Fatal Reunion. Jessica R. Patch

think straight. This is a bad idea.” Her hands shook as she clawed through the items.

      Piper placed her hand over Harmony’s. She had to be strong for her. “Let me. What do you need?”

      “A scarf. I don’t even know. Black. Gray. Who cares?” Harmony collapsed on her bed, hands over her face. “I can’t go to a conference and concentrate when I know bad stuff is going down here.”

      Piper calmly combed through the scarves and undergarments. “I’ll feel better knowing you’re out of this mess.” She paused. Wait. Something caught her eye, buried under the scarves. “Harmony, this is the guy! The guy in the house!”

      Harmony’s face paled, and she grabbed the photos. “Are...are you sure?” She stared at them. “I should’ve burned these.”

      “I’m positive. Who is this? Why are you in a photo with him?”

      Harmony’s lip quivered, and then her eyes widened. “Oh no.”

      “What?” Piper demanded.

      “That’s Boone. Pipe, he must have mistaken you for me last night. You were in my bed.”

      “But why?” Piper shook her head. Seemed too coincidental with the earlier attack.

      Closing her eyes, Harmony groaned. “I dated him for, like, two seconds. Found out he was trouble, and I broke it off. Until now, he’s only called a few times and shown up at work. He was probably trying to scare me quiet, as if I’d ever rat him out.”

      “Do you hear yourself? Guys don’t drug their ex-girlfriends to scare them. And rat him out for what?” What in the world was going on here? “We definitely have to call the police.”

      Harmony shook her head. “No cops. Not about this.”

      “Why?” Piper stared her down. “What did he do?”

      “He robbed a convenience store six months ago, and I was with him.” She squeezed her eyes closed and shuddered. “I had no clue he was going to do it. I was in the car, but if I go to the cops with that story—with my past—they’ll never believe I wasn’t intentionally in on it. And you can be sure Boone won’t only come after me—again—he’ll falsely incriminate me. I can’t. You can’t.”

      Another headache was forming. Harmony had never attracted a nice guy.

      Neither had Piper. Until Luke.

      “He’s dangerous, Harm. This wasn’t some scare tactic to shut you up.”

      “I’m sorry.” Harmony hugged her. “Give me to Monday to figure it out. I’m scared with our history and Luke pointed on us like a bloodhound. Please, Piper, don’t do anything for now. I mean, if you wanna call about what happened to you at the hospital, fine. But nothing about Boone. I just...can’t.”

      Piper understood the fear. The confusion. “Go to Vegas, and on Monday when you get back, we gotta talk seriously about this guy.”

      “I’m so stupid!” Harmony wiped tears with the back of her hand. “Come with me.”

      “Mama Jean needs me. And I can’t run.” She helped carry Harmony’s luggage outside and lobbed it in the backseat. “In fact, I’m heading that way after you leave.”

      Harmony slid into the driver’s seat. “How did he get in?”

      “I don’t know. We know some tricks, so he probably does, too.” When Harmony left, Piper would check entry points.

      “Text and let me know how she’s doing. You sure I shouldn’t stay?”

      “Go.”

      “It’s gonna be okay. It has to be, right?”

      “Don’t worry.” Easier said than done. Could she really keep this from the police? Would her conscience let her?

      Harmony drove off, and Piper searched, finding scuffs and splintered wood on the back door, which told the tale.

      If nothing else, Harmony was getting a security system installed ASAP. If the ex was involved in burglaries and robberies, he could have ties to Chaz. They could be working together. A nagging feeling that her past had returned with a vengeance plagued her.

      The doorbell rang.

      Piper peeked through the hole. Great. Luke and the guy she saw at the hospital with dark hair and a leather jacket. Her throat tightened as she opened the door. “Is it Mama Jean?”

      “No,” Luke reassured her. For a moment his features softened with his voice, but then he hardened his jaw.

      Piper eyed him. “So what’s going on?” Did someone witness the attack at the hospital and tell him?

      “Can we come in?” Luke didn’t wait to be welcomed and stepped inside.

      “Sure.” Swinging her arm out, Piper motioned for the other detective to enter. “Do you want coffee?”

      “Since when do you drink coffee?” Luke asked, and he flinched when his partner gave him a quizzical expression. Didn’t seem as though he’d let the other detective in on their connection to each other. Couldn’t blame him.

      “Do you want any or not?” Patience wasn’t a virtue, and Luke had made it clear last night there was nothing but a case between them. So why make with the pleasantries?

      “I’d like a cup.” His partner extended his hand. “Detective Hale.”

      Piper shook his hand and sized him up. About two inches shorter than Luke, putting him at six-one. Lush, pitch-black hair, kind brown eyes. Easy smile.

      “Piper Kennedy.” She grabbed a mug from the cabinet and started pouring Detective Hale a cup. “Luke? I mean, Detective Ransom?”

      Luke shook his head, and she looked at Detective Hale. “Cream? Sugar?”

      “Black, thanks.”

      She handed him his cup and sat at the table. “Any news on Christopher Baxter? He have anything to do with the break-in?”

      Luke glanced at his partner. “This is about a new case. Tyson Baroni was murdered.” Luke scrutinized her as if waiting for her to admit guilt.

      “How?”

      Luke cracked his knuckles. “ME says his neck was broken. Right after someone mangled him with a tire iron. You know anyone who could do that? Snap a man’s neck?”

      A tire iron. Piper’s stomach nose-dived, but the accusation flared hot.

      She inched out of her chair, narrowing her eyes. She knew he’d never believe her. “Get out.”

      “I’m just asking a question. Why so defensive?”

      Eric put his cup on the table and studied them.

      “You’re not asking me a question. You’re implying. Could I snap a man’s neck?” She placed her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Yes,” she hissed. “Would I ever? No.”

      Did he really believe she could kill someone?

      “When is the last time you saw Tyson Baroni?” Eric interrupted their standoff and Piper slowly turned her head in his direction.

      “I haven’t seen or talked to Tyson in a decade.” Why would she?

      Disappointment filtered through Luke’s eyes and he sighed. “Then why did he have your business card in his pocket, and why were your prints on it?”

      The air deflated from Piper’s lungs. How did Tyson get her business card? “He’s never been to the dojo, at least not that I’ve noticed. And I haven’t seen him here. I came straight to the hospital, and I need to be there now or I’m going to miss visiting hours.”

      Luke tightened his lips, his eyes impassive. No trust in them whatsoever. Could