Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1 (5 page)

“Don't you have to work?”

“It's nearly noon, so I'm on my lunch break.”

She studied him, his commanding presence appealing at a time when she felt vulnerable. “Fine, if you make sure I only nap for half an hour. I finished upstairs, but look at all this. I've got too much to do, so I can't rest long, and someone is coming at one to install the alarm system.”

“That's good he's coming so quickly.”

As she made her way to her bedroom, she glanced over her shoulder at Max, at attention, by the front door, then mounted the stairs. She sensed Nicholas watching her from the bottom of the steps, but she wouldn't look back to check. In the bathroom, she swallowed an over-the-counter pain reliever and some water then stretched out on her bed, hoping the tap dancing inside her head would subside. The only reason she'd agreed to his assistance was because she needed her house put back right as fast as possible. The sight of the chaos made her feel exposed and weak. She'd fought hard these past years not to be either.

* * *

“Well, Max, it's just you and me to clean this up as much as possible while she's sleeping. She'll probably kick us out once she gets up.” Nicholas started at one end of the large living area, returning books strewn near the bookcase. He might not put them back in the right order, but they would at least be off the floor.

As he began picking up items and the small pieces of furniture that were still turned over, he checked for any sign of the tablet. The fact that it was the only thing missing—at least so far—meant this break-in could be tied to the Jeffries murder somehow. Or tied to Michael Jeffries, anyway. Although he didn't believe as Selena did in the connection, he'd been taught to investigate every lead. What if it led to the break the team needed?

Although the Capitol K-9 Unit was working other cases, this one was important to their captain, and therefore the team. Congressman Jeffries had helped Captain Gavin McCord as a child. He owed the man a lot. Nicholas wasn't as fond of Congressman Jeffries, who he suspected might have taken bribes in the past, and Gavin had asked him to withhold judgment until there was evidence that Jeffries was involved in anything shady.

Right now, he had to figure out the connection between Selena's missing tablet and Michael Jeffries's murder.
Was
there something to the Littleton case as Selena hoped? There was the connection to Senator Eagleton, which might be something—or nothing. Selena wanted to prove her cousin was innocent, so she was looking for anything to throw suspicion somewhere else. He wasn't sure what to think, but he did know that someone out there didn't like what Selena was doing. She might not appreciate it, but he was going to hang around as much as he could because he couldn't shake the feeling she could be in danger. What if the person who took the tablet didn't like what he or she found and decided to stop Selena's snooping permanently? What if Littleton was innocent and the murderer knew what Selena was doing? That was exactly what Selena thought might have gotten Michael Jeffries killed.

When Nicholas finished the living room and started on the kitchen, the doorbell rang. He looked at the wall clock and realized it was ten to one. He hurried to the front door, checked who it was through the peephole and let the guy from the alarm company into the house.

“Miss Barrow is upstairs. I'll get her for you.” Nicholas turned to Max next to him and added, “Guard.”

The man's eyes widened.

“A precaution after what has happened here. Stay right there, and you'll be fine.”

Nicholas took the stairs two at a time and knocked on Selena's bedroom door. When she didn't answer, he rapped louder the second time.

She flung the door open, a drowsy look on her face. “You let me oversleep.”

“Sorry. I was working and lost track of time. The alarm guy is here.”

She rushed into the hallway, finger combing her long, brown hair.

As she descended the staircase, he asked, “How's your headache?”

“Better.”

He caught up with her at the bottom of the steps. “Good. I can finish in the kitchen while you talk with the man.”

She peered across the room and slanted a glance at Nicholas. “You have Max guarding him?”

He shrugged. “You can't be too careful.”

“Yes, you can.” She headed toward the man. “Mr. Woods, thank you so much for fitting me in.” She held out her hand, and they shook. “My friend is being overly protective. Call Max off, Nicholas.”

“Come.” After Max trotted to Nicholas's side, he gave him a treat. “Good boy.”

While Selena talked with Mr. Woods, Nicholas went into the kitchen and worked, but he kept Max at the door lying down facing her and the alarm guy.

When she came into the room minus Mr. Woods, Nicholas asked, “Is he gone?”

“Why don't you ask Max? He was watching us the whole time.”

“I suspect everyone.”

“I know you do, me included.”

“Not in this.”

“Oh, that's nice,” she said in a sarcastic tone.

“What do you know about this Mr. Woods? Did you just call anyone in the Yellow Pages?”

“He was recommended by the chief of staff and no doubt the reason he has agreed to come back in an hour with his equipment and install the system today. No thanks to you and Max.” She placed her fists on her waist, her lips drawn in a narrow line.

“Okay, I might have been a little overzealous, but I'd rather be that than let anything happen to you.”

Her fierce expression and stance relaxed. “I don't have the energy to be mad at you right now.”

“Good.” He grinned, liking her spunk. “Tell you what. I'll go get us something to eat. I saw a hamburger place not too far from here.”

“They have delicious burgers, and I'll take some fries, too.”

He started for the front door. “Lock the door behind me. And I'm leaving Max to keep you company.”

“We'll try not to have too much fun while you're gone.”

Nicholas chuckled as he left the house, waiting to hear the sound of the lock clicking into place. At his SUV he paused and scanned the area. No cars parked along the street and only a couple in driveways. Nothing set off alarm bells.

* * *

On Thursday afternoon, Nicholas sat next to Selena in an interview room at the prison while they waited for Greg Littleton to be escorted to them.

“I thought after we see Greg we could grab dinner before I take you home,” Nicholas said.

“You haven't been far from my side much except when you had to go in to work. Surprisingly not a lot. You'd think you had these past few days off.” She shot him a look. “You haven't been outside my house sleeping like that first night, have you?”

“No, you have a good alarm system and Max for a roommate when I leave.”

Which had only been about eight hours the last two nights. “Okay, spill it. I can take care of myself. I have a gun and that good alarm system you mentioned.”

“I told my captain about what's going on, and he agrees I need to keep a close eye on you. I can review security tapes from my laptop.”

“What have you found about the fake Miss Chick?”

“Not much other than what we already know. The person knew how to avoid the cameras, which indicates a certain knowledge of the West Wing. A slender, unidentified woman, five-nine or ten with long wavy black hair is the person I suspect assaulted Tara Wilkins in the restroom. We're going through the video at the entrances, but we haven't found her.”

“A disguise?”

“Probably.”

“How about General Meyer's office?” Selena asked, wondering if the same person had broken in there.

“I can't say, but progress is being made. We're narrowing the long list down. But no one fits the description of the suspect in Tara Wilkins's case.”

She twisted toward him as the door opened. “You don't have to keep babysitting me. I'm going to work tomorrow now that my house is back to normal,” she whispered, then glanced toward Greg shuffling into the room.

After the guard left and took up a post outside the door, Selena gestured toward Nicholas. “This is Nicholas Cole. He works for the Capitol K-9 Unit and has an interest in your case.”

Greg looked from Selena to Nicholas. “You mean, someone else believes I'm innocent?”

“I won't go as far as that, but I think there may be more to your situation. Why don't you tell me what happened from the time you and Saul Rather got into an argument by the pool.”

While Greg told Nicholas what he had said to her last week, Selena took notes, listening closely to determine if he added anything new. She noticed the weary set to the thin, forty-two-year-old man's shoulders and the tired lines in his face. His skin had a pasty pallor to it, and his brown hair had grayed at the temples. Different from the photo of the man at his trial she'd studied before she'd come to see him a week ago.

As Greg finished, disappointment weaved through her. He'd said nothing new. Nothing new that she could recall, and that was the problem. She couldn't check her notes on her tablet. “Can you tell me the names of the people you remember were with you at the pool that evening when Saul confronted you?”

She jotted down their names, recalling no changes from the last time she'd asked.

“I also remember that Tabitha Miller and a couple of her female friends came out onto her balcony while Saul Rather was yelling at me,” Greg said. “I didn't think to mention that before since Tabitha and her friends weren't right there at the pool like the others and only on the balcony for a minute. I tried to visualize like you said to, but that's all I came up with.”

She straightened at the same time Nicholas did. Tabitha Miller was an aide for Congressman Jeffries. “She lives there at the apartment complex?”

“Yes, at least two years ago.”

Selena jotted down the information, making a note to check and see if she still lived there.

“Did you recognize any of the other women with her? Did they live at the apartment complex?” Nicholas gave her a look that told her to let him do the interviewing.

Selena bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything.

“No to both questions. One of the ladies I'd never seen, but I remember the other had come once before.”

“I'm surprised you have such a good memory of who was there.” Nicholas lounged back in his chair, taking in Greg's every nuance.

“When a person gets chewed out in front of people, they tend to look around, embarrassed, to see who heard. At least that's my experience. Do you think I'd kill the guy with so many witnesses watching the argument and able to testify to a motive for me to kill him?”

“It's happened before.” Nicholas crossed his arms. “Can you think of anything else about that twenty-four hours? Why did you go to the parking garage so early the next morning?”

“I told the police when they picked me up I received a call about a car with a smashed window.”

Selena stared at Nicholas. “I didn't know that. I didn't find it in the record. Greg, did your lawyer bring that detail up at the trial? I don't remember it in the court records.”

“No one seemed to think that information meant anything. Just something to cover my tracks. There wasn't a car with a smashed window.”

“Do you remember if it was a female or male voice who called you?” Nicholas asked, interest on his face.

Greg thought for a long moment, his lips pursed. “I'm not sure. It was a gruff voice. I think.”

Nicholas took out his business card. “If you come up with anything new, give me a call.”

“So that's important to my case?”

“It could be. Remember everything and tell us, even if you don't think it's important. It might all fit together. One piece of the puzzle.”

For a few seconds Greg's usual defeated expression vanished. “I will. Thank you. Both of you.”

Ten minutes later, Nicholas opened his SUV door for Selena. When he came around and slid behind the steering wheel, she asked, “What do you think? We need to go talk to Tabitha Miller as soon as possible. She works for Congressman Jeffries. What if Michael found that out and came over to talk to his dad about her? You see the connection?”

He started the car then angled toward her. “Just because one of the witnesses to the fight worked for Congressman Jeffries doesn't mean there's a connection to Michael's murder. Don't get your hopes up. And you are
not
going to talk to her. I am. Understood?”

“Only if you'll tell me what she says. She fits. She has access to the West Wing and would know its layout. She is about the height of Miss Chick.”

“Slow down. When we get back to your house, we'll discuss the next steps.” He sliced her a stern look. “The only reason I'm even including you in that discussion is that I'm afraid you'll go off half-cocked, pursuing your own investigation. Even if Michael talked with Tabitha, that doesn't mean anything except he was following every lead and talking to every witness to the fight.”

“I hate to see Greg Littleton in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Just as I hate to see my cousin out there being hunted for one she didn't do.”

“It must be nice that you know all that for sure. I need evidence to prove it. Not theories and a woman's intuition.”

“My, you are cynical.”

He stopped at a red light and swung his full attention to her. “And you aren't? I've read your dossier. I know what kind of childhood you had. A tough one.”

Surprised, she felt the color drain from her face while her heartbeat slowed for a few seconds before revving up as anger swelled in her. “Tough? I guess compared to yours it was. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth.”

His hands gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles whitened. “So I guess we both know the facts of each other's background. For the record, the only reason I looked into your past was because of the case.”