Her Alibi

by Carol Ericson

  “Great. Didn’t you see the reaction of the troops?” He crossed one long leg over the other.

  Savannah patted her chest. “It warmed my heart. Should we get down to business? I have the papers I want to discuss with you in my briefcase.”

  Nick pointed at the ceiling. “And I have mine upstairs. Let’s have this discussion in my office. I have a surprise for you.”

  “I don’t need any surprises, Nick.” She tilted her head to one side. Nick was usually by the book. That was what she liked about him.

  “Okay, no surprises.” He held up his hands. “I bought a nice bottle of champagne to celebrate your homecoming. Just a sip or two.”

  “Actually, I could use a sip or two. I’ve had a rough day—rough week.”

  “I’ll take this for you.” He grabbed her briefcase and hitched it over his shoulder.

  As they rode up the elevator together, she broke the news about Dee Dee.

  Nick’s eyes popped out of their sockets. “Dee and Niles? That fool. I’m sorry, Savannah, but the man had no discipline.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  When they reached the executive floor, Nick ushered her into his office. He reached into the minifridge on the floor beside his desk, withdrew a magnum of champagne and hoisted it in the air. “The good stuff.”

  He took a couple glasses from a credenza. “Do you mind if they’re not crystal flutes?”

  “You’re mistaking me for Niles.”

  “Never.” He popped the cork and splashed a quantity of the sparkling liquid in each glass, where it foamed and bubbled. He raised his glass to her. “To a new era at Snap App.”

  “A new era.” She clinked her glass against his and took a sip. Then she reached into her briefcase and pulled out the file with the misrepresentations. “And it’s going to start right here.”

  Smoothing out the papers on the table in front of them, she launched into a description of what Niles had been doing with the orders.

  She didn’t have to explain much to Nick. He was their finance guy. He’d know all about the practice of accelerating revenues.

  “There’s more, Nick.” She took another gulp of champagne, her long discourse making her thirsty. “I think Brian Donahue may have known something about this.”

  “Brian?” He rolled his glass between his hands. “He’s missing.”

  “Not anymore. I—I’m meeting him tonight. He contacted me and told me he had info about Niles.”

  “That’s not safe, Savannah.” Nick tipped more of the shimmering liquid into her glass. “That guy’s a loose cannon.”

  “I’ll be taking Connor with me. He’ll keep me safe.” She yawned and tapped the file. “But what are we going to do about this mess, Nick?”

  “I’ll take care of it, Savannah.” He scooped up the papers and shoved them back into the folder. Then he tossed it onto his desk.

  She wrinkled her nose and yawned again. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m gonna bury that information so deep it’ll never surface.”

  Savannah’s head buzzed and she tried to work up some outrage, but she was too tired. Her gaze tracked to the champagne still fizzing in her glass. As she reached for it again, she knocked it over with one flailing hand.

  She struggled to hold on to consciousness, but felt it slipping away. She was going to black out again...but this time the dead body in the room would be hers.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Connor checked his phone again for what seemed like the hundredth time. The meetings must be going well. Maybe Fresco, Savannah’s CFO, would be able to help right the Snap App ship.

  He shoved back from his laptop and stretched. Even though they’d had that late lunch, he’d be ready for dinner before their meeting with Brian and the drive back to San Juan Beach.

  He swirled the dregs of the coffee left in his cup and then set it down. He’d head over and wait for her in the parking lot. He didn’t much trust this Brian character she was meeting later.

  His cell phone buzzed and he checked the display. He read the text from Savannah with a groan, and then eyed the refrigerated display case next to the register.

  Savannah had decided to go out with Dee Dee for a drink before the meeting with Brian, and had asked him to pick her up at the bar in another two hours. His stomach rumbled.

  He didn’t think it was a great idea for her to drink before seeing Brian, but she’d had a rough day—and he’d have her back. He responded to her text with a thumbs-up emoji and ordered himself a bagel and cream cheese.

  As he sat down with the warm bagel, the woman at the next table smiled at him. “Do you have a pen I can borrow? Mine just ran out of ink.”

  He felt in his front pocket for the pen he’d grabbed from Nick Fresco’s desk on his way out of the Snap App offices and plucked it from his pocket. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks. I just need it for a minute.” She took it from him and flipped open a notebook.

  Connor scooped out some cream cheese and spread it on one half of his bagel. He crunched into the bagel and pulled his laptop close to finish reviewing the report from his chemist on the winery.

  The woman stretched across the space between their tables and tapped the pen on the surface before dropping it. “Thank you.”

  The pen rolled off the table and fell to the floor, where a piece broke off.

  “I’m so sorry. Was it an expensive pen?”

  Connor leaned to the side to retrieve it. As he picked it up, a feather of fear brushed the back of his neck. Where had he seen this particular type of pen before?

  His heart slammed against his chest and he almost tipped out of the chair. He dropped the pen to the floor himself and scrambled out of his seat. Under the woman’s wide eyes, he brought the heel of his shoe down on the object, splintering it into pieces.

  “Wh-what’s wrong? I’ll replace the pen if you like.”

  He pinched the pieces in a napkin and plopped back in his chair. Hunching over the table, he stirred through the bits of plastic, his chest slamming against his rib cage.

  The pen he’d taken from Nick Fresco’s desk was a spy pen. The same type Savannah had been carrying around in her purse for a few days. The type someone had slipped into her purse the night Savannah was drugged and Niles was murdered. The same kind that had broken in just this way that day in Niles’s office.

  And Savannah and Nick had a meeting tonight together, alone.

  * * *

  HIS HEART GALLOPING, Connor pulled into the empty parking structure. Everyone had left. The meeting was over.

  Savannah had given him her location badge to get in and out of the building, and he used it now to gain access to the reception area. Some small voice in his ear kept him from charging up seven flights of stairs yelling Savannah’s name.

  He eased open the door to the stairwell and glided up the steps barely breaking a sweat, his pumping adrenaline giving him the strength of ten men. He’d need it—that and his gun. He patted the weapon in his waistband he’d brought for the meeting with Brian.

  When he reached the seventh floor, he held his breath and pushed down the door handle. He gave the door a little shove and stopped, peering through the crack. The stairwell was down the hall from the main offices and he could see the only lunchroom from his vantage point.

  He opened the door wide enough to slip through, and then closed it on a whisper. He crept toward the offices and paused when he heard voices, male and female. Shutting his eyes, he blew out a breath. He’d recognize Savannah’s voice anywhere.

  If she and Fresco were still meeting, Connor would get her out of here, and then they could compile the evidence against Fresco without the CFO even knowing they were onto him.

  The voices became clearer, and still, Connor held back, inching his way toward a cubicle across from the offices. He flattened himse
lf against one wall of the cubicle and waited until he could hear the voices again.

  Savannah’s voice, low and slightly slurred, came from the office—her office. “This is not going to work, Nick.”

  “Of course it is. You murdered your husband to get your hands on the company, his life insurance, the house—take your pick. Then you killed Letty because she was going to blackmail you with the button. I have proof of that.”

  “That’s not proof. And I have the knife, remember?”

  Nick laughed, “I should’ve realized you’d be a formidable foe, Savannah. Niles was easy. That button will be good enough. And when the cops find your dead body here at the office, they’ll assume you were filled with remorse and hanged yourself.”

  His words hit Connor on the back of the head like a sledgehammer. His muscles coiled, ready to pounce. But pounce on what? He couldn’t see into the office. He didn’t want to push Fresco into doing anything yet.

  “I have...whatever you drugged me with...in my body. The autopsy report will show that.”

  “So what? You needed to take something before the act to steady your nerves...just like you drugged Niles to make stabbing him easier.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re doing this, Nick. You were never even on my radar. I had no idea you and Niles were cooking the books together. The paperwork doesn’t implicate you.”

  “It was my plan from the start—kill Niles and frame you. Your meeting with Brian tonight just accelerated the timeline.”

  “Brian knows, doesn’t he? That’s why you fired him. He was going to tell me everything tonight.”

  Fresco snorted, “I wouldn’t count on that. He’s all over the place, but I can handle Brian—I’ve done it before.”

  Savannah coughed. “Why didn’t you just kill both of us that night?”

  “And leave the cops searching for a suspect? No, thanks.”

  The sound of a dragging chair had Connor dropping to his hands and knees and making a move out of the cubicle. He had to see what was going on. Had to determine a way to stop this madness.

  “Connor is coming back here to pick me up any minute. This is not going to work, Nick. We can make a deal. I’ll work with you.”

  Savannah’s speech had lost its drowsy edge and contained a hint of desperation.

  Connor clenched his hands into fists, cursing the modern glass walls of these offices. The minute he popped up, Fresco would spot him.

  “I took care of Connor, too.”

  “What?” Savannah choked.

  “Oh, not like that, but if he doesn’t stop snooping around, I will take extreme measures.” Fresco clicked his tongue. “I meant I sent him a text from you toward the end of the all-hands meeting, letting him know you’d be going out for drinks with Dee Dee. He doesn’t even know you’re still here. He’ll be waiting for you at some bar downtown in about an hour. And like you said—you two never suspected me. Did you really think that nitwit Tiffany could’ve pulled this off, or even her psychotic boyfriend? Letty? Come on.”

  “I won’t tell anyone, Nick. You can resign from the company with a fat bonus and I’ll fix everything.”

  Fresco laughed, “I don’t believe that for a second. You were always the moral partner. Niles was the dirtbag. That’s how I knew he’d be up for a little financial maneuvering.”

  “Stop this.”

  Was that a plea to him? Connor couldn’t stand to listen to any more of this.

  Clutching the gun in his hands, he rose slowly from the floor to face the windows of Savannah’s office. Rage boiled his blood and seared his skin when he saw Fresco slipping a noose around Savannah’s neck as she stood on a chair.

  Fresco spun around, one hand on Savannah’s back, the other on the rope encircling her throat.

  Connor growled, “Let her go.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Fresco tapped the leg of the chair with the toe of his wingtip. “One solid kick and she swings.”

  “One shot and you’re dead.” Connor took aim at Fresco’s head.

  “I’m not going down alone, Wells. She’ll come with me. And then you’ll have quite a bit of explaining to do—maybe starting with how you impeded a murder investigation by lying about the prime suspect’s whereabouts.” Fresco moved closer to the chair. “I have to admit Savannah impressed me with her criminal know-how. I thought the cops would be arresting her right away once they pinged her cell phone, and found that knife. If I were you, I’d be a little worried about being with a woman who knows how to cover her tracks as effortlessly as Savannah does. Lots of practice there.”

  Connor’s jaw hardened. He could take the head shot and maybe Fresco wouldn’t have time to kick that chair out from under Savannah. Or maybe he would have time, but Connor could rush across the room and grab her before she hanged.

  He stared hard into Fresco’s eyes, his finger tightening on the trigger.

  A split second later, Savannah hoisted her feet from the chair and slammed them into Fresco’s ribs.

  The man staggered to the side and then lunged for Savannah’s legs, which were bicycling in the air.

  That was his girl, and nobody was going to hurt his girl ever again.

  Connor took the shot.

  Epilogue

  Savannah stretched out in the hammock and curled her toes. She held up her wineglass to the setting sun. “Yours is going to be better than this, isn’t it?”

  Connor, on the other side of the hammock, facing her, took a sip of wine and swirled it around in his mouth. “Damn right.”

  “You’ll have to send some to the detectives when it’s ready. Detective Paulson called me this morning and told me they were wrapping up the case against Nick Fresco.”

  “I’m not sure Paulson ever did believe you weren’t at the house that night.”

  “Maybe not.” She trailed a hand over the edge of the hammock through the tall, cool grass. “But when they found the murder weapon with both Niles’s and Nick’s blood on it, that sealed the deal for them, and Brian Donahue’s statement helped.”

  “Told you A.J. was a pro.”

  She slid her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose. “I don’t know why Nick would keep the murder weapon with his own blood on it.”

  “He didn’t keep it. He planted it on you and figured you’d dispose of it. Probably didn’t realize his blood was on the knife, but knew yours was because that’s what he used to cut you. Didn’t remember that you were left-handed, though.” Connor grabbed her bare foot and ran his knuckle down her arch. “That was a stroke of luck when I grabbed that pen from Fresco’s desk. I can’t believe he’d leave something like that out in plain sight, but then he probably figured he could plant another one on you when you were in the office. Did he ever explain why he made his move that night, when you didn’t even suspect him?”

  “He always planned to stage my suicide.” She shivered despite the warm sun beating down on her legs. “But when I stupidly told him I was meeting Brian, he snapped. He thought Brian might’ve decided to tell me that he discovered the anomalies in the finances and had been paid off to keep quiet.”

  “Who knows if that’s what Brian was going to do?”

  “I still don’t know. He won’t return my calls.” She pinged the side of her glass with her fingernail. “But my mom finally did.”

  Connor sat up and the hammock swayed from side to side. “Georgie called you back? Did you confront her?”

  “I did.”

  “I’m sure she had excuses for what she did.”

  “Of course. She told me in all seriousness that the cops would’ve gone easier on a young woman who’d been fighting off Manny’s advances than an older woman who stood to get her hands on Manny’s assets.” Savannah swiped the back of her hand across her stinging nose. “But she told me she loved me.”

  “She ain’t the only on
e.” Connor chafed her foot between his hands.

  She tossed the rest of her wine overboard and placed the glass on the ground. “You’re too far away.”

  Connor held out his arms, and she scrambled across the swinging hammock and landed on his chest, tucking her head against his shoulder. “I thought of a good name for the winery.”

  “Really?” He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. “Let me guess...Savannah’s?”

  “Nope. Alibi Vineyards.”

  Connor wrapped his arms around her, and they laughed so hard the hammock flipped over and dumped them on the ground.

  “Be careful. You’re going to have Detective Paulson knocking on your door again.”

  “Let him come at me. Let ’em all come at me.” Resting her head against his chest, she ran her fingers through his long hair. “If you believe in me, I can face anything.”

  “Oh, I believe in you, Savannah Martell...”

  Her head jerked up and she met his blue eyes. Had he almost said for now?

  Then he took her face in his hands and kissed her...and she didn’t even care.

  * * *

  Look for more books from award-winning author Carol Ericson later in 2019.

  And don’t miss the first three titles in her

  Red, White and Built: Pumped Up miniseries:

  Delta Force Defender

  Delta Force Daddy

  Delta Force Die Hard

  Available now from Harlequin Intrigue!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Ice Cold Killer by Cindi Myers.

  Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!

  Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards

  http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Intrigue story.

  You crave excitement! Harlequin Intrigue stories deal in serious romantic suspense, keeping you on the edge of your seat as resourceful, true-to-life women and strong, fearless men fight for survival.