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

by Debra Burroughs

  “Oh, yeah, but I wasn’t part of that one.” Emily picked the wilted lettuce out of her turkey sandwich and laid it aside.

  “Her husband was an absolute head case,” Ernie said. “When we went to her house to take her into custody, that man cussed Colin out from the house to the car, right in front of everybody—his wife, the neighbors, me and the other officer. That guy made a huge scene. We almost had to arrest him for assaulting an officer. He roared that Colin would pay.”

  “Often it’s just talk, isn’t it?” Emily picked up half of her sandwich.

  “Yeah, most of the time. But then there’s those times when someone snaps and tries to make good on their threat.”

  “The woman’s in jail?”

  “Yes, the judge sent her to the penitentiary for a number of years. I forget how many.”

  “Colin had to testify?”

  “Yep.”

  “What does the husband do for a living?”

  “He’s a software engineer at that computer chip company south of town, the Zigon Corporation. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him—doesn’t look the geeky type. He’s more buff like a construction worker.”

  “It’s hard to tell these days. They don’t all wear tape on their glasses and pocket protectors anymore.” She took a bite of her turkey sandwich and grinned at him.

  Ernie chuckled. He probably remembered when they did.

  She swallowed and cleared her throat. “He sounds like a good prospect with his technological talents. If this guy is setting Colin up for payback like he threatened, and we can prove it, Colin would be exonerated and we can start planning our wedding.”

  “I know he’d like that.” Ernie chomped down on his burger again.

  “Can you talk to Mr. McDonald and find out where he was that Thursday night?”

  “I could try, but it’d be tricky ‘cause I’m not working that murder case.” Ernie wiped his mouth with a napkin. “The Boise police would blow a gasket if they knew I was poking around in their business. I can’t ask that guy for an alibi in any official capacity. Maybe it would be better if you did it.”

  “Yes, you have a point. Well, perhaps I can just happen to run into the man and use my feminine wiles to wrangle the information out of him—if we can check his credit card charges and banking info and find where he hangs out, that is.”

  “Now, that I can do. The Chief hinted that he wouldn’t mind if I used the Paradise Valley resources to help find the real killer and prove Colin innocent. He couldn’t come right out and say it, but he did allude to the fact that having Colin found guilty would be bad for the department, not to mention the town. So, as long as I keep it on the down low—”

  “That’s good to know.” Emily took a sip of coffee then set her cup down. Having police resources could come in very handy. She hoped Isabel might offer some federal help as well.

  “What I can’t understand is how the Boise Police can claim they have Colin on tape at Allison’s place.” Ernie stuck a few fries in his mouth.

  “I was going through the crime photos and watching the videos when you called.”

  “Learn anything?”

  “Not yet, but the truth has to be in there somewhere. We just have to keep pursuing it. If someone is framing Colin, he has to have slipped up somewhere—even if it’s just a little thing.”

  “Why did you say if someone is framing Colin?”

  “Did I say if?” Emily raised her coffee to her lips. “Just a poor choice of words, Ernie.” A stab of guilt sent a sharp pain shooting through her heart. She sipped the lukewarm beverage. Nothing would soothe that gnawing doubt except uncovering the whole truth.

  Chapter 13

  “Emily? Emily?” Maggie’s voiced called softly.

  Emily had dozed off, slumped in one of the chairs in the hospital waiting room. She opened her eyes and Maggie was standing in front of her.

  “Sorry.” She straightened and ran her fingers through her hair. “I must have fallen asleep for a minute.” Her neck felt stiff.

  “The gal’s been out for about half an hour,” Ernie muttered to Maggie from the seat beside her.

  Emily covered her mouth as she yawned. “Hey, give me a break—I’m tired.” She stood slowly and gave her girlfriends a hug.

  Maggie, Camille, and Peter had shown up at the hospital about an hour after they were called, followed a few minutes later by Isabel and Alex. Camille apologized for Jonathan being out of town on another business trip.

  “How’s Colin?” Camille asked, worry lines forming between her brows.

  Emily glanced over her shoulder and lifted her chin toward the large swinging doors that read Authorized Personnel Only. “Still in surgery, I’m afraid. We haven’t heard anything. The surgeon promised she’d come out and let us know when they were finished.”

  “We’ll sit right down next to you and wait.” Maggie draped an arm protectively around Emily’s shoulders. “No matter how long it takes.”

  “That’s right, no matter how long,” Camille echoed.

  “I appreciate the attention, girls, but I’m fine, really. No need to baby me.” Emily sat and pressed her back into the chair, crossing her legs and pulling her jacket loosely over her chest like a blanket against the chilly air.

  Ernie rose from his seat, stretched, and moved to where Peter stood speaking with Alex and Isabel. Emily watched, trying to listen in on their conversation.

  Peter turned and shook Ernie’s hand. “Hey, last time we saw you and Colin, he was going off with you to pore over his old cases. Did anything come of that before you had to rush him here?”

  Ernie relayed what he had already discussed with Emily about the husband of a woman Colin had to arrest who had made threats to him. “Keep it under your hat, though. We’ll see if it comes to anything. Then tomorrow, when Colin is up to talking, we’ll start going over his San Francisco cases. I got an email earlier, from my friend at SFPD, with a list.”

  Emily was relieved to hear that. Ernie hadn’t shared the news about receiving the list with her yet. If the angry husband didn’t pan out, they’d have a lot more suspects to investigate. Whatever it took to find the truth would be worth it—even if it meant a trip to San Francisco.

  “We don’t have much time to work through this case.” Alex grimaced and shook his head.

  “Perhaps with this surgery you could ask for a delay,” Peter suggested.

  “Not likely, but at this point I’m not ruling anything out,” Alex replied.

  “Maybe with Colin laid-up for a few days, Emily and I could actually accomplish more.” Ernie looked from face to face. “He’ll have to act in more of an advisory capacity than being hands on. It’s hard to be objective when the case is about you.”

  “Isn’t that the truth,” Isabel agreed. “I’m happy to do whatever I can to help.”

  “Emily? Emily, are you listenin’?” Maggie asked.

  Emily had been so focused on Isabel and the men’s conversation that she hadn’t realized Maggie and Camille were talking to her. “I’m sorry, girls—my mind was somewhere else. What did you say?”

  “Well, Camille and I were just wonderin’ why the police thought Colin and Allison were havin’ an affair—’cause there’s no two people more in love than you guys.”

  “They say they’ve found some evidence that makes it look like Colin had been to her condo, but we believe it was planted.”

  “It would have to be, because there’s absolutely no way Colin would step out on you. No way.” Camille patted Emily’s knee. “He’s crazy in love with you, Em.”

  “I know he is.” She reminded herself of that fact every time she saw a piece of evidence that spoke to the contrary.

  “I think I’m going to make a coffee run.” Camille stood up, the glare from the fluorescent lights bouncing off her red hair. “You girls want anything?”

  After taking Emily’s and Maggie’s orders, Camille made the rounds to the others before setting off in search of coffee.

&
nbsp; “Maggie, if you have some time tomorrow evening, I have a little job for you.”

  “Ooh, what kinda job?”

  Emily explained about the threatening husband of the woman Colin had sent to prison and her plan to extract an alibi out of him for the night of the murder. How could any man resist two beautiful women?

  Maggie assured her that she was all in.

  ~*~

  Following two more hours of waiting, Dr. Barkley finally pushed through the double doors, pulling her disposable cap and surgical gown off as she walked. Emily jumped to her feet and dashed to meet her as she entered the waiting area, leaving most of the others asleep in the seats. Ernie lumbered out of the uncomfortable hospital chair and shuffled up behind Emily.

  “The surgery went well.” The doctor’s voice was calm and confident. “Colin is in recovery right now. We were able to repair the spleen and stop the bleeding. The trauma to the spleen appears to be from the blows he took, rather than from the broken ribs. I’ll have a nurse come out and let you know when you can see him, after he’s been moved to a room. It might be awhile—he’s pretty sedated.”

  “How long will he be in the hospital?” Emily asked.

  “At least two or three days, depending on how well he’s recovering and can get off the pain meds. Does he have someone to take care of him when he goes home?” the doctor asked, looking from Emily to Ernie.

  Emily hadn’t thought of that. As much as she would love to play nursemaid, she wondered how she could do that and work this case at the same time.

  “Yes, Doc, my wife will take care of him.”

  “Are you sure, Ernie?” Emily hoped he was.

  “Don’t worry, I already talked to Marlene. We’ll move him into the guest room for a few days. She’s happy to help with whatever he needs. Unless you wanted to—”

  “No, Ernie, that’s perfect. That’ll free me up to pursue the case.”

  “Well, now that that’s settled,” the doctor said, “I’ll get back to work.” She pivoted and headed out.

  “Thank you, Dr. Barkley,” Emily called after her as she disappeared behind the double doors.

  After nearly an hour, a tall, sturdy nurse came out, her long dreadlocks swinging in the ponytail behind her head. She announced that Colin was back in his room and only two of those waiting could go in to see him. “The boy needs his rest,” she said.

  Alex and Isabel had already left—they had to be at work early the next day. Now, Maggie, Camille, and Peter gathered up their belongings, said their good-byes, and sleepily wandered toward the elevators.

  Emily and Ernie trailed behind the nurse as she led them down the hall to check on Colin.

  ~*~

  “Are you sure the other guys were worse off?” Emily smiled as she took Colin’s hand. His eyes were sunken and half-shut, the bruises and cuts had not yet begun to heal.

  He let out the beginning of a chuckle. “Oh, Babe, please don’t make me laugh.” He winced and tightened his grip on her hand.

  “Sorry.”

  Ernie shuffled around to the other side of the bed. “I expect you out of that bed soon, boy. We’ve got work to do.”

  “I’ll do my best, boss.”

  “Now you’re calling me boss. I guess the shoe’s on the other foot.” Ernie shook his head slightly. “Go figure.”

  “Don’t get too comfortable in my office now, Ernie.” Colin grimaced and his speech sounded labored. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “I’m counting on it.” Ernie’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “Time to shove off, I think.”

  After making sure Colin was doing well and resting comfortably, Emily kissed him tentatively on the mouth. She said her good-byes, as did Ernie, and the two walked out to the hospital parking lot.

  “I’ll get that information for you on McDonald first thing in the morning,” Ernie promised as they reached their vehicles.

  “Besides where he hangs out after work, search for anything that could help us learn more about this guy, down to what baseball team he roots for.”

  “Will do. Just remember, though, I need to keep it on the down low.”

  Emily nodded as she unlocked her car and pulled the door open. “McDonald has the skills and the motive. Let’s see if he had the opportunity.”

  She slid behind the wheel and turned her engine over. If this guy murdered Allison to get back at Colin, she’d have to tread lightly. Only a psychopath would retaliate in such an excessive and violent way.

  She wondered if Allison had been the prosecutor on Amanda McDonald’s case. Two for the price of one. Made sense—to a psychopath.

  Chapter 14

  Emily lay in her bed, floating in the dream state between wakefulness and sleep. She was slow dancing with Colin, breathing in his musky scent, swaying to the soft music—they were wrapped in each other’s arms. His lips brushed against her neck and she felt a warmth ripple through her body in response.

  With his jaw pressing gently against her temple, he softly sang along with Frankie Valli. “You’d be like heaven to touch.” He lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered as their bodies moved in synchronicity.

  She couldn’t remember ever hearing anything so sensual, so romantic. She sang the next line back to him.

  He lowered his face down to hers and kissed her deeply, hungrily.

  “Oh, Colin,” she heard herself say. Her eyes snapped open and she was no longer in his arms. She found she was lying in her bed with the clock radio playing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”

  She smiled to herself, realizing it was a dream, a remembrance of Friday night before they went to their engagement party. How peculiar that her radio was playing that song. Normally she set the buzzer to wake her up. In her exhausted state the previous night, she must not have slid the selector button all the way over.

  She shot up straight. Colin! The events of the last four days flooded into her mind. Whipping her covers back, she flew out of bed and hurried to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. She had a full day ahead of her, beginning with visiting Colin in the hospital before searching for Mr. X.

  As much as she would have loved lying in bed, replaying that dream, relishing how it made her feel, real life was calling her name.

  ~*~

  Emily tiptoed into Colin’s hospital room. “Are you awake?”

  His eyes were half-open and the corners of his lips quirked into a groggy smile. “Hey, Babe.”

  “How are you?” She bent down and kissed him softly, bristling at the scratchiness of his stubble.

  “Better now.” He looked up into her eyes as she pulled away from him. “I was just lying here thinking about things—you know, Allison’s murder, my arrest, who’s framing me. What time is it?”

  “A little before ten.”

  “Ten? We need to get going.” He struggled to sit up. “Help me get dressed.”

  “Whoa.” She lunged forward and put her hands on his shoulders. “You’re not going anywhere, mister. Lay back down.”

  “But we have a case to solve.” He dropped back against his pillow, under her pressure.

  “Not today. Today you stay in bed and rest.” Ready for an argument, she gave him a stern stare.

  “We have leads to chase down before the trail goes cold.” He volleyed back with his own concerned tone. “The guy could have set everything up and skipped town by now.”

  “Ernie and I will handle it.” She leaned over and kissed his forehead, cupping his jaw with one hand. “Your only job today is to rest and get better so you can get out of this place.”

  “But—”

  “No buts, Colin. Ernie filled me in on the local suspect you guys discussed and we’re following up on him.”

  “What about the San Francisco perps?”

  “Ernie received an email last night with the list. I’m sure he’ll be in today to show it to you, if you’re up to it.”

  “Oh, I’m up to it.” He winced as he tried to sit up again, but the pain put
him flat on his back.

  “I don’t think so, darling.” Emily curled her fingers around his hand and noticed the pain in his eyes, though, the tough guy would never admit to it. “Looks like your pain meds are wearing off. I’ll get the nurse.”

  “Did I hear someone call for a nurse?”

  Emily spun around as a petite young woman with short brown hair, wearing colorful floral-patterned scrubs and a bright smile, came into the room carrying a small metal tray of assorted supplies. She sidled up to the far side of his bed and stuck a thermometer in his mouth. “Time for another round of meds after I get your temperature. Then we’ll need to check your dressings. Have you been to the bathroom yet?”

  Emily couldn’t help notice Colin’s cheeks blush deep pink at the nurse’s personal question. “You know, Colin,” Emily stroked his hand and gave it a light squeeze, “why don’t I step out and give Ernie a buzz?”

  ~*~

  Out on the concrete plaza in front of the hospital, Emily settled on a bench and phoned Ernie. He promised to stop by the hospital and visit with Colin around noon to show him the list of his old SFPD cases.

  “I had to stop him from climbing out of bed earlier. He’s not going to want to be lounging around while we work this case.”

  “I kind of figured that, but who could blame him?”

  Emily certainly wouldn’t be satisfied to sit and let someone else work a case if she had been accused of a horrendous crime. “My guess is he’ll be released tomorrow, then your wife can sit on him.”

  “Not literally I hope, ‘cause I love Marlene and all, but she’s a pretty hefty woman.” He chortled at his own comment.

  “Ernie!” Emily restrained herself from joining in.

  “Just telling it like it is.”

  “Hey, have you dug up any info on Amanda McDonald’s husband yet?”

  “As a matter of fact…”

  The sound of shuffling papers and the pecking sound of Ernie’s one-fingered typing on the keyboard came through the phone. “His full name is Clive James McDonald. You didn’t hear this from me, but…from what I can tell by his banking history and credit card charges, he likes to hang out at that popular Irish pub, the Ha’Penny Tavern, in downtown Boise.”