The Eyewitness

by Nancy C. Weeks

  Em. No one had ever clutched his balls like her. One moment she was kind, sensible, and trusting. Then something flipped off in her head, and everything went to hell. He wished she’d pick a fucking opinion of him and stick to it.

  He’d had his moment but blew that too. The damn elevator had a stop switch. He should have used it and talked some sense into her. She was reacting to the violence. He got that. But didn’t she notice he’d been right next to her through most of it?

  Alec rubbed the muscles in his neck. What the hell had happened in Angela’s office to set her off? He’d signed off on the slug. That was his job. He never mentioned it to her, because, why would he? Hey, Em, by the way, the slug they dug out of you, I got to sign off on it. Alec couldn’t help laughing at the absurd thought.

  What the fuck did she think he’d done with the evidence? Em had taken one glance at his name and jumped over hell and back. That was her thing—leaping when she should keep her sweet ass in place.

  And why ask about the two rifles? Joe’s slug was an exact match to the other killings. The killer was the Beltway copycat sniper. The last time Alec had seen the slug, it was on its way to the forensic lab. Angela processed the evidence, and she didn’t make mistakes.

  He stiffened his spine and dragged Joe’s keyboard into reach. Fixing flash drives wasn’t the only thing he’d learned in the computer lab. After a few keystrokes, he shoved the keyboard away from him. This wasn’t the right way. Hacking for information without a warrant broke more laws than he wanted to count.

  He needed information, and he knew who had it. He sent out a quick email as sunlight filtered through his blinds. Alec had let Joe down last night. But this was a new day.

  He’d never used a friendship before, but he would use it now to keep his promise and find a path back to Em.

  He sure as hell hadn’t done anything to mess with the bullet fragment, but maybe someone else had, someone Em trusted. And that made her a target.

  • • •

  Guilt settled into Emersyn’s gut like a bad flu. Sleep hadn’t helped a damn. Alec’s expression wouldn’t leave her. Last night was the old Emersyn, the woman who spoke without thought. Hadn’t she vowed to be a better person? She tugged on the laces of her boots and tied them tight. “I’ll figure this out.”

  “Figure what out?” Tessa asked at the doorway of Emersyn’s bedroom. “And is that what you’re wearing to Mass?”

  “I’m not going to Mass.”

  “Then where—”

  “I’m meeting my boss at the lab.”

  “Nine thirty on a Sunday morning? Did she call you in?”

  “Not exactly. I’m working through something, and I need Angela McCain’s help.”

  “Look, you just met her—”

  “I don’t have a choice.”

  “Yeah, you do. I’m a choice. Talk to me.”

  Not this time, and not about this.

  “I need answers, and she has them.” Emersyn ran a brush through her hair and grabbed her cell, storing it in her computer bag. “I have to go.”

  Tessa stepped into the room. “Alec is downstairs, and he looks like shit warmed over. It would seem he was hit by a tree last night.”

  “Well, hell. You could have opened with that. What do you mean he was hit by a tree?”

  “The guy he was tracking clobbered him with a branch, knocking him out cold.”

  Acid churned up into Emersyn’s throat, making her swallow. “He was still bleeding from the wound when he showed up at the lab. But, like Alec, he said nothing about that to me. So damn typical.”

  What was wrong with her? Her meeting with Angela could be the first step in convicting him for his part in her father’s death. But she couldn’t help caring about him. “I can’t see him right now.”

  “Okay.”

  “Have you met McNeil’s protection detail?”

  “Yes,” Tessa said, the humor disappearing from her features.

  Emersyn threw her bag over her shoulder. “It’s cold out. Maybe you should invite them in for coffee.”

  “What?”

  “Just do it.”

  “Emersyn, what the hell? It’s like you—”

  “I don’t want to leave you and Mom alone with Alec. I can’t explain right now, but he can’t know where I am. You two are close, and I understand what I’m asking of you. But, with that said, you need to keep him here and the protection detail within arm’s reach.”

  Tessa placed a hand on Emersyn’s shoulder, and Emersyn walked into her sister’s embrace. Tears burned her throat.

  “I could be so damn wrong about him. God, I have to be wrong.” She couldn’t control the tremor that went through her. Tessa’s hold tightened. “Alec . . . He means something to me.”

  “I know.”

  “But if there is any chance he’s part of this madness—”

  “Just do your job, Emersyn. That’s what Dad would have done.”

  “It hurts. If I’m wrong, he’ll never forgive me.”

  “Don’t piss off fate by predicting the future. It’ll laugh in your face.” She tugged Emersyn into another hard hug. “I’ll tell him you’re asleep and guilt him into attending Mass with us. Mom needs help carrying all the boxes we’re donating for the church bazaar anyway. He wouldn’t dare say no to her. Wait a good five minutes after we leave then go do what you have to. Be careful.”

  The clock seemed to run backward. Emersyn zeroed in on the sounds of an empty house as she hid behind the curtains and surveyed the front yard. Alec gave her window a long stare before he pulled out of the driveway.

  The wait in the forensic lab parking lot was almost harder than watching Alec drive away. Angela McCain wasn’t going to be happy—again. While Emersyn found a measure of pride in that fact that she’d had the balls to call Angela, her practiced speech wasn’t working. The last thing she wanted to do was accuse her boss of tampering with evidence. And would it have mattered if Emersyn waited one day?

  A blue sedan pulled into the spot next to hers. Right on time. Angela flipped the seat belt off her shoulder and opened the door. Crap. Angela wasn’t wearing makeup. She was dressed in an oversize sweatshirt with leggings, the perfect outfit for a cold, lazy Sunday.

  The damn theory better pan out to make this worth it. Emersyn squared her shoulders and met the woman behind her car. “I appreciate you meeting me.”

  “I’ve never known anyone who makes getting fired an art form quite like you, Miss D’Azzo.”

  “You told me last night that we find answers by examining the evidence.”

  “Which I have done. That doesn’t seem to be enough for you.”

  Heat rolled into Emersyn’s cheeks. “I’m not challenging what you have done. Last night’s results may have revealed something new, or at least different.” She scanned the parking garage. “We can’t have this conversation here. If I’m wrong, you’ll have my resignation on your desk first thing tomorrow morning.”

  Angela let out a loud huff. “And I may just accept it.” She stalked toward the sidewalk leading to the entrance. Not slowing her pace, she asked, “I’m not going to like this one bit, am I?”

  “No, ma’am. It’s making me sick to my stomach.”

  Nothing else was said as they made their way through security to Angela’s office, where she motioned Emersyn to take a seat while she closed the door. Then she moved behind her desk. “It’s your show, so start talking.”

  The words that had been swimming around in Emersyn’s mind for the last several hours decided to clog in the back of her throat now. Unable to sit a moment longer, Emersyn paced the small office.

  “You have ten seconds, and I’m out of here,” Angela said.

  “I don’t know where to begin.”

  “How about with why I’m here?”

  That seemed like a simple request. If only Angela could feel what her question was doing to an empty stomach filled with strong coffee. “Like I said on the phone, I would like to re-examine the bulle
t fragments from the case.”

  “You realize how damn insulting that request is, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Emersyn lowered herself back into her seat. “I would like to say it’s not personal, but it is. Very personal.”

  “Give me one good reason—”

  “There are two snipers. One who killed my father, and the real Beltway copycat sniper.” Angela began to speak, but Emersyn held up her hand. “I’m not crazy. There are a few things missing in this puzzle that you don’t know about. That is my fault, and I take full responsibility.”

  The information about the man hidden off the trail and the flash drive began flowing from her lips. Once all her secrets were revealed, the tension eased until the dead silence began drilling itself deep into her muscles. It took everything in her to sit still and allow Angela time to process. When she finally spoke, Emersyn should have been prepared for her response. She wasn’t.

  “Are you aware I can have you arrested for falsifying a police report and obstruction of justice?”

  Emersyn choked back her fear. “Yes. I was hoping you—”

  “I would do what? Allow you to deface this office and spit on everything we do here?”

  Emersyn shut her eyes and prayed for a moment of clarity or a brilliant comeback. It wasn’t happening in this lifetime.

  “Answer me this, Emersyn. All you had to do was mention your theory about the two snipers. Why did you tell me about the flash drive, your father’s secret file, and the man you saw that night? Why incriminate yourself like that?”

  Emersyn couldn’t keep the tears from clouding her eyes. “You need the information I was holding back to make an informed hypothesis, and I have to trust someone. My brother and Alec talked me into keeping the man a secret. They were protecting me. Like I said, there is something familiar about him, but I have no idea where I’ve seen him before. But those are excuses.”

  Again, unable to sit still, she returned to the endless pacing. “It was wrong. I should have shouted Shadow Man’s existence from the damn rooftop. Everything that has happened since is connected to that secret.”

  “Sit. You’re making me dizzy,” Angela murmured.

  Emersyn paused, placing her palm on her father’s case file, which still sat where Angela had dropped it a few hours earlier. “Bottom line, someone close to my father is working with the man who killed him. I believe that person broke into the evidence locker and removed a slug from one of the four victims of the copycat sniper, removing all trace evidence from the bullet fragment before covering it with my father’s and my blood. Alec Pearce was the first on the scene and the first in the evidence chain. I hate the thought that he might . . . that he could be part of this.”

  Her legs trembled. She gripped the back of the chair and then dropped into the seat, wrapping her arms around her waist. “I’m not here to challenge your work, and I never meant to accuse you of anything. I need your help piecing this mess together.”

  The lines of tension around Angela’s face softened. “Do you know why I hired you?”

  For the life of her, Emersyn couldn’t come up with an answer.

  “You were the only applicant cunning enough to think outside the box. I think if you don’t land your ass in prison, you’ll make a brilliant forensic scientist. Of course, your belief that Pearce could have had anything to do with your father’s death may have shot that assumption to hell.”

  Emersyn’s spine stiffened. “Excuse me?”

  Angela leaned forward on her desk, a peculiar grin transforming the hardness around her cheekbones, bringing out her true beauty. “I’ve known Alec for a long time. He doesn’t open himself up to many people, but he loved Joe D’Azzo. In fact, your father may have been the only person in Alec’s entire life he gave a damn about. He’s not involved in this. He did take possession of the evidence and turned it over without moving a step away from his guard post.”

  “What guard post?”

  “Rumor has it he stood like a freaking statue for hours outside the surgical unit they wheeled you into. He never took his eyes off the empty corridor. As soon as you came out, he followed you to recovery and then into ICU. No one could get him to leave for two days, not even your mother.”

  If shame had a taste, it was acidic, like bile. Before Emersyn could form a response, a fist slammed hard against Angela’s door.

  “It’s Alec.” The doorknob turned but didn’t open. “I need to talk to you. Unlock the door.”

  “Can’t right now. I’m talking to your girlfriend about what happens when someone deliberately falsifies a police report and withholds evidence. She hasn’t completely thrown you under the bus, but it’s close.”

  Emersyn tried to shove down the panic. “This is not on him. It was my choice to keep quiet.”

  Three louder bangs landed on the door, shaking the office. “Damn it to hell, Angela. Open the door. And Em, shut the hell up.”

  Angela let out a hearty laugh. “Aw, that was almost sweet.” She strolled to the door and opened it. “You need to get control of yourself before I allow security to throw you out on your ass.” She nodded to the camera in the hallway. It was pointed right at them.

  Alec’s shoulders slumped. “I need a minute with Emersyn.”

  “You can have her,” Angela said, taking a step back into her office.

  Stone statue Alec was back in full form. The hurt look had been replaced with his I-don’t-give-a-fuck look. How she hated the tightness in his mouth. Those lips could be so soft they made her knees weak. But in his present mood, even an apology was out of the question. All she saw was anger, especially the way his head tilted and his chin jutted out, such damn stubborn arrogance.

  Emersyn met Alec’s stare head on. “We’re working on something. I’ll text when we’re done.”

  Angela cleared her throat. “Did you mean it earlier about needing to trust someone?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then get out of my office. You two need to get your stories straight, and I have slugs to re-examine.” She pinned Emersyn with a glare. “Unless you feel you need to watch.”

  Emersyn shot out of her chair. “Of course not.”

  Opening the door wider, Angela moved so Emersyn could pass. “Then I’ll let you both know when I’m done.”

  Alec reached for Emersyn’s hand and pulled her through the door. She’d been capable of spinning out of a hand grip since she was three, but this time, she followed him. He stormed into the break room where they had shared a lunch on her first day, less than a week ago. The space was now being used to store equipment from the flooded lab.

  The moment he closed the door, he dropped her hand as if her skin were made of fire. Okay, he had a right to be pissed. “I owe you a massive apology.” She gently fingered the bruise over his eye. “Did you at least get this checked out?”

  Of course he didn’t.

  Last night, instead of seeking medical attention, he came looking for her. And she’d stepped all over his rare open hand. It hurt just looking at that angry bruise on his forehead.

  “Alec, we can go now. I’ll drive.”

  “Tell me what you figured out.”

  “Can we at least clear the air first?”

  He waved his hands over his head. “Done. Now talk.”

  Damn stubborn man. Fine. There was another way to remove a sneer. She pressed into him, drawing her line in the sand. The glow from the security light accented the gold flecks that swam in his smoldering brown eyes.

  “Maybe this apology will touch a nerve.”

  With her arms at her sides, she caressed his bottom lip with the tip of her tongue before taking his mouth. Heat radiated from his body, and a marvelous ache spiked from her breast to her toes. Dear God! The man could kiss. Even though he remained statue-like, there was no doubt she was chipping away at his walls. His rapid heartbeat pounced through the fabric of his dress shirt, making her ache to feel skin against skin.

  Emersyn moved her fingers over his stoma
ch and slowly up his chest, feeling the hard muscles he hid from the world beneath his dress shirt. He was fit, solid, his body such a hard contrast from the softness of his lips. She deepened the kiss, her tongue dancing with his. But she had no illusions. Alec held possession of this moment, and that thought made her melt into him.

  He wrapped her arms around him, accepting her weight. The next instant, he shifted their positions and pinned her to the wall, drawing one of her hands above her head. Now it was his body crushing into hers, his hips massaging her most intimate areas as his lips moved down her throat. Their fit was perfect, the subtle way each of them shifted so they could feel all of each other. His mouth found hers again as his free hand roamed down her side, his fingers resting at the elastic band of her bra. Damn the material that imprisoned her breasts from his touch. What a waste of good satin and lace.

  A moan reverberated from deep in his throat. It meant one thing. Regret. Before he could pull away, she pressed her hand to his face and neck, her kiss begging him to reconsider. But too quickly, the overwhelming sensation was gone. He broke away and eased his body off hers. She dropped her head to his chest and drew air into her lungs. His palm still held her arm above her head. That had to be a good sign.

  “Wall sex to end my first week. How lucky am I?” She bit down on her lower lip. Damn. Would she ever learn to keep her mouth shut?

  “That will never happen between us, Emersyn.”

  “Wall sex?”

  “Sex. Period.”

  Their gazes held, and Alec’s anger from moments before transformed into what could only be grief.

  “Never is a long time.” Emersyn lowered her arm and wrapped it around his waist. “I’m going for not here, not now, but soon.” She lifted her head and met his stare. “Again, I’m sorry. I keep messing things up between us.”

  “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “I do, Alec.”

  Those three words seemed to have power of their own, slamming Alec’s walls back into place. He moved off her and paced to the middle of the room. Distance. Loneliness coursed through her, and she hadn’t a clue what to do with the unfamiliar ache his rejection left behind.