by Alicia Dean
"Not really. I had breakfast before I came. Maybe we'll
grab something in a little while. Unless you want to eat now?"
"No. I'm fine." Nicolette didn't think she could force down a
bite of food if someone held a gun to her head. After the
detectives' visit and that moment between her and Heath,
she was a jumble of conflicting emotions; the anxiety brick in
90
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
her stomach was double its former size. "Have a seat. I'll be
right back."
When she returned, Heath was seated on the couch, one
ankle resting on the opposite knee.
"There isn't much." She handed him the thin stack, in
addition to the photos he'd asked for, as she lowered next to
him. He uncrossed his legs and sat forward, bringing his knee
so close to hers they almost touched. Again. She swallowed
hard.
She waited in silence while he shuffled through the
paperwork, sometimes pausing for a brief moment, other
times seeming to read thoroughly.
He took a Tasmanian Devil Pez dispenser out of his pocket
and held it out to her. "Want some?"
She raised her eyebrows inquisitively. "Pez candies?"
He gave a boyish grin. "My friend, Burke's son gave this to
me when I quit smoking. I haven't had a cigarette in six
months, but now I'm hooked on these damn things."
She laughed and shook out a few of the candies before
handing the dispenser back to Heath.
"You highlighted anything that seemed unfamiliar to you,
right?" he asked.
"Yes."
"I'll want to take some notes later, maybe ask questions
about some of the calls that aren't highlighted. As a matter of
fact, what I'd like you to do is make notes on all the non-
highlighted phone calls, the name of the person the number
belongs to, their relationship with you and Rudy, the type of
business they're in, anything at all that comes to mind."
91
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
"Okay. That will take a while."
"You have a copier here?"
"Yes. You want me to make a copy of the paperwork?"
"Just the phone records. That way, you can be working on
those notes while I keep one copy to work from."
"Will do. What else?"
He seemed to be running through a to-do list in his mind.
"Where's his cell phone? There may be text messages or
voice mail that won't show up in the report from the cell
provider."
"I don't know. It was never recovered."
His eyes narrowed. "Did he have it with him the night of
the accident?"
"Yes. I called him from home a little while before he—
before the accident. He was in the car, and we spoke. The
cops were able to verify the call, so they know I was here."
She shrugged and brushed back a hank of hair. "I guess they
think I had someone kill him. I don't know. It's all so crazy.
The police think his missing cell phone is another thing that
looks suspicious, but I would think it could have gotten lost in
the wreckage, you know? The window was busted. It could
have flown out and be lying somewhere in the area, but they
just weren't able to find it."
"That's possible," Heath agreed, but he looked troubled. "I
need you to write down numbers where I can contact you, or
anyone else you think I need to talk to. A list of numbers and
addresses for the charity, your cell, whatever you think I
might need."
"Okay. I'll get that for you. Anything else?"
92
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
"Not at the moment." He frowned as if considering his next
words carefully. "Nic, I do need to ask you something."
"Sure."
"I told the police that I knew you didn't have anything to
do with Rudy's death, and I firmly believe that."
"Thanks." His confidence in her was heartwarming. It
seemed lately she'd been the object of suspicion and rumors.
It was nice to have a friend who felt otherwise.
"I also told them there was no way you had been unfaithful
to Rudy."
She waited. And noticed he hadn't tagged on the phrase,
and I firmly believe that.
Pain filled her heart. "Heath? Do you think I cheated on
Rudy?"
He didn't meet her eyes. "I didn't say I think you did
cheat. But, as much as I hate to, I'm going to have to ask if
you did. Not only could it be a big factor in why the police
suspect you, it could also have something to do with your
blackmailer."
"What?" Angry and hurt, she pushed to her feet and
resumed pacing. Between her and Heath, she might end up
having to replace the carpet. "I can't believe you'd ask me
that." Shoving a hand through her hair, she shook her head.
"I thought you knew me better than that. You're the only man
who—"
God. She'd been about to say he was the only man she'd
consider cheating with. She'd like to say that she wouldn't
even cheat with Heath. After all, when they'd shared that
moment during Rudy's coma, nothing actually happened, but
93
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
as shaming as it was, she couldn't honestly say that under
the right circumstances, she would be able to resist. Like, if
Heath had pushed the issue back then, if she'd known of
Rudy's drug use at the time. If, if, if...
Truth was, she couldn't say positively for sure that she
would never have cheated on Rudy with Heath. But she
damned sure didn't want him to know that. And she most
definitely didn't want him to think she'd cheated with
someone else.
"You're the only man I thought would never believe that of
me," she amended, although not convincingly.
Heath stood. He walked over and halted her pacing with a
hand to her arm. Nothing sexual about his gesture, it was
meant as nothing more than friendly, but it still sent waves of
warm desire through her body.
"Hey, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I do believe you. I had to
ask, though. Do you understand why?"
She moved away from his touch, nodding. "I do. I'm sorry
I reacted that way. Things have been so crazy though. I'm
afraid I'm a little on edge."
"I can imagine why you would be."
"I want you to know I never cheated on Rudy. Not once.
That's why I wanted you to stay in a separate place. I don't
want to give the police any reason to suspect I was unfaithful.
They might even believe you and I killed him. For the
insurance money, or so we could be together."
"Good point. Something I don't understand, though, is why
the police haven't uncovered Rudy's drug use in their
94
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
investigation. They're usually pretty thorough. As far as you
know, have they?"
"It seems they haven't. I guess he kept it hidden well.
&n
bsp; After all, even I didn't know about it."
"If you tell them, it might get the heat off you. His death
could have been drug related, and that information might
turn the investigation in another direction."
"I thought about that myself, but I'm not sure it would be
worth it. His death likely had nothing to do with drugs. I'm
not even sure it was murder."
"You still believe it was an accident?"
She shrugged. "I really can't imagine anyone wanting to
harm Rudy. If they did, I want them caught and punished,
but I just don't think revealing his drug use and smearing his
name will make that happen."
Heath nodded. "Okay then, for the time being, we'll play it
your way. But, I'm telling you right now, if I uncover anything
that points to a drug-related killing, anything that will help
get you out from under suspicion, I won't hold it back from
the authorities."
She thought about that. A much as she would hate for
Rudy's skeletons to see the light of day, if it helped bring his
killer to justice—providing there was a killer—or if it kept her
from being charged with his murder, she'd have to agree it
was necessary.
"Okay," she said. "I can live with that."
"It'll all work out, Nic." Once again, he took her hand, and
once again, it had an effect on her. It occurred to her they
might have to back off on the touching thing. She wasn't sure
95
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
how much of this she could withstand without doing
something she might regret.
Heath pulled onto the shoulder of Highway 152 and North
Hampton. It was the first time he'd visited the scene of
Rudy's car wreck.
Up until now he had no reason to. He'd thought it was an
accident and didn't want to view the scene where his best
friend's life ended. Rudy hadn't actually died at the scene.
He'd spent two weeks in a coma from which he'd never
recovered. But for all intents and purposes, Rudy had died
here.
Someone had erected a makeshift memorial, a white cross
with a photo of Rudy in the center. An array of flowers lay at
the base of the cross. Bright yellow, red, and pink blooms
contrasted against the bed of white snow. The other flowers
had likely been there a while and were dead, some had been
blown and scattered several feet in all directions.
A few cars whizzed by, but very few. It was easy to see
how an accident out here in this somewhat remote location
would go un-witnessed. Also easy to see why it would be a
choice location to commit murder.
The wind picked up, flakes of snow blew into his face. He
hunkered down in his jacket, wishing he'd worn his heavier
coat since he'd likely be outside for a while.
He'd left Nicolette's without unloading his things. He
needed a breather. Seemed he'd spent the past few days
fleeing from painful situations. At his mother's, it had been
the memory of the father he'd trusted who'd betrayed him. At
Nicolette's, the memory of his best friend and the news that
96
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
he might have been murdered. Mostly, he wanted a respite
from the pain of being so close to Nic, yet not able to have
her. The pain that came from the guilt of wanting his best
friend's widow so badly it was a physical ache.
It was kind of strange that he was too much of a coward to
face those things, yet he'd stared down the enemy on a
battlefield and hadn't even considered backing down. Not that
he'd been thrilled about war, but at least he'd handled it with
a modicum of bravery and determination. How pathetic was it
that he feared his feelings more than he did the likelihood of
dying?
He walked slowly along the highway in the direction Rudy's
car traveled. The cops had been right. No skid marks. Any
signs of the car, or its deadly trip down the incline, had long
since vanished. Weather, new grass growth, and
investigators, had changed the landscape immeasurably.
He looked over the steep incline at the area of Rudy's final
resting place. Not far away was a baseball field where he and
Rudy had played on a ragtag team the neighborhood boys
had put together. His brothers had played, too, even Jesse.
Hell, she could hit as well as any boy on the team, and she
could throw almost as hard. They'd played touch football in
that same field. Heath remembered one game where Rudy
and Jesse had ended up in a heap on the ground and Rudy
had taken just a little longer than he should have to untangle.
Heath was certain Rudy had a crush on Jesse, although he'd
never admitted it. No way could he admit something like that.
Jesse had always been one of the guys. It would almost have
been like admitting to having a crush on a dude.
97
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
Heath laughed at the memory. The laughter died as
suddenly as it had come and sadness filled his soul.
Never again would he play sports—although at their age,
the playing had morphed to watching—with his best friend.
Never again would they harass one another in that good-
natured bordering on mean-spirited way that was standard in
the world of the male species. Heath still couldn't process that
Rudy's death, which he'd thought had been a tragic accident,
might have been murder.
He made his way cautiously down the steep incline,
slipping occasionally on the frozen grass. At the bottom, he
surveyed the surrounding area, looked back up toward the
highway. Steep, but not deadly steep. A car could go off the
incline without necessarily ending its journey in a serious, let
alone fatal, crash. From what he understood, Rudy had
suffered head trauma in the accident, which put him in the
coma that eventually killed him. But how had he suffered
head trauma that severe? Heath was certain Rudy wore a
seat belt. He always did.
So how had going off this incline caused his death? And
why had he gone off the incline in the first place? Was he
driving so fast he lost control? Even so, why hadn't he tried to
stop? Heath couldn't recall what the road conditions were like
at that time. It was January and they'd gotten some bad
weather the December before, then again late in January, but
Rudy's accident had been around the second week of the new
year. Heath couldn't remember icy roads at that time, and
unlike Oklahoma City, the Kansas City area was fairly well-
98
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
equipped for inclement weather, and road conditions were
seldom hazardous.
Which would all tie in with the police's theory that Rudy's
accident was no accident.
Did the murder have anything to do with the blackmail?
Heath didn't have the same access to information and
ev
idence the police did. He'd feel better if he could share
everything he knew with them, but he'd made a promise to
Nicolette. And she was right. The blackmailer had threatened
her life. The police may or may not believe her and even if
they did, there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to
find out anything more than Heath could. They might have
more means at their disposal, but when it came to protecting
Nicolette, they damned sure didn't care as much as Heath.
He spent more than an hour looking for Rudy's lost cell
phone, or other clues the police might have missed. As
expected, he found nothing. Not only had too much time
passed, but the investigators had no doubt been thorough.
What the hell had happened to Rudy's phone? If he found
it, would it provide clues to what had happened to Rudy or to
the blackmailer? More than likely, the answer was yes, which
also probably answered why the phone was nowhere to be
found.
[Back to Table of Contents]
99
A Knight Before Christmas
by Alicia Dean
Chapter Seven
"The room is beautiful!" Marla exclaimed.
They'd rented a room at a local museum. Each year, they
held the event at a different location, and so far, this place
was Nicolette's favorite. In addition to the room being perfect,
the museum brimmed with Missouri history and displays that
both children and adults would enjoy.
"It is gorgeous." Nicolette twirled around, surveying the
space from all angles. In her mind's eye, she was already
picturing the tree and the Santa with a line of children waiting
to climb on his lap. She could also picture the older kids. They
would try to play it cool and pretend they thought it was
lame, but their eyes would give away their excitement when
they opened their gifts.
Her heart swelled with the first real rush of Christmas spirit
she'd experienced this year, but quickly turned to pain when
she thought of Rudy and how this would be her first charity
party without him.
"Hey, you okay?" Marla's ice blue eyes searched Nicolette's
face. "You look like a kid in a candy store one minute and a
death row inmate in the next."
Nicolette forced a smile. "Just thinking about Rudy. He
loved these parties so much. They meant the world to him."
"I know," Marla said softly. She looked away and began