Spinelli’s cell phone hummed. He pulled it from its holder and glanced at the display. Shannon’s sparkling gaze stared back at him. He sent the call to voicemail. He caught Walker looking at the display as well.
“Not taking that?” Walker asked.
“It can wait,” Spinelli said as he placed the phone back in its holder. He wasn’t ready to talk to her yet. He needed to get his thoughts in order before he confronted her, but the cupid case prevented him from doing so. Maybe he’d never be ready to talk to her. He shook his head. Freaking women.
Spinelli shifted his gaze to Marsh. “Tell me about Cupid.”
Marsh shot him a frown. “What?”
“Cupid, in general, what’s the deal with this cupid character? You know, historically. Maybe we can find some sort of connection there.”
“How the hell should I know?” Marsh questioned.
“You always seem to know this kind of useless information.”
“Cupid is the son of Venus, the goddess of love, but I wouldn’t expect someone like you to know anything about that,” Bethany’s shrill voice sounded behind Spinelli.
A chill raced down Spinelli’s spine. His body tensed. What was she doing up here? He dreaded having to face her. She hated him with a passion. He never meant to hurt her, but it just wasn’t there for him. Spinelli spun on his heel, “Bethany.”
“Detective,” she responded in a tone so cold dry ice would have warmed it.
He caught the glances exchanged between Walker and Marsh. He suspected that they probably wanted to disappear as well.
Bethany pressed on. “Supposedly, a person who is shot by cupid’s golden arrow is filled with uncontrollable desire. I doubt that even cupid’s arrow could penetrate your exterior.”
Marsh chuckled.
Her angry gaze shifted to him. “What in the hell are you laughing at, Marsh? You’re no better,” Bethany snapped.
He pinched his lips together.
God, she’s bitter. “Bethany, what can we do for you?” Spinelli asked in the softest voice he could muster.
She glared at him. “Nothing. I just thought you might want to know that Chad Williams was poisoned in the same manner as Carter and Rosso. All three ingested cyanide.”
“How do you think the killer did it? Did he slip into a drink or something?” Walker asked.
Bethany shrugged. “Could have I suppose, or perhaps it was something they ate. All their blood alcohol levels came back negative.”
Bethany stepped closer to the crime board and studied the photos. There were several photos of the dead bodies and one each of the men prior to their deaths. She glanced over her shoulder at the three detectives. “Have you guys noticed anything odd about your three victims?”
They all edged closer to the board.
“What do you mean?” Walker asked.
She smirked. “They all look like Spinelli.” She fixed her gaze on Spinelli. “Hmm. I wonder if that means anything. Might make for an interesting Valentine’s Day for you. What kind of company have you been keeping?” Bethany questioned with a smirk just before she sauntered off.
Spinelli eyed the photos more closely. What in the hell was Bethany talking about? “Do I really look like them?”
“Sort of, I guess,” Marsh responded. “Maybe I should cross-reference some of your lady friends with theirs.”
“What?”
“Well, look how pissed Bethany is. Maybe we’ve got a scorned woman on our hands. Maybe she’s trying to send a message,” Marsh added as he pointed in the direction Bethany disappeared.
A hint of unease coiled in Spinelli’s chest. Was Marsh right? Right now, his theory was as good as any. His mind drifted to thoughts of Shannon. Freaking women! In the event they don’t kill you, they stomp on your heart and tear you into pieces. I don’t need this shit!
Chapter Seven
The sound of high heels clicking against the old hardwood floor echoed in Spinelli’s ears. A ripple of panic rushed through his veins. He kept his eyes forward staring at the crime board. Perhaps it was just Bethany again. He found himself wishing it was, but he knew the truth. He recognized the pace and the light steps. He willed himself to turn around, but he couldn’t. It was as if he was frozen in place. He just couldn’t face her yet. What could he possibly say to her? It was probably sixty-five degrees in the precinct, yet sweat beaded on his temples and upper lip.
Walker shifted away from the board. “Hi, Shannon. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Thanks, Brad. How’s Jeana?”
“She’s good.”
Spinelli continued to stare at the board as he listened to their conversation. He shot a sideways glance at Walker and Marsh. Walker continued his chat with Shannon. Marsh looked like a starving wolf eyeing his prey. Spinelli wondered why he was looking at Shannon that way. She was probably just wearing one of her frumpy old business suits as usual.
Spinelli hated those drab suits. They made her look like an old maid, but he supposed they were appropriate for when she was working and had to go to court for child placement hearings. He remembered the first one he’d ever seen her wear. It was navy blue, and though it did nothing for her petite, yet shapely body, it did much more for her than the dark chocolate brown one she’d worn the next day.
“So, Shannon, any big plans tonight?” Walker asked.
Shannon reached over and touched the upper part of Spinelli’s arm. His vision blurred. The photos on the crime board blended into one big, black mass. He’d thought he couldn’t get any angrier. He was wrong. He still couldn’t seem to turn his head to face her. She inched closer to him. The warmth of her body penetrated his. Her sweet scent filled the air, tormenting him. Why is she down here? What does she want? Doesn’t she know I know?
“Nick is taking me to dinner tonight. What about you and Jeana?
Any plans?”
Walker chuckled. “Yeah, we’ll have our customary one night out for the year without the boys. Jeana’s mom is coming over to watch them for a couple of hours.”
“That’ll be nice for the two of you,” Shannon replied in her soft, sweet voice, which was normally music to Spinelli’s ears. But today, right at this very instant, the sound of her voice was pure heart-piercing torture.
He imagined the sincere look in her eyes as she spoke to Walker. She always looked genuinely interested when she talked with people. Hmf, sincere! Right! Her soft feminine voice sang in his head. Why did she always have to sound so sweet? He found it difficult to keep his guard up. He thought about the ring in his pocket. It was of no use. He and Shannon would never have what Walker and Jeana have. He may as well just forget it and go back to the life he knew months ago before Shannon invaded his soul. He slid his shaky, sweaty hands into his pockets and tried to re-focus on the photos of the dead cupids. The cupids were a priority; not his messed up love life.
Shannon’s grip tightened on his arm. His body tensed. “Nick, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Spinelli turned toward her. Speech escaped him.
“Are you okay?” Shannon asked, her tone almost a whisper. Her inquisitive, beautiful gaze fixed on him.
He needed her to stop looking at him through those long thick lashes, and he needed her to stop touching him. His aching heart couldn’t take it. He stepped back. Her arm floated down to her side.
“I’m fine. I can’t talk right now. We’re in the middle of something important here. I’ll talk to you later,” Spinelli replied as he turned back toward the crime board. He just couldn’t look at her any longer. And he couldn’t help but notice the hint of hurt that flashed through her eyes as he spoke. Even after what she’d done to him, hurting her nearly cracked his heart in half. He raked his hand over his face and studied the board.
“Oh, okay, so I’ll see you at eight. We can talk then.”
Spinelli kept his gaze on the board. “About that. This could take all night. Maybe we’d better play it by ear.”
Heat penetrated his shoulder blade. He
imagined the source of the heat was her intense laser-pointed gaze. Any longer and it just might burn a hole through him. He heard her sigh.
“Okay,” she whispered.
Her heels clicked against the hardwood floor as she walked away from him, each step fainter than the last until finally, no clicking sound remained.
Spinelli felt Walker’s gaze on him, and he was sure if Walker was speaking right now, he’d be telling him what an asshole he was for treating Shannon so poorly moments ago.
“Jesus Christ, did you see what she was wearing? What’s that all about?” Marsh asked as he stared in the direction Shannon disappeared.
Spinelli squeezed his eyes shut. Damn the convex mirror hanging in the corner above Marsh’s desk. If it weren’t for that, he probably wouldn’t have noticed how sexy Shannon looked in that red dress. His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he noticed, but then he remembered he was pissed at her. He was shocked nobody seemed to realize his gaze drifted to the mirror as he faced the crime board. If Walker hadn’t been distracting everyone by rambling on about Valentine’s Day, he would have probably been busted.
Her bright red dress was short and fitted. The hem fell right above her knees. He had noticed in the few seconds he’d spent facing her before she left that her low-cut neckline exposed just a hint of the tops of her soft, pale breasts. Her breasts were small, so he assumed she was wearing one of her sexy Victoria's Secret push-up bras. He really liked the tiger print one. The dress had short, off-the-shoulder sleeves exposing her petite, well-toned, shoulders. He loved skimming his hands over her soft, milky white shoulders. He’d fought the urge to throw his jacket over her shoulders, imagining the other detectives might be eyeing her in the same manner as Marsh.
A wreath of tiny roses rested around her sassy up-do. Small clumps of curls hung down around the sides of her face and the back of her neck. To top everything off, she wore tall red boots with high heels. Nothing was sexier than a pale redhead wearing a bright red dress with tall red boots.
He thought about the night they’d shared last night. They’d made love twice, slowly and sweetly. She gave herself fully to him, and yet he could never get enough of her. Every nerve ending in his body lit up as her small, soft hands ran fluidly over him. And when he slid himself inside her, the soft velvet warmth surrounding him nearly drove him insane. He recalled how his body begged for release, but he fought to hold off until her pleasure came, making his pleasure even more erotic. At one point, they’d collapsed from exhaustion, rested for a bit, and then started up all over again. How could a woman love a man like that and then kiss another, only hours later?
Marsh slapped Spinelli on his shoulder blade, snapping him out of his daydream, but not before his thoughts had pulled a U-turn. His vision of Shannon suddenly included horns on her head and a devil’s spear in her hand. Both seemed to accent the red dress as well.
“What?” Spinelli snapped at the touch of Marsh.
“I asked why she’s dressed like that.”
Spinelli shrugged. “She’s doing some sort of Valentine’s Day church fundraiser tonight. The proceeds are supposed to go toward the homeless shelter or something.”
Marsh raised a brow. “Hmm.”
“Hmm, what?” Spinelli questioned.
“I was just thinking that if I had someone like her waiting for me tonight, I wouldn’t think twice about ditching these dead cupids and showing her what Valentine’s Day is all about.”
“How about we just focus on the case right now?” Spinelli replied as he crossed his arms over his chest and returned his gaze to the crime board.
* * * *
Shannon made it to her car on her wobbly knees without shedding a single tear. She couldn’t believe how cold Spinelli was to her moments ago. It’s like he knew what had happened with Joshua earlier in the day.
She’d wanted to explain the whole Joshua thing to him before she headed off to the church, but he didn’t give her the opportunity. And now she had to go and face Joshua again, at least for a few hours. Shannon sighed. Joshua was far more excited than she was to be working together tonight on the singing valentines and flower delivery fundraiser. Apparently, he’d made the request to Father Daniel that he be assigned to work with her, just like in years past. It didn’t surprise her that Father would grant the request; he and Joshua were fairly close. And unfortunately, at this very moment, she was stuck and agreed to meet Joshua at the church.
She started the car before she closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto the seat. She needed a minute yet. Visions of Joshua scooping her up into his arms and kissing her replayed in her mind. He’d caught her so off-guard. In fact, it happened so quickly she didn’t even realize who’d scooped her up at first. But it took only moments to recognize his scent, his touch, his kiss. She blew out a sigh and fought the urge to smack herself in the head for having responded to his kiss at first, but when realization set in, she ended the kiss just as abruptly as it started. No credit for that. She’d give anything to start this day over again and change her initial reaction to Joshua’s surprise visit.
She wondered if someone, other than Anna, had seen her and Joshua together and told Spinelli. She’d wanted to tell him herself before anyone else had a chance, but by the time she’d returned to work from dropping Joshua off at his hotel, it was time for the custody hearing with the Clarkson’s. She’d gone down to the precinct the first chance she had, but evidently, it was too late.
Shannon sucked in a deep breath and blew it out in an attempt to clear her mind. It didn’t work. Probably nothing would erase the kiss she’d shared with Joshua or the coldness in Spinelli’s voice when he spoke to her through his knotted jaw. Why in the hell did Joshua suddenly show up, unannounced, after nearly two years on hiatus, and today of all days?
She pulled a tissue from the box on the front seat and blotted her eyes dry, then swiped it over her cheeks. She checked her makeup in the visor mirror before she signaled and pulled out of the parking lot.
She arrived at the church a few minutes after 4:00 and headed downstairs for her assignment. The sweet scent of roses greeted her in the cool stairwell. She stepped through the doorway into the social hall to find a room filled with red. Bouquets of long-stemmed red roses and red heart-shaped boxes of chocolates covered the rows of banquet tables lined up throughout the entire length of the room. Sadness rippled through her. Likely none for me today.
Shannon always enjoyed spending time in the social hall. She liked visiting with the other parishioners as they congregated in the hall after the church services concluded. It was something she and her family had done ever since she was a child. Oh, what she’d give to have her older sister, Claire, here right now. Claire would know how to fix this mess with Spinelli. Why did she have to live so far away? Maybe she’d call Claire later after her nephews went to bed so Claire would have time to talk uninterrupted. Shannon loved her nephews, but they could be quite the handful at times. She shook her head. She really shouldn’t bother her sister on Valentine’s Day. She might have plans with John, her dear, sweet husband. He was the nicest man. Shannon envied Claire when it came to her family. She always hoped to find a husband as loving and sweet as John seemed to be. Tears stung her eyes. I had that man until I blew it today!
Shannon blinked rapidly to clear her blurry vision. When the room came back into focus she found ten or so women, all dressed in red. They looked over their clipboards, which likely detailed their evening’s delivery information. Shannon headed toward the table at which Father Daniel and Sisters Lora and Pat sat. She would get her instructions from them.
Men of all ages, sizes and shapes milled about the room in their cupid costumes. They looked a little more like toga party goers than cupids, but the wings, bows, and quivers of arrows helped place their identity. Shannon giggled. She supposed the church couldn’t very well send out naked cupids, as depicted in the legend.
She scanned the room for Joshua. He was nowhere to be found. She gl
anced at her watch. It wasn’t like him to be late, especially for a church event. Shannon shook her head. He sure had everyone fooled, the good church-going Joshua. Mister ‘I’ll volunteer for the mission trip for the good of the church.’ Even Father Daniel, still to this day, hadn’t realized Joshua’s true colors. Or maybe he did, and he was keeping him close to try to save him. Shannon sighed. She never quite fully understood where she’d gone wrong or why Joshua had volunteered for the trip when he did. She had loved him, and she’d thought he loved her.
They were set to get married and begin their new life together, but it didn’t take long for her to discover his cheating ways. She’d even gone so far at the time as to work through the cheating issue, but she quickly learned she was the only party interested in making the relationship work long-term. She’d felt like such a fool when he told her he’d be going to Nicaragua, and then he had the nerve to suggest they could resume their relationship when he returned. It was as if he assumed she’d just sit around waiting for him, but how many other women would he tally up in that time? Her anger from two years ago roared through her as if everything had happened moments ago. His parents should have named him Nathanael, the gift of God because he sure thought he was God’s gift to women! Why could no one else see this?
“Hi, Shannon. Are you looking for Joshua?” Father Daniel asked as he stepped toward her.
“Yeah. Have you seen him?”
Craving Vengeance, a Nick Spinelli Mystery Page 4
