by Terri Reed
“Where were you last night?” Sam asked as he looked around.
Colleen arched one eyebrow. “You saw me last night at the museum. What’s up?”
Becca walked into the living room. “Are you alone?”
Wary, Colleen followed her in. “Yes.”
“Where did you go after you left the museum last night?” Becca asked.
Colleen slid her gaze to Sam, who watched her with hooded eyes. She frowned. “I came here.”
“Was anyone here?” Sam asked, his voice low.
“No. I heard my parents come home later.”
“Where are they now?” Becca asked.
“They’re at their Bible study. Every Thursday morning for the past ten years.” Colleen put her hands on her hips. “What is going on?”
“Did you see Neil O’Brien after you left last night?”
Becca’s softly asked question sent a ripple of concern down Colleen’s spine. “No. He stormed out and that was that.” She shook her head. “He was really drunk. I hope he didn’t get in a car and drive like that.”
“No. He didn’t get into a car.” Sam moved restlessly around the room.
Colleen tracked his progress. “Sam. Talk to me.”
He stopped his pacing and turned to look directly in her eyes. “Do you own a gun?”
“What?” She dropped her chin. “Do I need one?”
He moved to stand right in front of her. “Colleen. Neil O’Brien was murdered last night.”
Colleen staggered back a step. He was about to be a father. “Oh, poor Mary. How…What happened?”
“Someone shot him in the back,” came Becca’s reply.
“In the back?” Colleen’s journalistic nose twitched. “I’ve got to get my notebook.”
“Actually, Colleen, we need you to come down to the station with us.”
Colleen stopped and stared at Sam as realization came at her like one of Jake’s baseballs, effectively knocking the wind from her lungs. “The question about the gun…you think I…how could you…?”
Contrition showed bright in Sam’s warm brown eyes. “It’s just routine. You had an altercation with the man prior to his murder.”
“So that makes me guilty of killing him?” she asked, her voice rising. “Sam, you’ve known me my whole life.”
Becca stepped forward. “There’s more, Colleen. We really need your cooperation.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she stated.
Her mind whirled with story angles and possible suspects in Chief O’Brien’s murder. She had to get out on the street and find out who had killed Neil.
“Then we’ll need to read you your rights and then take you to the station,” Becca said softly.
“Read me my rights?” Panic slithered up her spine. She felt as if she’d somehow walked into a B movie and wasn’t able to follow the plot line. “What are you saying?”
“Colleen Montgomery, you’re under arrest for the murder of Neil O’Brien….”
“What are you doing here?”
Alessandro halted at his cousin Sam’s harshly asked question. He’d come to the police station as soon as he heard they’d arrested Colleen.
Not for the first time, Alessandro wished he could confide in his cousin that they were on the same side.
But he couldn’t.
The fewer people privy to such information, the better. For their sakes as well as for his own.
“Colleen Montgomery had nothing to do with Neil O’Brien’s death.”
Sam raised a brow. “Do you have proof of this?”
Knowing his words would mean little to nothing to the detective, Alessandro stated, “Your evidence is circumstantial at best.”
“That’s for her lawyer to prove,” Sam retorted.
Frustration tightened in Alessandro’s gut. “You can’t believe she did this.”
Sam ran a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter what I believe. I have to follow the law.”
Not above using their familial connection, Alessandro lowered his voice and said, “Cousin, I know you have no reason to trust me. But trust yourself. You know Colleen wouldn’t hurt anyone. She is being framed. Think for a moment. The articles she has been writing lately on the escalating drug trade…the fires…someone wants her stopped. And I know who it is.”
Sam grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into an interrogation room and shut the door. “You better tell me what you know, Cousin.”
“Baltasar Escalante is not dead.”
Sam gave him a droll look. “Really. And you know this…how?”
Alessandro ground his teeth together. He couldn’t reveal his source of information without blowing his own cover. “You’ll have to trust me.”
Sam snorted. “As you said, I have no reason to trust you.”
Regret for the image he’d been forced to cultivate in order to work his way closer to Escalante’s people stabbed him in the chest. “I can’t explain how I know. He is back.”
Sam shook his head. “We’d have spotted him.”
This time Alessandro shook his head. “He has had plastic surgery.”
Sam scoffed. “You can’t expect me to go to my superiors with this without any proof or any corroborating evidence. I’d be laughed off the force.”
Sam opened the door and walked back into the hall.
Anger burned in Alessandro’s chest. He had to find Escalante and bring him down before he destroyed any more lives.
Including Colleen’s.
“Thank you, Jake, Adam. I love you guys.” Colleen hugged each brother and sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward for the devotion of her family.
As soon as she’d reached the police station she’d called Jake. She was confident that as an FBI agent, he would know what to do. Her brothers had arrived within the hour with a lawyer in tow.
They’d agreed to tell their parents after they had Colleen released. A terrific idea as far as she was concerned. Frank Montgomery would chew some hide inside and out as it was when he found out that Colleen had been arrested. At least this way they could protect Sam and Becca until Frank cooled down.
“That’s what big brothers are for.” Jake shrugged and grinned while adjusting his conservative red tie. He dressed the role of FBI agent nicely in a navy suit and black wingtip shoes. “Getting our little sister out of scrapes is what we do.”
“I don’t think this qualifies as a scrape,” Adam said, concern clouding his eyes. As a doctor, Adam dressed more casually in tan pants and an oxford dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
“You’re right,” Jake agreed, his expression turning somber. “This was a frame. Someone’s out to get you.”
Colleen frowned. “Who? Why? That doesn’t make any sense.” Though deep inside, a nagging feeling that they were right clamored for her attention.
Obviously someone disliked her enough to want to implicate her in Neil’s death. Her reporter’s brain raced toward possible reasons why someone would be out to get her.
Could her suppositions that the hospital fire, the Montgomery Construction fire and the Double V Ranch fire were all somehow connected be on track? The timing of the fires had been way too coincidental and too specific to the Vance and Montgomery families. Had her report on the recent increase in drug activity since the mayor’s shooting stirred some hornet’s nest? But whose? The mysterious El Jefe, who reportedly had been contacting Escalante’s old contacts? No one seemed to be able to identify the new would-be drug lord in town.
“I should have remembered to pick up my scarf when I left last night,” she mused.
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up for something you had no control over,” Jake said.
The door to the small windowless, mirrored room opened and Craig Smith, her lawyer, walked in. His pinstripe suit and shiny black shoes made him look professional, but his youthful face made Colleen jittery. She only hoped her brother was right when he’d assured her that, though Craig was young, he was good.
Push
ing up the wire-rimmed glasses that seemed to constantly be sliding down his straight nose, Craig said, “I’ve had a talk with the D.A. and he agrees that the evidence they have isn’t enough to charge you with Neil O’Brien’s murder.”
“So I can go?” Colleen asked.
She couldn’t wait to get home and start working on the O’Brien case. And continue her research on Alessandro, the latter for purely professional reasons. It had nothing to do with the fact that the Italian man intrigued her. She had to stay objective and report just the facts, no matter what her own personal feelings were.
Which, where Alessandro was concerned, were confusing.
She liked him, yet didn’t completely trust him. But not for any real reason—she’d exonerated him in her mind from the attempt on Mayor Max’s life—but she knew he was keeping secrets.
Anyone who kept their own child a secret had to be involved in something sketchy.
Craig said, “Yes. I would advise you not to leave town, because at the moment, you’re considered a ‘person of interest’ in the case.”
“I don’t have any plans to go anywhere.” Colleen marched past the men and headed out the door.
Behind her she heard her brothers thanking Craig, but her gaze was captured by the tall man standing at the end of the hall, talking with Sam. Her heart plummeted. Oh, no.
She hurried toward the two men. “Sam, you can’t think Alessandro had anything to do with Neil’s death?” she exclaimed as she skidded to a halt.
The tender smile she received from Alessandro sent her heartbeat into overdrive. “No worries, cara.”
Sam snorted. “The man came to say you had nothing to do with Neil’s murder.”
Colleen blinked. “Really?”
Warmth gushed through her like water from a broken dam. She didn’t know what to think of Alessandro’s chivalrous actions. She gazed up at him, looked deep into his dark eyes, and for a moment the buzz of the police station dimmed.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement before shifting his gaze past her, effectively breaking the mesmerizing hold he’d had on her and leaving her slightly off balance.
“What’s he doing here?” Adam demanded from behind her.
Colleen rolled her eyes and grimaced. Her brothers were doing the he-man routine again.
“Believe it or not, he came to defend your sister,” Sam stated, clearly enjoying Colleen’s discomfort, if the smirk he gave her was any indication.
Heat crept up her neck. She could just imagine the expressions on her brothers’ faces. She didn’t want to turn around and see the incredulity or the skepticism.
They would never believe Alessandro had come because he cared about her. Come to think of it, she didn’t believe he’d come for that reason, either. So why had he?
That was a question she was determined to answer. Along with several others. But first she had to get out of here and away from the stifling, protective cover of her family. “Alessandro, would you be willing to give me a ride home?”
“What!” Jake and Adam both exclaimed.
Colleen kept her back to her brothers and waited for Alessandro to respond. His dark eyebrows rose slightly as his gaze shifted back to her.
She held her breath, hoping he’d say yes and wondering how she’d live down the embarrassment if he said no.
FOUR
Mamma mia! He’d stepped in a minefield by coming to the police station. But Alessandro couldn’t seem to muster up enough panic as Colleen’s blue eyes bored into his. He knew if he agreed to take her home, he’d alienate her brothers even more. And his cousin.
But it would sustain his cover as the playboy accountant.
Besides, he sensed there was more going on here than a simple ride. She obviously had something to prove to her brothers and if he could accommodate her, so be it.
It wasn’t as though he had any romantic feelings, despite his admiration of her. He had no plans to go down that particular path again.
“Bella?” Alessandro offered her his arm.
Relief shone bright in her gaze. She slipped her hand in the crook of his elbow. “Thank you.”
She turned to her brothers. “I’ll talk with you later.”
“You can’t leave with him,” Jake sputtered.
“See ya.” She tugged at Alessandro’s arm as she moved forward.
Amused, Alessandro could only give the three men glaring at him a shrug that said “What can I say? She wants me.” “Ciao.”
“Colleen Montgomery, you come back here,” Adam demanded.
Colleen’s steps quickened and Alessandro lengthened his stride. “Bella, I think you’ve made your brothers angry.”
“They’ll get over it,” she said as he pushed open the glass doors for her. She didn’t let go of his arm as they stepped into the sunshine. “Where’s your car?”
“There.” He pointed to the small red convertible parked at the curb.
Her eyes widened and then she grinned. “Cool.”
“You are such a delight, bella,” he said as he opened the door for her to slide into the passenger seat. Her enthusiasm lifted his mood.
He rounded the car to the driver’s side and climbed in, then secured his seat belt and turned to her. “Home?”
“Breakfast?” Her blue eyes twinkled.
Ah. So there was more to this than a mere ride.
“Whatever you wish,” he stated.
He gunned the engine and sped away from the police station. In his rearview mirror he saw her brothers had come out the doors and were watching them drive away. The urge to put his arm around her shoulders was more than he could resist. “Where to?”
She glanced at his outstretched arm lightly resting across the tops of her shoulders. “The Stagecoach. Of course.”
With a grin, he drove through the morning traffic and turned onto South Cascade Avenue in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs. With over a half a million in population in the metro area, the town bustled with activity. Between residents going about their everyday lives and tourists come to enjoy the beauty of the town nestled beneath Pikes Peak, the downtown offered something for everyone.
For the avid reader, the stunning branch of the Pikes Peak Library District was within walking distance from countless relaxing reading spots. Many times over the years Colleen had spent time in one of the many lush parks, working on a story or sitting in a coffee shop among the thriving businesses and apartment buildings of the main thoroughfare.
After removing his arm from around her, Alessandro slipped the car into a parking spot in front of the charming red barnlike structure that claimed to serve the best apple pie this side of the Rockies.
He climbed out and came around to open Colleen’s door. She slipped her small, delicate hand into his as he helped her out of the car. He liked the way her skin felt so soft and velvety in his grasp.
Inside the café, Fiona Montgomery, her bright-red hair piled high on her head and her warm brown eyes sparkling, bustled forward. “Colleen, honey, how are you?”
Fiona eyed Alessandro up and down. “And you brought a friend. Lidia’s nephew, right?”
Alessandro nodded and suppressed a smile at the way Fiona’s tone dipped on the word friend. Clearly, Colleen didn’t bring many friends to the café. And for some reason, that pleased him.
Fiona sat them at a window table and hurried away with a promise to return quickly to take their orders.
“My aunt Fiona’s the best cook in town,” Colleen boasted as she settled into the red vinyl seat.
“I thought my aunt Lidia was the best cook in town,” he teased.
Colleen grinned. “They both are,” she conceded. “Tell me about Italy. Where you grew up.”
He leaned back and stretched his legs beneath the table, his knee brushing against hers. “I grew up in a small town in the center of Italia called Fabriano, most famous for the paper mills. The paper with the, as you say, watermark, was invented in Fab
riano.”
“Interesting. Do you have family there still?”
His gut clenched, but he answered honestly. “Sì. Mi madre e padre.”
“And your aunt Lidia is…?”
“Older sister to mi madre.”
Colleen nodded and Alessandro had the distinct feeling she was working up to something. And he had no intention of revealing anything more to her than necessary. He glanced up and was relieved to see Fiona heading their way.
“So, what will it be today?” Fiona asked in her usual vivacious way.
Colleen grinned. “What do you think I want, Aunt Fiona?”
Fiona grinned back. “My famous apple pie.”
“You guessed it.”
Pie for breakfast. Another reason to like this woman. Alessandro held up two fingers. “Due, per favore.”
Fiona winked. “Good choice. Two apple pies coming up.”
Colleen put her elbows on the table, folded her hands and rested her chin on her knuckles. She looked so sweet and innocent that danger alarms went off in his head.
“Tell me more about your family,” she said.
His family was off-limits, so instead he told her of Italy and of his hometown of Fabriano. He described the Piazza del Comune, the plaza in the center of town where everyone gathered after siesta.
He told her of the Gothic Palazzo del Podestà with its swallowtail battlements. She took it all in, her curiosity and intelligence shining in her bright eyes.
“It sounds wonderful,” she said, her tone wistful.
“In the centre of the Piazza del Comune is a smaller version of Perugia’s famous fountain. This is where the younger crowd, what is it you Americans say?…hang out.”
“Did you hang out there as a teen?”
He shrugged. “Sì. A good place to watch the girls.”
Her mouth twisted. “I can just picture you acting all cool, flirting with girls.”
“It’s the Italian way.”
She rolled her eyes. “I think it’s a universal male thing.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You speak of your brothers, no?”