Pushed to the Limit (an Emma Cassidy Mystery Book 2) (22 page)

Alvin looked up at her through teary eyes.
“I’ve been such a fool,” he blubbered. “I never meant it. I was drunk, off my
face. I never meant for any harm to come to Faye.” He hung his head, overcome
with emotion, his shoulders heaving.

Wild thoughts ricocheted about Emma’s head
like stray bullets. Wesley had complained about being stereotyped as a bad guy
and mentioned something about nutters… Was it possible?

“Oh, for God’s sake, Alvin Tucker!” she
exclaimed in shock and exasperation. “Don’t tell me it’s true? You tried to
hire Wesley to kill Faye?”

There was a collective gasp from the
bystanders. Owen stalked over and hauled Emma to her feet.

“I don’t want you talking to these two
until I’ve sorted out their stories,” he said in that tight-lipped way of his
that indicated he wasn’t too pleased with her. “How are you involved in all
this?”

She hesitated before deciding to go with
the short version. “I came here with Wesley for lunch, that’s all.”

Owen’s eyes narrowed to match his lips.
“You were on a date?”
With that guy?
She could almost hear the disapproving
question in his head.

“Yes, and I’ll need Wesley’s car keys if
I’m to follow you to the station.”

“No. You’ll come with me.”

He didn’t trust her to show up? But his
clamped lips told her not to push it, so she kept quiet. Minutes later, several
deputies entered the restaurant. Some escorted the handcuffed men out, while
another began questioning the witnesses.

Owen touched his mom’s arm. “I’ve called a
cab for you, Mom. Sorry about lunch.”

“Make sure you eat something.” Ingrid
Fletcher patted his hand. “And be nice to Emma.”

Emma blushed. “Sorry, Mrs. Fletcher,” she
murmured. Was it her imagination or did the tips of Owen’s ears turn pink, too?
But he was all cool composure when he turned to her.

“Ready to go?”

She sighed and nodded in resignation. Since
her return to Greenville, she’d entertained a few crazy fantasies about
reconnecting with Owen, but she’d never envisaged him escorting her to the
sheriff’s station after a brawl involving her date.

“Well?” Emma asked
as soon as she sat down at the table. She’d been stuck waiting at the sheriff’s
station for several hours while Owen questioned Alvin and Wesley, but finally
it was her turn, and she and Owen were alone in a gray, featureless interview
room.

Owen rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Want
some coffee?” The waste basket in the corner was filled with foam cups, while
Owen’s well-used mug sat at his elbow.

“No, thanks. I’d just like some answers.”

Despite his obvious tiredness, Owen’s lips
quirked into a small smile. “You’re forgetting, I ask the questions here and
you give me answers.”

She glanced around the windowless room. “Is
this a formal interview?”

“No, we’re just having a chat.” He sobered
up. “Were you really on a date with Wesley Noakes?”

So, at least she knew the fitness
instructor’s surname now. “Yes. Why do you sound so incredulous?” Remembering
Owen with Sherilee at the music festival, she couldn’t help tossing her hair
back, even though it was infantile of her. “You don’t think it’s possible I could
date someone?”

“I don’t doubt that.” He spread his palms
flat on the table. “But Noakes is a shady character.”

No surprises there. She’d already sensed
that Wesley hadn’t always been into healthy living. “He has a criminal record?”

“No recorded felonies, but in Baltimore he
was a known associate of the Drifters, a motorcycle club that’s involved in
drugs and protection rackets.”

“Has he been in any trouble since he moved
to Greenville?”

Owen shook his head. “No. But you shouldn’t
be involved with him anyway.”

“He’s my gym instructor.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to date him.”

She could have told him that this was her
first date with Wesley and even before the fracas in the restaurant she’d
already decided it would be the last, but she didn’t. Owen didn’t need to know
about her dismal dating experiences.

It was time to change the subject. “Is it
true Alvin mistook Wesley for some kind of hit man and hired him to do
something to Faye?”

“You know I can’t discuss that with you.”

“Oh, come on!” She leaned forward to glower
at him across the table. “You’ve kept me twiddling my thumbs for two hours, and
you’re not going to tell me anything? You know I’ll get it out of Alvin anyway,
so you may as well spill the beans.”

Owen sighed and rubbed his nose again.
“Okay, fine. Alvin was panicking about Faye possibly suing his business. Last
week, he was in a bar here in La Quinta drowning his sorrows when he somehow
got talking to Wesley. Your gym instructor then thought it would be fun to spin
a few yarns about himself and Alvin, drunk as a skunk, suggested that Wesley could
do something to Faye. Not murder her, but frighten her in some way so that
she’d forget about suing him.”

Owen shook his head at the sheer stupidity
of both men. Emma remembered Alvin’s wife fretting over him; she’d been right
to worry.

“The next day when Alvin sobered up, he
remembered only snippets of the conversation. He was under the impression that
he’d struck a deal with Wesley to do something to Faye, but he couldn’t
remember Wesley’s name, let alone the bar they’d met at. When Faye took her tumble,
Alvin went into a spin. He was convinced that Wesley had tried to kill her on
his orders.”

Emma snapped her fingers. “Of course!
That’s why Alvin was sitting outside Faye’s house in the middle of the night!
He thought he was protecting her from a hit man, but he didn’t even realize she
wasn’t at home, the silly man.” She briefly told Owen the details. She expected
him to lecture her about not reporting the incident to the police, but he
didn’t. Maybe he was too tired.

He merely nodded before continuing, “Anyway,
Noakes had nothing to do with Faye’s fall. He was giving a gym class at the
time; twenty people can give him an alibi. According to Noakes, he’d dismissed Alvin
as a drunken fool and never took him seriously.”

Emma leaned back in her chair and couldn’t
help a brief smile. “See? I told you Wesley was innocent.”

“Not completely. Alvin would never have
approached him if Noakes hadn’t spun those far-fetched lies. At the very least
it was a dumb thing to do.”

She couldn’t disagree with that assessment.
Wesley had shown a serious lack of judgment. He could never be more than her
gym instructor; in fact, she might even change her class schedule so she didn’t
have to see him too often. She had an intuition he’d be relieved about that, too.

“What’s going to happen to Alvin?”

Owen’s expression grew somber. “I’ll talk
to my captain and the district attorney. Alvin could be charged with conspiracy
to commit a felony, although the evidence isn’t strong. I’ll be questioning
both of them further tomorrow. Until then, they’ve been let go.”

Emma nodded. “Well, I guess I should go
too,” she said, rising to her feet.

“Not so fast.” Owen held up his hand. “I’m
not finished with you.”

She blinked at him. “But I knew nothing
about Alvin’s wacky scheme.”

“Maybe not, but you seem to be up to your
neck in this business with Faye.” He fixed his direct, unswerving gaze on her,
and beneath its weight she found herself sinking back into her chair. “Tell me
what you know, Emma, and don’t leave a thing out.”

***

Owen drummed his fingers
on the table. “And that’s everything?”

Emma’s mouth was parched. She’d been
speaking for what must have been fifteen minutes non stop. Owen hadn’t
interrupted as she told him about all the people who might have wished harm on
Faye and why—Kenneth Bischoff, Alvin and Bettina Tucker, Faye’s sister Lorraine,
Helen Wylie and her son Jason. She’d even included herself. But there was one
person she’d left out.

At Owen’s question, she squirmed in her
seat.

He lowered his brows. “Emma?” he said in
that tone of his that indicated he knew she was holding back something. It
wasn’t fair that he knew her so well.

Ducking her head so she wouldn’t have to
look him in the eye, she said, “There is one other person, but I can’t tell you
who it is because it might put him or her in trouble.”

Owen rubbed his eyes. He looked tired and
hungry, and she was willing to bet he hadn’t eaten anything as his mom had
suggested.

“Is this ‘him’ Wesley Noakes?”

“No, definitely not.”

“I suppose this thing you don’t want to
tell me about was something Faye found out?” Owen said. “In which case, it’s
not a secret anymore, is it? So why don’t you just tell me.”

He had a point there. Who was to say how
long Faye would guard Stacey’s secret? And if Emma told Owen, maybe he could
help. She could only hope that Stacey would forgive her for spilling her
secret.

Owen listened impassively as she told him
about Stacey Shulman, her abusive husband the jewel thief, her flight and fake
identity, and her constant fear of being exposed and her ex tracking her down.
When she was finally finished, he sat back, his expression thoughtful as he
digested her account.

“Stacey is terrified that Trevor Roche will
track her down,” Emma reiterated. “He’s out on parole, and she knows he’s
supposed to remain in Pennsylvania as part of his parole conditions, but she’s
still worried. She’s made a new life for herself in Greenville. She doesn’t
want to leave again, but the man was a brute to her. She lives in constant
fear.”

Owen jotted down something on the pad in
front of him. “Stay here,” he said as he pushed to his feet. “I’ll be back in a
while.”

Alone in the dreary room, Emma paced back
and forth, unable to relax even though she was exhausted. How could she rest
when she had blabbed her friend’s secret to the police? She fervently hoped
that Stacey would understand, and that she’d still want to be her friend. She
was doing this for Stacey’s sake, she told herself. If there was one person she
trusted with this information, it was Owen. They might not be as close as they
once were—or as she secretly hoped—but he was a decent, honorable man and a
good cop, and he would never let an innocent woman like Stacey come to harm.

It felt like an hour, though the clock
above the door told her only twenty minutes had passed, before Owen finally
returned. He motioned her to sit, and something in his expression alerted her
that he had some promising news for her.

“What?” she asked, unable to contain her
impatience. “You’ve found something out, haven’t you?”

“It’s good news. I called the Pennsylvania Parole
Board, and Trevor Roche is still in the state as per his parole conditions.”
Owen rested his elbows on the table. “Furthermore, he’s in no state to threaten
Stacey and most likely never will be. Roche suffered a stroke shortly after
leaving prison. It was a bad one. He’s confined in a rehab center. The stroke
affected his memory. He barely remembers his own name, let alone his ex-wife.
According to the medical report, his condition is irreversible. I’d say Stacey
won’t ever have to worry about him.”

Emma released a deep sigh as she sagged
back in her chair. Until then, she hadn’t realized how nervous she was about
breaking Stacey’s confidence. But now Stacey could breathe easy. It slowly
dawned on her what Owen’s news would mean to her friend.

“That’s the best news ever. I—I’m so
relieved.” She gulped. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

An unusual look of embarrassment came over Owen.
“I just made a couple of calls. If Stacey had come to me or any other police
officer, she could’ve been reassured weeks ago.”

“She’s not too keen on drawing attention to
herself.”

“Well, she doesn’t have to hide anymore.
She can start using her real name. I’ll make sure the worst she’ll face is a
misdemeanor.”

Emma gawked at him. “You’re going to
charge
her?”

“She’s been using a fake ID. In certain
circumstances it could be a felony.”

“What?” she sputtered, all her relief gone
up in smoke. “But she did it to protect herself from a dangerous thug! Oh, I
knew I shouldn’t have told you anything. I trusted you, Owen.”

At that he had the grace to look
shame-faced. He held up his hands. “You’re right. Her intentions weren’t
criminal. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she doesn’t face any
charges.”

“Everything?”

“Yes, everything.” He gazed at her, his
eyes filled with an earnestness that told her he would keep his promise. This
was what had always drawn her to him—that certainty in him. He was the rock she
could depend on when all else was in turmoil around her. She hadn’t always appreciated
that quality when she was eighteen; had sometimes felt chained to the rock. Silly
girl. It had only taken her a decade to realize her mistake. But it was too
late now. She’d missed her chance, and she had only herself to blame.