location with a few trusted friends. Let people know where you’re going, and who you are going to be with. Try not to go too many places alone until this is all straightened out.”

“Those sound like good ideas,” Tom said, nodding in agreement. “I was thinking I might need to quit my job, change my name, and move to Fiji to get away from all of this.”

“That wouldn’t be my first suggestion,” Finn replied with a smile. “That would be the last resort, I think. What you need to do is start gathering your own evidence. In a way, you’re going to do surveillance on yourself. You never know what you might see.”

“Thanks, this has been helpful.”

“I need to say one more thing,” Finn cautioned. “If you are seeing a woman on the side, you do need to find out whether your girlfriend knows. This whole situation might simply come down to a relationship issue.”

“I don’t think she does know, but now I’m convinced I need to find out,” Tom replied, sighing loudly. His expression was glum, and his shoulders drooped. “I could just end things with the girl in Chicago. I was sleeping with her just because…you know…I could.”

This is why women say that dogs and cats make better companions.

“Cooper, do you have a minute that we can talk? I have some information for you,” Finn said when they’d all stood. The meeting was over.

“Sure,” Cooper replied. “Tom, can you wait for me in the lobby? We can go for a coffee and pastry when I’m done.”

“Excellent plan,” Tom said, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll wait outside. I need to call a friend.”

“What are you thinking?” Finn asked after Tom had exited the office.

“I wish to hell that I knew,” Cooper admitted. “Tom’s always leaned toward the dramatic but never like this. I’ve never thought of him as delusional. He’s a trifle self-centered, but he’s always been a pretty decent kind of guy.”

“In other words, you don’t think he’d make up the story for the attention?”

“I don’t think so. He wouldn’t need to. In his mind, he’s getting most of the attention anyway. He wouldn’t feel the need to get more.”

“Ah, he’s the star of his own play?”

“And we’re all just bit-part players, yes.”

“Do you think it’s the girlfriend Erica?”

Cooper had also given that a great deal of thought.

“Maybe. Tom isn’t James Bond. He might not have covered his tracks nearly as well as he thought he had. But…”

“But?” Finn prodded.

“Sure, some women will pretend they don’t know. They want a big, dramatic moment. But most women…they won’t wait. They want to confront at the earliest opportunity. The question is, which is Erica?”

“Do you speak from experience here?”

“I’m always clear and honest with a woman,” Cooper replied firmly. “At least in my adult years. I learned early that it’s easier to be truthful up front. But I cannot deny a few missteps in my teenage years.”

An image of Jane floated through Cooper’s mind despite his efforts to concentrate on the conversation at hand. This was happening far too often. He was thinking of her at the most inconvenient moments.

He’d been honest with her, though. He respected the hell out of her, and he didn’t want to be a lying cad to a nice person. She didn’t deserve another asshole in her life. She’d already had that when she was married.

Cooper might be a terrible romantic partner, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be a decent friend.

“You gave him some good advice,” Cooper said. “I hope he hires someone to look into the burglary, and maybe follow him around. If anything, it will make him feel less helpless.”

“I figured it would help him if he was taking some action,” Finn agreed. “This is a good segue to why I wanted to talk to you. The private investigator firm reached out to me this morning. They’ll be here in a few days to start looking around. I know they’ll want to talk to you and your brothers and sisters.”

The news was like a punch in the gut. It was good, but it still brought up painful memories. His mother’s mysterious disappearance was still an open wound for the family.

Not for their father, of course. But for Cooper and his siblings.

Joel Winslow didn’t give a fuck. Had he ever? Cooper didn’t think so.

He despised his father for being such a jerk - a terrible parent, an awful and neglectful husband, and a shady businessman. And through it all, Joel Winslow walked around like he thought he was a god. The sun shone out of his ass, and the sun rose and set because he told it to. The sheer hubris in the Winslow house was mindboggling.

“I’m going to give them all the cooperation that I can,” Finn continued. “But the fact is that we don’t have much in terms of hard evidence.”

Law enforcement in Winslow Heights at the time of Lily Winslow’s disappearance had been sloppy at best and downright negligent at worst. He couldn’t say for a fact that his father had discouraged any actual investigation, but he wouldn’t be shocked to find it true. Joel Winslow had wanted to “move on” practically hours after his supposedly beloved wife had vanished into thin air.

“I know,” Cooper replied. “I’m hoping they can turn something up after all of these years. I know that you don’t want to raise my hopes. This could all be for nothing.”

“Time is the enemy when it comes to an investigation like this. Memories fade. Witnesses pass on. Physical evidence is lost or degrades. It’s an uphill battle, for sure. Do you or your siblings want to be there when I go over the case with them?”

“Yes, absolutely,” Cooper said. He didn’t even need to think about it. “I know Tate will want to be there, too. Zack is heading out of town for some business, but I’ll check with the others. Can I give you a call later?”

“That’s fine.” Finn appeared to hesitate for a moment, which was unusual. The man rarely had trouble with words. “I have to ask this. Do you want me to do some digging around in your brother-in-law’s life and business? There might be something he’s not telling us.”

“I think we may not be hearing the whole story,” Cooper agreed. “I think researching him would be an excellent idea. If you don’t have the resources, I can call up one of my…friends.”

Cooper kept friendly ties to law enforcement due to needing advice on occasion when working on his books. He knew a few people - now retired - who would jump at the opportunity to do some background work. He’d already been thinking about making that call when Finn suggested it.

“It’s a slow week in our little town,” Finn laughed. “I got this. Just give me twenty-four hours, okay?”

“You’ve got it.”

Were there any skeletons in Tom’s closet? Was the younger man telling them the truth?

Most importantly, just how long was Tom Kemp planning to stay in Winslow Heights?

Cooper wasn’t a man who liked looking in the rearview mirror when it came to life. Fiona - and the Kemp family - were part of the past.

He wanted to keep them there.