Читать книгу Handsome As Sin - Kelsey Roberts - Страница 8

“That siren is the cops.”

Ellie let out a small, frightened noise and her eyes flew to the sound of the newly familiar male voice.

Jake Devereaux dangled in the window frame, one leg in and one leg out. “Unless you want to get caught here with the late Josh, I suggest you come with me.”

The sirens grew louder. “You killed him?” she breathed as her hand clamped over her mouth to stifle a scream.

“Of course I didn’t kill him,” Jake said calmly. “I was under the impression that you did.”

Dropping her hand, she yelled, “Me?” above the siren.

“I was just letting myself in when I heard you come down the hall.” His green eyes scanned the room. “I assume you’re the culprit. I don’t see any other suspects. Do you?”

“I didn’t kill anyone,” she told him.

“If you didn’t, and I didn’t, I suggest we get out of here before the cops arrive.” He held one gloved hand out to her.

“Leave with you?”

“That’s the idea. If you get moving now.”

“But shouldn’t we stay here and tell them—”

“What?” he interrupted impatiently. “That I was breaking in and found him dead? Or that you were the only one here when he died?”

The sirens came to a halt along with her heartbeat. “If we run, we look guilty.”

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged as he hoisted his leg up onto the windowsill. “But while you’re waiting to bare your soul, think about who might have called the cops.”

“What?”

“Someone called the cops. My guess is that whoever it was wanted them to find you alone with the stiff.”

“Oh, God,” she groaned.

“Last chance,” Jake said as he jumped onto the ground below.

Acting on fear, Ellie went to the window. His large hands circled her waist and he lifted her out and down, placing her softly on the slushy ground. She was only vaguely aware of a faint tearing sound above the loud thunder of footsteps echoing from inside the apartment building.

Soundlessly, Jake closed the window and grabbed her hand. He tugged her in the direction of the woods that lined the south edge of the building. “Where are you taking me?”

“Hush.”

Wet, heavy branches slapped at her cheeks as they trudged over the uneven terrain. The snow had turned to sleet, which pelted the leaves and stung the backs of her exposed hands.

Ellie focused on his shoulders, too stunned and too shocked to do much more than follow. The image of Josh’s face chased her through the woods. It didn’t seem real. There had been no ominous sounds, nothing to alert her that a murder was being committed while she was in the bathroom. It didn’t make any sense. Unless he was the killer.

Ellie stopped suddenly, digging the heels of her half boots into the soaked ground.

Jake turned to her, annoyance shining in his eyes, which were little more than harsh, angry slits. “Why are you stopping? We can’t let them find us out here.”

Ellie made a futile attempt to tug her hand free from his. “I don’t think running is the right thing to do,” she argued. “Especially with you.”

Jake shoved back the brim of his hat. Small pellets of ice showered down on his broad shoulders. “I’m your best hope right now. Unless you have a better plan in mind.”

“And you do?”

He let out an exasperated sigh. “We’ll go through the woods, then double back to my car. Hopefully the cops will think we’re nothing more than a couple of idiots out for a romantic stroll in the snow.”

“That’s your plan?” she scoffed, swatting a strand of limp, wet hair from her face. “We’re soaking wet. We’ll attract their attention in a heartbeat. Cops aren’t stupid, you know.”

“I’m betting they’ll be so engrossed in preserving the crime scene that they won’t even notice us.”

“They will when I get into my car.”

Jake stroked his chin. At least he seemed to be considering her argument. Ellie watched him intently, trying to discern if the man holding her hand could be the killer. Secretly, she wished all murderers had warts and fangs, then they’d be easy to spot. Looking up into his handsome face, she tried to find a clue, something tangible that would tell her whether or not to trust this guy.

All she saw were perfect, chiseled features and the promise of dimples on either side of his mouth. Great, she thought. I’m supposed to be trying to pick up some sixth sense, and all I can do is admire his dimples. Do killers have dimples? she wondered.

“You’ll have to leave your car right where it is,” he said.

“It’s a rental.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Which they’ll be able to trace, but probably not right away.”

Ellie’s suspicions were growing in leaps and bounds. This man knew as much, if not more, about police procedure than she did. “Are you a cop?” she asked, forcing her voice to remain steady.

He offered a lazy smile. “Hardly.”

“You sound like one. Phrases like ‘preserving the crime scene’ and—”

“I watch a lot of TV,” he said with a shrug. “So,” he began as he eased his hold on her hand. “Are you coming or not?”

Not, the intelligent sphere of her brain answered. Her lips, however, ushered forth the words, “Lead on.”

“Smart girl,” he drawled, taking her hand and pulling her farther into the mossy woods.

Ellie glanced back over her shoulder. She guessed they were about two hundred yards from the building, but she could easily make out the flashes of red and blue lights from the police vehicles. Apparently they had swarmed to the building like ants to a picnic.

“There’s too many of them,” she said.

“Too many what?”

“Officers,” she said as she quickened her pace so that she was at his side.

“The more the merrier,” Jake responded glibly. “Isn’t that what they say?”

“Not if they want to preserve the integrity of the evidence.”

This time it was Jake who stopped suddenly. He looked down at her as the sleet continued to bounce off his Stetson. Some of the tiny ice pellets ricocheted and struck Ellie.

“What do you know about evidence? Don’t tell me you’re a cop?” The last question came out as something of a groan.

“I’m not an officer.”

“But?”

“I’m not,” she told him emphatically before she lowered her eyes.

He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, applying just enough pressure to force her to meet his gaze.

“Then what are you?”

“A tourist?” she suggested. If he was a killer, the last thing she wanted to do was give him a reason to kill her, too. “I’m a scientist.”

His head fell to one side and he regarded her suspiciously for a long second. A definite frown curved the corners of his mouth downward. “You don’t look like a scientist.”

“I left my lab coat at home,” she said. He didn’t look like a killer, either, but then again, neither did Ted Bundy. “I’m freezing,” she told him. “Can we keep going, please?”

Something flashed in those eyes, something so fleeting that Ellie didn’t have the chance to put a name to it. She relaxed a little when he marched on. He probably couldn’t murder her and walk at the same time. Especially not on this icy ground.

Ellie slipped several times, each time clutching Jake’s arm to keep from falling. He seemed to sense whenever she was about to lose her footing, and his reactions were quick and efficient.

They emerged from the woods several blocks north of the apartment building. As soon as they stepped onto the sidewalk, Jake surprised her by draping his arm across her shoulder. His pace slowed as her panic rose.

“Why are we going this way?” she asked. Her eyes fixed on the distant sight of emergency vehicles and police cars blocking the road ahead.

“My car is this way.”

“How will we get past all the cops?” Ellie persisted, trying in vain to shrug off his arm.

“Cooperate, Ellie,” he said, squeezing her shoulder to punctuate the remark. “We’re simply going to wander over to my car. If the cops stop us, I’ll do the talking.”

“Going to confess?” she mumbled under her breath.

The deep, throaty sound of his laughter did strange things to her stomach. Here she was antagonizing a potential killer and all she could do was sit back while her hormones obliterated her common sense.

“Not me,” he said. “How about you? You can always stop and let them know you were alone with Josh when he met his untimely demise.”

“Obviously I wasn’t alone with him,” Ellie snapped. “I didn’t kill him, so someone else had to be in the apartment.”

“And they simply evaporated after the dirty deed?”

Ellie pursed her lips and concentrated. Nothing came to mind. Nothing except the obvious. “You were in the apartment.”

“Half in,” he corrected. “I was just entering when you came down the hall.”

“Then the killer must have used the front door, since you had the window all tied up.”

She saw him shake his head. “I was watching the front door.”

Ellie stopped walking and gaped up at him. “How long were you there?”

“Same as you and the bartender. I followed you from The Rose Tattoo.”

She tried not to let the sudden infusion of fear show on her face. “Why did you follow me?”

“Actually, I was following the penny.”

Ellie blinked.

“The 1955 Ben Franklin,” he prompted. “The bartender had to have it. No one else was anywhere near me when I was in the restaurant.”

She was barely aware of the sound of approaching footsteps as she tried furiously to sort through the bits and pieces fragmented in her mind. There was the fight. There was Jake’s obvious fixation with the stupid penny. There was the fact that he had followed them. There was the fact that she had seen no one else. There was—

“I’m Officer Sonnenmark,” a young, thin blond man in uniform said.

Ellie, startled by the sudden appearance of the policeman, instinctively pressed herself against Jake. She swallowed hard, trying, on the one hand, to keep from blurting out her suspicions. On the other hand, she was trying not to react to the solid, warm outline of his body where it touched her own. Shock, she decided. She had to be in shock; it was the only explanation for her juvenile and erratic, not to mention illegal, behavior for the past several minutes.

“Unusual weather,” Jake drawled, tipping his hat like the perfect Texas gentleman. “Something happen?” he continued with an innocent tone that could have earned him an Academy Award.

Officer Sonnenmark nodded, his boyish face completely devoid of emotion. “Y’all live around here?” Thankfully, the question was delivered to Jake.

“Nope,” Jake drawled. “We wanted to get a little inland, you know. Take a walk in the snow without having to fight the breeze off the harbor. It sure was pretty, but I’m afraid my blood just isn’t thick enough to stand the cold.”

Sonnenmark nodded and smiled down at Ellie. “Your husband may be romantic, but you look about frozen to death.”

“You’d think he was trying to kill me,” Ellie said through a fake smile. “I’m soaked through to the skin. I’ve been telling him for the past hour that I’ve had enough of this wilderness hike.”

“Now, dear,” Jake began as his gloved fingertips bit into the flesh of her upper arm. “You know I would never do anything to hurt you. I just thought a little walk would be invigorating. And a nice break from the kids.”

“Y’all got kids?” Sonnenmark asked.

“Six,” Jake replied without missing a beat. “All boys.”

“Hell,” the officer said, giving Jake an admiration-filled punch on the arm. “Since you got six kids at home, I guess any excuse to get out of the house works.”

“Any excuse,” Ellie repeated as she glared up at Jake’s relaxed jawline.

“What kind of trouble did you have?”

The officer bent forward, lowering his voice to an almost conspiratorial tone. “Murder. Guy in that apartment building there. Richardson was his name. You folks didn’t happen to see—”

“Naw,” Jake drawled. “We didn’t see anything. Didn’t even hear a gunshot.”

The officer leaned even closer. “No gunshot to hear. The poor guy was strangled with his own damned Christmas decorations.” Then, as if suddenly remembering Ellie was present, his face colored slightly. “Sorry, ma’am. Excuse my language.” He touched his fingers to the edge of the plastic covering the brim of his police hat.

“I’d appreciate it if you would be so kind as to excuse us. I’m freezing,” Ellie said to the officer.

Jake wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her against him and placing an unanticipated kiss against her cheek. The frozen skin tingled and warmed almost immediately, and it was everything Ellie could do to keep from shoving him away.

“I’d best get her home and warm her up,” Jake told the officer, none-too-subtly hinting at just how he expected to accomplish the task.

“Sure thing,” the officer said. “Your kids are probably ready for supper, anyway.”

“Exactly,” Ellie said with a nod. Then, glaring up at Jake, she added, “We wouldn’t want the little darlings to go hungry, would we?”

His green eyes darkened slightly. “No one should go hungry,” he fairly purred against her ear.

“What was that for?” she demanded in a harsh whisper as soon as the officer was out of earshot.

“I was ad-libbing,” he answered as he allowed his hand to fall away from her shoulder.

Ellie told herself that the sudden chill was the result of the dropping temperature. It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the fact that he was no longer touching her. After all, she didn’t want him to touch her, not with the same hands that in all likelihood had killed poor Josh.

Jake led her to a sleek Mercedes and held open the door. The interior smelled of leather and it had the feel of newness. It also had the feel of money. As her eyes scanned the elaborate collection of controls on the dashboard, she decided the car must have cost as much as her annual salary.

“Lead on.” He mimicked her earlier words as he slid behind the wheel and started the engine.

Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, Ellie’s brain worked at warp speed. “Uh...you need to head back in the direction of The Rose Tattoo.”

Misty rain accompanied the dusk as he drove back toward town. Ellie cautiously watched him out of the corner of her eye. How could someone so gorgeous be a killer? she wondered. Just her luck. The first really attractive man she meets turns out to be a thief at the very best, a killer at the very worst.

“Still trying to figure out how I did it?”

Ellie’s mouth opened but nothing came out.

He smiled then, an action that she felt all the way down to her toes. The effect was from more than just the attractive combination of dimples and even, white teeth. There was something almost hypnotic in the simple action, something that seemed to draw her to this man like the proverbial moth. Only with this man, Ellie knew with relative certainty that she’d be consumed by the flames.

“I was thinking about the murder,” she hedged.

He nodded, apparently unfazed by the whole situation. “Whoever it was obviously wanted to make sure you were caught at the scene.”

“That’s ridiculous. I don’t have any enemies.”

“Really?” One pale brow arched high on his forehead. “What about that guy at the bar? The one with no neck.”

“Mike has a neck,” she insisted.

“The size of a tree trunk.”

“He works out.”

“With a bottle of steroids?”

“No,” she told him on an exasperated breath. “He has a very stressful job. He works out to release some of the stress.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s a detective.”

Jake let out a low whistle. “So that’s how you know so much about police work.”

“Pretty much,” she said, lowering her eyes to study her hands. “Mike investigates murders, he doesn’t commit them.”

“Unless maybe he bought that little scene you staged with the bartender?”

Ellie shifted in the bucket seat, angling herself so that she could glare at his profile. “That’s crazy. Mike is not the violent type.”

“Really?” Jake asked, almost taunting her as he abruptly swerved over to the curb and threw the car in park. “Then what are these?”

Taking one of her arms, Jake pulled it free of her coat and rolled up her sleeve. Even in the dim light of early evening, she could easily make out the small, roundish bruises where Mike had gripped her arm.

“He doesn’t always realize his own strength,” she said.

Tossing her arm down in obvious disgust, Jake said, “Right. Have you always made excuses for him? Is that why your relationship with that Neanderthal ended?”

Ellie didn’t bother to fix her sleeve, but simply stuffed her balled fist through the armhole of her coat and stiffened in the seat. “My relationship with Mike is hardly any of your business.”

“Excuse me,” Jake grumbled as he pulled back onto the road.

For several minutes the only conversation consisted of Ellie’s minimal directions to take a left or a right. The tension inside the passenger compartment was as thick as the fog slowly settling over the city.

“Turn here,” Ellie instructed. “Stop at the third house.”

“Nice neighborhood.”

“I’ll be sure to tell my brother and his wife that you approve.”

Jake eased the car to a halt in front of the empty driveway. Ellie swallowed her trepidation as she reached for the door handle.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in for a cup of coffee?”

She met his slightly amused eyes. “No. If you can afford to buy a Mercedes, I’d say you can afford to buy your own coffee.”

“Tea?”

“No.”

“Brandy?”

“No.”

“Maybe I could use—”

“No.” Ellie got out of the car and slammed the door before he could think of any other idiotic pretexts under which she would let him inside. It wasn’t that she was inhospitable, she was simply protecting her family.

Calmly she strolled up the flagstone walkway, silently praying the whole way.

She reached the front door and pressed the bell. Her heart was racing as she waited, knowing full well that Jake was still parked at the curb.

The porch light came on and the door opened a small crack. Ellie tilted her head and spoke to the portion of the face visible through the small opening.

“Mrs. Baxter, it’s me, Ellie Tanner, from over on Chestnut Street. Dylan’s sister.”