you know Christopher Baxter?”
Piper shook her head. “Should I?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.” His jaw twitched. Was this as uncomfortable for him as it was for her?
She never thought she’d see him again and especially not the second she blew into town. “I never met him. I haven’t been home in...” Dropping her head, Piper focused on the starched white sheet covering Mama Jean’s body. “Since—”
“Fine.” The word was clipped. “Take a look.” Luke held out a photo of a young man, early twenties. Curly brown hair. “Familiar?”
“No,” she rasped. “How did he die?”
“Blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Much like Mama—like your grandmother’s injury. Several bruises indicate he fought back.”
Piper compelled herself to stare Luke in the eye. He didn’t have the clean-shaven look anymore, or maybe he simply hadn’t shaved. The stubble covered the dimple on his chin. “What do you think they were after?”
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t investigate thefts anymore. I’m here about Christopher’s murder. Homicide.”
Piper nodded once. Guess they’d both abandoned anything to do with theft. “What do you know about him?”
“I know he has a background in armed robbery and that he’s been in rehab twice. But the pastor from Jean’s church says he’s been clean for the last eighteen months. I also know it’s easy to be deceived, so I won’t believe it until I see the tox screen.”
The barb made a direct hit on its intended mark. Piper’s heart. “Will they let me into her house?”
Luke’s eyes softened, then steeled again. “I’ll see what I can do. Where are you staying in case I need to contact you?”
Oh, he was going to love this. “I’m staying with Harmony Fells. I can get you the address.”
A puff of air escaped his nose. He shook his head.
“We’ve changed. And I have nowhere else to go.” Piper had cut ties with everyone else she’d been involved with, and Mama Jean’s house was a crime scene.
“The address?”
Piper rattled it off.
“Nice neighborhood. How does she afford that?” Luke scribbled the address on a notepad. The accusing tone in his voice rang loud and clear.
Piper bristled. “She works for an insurance company, and she has her Realtor’s license. The house was a foreclosure. But I’m pretty sure that has nothing to do with your investigation, and from here on out, I’m only answering questions that pertain to my grandmother’s case.”
Piper caught the corner of Luke’s mouth twitch north, but then he grew serious. “Fair enough. I think your grandma was an innocent bystander. This Baxter guy may have invited trouble. But if not, would there be anything you can think of that might have led to her place being trashed?”
Piper had stewed over that same question during the drive. Was God punishing her for her past? Not that she didn’t deserve it, but Mama Jean was the sweetest woman on the planet, and she loved God, so why would He allow this to happen to her?
“I don’t know. She lives on a fixed income. Doesn’t even have a computer or a cell phone. I can’t imagine someone thinking she had anything of value. It must have something to do with Christopher Baxter.” Mama Jean had blinders when it came to wounded souls. When she was stabilized, they’d have a talk about that, but until then Piper wasn’t going to sit by and let some lowlife get away with hurting her grandmother. And while Christopher Baxter might have been a thug himself, no one deserved to be murdered. She had every intention of finding out who had done this and why.
“The detective in the theft unit told me the basement had been meticulously disarranged. Even a few holes in the walls. Whoever did this was hunting for something, Piper.” He eyed her until she fidgeted. “If they didn’t find what they were after, they could come back.”
And if it was connected to Piper’s previous mistakes, they would. Invisible icy claws scraped down her spine. Was Luke trying to terrify her? It was working.
“If it was something they wanted from Christopher Baxter, they got it. Otherwise, they’d need him alive.” Piper adjusted Mama Jean’s covers and ran her hands over her bony fingers jutting from the cast.
She needed to be alone. She’d barely had time to process being back in Memphis. The fact that Luke Ransom was a foot away was too much to bear. Instead of trusting her all those years ago, he’d believed the worst about her. She’d never got over that pain.
“You may be right. I just hope whatever is going on doesn’t implicate you.” Regret and a hint of accusation laced his voice.
“I would never do anything to hurt Mama Jean, and you know that if you know nothing else.” Piper had half a mind to throttle him right here in the room. To insinuate Piper had anything to do with this—would ever intentionally put Mama Jean at risk... She rubbed her temples, a migraine trying to break through.
“Getting one of your headaches?”
The familiarity between them pushed against her chest. Piper had a sick feeling this was the first of many headaches to come. What if this did have something to do with her former messed-up life?
* * *
Luke might as well have been hit with an atomic bomb. The minute Piper had stepped into the room, he’d imploded. Lost his breath. And hated himself for it. She might have lied about loving him once, but Mama Jean was her world. The one person she refused to disappoint, though if Mama Jean ever found out about Piper’s infractions, it’d send her to her grave. But maybe not. Mama Jean was a strong woman.
Strong like the one standing before him now. Hazel eyes that bordered brown. She didn’t hold the hard edge anymore, but Piper Kennedy radiated tough. And no doubt she was even fiercer than when he’d loved her a decade ago, considering the martial-arts path she’d traveled after leaving Memphis. Despising himself every time, he’d checked up on her throughout the span of ten years.
Piper dropped her hand from her temple and clutched her purse to her side. “Sometimes. When I’m stressed.”
“The theft unit will probably want to ask you some questions, as well.”
“Why? Because you told them about my past?” Her voice invited a challenge.
Luke wouldn’t share her past with a soul. Never had. For her sake and his. He’d put his career in jeopardy over Piper once, and now he was up for a promotion to sergeant. No way would he risk that. “No. Because you’re family. But since you’re bringing it up, you should know if this has anything to do with that, it’ll come out. They’ll look hard at you.”
Her face blanched, and she white-knuckled her purse. “I’m clean.”
“I’m just saying.” She didn’t have an ally in Luke anymore. Not since that night ten years ago when she gave him false information about a burglary, sending him
