Sea of Suspicion

by Toni Anderson

  “Oh, please!” She snorted and rolled her eyes.

  “And,” he said, “to try and stop this thing that’s growing between us.”

  “There is no thing.” She raised her face to the sky. Hell, she might be hiding it, but it hurt. What the hell was so wrong with her anyway?

  “I deliberately tried to drive you away.”

  “I get it. It worked. Believe me, if there was a thing, you killed it.” Her breath came out in a cloud of vapor. She was frozen, tired and miserable. She deserved a break. Dela’s death still haunted her dreams; she sure as hell didn’t need more grief.

  “Because I like you.”

  So what? Was she supposed to be grateful? She glared at him, holding back emotions, keeping them closed down tight so they didn’t escape and make things even worse than they already were.

  “I don’t want a relationship.” Nick’s voice was soft in the darkness. “And I don’t want to hurt you.”

  He looked repentant because they both knew he would hurt her if she gave him half a chance. Rejection smarted inside her chest like a wasp stinging her heart. What was so awful about her that men contemplated leaving before they even began a relationship?

  “It’s not even an issue so forget it.” Her throat ached with the effort to force out the blasé sentiment.

  Something vulnerable flickered in his eyes, then it was gone and emotions she didn’t want to recognize shone in those green depths. Desire, resentment, frustration. Secretly, she felt a measure of satisfaction knowing she affected him as strongly as he affected her.

  “I was bloody furious with you this afternoon. Those things you said…” He looked out at the white-crested waves just visible in the darkness. “Maybe you were right. Maybe I am empty and unfeeling…” But his eyes told a different story.

  Susie could feel herself weakening, could feel the hot anger that had sustained her since she’d seen him flirting with Candace cooling into something as insubstantial as ash.

  Nick rubbed his fingers into his eye sockets. “Anyway, none of that matters anymore because now I’m worried some nutter has it in for you.”

  What? She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. No one had it in for her. She hadn’t been here long enough to irritate anyone that badly.

  Nick shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and leaned back against the bench. One side of his mouth kicked into a grimace. “Whoever killed Tracy Good left her possessions and what is most probably the murder weapon in your car.” The worry lines around his eyes deepened. “That was a conscious decision.”

  Her fingernails bit into the wooden bench. “It was just coincidence. Nothing more.”

  “What if it wasn’t?” Nick’s eyes held a glint of stubbornness. “You can’t stay on your own tonight, Susie. You might be in danger.”

  “Come on. That’s crazy.” She forced a laugh.

  “A young woman was beaten to death right here on this path.” He nodded to the tarmac just yards from where they sat. “So what’s crazy is you carrying on like Alice in Wonderland just because it doesn’t suit your schedule.”

  God, he was infuriating.

  “Why don’t you stay the night with Leanne?” His eyes were bloodshot, probably from exhaustion, but he still looked too damn good for her liking.

  She took a deep breath, leaned over to pick up the box of papers.

  Nick took it from her, holding her gaze. “I’d stay at your place, but I need to go over the evidence we found in your car.”

  “No way.” She shook her head. “You and I are never going to happen, Archer.”

  “Hey, I never said anything about you and I, Susie Q. I’m just concerned about your safety.” But the spark in his eye was sharper than friendship or duty.

  She regretted saying anything at all. She was a challenge now. She should have kept her mouth shut.

  “Anyway, we’re both mature, unattached adults. What are you so afraid of?”

  What was she so afraid of? She wasn’t the one who’d led him on and used another woman to try and drive him away. But she was too tired for anything except truth.

  “I’m not a one-night-stand kind of girl, Nick.” She licked her dry lips. She didn’t want him in her life and possibly leaving scratch marks. “I want to settle down, get married and raise babies.”

  He shifted the box and his smile sent a shiver from her scalp to her toes. “Have you found the person you intend to marry and have babies with yet?”

  She held his gaze. “Nope.”

  He caught her chin and brushed her bottom lip with his thumb, making her pulse jump. “Well, when you do, let me know and I’ll back off.”

  “I want you to back off now.”

  He stepped closer. “Do you? Or are you just saying that because you’re scared it’ll be the best sex you’ve ever had?”

  The dare in his eyes should have irritated her, but the gleam of excitement matched the one she hid. The lure of him was instinctive and irrational. He was pushy, dictatorial and annoying, and she wanted to deny the attraction, but she wasn’t that good a liar.

  Nick grinned and began to walk toward his car. “One of these days you’re going to admit you’re attracted—”

  “When hell freezes over.”

  “Temperature is dropping. The devil’s wearing thermals.”

  Susie couldn’t help it, she laughed.

  The car was jostled by gale-force winds sweeping across barren fields. Nick forced thoughts of sex out of his mind, exhaled a breath and pushed back in his seat, wondering who the murderer was.

  Susie had agreed to stay over at Leanne’s, but needed her stuff. It was a concession that he knew he was lucky to get.

  Dealing with Susie Cooper distracted the crap out of him, which was not what he needed in the middle of a major investigation. But she was involved because he’d driven her car to the scene of a murder. Protecting people was part of the job. Death wasn’t an abstract image for him. It was a grim, brutal reality. So it was natural to worry about Susie’s safety, especially after the way he’d failed to protect Chrissie. But the fear plucking his nerves, making him sweat, felt strange and unfamiliar.

  Why would the killer leave evidence in Susie’s car and when had the bastard put it there? The same night of the murder—or later?

  Jake Sizemore had an alibi for the night Tracy was killed, albeit a weak one. Nick couldn’t touch the bastard until he could link the guy with either motive or opportunity. The murder weapon hadn’t been found in Jake’s house, nor any blood on Jake’s clothes, shoes or in his car. They’d also searched the rooms of the three students named on Candace’s list of Tracy’s rumored lovers. Two had rock-solid alibis—they were OTC and had spent the weekend on exercise near Inverness. Ewan was chasing down the alibi of the third. Nick wasn’t about to let prejudice blind him to the possibility there was another killer out there with some other reason to cave in Tracy Good’s skull.

  He had a request in to the Brazilian authorities regarding Rafael Domenici’s background. He didn’t trust the little prick. DNA was due back by the end of the week. It was a miracle to get it done that fast.

  A fox dove across the road and Nick slammed on the brakes, narrowly missing its bushy tail. Susie grabbed the dashboard and gazed after the animal as it was swallowed by darkness. His pulse pounded. His palms felt slick.

  “That was close.” He blew out a breath. They exchanged a relieved glance, both glad not to have to deal with more blood or death. He turned down the lane to Susie’s cottage and noticed every light in the Heathcotes’ cottage was blazing.

  “What’s going on?”

  Susie leaned forward in her seat. “I have no idea.”

  “Hold on.” Nick floored the accelerator along the lane. Susie grabbed the handle above the door but didn’t balk. He slid the car to a stop outside Emily’s cottage and jumped out.

  “Stay there.” He pointed a finger at Susie who frowned at him as he ran to the front door. He should have saved
his breath because she was right beside him a moment later.

  “Emily! Lily!” He raised his voice so it boomed out over the fields. Nothing. He strode into the house, did a quick search, including the spare room that always gave him the creeps.

  Coming back into the kitchen he noticed a saucepan on the stove that had boiled over, a burnt rusty stain on the side of the pan. The burner was off but a cremated smell of burnt milk saturated the air.

  “Where are they?” Susie clutched her coat to her chest.

  He strode outside and shouted again, caught the whisper of a reply before it was dragged away on the blustery wind. He grabbed a flashlight from the boot of his car and snagged Susie’s hand because he didn’t want to lose sight of her until he knew exactly what was going on. They set off through the marram grass.

  A voice called out again.

  Was that Lily?

  The loose sand shifted under his boots, making it awkward to run. They burst out onto the beach and he caught Susie as she slid down the last steep dune. It was dark, the tide out, the moon hidden behind clouds that billowed and raced around the world.

  “There!” Susie pointed to the right, toward the water, and he could just make out two figures struggling in the surf.

  Thrusting the flashlight into Susie’s hands he took off at a run. Jesus Christ. As he got closer he realized it wasn’t someone being bludgeoned to death. It was Lily trying to haul her mother out of the sea, but Emily was fighting her off.

  He wished he couldn’t hear what she was saying.

  “Let go of me! She’s out there. I have to get Christina. I have to save Christina!”

  The water stabbed his skin like a thousand needles as he splashed into the surf. Grabbing Emily’s hand he yanked her toward him, but she staggered to her knees, his grip slipping on her wet skin. Waves whipped around him.

  “Em! Come on, get out of the water.”

  She gaped as if she’d never seen him before, then her eyes cleared and recognition flared.

  “Nick. Nick! Thank God!” The desperation in her eyes nearly kicked out his knees. “You have to help me. Christina’s in the water, but I can’t find her. She’s in the water! Can’t you hear her?”

  He exchanged a horrified glance with Lily, who was shivering violently, makeup tracking down her face like black tears.

  “Chrissie’s dead.” Nick held his mother-in-law’s unfocused gaze, felt a spasm of shame so keen it stole his breath. He had to get her out of here. “Come on. Let’s get you home safe.”

  She struggled as he tugged on her hand, and looked toward the ocean with frustration. “But I can’t find her! I can’t save her!” She started crying then, ripping out Nick’s heart.

  “I couldn’t either, Em. She’s gone.” Silently, he cursed himself for not hanging on to his marriage when things got tough. For not fighting for the woman he loved.

  He dragged Emily out of the water, engulfed her soaking wet body in a hard squeeze. Then he tore off his jacket and wrapped it around the old woman’s shoulders. Each wracking sob told him Chrissie’s death was as fresh today as it had been twelve years ago. She didn’t deserve this. Jake Sizemore was a miserable bastard who deserved more than a few years in jail.

  Susie gave her coat to Lily and encouraged her up the beach. It was freezing and Susie was shivering in just her cotton blouse. Nothing he could do about that until they got back to the cottage. At least she was dry.

  Emily clung to his arms, making it hard to progress up the beach. She was too heavy to carry and too fragile to drag. His jeans were damp, his testicles chaffed, boots waterlogged. At least the wool jumper he was wearing wasn’t completely drenched. Emily’s silver hair was plastered to her face, her lips tinged blue. He stripped off his sweater, took the jacket from her shoulders and pulled the sweater over the thin nightdress the old woman was wearing. Then he draped the jacket around her again and propelled her up the beach. They had to get her out of those wet things before she caught hypothermia.

  Susie urged Lily into the house, turned around to see if Nick had managed to get Emily along the path yet.

  There. He was just coming.

  Emily was a mess. Lily collapsed onto one of the kitchen chairs, shaking uncontrollably. Susie was freezing and she hadn’t even gotten wet.

  Remembering basic first aid, Susie went through the door into the main part of the house, tried a couple of doors before she found the bathroom. She knelt to put the stopper in the tub and blasted in the hot water, adjusting the taps so the temperature wasn’t scalding. Steam swirled and her pounding heart reminded her of another time, another emergency. She squeezed her eyes shut, remembered sealing Dela’s lips and blowing life into her friend’s wounded lungs. She remembered how their bodies had rolled beneath the surface of the ocean with each frantic breath.

  She blinked as Nick entered the room. His eyes were viridian in a chalk-white face. He put a hand on the small of her back as she bent over the tub, a small connection that fused her bones with unexpected warmth.

  “Thanks.” He nodded at the bath. “Lily is getting Emily undressed. I’m going to call the quack.” And then he was gone.

  Feet shuffled in behind her as Lily maneuvered her mother sideways beside the tub.

  “Thanks, Dr. Cooper. I’ll take it from here.” Teeth chattering from cold, Lily looked uncomfortable for the first time in their acquaintance.

  Susie tried to reassure her. “What happened to calling me Susie?”

  A sad twitch touched Lily’s lips. Her leather pants were ruined and she was huddled inside Susie’s wool blazer. Emily leaned heavily on her daughter’s shoulder, her expression slack.

  “The most important thing is getting your mother better.” The small bathroom didn’t give them much space to maneuver. “You get out of those wet clothes,” Susie told Lily. “I’ll get your mom into the tub while you get dry. Then you can come back and be with her.”

  Lily hesitated, but Susie was already helping Emily out of her dressing gown. “Go on.”

  Susie got Emily into the tub without too much hassle, though the older woman’s movements were stiff from cold. Once she was submerged in the warm water Emily closed her eyes. Susie pulled the shower curtain across so she had privacy if Nick barged in.

  Suddenly Emily grabbed her hand in a strong grip. “Did you see her?”

  Alarm shot through Susie, making her jolt. “Who?”

  “Christina. I heard her, but I couldn’t see her…” Tears welled up in the misty blue depths and spread over her weathered cheeks. “Mothers shouldn’t lose their babies.”

  Emotion clutched Susie’s throat. She gripped the old woman’s hand so hard she felt the bones shift. “No, they shouldn’t.” She climbed to her feet and turned away. A mother’s grief was a terrible burden to witness.

  At the door she found Nick hovering with two hot drinks. She took a mug to Emily, placed it on the side of the tub. Nick waited in the hall and handed her the second mug. Coffee. She drank quickly, savoring the warmth that eased her throat and thawed her insides. Emily seemed to be suffering from some sort of dementia, whether brought on by sorrow or age, she didn’t know.

  “Here’s your jacket, sorry it’s wet.” Lily came out of her bedroom and thrust a black wool sweater at Susie along with her damp coat. Handing the mug to Nick, she pulled the sweater over her head, welcoming the warmth. She hooked her jacket over one arm and took the mug back, Lily squeezing past them into the bathroom and closing the door.

  Nick stared after Lily. There was a haunted light in his eyes that made Susie ache in sympathy.

  “What do you think happened?” Susie whispered.

  He shrugged. “The anniversary of Chrissie’s death and this new murder…it must have driven her over the edge.” He turned away and made his way to the kitchen.

  Susie followed, noticing he wore dry jeans and a dry shirt. She frowned. “How d’you get dry?”

  “I keep a spare set of clothes in the back of the car just in case.” Whe
n he saw her face he laughed and tapped her on the nose. “For diving and work, not because I might get lucky. You have a dirty mind, Susie Cooper.” His grin told her he was the one with the dirty mind. She was just duly suspicious.

  She opened her mouth to defend herself, but with one hand low on her back, he drew her toward him and swept his tongue into her mouth, igniting some basic need. Even though she’d denied it, there was a pull deep inside her that wanted this. He tasted like coffee and passion as she kissed him back. The muscles of his chest were solid against her breasts, the sensation of dark and wicked seduction made her muscles tremble and her bones grow weak.

  He lifted her up, and she hooked her legs around his hips, hot needy blood rushing through her veins and arousing her flesh. She couldn’t get close enough even as she strained against him and he ground against her.

  There was a knock on the door and they sprang apart like guilty teens. His eyes slitted in narrow assessment as a man entered the house.

  “Dr. Cummings?” At the doctor’s nod, Nick let her go. “Patient’s in the bathroom. This way.”

  Susie’s cheeks grew hot. She stood for a little while, flushed and disconcerted by the staggering sensations whirling through her mind. Burnt milk blackened the ceramic stovetop so she began clearing up the mess, leaving the pan to soak in a sink full of detergent.

  Suddenly she felt ridiculous. Why was she waiting for Nick to come back? After she’d told him she wanted nothing to do with him and then virtually inhaled him the first time he touched her? She closed her eyes, amazed at her own weakness and stupidity.

  Her home was a few hundred yards down the lane and she was invading the Heathcotes’ privacy during a difficult time. There was no reason for her to stay. No murderer lay waiting under her bed. Whoever it was had used the opportunity of finding her trunk unlocked to get rid of the murder weapon.

  Susie let herself out of the kitchen door, grabbed her box of papers from the back seat of Nick’s car. Maybe Tracy Good’s killer had wanted the police to find the evidence. If they didn’t, they’d have dropped it off the end of the nearby pier.