Crime & Passion (15 page)

“Don’t you ever say anything like that
again.” He looked at Suzie, trying to keep the hatred he felt for
her in that moment off his face. “If Madeline’s murdered, I won’t
be running to you. We will
never
be together.” He walked to
the door. “I’m not willing to pay your price for the information
you have. It’s time for you to leave.”

Suzie’s face reddened and she wiped away
another tear. “I didn’t mean that. I shouldn’t have said it.” She
hugged her arms to her body. “I’ll feel awful if something really
happens to her.”

Donovan said nothing, afraid of what would
come out of his mouth if he tried to speak.

“I’ll tell you what I know,” she said, her
eyes meeting his once again. “No matter what, I still love you.
I’ll always wish we could be together, and that won’t happen if you
end up dead or in jail.”

He wouldn’t respond to her professing her
love again. Naïve, fragile, whatever words he thought described
Suzie before, she proved today she had a dark side. He had a
feeling Suzie was tougher than he’d given her credit for in the
past.

“What do you have to say?”

She shook her head. “We’re both angry and
need to cool down. Why don’t you get dressed, take a shower,
whatever you need to do.” She looked at his robe, clearly judging
him for not being dressed when it was nearly noon. “I’ll rummage
around in your kitchen and find something to fix for lunch. We can
talk while we eat.”

Donovan wanted to argue, wanted to kick her
out of his apartment. Thoughts of Madeline stopped him from doing
that. If Suzie knew anything that might help Donovan catch the
killer, protecting Madeline in the process, he needed to hear her
out.

“I’ll be out in twenty minutes.” He walked
past Suzie and into his bedroom.

He closed and locked his bedroom door, not
trusting her to stay in the kitchen if he didn’t enforce
boundaries. He grabbed some clean clothes and headed to the
bathroom adjoining his bedroom, turning the water in the shower
very hot. He needed to relax and clear his head before dealing with
Suzie again.

One thing was certain, Suzie seemed more
unstable than ever before. He needed to keep her away from
Maddie.

***

Madeline sat in her favorite chair, staring
at the screen on her cell phone. She’d typed Donovan’s number in,
but couldn’t quite make herself push the send button.

What if he was angry? What if he wanted to
talk about last night? What if he didn’t bring it up at all, like
it meant nothing?

She didn’t know if she should start out
telling him about Brandon, or whether she should offer an apology
for yelling at him and kicking him out yesterday. Hell, maybe she
should even apologize for kissing him.

She puffed out a deep breath and listened to
the calming sound of the ocean coming in through the open window.
“You’re such a chicken,” she told herself, hitting send before she
could think longer.

There was only one way to find out how the
conversation with Donovan would go. Besides, she really needed to
tell him about her lunch with Brandon. Regardless of the bad blood
between the men, Brandon knowing about the call and choosing not to
use it in his paper with the other things he reported felt fishy to
Madeline. He’d been agitated when she asked how he knew. If it was
really information from a police contact, why get upset about
it?

The phone rang for the fourth time and
Madeline was sure Donovan’s answering machine would pick up.

“Hello?” A female, sounding breathless.

“Excuse me,” Madeline said, startled. “I
must’ve dialed the wrong number.”

“Who you looking for? You’ve called Donovan
Andrews’ house.”

Madeline’s heart dropped. She wasn’t good
enough for Donovan, but he apparently found another female to fill
his time. And his bed. “May I speak to Donovan, please?” Her voice
sounded level, which pleased her. No way would she apologize to him
for anything now. She’d just give him the information about Brandon
and hang up.

“I’m sorry, can I ask who’s calling?”

Like it should matter to his current trick
who he talked to. Didn’t she understand he’d replace her tomorrow
anyway? “Madeline Scott.”

“Oh, Maddie.” The woman sounded
irritated.

Madeline rolled her eyes. Must everyone call
her Maddie now? “Can you get him, please?”

“Sorry, Maddie, but I can’t.” The woman
chuckled. “He’s still getting his clothes on. It takes him such a
long time to get dressed. He’s much faster at undressing, if you
know what I mean.”

Ugh. Not only a floozy, a tactless
one.
Madeline wanted to get off the phone before the woman gave
her a rundown of the positions they’d tried. “Can you ask him to
call me sometime when he’s not busy?”

A breathy laugh. “I plan to keep him busy all
day, but I’ll tell him.”

The line went dead in her ear and Madeline
stared out the window, dumbfounded.

How could she have misjudged things with
Donovan so badly? Even hearing what he did to break up Brandon’s
marriage hadn’t totally convinced Madeline he was the jerk everyone
else saw. She wanted him to be someone else. It would never
happen.

She hoped the woman he bedded today was
single. Though, apparently, nothing mattered to Donovan. And
Madeline was the only woman in town he wouldn’t sleep with.

She should feel lucky, like she really dodged
a bullet, but she didn’t.

***

Donovan wiped the napkin against his face.
Suzie had found something to make from his under-stocked fridge,
cooking grilled cheese sandwiches and heating up a can of tomato
soup to dip them in. The time apart had cooled both their tempers,
and they ate the meal companionably enough.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
Donovan asked after Suzie finished the last spoonful of soup.

“You’re aware my dad thinks you did this,
aren’t you?”

Donovan shook his head and put his chin in
his hands on the table. “I hoped he wouldn’t believe that of
me.”

“He, Sanders, and Carter were talking
yesterday while I sat outside Dad’s office.” She paused to take a
sip of water. “They were talking about the rope used to strangle
Frank, and how it matched the sample from the dog’s neck.”

Donovan nodded his understanding. None of
this was new information.

“Carter said he tracked down where the rope
came from,” she said. “A shop in Eureka.”

Brice Carter was a good cop, someone Donovan
greatly respected. He wasn’t surprised the man found a lead. “So
what does that have to do with me?” he asked when Suzie didn’t
resume talking.

“The store was Bill’s Big Boy Toys.”

He knew the place. He’d shopped there often
enough. Bill sold guns and ammunition in addition to camping and
fishing supplies, hiking gear, ATVs and motorcycles. It was the
sort of place guys gathered to while away an afternoon, dreaming
about the new things they wanted but their wives wouldn’t approve
of them buying. Donovan was friendly with a lot of the workers and
visited with the regulars.

He shrugged. “Should this mean something to
me?”

Suzie sighed, clearly exasperated. “You’re a
regular at Bill’s.”

“Why does that matter? I never bought any
rope from Bill.”

Suzie smiled. Donovan must finally have asked
the right question. “No one bought the rope used to strangle Frank
and the dog. I overheard Carter say all lengths of that type of
rope were stolen.”

“It’s good he knows that. Now all they have
to do is find a person with a ton of climbing rope.” Donovan didn’t
mention the color, knowing the police were withholding that
information and not sure if Suzie had overheard that detail.

“Donnie.” She reached across the table to
touch his hand. “I’m telling you this so you can get rid of it
before they get a search warrant. They’ll be here as soon as they
can find a judge to sign it. Probably not until tomorrow since it’s
Sunday. You have time to cover your tracks.”

“My tracks?” Donovan blinked a few times,
replaying her last comments through his mind. “You think I did
this?”

She looked up at the ceiling, a tolerant
smile across her lips. “Come on, Donnie. You and I both know Frank
Johnson was scum. I don’t blame you, and I know Stephanie is
grateful someone delivered her from that evil man.” She stroked her
fingers along his forearm. “You were doing community service. And I
know there are a few men left to take care of, but you have to get
rid of that rope.”

“I...I don’t know what to say.” He shook his
head. “I’m not guilty of anything, Suzie. I don’t have the rope,
and I don’t know who killed Frank.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to
pretend with me. It’s okay. I was even thinking I could help you
get rid of a few other people. You know, the ones who deserve it.”
She giggled, like this was some clever plan. “I read your file.
Even though nothing came of the complaints, I know which men are
hurting their wives and kids around here, because those are the
ones who complained about you assaulting them, aren’t they?”

My God,
Donovan half-swore,
half-prayed,
this woman’s crazier than I thought.

Donovan didn’t know what to say or which
question to ask first. He was almost afraid to turn Suzie loose at
this point. If she thought it would endear her to him, was she
crazy enough to try killing some of the wife beaters on her
own?

“How did you see my file?” he finally asked,
deciding to ease into the conversation about how wrong it was to
kill people.

Suzie tossed her hair over her shoulder,
beaming at Donovan. “I went to lunch with Dad yesterday, and I
waited for him in his office while he took care of other business.
You’re file was on top so I had a little peek.”

On top of his desk in an unsecured office
where anyone could see it? Not locked in the filing cabinet?
Donovan wondered how long his file was left out, and who else might
have ‘had a little peek.’ If the person framing him got their hands
on that file, they would know exactly who to go after to make
Donovan look guilty.

“I haven’t killed anyone,” he said softly,
“and I’m not going to. Neither are you.”

Suzie’s eyes widened. “But I thought—”

“You’re wrong.” He shook his head slightly.
“I appreciate you telling me about the rope,”
and my file,
“but I’m not a killer. Someone wants people to believe I am,
though.”

Her mouth fell open. “Someone’s setting you
up?”

He nodded.

“I’m so embarrassed. I thought...”

“It’s okay,” he said. “I know you are only
trying to watch out for me and thought you could help me.”

“Because I love you.”

Shit. Will she never give that up?

He gathered their lunch dishes and put them
in the sink. “Was there anything else you needed to tell me?”

She shook her head. “No, but do you want me
to do some more snooping? At least listen in on conversations? I’m
in the police station all the time. I might hear something that
will help.”

Donovan hated to enlist her help. She might
get the false sense that in doing so she was on her way to winning
his affection. Then again, he had no other friends with as much
access to police business as she had. She seemed so fragile and was
a constant fixture around the station. Most of the guys would talk
freely in front of her, never worrying about what she might
overhear or thinking she could be a threat.

“If you want to help me out, as a friend,
that would be great.”

“Just friends, huh?” A wistful expression
crossed her face as she gazed at him. “I guess I’ll accept that for
now.”

Donovan led the way into the living room,
hoping he could get rid of Suzie without a scene. “I’ve got other
stuff I need to do today, Suzie. Do you want to call me if you hear
anything else?”

Her mouth narrowed. “Do those things you need
to do include Madeline Scott?”

If only I could do her. No, no. I’m a better
man now.

He took a deep breath to refocus his
thoughts. “I thought you understood how things were between us, and
how I feel about Maddie.”

“I’ll worry about Maddie later, if she sticks
around.” Suzie opened the front door. “In the meantime, we need to
keep you out of jail.” She leaned in and kissed Donovan on the
mouth, surprising him. “I’ll keep my ears open.”

Donovan watched her skip down the stairs and
to her car before he shut and locked the door. After Suzie offered
to help him kill people, he was a little worried about what she
might do to Maddie.

And Maddie still hadn’t called. Donovan
glanced at the clock. It was 1:45. She couldn’t have missed the
slip of paper with his number on it by now. Even if she didn’t feed
her tea addiction last night, she would have had some this
morning.

It would be up to him to make things right.
Even if he had to beg, plead, or bribe. Once Madeline talked to
him, he could explain everything. She would forgive him for the way
things happened yesterday once she understood about Madison.

He picked up the phone and dialed her number.
It went to voice mail after the fourth ring and he hung up, hitting
redial.

Voicemail again.

She obviously didn’t want to talk to him.
Donovan wondered if a different flavor of tea would get him back in
the door. Normally he’d take chocolates at this point, but given
Madeline’s concerns about her weight, that might be a tad
insensitive.

He grabbed his car keys and wallet and headed
out the door. He’d find some sort of peace offering. Things would
be fine once they talked.

Madeline switched off the television after
the news. The station in Eureka had picked up the story of Frank’s
murder, and Madeline was relieved her picture didn’t appear as
finder of the body
. It was a small stroke of luck.