Credible Alibi

by Tyler Anne Snell

  Julian wanted to reach out and take all of the concern and worry away, but truth be told, he was out on his own limb of uncertainty.

  He’d just lied to the authorities. In a big way, too.

  “They’re going to find the real person who did this,” he said, hands shoved into his pockets to curb the urge to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “Now that they aren’t focused on you they can do that.”

  Madi shot a nervous look toward the front doors. They were standing next to the sheriff’s truck in the parking lot. Declan and Caleb were still inside. This time with the husband of the murdered woman. He’d been out-of-his-mind angry and had to be kept in a separate part of the building.

  I don’t care if she’s pregnant! She killed my wife! She killed my Loraine! She needs to pay!

  The man had been so certain of Madi’s guilt, so incensed by it, that he had spit as he’d yelled. His fervor had solidified Julian’s urge to help Madi.

  He knew without a doubt that Madi was innocent. He’d felt it in his bones the moment she’d yelled out to him that she didn’t do it. He’d jumped into his SUV and flown to the station, ready to watch as the rest of the department believed her, too.

  Yet it didn’t happen.

  Or at least, the evidence forced their hands.

  The looks across the local deputies’ faces changed as the hours wore on. Julian stayed in the lobby with the flimsy reasoning of being a friend of Madi’s. He waited to be questioned but no one ever came for him. In all the uproar he’d seemingly melted away into the scenery. He’d only had the chance to talk to Jenna to get the quick and short story of what had happened before she’d had to leave. The sheriff and Caleb could be seen, angry and whispering. The entire department’s mood went from determined to find the alternate story to souring. Then on edge. When Julian had seen the lawyer come in through the lobby, wearing a suit and an expression that meant he was in for a rough ride, the need to help Madi had punched through Julian’s gut until he was standing in front of her brother and lying through his teeth.

  Now he was standing in front of Madi and telling the same lie.

  “I sneaked in an hour before Jenna called you, parking my vehicle off the road and hiding in the trees so no one knew I was there. That’s why you didn’t want to eat dinner with the guests, which is unlike you,” he spelled out. “I was with you in the bathroom when Jenna called. You found the body, but I was next to you. Realizing the cops were going to be involved, I went out the window and made it to my car. Then I pretended to come in for the first time so no one would suspect I’d been there at all.”

  Madi’s eyes were wide and blue. Oh so blue.

  “And the reason I didn’t want to be caught up in an investigation was because I was worried that it would get me fired before I ever started my job next week.” Julian shrugged. “Not a noble story, but everyone in there knows you didn’t do it so it made sense to them.”

  The innkeeper ran a hand over her belly. Her pregnant belly. Julian wanted to ask how far along she was but getting their story straight here, now, was the most important thing they could talk about. As she’d already said, it was a lie that had made the difference between murderer and lead suspect.

  “Why?” she finally asked. “You... Well, you don’t know me. This could absolutely get you fired and jail time.” She lowered her voice and took a step closer. Julian could reach out and touch that baby bump between them if he were so inclined. “Why take that risk? Why lie?”

  Julian gave her the honest truth.

  “You said you didn’t do it and I believe you.”

  A look he couldn’t interpret crossed the innkeeper’s expression. Then it transformed back into exhaustion.

  “And am I to guess what we were doing together in secret last night?”

  Julian felt the heat of their earlier intimate memories burn through him. Just as they had been throughout the last several months. Like lighter fluid thrown into a low flame. Hot, alarming and just a dangerous taste of what else could happen.

  “The same thing we did last time I was here,” he answered. “Apparently, Caleb had no idea you and I had been romantic then. I had to tell him otherwise to give credence to my story now.”

  Again, Julian wanted to search her expression to find the reason why she’d ended things, why she’d kept him a secret then and the time after he’d left, but he had to focus. Not that he could have gleaned the truth from the woman standing so close to him. Her expression was as guarded as her brothers’ had been when they’d brought her in. Maybe it was a Nash family trait.

  “And why did you show up? Outside the fiction you’ve been spinning about our romantic encounter.”

  Julian tried to smile, tried to downplay the eagerness he’d hidden from Chance when he’d decided to visit Hidden Hills. This time he lowered his voice.

  “I just wanted to say hi before I went on to my new life.”

  Madi was quick to comment. She wasn’t smiling.

  “And now you’re my alibi in a murder investigation where I’m the lead suspect. If that’s not good—or bad—timing, I don’t know what is.”

  Silence stretched between them for a few moments. Madi looked down at her hands on her stomach. Her expression was knotted in thought. When she met his eyes again there was a fire behind them. However, before she could speak, the door to the department swung open.

  Caleb took the stairs down two at a time. When he got to them, he clapped Julian on the back and smiled for all he was worth.

  “While I’m not exactly happy you waited so long to do it, I’m sure as hell glad you came forward,” he said, reiterating what he’d told Julian earlier. He gave his sister an equally enthusiastic smile. “I’m just glad we can all go home now.”

  Madi didn’t share in his exuberance.

  “My home is a crime scene,” she pointed out.

  Caleb nodded, deflating slightly.

  “Good thing that’s not the only home you have here.”

  Madi looked like she wanted to say something else but Caleb wasn’t having it. The earlier stress had lifted. Now he was reveling in the lightness. Julian had been there before. He became reacquainted with the feeling at the end of every deployment.

  Caleb motioned to his truck and addressed Julian directly.

  “Why don’t you two follow me?” he said, already digging out his keys. “Mom and Nina have some beds made up and some breakfast going, depending on how you’re feeling.”

  Julian’s eyebrow rose high.

  “And where exactly are we going?”

  The detective gave them both a grand smile.

  “The Nash Family Ranch! Where else?”

  * * *

  THE SUNLIGHT MET them and followed them across town and right up to and through the entrance to the Nash Family Ranch. The last time she’d talked to Julian, Madi had been avoiding the ranch and her mother out of guilt.

  Things hadn’t gotten much better. When she’d announced her pregnancy her mother had been happy, but also angry.

  It had created a rift between them, one Madi’s brothers had tried to repair, but they found no easy way to soften either woman. Because even though her situation wasn’t ideal, Madi wouldn’t allow any negativity. No matter if it was a passive-aggressive comment or a wayward glance that held an edge.

  Now, though, as the fields passed by on either side of Julian’s SUV and the ranch at the end of Winding Road became closer, Madi wanted to avoid her mother for an entirely new reason. Dorothy Nash had been through the wringer in the past three decades. She’d faced and dealt in heartache like she’d been cursed with bad luck. She’d seen needless violence and pain much more than any one person should have to bear.

  And here Madi was, adding another heartache alongside the father of her child, who’d just committed a crime to keep her from being charged as a murderer.
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  Madi pressed her forehead against the cool of the window. It sounded like the plot to a movie where Harrison Ford would eventually be jumping out of an airplane or from one skyscraper rooftop to another to save the day.

  “So, this is the famous family ranch?”

  Julian’s eyes had been swiveling as he’d driven through the front gate that ended Winding Road. He was observant, that much Madi knew of the man. She had appreciated this skill during their week together. He’d noticed the shifts in her mood and thoughts with ease. He understood her.

  Yet maybe that hadn’t been something special between them. Maybe that was just who Julian was. An observant man who had come into town, flashed his smile and then disappeared.

  Then again, she’d been the one who said leaving was okay.

  So what that Julian hadn’t reached out? He hadn’t picked up a phone, hadn’t sent an email, and the mailbox had remained free of any letter bearing his name.

  That was what she had said she wanted, right?

  Never to see him again?

  Yet here he was.

  It, along with everything else, filled Madi’s head like rising water. There wasn’t time to sort out what didn’t make sense. All she could hope to do was survive it. To keep swimming. To escape the flood.

  So she held her tongue back from asking why Julian had gone silent and why he was back. Instead, she tried to answer him like she would a guest. Forced jubilance and pride. Polite but not overly expressive. A good middle ground.

  “Yes, this is it. The Nash Family Ranch. Home to several generations of Nashes throughout the many years it’s been here.” She motioned to a road that forked off the straightaway. “That leads to the Wild Iris Retreat, the stables, several trails and Caleb and Nina’s new house.” She hesitated before detailing the rest of the ranch’s geography. The customer service lilt to her speech drained away. She couldn’t hide the weight of what had happened pressing her next words down. “You know, I don’t know if Mom has anyone staying at the retreat right now. If so, this could really hurt business. Maybe I shouldn’t be here.”

  Julian shook his head. For a moment she thought he was going to reach out to her, but he kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel.

  “I don’t know your family but I have a feeling, just by what I’ve seen in the last few hours, that there’s nowhere else they’d rather you be.” This time his gaze swept over to her.

  And then down to her stomach.

  Madi ran her hand over it, as if she could shield herself from his questions. For months she had tried to tell him the very same thing she was trying not to bring up right now.

  What if he reacted poorly? What if he decided to recant his statement? Madi now knew how bad things had looked for her with Loraine’s murder. What if she was actually convicted?

  She’d lose her daughter.

  From there Madi’s thoughts of the future spiraled. Fear and uncertainty pricked at her eyes, blurring her vision. She didn’t realize they were at the main house until Julian cut the engine.

  “Madi.” His voice had gone low, a sound that normally put the fire of longing beneath her skin. This time, however, it wasn’t the sound of lust she heard. It was severity. Like a moth to a flame, she met his stare. She was unable to look away as he continued. “There is nothing you can tell me that would make me take back the alibi. Okay?”

  Madi shouldn’t have been surprised that once again, Julian Mercer had read her like a book. He had a knack for that sort of thing. She nodded. He kept on.

  “There’s no ring on your finger. You’re not married or engaged,” he continued. “Are you seeing someone?”

  “No.”

  Julian nodded, more to himself than the conversation.

  Caleb’s truck door slammed shut near them. The porch light flipped on, bathing the SUV’s cab in an eerie glow. Julian wasn’t done yet, but Madi wanted to finish what she’d been trying to do for months.

  Because as ridiculous as it was, Madi realized she trusted that Julian would keep his word. That even if he didn’t like the news, he wouldn’t betray her.

  At least, she really hoped he wouldn’t.

  “Julian,” she said, cutting him off just before he could say anything more, “she’s yours.”

  Madi might have trusted the man, but in that moment, it was startlingly clear to her that she didn’t have his gift of observation. She couldn’t read his book. Not a single word.

  Julian was a mystery to her.

  And Madi was afraid he always would be.

  Chapter Five

  The low buzz from the air-conditioning was comforting. So was the softness of the sheets. The fabric softener’s scent wrapped around Madi’s senses like a warm embrace. She stretched her legs out and, for the briefest of moments, felt peace settle across her.

  Then her bladder reminded her that not only had she just woken up, but she had just woken up pregnant.

  She couldn’t lounge in her bed.

  And she wasn’t in her bed.

  That was when the insanity from the inn came back in full force. Madi groaned and struggled to sit up. The sheets might have been soft and smelled good, but they weren’t hers. She was in the guest bedroom at Desmond’s house. Through the open slats in the window she could see the roof of the main house in the distance. The house they’d all grown up in. The one their mother still lived in now.

  Madi remembered how the Nash matriarch had looked at her when she and Julian stepped out of his SUV. Right after she’d told him the truth about the child she was carrying.

  Right after neither had said a word once that truth had spread between them.

  Dorothy Nash was an optimistic woman but Madi had seen the cracks in her armor in the light of dawn. No one in the Nash family was a stranger to how hard it could be to carry on. Still, her mother had worn her brave face with conviction as she’d embraced Madi. That affection had transferred to Julian, a man she’d never met, before ushering both inside for food.

  Over that meal, Caleb had done most of the talking, laying out everything that had happened while Madi and Julian kept quiet. Madi knew she could tell her family anything without fear of being exposed as a liar but she didn’t want to make them liars. So she ate her food and then accepted the room at Des’s for a nap. Julian had been offered the other guest room, and she’d all but run to her bed before seeing if he had accepted it.

  Madi felt for her phone on the nightstand before remembering she didn’t have it. Her bladder’s urgency became louder than the vulnerability she felt creeping in. She didn’t stop to see who was or wasn’t in the guest bedroom as she fled to the hall bathroom. It was only after she was finished and cleaned up that she paused at the closed door.

  Hesitation wasn’t just a word. It was a full-body experience for Madi, whose fist hovered next to the wood of the door. The twisted, horrible image of what had once been Loraine’s face entered her mind.

  If everything happened for a reason, Madi hated to know what the reason was.

  Movement downstairs pulled Madi’s attention. Her hesitation to talk to Julian turned into a resolution to avoid him for as long as she could. She hurried down the stairs, already pulling up a smile that sold the fact that she was okay.

  That smile, fake or not, wavered when her mother bustled into view. Madi angry-braided. Her mother everything-braided. Today was no exception. She sported a tight silver braid over each shoulder and had her best pair of overalls on. She held up her late mother’s outdoor serving platter, topped with several cups and a pitcher of tea.

  “Hey, sweetie,” she greeted, expression softening so much Madi could have used it as a pillow. “I was about to come up and wake you after I put this out.” That soft expression started to harden. Madi followed her through the house, feeling the concern transfer.

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  Her
mother paused just before the front door. Her voice lowered.

  “Caleb just showed up in a huff. I don’t think any news he has is good.” Madi fought the urge to gulp. Her mother leaned over to bump her shoulder. The ice cubes in the pitcher clinked against the glass. “But don’t you worry, we’re all going to get through this. We just need to band together and figure it all out.”

  Her mother flashed a reassuring smile and pushed through the door. Madi followed, hand already rubbing her stomach.

  Between the main house and Desmond’s was a small dirt path, a picnic table along with extra seating and a driveway that led to the main road that cut through the ranch. Their family was big on outdoor living. That always included eating and tea drinking. So a gathering at the table wasn’t an unusual scene for the ranch. What was unusual was the company sitting at the table.

  Julian stood as they got closer. Caleb was already on his feet, pacing the dirt beside the table with a phone against his ear. Neither man looked pleased.

  “Hey.”

  Madi was ashamed at how Julian’s baritone sang to her body, even in the most innocent of settings. She slid into the seat opposite him with a small “hey” of her own. He settled back in and smiled politely as her mother set a cup in front of him. His eyes remained grim.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, looking to her brother. He wasn’t as tightly wound as he had been the night before but there was a definite weight there. Julian answered while Caleb finished up his call.

  “Apparently after they let us go last night it was implied that the sheriff’s department had already crossed the line and was playing favorites.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” her mother interjected.

  “That’s a direct quote.” Julian looked apologetic. He thumbed toward Caleb. “The local police department has been asked to completely take over the investigation.” He gave Madi a pointed look. “Which Caleb wasn’t happy about, to say the least.”