The Pursuit of Lies, A Romantic Suspense Novel (Book #4, Paradise Valley Mysteries)

by Debra Burroughs

  “Funny.”

  “So what did Ernie have to say?”

  “He called Colin’s parents last night and let them know what was going on.”

  “How’d that go?”

  “Not well. His mom had to have a doctor sedate his dad. Ernie said Donna was a crying mess.”

  “That’s to be expected.” Isabel set the laptop down on the coffee table. “Come, sit.” She patted the sofa cushion next to her. “Anything else?”

  Emily set her shoes on the floor and took a seat on the sofa, curling her feet under her. “He said he heard the police got a search warrant for Colin’s place, and they’re probably over there right now tearing it apart, looking for the murder weapon.”

  “Alex said she was stabbed to death, so I’m guessing they’re searching for a knife that fits the dimensions of the wounds.”

  “I just wonder what else they’ll find that they will try to use against him.”

  “I’m sure the DA is breathing down their necks to hand him an airtight case, so anything they can use against him, they will.”

  “Any idea when your husband will be back?” Emily grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it in front of her.

  “He didn’t say. Why don’t you go home and change? I’ll have him call you as soon as I hear from him.”

  “I don’t have my car here. We came in Colin’s Jeep and I don’t have his keys.”

  “It wouldn’t make any difference, a tow truck already came and got it early this morning. I ran out there when I heard the noise, and the driver said he had orders to take it to the state crime lab. I’m guessing they’re having the CSI unit go through it.”

  “Great. Then I guess you’ll have to give me a lift home.”

  ~*~

  Once she was in her house, Emily shimmied out of her dress and hopped in the shower. The warm water cascading over her body was at least relaxing. After the night she’d had, she relished this small comfort.

  Her mind drifted to thoughts of Colin, sitting in a stark jail cell. After all the evidence Alex described, Colin’s chances of being exonerated seemed slim. Her chest tightened as she envisioned him there, probably worried and confused. She leaned her head against the tile wall, struggling to understand how their lives could be veering so far off course. Sure, they had been through a lot since they’d met, but this—this was too close to home.

  Heartrending tears began to fall as she thought about last night. It had started out so romantically, so perfectly—his soft warm kisses, their bodies swaying in unison to their new favorite song as his lips gently brushed her neck.

  Not wanting to leave the intimacy of their private dance, they knew they had to. She played the evening over in her mind—the lavish engagement party, the champagne glasses filled and lifted to toast the happy couple. Their perfect evening crashing down on them with the sound of Isabel’s doorbell.

  Emily’s tears turned to wracking sobs. Her shoulders shuddered and her knees went weak. With her arm against the tile, she slid down the wall, where she fell into a heap, the warm water sweeping her tears down the drain.

  She slumped there, naked and crying, until the warm water was gone, left with nothing but icy cold.

  Chapter 7

  As Emily turned the shower off, her phone began to ring on the bathroom counter. Quickly wrapping a towel around her chest, she snatched it up and hit the answer button. “Hello.”

  “Emily, this is Alex. I just got home and wanted to bring you up to date.”

  “I was expecting to go with you to see Colin this morning.”

  “Isabel and I thought you should—”

  “I know, I know. But I’m up now and anxious to see him. How’s he doing?”

  “They put him in gen-pop, against my wishes. He was in a couple of fights last night.”

  “How bad is it?”

  “I think the other guys got the worst of it. I convinced them to move him this morning.”

  “They aren’t allowed to do that, are they? Put him in general population I mean.”

  “Detective Roberts claims the order slipped through the cracks somehow. I think Roberts and the other cops probably messed up the paperwork on purpose. They’re treating Colin like a cop killer when he hasn’t even been convicted yet.”

  “Allison wasn’t a cop.”

  “I know, but she was part of the law enforcement community.”

  “I suppose. So when can I see him?”

  “It’ll be more difficult now, but I think I can arrange it for this afternoon.”

  “Have you heard anything about the search they did at his apartment?”

  “Nothing yet. How did you know?”

  “Ernie. What about his Jeep? Isabel said a tow truck picked it up early this morning.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t have any word on that yet either. I doubt we’ll get anything from the Boise police until Monday, after the arraignment.”

  “Call me with the time you want me to meet you at the jail and I’ll be there.”

  “Will do, but be prepared, Em. Colin looks pretty messed up.”

  If she wasn’t already all cried out, the thought of his being hurt might have drawn a tear. Instead, she just got angry. She began to pace around, fuming. “That Detective Roberts thought he was sending a message, putting Colin in the general population. I promise you this, Alex, that Neanderthal will be licking his wounds when I’m done.”

  ~*~

  Emily hurried to get ready for the day, then decided to go to the shooting range to release some stress while she waited for Alex to phone back with the time to meet. The laser focus and power between her hands did relax her and helped clear her head—her new go-to, it worked the way cleaning house used to, when she was upset.

  Oh, how much she had changed since leaving her life as a real estate agent and diving headfirst into her new career as a private investigator. She chuckled at the thought of it, then pulled the trigger—three shots straight to the heart of her paper target. Not bad.

  She emptied the rest of her clip into the target and reloaded for another round.

  Having recently solved the complicated mystery of who had murdered her late husband more than a year ago, she mulled over the prospect of the enormous job now set before her—finding out who really killed ADA Allison Laraway. Was she up to it? There was no room for self-doubt. Colin’s life depended on it.

  All the evidence clearly pointed to Colin—that was true enough—but if he had done it, he would never be so careless as to leave a trail of breadcrumbs leading right to his door. Would he?

  ~*~

  Leaving the shooting range, Emily decided she’d waited long enough to hear back from Alex and her impatience pushed her to call him. As she was about to punch the last number in, her phone began to ring and she immediately hit the answer button.

  “Hello, this is Emily.”

  “Oh, Em, I’m so glad I got you.” It was Maggie. “How are you doin’, hon? Isabel scooted us out of her house so fast last night that we never got to talk to you.”

  “I’m doing as well as can be expected, I guess. That is, for having someone accuse her fiancé of murder in the middle of her engagement party.”

  “We want to support you, Em, do whatever we can. Poor Camille is just beside herself with worry about you, and Peter is trying his best to keep her calm.”

  “There’s not much you can do right now. Alex went to see Colin this morning, and he’s getting me in this afternoon. Then I’ll know more.”

  “How’s Colin holdin’ up? Did Alex say?”

  Emily considered telling Maggie about the inmates attacking Colin, but she thought better of it. It would probably do more harm than good to have that spread around. If she told Maggie, Maggie would share it with Camille, and then the whole town would hear about it.

  “I think he’s doing okay, for now. The arraignment is on Monday, then hopefully he’ll be out of there and together we can figure out who the real killer is.”

  “Then you don’t
believe he did it?”

  “Maggie, how can you say that?”

  “I only meant, from what I’ve heard on the news and such, they seem to have quite a bit of evidence against him. The DA said it was pretty much an open and shut case.”

  “There’s nothing open and shut about it!” Emily snapped.

  “Well, Peter says—”

  “I don’t care what Peter says, Maggie. Colin is innocent.” At least she was reasonably sure he was. “You tell Peter that. If he would like an exclusive when we expose the real killer, you have him call me. Until then, you tell him I’d appreciate his support, not his postulating.”

  “Sorry, Em. I was tryin’ to tell you, before you bit my head off, that Peter says a man is innocent until proven guilty. He said from the sex traffickin’ case they worked on together, there was no way he would believe Colin was capable of that gal’s vicious murder.”

  Emily let out her breath and dropped her shoulders. “No, Maggs. I’m the one who should be sorry, blowing up at you like that. Short fuse these days, y’ know.”

  “No one could blame you for that. We’re here to help you in any way we can.”

  “You’re a good friend, Maggs. Tell you what, you let Peter and Camille know that I’ll be in touch as soon as I know something. Peter may come in handy in solving this thing, with his talent for investigative reporting and all.”

  “Happy to help, Em.”

  Emily’s phone began vibrating against her cheek so she pulled it away and read the small screen. “Hey, looks like Alex is trying to call me. Gotta run.” She clicked off Maggie’s call and picked up the next one. “Hey, Alex.”

  “How’re you doing, Em?”

  “Okay, I guess, considering. I just left the shooting range.”

  “Did that help?”

  “Yeah, I feel better, worked out some aggression, but that target is going to be walking funny for a while.”

  Alex chuckled softly. “Good to hear you haven’t lost your sense of humor in all this, Emily.”

  “It’s a coping mechanism, I guess.”

  “Well, this should make you feel better—we can get in to see Colin at two this afternoon, so if you—”

  “I’ll be there,” she impatiently cut in, “waiting for you out front, so don’t be late.”

  ~*~

  Arms crossed, Emily leaned against the tan stucco exterior of the county jail, with the pointy heel of her boot keeping a staccato beat as she anxiously waited for Alex. She zipped up her short leather jacket against the chill of the cool autumn air. It was five minutes to two as she glanced, once more, around the expansive concrete walkway, scanning the property and the parking lot beyond for her friend.

  Spotting his gunmetal-gray BMW pull into one of the parking spots, she pushed away from the wall and strode toward him. Alex climbed out of his car, straightened his tie and fastened the middle button on his suit coat before pulling his leather briefcase out of the backseat. Raising his left arm slightly, he checked his watch as she approached. “Right on time.”

  He escorted Emily into the building, where they had to endure a metal detector and a search of her handbag and his briefcase. She slung the strap of her oversized leather bag over her shoulder, glad she had remembered to lock her gun in her glove box.

  “Sorry, ma’am, can’t be too careful,” the guard apologized before letting them through.

  Alex spoke to the appropriate people and before long they were sitting in a small interview room with a table and four chairs in the center, waiting for Colin to be brought in. A raised steel bar was bolted to the center of the table, where inmates were handcuffed while in the room.

  The doorknob turned and Emily’s gaze moved to the entrance. A large guard pulled the door open and Colin shuffled in, wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands and feet in shackles.

  Emily’s hand flew over her mouth as she was struck by the injuries to his face. Alex had said the other guys were worse, and she wondered about that as she surveyed the results of the attacks. One eye was swollen, almost shut, with a dark crescent below it. A gash of about two inches, pulled together with three thin strips of adhesive tape, was above the eyebrow on the other side of his face. Dried blood covered the split in his lower lip, and she detected a slight limp as he moved slowly to the table.

  The guard pulled out the chair. “Sit.”

  Colin silently obeyed, looking directly at Emily.

  The guard unlocked one of the handcuffs and attached it to the bar in the table. “No physical contact,” he barked at Emily, then peered over at Alex. “Knock when you’re done and I’ll come get him.”

  The guard must have been reading Emily’s mind because it took all the strength she had not to jump out of her seat and dash around the table to embrace Colin, to caress his face, kiss the side of his mouth.

  “I didn’t do it, Emily. I want you to know that.”

  “I do, Colin. I love you.” What else could she say? With every fiber of her being she wanted to believe it, wanted to tell him she did so that he could stay strong through this ordeal. It was mostly the truth—she was ninety-five percent sure he was innocent. But if she were being honest with herself, she’d have to admit there was a tiny niggling doubt screaming what if.

  The avalanche of evidence was overwhelming, and there were warnings of more to come. She reminded herself that if he wanted to kill someone he wouldn’t have been so sloppy about it. But a crime of passion, Allison’s life taken in the heat of the moment—that possibility raised questions.

  What if they were having an affair and she threatened to expose him? Allison Laraway could be cold and manipulating—everyone knew that about her—at least that was the reputation she had built for herself.

  “Sorry about them putting you in gen-pop, Colin.” Alex seemed sincerely sad for what happened to his friend. “Now that you’re in solitary you should be safe. It should only be until Monday.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about, Alex. This wasn’t your fault. Besides, you should see the other guys.” Colin tried to laugh a little, but he winced and reached up to touch the split in his lip.

  Emily’s hand shot out toward Colin when she saw his pain, but she pulled back just as fast. “I wish I could make you feel better, but you heard the guard.”

  “Yeah, I would kill to be able to hold you.” Colin gazed at Emily.

  Alex frowned. “Poor choice of words, man.”

  Colin’s eyes grew watery and he swallowed hard. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “I know.” Emily’s voice quivered. The seriousness of the situation deadened the air.

  Alex leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. “Sorry, guys, but we don’t have much time. Let’s get down to business.” Alex smiled and did his best to change the atmosphere in the room. “Let’s figure out how we can obliterate every piece of evidence they have against you.”

  Colin nodded. “Where do we start?”

  Emily pulled a notepad and pen out of her purse. “Alex and I are going to have access to the evidence the police have gathered, but I need to hear your side directly from you—I need it all.”

  “Can I take a lie detector test, Alex? I have no doubt I’ll pass it.”

  “I could arrange one and it might help influence the jury at trial.” Alex crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. “Although, the prosecution will probably say that with your military training you know how to fake one.”

  “You believe me, don’t you, Emily?”

  “Right now, that’s not the point. For me to do my job I have to distance myself from my feelings for you, or they’ll cloud my judgment. Pretend I’m an innocent third party who’s just here to gather the facts on both sides.”

  “I need you to believe me.”

  “Please, Colin, don’t make this any harder on me than it already is.”

  “Do I need to take a lie detector test to satisfy you, Emily? Because I will.”

  “Of course not.”

&nbs
p; Although, anything to help her be certain of his innocence couldn’t hurt. She focused on her notepad and began asking questions.

  “Alex told me the Detective said the murder occurred sometime between seven p.m. and midnight. Where were you during that time, last Thursday night?”

  “I was home, alone. Remember? I phoned you right before seven, the girls were coming over for supper.”

  “Yes, but the prosecutor will say you could have called me from anywhere. Maybe even left your phone at home and used a pay phone.”

  She remembered Maggie saying she and Camille had seen a red Jeep Wrangler, turning into the parking lot of the Hilton Hotel that night, with a dark-haired man and a blonde woman. She didn’t want to believe it could be Colin and Allison. Could he have called her from the hotel?

  “I called you on my cell phone, from my apartment, while I was waiting for my dinner to cook in the microwave.”

  “Let’s move on to the next question. Have you ever dated Allison Laraway?”

  “No. You know I haven’t.”

  Alex cleared his throat.

  Colin glanced at him. “Well, I had drinks with her once, but it wasn’t a date.”

  “What was it?” Emily put her pen down and gave him her full attention.

  “She asked me to have drinks with her one night. I told her no.”

  “Go on,” Emily said.

  “Well, I went to Bar deNay’s by myself one evening, when you and I were just starting to date. One minute I was sitting alone on a stool having a Guinness and the next, she was perched on the seat beside me. She ordered a drink and we talked for a couple of minutes. That was it.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a date,” Emily said.

  Colin looked relieved.

  “However, if the bartender remembers you two together, he might paint a different picture,” Alex added.

  “Can you describe him? I’d like to talk to him.” Emily made a note to go and interview the bartender.

  “Young white guy, spiky black hair, a few ear piercings, but I can’t imagine he’d remember anything. I’m sure he’s served hundreds of people since then.”