Now Maria’s hand trembled as she wiped a tear from below her left eye.
“Oh, spare me.” Skylar sighed her disgust.
“Mr. Davett should reconsider talking to us,” Sheriff McKenzie said. “He’s in another room, waiting for his lawyer.” He went for the door. “I’ll be back.”
Detective Ross picked through some papers he had in a folder before him. “You worked for Anthony Garrett, correct?”
Maria drew her head back as though surprised that name had come up. “Yes.”
“He fired you?”
“Yes, but—”
Ross cut her off. “He claims you stalked him. Pursued him for romantic interests.”
Scoffing with a dismissive wave of her hand, Maria said, “He was threatened by me.”
“Threatened?”
“I’m good at what I do.”
“But you aren’t a lawyer. You’re a paralegal.”
With another sigh, Maria averted her head.
Clearly the woman was delusional.
“Isn’t it true you pursued these lawyers to better your life?” Ross asked.
“Who doesn’t want to better their life? What’s wrong with that?” Maria snapped.
“The men you pursued were all married.”
“Unhappily.”
Ross closed his file and stood.
“Where are you going?” Maria asked. “Can I go home now?”
“Not yet,” Ross said, leaving the room.
The door opened where Skylar and Julien stood and the sheriff summoned them to follow. Skylar walked ahead of Julien to another room that looked into another interrogation room.
In there, Detective Ross took a seat across from Benson, who scowled with a low brow.
“My lawyer isn’t here yet,” Benson said.
“We thought you’d like to know what your mistress is saying,” Ross said. “Maria said you talked a lot about Audrey. She called her a problem and told us how you said it would cost you too much money to divorce her.” The detective paused.
Benson’s mouth had tightened into a displeasured frown.
“She said she tried to convince you to go through with a divorce, but you had your eye on the maximum bottom line. Most significant is that she accused you of threatening her if she didn’t help you dispose of the body. You showed her the hole behind the shed in your backyard. Audrey’s body was in it.”
“That is not true!” Benson roared. “She’s the one who killed Audrey, not me.”
“She did?”
“I want my lawyer. Maria is lying.”
“You’re going to prison for a long time if we can prove you murdered your wife, and right now we have plenty of evidence to place you under arrest. We also found evidence in Maria’s apartment to arrest her. She also kept emails between the two of you that clearly show you were having sexual relations.”
“Those emails were all part of her plan to entrap me,” Benson said, then slapped his hand to the table. “Damn it, I said I want my lawyer!”
“You might be able to make things a lot easier on yourself if you tell us what happened,” Ross said.
A knock on the door signified Benson’s lawyer had arrived. It was none other than Anthony Garrett. Maria would flip out when she discovered that. Skylar figured Benson knew about her past with Garrett. But Maria’s stalking had never been reported and there was no evidence proving it.
Ross gave Benson time to speak with his attorney. About an hour later, he was back in the interrogation room.
“All right. Let’s begin with the first question. Did you kill your wife?”
The lawyer nodded to Benson.
“No.”
“Where were you the day your wife went missing?”
“At work.”
Workers at his office had confirmed that, Skylar knew, but he could have left anytime after he and Maria were alone. Maria’s confirmation that he was at work until after seven could no longer be trusted.
“What happened after you arrived home that night?” Ross asked.
Garrett again gave a nod when his client turned to him.
“Audrey wasn’t there. I tried contacting her, but she didn’t answer her cell phone. When she didn’t arrive home by ten, I called the police.”
“Did you bury your wife in your backyard?”
“No!” Benson raised his voice. “I’m not a murderer and I would never kill my wife.”
“Were you planning on divorcing her?”
“I was considering it.”
“Why did you have a two-million-dollar life insurance policy on her?”
“We both have two-million-dollar life insurance policies. It was a decision we made together.”
An officer entered the room carrying a small envelope and whispered something in the detective’s ear. Ross took the envelope and glanced sharply at the man. When he left, Ross faced Benson and his attorney.
“I was told your wife’s cell phone and a pistol were recovered from Maria’s apartment. It appears she hid them in the floorboard of her bedroom closet.”
Skylar sucked in a breath and grabbed Julien’s arm. “She did kill Audrey.”
“All it will take is some ballistics testing,” Julien said. “Audrey was shot in the head.”
“There were also bulky clothes and a black mask in her closet,” Ross said, letting a ring fall out of the envelope onto his palm. “And this.” He showed it to Benson.
“That’s Audrey’s wedding ring.” Benson breathed heavier and ran his hand over his face. “She killed her. Maria killed her.” He began to tear up.
Skylar’s mind whirred. Maria was pretty tall. She could pass as a man if she dressed in bulky clothes. In Skylar’s recollection, the person she saw digging could have been around Maria’s height. So could her attacker. With all the action and the clothes covering her body, she could have passed for a man.
“Did you know Maria may have killed your wife?” Ross asked the very question that ran through Skylar’s mind.
Benson wiped under his eyes and composed himself, looking to his attorney, who took a few moments before he said, “Go ahead and answer that.”
“I did suspect something. She was at my house when I got home from work the day after Audrey went missing. She said she wanted to surprise me. I thought it was odd. And I noticed she was wearing dark jeans and a dark jacket with boots. She never dressed like that. I didn’t think anything further of it. I asked her to leave since I didn’t know where my wife was. She left.”
“Were you aware that Maria told the police you were working late with her the day your wife disappeared?” Ross asked.
“No. Maria left early afternoon that day. I worked alone in my office until I left.”
Skylar pieced together the time line she was hearing. Maria must have abducted Audrey after she’d left the mall and then taken her somewhere to kill her. Then the next morning, she’d driven to what she’d thought was a remote area—where Skylar had seen her digging. She’d replaced Audrey’s body with a bag of trash. When the burial site didn’t work, she buried the poor woman in Benson’s backyard, hoping, no doubt, to implicate him.
“Was Maria at work the day after Audrey vanished?” Ross asked.
“She came in late. I didn’t see her until about four.”
So, what had she done? Skylar wondered. Had she driven Audrey’s body around in her trunk until she’s figured out what to do with her? If she had been abducted the previous day, where had Maria taken her?
“We’ll make sure that abandoned cabin is searched,” Julien said, as if reading her mind.
“Do they have enough to arrest her?” Skylar asked him.
“I’d say so. Audrey’s cell phone? Her wedding ring? A gun and the clothes you saw her in? Yes. They’ve taken her car to search for evidence.”<
br />
This had all taken a turn Skylar never would have guessed. Maria had been clever in her disguise. But not clever enough.
Chapter 16
Traces of blood were found both in the trunk of Maria’s car and in the abandoned cabin. One of the neighbors reported seeing Maria’s car turn onto the driveway, which is likely why she hadn’t buried the body there. The blood in the car matched Audrey’s and ballistics tied the pistol they’d found in Maria’s home to the shell casings located near the spot where she had been digging. Maria Morales had been arrested for murder and any suspicions of Benson’s involvement had been put to rest.
Skylar was safe now. Julien packed his things and would take Sawyer back to his apartment. He would give Skylar some time to sort through her feelings about him and about being pregnant. He hadn’t told her yet. Sawyer was still in the spare room getting his things together.
Julien carried his duffel bag into the living room, seeing Skylar finishing up in the kitchen after breakfast.
She stilled in the act of wiping down a counter when she saw his bag. “You’re leaving?”
Did she not want him to? “I don’t think being presumptuous is good right now.” And part of him was reluctant to expose himself to her too much. Renee’s treachery still haunted him and as much as he felt for Skylar, he couldn’t bring himself to trust her.
Sawyer appeared with his bag. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
Skylar looked from Julien to the boy. “Not right now, Sawyer. You go on ahead with Julien.”
“When are you going to be there?” Sawyer asked.
Skylar went to him and put her hands on his arms. “I don’t know. Don’t worry. You’ll be all right.”
“But we’re a family. You both gave me a family. We can’t split up.”
“It will be all right.”
“You and Julien belong together,” he said.
“I don’t know about that. We haven’t known each other very long.”
“I can tell you belong together. You love each other.”
“I—” She glanced back at Julien.
“Okay. I get it.” Sawyer walked to Julien. “Come on. Let’s go. You two will come to your senses soon enough.” He looked back at Skylar. “You know where to find us when you’re ready.”
When she was ready. She met Julien’s masked expression. More like when he was ready. Maybe they both weren’t ready.
“I’ll be in the car.” Sawyer left the house, obviously giving them time alone.
“That kid is too smart,” Skylar said.
“Yes.”
And maybe he was also right. Skylar walked to Julien and stood before him.
“Look, I know you’re reluctant to trust anyone after Renee,” she said. “But I want you to know that I would never commit to anything I wasn’t one hundred percent sure of.”
“Are you one hundred percent sure of having a baby?” he asked. “My baby?”
She had to let out a cynical breath. “Of course not.”
He smiled slightly. “What about me?”
She had to be brutally honest. “Not one hundred percent, no. Maybe eight-five or ninety.” She smiled at him to smooth the blow, if it came with one.
“Thank you for being honest.”
She rose up on her toes, putting her hands on his chest, and kissed him. What began as a featherlight touch heated into a full taste of him. But she curbed her desire for more and stepped back.
“Let’s take a few days to think things through,” she said.
“All right.”
“Call me whenever you want,” she said.
“You, too.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
Their parting was as difficult as she’d imagined. Her heart felt like a brick of lead and her stomach turned—and not from morning sickness. She watched him go, and had to ward off the apprehension that she would never see him again. Because she knew one thing: Julien was further than she was from accepting what they had together.
* * *
It was nice not to feel as though she had to look over her shoulder. Skylar kept herself busy on the ranch. The work kept her mind off Julien for the most part. He was always on her mind, but the pain didn’t really hit until nighttime, when she ate dinner alone and slept in her lonely, quiet house. How had she lived like this for so long?
She drank her tea and tried to get into the book she was reading on her Kindle. She finally gave up and let her thoughts take over. Leaning her head back on the living room chair, she stared at the ceiling.
Her mother had begun to get suspicious over how often Skylar went up to the big house. She didn’t complain. She loved seeing her daughter so much, but she could tell something was wrong.
“What happened to Julien?” she had asked last night.
“He went home. We weren’t really seeing each other.”
“Oh, you can’t fool me, Skylar. Your father and I can see there is something going on between you.”
“Well, not anymore. I haven’t heard from him in days. He obviously isn’t as interested as I thought.”
“He’s just afraid. All men are. Your father was like that when we first met. He was scared I’d distract him from his true passion.” Her mother had laughed.
Skylar would not compare Julien to her father. And she hadn’t imagined their physical passion. Even Julien couldn’t deny that.
Checking the time, she picked up her phone and called Julien’s apartment. Today was Sawyer’s birthday. She’d waited until now because Sawyer had said he’d had plans with a friend all day, but he should be home by now.
She called Sawyer’s phone and he answered.
“Hello, birthday boy,” she said.
“Hey, Sky. Thanks for the bike. I love it!”
“You are very welcome.”
“You should be here. Julien bought me a cake and ordered pizza.”
“Yum. I wish I was.”
“It’s not too late. Just come over. We can watch a movie.”
Skylar would love nothing more. “It’s not the right time, Sawyer. Please try to understand.”
“I understand Jules is being stupid,” he said.
Yeah, well, there was nothing she could do about that. “He has to work through his issues on his own. I can’t help him with that.”
“What issue does he have?”
Skylar sighed. How much should she tell this clever kid? “Girl trouble. He needs to get over someone.”
“Who?”
“You’ll have to ask him.” She didn’t feel right about being the one to air his past agonies. “Is he there with you?”
“Yes. You want to talk to him?”
Did she ever. But should she? She missed him so much. She missed his voice. His eyes. His heroism. What if she tried? Maybe if they started talking, that would give him the right nudge.
“Yes,” she said.
She listened to Sawyer say, “She wants to talk to you.”
After a few seconds, Julien said, “Hello, Skylar.”
She closed her eyes to the sound of his voice. Then forced herself to remain strong. “Hello, Julien. When did Sawyer start calling you Jules?”
“A few days ago. The bike is nice. Sawyer rode it when he got home.”
“Must be a pain taking it down from your floor.”
“It’s not so bad.”
Silence fell over the line.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Fine. Working a lot on the ranch.”
“Of course.”
“How about you?”
“Fine. I’m between assignments.”
Another silence fell over the line. I miss you almost came tumbling out of her mouth.
“Well,” she said instead, “I should get going.”
“Yeah. Me,
too.”
“Take care,” she said, hearing how husky her voice sounded.
“Goodbye, Skylar.”
After she disconnected, she dropped the phone onto the coffee table and put her head in her hands, struggling to keep tears at bay.
* * *
Julien put his phone down and leaned against the counter with his head bent, her words—take care—running through his head over and over, the sound of her voice echoing in his ears. He heard her emotion and it sparked a wave of his own. He had thought of nothing else other than Skylar and their baby. It didn’t help that Sawyer kept teasing him with reminders about her.
“I miss Skylar’s French bread pizza, don’t you?” he had asked once.
He did.
“Skylar would have told you to be careful with that,” he had said another time when he’d held a big chef knife at the ready to slice a tomato.
She would have. Skylar had a funny, sarcastic way about her. A sassy mouth. A sexy mouth. He missed that, too.
“When are you going to face it and admit you love her?” Sawyer asked.
Julien looked up and saw the boy had joined him at the kitchen island.
“She wanted to talk to you,” Sawyer said. “That means she misses you.”
“You’re only fifteen. You aren’t supposed to be that insightful,” he said, straightening.
“I had to learn fast.”
Unfortunately, he had.
“Who are you having girl trouble with?” Sawyer asked.
He had never felt this way before, so skittish and jittery. He missed Skylar like crazy and hearing her voice had only made it worse. A thousand arrows pierced his heart.
“She’s someone I used to know,” he said.
“Skylar said you need to get over her.”
“Did she now?”
“You’re afraid to be with Skylar.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Julien couldn’t take it anymore.
“What’s so special about that other woman anyway?” Sawyer asked. “I mean, compared to Skylar, is she really that great?”
That got Julien thinking. “No.” No, Renee didn’t compare to Skylar at all. It was what Renee had done to him that made him push Skylar away. But, really, did he want to keep Skylar away from him? Why was he so afraid? Because Sawyer was right, he was afraid. And that was so unlike him. Granted, he did worry about him and Skylar not working out. But was he actually going to let that stop him from trying?
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