Long, Lean and Lethal

by O'Clare, Lorie

  Noah needed to see expressions, read body language. There wasn’t much point in staying put if Rain just blew her cover. Not to mention, he was pretty sure he agreed with her. Something deep in his gut didn’t feel right, though. He would sort it out here soon enough. One thing he sensed: Susie somehow had set Joanna up.

  He stepped around the corner, narrowing in on Rain’s guarded expression first when she shifted her attention from Joanna to him. Susie’s hand slipped off the counter, her jaw dropping when she saw him.

  “Noah?” Joanna asked, spinning around and looking beyond shocked.

  The salesclerk frowned, his expression guarded, and then studied each of the women. “Want me to close the store?” he asked Noah.

  “Might be a good idea.”

  “You will not close this store.” Susie glared at the clerk when he came around the counter, pointing at him while shaking her head. “I will not be locked in here like I’m some kind of criminal.”

  The clerk glanced at Noah, who nodded once, which was good enough for the guy. He wasn’t going to give Noah and Rain any trouble.

  “What did I just say?” Susie snarled, lowering her voice to a growl while she pressed her fists into her narrow waist.

  “Susie, shut up,” Rain said.

  Noah swore Joanna’s jaw would have dropped to the floor if it weren’t attached. She gawked in disbelief while Susie turned slowly before walking up until she was inches from Rain. Noah moved closer, although Rain didn’t look nervous. He was more than confident she could handle herself against Susie and in fact probably welcomed the opportunity to put the spoiled little blonde in her place.

  “I’ll disregard that you lied to me, and to my friends, about what you do for a living,” Susie hissed. “But you will not cross me. I donate to your charities, and I pay taxes, which I’ll remind you provides you with a paycheck.”

  “Susie, you’d be smart to—”

  “I am smart. You’re the one who is stupid.” Susie raised her hand, interrupting and daring to stab her finger in Rain’s chest. “I’m guessing you lied to all of us so you could figure out who is murdering everyone.”

  Joanna gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes wide as she glanced from Susie to Rain. She didn’t look at Noah, though, or the clerk. And although she covered her mouth and her fingers spread over her face, Noah saw her cheeks burn with some emotion strong enough that she couldn’t hide it.

  “Are you familiar with the Miranda rights?” Rain’s cool tone matched the fire in her eyes, showing she fought not to toss the little bitch across the room.

  Susie staggered back as if Rain had just slapped her. The clerk flipped the sign on the door, indicating the store was closed. When he pulled the first blind over the barred windows, Susie jumped and then grabbed her heart. Joanna took a step toward her but then stopped, looking unsure what to do next.

  “This is ridiculous. I ask for a few minutes alone and end up with a goddamned party.” Susie obviously bounced back quickly. Her frail, surprised expression a moment ago was quickly replaced with a hard, disgusted glare. “Unlock that door. I’m leaving.”

  Rain glanced at Noah when Susie marched to the door. Noah walked over to her, passing Joanna, who almost tripped to get out of his way. The clerk stood by the door, watching Susie warily, and then looked nervously at Noah.

  Noah held up his hand, indicating the clerk should wait a minute. “Why did you want to see the records on a particular gun? What did you hope to learn, Susie?”

  Susie spun around, her eyes narrowing into outraged slits as she turned her attention on Noah. “That cops are as idiotic as I already suspected them to be,” she informed him, her words pouring out of her like rich syrup.

  They were so sweet it turned his stomach. “And why are cops idiots?”

  “You don’t know your own kind?” she snapped.

  He saw no reason to enlighten her on who his kind was.

  “If you’re going to call me an idiot, you better have damn good proof, my dear,” Rain said calmly enough to make Susie snap her attention to her. “Because from where I stand, it appears you’re trying to cover tracks that possibly got overlooked.”

  “Looks like I don’t have to do anything to prove your idiocy,” Susie said, crossing her arms. “Keep going, Miss Know-it-all, and my husband will sit behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. Although truth be known, I haven’t decided yet if that is a bad thing or not.”

  Rain raised an eyebrow but kept her attention on Susie. “You believe knowledge of a barrel being switched out on a gun might prove your husband innocent. And you might very well be right.” Rain walked over to the counter toward the receipt.

  Joanna moved just as quickly and grabbed the crumpled piece of paper and stuffed it back into her purse. “You’re not going to pull me into this,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion.

  “I don’t have to do a thing,” Rain told her calmly. “You’re the one who controls your actions. Let me see the receipt, Joanna.” She held out her hand.

  Joanna shook her head once but remained quiet.

  “If it’s two months old, I should have a copy here in the store,” the clerk offered.

  “Whose side are you on?” Joanna looked at him, her eyes large and full of terror. “You’re going to try and make it a crime that I bought a gun,” she accused Rain.

  “You borrowed Steve’s gun, and then returned it, claiming you repaired it for him. If you’ve got the knowledge to replace a barrel, then surely you know that gun,” Rain stated, pointing at Joanna’s purse, “doesn’t have a barrel compatible with Steve’s gun.”

  “Maybe they filled out the receipt wrong,” Joanna said, and her shoulders slumped. “What does it have to do with anything anyway?”

  “Nothing. Not a goddamned thing.” Susie walked behind Rain and pressed her palms against the counter, ignoring the rest of them as she stared at the clerk. “Please pull up the records on who owned the gun that she bought prior to your selling it to her.”

  The guy studied Susie, obviously sorting out his options and probably trying to determine how deep he wanted to wallow in this sordid affair. “It would take some time to pull out any file on a previously owned gun that has already been sold,” he told her smoothly. “And I’m not busting my ass to do that unless someone shows me a warrant.”

  Susie turned around, glaring at Noah and then giving Rain a condemning look. “You’ve really fucked things up,” Susie snarled.

  “Susie, let’s go,” Joanna said, but then shot a furtive look at the clerk, who still stood with a determined look on his face and his arms crossed over his barrel chest. She then looked questioningly from Rain to Noah. “You don’t have any reason to keep us here.” She made it sound more like a statement than a question.

  There wasn’t any way they were going to walk out of this store without knowing beyond any doubt whether Steve was guilty or not guilty. Noah walked slowly toward Joanna, noting that she looked very nervous, but that the evil glint he’d seen in her eyes before wasn’t there now.

  “Why did you borrow Steve’s gun?” he asked.

  “Are you a cop, too?” Joanna asked.

  “Nope.”

  “If he is and you tell him anything, he can’t use it against you or that’s entrapment,” Susie announced, pointing her finger at him and grinning so broadly one might think she’d just won the fucking jackpot or something.

  “Very true,” he told her, nodding once before shifting his attention back to Joanna.

  “Are you really married to her?” Joanna asked under her breath.

  Noah smiled at Joanna, searching her face when he saw a glint of hope spark in her bright blue eyes. “That, my dear, is none of your business,” he told her just as quietly. “I would like to know why you had Steve’s gun.”

  “So I could fix it for him,” she said, shrugging and glancing at Susie. “He can confirm that, you know.”

  “He never said a word to me about it being broken.” Susie lo
oked at the guy behind the counter, who now leaned against it on his elbows. “Unlock this door. If you can’t show me what I want to see, then we’re leaving.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Joanna hurried to the door and tried unlocking it herself.

  “Tell me something.” Rain moved next to Noah as the clerk came around the counter. “Why one bullet through the temple? Were you that concerned that it was all very clean?”

  Joanna let go of the doorknob and turned slowly, looking first at Susie and then at Rain. “Do you really think if they’re dead that they care if they’re clean?”

  Noah wondered if Rain saw it, too. Joanna’s expression changed, and not just indicating another emotion but something darker, sordid if not demented.

  “I wouldn’t know. I think it would be more to the preference of the killer,” Rain said softly, her tone having a deadly chill to it that damn near matched Joanna’s glare. “Don’t you think?”

  Joanna shifted her attention to the clerk when he approached the door. “I’ve already unlocked it,” she snapped at him, and then looked at Rain. “And I wouldn’t know how a killer would think.”

  She opened the door and walked outside. Noah grabbed Rain by her arms, moving her so he could catch up with Joanna. Something was rubbing him wrong, and he’d be damned if the conversation would end by these two walking away before he had answers.

  “It’s all rather funny when you think about it.” Susie sounded like a child talking behind him. “I come down here to gather information that would prove my husband innocent, and you successfully manage to clear the woman who probably killed all of those people.”

  Noah wasn’t quite sure how she figured that. But she wasn’t going anywhere without Joanna. And he wasn’t done with her, either. He stepped outside with Rain by his side. She touched his arm and he looked down into those compelling baby blues.

  “I want that receipt that Joanna pocketed,” she whispered.

  He frowned. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Susie was finally getting her wish and talking to the salesclerk alone. Joanna had marched around to the driver’s side of the Miata and climbed in behind the wheel. He wasn’t convinced she wouldn’t leave.

  “What’s up?” he whispered.

  “Did you notice it?” she asked, resting her hand on his arm. “It’s handwritten and torn out of a receipt book. This store uses register receipts. The clerk didn’t even comment on that.”

  Noah stared at her and then turned and marched back into the store.

  “As long as we understand each other,” Susie said.

  Noah marched up to the counter. Glancing over his shoulder, Rain met his gaze quickly. “Call for backup,” he informed her, and then turned and pointed toward the door. “And don’t let her leave. Arrest her if you have to.”

  “I thought you said you weren’t a cop,” Susie said warily.

  “I’m not.”

  “He’s FBI.” The clerk, who five minutes ago appeared to be on Noah’s side, now straightened, eyeballing him with a flat, unimpressed stare.

  The look told him one thing. The guy would sell out to the highest bidder, and something told Noah he’d just been outbid.

  Susie, however, rested one arm on the counter and let her gaze travel slowly up him, looking more turned on than he’d seen her look since he met her. It wasn’t anything new. More times than he could count, a woman suddenly showed interest when he muttered those three letters.

  “I’ll be damned. Who would have thought the deaths of those losers would merit the interest of our federal government. Or is it simply the incompetence of our local law enforcement that brought you here?” Susie shot a disgusted look at Rain.

  Rain’s expression appeared bored when she glanced at Susie while speaking on her cell. She pressed her earpiece to her ear, speaking quietly. Noah bet she used more self-control at that moment than possibly she had in quite a while.

  “There isn’t anything incompetent about Lincoln’s law enforcement,” Noah growled, which simply got him a raised eyebrow and look of comical disbelief from Susie. He really didn’t care what jabs she tossed out at them. Instead he focused on the guy behind the counter. “It would probably be a good idea for you to produce the history you have on the sale of any gun sold to Joanna Hill, or to Steve or Susie Porter, for that matter.”

  “Excuse me?” Susie gasped.

  “You can show them to me, or I can put in a phone call and more than likely your store will be closed down so the FBI can go through your records. Obviously, it’s your choice.”

  “Look, man,” the guy said as a sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead. “I haven’t had help in here for a couple months now. And as much as I’d love the vacation, there’s no reason to close me down. I haven’t sold a damn thing to either of these ladies. I can do a search on the gun if you want me to.”

  “What did I just say to you?” Susie asked curtly.

  “I suggest you go outside and wait with your car.” Noah was about sick to death of her mightier-than-thou attitude. “You interfere with an investigation and it’s not going to go well for you or your husband.”

  “You can’t touch me.” Susie didn’t budge and stuck her chin out as she glared at Noah defiantly. “I have connections that easily surpass anything you or your Bureau can manage.”

  “Pull up the records.” Noah pointed at the clerk and glared at him for only a moment before the guy waved in an act of surrender and walked to the end of his counter where a dusty computer sat. Leaving the guy to his task, Noah turned on Susie, who still was idiotic enough to dare him with her eyes to do anything to her. Grabbing her too-skinny arm, he marched her out of the store.

  He stopped in his tracks. Susie stopped next to him, not even trying to pull away. Rain didn’t look up as she shoved Joanna against the car and yanked her wrists behind her back, then began reciting the Miranda Act.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Rain was too aware of Noah standing right behind her. Her skin prickled, electric charges dancing off her flesh, every time he adjusted his stance or sucked in a breath. If it weren’t bad enough that he distracted the hell out of her, knowing several forensic officers and Chief Noble stood on the other side of the two-way mirror had her entire body wound tight.

  She put all of them out of her head. But focusing on the smoldering pressure growing inside her as Noah shifted, moving closer to her, somehow added to the strength she needed to see this through. And she would see it through, even if it meant Noah would leave when it was over.

  “Joanna, the evidence against you right now is insurmountable.”

  Joanna looked at Rain, tears making her blue eyes glassy. “I thought you were my friend.”

  Rain nodded. “Being friends would be nice. And if you’re innocent, it’s something we can work on. But if you’re guilty, you’re going to prison. And honestly, right now, Joanna, it’s not looking good.”

  “I didn’t kill anyone,” Joanna sobbed, her shoulders shaking as she lowered her head. Her breasts actually jiggled when she broke down in tears, and when she looked up, glancing at first Noah and then Rain, her mascara made her tears black as they streamed down her face. “I took Steve’s gun to fix it for him. It wasn’t shooting right, he said.”

  “But you didn’t switch the barrel. The receipt you have is not for the store you said it was from, and it’s not the right barrel.” Rain leaned against the table, opposite of where Joanna sat, and stared hard at her. “You had his gun and returned it after Patty was killed. You didn’t make it to the potluck until after Patty died.”

  “I went to the store. Susie called me,” Joanna cried out, her tearstained face desperate. “Damn it, you’ve got to believe me. Ask Susie.”

  Joanna straightened and then closed her eyes, dropping her head into her hands before slowly looking up at Rain. “Did she tell you otherwise?” she asked, sounding scared to hear the answer.

  “Joanna,” Rain said softly. “We’ve pulled all cell-phone records for you, Steve, and Su
sie. No one called you before the potluck.”

  Joanna looked at Rain, confusion creating wrinkles alongside her eyes. It was like she didn’t understand what Rain said to her for a moment. Rain noted that the venomous side to Joanna seemed completely dormant. Almost as if that part of her had died. It made her appear very innocent.

  Rain hated it. If the mean glint would appear in Joanna’s eyes, if something could be done or said that would trigger her darker side, Rain would be sure of Joanna’s guilt. Her current actions and behavior were really starting to piss Rain off.

  “She did call me,” Joanna said, and then looked at Noah. “I went to the store for her because she didn’t have anything ready for the potluck.”

  There was a tap on the door, and Al stuck her head in. “May I talk to you for a minute?” she asked.

  Outside, Rain felt the aggravation inside her grow even further as she walked past the chief, who was busy talking to several officers and a few men she didn’t recognize but guessed might be FBI.

  “I don’t quite understand this,” Al said, and paused outside the interrogation room where Susie sat inside, just down the hall from where Joanna was.

  “What?” Noah asked.

  Al ran her fingers through her thick black hair and tucked the ends behind her ear. Nibbling her lower lip, she then stuck her thumb out toward the two-way mirror in front of them.

  “Susie told us she wants her lawyer.”

  “Okay … ,” Rain prompted, studying the petite, pale blonde who sat so rigidly in a chair in the small interrogation room that a board could be strapped to her back.

  “She told me he’s on his way here.” Again Al paused and frowned at the two-way mirror. “But she hasn’t called anyone, and refuses to speak until he arrives.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “How can a lawyer be on his way if she hasn’t called anyone?” Al asked, looking puzzled. “And watch her; she talks to herself. I don’t think a lawyer is coming and I think she is more than just delusional.”

  Susie didn’t look toward them; instead, she continued sitting, her hands folded in her lap and her small feet crossed over each other while she tilted her head and glanced upward. A small smile played at her lips and she nodded once. Then it appeared she started speaking.