The Savage Heart

by Diana Palmer

  "Thank you,"Nansaid sincerely. "But it isn't my intention to involve you any more than you've been involved already. My sister's husband is a policeman." She added with a chuckle, "A big, mean cop. Let Dennis try anything with him, even when he's not sober, and he'll think he's been run over by a streetcar!"

  "But what if he should find you before you can get away?" Tess asked.

  Nanshifted. "That's why we arranged to meet at a public place. But if Dennis comes after me, I'll run."

  Tess tookNan's gloved hands in hers. "Now,Nan…what's this?" She felt moisture under her fingers. As they passed a streetlight, she could see the color of it, stainingNan's gloves. It was red.

  "Nan!" she exclaimed. "You're bleeding!"

  Nanjerked her hands back and shivered. "Oh…oh, that," she said, hesitating. "It was when I prepared the chicken for supper. I had my gloves lying on the counter. I didn't realize…"

  "Blood splatters, doesn't it?" Tess was relieved that it was something so simple. "You'll be all right,Nan. I'm sure of it."

  "I hope so." The pure exhaustion in the woman's voice had a pathos all its own.

  * * *

  Sure enough, Edith Greene was at the meeting with her husband, officer Brian Greene, in full uniform. They looked vaguely uneasy in the crowd of fairly militant women, but they stayed through the business meeting and immediately tookNanaway with them as soon as the meeting was over.

  Edith, tall and thin and severe-looking and years older than her sister, paused to grasp Tess's hand and thank her for helpingNan.

  "I didnothing," Tess said, smiling. "ButNanis my friend. I hope you know that I'd help her in any way I could."

  Officer Greene was watching her with narrowed eyes. "You'd be the cousin of Matt Davis, would you not?" he asked.

  She flushed at the sound of Matt's name. "Yes, I am," she said.

  His blue eyes narrowed. "You were hurt at that last women's march."

  Tess's face contorted, and her eyes pleaded with him to say nothing, although Edith andNanwere frowning curiously at the statement.

  "You never said,"Nanbegan.

  "I haven't seen you since then," Tess replied, which was the truth. She smiled. "I was hurt in the riot that followed, but only a little. I'm fine now."

  Officer Greene's lips pursed, but he bit back the rest of what he was going to say. "You're a brave lass," he said. "If there's any further trouble, you just let me know. I can handle it."

  She smiled warmly at him. He was big and burly and not at all handsome, but Edith clung to his arm and shot him admiring looks as if he were Adonis.

  They left. Tess said her good-byes to the other ladies and climbed into Mick's waiting carriage. It had been a night of surprises. She hoped thatNanwould be all right. Knowing what she did aboutNan's husband and how dangerous he was, she felt that her concern wasn't misplaced.

  * * *

  Matt was waiting on the porch when Tess got home from the meeting. Just like last time, she thought. Her heart began to race wildly as she waved Mick off, opened the gate, and walked slowly up to the porch where Matt leaned against one of the posts.

  "You're on time tonight," he remarked.

  "I usually am when terrible things don't happen to me," she replied in a cool tone.

  He had one hand in his pocket. The other toyed with the long gold watch chain that dangled from his vest pocket. "Nothing happened tonight, then?"

  She shook her head. "The meeting was rather ordinary, except thatNancame back."

  He was instantly alert. "Alone?"

  She frowned, puzzled by his reaction. "Well, yes. She's left her husband. She was going home from the meeting with her sister and brother-in-law, Brian Greene. He's a big Irish policeman," she added with a smile.

  "I know him," Matt replied.

  "Nanwill be safe," she said. "I'm so glad she came to her senses. I thought I'd go by and see her tomorrow at her sister's house—"

  "No, you won't," he told her flatly. "She isn't safe. And neither will you be if you go near her. You little fool, have you no idea what sort of man her husband is, even after what he did to you?"

  She was taken aback by his vehemence. "But, surely, with her brother-in-law there—"

  "Greene works days, Tess. Her sister will be no protection at all forNan. Collier won't like having his wife run away like that. He'll kill her; maybe her sister with her. None of you seem to have any idea what she's up against."

  She put a hand to her throat. "Is he really so dangerous?"

  He didn't answer her directly. "She should have had him arrested first, before she left him," he said coldly. "It would have given her a chance. Greene would have checked with her neighbors, and when he learned how she'd been treated, Collier would have been put so far behind bars that he'd never get free."

  She was about to tell him whatNanhad said about the fight, but it didn't seem to have much importance now. "PoorNan," she said in a subdued tone, worried as she hadn't been before. She looked up at him. "Matt, from what you've said about her and Collier, I gather you've done more checking on them. Do you know of anything we can do to help her?"

  He paused. "Perhaps. She should be safe enough tonight, with Greene in the house. I'll go by the police station first thing in the morning and talk with the officer on duty in that precinct. He's a friend of mine, and Greene's superior."

  She shifted her weight from foot to foot, reluctant to end the conversation despite the coolness of the evening and her light jacket, which was no barrier at all to the wind. "Thank you, Matt."

  "It's no trouble to do you a kindness," he said. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "You're loyal to your friends. Absurdly so, sometimes."

  She shrugged. "I don't have so many that I can afford to lose one."

  "Even unpopular ones," he agreed, smiling faintly as he remembered the past.

  She moved closer to the door, her bag clutched in her hands. "Are we still friends?" she asked suddenly. She didn't look at him. She was afraid to.

  He was silent for so long that she thought he wasn't going to answer. She felt him at her back, amazed at how quietly he moved. He'd taught her to walk silently, too, but she'd forgotten. He hadn't.

  "Don't torture yourself so over a minute's madness. We lost our bearings for a little while," he said finally, and his voice held a trace of resignation. "That's all. We didn't stop being friends because of it."

  He couldn't have put it much plainer that he considered those hungry kisses they'd shared a mistake.

  Her back straightened and she turned, forcing herself to smile. "Yes. Of course."

  But when she started toward the door, he caught her waist and held her near him, his fingers warm and strong through the stuff of her jacket.

  "Don't dwell on it," he said gruffly. "There wouldn't have been any future in it, anyway. Imagine a pretty little blonde parading around with a Sioux inChicago."

  "What an interesting remark from a man who deliberately hides his ancestry," she pointed out.

  He dropped her arm roughly. "I don't."

  "You do," she argued. "You enjoy watching people try to guess what your nationality is, where you came from. But you never bother to correct them."

  His face gave no clue to his feelings, but his eyes glittered. "We've had this conversation before. How I deal with the past is my concern."

  "How can I convince you that it isn't a past to make you ashamed?" she asked gently. "No, don't." She moaned when he turned away. She caught his arm and moved closer. "Matt, don't be like this!"

  His arm was as rigid as a plank. He didn't even look at her. He'd distanced himself so completely that he might have been carved of wood, like one of those horrible facsimiles of Indians in front of cigar stores. She couldn't reach him.

  "All right," she said, loosening her grip on his sleeve. "You win. We'll pretend that I never said a word. You don't want to talk about anything personal with me. I'll remember from now on."

  She left him standing there and went into the h
ouse, aware of angry dark eyes following her. Perhaps she'd burned her bridges. Not that it mattered anymore. He'd made his position crystal clear. She hadn't realized how much it would hurt to have him shut her out. In the old days, he'd been enigmatic, yes. But warm and friendly with her. Of course, back then she'd been no threat to a grown warrior. Her adolescent self was someone to amuse and teach and indulge. But she was a woman now, and Matt couldn't manage a relationship that included the passionate kisses he'd given her in anger. He wouldn't risk his heart.

  She went straight to her room, put her jacket and hat away, and sat down in the small rocking chair beside her window. Matt had noticed her physically for the first time since she'd come toChicago, and it had made him wary of her. Now that he was seeing her as a threat to his peace of mind, there wouldn't be any more cozy chats, any more teasing exchanges. He'd keep her at arm's length, figuratively and physically. He'd never let her get close enough to threaten his peace of mind again.

  It was a blow to her ego and to her vulnerable heart. Matt had been so much a part of her life, for so long, that it wasn't going to be easy to let him go. But he didn't want Tess, and he'd made it very plain that she wasn't going to be part of his future.

  She began to doubt her instincts in coming toChicago. It hadn't been fair to put the responsibility for her well-being on Matt, just because they'd been friends inMontana. She hadn't thought of how it was going to affect Matt's life, having her around all the time. Of course he'd feel some responsibility for her. Her father had saved his life, and she'd nursed him back to health. He would feel obliged to do anything he could for her. But it would be pity, not love; obligation, not pleasure in her company.

  Matt might not want her in any permanent way, but that didn't wipe out years of friendship. And it didn't cure her of loving him. Her eyes closed as she rocked, and she felt the pain and need all the way to her toes. She'd been unfair. She'd been thoughtless and irresponsible. Now she had to make amends…somehow.

  * * *

  As usual of late, Tess didn't sleep well. She went to work the next morning worried and high-strung from a night of guilt and self-recrimination. She hadn't seen Matt when she left the boardinghouse that morning, but she hoped that he'd go ahead to the police station before anything could happen toNan. She was so afraid for her. Not that she wasn't afraid for Matt, too.

  She went about her duties conscientiously, all too aware that the matron on her ward didn't seem to like her and wasn't shy about letting her know it.

  Miss Fish, or "the Barracuda" as she was known to her juniors, wore white gloves to test the dust on bedside tables and windowsills. She was meticulous about making sure that all instruments were faithfully boiled for the prescribed time after use, and that there were adequate supplies of bleached sheets and blankets for the patients on her ward. She starched her skirts so much that she rustled when she walked. Under them, barely visible, were spotlessly clean lace-up shoes. On her head was the cap that all nurses at theCookCountyHospitalwore on duty. She was a credit to her profession and the very devil to work for.

  Tess thought with bittersweet pleasure of the days when she'd been her father's nurse. There had been no Miss Fish to drive her mad. She'd had time to show concern and compassion for her patients. Here her day was one hectic rush to get things done. Often she felt that the patients got lost in the shuffle.

  After a long morning counting instruments for the second time because Miss Fish didn't trust her first effort, Tess walked calmly back down the ward and found herself suddenly face-to-face with Matt.

  He hadn't seen her in uniform before. He studied her trim, neat figure.

  Despite the mad beating of her heart, she displayed a calm expression.

  "You shouldn't be here," she said in a low voice. "Miss Fish will have a conniption fit if she sees you."

  "Miss who?"

  "Fish," she murmured, moving quickly into the hall. "She's my superior."

  He scowled as he looked around. "What do you do here all day?"

  "What I used to do back inMontana," she said. "Empty bedpans, make beds, take temperatures, boil instruments, and generally give assistance when asked."

  His eyes narrowed. "Aren't you a little old for such a junior position?"

  "I've never been formally trained, as most of these girls have been. I have only practical experience, and that's what sort of work I do here."

  "You don't assist the doctors?"

  "Heaven forbid. Miss Fish would faint."

  He scowled. "Is she as prim as her name?"

  She peered past him. "You're about to find out."

  He had his bowler hat in hand. He turned as the older woman joined them. He thought of prunes when he saw that drawn face, which looked as if it never smiled.

  "Miss Fish," he murmured politely, and made her a slight bow.

  She was taken aback when he lifted her hand to his lips in a continental way, and she went red-cheeked.

  "My cousin speaks of you with awe," he said pleasantly. "You must be very important to command such respect among your nurses."

  Miss Fish almost babbled. She straightened her sleeve nervously."You are a flirt, young man," she said, but in a distinctly pleased tone. She was visibly flustered. "I presume that you came to see Miss Meredith on some urgent matter?"

  "A grave matter," he assured her. "Otherwise I should never have ventured to interrupt her work."

  "In that case, you may have five minutes in which to speak to her. Don't dally when you finish, Meredith," the woman added in a strict tone. She always called them by their surnames, presumably to keep them in their place. She looked at Matt and actually smiled. "Don't detain her unnecessarily, young man. Even family has no privilege here, in the face of urgent work."

  "Yes, ma'am," he said with a pleasant smile.

  She flushed again, nodded curtly at Tess, and took herself off down the ward with a back like a fire poker.

  Matt had to smother a grin at Tess's perplexed expression.

  "What a nice touch," she said. "Did you practice in the mirror until you perfected that suave manner?"

  "For weeks," he agreed. His face lost every trace of mirth, however, as he began to speak. "I've been at the police station most of the morning. I didn't want to come until I had something optimistic to say. But that hasn't happened, so I've come anyway."

  "Is itNan?" she asked at once. "Is she all right?"

  "That depends on your definition of well-being." He took a breath. "She's in jail."

  It took Tess a moment to absorb what he'd said. She turned her head the least bit, confused. "In jail?Nan? On what charge?"

  "Murder in the first degree," he said bluntly. "They found Dennis Collier in his living room this morning with a pair of scissors stuck through his neck. He was quite dead."

  «^»

  Tess felt Matt's hand on her arm, steadying her. "Don't take it like that," he said curtly. "She isn't guilty. I knew it the minute I spoke with her. Greene doesn't believe she did it either, but her sister went to sit with a sick friend, Greene was called out to work, andNanwas alone for several hours. She has no alibi for the time Collier was killed, and her neighbors heard her threaten to kill him before she left the house earlier last night."

  "Oh, dear heaven," Tess said. She straightened her dainty white cap and pushed back a wisp of hair. "She couldn't kill a worm. She's not that sort of woman. I know she didn't do it." She looked up. "But can we prove it?"

  "I don't know. Greene says it's doubtful, unless she was seen somewhere. Even that might not help." He glanced down the ward, where Miss Fish was looking at them pointedly.

  "You must help her," Tess pleaded, wide-eyed. She touched his sleeve. "Please."

  He stiffened and moved back from her until her hand fell. "You don't have to plead with me on her behalf," he said curtly. "Greene and his superior have already asked me to investigate the murder. I would have done it even if they hadn't."

  She let out a relieved sigh. "I can help."

>   His eyebrows rose. "You can?"

  She glared. "I'm not stupid or helpless. I can ask questions or follow people around for you."

  His stiff posture relaxed as he looked down at her, and his sudden smile was indulgent. She looked belligerent and very pretty with her cheeks flushed and her big green eyes accusing as they met his. She was pretty. Too pretty. The smile faded as his eyes fell to her soft mouth and he remembered with an inconvenient ache how it felt to kiss her.

  The cold glare, coming right behind the warm smile, made her uncomfortable. "I'd better get back to work. I'll do whatever I can to help.Nanis the only friend I have."