by Ann Collins
He held up his hands, palms out. “Whoa. Murder? Alberta’s been murdered?”
“As if you didn’t know,” the marshal said. “You were seen arguing with her. Do you deny it?”
He glanced at the faces around him, already seeing where the marshal was going. He dropped his arms and stepped across the threshold. “No, I do not deny quarreling with her, but I wouldn’t hurt her. I did not do this.” He gestured toward her.
“Several witnesses say otherwise. In the lobby, you appeared to be threatening her.”
Alex looked at Julia, needing to know that she believed him, believed in him, but she seemed to be in shock as she cradled Muffie in her arms. Or was she unsure what to think? Did she doubt him? He didn’t think he could bear it if she did.
Dr. Dolan disappeared into the bedroom, then returned with a blanket and covered Mrs. Hensley.
“How was she killed?” Alex demanded.
The doctor looked up. “Strangulation.”
“But you already knew that,” Landis sneered, “didn’t you, MacLean?”
Alex narrowed his eyes on the closed-minded marshal. “I didn’t touch her, and I have never been in this room before.”
“Prove it. Where were you at the time of her death, shortly after you were with her in the lobby?”
Alex suppressed a groan. Dammit. He should have never left the hotel, just as he should have never left his home the night of his last argument with Elizabeth. “I was on the Paseo del Mar.”
“With anyone?”
“No.” He had passed several couples strolling the walkway above the beach, but they had paid him even less heed than he had paid them.
“Exactly as I thought. Let me tell you what happened here. You argued with the victim, then you followed her here and killed her.”
“Tom, please,” Julia finally said. “I don’t—”
The marshal held up his hand. “Julia, I have it on good authority that this man you married arrived on the ferry barely twenty-four hours before your wedding. How much do you really know about him?”
She opened her mouth, and Alex thought she was going to defend him, but then she looked into his eyes. She closed her mouth, as if she’d seen the truth, that he had not shared a crucial and damaging part of his past with her. Her shoulders drooped, and she seemed to wilt in front of him.
Alex felt his legs weaken. He was losing her.
Landis smiled smugly. “Just as I thought.”
“Julia,” Alex said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything, but I swear to you I did not hurt Alberta.”
“Of course you did,” the marshal said. “She knew something about you, MacLean. Something you didn’t want anyone in San Diego to know, especially Julia. But now everyone will know.” He waved the sheet of stationery in his hand. “Your victim put it in writing.”
Alex felt his stomach plummet to the floor. How much had Alberta written?
Muffie yapped, and Julia quieted her. “What does it say, Tom?” she asked, her voice no more than a whisper.
“It’s a letter addressed to a Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Ellingson, Baltimore, Maryland. MacLean’s former in-laws, if I read this right.”
Rivulets of sweat trickled down Alex’s spine, but he felt chilled all over. “Yes, their daughter was my first wife.”
“Dearest Gerald and Amanda,” the marshal read. “You will never guess who I have discovered out here on the shores of Coronado Island—your dreadful son-in-law! It’s absolutely scandalous. A travesty. He should never have been released from prison. I am shocked to say that, before I knew his true identity, I attended his outdoor wedding to the heiress of the Hotel Grand Victoria. She is a beautiful and accomplished young woman who has no idea of his criminal past. It’s not right! He is taking advantage of her just as he did your poor Elizabeth. Well, before he can set fire to this lovely hotel in the same manner he did to the home you so generously provided to him, I intend to notify the local police and Mrs. MacLean, the former Miss Fairbanks, before she is killed, too. Someone has to protect her, and I …” Landis looked up. “It ends there.”
Alex gritted his teeth. This looked bad. Really bad. “I did not set the fire. I wasn’t even in the house at the time.”
Landis laughed. “I bet you were close by, though. Most arsonists like to watch their handiwork.”
He didn’t answer. What was the point? He had been close by, and the marshal would use that against him. Landis didn’t care about the truth.
“May I assume you were arrested for the murder of your wife?” the marshal asked, though the question sounded more like a statement.
Alex winced. “Yes. And my son and a servant girl. I was put in jail.”
Julia stared at him, her disillusionment as clear as the moisture glistening in her eyes.
“Julia, I told you what happened.” His heart drummed with his desperation. “I didn’t kill them.”
“You left out a lot of the story, though.” Her voice shook. “I trusted you, Alex, but you didn’t trust me.”
He felt as if a knife were being plunged into his chest. He loved Julia. Had known it for days now, but until this moment, he hadn’t realized how much, nor how important she had become to him in the short time they’d been together. He needed her in his life.
“I’m sorry, Julia. I didn’t want to remember. You know I would not have hurt Alberta any more than I would have intentionally hurt Elizabeth or Danny.”
“But you were arrested for their deaths,” she said.
“My in-laws blamed me. They convinced the police I was guilty and had me thrown in jail. Two weeks later I was released for lack of evidence.”
Landis folded the letter and stowed it in his breast pocket. “Released for lack of evidence doesn’t prove you were innocent. I don’t know what your motive might’ve been back then, MacLean, but your motive for this crime is clear. You killed this lady to keep her quiet.”
Every muscle in Alex’s body tensed. “You’re wrong. I was falsely accused in Baltimore, and I’m being falsely accused now.”
“I disagree.” The marshal pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
Alex sidestepped away. “Don’t do this, Landis. Somebody wants you to think it was me, someone who must’ve witnessed my disagreement with Alberta.” Realization struck him like a fist to his face. Whoever wanted Julia dead had killed Alberta to get him out of the way. If he hadn’t argued with her in the lobby, she would still be alive. His knees nearly buckled as he added the weight of another death to his burdened conscience.
“MacLean, you’re a no-account drifting murderer, and you’re under arrest. Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
He ignored the order. “It wasn’t me. If I had killed her, I would not have left that letter lying around for anyone to read.”
Tom Landis swung the handcuffs. “Turn around. Now.”
Alex stayed where he was. “Julia, please. You’re in terrible danger.” He couldn’t lose her. They had only just found each other. “This is what the killer wants.”
She hugged Muffie closer. “I’ll hire a lawyer for you.”
“I don’t want a lawyer. I want you to be safe.”
Landis edged around him and yanked his arms behind his back. “MacLean, you duped a good woman into marrying you, but you won’t be taking advantage of her anymore.” He clamped the cuffs around Alex’s wrists. The metal clicked shut, the sound seeming to echo in the room. The marshal spun him toward the doorway.
He winced at the pain in his ribs and lurched forward.
Muffie whined.
The marshal gave Alex a shove into the hallway. The crowd scattered, opening a path.
Alex twisted around to face Julia. “Promise me you’ll be careful. With me gone, your assailant will have a better chance at getting to you. Let Tyler watch over you. And Theo and the doctor. Don’t go out alone.”
She didn’t respond.
“Promise me! I can’t protect you from jail.”
She swiped at
a tear and finally nodded. “I promise.”
Alex stared at her hard, afraid to look away. In spite of her promise, there was no guarantee she’d be safe. And if anything happened to her … well, he wasn’t sure what he’d do.
Chapter Seventeen
From her desk chair, Julia peered down at Muffie. Daylight from the Garden Patio filtered in through the window and lit the tiny dog who lay on a pillow in the corner of the office. Muffie stared back at her with big, sad eyes.
“It’s all right, girl,” she said, trying to reassure herself and the dog. “Everything will be all right.” But how could anything ever be all right again? Her husband, the man she loved, was in jail, charged with murder, and not for the first time.
What a fool she’d been, dreaming that her marriage of convenience could be a marriage of forever. She had allowed herself to fall in love with a man who had abused her trust by willfully keeping an allegedly criminal portion of his past from her while letting her think there was nothing more to tell.
Obviously, there’d been plenty more.
She slowly swung her head from side to side. How could she have lost her heart so completely to Alex MacLean? She had considered him a hero—her hero. Now it had all come crashing down.
And yet, even with the evidence against him, now that she’d had time to absorb everything, Julia could not bring herself to believe that Alex was a murderer. How could the man who had made such sweet love to her, who had risked his life for her and again for a little boy, be a cold-blooded killer?
On the leather blotter, she laid her head on her arms. All night these same questions and more had spun through her brain, leaving her exhausted and without answers, feeling an emptiness that swept outward like rings from a stone tossed into the bay. She didn’t know if Alex loved her, but as Tom Landis had dragged him away, he had been consumed with worry for her safety rather than concern for himself. The desperation in his voice reverberated in her mind and heart. He was afraid for her. She remembered what he’d said to her before they climbed the gazebo steps and spoke their vows. “I promise I will always do my best to help you. I hope you’ll remember that.”
“Julia?” Tyler’s voice came through the door.
She sat up and dashed a hand across her eyes.
He knocked, then the doorknob shook.
Muffie lifted her head and yapped.
“I know you’re in there. I’ve heard all about what happened. Let me in.”
Sniffling, she plodded to the door, smoothed her hands over her pale blue shirtwaist and gray walking skirt, and let her brother in.
He wore a solid black coat over charcoal, pin-striped pants. “I am not happy.” He threw his fedora onto her desk. “I returned to the hotel late last night and was told nothing until this morning. You should have sent word to me, or at least left a message for me at the desk.”
“I’m sorry, but it was all such a shock. I could barely think straight. It’s still a shock. I have to do something to help him, but, other than hire a lawyer, I don’t know what I can do. The evidence is against him.”
He studied her face. “You love him, don’t you?”
She briefly shut her eyes, then nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you think he could have killed her?”
“No,” she answered firmly, “but what I think doesn’t matter.”
“Not to the courts, but I’m sure it does to him. Does Alex know how you feel?”
Swallowing hard, she shook her head, remembering the way he had looked at her while proclaiming his innocence, both past and present. He had needed to know she believed in him, and she had disappointed him.
A pang of guilt quaked within her. Julia grasped the edge of her desk and leaned heavily against it.
“Are you all right?” Tyler took her arm. “Do you need the doctor?”
“I’m tired and emotionally drained, but I’ll be all right.”
Muffie trotted over and laid one paw on her shoe.
“Is this the victim’s dog?”
“Yes. Muffie. She was Mrs. Hensley’s closest companion.” Julia lifted Muffie from the floor, shuffled around the desk, and sank into her chair with the dog on her lap. “Tyler, what am I going to do?”
“First, you’re going to let Alex know you haven’t abandoned him. After that, you’ll hire the best defense attorney in San Diego.”
His decisive manner gave her the burst of energy and determination she needed. She straightened. “I’ve already gathered several names, but will the jail let me in to see Alex?”
“If not, we’ll figure out a way to make it happen. I’m coming with you.” He fitted his black fedora to his head.
“Thank you.” She stood with Muffie in her arms. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad you’re here.”
“We’re family, and we’ll sort this out.” He led the way into the lobby.
Trying to decide what to do with Muffie while they were out, Julia glanced around. Mr. Chalmers was a possibility, but he was currently occupied with several guests who were most likely checking out. Since Mrs. Hensley’s death, some of the registered guests had chosen to leave before the scheduled end of their stay. The majority, however, felt they were safe, the supposed killer having been caught and removed to the San Diego County Jail.
If they only knew. Certain that Alex hadn’t killed Mrs. Hensley, Julia knew the real murderer was still at large, and very likely somewhere inside her hotel.
She shivered and held Muffie closer. Though she felt reasonably safe with Tyler watching after her, she would have been more at ease if Alex were with her.
Across the Rotunda, Theo and Tilden stood beside the bell desk’s podium. Nearby, a cartload of cases and hatboxes waited to be wheeled outside.
She crossed to the bellboys, Tyler following on her heels. “Theo, I have a huge favor to ask of you.”
“Anything, Mrs. MacLean. You know that.”
She did know. He had already confided to her how sorry he was about Alex’s arrest. He had taken off his spectacles, wiped them with his handkerchief, and said, “I just can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it.”
She nodded down at the dog. “I need you to watch after Muffie while I’m in San Diego with Mr. Wolff.”
“Happy to do it. If you’ll be seeing Mr. MacLean, please give him my best.”
“I will.” She held Muffie out to him.
The dog growled, sniffed the air, and growled again. Her little head turned this way and that as she continued sniffing. She began wriggling like a freshly caught fish.
“Muffie, what’s wrong?” Julia struggled to keep from dropping her.
The Yorkshire terrier let out an ear-piercing yap and jumped to the floor. She landed on all fours, bared her teeth, and pounced at, of all people, Tilden.
“Muffie, stop,” she ordered.
The dog sank her teeth into the cuff of his uniform pants.
Hissing at the dog, the bellboy shook his leg, but Muffie didn’t let go.
“I’m sorry, Tilden. I don’t know what’s gotten into her.” Julia started to bend down to grab Muffie, but Tyler stayed her with a hand to her shoulder. She glanced up at him.
“Wait,” he said, his voice nearly lost amidst the growling. “Let’s see what this is about.”
Muffie released Tilden’s pants, backpedaled, and leaped nearly as high as his left pocket. Again and again.
Tilden inched backwards. “Shoo! Get away! Down!”
Muffie kept jumping.
Julia exchanged glances with Theo and her brother. “Tilden,” she said, cocking her head, “what’s in your pocket?” She imagined him carrying some food that he might have pilfered from the kitchen.
His gaze flicked around the hallway. “Nothing.” He backed up even more.
Muffie jumped again.
Julia followed, with Tyler and Theo beside her. “There must be something that’s attracting her. Show us what’s in your pocket, and the matter will be settled.”
Hi
s expression hardened. “I’ll settle it all right.” He leaped at her, grabbing Julia by the throat.
* * *
Alex paced the dank, stinking confines of his cell. Every so often he slammed the heel of his hand against the bars, the noise reverberating along the second-floor tier of cells. The other inmates grumbled.
A guard shouted, “Keep it down!”
He had spent most of the night pacing the concrete floor, worried sick about Julia, but also reliving the doubt he had seen in her eyes when he most needed her trust.
Could she truly believe he had killed Alberta?
He dropped onto the narrow, creaky, moldy-smelling cot and buried his face in his hands. He loved Julia, but she obviously didn’t love him. If she did, she never could have doubted his innocence. She hadn’t even come to check on him.
When he’d been out on the road, drifting from town to town, he had been lonely, searching for a place to belong, but that loneliness was nothing compared to what he felt now. He had found where he belonged, found the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but in a matter of minutes, it had all been snatched away from him.
He was utterly alone again, worse off than ever.
“Hey, you, new guy next door,” came a deep, gravelly voice. “What are you in for?”
Alex straightened, pulled at the striped cotton prison-issue shirt abrading his neck, and pushed to his feet.
“Who’s asking?” He pressed the side of his face to the bars.
“Marvin Sisko, occasional pickpocket enjoyin’ the county’s hospitality for a few days. I got food, a bed, and no worries about gettin’ sent up to Folsom or San Quentin.” He belched contentedly. “You going to be here long?”
“I … don’t know.” Before last night, Alex had had a future to look forward to. Now he had nothing and no idea what the future held. If he was convicted of Alberta’s murder, his life would end on a gallows. He would never see Julia again, never make love to her again, and never have a family again.