“Darci, I…”
“Stop it, Jacob. Just stop!” Ignoring the curious glances of other diners, Darci grabbed the letter and slid out the booth. “I don’t want to hear another word from you!”
Racing from the restaurant, she climbed behind the wheel of her car and drove until the tears burning her eyes made it impossible. Loose gravel pummeled against her car as she pulled onto the dying, cold-beaten grass lining the roadside. Dropping her head to the steering wheel, she surrendered to the tears, while a torrent of unanswered questions rained down on her.
* * *
Jackson stood from his desk as Steed came barreling through the door of the station with a head of steam.
“Get in here!” Steed slammed his open palm against the door and stormed over to his desk. Somebody was gonna explain what the hell was going on around here and make some sense of what he found at Hyde’s room.
Jackson rushed inside. “Yes, sir?”
“I’m going to ask you again about the gun from the Warwick house. Did you run it directly to the lab for retesting?”
“Yes, sir. I rushed it right over, just like you said.”
“Who was there?”
“I’m sorry?”
The man’s confusion only added to Steed’s anger. “Who the hell was at the lab when you dropped off the weapon?”
“The lab tech Liz Carwin. Is everything okay, Detective?”
“I don’t know yet.” Steed dropped into his chair and flipped open the Hyde file. Feeling the officer’s gaze on him, Steed asked, “Is there something else, Jackson?”
“Not really. Ms. Clarke called.”
“Did she leave a message?”
“Uh, yes, sir, she did.”
“What is it? I don’t have all day.”
“She sounded a little upset.”
“Upset?” Steed closed the folder and gave Jackson his undivided attention. “Sad upset or angry upset?”
“Both, I think. Sounded like she was crying.”
“What was the message?”
“Uh…”
Steed rubbed his temples, trying desperately to stave off the headache he felt coming. “Just spit it out already!”
“She said to tell you to go to hell, sir.”
Steed dropped his hands and looked up at Jackson. “What?”
“That was the message.”
“Did she say anything else?”
The young man shook his head and Steed sent him on his way.
Go to hell? Was that some sort of delayed reaction from their earlier disagreement? Grabbing the files on Warwick and Hyde, Steed headed for Darci’s. After she explained what had her upset, maybe she could tell him if the name Jason Hyde meant anything to her.
CHAPTER 16
Fools rush in.
That phrase replayed in Darci’s head as she soaked in her lilac-scented bath. She shouldn’t have left that angry message for Steed. She should have waited until dinner so she’d be able to look in his eyes and watch for his reaction to her questions. To listen to his explanation for keeping the information about Kenny’s case being reopened away from her. To hear him say he wasn’t with her just to get a promotion. He had to say that.
Darci rose from the tepid water. Fifteen minutes in this tub and she’d never gotten swept away to that land of no worries. She rolled her eyes. Advertisers and their lies. She should have stuck with her peach bubble bath.
Thick drops of lather fell from her body as she stood and reached for the sheet towel. After drying off, she wrapped the cottony softness around her body and padded into the bedroom.
“So, you were in there?”
Darci froze. Steed sat on the edge of her bed, with an open file on his lap, and a bright smile on his face. He was too sexy for his own good, but between her anger and unanswered questions, she doubted his gorgeous face and hot body could deter her from her quest for knowledge. What was he doing in her bedroom anyway? “How did you get in here?”
“I rang the doorbell, but you didn’t answer.” He closed the folder and tossed it to the other side of the bed. “You told me where you keep the spare key, so I let myself in.”
Steed’s eyes engaged in a slow, blatant journey of her towel-clad body. His lips curled into an appreciative smile as he made his way to her. The tips of breasts hardened under his perusal and her skin tingled as though zapped by an errant bolt of electricity. She silently cursed him for making her feel like this, and her body for being so completely receptive.
“Mmm. You smell so good, and you look even better,” Steed said in that deep, gravely voice that made her body shiver.
The giant peach towel suddenly seemed too small. Darci hugged her arms about her shoulders and met Steed’s approach with a hard glare. “Don’t take another step,” she warned, certain she would lose what little resistance she had if he did.
Steed stopped and lowered his foot to the floor. “What’s bothering you? What was with the phone message?”
Returning anger halted the sensual stirrings Steed had aroused. Darci met his gaze head on. “You couldn’t decipher that? Maybe you’re not as good a detective as you think. ‘Go to hell’ seems pretty straightforward to me.”
“Did I do something?”
“It’s what you didn’t do.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Apparently, you never did.”
Steed dragged his hand over his face. “Darci, I’m not in the mood for riddles. I don’t know why you’re upset, but I’ll make it up to you, whatever it is.” He rubbed his chin. “Tell me something. Does the name Jason Hyde mean anything to you?”
Darci stared at him in disbelief. He did not just end what she knew would be the fight of the century to question her about some guy, when he—Hyde? That was the name he was talking about when she arrived at his office. No wonder he almost broke his neck getting that loose sheet from her hand. That paper involved Kenny’s case.
She closed her eyes. One. Two. Three. After reaching five she stopped. She could count to a million and it wouldn’t help. Darci opened her eyes and pointed to the door. “I want you out of here.”
“What’s wrong with you, Darci?” Steed took a step forward, his hand extended. “What did I do?”
She slapped his hand away. “Don’t even think about touching me! It’s not what you did, Steed, it’s what you didn’t do!”
“What didn’t I do? Things were fine when I left you this afternoon. We had our disagreement, but we made up. Where is this hostility coming from?”
Darci held his gaze, forcing herself not to cry. Even with her anger, she loved Steed so much. She had to give him the benefit of the doubt. One more chance to make this right. To prove her feelings for him and his for her were more important than a promotion. “Is there anything you need to tell me?”
“No. I told you about my father, Darci. What else would you think I have to tell you?”
Darci’s heart shattered. “The truth.” Hot tears slid down her cheeks. “I guess that was too much to hope for.” She sniffled. “I’m not saying this again. I want you out.”
Steed made yet another approach. “Darci, what…”
She stepped back. “Don’t come any closer.”
“Why are you angry with me? What have I done?”
“You did nothing! That’s the problem. For months, I’ve been struggling with uncertainty. Feeling like I’m losing my mind. And instead of helping me, you kept quiet and allowed my suffering to continue. How can you say you love me and hurt me like this?”
“Darci, sweetheart, I do love you, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been honest about everything.”
“Everything except Kenny and how his case ties into your promotion! Why didn’t you tell me his case was reopened?”
Steed’s face blanched. “Who told you?” His eyes narrowed. “Benjamin?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“The hell it doesn’t!”
“What matters is you didn’t
tell me.”
“Darci, there was nothing to tell.”
“Did you or did you not reopen this case?”
“I didn’t reopen it, but it has been reopened.”
“And you didn’t think I needed to know that?”
“No, I didn’t. Darci, nothing’s changed. Warwick committed suicide. If I’d thought telling you would help, I would have. It’s not going to help.”
“Because you say so? The case got reopened for a reason.” These fingerprints you haven’t mentioned. “What was it?”
Sighing, Steed smoothed his hand over his cheeks and along the hint of the five o’clock shadow dusting his strong jaw. Darci hated when he hedged. It meant he was trying to think of the right thing to say. She just wanted the truth.
“Well?” she prompted.
“There’s been a mix-up.”
Darci adjusted her towel. “What kind of mix-up?”
Steed eyes wandered again. “It’s very hard for me to concentrate with you standing there like that.”
“Fine. I’ll change.” She pointed to the door. “You wait in the living room. When I come out, be ready to talk.”
* * *
Steed paced the length of the floor in front of the fireplace. He took the liberty of building a fire, hoping the crackling wood and vibrant flames would somehow calm Darci. She didn’t smell like peaches. Maybe that explained her tension.
Trying to understand her anger and how she found out about the case drove him crazy. It had to be Benjamin. That guy had it in for him, and wanted nothing more than to see him and Darci apart. Steed’s chest tightened. The butterflies in his stomach were not the kind he liked. From the way Darci had looked at him, Benjamin might finally get his wish. Steed shook away the thought. He couldn’t lose her. Not over this.
“All right, I’m ready to listen.”
Steed stopped pacing and looked up. Darci had loosened the hair piled atop her head and replaced the towel with an oversized white T-shirt and faded blue jeans. He preferred her in the towel, but she looked comfortable, and the slightest bit soothed. That gave him hope. “You look nice.”
She frowned. “Save the compliments. Why didn’t you tell me about the case?”
Darci’s testiness stung him like a hungry fire ant. She wasn’t at all soothed. “Why are you so hostile?”
“Why am I—Why am I hostile? I’m hostile because my best friend is dead, and I just learned the man I love kept the reopening of my friend’s case from me. I can’t understand that. Because I can’t understand, I’m hostile! Why didn’t you tell me about those fingerprints?”
“How did you…How much did Benjamin tell you?”
“I don’t want to talk about Jacob! I want to know why you didn’t tell me about all this.”
“There was nothing to tell. I don’t understand why the case is even reopened, because it won’t change what is. Warwick killed himself.”
“There’s more to it. How did these fingerprints happen?”
“I had the gun retested when you demanded more action. The new prints belonged to some guy named Jason Hyde.”
“Hyde? That’s who you asked me about before.”
“Does the name mean anything to you?”
“Why should I answer that?” She folded her arms. “You don’t think it makes a difference!”
“Darci, would you stop this?”
“No, I will not! How dare you ask me a question about this case when you didn’t even tell me it was reopened!”
“You know why I didn’t tell you. I have to follow this up because it’s my job, but it doesn’t change the facts.”
“Your job and the facts!” Darci blasted. “Like the fact you’re with me to get your promotion.”
“No. Darci, I’m not with you because of a promotion. That promotion is not more important to me than you, and not mentioning Warwick’s case had nothing to do with it. I’m with you because I love you.” He closed his hands over her shoulders. “I don’t know who this Jason Hyde is, but I know your friend committed suicide, and I know I want you to accept that. Telling you about those prints wouldn’t have helped.”
She shrugged his hands away. “I don’t need you to think for me, Steed. I tried doing things your way, and it didn’t work. I need to do what I need to do for me now.”
“Even if it hurts you?”
Tears spilled from Darci’s eyes. “I’m hurting now.”
“Baby, please, don’t cry.” Steed reached out to smooth away her tears, but, again, she shrank from his touch. “Darci.”
She held up a quaking finger. “Don’t touch me!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. Just go.”
“Would you at least tell me if the name Jason Hyde means anything to you. Do you know him?”
“No, I don’t. Are you done?”
“Not quite.” He expelled a breath and continued with his toughest questions. “Was Warwick seeing anyone special? Someone he didn’t want the world to know about?”
Darci glared at him. “What are you getting at?”
“Was Warwick gay?”
“Ugh!” Darci shook her head. “You never give up.”
“It’s just a question.”
“Where did it come from?” she fired back. “This Jason Hyde? You’ll reach for anything, Steed. Kenny was a lover, but only of women. He was as straight as an arrow.”
Somehow, Darci saying that didn’t surprise him.
“It’s time for you to leave,” she said.
Steed decided not to argue. Time alone would do her good, and give him a chance to connect the dots of this case. “Try to calm down and think while I’m gone. I’ll call you later.”
“No, you won’t. We have nothing more to discuss. And, FYI, I’m going forward with the story I told you about when I first came to town.”
“The story?”
“Yes,” she answered. “The many, and there are many, problems with the Sterling Police Department. I’m going to make sure the public knows all about them. I start at the station at the beginning of January, and I’m going to begin the new year at my new job with a bang.”
“To what end?” He took a few tentative steps forward, not wanting to antagonize her more, but desperate to be close to her, to somehow reach her and reason with her. “What do you think will happen if you do this story? It won’t bring Warwick back to life, and it won’t change the fact he killed himself. Darci, nothing is going to change that.”
She folded her arms across her chest, the act one of defiance and a clear sign his touch was not welcome. “I don’t want to hear any more of this.”
“You have to.” Disregarding her stance, he closed his hands over her shoulders. She recoiled at his touch. Steed dropped his hands, hurt by her dismissal, but just as angry with her behavior. He hated when she cried, but hated when she acted like an insolent five-year-old even more. “Darci, I’m sorry. I’m sorry about all of this, but I know my being sorry means nothing to you. You won’t be satisfied until I say you’re right, that there’s some phantom killer of Kenneth Warwick. But you know what—I’m never going to say that. Not ever.”
“Because it would mean you’re wrong, and you can never be wrong.”
“Not about this. Facts don’t lie.”
The sound of her mocking laughter rang in his ears. “Is that so? Tell me, Detective, what about those fingerprints? Facts aren’t always factual.” Darci pointed to the door. “Now get the hell out of my house!” New tears filled her eyes. “I never want to see you again.”
“You don’t mean that,” Steed said with a confidence he didn’t feel. “You’re angry, but we love each other. We can’t let this case come between us. Just today you said we didn’t have to.”
“We didn’t let it. You let it! You did this. Being a cop keeps you constantly in protect mode, but I don’t need you to protect me. I begged you to help me with this case, to help me find out what happened with Kenny, and you didn’t! I do love you, Stee
d, but loving you hurts too much, and I’ve had enough.”
Enough? No. He had to reason with her.
Darci stepped away, as if sensing his approach. She shook her head. “No more.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “It’s over, Steed.” She walked to the door and pulled it open. “Go.”
Over? Go? Hot tears slid down Steed’s cheeks. “Darci?”
She lowered her head, sniffling.
Steed picked up the files from the table and made his way over. The brisk autumn air raced in from the open door. Dry leaves skittered about the cement porch. He’d imagined he and Darci stargazing on this very porch later this evening as they had the night before, but there would be no more of that. There would be no more anything.
Steed’s body burned with want as he brushed against her on his way out. Her breath caught and their eyes met as the familiar spark passed between them. What they had was so good, but this Warwick hurdle appeared bigger than their love, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t seem to cross it.
“I’m not going to apologize for doing what I think is best for you, even if you think I should, and even when I know it will go a long way in easing the anger you’re feeling toward me. I love you, Darci. I love you too much to lie to you. Warwick committed suicide. You might not want to hear it or accept it, but that’s the way it is.” He expelled a breath. “Good-bye.”
CHAPTER 17
Darci peeled her face from the tearstained pillow and looked over her shoulder to the glowing red digits on the clock radio. Six fifteen. She’d spent the last two hours since Steed left in a surreal state of heartbreak and exhaustion. Longing for his presence and the warmth of his voice and touch, while cursing herself for wanting a man who could do what he’d done to her. And then say he did it for her. Humph!
She reached for a tissue. No more tears and no more thoughts of Steed. Twisting on the bedside lamp, Darci picked up Kenny’s letter and rested against the headboard. This letter made as much sense as Kenny dying from suicide. Why write a letter to her when all he had to do was call Mr. Clayton and tell him to destroy the original letter?
The rumble in Darci’s belly interrupted her train of thought. She rubbed her stomach, remembering she hadn’t eaten since the sandwich with Steed over six hours ago. If Jacob hadn’t done everything he could to fuel her anger with Steed, she would have a nice plate of leftovers from Miss Sophie’s to…The code! Could that be it?
Not Quite Right (Indigo Love Spectrum) Page 15