Reluctant Suspicion

by Finn, Scarlett

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘I don’t want you to be with anyone else. I want you all to myself.’

  ‘What has that got to do with your work?’

  ‘I will give you the same. I won’t step out on you… but you promise to only give yourself to me.’

  ‘You really are incredibly sweet.’

  ‘Promise me,’ he said.

  She nodded. ‘I promise… Now were you going to do something with me, or will we just lie here like this all night? Because my nose itches.’

  He rubbed her nose with his, causing her to laugh again. ‘Oh, I’m going to do something with you, Sugar. Something you will never forget.’

  ‘Baby,’ she murmured, at the same time his lips started down her body. ‘If anything should happen—‘

  ‘Don’t!’ he said, releasing her and moving away. ‘Don’t do that, don’t say goodbye to me. Give me a chance to solve this. I will solve it.’

  ‘I just need to say that—‘

  ‘No!’ he asserted. ‘I don’t want to hear it, Mol. Nothing is going to happen to you. I swear I won’t let it.’

  ‘You can’t be sure. It wouldn’t be your fault. Never think that it is if the worst should happen, but—‘

  ‘I don’t want to hear it Molly, please,’ he said.

  He couldn’t listen to her give up. If she said her goodbyes then she was already as good as dead, because believing there was hope was half the fight. If there was a doubt, just a shred of doubt… he couldn’t accept the consequences of that, which meant that he had to solve this. Today.

  Molly stretched and moaned into the early morning sunshine that flooded her bed. Her cheeks ached from the grin on her face. She giggled to herself, realising that she must have slept with it on her face all night. The dull ring of her phone interrupted her verve. She blinked open her eyes and fumbled on the bedside table until she located the handset. She picked it up and brought it to her ear.

  ‘Morning,’ she mumbled on a satisfied moan.

  ‘Good morning to you.’

  The sound of that deep voice made her lips stretch further, and she was sure her face would burst with delight. ‘Hey,’ she breathed.

  ‘Did I wake you?’

  ‘Mmm,’ she said, and stretched again, rolling onto her back and observing the vacant space next to her. ‘Please tell me you’re calling from the bathroom.’

  The affection in his laugh heightened her glow. ‘I wish, Sugar. I didn’t want to wake you this morning. I knew you could use the sleep.’

  ‘Where are you?’ she mumbled, and drenched herself in the snug comforter.

  ‘Work,’ he said.

  ‘I wish you had woken me. I would have said goodbye properly.’

  ‘Careful,’ he said. ‘I very nearly violated you in your sleep before I left.’

  ‘Mmm,’ she said again. ‘I would have liked that.’

  ‘I’ll remember for next time.’

  ‘What time is it?’ she asked.

  ‘Five after nine,’ he said.

  ‘And you miss me already?’ she beamed. ‘You shouldn’t have left me.’

  ‘I had to,’ he said. ‘I’m not calling because I missed you, though.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said and sat up. ‘You don’t miss me?’

  ‘Course I do,’ he said. ‘But there is something I have to talk to you about.’

  Her grin dissolved into a frown. ‘This is your thanks for the memories call, isn’t it?’

  He exhaled a laugh. ‘No. Mol, I meant everything I said last night. Nothing has changed for me… Have you had a change of heart?’

  ‘No,’ she said, and her lips tipped up again. ‘Though I haven’t seen the state you left the bathroom in yet. I may reserve my judgement until after I do.’

  ‘I did my best,’ he said.

  ‘So what motivated this wakeup call?’

  ‘I just wanted to keep you in the loop,’ he said. ‘We have to talk to Belinda.’

  ‘Belinda? My Belinda? Why?’

  ‘She knew you all back then, too. She might be able to provide insight into the mind of the killer.’

  ‘She’s a suspect, isn’t she?’ Molly asked, picking at the corner of the pillow. The afterglow was beginning to fade in the face of reality.

  ‘We don’t know, Sugar. I hope not. I really do.’

  ‘You and me both. Ok, well if you have to talk to her, then do it. Just… don’t be too hard on her.’

  ‘I won’t,’ he said. ‘Can I take you to dinner tonight?’

  ‘I should really be here tonight,’ she said. ‘I’ll have to open up next door. Vanessa should have a night off.’

  ‘Ok,’ he said.

  ‘You should come and visit, though, if you have time.’

  ‘I’ll have time,’ he said. ‘See you tonight.’

  Molly hung up the phone and stretched herself out in the bed again. Flipping over, she buried her face in his pillow. His scent assaulted her and sent goosebumps cascading across the surface of her skin. As much as she didn’t want to, she dragged herself out of bed and onto her feet, then pulled open her curtains and smiled into the sunshine. Today was going to be a good day.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ‘Well this is strange,’ Belinda said, taking the seat in the interview room that Blake had indicated she should use.

  ‘It’s just routine,’ Blake said. He and Jason sat too, and though his words weren’t entirely accurate, he had to try and keep her at ease for as long as he could.

  ‘You’re interviewing all of Molly’s friends?’ she asked.

  ‘We will be,’ he said.

  ‘But I’m first?’ she asked.

  ‘You were close to Molly when she was a teenager. Choker is targeting people she was close to at that time,’ Jason said.

  Blake opened the file and began to leaf through it. He didn’t need to read it, he knew the file backwards, but it gave him something to do that appeared official and gave Belinda some time to think.

  ‘I’m still getting over the fact that you’re a cop,’ Belinda said. ‘Does Molly know?’ He brought his attention up from the file. ‘Of course she does, you wouldn’t have me here if she didn’t. It’s just a shock. Molly and a cop. That is like Lois Lane falling for Lex Luther.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Blake said.

  ‘I mean it. There was a time Molly would rather have fallen from the roof of an a hundred storey building than even consider spending time with a cop. Now she’s making out with one on a dance floor with fifty witnesses.’

  ‘We’re not here to talk about Mol and me,’ Blake said, and pushed himself back in his seat.

  He could feel Jason’s stare burning into the side of his head. He hadn’t said anything to his partner about what had happened with Molly. As far as he was concerned it was none of Jason’s business. Belinda’s disbelief at his and Molly’s relationship was to be expected. It didn’t mean that he liked it, though. He would have to get used to it for a while; everyone from Molly’s circle that he met would regard him like a leper.

  ‘So what are we here to talk about? Are you the bad cop?’ she asked Jason. ‘Because no offense, buddy, but I’m more scared of this dude.’ She poked her thumb in Blake’s direction. ‘And all I have to do to keep him in line is call Molly later and tell her that he pissed me off, and he won’t get laid for a week.’

  ‘You’ve heard about the murders,’ Blake said, interrupting Belinda’s banter.

  Ignoring comments about him and Molly was paramount. Making this personal was why he should never have got involved with Molly, not that he would take that back. Now that he was involved, he vowed not to let it cloud his judgement. He couldn’t think of Belinda as the same woman who was sipping champagne and exchanging stories with Molly at their table last night. She had information and could be a potential suspect. That was where his focus was today.

  ‘Everyone has,’ Belinda said with a shrug.

  ‘You don’t seem too upset about it,’ Jason said.

  �
��We were all friends, years ago. But other than my brief thing with Cal, I was never involved with any of them. They were Cal’s friends. Molly and I just hung out with them when we were allowed. Molly was drawn more into the circle when they lost Cal. They all took over the big brother role.’

  ‘Did that upset you?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Not really,’ Belinda said. ‘I was dating someone else when Cal died, so by then I was seeing less of Molly. I was sixteen. I dropped out of school that year. Molly didn’t, she stayed in school and worked hard to graduate. Our lives were going in opposite directions.’

  ‘But you see her now,’ Blake said.

  Belinda shrugged. ‘I settled down with a guy for a year, got bored, and went to college. I moved away and didn’t come back until a year before Mol’s dad died. I saw her in the street and whatever, but we weren’t close. Her dad’s funeral was a bit of a reunion really. That’s when she started seeing Harry again.’

  ‘Again?’ Blake asked.

  ‘Well word on the street was that they had been together after Cal’s funeral. Andrew went off on one and put Harry in hospital,’ Belinda said. ‘Molly never confirmed or denied if the fight had anything to do with her. Tensions were running high between everyone at that time. Molly’s dad was drinking again, which you can understand; he had just lost a son. Molly was on her own for a while back then, and after Harry and Andrew fell out, she shut them all out.’

  ‘You as well? Isn’t that why you really drifted apart?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Belinda said. ‘It was a long time ago.’

  ‘When did her father start drinking?’ Jason asked.

  ‘He was sober for years, for most of Molly’s life. I remember my mom saying that he had a problem with it when Molly was born, but with the rumours that went around it was understandable.’

  ‘Rumours?’ Blake asked.

  ‘It’s a tight knit community,’ Belinda said. ‘A lot of curtain twitchers and gossips, everyone knows everyone else’s business. The lot of the cronies around here could weave a yarn quicker than you or I could make a cup of coffee.’

  ‘What were the rumours?’ Blake asked.

  ‘What has this got to do with the murders?’ Belinda asked. ‘I’m not going to tell you Molly’s business. You want to know that, then you should ask her yourself. And if you want the truth of anything about Molly’s parents, you’ll have to ask Mason’s parents. Those four were thicker than thieves… They moved to the South of France like two, three years ago. You’d have to ask Mason how to get in touch with them… although I suppose you’re not Mason’s favourite person at the moment,’ she said to Blake, then turned to Jason instead. ‘Maybe you should ask him about that.’

  ‘Why don’t you tell us about the rumours?’ Blake said.

  ‘I don’t know what truth is in it,’ Belinda said. ‘The only time I asked Molly about it, she almost tore my head off, literally. We never spoke about it again.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘About her mom and dad,’ Belinda said. She eyed the pair and released a breath. She sat forward and dropped her elbows to the desk. ‘Word is that her mother had an affair. Apparently she was ready to leave Molly’s dad for this other guy.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘So,’ Belinda said. ‘Word was that the reason they didn’t run off together was because her fancy man was married. He tried to leave his wife and she flipped out, threatening to kill herself if he left. So the affair was finished.’

  ‘Molly didn’t like the thought of her parents being anything except happy?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Rumour has it,’ Belinda said, rolling her eyes this way and that before she let them fall to examine the fingernail she was picking at. ‘Her parents are not her parents at all.’

  ‘What?’ Blake said.

  ‘Apparently after the affair ended, Molly’s mom found out she was pregnant. Now Molly’s old man had been drinking for about a year at this point. He wasn’t getting any, because his wife was having an affair. No one knows whether or not Molly’s dad really was her dad.’

  ‘She knows this?’ Blake asked.

  Belinda shrugged. ‘Like I said, the only time I tried to ask her she went crazy and we never discussed it again.’

  ‘Do you have an alibi for the nights of the murders?’ Jason asked.

  ‘You’d have to give me dates, but most of the time I am with my sister, at the bar or desperately trying to enjoy the company of the bastard that keeps messing me around.’

  ‘Give us a minute,’ Blake said. ‘You need anything?’

  ‘Nope.’

  Blake and Jason got up, and Jason went for the door. ‘Blake,’ Belinda said, to draw his attention back. ‘Mol won’t be happy that I brought any of this up. It might be completely irrelevant, but… if you have to talk to her about it… be gentle.’

  He nodded and offered her a quick smile. It couldn’t be easy for her. She was revealing the secrets of an old friend. Blake followed Jason from the room and they began to head back to their office.

  ‘What do you think?’ Jason asked.

  ‘I don’t know yet,’ Blake said. ‘I think we should talk to both of them again.’

  ‘Both?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Belinda and Molly… we’ll need to corroborate Belinda’s alibis. Get the details of the boyfriend she is talking about.’

  ‘It’s promising though. I know it means your precious Ashton isn’t perfect, but it’s the first thing that points toward someone holding a grudge towards Molly,’ Jason said. ‘That and the boyfriend thing. If Harry and Andy did fight over her, maybe Harry holds a grudge for her causing the fall out.’

  ‘He’s not female,’ Blake said. ‘And he was with her for years. I would think that if he held a grudge he would have done something about it back then… Where is the son of a bitch, by the way? Belinda said she saw him in town yesterday.’

  ‘When did she say that?’ Jason frowned, and held open the door to the office as he went through it.

  ‘Last night.’

  ‘What the hell happened last night?’ Jason asked. ‘I thought you were putting Molly to sleep. You didn’t… did you?’

  Blake kept his eyes on his desk as he sat down. He opened a file on his computer and began to add notes from Belinda’s interview. ‘We went back to her place and had a few drinks… We came to the conclusion that Choker must be watching. If she is, then it wouldn’t hurt for her to see Molly and me together. It might tempt Choker to come after me.’

  ‘Did it work?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Don’t know yet,’ Blake said. ‘Not so far, but there hasn’t been much chance for it to.’

  ‘I would think that she would have pounced on you as soon as you came out of the bar,’ Jason said. Blake continued typing. ‘You did come out of the bar… didn’t you?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Blake said. ‘I’m not still there, am I?’

  ‘Last night,’ Jason said. ‘You came out of the bar last night… didn’t you?’

  ‘We need to get this done,’ Blake said. ‘You get back—‘

  ‘Shit!’ Jason said. ‘You fucked her!’ He pounced from his seat and paced toward the window.

  ‘What’s the problem?’

  Jason spun around. ‘Are you insane?’ he hissed. ‘You know this could all go south. Choker might get to Molly before we get to her.’

  ‘I’ve told her that won’t happen.’

  ‘What the hell are you doing making promises like that? You know that there are no guarantees in what we do!’

  Blake slammed his hands on the desk and stood up. ‘No one will hurt Molly! You hear me? We are not going to let that happen!’

  ‘Yet where the hell is she now? She refuses police protection, and you’re here. So what? She’s sitting on her own in the first place that Choker would think to look for her?’

  Blake faltered at this thought. Jason was right. Molly was a sitting duck. But Choker had never been so blatant as to grab someone in daylight, and from what they knew her victims went wi
llingly, which Molly wouldn’t do.

  But he wouldn’t bet the bank on that, so he grabbed the phone from his desk and started to dial. ‘Get back in with Belinda. Confirm her alibis and get her opinion on what is happening here. Get her talking.’

  ‘You’re playing a dangerous game, Carson!’ Jason snapped, and grabbed a file from his desk. He went for the door, threw it open, and slammed it behind him.

  Blake growled at his partner and lifted the ringing phone to his ear. After a dozen rings panic began to simmer in him, but eventually the ringing stopped.

  ‘What?’ Molly snapped.

  ‘Sugar?’

  ‘Oh… sorry… hi,’ she said. ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Are you ok?’ Blake asked.

  ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Is everything ok?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘But I want to come and get you.’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘We need to talk about some new information, and I’m not happy about you being home alone.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Molly said. ‘I’m just on my way out.’

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘Anywhere but here,’ she said. ‘Harry called me.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘Just before you. He says he is coming over. I told him where to get off, but I know he will appear anyway. So I’m going out.’

  ‘Let me come and get you,’ he said.

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to come to the station, and you have to be there. We can talk tonight.’

  ‘I want to put a lid on this Molly, as soon as I can.’

  ‘Ok,’ she said. ‘I’ll meet you at Cupid’s in an hour.’

  ‘An hour?’ he said.

  ‘I have to get out of here now,’ she said. ‘I’m not sticking around for that bastard to show up here. God only knows what he wants to say.’

  ‘Ok,’ he said. ‘Just call me if anything changes.’

  ‘I will,’ she said.

  ‘Be careful,’ he said.

  She laughed. ‘Nothing will happen to me between here and town. I’ll get a cab into the city, then go window shopping. I’ve walked around town a million times, and it’s the middle of the day. She never strikes during the day.’