Crime & Passion

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Chantel Rhondeau

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Cover Design: LFD Designs for Authors

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This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
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person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
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and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work
of this author.

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This book is a work of fiction. The
characters, names, events, and places in this novel are used
fictitiously or are products of the author’s imagination. Any
resemblance to real people, living or dead, or to places,
businesses, or events, is entirely coincidental.

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DEDICATION:

To my terrific son, Dillon. You are going to
make a wonderful police officer, and I am so proud of you every
day.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A lot of work goes into a book, and I could
not have accomplished this on my own. I would like to thank my
family for putting up with the countless hours I spend in front of
the computer and in my own little world. Their support means a
lot.

My fabulous critique partners/fellow authors
are an essential part of getting my books from idea to completion
and I’m so grateful to these wonderful ladies for all their
help:

Extra thanks to Michele Shriver, who has
earned my undying gratitude for her expert advice on the legal
system. She helped make the court proceedings in this novel
realistic and accurate. In addition, I would like to thank Dillon
for tirelessly explaining police procedures, firearms and how they
work, and body armor.

Thanks also to my beta readers and proof
readers for making this project shiny: Michelle, Monique, author
Melinda Dozier, Sara, Andrea, author Jennifer Donohoe, Elaine, and
Jeanne. I couldn’t do this without your help.

My cover was designed by the fabulous LFD
Designs for Authors.

The glassy eyes of the corpse seemed to stare
at Madeline. A brisk breeze carried the scent of salt and fish, and
blew her long hair around her face. Crashing waves were the only
sound on the deserted beach other than panting from Madeline’s
four-legged companion. Water lapped at the dead man’s feet,
devouring him bit by bit as the tide rose.

“Are you there, Ms. Scott?” the 911
dispatcher asked.

“Yes, I’m here,” Madeline whispered. “Please
send someone quickly. The tide’s coming in.”

“We have a unit in the area. Don’t touch
anything.”

As if I would
. Madeline shivered at
the horrified look on the man’s face. Pleasant View was a small
coastal town. It was the type of place where everyone knew their
neighbors, but Madeline had only moved here two months earlier.

Too bad she hadn’t met this particular
resident under different circumstances. Yellow and blue nylon rope
wrapped around the man’s neck cut off his air supply forever,
ending whatever type of life the handsome blond might have had.

Madeline looked back up the beach, thinking
about what she saw. When she had approached this area, she noticed
a slightly built person jogging away. She shuddered again. If that
person were responsible, they couldn’t have killed the blond long
before she walked up.

Brutus strained at his leash, bringing her
back to the present as he tried to get closer to the body. Madeline
could only guess the smell of the recently deceased drove the Great
Dane crazy.

She tugged on his leash. “Sit, Brutus.”

The big, black dog heaved a sigh and lowered
his back haunches, looking up at Madeline reproachfully.

She heaved a sigh of her own. At 160 pounds,
the muscular Great Dane allowed her the illusion of control while
she held the leash, but really, Madeline maintained power only at
the dog’s behest.

A police cruiser pulled into the parking
area. Two officers hopped out and made their way down the beach. An
ambulance stopped behind them and medics poured from the vehicle,
assembling their equipment.

Not that it would do them much good. The man
was beyond requiring medical attention. He needed a coroner.

“The police are here,” she said into the
phone.

“That’s good, Miss Scott. We can hang up now.
Have a nice day.”

Yeah, right. A nice day? Sure. Because she
stumbled across bodies all the time and this was no big deal.
Madeline shuddered. The man had been warm when she checked for a
pulse, and the image of his sightless gaze was sure to haunt her
dreams.

She put the cell phone into her pocket and
watched as the rescue people ran down the beach. There was no
reason for them to hurry, except for the rising tide.

The first officer approached, his attention
focused solely on her. He didn’t even glance at the body. “Miss
Scott, is it? Dispatch said you discovered the body?” He gave a
friendly smile as he closed the remaining distance between them.
“I’m sorry. That must’ve been a shock.”

Madeline nodded. “Yes, it was,
Officer...”

“Andrews, Donovan Andrews.” He stuck out his
hand and gave another reassuring smile.

Madeline smiled back, trying to offer some
reassurance of her own as she shook his hand.
No, Officer
Andrews, I’m not going to faint. I promise I won’t complicate your
crime scene by breaking into hysterics.
Madeline almost
laughed, though she wished she really could faint.

She shivered and hugged her
arms tightly to her body. Having been idle for several minutes, the
bite of the cold wind chilled her skin. While she and Brutus
trotted along at a quick pace, she'd been warm enough. Now,
Madeline wished she’d brought a jacket.

Officer Andrews must have noticed. He slipped
his arms from his black windbreaker and slung it around Madeline’s
shoulders, battling the wind to wrap it around her. He adjusted the
collar against her neck and his fingers brushed her skin lightly,
sending a tingle of awareness through her. The gesture, and her
body’s reaction to it, caught her off guard. Madeline took a step
back, avoiding his touch.

“Sorry,” he said. “You look like you’re
freezing. I know it’s April, but you really shouldn’t go around
without a jacket in the evening, Miss. It gets mighty cold.”

Madeline grabbed the edges of his jacket and
pulled it tightly against her. His spicy scent tickled her senses
as it wafted up from the fabric. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.
Normally I run with Brutus and don’t stand around long enough to
get cold. Next time I find a body, I’ll keep running.”

“Touché.” A grin flashed across his face
briefly. “Seriously, though, are you okay?”

She nodded and looked up at him, pleasantly
surprised she
had
to look up. At five foot ten, Madeline was
a giant compared to most women. She’d long since given up the dream
of being one of those petite, delicate things men loved to wrap
their arms around.

Andrews was very tall with a slender body.
His police uniform didn’t offer much in the way of discovering what
his body looked like, but Madeline sensed a core of strength. At
least if she dated him she could wear heels.

And where did that thought come from?

Activity whirled next to them as the EMS team
attended to the body. Officer Andrews spared a glance for the
corpse, and his blue eyes tightened around the corners. His face
paled and when he met Madeline’s eyes again, he looked shaken.

“Did you know him?” she asked.

The officer nodded.

Great question, genius. In a town of less
than 3000, of course he knew the victim.

Andrews put his arm around Madeline’s
shoulders. “Why don’t I take you and your friend up to sit in the
police cruiser? It’ll be warmer in there, and I need to ask you
some questions.”

Madeline nodded. It seemed odd that this man
would put his arm around her like this, having just met her, but
she appreciated his calming presence as he led her to the car.
Brutus followed along without complaint, and Madeline allowed
herself to lean on Officer Andrews. She forgave herself for acting
so girly in that moment.

After all, she did just discover a body.

***

Donovan looked at Miss Scott through the
police cruiser window and ran a hand over his hair.
Frank
Johnson, murdered?
He wasn’t surprised someone killed the
bastard, but this could create problems for Donovan.

He took one last look at Madeline before
turning toward the beach. Miss Scott was a rare find. She must be
new in town. Donovan would remember those long legs and pouty red
lips, had he seen them before. Her deep brown eyes had kept him
steady when he realized just whose body the tide slowly
covered.

“Donovan, did you see who that is?” Eric
Sanders shifted back and forth in his excitement. “Just think. You
kicked his ass yesterday and now that sucker’s dead.”

Donovan glanced at his new partner and
grimaced. Frank certainly deserved the punch Donovan gave him.
However, after only working with Eric for one month, Donovan didn’t
trust him to have his back.

“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about that, huh?”
Donovan looked into Eric’s hazel eyes.

“Worried?” Eric brushed sand off his hands
onto his blue uniform and shook his head. “You
were
out of
my sight for over twenty minutes before the call came in. I’d worry
too.”

“Out of your sight? I was in the bathroom.
You know I’ve been sick since we ate at the taco wagon
earlier.”

“You were in the bathroom just up the street.
Plenty of time for you to whack him. That could be a problem.” Eric
shook his head. “I bet his wife says something when they talk to
her. She was pissed at you yesterday.”

An aggressive wave surged up the shoreline
and angled for Donovan’s foot. He stepped back, but Eric, whose
back was turned, ended up soaked.

Donovan grinned. Petty vengeance perhaps, but
he felt a little better watching his partner jump around, cursing
the cold water. It was definitely a good thing he came down to talk
to Eric before questioning Madeline. He didn’t want Eric voicing
this suspicion about what kind of time Donovan had unaccounted for.
It wasn’t as though he did anything, but every rookie dreamed of
nabbing a crooked cop.

“Look, Eric, I wasn’t at that house by myself
yesterday. You could have done something just as easily while I was
in the bathroom.” Donovan raised an eyebrow. “Can someone in the
restaurant account for your whereabouts the entire time?”

Tugging on the collar of his shirt, Eric
shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Well, thank God for small favors. “Then I
think it’s best we stick together on this one, don’t you? Besides,
Frank Johnson deserved to be punched for hitting his daughter.”

Eric nodded. “Sure thing, partner. I was
happy when you decked him, but Stephanie Johnson heard you make
that threat about him watching his back in dark alleys. You know
she’s going to mention it, ‘cause she got so pissed.”

It was the same story every time. Dispatch
sent Donovan to the Johnson’s house for a report of domestic
violence, but when he got there, no one admitted anything.
Stephanie always claimed she made a mistake and Frank hadn’t
touched her. Unable to find evidence he abused the kids, Donovan
had to leave when Stephanie told him to.

Frank’s luck ran out yesterday. The youngest
child had a fresh bruise across her forehead, and Donovan called
Child Services. They quickly arrived to take the children into
custody, having been waiting for an excuse to seize them for the
past year.