Physical Evidence

by Debra Webb

  Alex rubbed her eyes and then touched the lump on her head. Dr. Reynor had insisted on checking her out while Mitch was in surgery. But her latest bang on the head hadn’t done any further damage. She hoped she’d had her share of head lumps for a while.

  A soft knock on the door brought Alex to her feet. She hurried to the door to greet Zach. Ethan stuck his head in. He noted that Mitch was sleeping and said, “Step out in the hall for a minute, Al.”

  “Where’s Zach?” she whispered back as she slipped from the room. Not that she wasn’t glad to see Ethan, but Zach had been so adamant about coming himself.

  “You holding up okay?” Ethan gave her a quick hug.

  “I’m fine. But what happened to Zach?” She chewed her bottom lip, worry creasing her brow. This wasn’t like Zach.

  Ethan lifted a skeptical brow. “You mean you’re not glad to see me?” A devilish grin kicked up one corner of his mouth.

  Alex couldn’t help her own smile. Ethan was one of a kind. He was the only Colby investigator who got away with wearing long hair and overly casual clothing. Ethan Delaney was strictly a jeans kind of man. It drove Ian Michaels, Victoria’s second in command, crazy. But Victoria allowed it because Ethan was good.

  He was an expert marksman with former military training and he could charm the socks off any female still breathing.

  Alex sighed. “Of course I’m glad to see you.” She chucked him on the shoulder. “I guess I’m just tired and a little punchy.”

  “You look tired,” he said, searching her weary face. His expression grew suddenly solemn. “I hate to have to add a new worry to your load.”

  She’d known it. “What is it, Ethan? Has something happened to Zach?” Her heart stumbled into overdrive.

  Ethan shook his head. “He’s fine, but his mother had a heart attack and he had to rush home.”

  “Oh, no.” Tears gathered behind her eyes. “She’s the only family he has left.”

  “I talked to Victoria after I landed in Nashville. Mrs. Ashton is stable. She’s going to be all right.”

  “Thank God.” Alex ran her fingers through her hair. Her head ached and she was totally exhausted. She wasn’t up for any more bad news tonight. She was barely hanging on to her composure as it was.

  Ethan glanced at his watch. “Look, why don’t you go get a few hours sleep and I’ll wait with the sheriff.” He handed Alex his cell phone. “I’ll call you if anything changes.”

  Alex stared at the phone in her hand, then shook her head. “I can’t leave him.”

  Ethan peeked into the room again. “Look, he’s asleep, there’s no reason you can’t go for a while. I’ll call you if anything at all changes. Or if he wakes up.”

  Alex started to protest, but then realized the futility of it. Victoria trained her investigators too well. Never Say Die was their motto. And Alex was far too tired to keep up.

  “All right. I’ll go to Mitch’s house and get a few hours’ sleep. But you have to promise me you’ll call if he wakes up. I don’t want him to wake up and not find me close by.”

  Ethan grinned. “So it’s that way, is it?”

  Alex snatched the car keys he offered next. “Yeah,” she retorted. “It’s exactly that way.”

  “It’s a white sedan parked out front.”

  “Thanks. I’ll go for a little while then.” She peeked through the door one last time. She didn’t want to leave, but she did need a bath and some sleep. She pointed a finger at Ethan. “Call me.”

  He gave her a mock salute.

  On the drive to Mitch’s house along dark, quiet streets, Alex had herself a good cry. Jasna, Marija and the child she’d been carrying were dead. Roy had taken four other lives to cover his tracks, and would have killed her if Mitch hadn’t come to her rescue.

  She released a shuddering breath. Mitch. How was she supposed to go back to Chicago and pretend she hadn’t fallen in love with him? Although he hadn’t actually told her that he loved her, she knew he felt deeply for her. It had started that first night, just as it had for her. A memory her brain had buried with the concussion and traumatic events of the shooting, but her heart wouldn’t let her forget.

  Alex parked the rental car in front of the dark house that belonged to Mitch. She shivered with apprehension. “Get over it, Alex, it’s done. Roy is dead. There’s nothing else to be afraid of here.”

  PAIN SEARED his gut. Mitch groaned and slowly roused. His eyes opened even slower. He blinked several times to focus. He tightened his fingers into a fist and felt the sting of the IV needle and the barrage of tape holding it in place on the back of his right hand. He lifted his left hand and touched his parched lips.

  Man, he was thirsty.

  The events that had taken place in Roy’s basement rushed through his head like a runaway train.

  Roy was dead.

  Mitch closed his eyes once more against that reality. He’d had to kill him. He wondered fleetingly how Phillip and Nadine were taking the news. To lose their son was bad enough, but to discover that he’d been a murderer a half-dozen times over made it unbearable. The memory of the kid Roy had once been bloomed in Mitch’s mind next. How could he have grown up to be a killer? How could Mitch not have seen it coming?

  It didn’t make sense.

  The one thing in all this that did make sense was his feelings for Alex. He’d never felt this deeply for any woman. He loved her. The thought startled him just a little. He hadn’t considered that he might feel this way any time soon. Falling in love and settling down had always been off in the future. He hadn’t had time for it.

  But fate had intervened and along came Alex.

  She’d stayed right by his side all night. He turned to look at her now, a smile tugging at his lips. That smile died a sure and swift death when his gaze landed on a stranger—a male one at that.

  “Where’s Alex?” Mitch asked, his voice rusty.

  The man jerked awake and straightened in his chair. “Alex? I sent her to catch a little shut-eye. She looked ready to drop.” He stretched, then extended his hand. “I’m Ethan Delaney from the Colby Agency.”

  Mitch waved his hand away since shaking wasn’t so easy considering his current circumstances. “I remember the name. You were in on the conference call.”

  “That was me,” Delaney agreed.

  “What happened to Ashton?” Mitch wondered why he hadn’t come running as soon as he heard what had happened. The thought of him comforting Alex sent another kind of sensation searing through Mitch.

  “He had a family emergency.”

  Mitch felt immediately contrite. “That’s too bad.”

  “His mother had a heart attack,” Delaney explained. “But she’s going to be fine.”

  Mitch nodded. “Good.”

  “I’m supposed to call Alex when you wake up.” Delaney stood and picked up the receiver from the telephone on the bedside table.

  “It’s late,” Mitch said, making him hesitate. “She might be asleep.”

  Delaney considered that, then said, “She hasn’t been gone that long.” He chuckled. “Besides, there’s no way I’m going to face her wrath if she finds out I didn’t call. I have to work with the woman on a regular basis.”

  That last remark left Mitch feeling empty. Delaney was right. Alex worked in Chicago. She loved her job. No matter what they thought they felt for each other. It wasn’t likely that she would give up her life for one with him. And couldn’t the same be said of him? Mitch couldn’t see himself doing anything else but sheriffing in Raleigh County. How long would a long-distance relationship last?

  Not long enough.

  “Here you go.” Ethan handed Mitch the receiver.

  “Alex.” His heart pounded at just the sound of her name on his lips.

  “Hey, you feeling okay? I’ll be back at the hospital in ten minutes.”

  Mitch shook his head, then frowned at his own stupidity. She couldn’t see him. Obviously his brain was still fuzzy. “No, you rest. There’s no need
for you to come back before morning.”

  “I’m not sure I can stay away that long,” she murmured.

  The soft, caring sound of her voice reached out to him. Soothed that emptiness he felt inside at the thought of losing her forever.

  “Do you know what I’m doing?”

  Mitch tensed. “No. Tell me.” He stole a glance at Delaney who was thumbing through an old magazine.

  “I just took off all my clothes,” she said with a sigh. “The tub is full of steaming water and I’m about to sink into it.”

  She moaned as she obviously lowered her body into the water. Mitch almost groaned at the erotic sounds and the images they created in his mind.

  “That feels so good,” she whispered.

  Mitch could imagine her reclining in his tub, her slender body enveloped by the warm water. Her dusky nipples would harden and stand at attention. Her eyes would close in pleasure.

  He swallowed hard. “Wish I were there,” he rasped.

  “Me, too. Hmm.”

  “Good night, Alex,” he said softly, his body becoming aroused in spite of his injuries.

  “’Night,” she murmured, then hung up.

  Mitch closed his eyes and relished the lingering images of Alex completely nude and in his arms instead of in the tub.

  “Everything okay?”

  Delaney took the receiver from Mitch’s hand and placed it back in its cradle.

  “Yeah. Everything’s great.”…I won’t even have fired my weapon.

  The memory of Roy’s words burst into Mitch’s thoughts. He blinked with the force of it. Roy had said that he’d killed Marija quietly. No one had heard. He hadn’t even fired his weapon. But that was impossible. Marija was shot once in the back of the head.

  Fear pooled in Mitch’s chest. If Roy didn’t shoot the girl, then someone else did. Someone working with Roy? That didn’t make sense. Someone trying to cover for Roy?

  “Help me up!” Mitch jerked the tape from his hand, swearing profusely at the pain. He removed the IV needle a little more carefully.

  “What the hell are you doing, Hayden?” Ethan was standing beside him now.

  “Help me up, dammit.” Mitch struggled to sit up, but the pain was so violent he fell back against his pillow with the power of it.

  “You can’t go anywhere like this,” Delaney argued. “Do you need a nurse?”

  “Look,” Mitch said harshly, his breath coming in ragged spurts to fight the renewed surge of pain he’d caused, sweat had popped out on his forehead. “I think there may be someone else involved in all this. I don’t have time to explain why or how, just trust me. Something’s wrong. Now help me get out of here. We have to get to Alex now.”

  Delaney halted Mitch’s struggle to sit up. “You stay right here. If you think Alex might be in danger, tell me how to get to your house and I’ll go check on her.”

  Mitch grabbed him by the arm and pulled himself upward, gritting his teeth against the agony. “Get my clothes. Hurry!”

  Apparently seeing that there was no changing his mind, Delaney nodded. “Okay. Okay.”

  “Hurry,” Mitch commanded when the guy didn’t move fast enough for him. He reached into the drawer of the table and took out his weapon. “We have to hurry,” he repeated. He had a very bad feeling that this wasn’t over.

  ALEX HAD almost drifted off to sleep in the warm water’s embrace when a sound prodded her eyes open. She frowned and listened for the sound again. The occasional drip of the faucet was all that disrupted the otherwise quiet.

  She tried to recover that relaxed feeling, but it wouldn’t come. That annoying sixth sense kept urging her to get out of the tub and check out the house. She’d locked the door when she came in. That was habit. She lived in the city and unlike the folks around here, she never left her door unlocked.

  Disgusted with her paranoia but knowing she might as well get out and do what she had to do, Alex emerged from the water and dried herself off. Thankfully she’d had the foresight to bring her nightshirt into the room. She pulled it on, but didn’t take the time to pull the pins from her hair.

  Feeling just a little foolish, but determined to satisfy that little voice deep inside her, Alex eased the door open and slipped into the cool hall. She shivered as the much cooler air cloaked her still slightly damp skin.

  Moving soundless, she made her way into the kitchen and found it empty. She breathed a sigh of relief and tiptoed back into the hall. The sight of Nadine Malloy didn’t register at first. Alex blinked and peered again, only to find Nadine still there, a small handgun aimed at Alex.

  “You killed my son.”

  The woman’s eyes were swollen and red from crying. Her hand shook slightly, but she quickly steadied it. “And now I’m going to kill you.”

  “Wait, Mrs. Malloy,” Alex said carefully. “I didn’t kill your son. He was trying to kill me and—”

  “Don’t try and explain it away,” she spat. “You killed him. You should never have come here and started digging around in things that weren’t your business.”

  “But I had to try to find my client’s sister,” Alex reasoned, all the while grappling to think of the best way to dodge the bullet no doubt about to come her way.

  “The little whore.” Nadine’s eyes snapped with fury. “I didn’t want her. It was Phillip’s idea. The stupid bastard. He knew better than to bring that kind of temptation into our home. He’d already made that mistake once. What kind of example was he setting for my son when he couldn’t stop fawning over the little tramp?”

  “I’m sure Mr. Malloy didn’t intend things to happen this way,” Alex offered, hoping to avoid saying anything that might send the woman the rest of the way over the edge.

  She made a dismissing sound. “How could he expect my Roy to resist when he hadn’t all those years ago?” She shook her head. “It was all his fault, but he’s already paid for his mistake. Now it’s time for you to pay for yours.”

  Had she killed Phillip Malloy? Fear raced up Alex’s spine and tingled in her scalp. After Nadine killed Alex, would she try to hurt Mitch as well? Ethan was with Mitch. He wouldn’t allow Nadine to harm Mitch.

  “If you do this, Nadine, you’ll be sorry,” Alex urged. “Think. You’re upset right now. Do you really want to go to prison for killing me? It won’t bring Roy back. Phillip needs you.” If he was even still alive.

  She laughed, a sound that could only be called off-kilter. “He doesn’t need anybody anymore and neither will you.” She steadied her aim. “Besides,” she added, “I’ve already killed once before and didn’t get caught.”

  Alex resisted the urge to run like hell. “You can’t mean that.”

  “I knew he wouldn’t do it right, just like he didn’t do you right.” Nadine closed one eye, focusing on Alex’s head. “When I found out what he’d done to Marija, I went to where he’d buried her to make sure he’d done the job right.” She relaxed her stance for a moment. “Just like I thought, he’d bumbled it. She was still alive, barely.” Nadine shrugged. “But I took care of that. I warned him he’d better find a way to get rid of you, but he just couldn’t manage it. But that’s all right because now—” she resumed her bead on Alex “—I’m going to take care of you, too.”

  The sound of a weapon firing exploded in the hall. Alex jerked at the loudness of it, then stared down at herself to see where she’d been hit.

  There was no blood.

  No hole.

  Nothing.

  She looked up and Nadine lay on the floor. Mitch, standing on the threshold of the open front door, lowered his weapon and slumped against the doorframe. His free hand went to his injured side.

  Alex ran to him, dodging Nadine’s motionless body as she went.

  “What are you doing here?” She had to touch him. His face, his chest, his arms. “Are you all right?”

  He nodded weakly. “I am now.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you had a dead bolt on your back door?”

  Ale
x swung around to find Ethan coming out of the kitchen rubbing his right shoulder.

  “You’ll need a new door, by the way,” he added sheepishly.

  How could she have missed the sound of him breaking down the back door? Alex shook her head. She supposed when faced with the prospect of certain death, one tuned out everything else, including Mitch opening the front door. But Nadine had been between her and the door, she rationalized.

  Alex frowned, still not understanding exactly what had happened.

  “How did the two of you get here?”

  Ethan nodded toward Mitch. “When the nurse came in and caught us trying to leave, he deputized her and took possession of her vehicle.”

  Alex laughed, suddenly feeling hysterical. She turned back to Mitch who was looking a little too pale to suit her. He was wearing his own jeans and a borrowed lab coat. “Tell me he’s joking.”

  Mitch shook his head. “He’s not. I had to get here. I remembered what Roy said about not using his weapon when he killed Marija and I knew there had to be somebody else involved.” He sighed. “I just didn’t expect it to be Nadine.”

  He was right. Roy had been shocked at Alex’s suggestion that he’d shot Marija. With all that had happened, Alex had simply forgotten that part. She’d been too concerned with Mitch’s survival.

  Nadine’s words suddenly reverberated in Alex’s ears. “I think she’s killed Phillip.”

  Mitch tried to straighten, but sagged back against the doorframe. “Get someone over there,” he said to Ethan, then rattled off the address.

  While Ethan made the 9-1-1 call, Alex carefully slipped her arm around Mitch’s waist. “Come on, I’m getting you back to the hospital. Ethan can take care of things here.”

  Mitch didn’t argue. When they’d made the arduous journey back to the borrowed car, he paused before getting inside.

  He stared directly into Alex’s eyes, the light from the car’s interior highlighting his face. “I don’t want this to be over.”

  A broad smile slid across her face as tears welled in her eyes. She tiptoed and kissed Mitch on the cheek, being careful not to get too close. When she would have pulled away, his fingers curled around her neck and he deepened the kiss. The feeling of rightness, of love and need and desire filled her so completely that she couldn’t hold back those tears.