“When you telephoned, you assured me that you had not found my daughter, so what is this urgent matter?” Edward asked.
“A body was dragged out of the Tennessee River—”
Grayson gasped. “Not Audrey!”
“No, sir, not Mrs. Perkins,” Desmond said.
Grayson sighed with relief. “Thank God.”
“Who was it?” Edward’s intimidating stare demanded an immediate answer.
“Bobby Jack Cash.” Desmond watched the men for a reaction as closely as Dom did.
Edward maintained his composure, not batting an eye, but Dom noted a vein in his neck bulged slightly.
“Mr. Bedell, I have to ask you a question,” Desmond said.
Edward Bedell looked Desmond in the eye.
“Were you aware that your wife and Bobby Jack Cash were once involved?” Desmond asked.
Edward snarled. “Yes, I’ve known about my wife’s affair with that man since it happened. That was one of the reasons I couldn’t bear the thought of my daughter becoming another of his victims. Cash was the type who sought out rich women and used them. I saved my wife from him, but…” Edward shook his head. “My poor little girl. If she found out for herself what kind of man he was and that he was in cahoots with that Raney woman, then God only knows where she is or what happened to her.”
“Have you arrested Lausanne Raney?” Grayson inquired, a slight quiver in his voice.
“No, we haven’t made an arrest in the case,” Desmond said. “We don’t have any hard evidence against anyone. Only suspicions.”
Edward turned to Dom. “This makes it even more imperative that you find Audrey. God, when I think what might…” He gulped several times and turned away from the others.
“Lieutenant, you believe that Audrey is dead, don’t you?” Grayson laid his trembling hand on his father-in-law’s back. When Edward’s shoulders slumped, a misty-eyed Grayson patted the elder man’s back in a comforting manner.
“The honest truth is that we don’t know,” Desmond admitted.
“Dundee’s will increase our efforts to locate Ms. Perkins,” Dom said.
“As will the Chattanooga PD,” Desmond added.
Edward lifted his shoulders and slowly turned around, his eyes glazed with tears. “I want that Raney woman questioned until she breaks and admits the truth. She knows what happened to Audrey. If she killed her—” Tears trickled down his weathered cheeks.
Grayson Perkins approached Desmond. “We want to be kept informed, every step of the way with this investigation.”
“Yes, sir, we’ll do that.” Knowing he’d been dismissed, Desmond said, “It’s my duty to ask both of you not to leave town. It’s merely a matter of procedure. Bobby Jack Cash had an affair with both of your wives and it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that—”
“Neither of us is going anywhere.” Edward Bedell glowered at Desmond. “You have my word on that, Lieutenant.”
Desmond nodded, then glanced at Dom before exiting. The minute Desmond left, Edward zeroed in on Dom.
“Find my daughter! Alive or…Just find her. Bring in as many Dundee agents as you need to get the job done. And work with the police, if possible. But if not, then find a way to go around them.”
“May I speak frankly?” Dom asked.
“Yes, of course,” Edward replied.
“We’ve been searching for Ms. Perkins for the past five days and there is no evidence that she was seen by anyone after she hired Lausanne Raney to impersonate her.”
“Assuming we can believe Ms. Raney,” Grayson said.
“If Ms. Raney is lying, then you, Mr. Perkins, were actually the last person to see your wife alive.” Dom narrowed his gaze.
“Are you accusing me of—”
“No sir, I’m not accusing anyone of anything, just stating a fact.”
“I believe the Raney woman was working with Bobby Jack Cash and something went wrong between them,” Edward said. “I don’t care if she killed him. Good riddance to bad rubbish, if you ask me. But if that woman has harmed my Audrey, I want her punished.”
Dom wanted to believe one-hundred percent in Lausanne’s complete innocence. If only he had some sort of proof that he could show Edward and Grayson, that he could take straight to the police. But the truth was that he had no proof, that as much as he wanted to believe she wasn’t guilty of any crime, he still had good reason to doubt her.
“I’ll get in touch with Mr. McNamara right away and update him on the situation,” Dom said. And unless I can be totally objective about this case, I’ll have no choice but to ask Sawyer to take me off this assignment.
LAUSANNE FRESHENED UP in the Chicken Coop’s bathroom. After breaking the rubber band that held her ponytail in place, she shook her hair free and then brushed it vigorously. All her life she’d been blessed or cursed, depending on how her thick, curly hair behaved on any given day. All she had to do to keep it healthy and shiny was wash it, condition it and brush it.
She applied fresh blush and lipstick, both items purchased on her recent shopping sprees, both high dollar cosmetics, the kind she’d never been able to afford.
It wasn’t that she’d been born dirt poor and grown up in poverty. Just the opposite. Her maternal grandfather had been a doctor, her mother a teacher and her father, a lawyer, had been elected mayor of Booneville when Lausanne was twelve. Life had been good. Too good. In the span of one year between her twelfth and thirteenth birthdays, her entire world turned upside down and had never righted itself since then.
Fastening only the top button of her tan cashmere sweater, Lausanne hurried out of the bathroom, through the restaurant and, as she passed by, grabbed two sacks off the counter. Nervous and much too excited, she reminded herself that this wasn’t a date. Take a deep breath, count to ten, do whatever you have to do to gain control of yourself. Okay, so Dom hadn’t cut and run. Not yet. And maybe he was beginning to believe in her just a little. But that didn’t mean she could trust him—with her heart or with her life. As far as she knew, he was still working for Edward Bedell. She shouldn’t forget that if it came to choosing between her and his job, he’d certainly pick his job.
Maybe it wasn’t fair to judge Dom by all the other men in life, all the men who’d let her down and broken her heart, but that was the only type she’d had any experience with, except for her grandfather Marshall. If she could find a man like that…But loving, loyal, old fashioned Southern gentlemen were most definitely a dying breed.
When she saw Dom’s car turn into the parking lot, her heartbeat did a silly rat-a-tat-tat. She had it bad for this guy and that wasn’t good. Her brain told her to keep this man at arm’s length. But her heart…Damn her foolish heart.
Dom pulled up to the curb, parked the car, got out, and opened the door for her. She smiled at him.
“You look mighty pretty,” he told her.
She couldn’t allow herself to be pleased by his flattery. After all, it might not be sincere. “Thank you.”
After she settled inside the car, he buckled her seat belt and kissed her cheek. “Did you have a good day?”
She stared at him, her cynical mind suspecting he had an ulterior motive for asking her. “It was long and hard, but not a bad day. How about you?”
“Yeah, my day was long and difficult. And informative.”
He closed the door, rounded the hood and got in on the driver’s side. When he pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic, Lausanne hazarded a glance in his direction. His gaze focused on the road ahead.
“I guess it’s against the rules for you to tell me about the case, huh, even if the case you’re working on concerns me?” She tightened her grip on the two white sacks sitting in her lap.
“There’s been a development in the case,” Dom said. “Something you need to know.”
Her stomach flip-flopped nervously. “What development?” Please, God, don’t let Audrey Perkins be dead.
“Bobby Jack Cash’s body was pulled out of
the Tennessee River a few days ago. Lieutenant Desmond told us today that they have a positive ID.”
Lausanne felt sick to her stomach. “How did he die?”
“He was shot.”
“Then he was murdered?”
“It would appear so.”
“A guy like Bobby Jack must have had a lot of enemies, so there has to be any number of suspects.”
Dom turned on the street leading to her apartment complex. “Yeah, there are several possible suspects.”
“Including me?”
“Honey—”
“I’ve never owned a gun, never used a gun. Dom, I swear that I’ve never touched a gun. Not ever.”
He parked his car in a slot close to her apartment, shut off the motor and turned to face her. “I’d like to believe you. But you had a boyfriend who used a 9mm to rob a convenience store. Are you saying you never handled the gun?”
“No, I never handled Clay’s gun. I didn’t even know he had a gun. Not until…”
“Until what?”
“Until he came running out of that store with the gun in his hand and a bagful of money and told me to get us out of there as fast as I could.”
“And you did what he told you to do, didn’t you?”
Gritting her teeth, determined not to get all emotional and beg him to believe her, Lausanne dumped the twin sacks she’d been holding onto the floorboard and flung open the car door.
Dom grabbed for her, but she managed to get out of the car before he reached her. Once outside, she ran toward the stairs, but Dom caught up with her on the second step and whirled her around. Then he grasped her shoulders and shook her gently.
She struggled, but he held her firmly.
“Please, just let me go, will you?”
“I wish I could.”
She looked up into his eyes and saw the same hunger, the same raw need she felt. Was he as powerless against his own desires as she was? “You hate feeling this way, don’t you? You don’t trust me, you know I’m all wrong for you, but you want me anyway.”
“Is that how you feel about me?” He tightened his grip on her shoulders, biting into the softness of her cashmere sweater.
“Yeah, it’s exactly how I feel.” She squirmed. He held fast. “But if I’ve learned one lesson in my life, it’s to protect myself, even if I have to protect me from me.”
“Do you have any idea how much I want to trust you?”
Why couldn’t he? Why couldn’t he just go on blind faith? But then again, why should he? She sure as hell couldn’t.
“I didn’t kill Bobby Jack Cash,” Lausanne said, her gaze locked with Dom’s.
Dom heaved a deep sigh, then released her.
“You actually think I might have killed him and maybe Audrey Perkins, too, don’t you?”
He shook his head. “My gut tells me that you didn’t. But that stupid, logical part of my brain won’t let go of that one last doubt.”
She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “I understand. My heart tells me that you’re one of the good guys, but past experience won’t let me risk being hurt all over again. So, let’s end this thing before it starts. No matter how much we want things to be different, they aren’t.”
“Yeah, I’m afraid you’re right.”
“Take care of yourself, Domingo Shea.”
“You, too, honey. And if you ever need me…”
She turned and ran up the steps as fast she could, swallowing her unshed tears. When she reached her doorstep, she paused and looked back to see Dom getting in his car.
“Goodbye,” she whispered.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
IF NOT FOR THE TIPS she earned at the Chicken Coop and the extra she earned walking dogs for three residents in her apartment building, Lausanne wouldn’t be able to make ends meet. And it helped that her boss, Effie Pounders, was such a sweet woman, who gave Lausanne a free meal every day.
“I’ve had my share of tough breaks in the past, kid,” Effie had told her. “I know what it’s like to get the short end of the stick time and again.”
Today, Lausanne had worked the evening shift and had gotten home a little after ten-thirty. Luckily, a couple of the other waitresses drove right by her apartment building to and from the restaurant, so she’d been able to catch a ride since starting work. After dumping her purse on the bar and using the bathroom, Lausanne headed out the door in a hurry. The Bakers across the hall were expecting their first child in a month and Molly Baker was on bed rest for the duration. Johnny Baker worked twelve-hour shifts, from seven to seven, so he’d had to find someone to walk their black-and-white English spaniel at night. Lausanne had volunteered to do it for nothing, but the Bakers had insisted on paying her. It wasn’t much, but every little bit helped.
Lausanne knocked on the Bakers’s door, then called out, “Molly, it’s me, Lausanne. I’m coming in to get Freckles.”
The minute she used the key the Bakers had given her and opened the door, the energetic spaniel came bounding toward her. She dropped to her haunches and opened her arms to surround the dog.
“Hey, boy, are you ready for your walk?”
“He’s been waiting,” Molly said from her resting place on the sofa.
Lausanne closed the door behind her, then walked into the living room with Freckles at her heels. “How are you feeling tonight?”
“So-so,” Molly replied. “I feel like a beached whale. And Johnny won’t let me lift a finger to do anything.”
“That’s because he loves you and that baby.” Lausanne wondered what it would feel like to have a man love her that way. Watching Johnny look at Molly was almost embarrassing because it was so intimate. The look of love. But not for me, Lausanne reminded herself.
“I know, but I get so bored just lying around.” Molly pouted.
“Enjoy it while you can.” Lausanne retrieved Freckles’s leash from the wall hook in the kitchenette. “When that baby gets here, you’ll be so busy you won’t have a minute to yourself.”
“I know, and I can’t wait to hold this big boy—” she patted her huge belly “—in my arms.”
Lausanne hooked the leash to Freckles’s collar. “I can only imagine. You’re so lucky, Molly. You know that, don’t you?” She marched the dog to the door.
“Yes, I know, but sometimes I just need reminding.”
Lausanne opened the door. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Don’t forget to lock the door behind you.”
“I won’t forget.”
With the door locked and Freckles chomping at the bit, Lausanne headed down the exterior stairs leading to the sidewalk. If the sky wasn’t so clear and a three-quarter moon wasn’t lighting the path, Lausanne would have brought along a flashlight, but it was such a perfectly beautiful evening that she didn’t need one. Besides, the pole lights in the parking lot illuminated a large area of the sidewalks and the small grassy areas around the apartment complex.
While Freckles sniffed his way along, stopping periodically to hike his leg, Lausanne thought about things she shouldn’t be thinking about. She hadn’t seen or spoken to Dom Shea in three days, not that she had expected him to phone or to show up unexpectedly on her doorstep. But she had thought maybe he’d drop by the Chicken Coop for breakfast or lunch. He hadn’t. They were both better off not becoming involved, but damn-it-all, she missed the guy.
Yeah, well, get over it, she told herself. If Dom doesn’t believe you, can’t take you at your word, then you don’t need him in your life.
She didn’t need anybody. She was just fine alone. She could take care of herself, couldn’t she? That’s what she’d been doing since she ran away from home twelve years ago, when living with her stepmother had become unbearable.
Renee Latimer Raney had been the stepmother from hell. From day one. And things went from bad to worse with each passing week, month, year, until finally Lausanne couldn’t endure one more day living under the same roof with that despicable woman. If only her father had int
erceded, if only once he’d taken her side in a battle of the on-going war with his new wife. It never happened. Her father, who had once adored her, became a stranger to her, a man she neither liked nor respected. But even now, a part of her still loved her father, still needed—No, she didn’t need him. She didn’t need anybody. Besides, it didn’t matter. Her father had died two years ago, while she was still in prison.
“Are you going to poop or not?” Lausanne asked Freckles. “We can’t stay out here all night, you know.”
As if understanding her, the dog dragged her onto a grassy knoll that was shrouded in darkness since it was situated between a wooded area and the apartment complex. Dried leaves crunched under her feet and beneath the spaniel’s paws. A cool breeze rustled through the nearby trees and shrubbery, reminding Lausanne that she’d soon need a winter coat. Luckily, she had bought one while she’d still had Audrey Perkins’s credit cards. When she’d offered Dom the cards, after their return to Chattanooga, he’d told her to toss them, that they were worthless. Edward Bedell had reported the cards stolen and closed out the accounts.
While Freckles circled his chosen spot, Lausanne caught a glimpse, in her peripheral vision, of movement to her left. A stray dog or cat? Or—
Before her next complete thought, a dark, looming shadow appeared behind her. Gawking over her shoulder, she saw a man approaching her. A stranger. Reacting purely on gut instinct, Lausanne grabbed Freckles, who fortunately had done his job, and ran like hell. Even if the man meant her no harm, she wasn’t about to wait around to find out. It was nearly eleven at night, she was alone and he was a stranger.
Hearing nothing over the roar of her own heartbeat, Lausanne wondered if the man was following her, so she hazarded a glance over her shoulder. God, he was only a few feet behind her and gaining ground fast. During that one quick glimpse, all she’d noted was that he was tall, had a dark mustache and was wearing a jacket and a baseball cap.
Not watching where she was going, Lausanne tripped over a raised section of cracked sidewalk and went tumbling to her knees. Afraid she might fall on Freckles, she released her hold on him as she hit the broken concrete.
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