The Green-Eyed Doll (34 page)

He kept the bulk of his weight on his arms while they both gasped for air. Then the buzzing started. “Damn. I forgot to shut the alarm off.” He shifted over and hit the button.

Catherine couldn’t remember the last time she wanted to stay in bed, to be lazy and enjoy the day with another person. “You noticed Emma turned the runway lights off?”

“I did. I’m glad you both felt safe without them.”

“I feel safe inside my little house.” She laughed when he narrowed his gaze to slits. “And I’m watching my back.”

“Good.” His face relaxed, making him more handsome than ever. “I’m sorry I didn’t call last night. We tried to search the thicket for a cabin. Between the mesquite trees, scrub oaks and undergrowth, there are some places we couldn’t get through without shredding our arms and legs.”

“If there’s one out there, you’ll find it.”

“Thanks. Your vote of confidence means a lot.” His lips touched hers, tender and gentle. “And I’d better shower and get to the office. I’ve scheduled press conferences at ten-thirty. The press is trying to call this case closed. It’s my responsibility to tell them the truth. Hell, I may give Sylvia Horning a personal interview.”

“No time for breakfast?” She stood and slid on his T-shirt, one she’d taken over as her own.

He hit her with his lopsided smile, and her cheeks heated before he spoke a word.

“I had breakfast.”

“Not much protein there.” She dashed out of the room to the sound of his laughter. She’d come a long way, made friends with her sexuality, but could still be embarrassed by a sexy smile or an intimate phrase.

Catherine smoothed her hand over his T-shirt. She had to tell him about Andy. Tonight. There never seemed to be the perfect time.

The coffee was half-perked, but she poured him a cup, and handed it to him when he headed for the door. “You’re beautiful in uniform. The camera will love you.”

“Speaking of cameras. We made the front page. Did you see it?”

“No. When was this?” she asked, following him out onto the porch. Her stomach rolled and pitched. She didn’t like the idea of her picture in the newspaper even if her past wasn’t hot news anymore. It had been a big deal in Tulsa.

“I don’t know. Yesterday? The day before? My days and nights have run together. We were in front of the courthouse. You were showing me Emma’s Lincoln.”

He pulled her close, wrapped his strong arms around her, and breathed deeply. When he stepped back, he dropped his forehead down to hers. “So help me. I’m coming in early tonight.”

Catherine loved his routine where he leaned down for one last touch. She placed her hand on his chest and rubbed in a circle. His heart beat, strong and steady. For her. And she believed there was a life here for the two of them. Her body filled with light. Her heart filled with peace and tranquility. Her soul filled with love for this man standing in front of her.

Catherine went up on her tiptoes, as tall as she could stand. Back straight, shoulders squared, she looked directly into his eyes. “I’m in love with you, too.” She planted a quick kiss on his stunned face and then ran back in the house.

****

Thursday, September 7th, 10:00 a.m.

Matt stole a moment to enjoy the view from his office windows. The wind had picked up and gusts to forty miles an hour tossed dry leaves through the air like confetti. The weatherman’s prediction a storm might blow through in the next couple of days gave Matt hope for a break in the heat.

“Be sure to smile for the camera. When they film the made-for-TV movie, they’ll want the real deal for the part of the sheriff.”

Matt read between the lines. He didn’t need to see Ash’s face to know his friend was looking toward Houston. Small town life would never appeal to him for long.

“If you think you’re leaving, think again.” Matt turned and joined Ash, who’d made himself at home with a piece of Sue’s apple pie.

“Why not? Waiting around for Catherine to introduce me to this friend isn’t a good reason to keep me on the payroll.”

“We’ve got too many unanswered questions.”

“You’ve got plenty of help.” Ash pointed his fork at Rey, who nodded slightly as he walked past Matt’s open door. “Although, I would still like to know why he doesn’t look like shit. He spent all day in the sun yesterday and tromped through the woods with us last night.”

Matt tried to not flinch or laugh at the pitiful sight before him. Weeks would pass before Ash’s sunburn would heal, and the scratches on his arms looked downright painful. This morning Sue smeared some kind of ointment on him. Now his skin was not only red, it had a sickly shine. “You look like you had a fight with a wildcat and lost. I told you to wear long sleeves.”

“Don’t want to hear it.” Ash waved his fork, sprinkling crust on the floor. “Not if you want me to stay.”

“It’s not in your DNA to leave before the autopsy results on Jessie and JC are back. Besides, you can’t go back until you heal. You’d be too embarrassed to go work.”

“Speaking of DNA, give your FBI guy a call. His letter offered help...well, have the ME’s office send him some of the scrapings from under Jessie’s fingernails. The feds can move stuff through the system faster than Reinhardt can. Hell, I’ll have gray hair if we wait on him.”

“True. I’ll contact him after the press conference. Then we dig deeper. Prove or disprove JC had a sex den.”

“Can’t argue with that. He’s the only suspect we have.”

“Press room is filling up.” Sue not only brought pie today, she’d worn a light blue skirted suit with a white ruffled blouse as opposed to her usual dress.

“You look nice today.” Matt rethought his compliment when her eyes widened in question. “Not that you don’t look beautiful every day.

“Nice recovery.” She straightened her jacket with a snap of her wrists. “A friend suggested I’d mourned my husband long enough.”

“The color matches your eyes,” Ash interjected. “How long were you in mourning?”

“Nearly eighteen years.” Never missing a beat, she turned to Matt. “Sylvia Horning is early. Insists she needs to share something with you.”

“Good pie.” Ash swallowed the last crumb. “Maybe Ms. Horning wants to make nice.” He handed his empty plate to Sue. “Matt, if you’re planning on staying in the boonies, a vendetta with the media is pointless.”

“Show her in.” No way was he doing this alone. “You.” He pointed at Ash. “Stay. I’m not talking to her without a witness. The next thing you’ll hear is how I harassed her.” Matt drew a line in the air with his finger from Ash back to the chair. “Sit.”

Minutes later the TV reporter glided into his office with a glint in her eyes and a false smile plastered across her face. She’d pulled her blond hair back in a severe knot. Dressed for success, she wore a navy blue corporate-cut suit. She set her briefcase on the small conference table and turned her on-air persona on Ash.

“Sylvia Horning, RBS news.”

The air in Matt’s office electrified, every hair on his body rose slightly and vibrated.

“Ash Hunter, best friend.”

Ash’s words were pleasant enough. His don’t-fuck-with-me-tone and flat smile was a warning. Ash had picked up on the negative energy in the room, too.

“Have a seat, Ms. Horning. You have something for me.” Matt kept his voice friendly.

“Thank you for seeing me.” She wiggled her too-tight-skirted ass down to a chair and pulled the case onto her lap. “I won’t be attending the press conference. Since the mystery has solved itself, there’s not much of a story. I might do something personal later. You know...a who was JC Harper retrospective.”

“The case isn’t closed. We haven’t proven JC killed anybody. You had something to discuss?” Matt hadn’t missed the drumming of her fingers on the aluminum briefcase. Had she uncovered something about JC’s past everyone had missed? Something else to make him look inept?

Her smirk drove his curiosity further. She removed a small camcorder, flipped the viewer open, and then sat it on his desk with the screen facing him. Ash stood and moved around behind Matt’s desk.

“I wanted to give you the opportunity to comment on my breaking news before I ran the story. You’re aware I’ve been delving into your personal life. Doing a ‘What makes the sheriff tick’ series.”

“I am. Sorry there was no big secret for you to uncover.” His blood turned cold when she locked her gaze on his.

“There’s always a secret. You have to look hard enough. When you and your girlfriend made the front page of the County Reporter...I did just that. I looked.” She kept her eyes trained on him when she pushed the small button on the camera.

A newscaster he’d never seen before stood in front of what appeared to be a courthouse. Blonde like Ms. Horning, she wore the same type suit Horning wore today.

She shoved her microphone in front of a middle-aged couple. “Mr. Randall. How do you feel about the district attorney’s decision not to prosecute?”

“It’s a travesty of justice. She murdered our son.” The gray-haired man’s jaw clenched and released. Hate oozed from him as he spoke. “Andrew was a good man. A respectable member of the community. He wanted to divorce his insanely jealous wife.” He folded the sobbing woman against his chest. “She killed him in cold blood.”

Matt had seen enough. If Sylvia was making a point, she needed to make it quickly. So far, her tape held nothing of interest. Then someone off screen shouted, “There she is.”

The reporters turned away from the couple. Like stampeding cattle, the media rushed the other direction. The camera panned the area and came to rest on a redheaded woman. She ran down the steps, pushing her way to a waiting taxi. She turned and looked in the direction of the horde for a fleeting second before disappearing into the cab.

The click of the camcorder snapping closed pulled Matt from the blackness surrounding him. He looked into Sylvia Horning’s smiling face, unable to process a single word.

Ash moved between Matt and the reporter. “You vicious bitch. Get the fuck out of here before I throw your ass down the courthouse steps.”

“Without a comment as to why our sheriff is living with a killer? No wonder he couldn’t catch the Green-Eyed Doll murderer. He hides them from the public.”

“Take your camera and leave.” Matt forced himself to say.

“Keep it.” She delivered one last smug curve of her lips. “My compliments.”

Ash followed the newscaster out, closing the door behind him.

Matt opened the viewer and stared at the blank screen. This had to be a mistake, a cruel joke. He leaned closer, pushed Rewind, and then Play. He hit Stop when the crowd turned away from the couple and set the speed of the camera on slow motion.

He swallowed hard when the woman who’d made him believe in life and love appeared. Her wildfire hair glistened in the sunlight. Long legs carried her down the steps and into a cab. Matt ran the segment again and again.

His vision darkened...tunneled. A tightness spread across his chest. He’d shared his darkest secrets and professed his growing love to a stranger. A stranger who’d made a complete fool of him. His blood boiled and raged through his veins straight to his head.

He forced his eyes away from the nightmare on the screen. Matt pressed the heels of his hands to his temples and mashed. Someone knocked on the door, prompting him to close the camera and put it in his desk drawer. “Come.”

Ash opened the door a fraction. His face a blank page, he’d shifted to protect mode. “I’m canceling the press conference.”

“No fucking way. I’ll be right there.” Matt wouldn’t duck and run. He had a job to do. He wanted to go straight to Catherine and demand she explain herself. Why should he? There was no acceptable explanation. She’d betrayed his trust. Lied about herself. Not only to the outside world...to him.

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes. I do.” Matt’s steady voice belied the turmoil raging inside.

Ash stepped inside and pulled the door closed, allowing Matt time to mentally pull himself together. The press conference was about three dead women and their families. They deserved him to stand for them.

He forced his hands to unclench. Swallowed the bitter bile hovering at the back of his throat and stood. His personal problems would wait. He closed his eyes, felt her soft caress on his face. A treacherous touch and a heart full of lies and deceit.

“Matt.”

Ash stood between Matt and the door. Ash reached out and gripped his arm. The touch of another human being chilled his blood. He needed no man’s pity. “Leave it alone.”

Sue waited for Matt outside the conference room. “I served coffee, but they’re getting restless. You better get in there.”

“I’m going. After the press conference, I’ll be out of the office for the rest of the day.”

“Good, because you look worse than Ash.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Thursday, September 7th, 5:45 p.m.

Catherine had successfully pushed her fear aside today and scratched another item off the
Never
list. She’d straightened her shoulders, walked to the back of the funeral home, and spent the afternoon helping Steve Abbott. They’d inventoried, categorized, and labeled his supplies, while she’d vanquished her abnormal fear of the mortician and his work area.

Tonight, she’d scratch the most important
Never
from the list. She’d share her past with Matt. Expose her most hidden of secrets. Her stomach had jumped and squirmed all day. Seeing his pickup parked in front of her house, a calm confidence came over her. Dredging up the years of abuse and describing how she’d killed her husband to survive would be hard. If she could trust anyone with the truth, it was Matt.

Tomorrow would be the first day of her new life. Catherine parked Emma’s Lincoln in her garage for the last time. Her own car would be ready in the morning. Her savings would take a hit, but she’d pay for the repairs with her own money. She pulled the door open and rushed inside to Matt.

“Hey,” she called. When he didn’t answer, she walked into the kitchen. Matt stood with his back to her. The key Emma had given him lay on the table. A foreboding chill lodged in her heart. “Hey,” she repeated.