Wind could have blown it from the front porch.
Only, as her gaze roamed the lawn on either side of her and further down the length of her condo building, Evangeline had to accept the truth.
There was no shirt.
No blood.
And no evidence it had ever existed.
* * *
The man watched from across the parking lot, a casual observer of what was taking place through his windshield. To anyone who saw him, including the rash of cops, he knew he’d just look like another guy waiting for someone in his car. The book in his lap would be a handy excuse should anyone knock on the window and question what he was doing there. Not that he was planning on sticking around.
But oh, how he’d wanted to see her face.
He’d been hiding down the yard when she opened the door to find the shirt and hadn’t had a chance to enjoy the stark shock that would have covered those angelic features.
But he heard the scream.
Loud and pure, it practically reverberated off the bricks of her condo building. And damn, was it a fitting punishment for all she’d failed to do. Because it turned out the angel had a pair of broken wings. And she deserved what she got.
A fact he was more than happy to prove to her by removing the shirt after she’d slammed the door on the evidence. Again, more proof that she couldn’t be trusted with the truth.
If she were a good lawyer working for the citizens of Grave Gulch County, she’d never have run in fear like that. She’d have picked up the shirt, no matter how much it bothered her, and brought it inside until her precious cop showed up.
But no.
She did just what he expected her to do. Slam the door on the truth. Just like she’d believed all the evidence from that phony, Randall Bowe.
Oh yeah, he thought as he slowly pulled out of his spot, circling the back of the parking lot to steer clear of the cops. Those wings were mighty broken. And she deserved every single thing that was coming her way.
* * *
Troy felt the hard, unyielding gazes of his chief and two fellow cops as he watched Evangeline, stare sightlessly from the chair in her living room. The scene felt way too much like the night before and he was struggling to find any sense of equilibrium as he considered the shuddering woman in the chair.
How did he reconcile her with the strong, competent lawyer he knew?
And what in the hell was going on with her?
She hadn’t faked the dread in her voice when she’d called him, nor was she faking the situation now. He’d bet his badge on it.
But still, something remained overwhelmingly off. How was it possible she’d had three panic-inducing scares in a matter of twenty-four hours, yet there was no evidence any of them had taken place? They would get the security footage of the building and several uniforms were already fanning out to canvas the property for witnesses, but the lack of a bloody shirt was a problem.
He’d been so focused on thinking Davison was responsible, but was it possible Randall Bowe had targeted her somehow?
“Troy. Can I speak with you?” Melissa’s question was really a request and Troy shot a look at one of the deputies who’d arrived on scene, their silent exchange an order to keep watch on Evangeline.
Melissa waited at the front door of Evangeline’s condo and gestured Troy outside. The midday sun was high in the sky, summer making its presence known in the sticky heat. “You want to tell me what’s going on here?”
“She called me in distress, Mel.”
“I can see that. And you responded in kind.” His cousin spread her hand wide to take in the four police cars and scattering of cops milling around the small yard and parking area that made up the exterior of the condo complex. “What I can’t see is any sign of evidence.”
“I have an idea about that. Is it possible Bowe’s trying to exact some revenge? Planting evidence on her, then taking it away.”
“Troy—”
“He could do it. He’s already proven he knows how to tamper with evidence, and he’s enjoyed making taunts when he can. Wouldn’t this be an escalation?”
“Troy!” Her voice was clipped and any sign of the family member and friend he knew and loved had vanished. Right now, she was fully his boss. “Are you listening to yourself? You’re making up reasons which, while fair, remove any and all responsibility off Ms. Whittaker.”
“But she’s scared, Mel.”
“And also currently on leave from a high-stress job. A leave that was directly related to letting a very guilty man go. A man who has murdered two more times in a serial fashion since her legal arguments got him released from our custody.”
“You’re blaming that on her?”
“Some of it, yes,” she admitted.
“Because she used evidence our department improperly handled?”
“Where are your loyalties, Troy?”
“Where are yours?”
In all the years he and Melissa had worked together, Troy couldn’t ever remember a harsher disagreement between the two of them. In addition to their familial bond, they had a close working relationship and had always been compatible.
But on this he simply couldn’t agree with her. He’d seen Evangeline’s face. Had watched her tremble in fear. Hell, he’d held her himself, and felt that bone-deep anxiety ripple through her.
He just couldn’t walk away from this.
“This isn’t about loyalty. This is about doing the job,” he said.
“Doing what job? Running at the drop of a hat to placate a hysterical woman?”
“That’s not fair.”
“The truth isn’t always fair.” Melissa shook her head before extending a hand in frustration. “Look at it out here. I’ve got damn near a third of the department stomping around this condo complex while a serial killer roams loose.”
“Other crimes haven’t stopped because Davison is out free. The Coltons know that better than most.” Troy saw the moment he might have gotten through to her. “Drew Orr tried to kill you in January, at the same time we were discovering the depth of Randall Bowe’s deception.”
“I know that. I lived it.” She had had to shoot the man dead herself when he attempted to kill her and her now-fiancé, Antonio.
“Clarke and Everleigh, too,” Troy pressed. “Everleigh was nearly killed by her ex-husband’s lover, the woman was so hell-bent on revenge.”
“You going to give me the whole list of Colton cousins, Troy? Because Travis and Tatiana are still reeling from that creep at Colton Plastics who had his twisted eye on her for far too long. Stanton and Dominique helped us uncover a drug ring operating right here in Grave Gulch County. And Desiree is finally able to sleep at night thanks to getting Danny back and living with the security and protection of Stavros’s love. You think I haven’t understood the pain my family has gone through these past months?”
“I know you have.”
“Then why are you tossing it in my face?”
“Because we Coltons know it better than most. We can’t ignore an upstanding citizen right here in Grave Gulch who needs our help.”
“What if she’s making it up?”
And there it was. The one piece of the puzzle he didn’t have an argument for. Because in each of his family’s experiences, there had been a clear problem. Escalating violence. Kidnappings. Serious threats.
Where was that here?
Other than what Evangeline claimed to have witnessed, there was nothing he could go on as tangible proof. And unlike his family situations where those terrible incidents had still somehow led to his family finding love, he and Evangeline weren’t a couple. Nor did interfering in her life as if he had a right to be there meet his personal standards as a member of the Grave Gulch PD.
In the end, all he could go on was his gut. And the continued feeling that something was going very
, very wrong around Evangeline Whittaker.
“What if she isn’t?” Troy finally asked Melissa. “Can you honestly say we would have done our job serving and protecting this community if we ignore her?”
Melissa’s steady gaze finally dropped, that brilliant blue going cloudy when she lifted her eyes to him once more. “No. That’s not what I want.”
It was why Melissa was a good cop and an even better chief. She always did what was right and put the health and safety of her constituents above everything else.
“Let me ask you one thing, though.”
Troy nodded, already anticipating the warning.
“We’ve worked long and hard to have a good relationship between our precinct and the DA’s office. Randall Bowe’s actions have put a serious dent in that relationship.”
“Has anyone said anything to you? Has Arielle called you?”
Arielle Parks had a stellar reputation as Grave Gulch County’s district attorney but the pressure she’d been under could get to anyone.
“Arielle and I talk regularly about any number of things. We respect each other and also respect the offices we each represent. We’ve each taken our collective ownership for the damage Bowe has done.”
“Why do I sense a but in there?”
“I’m giving in on this a bit because Evangeline is one of Arielle’s best and most well-respected ADAs. And I trust Arielle’s opinion.” Melissa glanced around once more. Troy’s gaze followed and he couldn’t deny the way his fellow officers appeared to be done with work, the lack of evidence leaving them with little to do. “But I also can’t allow resources to be used this way.”
“I understand.”
“Why don’t you go talk to Evangeline? See if you can’t figure out what’s happening. She doesn’t have a door camera, which would have been a huge help in this situation.”
Troy had noticed the same and was already making plans to ensure Evangeline addressed that problem. They’d get the footage from the parking lot but he already knew there would be gaps in what area of the large parking lot the cameras reasonably covered.
In the meantime, his concern was more narrowly focused. He needed to get Evangeline calm and then get her thinking who could possibly be behind this rash of incidents.
Assuming, of course, it wasn’t her.
* * *
Evangeline hadn’t missed the skeptical looks tossed her way for the past hour. But the one she couldn’t dismiss from her thoughts was the serious once-over she’d gotten from Chief of Police Melissa Colton.
She’d met the other woman on several occasions, just as she had Troy. They had a cordial, professional relationship and Evangeline had always respected what Melissa had accomplished. While there were some women in law enforcement, Melissa’s ascension to chief—and well before forty—was a significant milestone. It was proof, Evangeline had always believed, of a department that truly championed the best person for the job.
It wasn’t a position a person attained resting on their laurels. And that sort of person—dogged, committed and absolutely competent—was rather intimidating when they stared you down like you were a common criminal.
Evangeline had finally escaped to the kitchen, puttering around and cleaning the grout around her already-clean sink for something to keep her occupied.
“The team’s wrapping up outside.” She stopped mid-scrub and turned to see Troy as he stepped into the kitchen.
She’d seen him just that morning but he’d clearly stopped home before going into work. He was now dressed in a crisp, blue button-down shirt and dark slacks. The look was professional and efficient and did nothing to diminish the lethal addition of the holster strapped across his back, his sidearm resting against his body.
“Is everyone gone?”
“Nearly everyone. There’s a team finishing up out front, and then they’ll head on out.”
“Look, Troy, I know how this must look and I’m sorry I called you over here. Sorry that all these people had to come out on a false alarm.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“Nothing? I called you in hysterics, again, and yet there’s nothing outside. I know how that must make me look. I can imagine what your colleagues are thinking. What Melissa is thinking.”
“Melissa and my colleagues and I all want to do the right thing. For this investigation and for you.”
The right thing? What was the right thing in this situation? She was a lawyer. She dealt in facts. And everything she’d encountered in the past twenty-four hours suggested otherwise.
It was why she had to convince him to leave. To just step away from whatever it was that was going on. Her own career had faced a significant hit these past weeks. She had no desire to do that to someone else. “I’ll understand if you just need to walk away.”
“Evangeline.” Troy moved closer to her, stepping fully into the kitchen. “I’m not walking away. From this, or from you.”
“I’m putting you at risk. Your career.”
“Clearly you are the one at risk.” The emphasis he put on the word you was pointed. But what that emphasis meant was more than a little scary.
Pushing that away and unwilling to have him dissuade her from doing the right thing, she dismissed his concern. “I’ll be fine.”
“With bloodied clothes on your front porch and strangers somehow sneaking into your house?”
“Who can even say that happened?”
“You can! You say it happened.”
“What if—” She broke off on a hard, unexpected sob. The truth was too horrible to even say. But it haunted her, the idea that her mind could be playing tricks on her like this. “What if I’m wrong?”
Troy pulled her into his arms and as those tight, warm bands wrapped around her, Evangeline allowed herself to give in. She wanted to be strong. More, she believed it was required of her, to stand on her own two feet and handle whatever life threw her way.
But this was too much.
The anger and self-recrimination she’d carried for months now, over the case that let Len Davison go, had weighed heavy. The families who now suffered because he’d taken a beloved father, husband or brother away, haunted her.
What could she have done differently?
There hadn’t been any answers. Not since the day Arielle had called Evangeline into her office to tell her the news. The mishandling of evidence that had allowed a guilty man to go free had become public, and with it, the reality of what they’d contributed to the situation by not conclusively proving Davison’s guilt.
Despite her desire to stay on the job, she’d accepted the enforced leave. Had understood it as her due, a time to stop and reflect on her work and understand where she’d made missteps.
If that was all she’d had to live with, she’d have accepted it. A legal career was fraught with the cases that haunted you. Evangeline accepted that reality as part of the job. Even when it felt bad.
But all that had come since?
It was terrifying and maddening, all at once.
She clung to Troy, grateful for both the physical support as well as the emotional. He had been such a surprise in all this, almost as if he had come to her rescue. The idea of a rescuer wasn’t language or imagery she particularly cared for, especially with the way she had grown up, yet she couldn’t quite shake the image, either.
Troy Colton had, literally, come to her aid. He had shown up after the 911 call when she believed she had seen a murder. He had come here to her home, taking care of her with food, understanding and protection. It was humbling, to know someone could care that much. Would give of themselves that freely.
“Are you doing okay?”
She lifted her head, unable to look away from his deep hazel gaze. “Not yet, but I’m trying.”
“For starters, you need to stop doubting yourself.”
“How can I do that? The things that keep happening, they’re impossible.”
“They can’t be impossible. Which means they have to have a reason. A possibility, if you will, for why they’re happening.”
“They have a possibility. It’s that I’m hallucinating.”
His eyes darkened at that, his mouth dropping into a deep frown. “Don’t say that.”
“What if it’s true?” she argued back, the idea taking root. “If there has to be a reason, that is as good as any other one.”
“Okay.” He tilted his head, considering. “Let’s play that idea out. Have you ever hallucinated before?”
“No.”
“Not once?”
“No, not that I’m aware of.”
“So why did you suddenly start now?”
She let out a frustrated breath, perked up by his reasoning even if she still questioned her own mind. “For people who experience hallucinations, they have to have one for the first time.”
“Yes, that’s true. But what would be the reason you suddenly have one? One day, randomly walking to get some dinner, in the middle of downtown Grave Gulch.”
“Stress. The situation with my job. A serial killer on the loose. Take your pick.” The reasons were endless. He had to know that as a law enforcement professional. Heck, he lived with stress every day. Lived with the consequences of criminals that got away with crimes they perpetrated, no matter how well-intentioned the police.
“Fine, let’s play that out, too. You’ve been under stress at other times in your life. Law school’s pretty tough and works you intentionally hard to make sure you’ve got the mental fortitude for the job. The difficulty keeps up as no sooner do you graduate then you have to study for the bar. And now, working your professional career in the DA’s office. Is that a piece of cake?”
“No.”
And it wasn’t easy. She and her fellow ADAs handled a caseload that would fell most people. But it was the life of someone in the district attorney’s office. Too few lawyers for far too many cases.
Harlequin Romantic Suspense July 2021 Box Set Page 27