Читать книгу Proof of Innocence - Lenora Worth - Страница 12

THREE

Chase put his hand on Erin’s shoulder. She’d fallen asleep almost immediately after they’d left the deserted park about twenty miles back. He’d driven in circles for at least an hour and he’d watched the road for anyone who might be following them. Now he was on a remote back road where a sign boasted a bed-and-breakfast that promised privacy.

He’d have to do a quick sweep with Valor after they checked in, but maybe this place would be safe for the night at least.

“Erin?”

She jumped and grabbed at his hand then started hitting and slapping him, a scream tearing through her throat.

“Erin, it’s me. Chase!”

She gulped in deep breaths, her eyes wide with fear and then awareness. Her whole body relaxing, she asked, “Where...where are we?”

“An old inn. Way off the beaten path.” He had to take her inside and find her some food and a good soft bed so she could get some sleep. Handing her a generic navy-colored ball cap he kept in the SUV, he said, “Put your hair up underneath this and put those glasses back on.”

“I have the wig,” she said on a groggy note.

Chase did a visual and saw nothing but dark woods and the winding road up to the inn. “But someone’s seen you in that wig,” he retorted. “Put on the cap until I can get you in a room.”

“Okay.”

Her meek tone tore through Chase. Erin wasn’t one to be meek or subdued. She was honest and frank and smart. Never afraid and never this quiet. She’d gone on the run for a reason and Chase believed that reason consisted of staying alive so she could prove her innocence. But it also showed him that right now, she didn’t trust anyone. Especially not him.

Trying to ignore the disturbing feelings being near her seemed to be unleashing, he helped her with her now-mismatched hair. She’d obviously dyed it a couple of times. And she’d cut it. Still shorter than he remembered, it hit in soft waves against her chin. He remembered the softness of her hair, remembered pulling the light caramel-colored strands through his fingers so he could tug her close. Now he had to keep a safe distance. And keep her safe.

He had to stop reliving the past and start focusing on keeping her alive. That was his duty.

Your duty was to find her and bring her in for questioning.

He planned to question Erin. A lot. He’d report in again after he’d heard her side of things.

But he wasn’t letting her out of his sight until he knew the truth. He figured there was much more to this story and he didn’t know whom he could trust right now.

So Chase did what he’d always done when he had doubts.

He went with his instincts. And his instincts told him that this woman would never hurt another human being. Much less kill one. Now he just had to match her story with what Leon Ridge had told them. Maybe soon, they’d all know the truth.

* * *

The Moonlight Inn lived up to its name. The big Victorian house glistened with an eerie grayish-white wash from the light of a crescent moon. Surrounded by towering old live oaks, it looked at once both welcoming and sinister.

Erin loved the quaint old white clapboard exterior with the wraparound porch, but she wasn’t so sure about the isolation of the place. Still, being away from the main road allowed Chase and her some time to get all the facts straight. If she could keep her eyes open long enough to talk to him. It took all she had to put one foot in front of the other.

“You look plum wore out,” the cheerful lady behind the front desk said, her concerned brown eyes washing over Erin’s soiled T-shirt and jeans with a keen interest. “Did you two go on a long hike today?”

“Yes,” Chase answered with a smile. He glanced down at Valor. “And we chased this fellow around a lot. We’re ready to settle in for the night.”

The woman’s gaze moved from Erin to the dog at their feet. “What a beautiful animal.”

“Thank you,” Chase said. He’d already removed Valor’s working vest so no one would ask too many questions. “He’s tired, too. He loves to...search the countryside.”

“Chasing squirrels, huh, boy?” The lady chuckled, her white hair as stiff as the fake pink flowers clustered in a pretty red vase next to the antique cash register.

The woman glanced at Erin, causing Erin to realize that she hadn’t spoken.

“Yes, always chasing something,” she said, her tone forced. Chase hadn’t clarified anything with the desk clerk. Erin wondered how he’d handle the room situation.

“If it’s available, we’d like the deluxe suite with the sitting room,” he said, pointing to some pictures underneath the glass on the counter.

The old lady nodded. “Our best suite. Roomy and private.”

Chase didn’t respond. He simply paid the bill and kept smiling. Erin took in her surroundings, a habit she’d developed after being forced to watch her back. The inn was clean and uncluttered with the front entrance and lobby here and a long hallway to the back of the house. If she had to run...

“All set,” the woman said, handing Chase a receipt. “I hope you have a good stay.”

Chase glanced toward Erin, his green eyes going soft. “Thanks. I hope so, too.”

Erin managed a smile to hide the way her throat tightened and went dry at that glance. Now that they were inside, the glow from the lamplight clearly showed her all the features of his face for the first time.

He’d aged into someone she recognized and yet didn’t really know. His dark blond hair was cut in a crisp military style that stood in curling spikes across his forehead, and he had a few laugh lines, or maybe worry lines, around his eyes. He was buff and tan and healthy. Her heart, which had shriveled up in a corner to die when she’d lost all hope, seemed to unfold like a blossoming rose. She didn’t want to depend on this man. She could turn and bolt out the door, but she was so weary. She felt safe just being near him.

Chase looked as good as she remembered and then some.

While she was dirty and tired and mousy. And then some. A far cry from her sorority days and the whirlwind social life of the nation’s capital.

But she was relieved. She couldn’t help the relief that pushed through her numb system like a cooling wind to prove she was still alive. This kind of comfort could come only from knowing someone she’d once loved had found her when she thought she’d be lost forever. Erin glanced at a still life on the wall of a stream flowing down a mountainside. This was how she felt each time she sat in the dark and prayed, the image of Christ front and center in her frazzled mind. Lately, she’d almost given up on that image. But Chase stood here, an answer to a prayer she hadn’t even known she’d prayed.

“There you go,” the woman with the name tag that said Janey told them. “You’re all set. Breakfast is from six until nine each day and if you’d like, I can send up a midnight snack to tide you over. Since you’re arriving so late and all.” She glanced at the go bag Chase had grabbed from the SUV and then she let her gaze sweep over Erin’s torn, dirt-stained jeans, old hoodie and ratty T-shirt. “There’s a washer/dryer combination in the hallway to my left if you need to wash some clothes.”

Chase didn’t take her up on that offer. “We’ll take the snack. With hot tea and coffee.”

“And I’d like some water,” Erin added, touched that he remembered her preference for hot tea. “With lots of ice.”

“Okay. I’ll get right on that.” The woman smiled at Erin. “And you can enjoy a good, long bath, honey.”

“That sounds perfect,” Erin replied, true joy racing through her heart. It had been a long time since she’d had a bubble bath.

But when they got upstairs, she watched Chase checking all the windows and doors and decided that in spite of the wonderful, old-fashioned claw-footed tub in the adjoining bathroom, she might not get that bath. A quick shower would have to suffice.

Because they didn’t have time for the luxuries. Chase was here on a mission to either bring her in as a wanted murder suspect, or to help her prove her innocence.

And tonight was all about her convincing him on which option he should choose.

* * *

Chase took Valor for a quick walk, telling the way-too-interested Janey that the big dog needed to have a bathroom break. She nodded and explained where the dog walk was located. That was fine by Chase since it allowed him a chance to patrol the perimeters of the property and check around bushes and shrubs. Satisfied that the place was secure for now, he glanced up at the window where the deluxe suite was located. The room where Erin sat right now, jotting down notes she wanted to present to him when he got back. A small balcony was centered near two French doors, but it should be safe since it would be difficult for anyone to climb up the side of the house to get in. Difficult, but with a big oak tree nearby, it could be done if a person was determined. He and Valor would keep watch all night.

When they turned back toward the front door, Chase heard a twig snap down past the slope in the yard. Valor’s ears went up while Chase’s system buzzed with a new awareness.

He could release Valor to search, but this could be a trap, a means of distraction to draw them away from the house.

Not wanting to take any chances, he kept an eye on the front entrance and hurried Valor along so they could get back. He’d already had a quick shower, but a new sheen of perspiration worked its way down his spine, and not from the snap of a twig. Erin Eagleton had always made him sweat.

It had been obvious from their first glance several years ago that Erin was way out of his league. She’d been the popular socialite cheerleader at the small, private high school they’d both attended. And Chase had been the poor kid who’d been given a football scholarship to the school where all the politicians’ children had first dibs on everything. She’d lived in one of the gated estates that dotted the countryside surrounding Washington and he’d lived in a standard farmhouse that his hardworking family had hung on to for nearly a century.

First class meets middle class and love at first sight for him. Maybe even for her. They’d both fallen hard, and then they’d been torn apart way too soon.

But that was all over now. Erin had been dating Michael Jeffries for years. No way she could have killed him.

It had been common knowledge that Erin and Michael were considered a power couple along the Beltway. She was the beautiful daughter of a popular senator and Michael was the son of Congressman Harland Jeffries. She and Michael were often seen together all over Washington, attending high-level parties and dinners. The kind of parties that a rookie K-9 officer who was former Secret Service usually patrolled rather than attended.

Reminding himself that he was part of an elite unit of officers, soldiers and special agents who had been handpicked by the president’s special in-house security chief, Margaret Meyer, Chase hoped he could earn his merit by bringing Erin back alive so they could get to the truth.

She was here and safe for the time being. He hurried back upstairs, remembering how she’d looked in a huge white terry cloth robe she’d found in the closet, thrown over a pair of black running shorts and a T-shirt he’d dug from his go-bag. At least the extra clothes had been clean. Baggy and cute on her, but clean.

And she looked...beautiful.

Tired, worried, fragile and beautiful.

It had taken a lot of willpower for him not to rush across the room and hold on to her forever. They might not have forever if he couldn’t clear her name. They might not have a forever even after he cleared her name. Erin would want to go back to her posh life and leave him to get on with his simple life.

Which now only reminded Chase that he didn’t have time to go down memory lane and he sure didn’t have time for daydreams of how Erin looked all fresh faced and blushing.

Waving good-night to Janey—did the woman ever go to sleep?—he took the stairs two at a time and rapped on the locked door twice. “It’s Chase.”

Erin opened the door with a cup of tea in her hand. Someone from the staff had brought up food earlier. He’d checked the waiter and the food and waited for her to come out of the bathroom so they could eat. But his appetite had disappeared at the sight of her. Using the excuse of walking the dog, he’d bolted out of the suite with a terse order for her to lock all the doors and stay put.

Now he was hungry. For food. For her story. For just being with her again. “Mind if I eat while we talk?”

“No,” she said, motioning to the pushcart full of tiny crustless sandwiches along with fruit and cheese and two giant chocolate chip cookies. “Your coffee is in that little pot.” She pointed to a silver carafe.

Chase settled Valor with a treat and then came to sit on a cushiony blue love seat across from her cream-colored leather chair. After downing two of the ham-and-cheese sandwiches, he poured some coffee and rubbed a hand over his hair. “Everything looked okay outside. We should be safe for the night.”

She nodded. “I can’t seem to stay awake.”

“That’s the letdown,” he explained. “You’ve been living on adrenaline for months now.”

“Oh, and here I thought I was just tired.” She bit into a slice of rich cheddar cheese and grabbed a couple of plump grapes.

“You are tired, but... Erin, before things get crazy tomorrow, I need to hear the whole story and then I’ll tell you what I know.”

He didn’t want to give her any details that might color her own perception or blur her story. They could compare notes after he got her statement down.

She put down her tea and pushed away the plate of food. “Okay.” Then she took a deep breath and tugged the big robe around her. After picking up her crumbled notebook, she opened it as if she were about to read a book. Then she slapped it shut and lifted her gaze to meet his.

“I had planned to break things off with Michael,” she began. “Our fathers pushed us together in our last year of college, but honestly, we never got past being friends. We had fun together and I guess you could say we looked good together, according to the tabloids anyway, but it was mostly for show.”

Chase took that in as he remembered Erin in flowing formal gowns and on the arm of the man known as “The Capitol Crusader.” Michael Jeffries had been a bit cocky and smug, but the man at least had a good heart since he fought for less fortunate people. He sure didn’t deserve to be shot even if he had made Chase jealous at times. Chase always told himself Erin was better off with someone who had as much money and clout as her father. That’s the way the senator saw things anyway.

“So you did see Michael on the night that he died?”

Erin took a sip of tea and then continued. “Yes, I did. That morning he called me and asked if we could go to dinner and...well, he was so upset when he picked me up I didn’t have the heart to break up with him.”

Chase jotted notes since this was a new development. “Why was he upset?”

She pushed at her still-damp hair. “He said he’d found out a young relative of his was stuck in foster care and possibly living at the All Our Kids home—you know the one that his father started years ago. Michael was determined to get the child out, but he wouldn’t tell me who the kid was or why doing this was so important to him.” She shrugged and looked down at her hands. “We parted at around nine or so, but later—not long after I saw you—he didn’t answer my calls and I got worried about him.”

Chase checked his notes. “You and I spoke around ten that night,” he reminded her. “I remember glancing at my watch and wondering why you were out walking so late.”

“I needed to think about things,” she replied. “I was worried about Michael’s frame of mind and I was upset that...I couldn’t make it work with him. I went to his condo to check on him and he wasn’t there. I figured he’d driven out to his father’s estate to possibly discuss getting the congressman’s help with this child he was so worried about. He told me he needed to talk to his father, so I headed out there.”

Chase held up a hand and decided he could tell her what he knew for a fact. “Let’s stop for a minute. We’ve confirmed that Michael was talking about a two-year-old boy who belonged to his father’s housekeeper, Rosa Gomez—”

She shook her head and held her hand toward him. “But then the child couldn’t be related to him.”

Chase hated to spill things to her in this way, but he had to get all the facts straight and he had to feed them to her one by one. “Erin, the little boy—Juan Gomez—is the son of the congressman. We’ve pretty much established that he’s Michael’s half brother.”