Cold Fear

by Susan Sleeman

“Actually, I could use help with measuring the scene before you go. Will only take a minute or two.”

  Not what he hoped to hear, but first and foremost, he had a job to do. A woman had been murdered. That trumped his personal turmoil, even if it was life-altering. “I’m all yours.”

  He followed Sam to the far side of the room where she set down her bag to withdraw her tape measure and the drawing she’d made earlier. Together they took the measurements, and she jotted them down.

  She stowed the notepad and got out a camera. “You can take off now. I’ll take pics of the scene then process any forensics I find. FYI, I took a few shots of the body with my cell when no one was looking if you need them for any reason.”

  Riley opened his mouth to weigh in on her actions, but she held up a hand. “I know Blake said not to do anything but observe, but come on, you would’ve done the same thing.” She grinned. “I was observing through my camera.”

  “It’s just a good thing Blake didn’t catch you, or he would’ve asked you to leave.”

  “I know how to be discreet.” An impish smile brightened her face.

  As he grabbed his jacket from a chair in the corner, she quickly moved around the room to snap photos and then squatted near the area where Jill had fallen. “The blood spatter is consistent with a close-range shot. Means she was murdered right here, and the body wasn’t moved.”

  He shrugged into his coat. “Good to know that for a fact, though I never really thought otherwise. I’ve been going on the theory that the shooter was on the premises. If he didn’t wear gloves, you might be able to find his prints.”

  “I’ll start with the doorknobs.” Sam stood. “But you should know, knobs aren’t always the easiest to print because of their shape. That will be especially true after the forensic team has already dusted them.”

  “I know you’ll do your best.”

  “I might even have to remove a knob to bring it back to the compound to fume it for prints.”

  “We’re talking murder here, so do whatever you need to do. Gage will smooth things out with the amphitheater owner.”

  “Gage is great to work for, isn’t he?”

  Riley nodded. “And I’m thankful for him every day.”

  A faraway look claimed Sam’s eyes, and she seemed to forget all about him. He had to believe she was thinking about her life in limbo. That time between being told she could never again do the job she loved and finding hope and a promising future with Blackwell Tactical.

  She tapped her notepad. “I’ll have to call in a few favors to get the prints analyzed, but I’ve still got contacts at PPB who’ll run them for me.”

  Riley nodded. “Then I guess I’ll owe you.”

  “Oh yeah, you will!” She smiled and any remnants of her distress vanished.

  Riley honestly didn’t know anyone who smiled as often as Sam did. Not only was she a great team member, but he suspected she would be an amazing girlfriend or wife. But though Riley was already fond of her in only a few weeks, his feelings were all sisterly. Nothing romantic at all.

  Why couldn’t he fall for someone like her instead of Leah? And why couldn’t people choose who they were attracted to?

  Why, God?

  Riley didn’t want to feel anything for Leah, but it was painfully obvious that his strong feelings remained. Hearing her scream earlier had taken years off his life. Then learning about Owen? His feelings for her were suddenly all mixed up with having a child together.

  His emotions were so raw, he feared he’d turn into a blathering idiot in front of Sam. He quickly said, “If Blake didn’t take the jewelry box into evidence, you’ll want to print it and the windowsill in Leah’s dressing room.”

  “Will do. And what about the murder weapon? I should do a thorough search. Any theories on that? I mean, obviously, Blake’s team tore the place apart and did a grid search around the building’s exterior but found nothing. It’s looking to me like the killer took it with him.”

  “Unless he ditched it outside the radius of their search.”

  “When I finish inside, I’ll expand that area and do my own search.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.” He zipped his jacket up.” Okay, I’m out of here.”

  “I’ll let you know if I recover anything that I think Blake’s team missed.”

  “Thanks, Sam. I’m glad to have you on the team.”

  “Glad to be on it. I’m not glad for the injury. Not because it took me out of the job, because this one is even better. But I could do without the pain and stiffness.” She rolled her shoulder. “Anterior shoulder subluxation. Affects my shooting accuracy, and since criminalists are sworn officers and work patrol at times, I had to choose between a desk job and unemployment. What about you?”

  “Lost a kidney after taking a bullet outside. I was just coming off duty. Outside the precinct with other guys coming off, too. Didn’t have a vest on and this guy decides to open fire. Thankfully, no one died, but we all had our share of injuries. Some life-altering like mine.”

  “Wow, that’s rough.”

  “Maybe, but it’s easier to live with one kidney than a painful shoulder.”

  “Yeah, but another injury and you could lose that one. Seems like you might want to be a little more cautious.”

  “You lost a kidney?” Leah’s shocked voice came from behind.

  He turned to find her standing there openmouthed. She’d changed into different jeans and a pink T-shirt since the forensic team had taken her clothing. Because she’d found the body, she was a suspect until proven otherwise—standard procedure in a homicide investigation. They’d also swabbed her hands for gunshot residue, but they came up clean. A good thing, but honestly, not all shots left residue, or she could have worn gloves. They couldn’t rule her out as a suspect yet. He hated thinking about her that way, but as Eryn said, he had to keep an open mind.

  “It’s why I left PPB,” he replied to her question. “They wouldn’t let me work with the risk of another injury.”

  “I should say not.” She crossed her arms and her nostrils flared.

  Look at her—acting all protective. Was she considering him as the man she used to date or as the father of her son? Neither were familiar to him, and he didn’t know what to say.

  “I need to finish those prints.” Sam started to leave, then turned back to Leah. “I’ll need your prints for elimination purposes. Can I take them before you go?”

  “Sure,” Leah said, keeping her focus on Riley.

  He still had no clue what she was thinking and why she seemed unwilling to look away, but he didn’t like the feeling at all.

  “Okay, then,” Sam said, her tone declaring she’d picked up on the vibe between them, making her uncomfortable. “I’ll grab the supplies.”

  Since Leah was still watching him, he would use her undivided attention to float his upcoming plan past her. “After Sam takes your prints, I’ll drive you back to the hotel, but then I’d like for you to stay at our compound.”

  She tilted her head. “Compound?”

  “Gage owns fifty acres near the beach in Cold Harbor. He and his family have a house there. The rest of the team members live in cabins on the property. The entire area is fenced in with state-of-the-art security which would be perfect to keep you safe.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why such tight security?”

  “We have a large weapons cache for our law enforcement classes. We also have a ton of expensive equipment. So it only makes sense to protect it.”

  “The security sounds intimidating.”

  “It is. Or at least we hope it is. And it’s the safest place for you right now.”

  She tapped her chin with a finger, looking lost in thought, then shook her head. “I’d rather not. I haven’t seen the stalker in Rugged Point. It should be safe for me to go back to the hotel.”

  He stepped closer to her to keep Sam from overhearing him. “It’s not optional, Leah, now that I now know about Owen. I won’t risk a stalker harmi
ng him.”

  “No one but you and my mother know about him or that he’s here. He’s staying in a different room with my mom. He’ll be fine.”

  Riley crossed his arms. “As I said. It’s not optional.”

  “Please, Riley. If we stay there it will only take one look from your teammates to figure out Owen is yours. Then the word will get out about him. I can’t have that happen. Not now. Not while I’m on this important tour. The gossip could take over. Ruin things. My career will all but be over.”

  “My teammates can be trusted not to tell anyone.”

  “I don’t know them. I can’t trust them.”

  He planted his feet firmly on the floor and wasn’t going to budge. “I can, and I do. End of story. After I meet Owen, we’ll pack your things and head out to the compound right away.”

  She took a sharp breath and blew it out. “I insist on my mother coming along, too.”

  “Sure, that’s fine.” Riley almost sighed in relief that she’d agreed.

  “Be sure to add the costs for our boarding to my bill.”

  “Bill?” He stared at her. “Do you honestly think I would charge you for this?”

  “Your whole team is working on finding the stalker. I have to pay you.”

  “You may think that paying me erases what we had together, and this is just a business relationship now, but it’s more than that, and you know it. Particularly after your bombshell. So no.” He planted his hands on his waist and held her gaze. “You aren’t paying for my—our—services and that’s final.”

  She watched him for a long moment, emotions racing so quickly across her face he couldn’t pin them down, but not one of them looked positive. “I don’t want anything more than business between us. We’ll see each other for Owen’s sake, but that’s all. Nothing romantic for sure.”

  “We finally agree on something,” he said, sounding sure of himself, when he was anything but sure.

  “I…” Leah started to say, but Sam joined them, and Leah closed her mouth.

  “This should only take a minute.” Sam carried a handheld fingerprint reader, and she quickly recorded Leah’s prints.

  The moment Sam packed up the device and moved away, Riley took Leah’s arm. “C’mon, let’s get going.

  “Wait.” She shrugged free. “My wrist. The tattoo. I still need to cover it up. We certainly don’t want reporters contacting your father right now.”

  He had a son to meet and waiting for her to hide any evidence that she’d once cared for him was the last thing he wanted to waste time on. Especially since he believed it was more. He suspected she was embarrassed to have a public display of their failure on her wrist.

  He eyed her. “Why didn’t you get rid of it? It’s easy to do.”

  “Do you still have yours?”

  “Yes, but I don’t spend time every day covering it up.”

  “I considered having it removed, even made an appointment with a doctor, but for some reason I couldn’t go through with it. I don’t know why. Maybe I couldn’t erase you from my life that completely.”

  He didn’t know what she meant exactly, but fool that he was, her behavior gave him hope that she still cared about him. Why that made him happy, he didn’t know, but he needed to get control of his volatile emotions soon or he was in for a world of hurt again.

  Leah stepped out with Riley into unusual sunshine on a cold September morning. Normal weather for this time of year was misty rain with occasional downpours. Leah wished she could take a moment to lift her face and absorb the warmth to soothe away the terrible events, but Riley clutched her arm and urged her forward. He was likely in a big hurry to meet Owen.

  She didn’t know how she was going to tell her precious son that Riley was his dad, and she dreaded the moment. She’d expected the tough part was telling Riley, but telling Owen trumped that in spades. How could she possibly do that? Did she say right off the bat that Riley was his dad or let them get to know each other first? Owen was an easygoing child, taking after Riley in that regard, but what if Owen didn’t like Riley?

  She’d dreamed about this very situation many times, and it always ended badly. She had no idea how to proceed. She’d simply have to play it by ear, and that scared her to death.

  A biting wind whipped across the lot, and she snuggled into Riley’s jacket. He’d allowed her wear his coat to cover her tattoo, and the warm fleece lining kept the cold at bay. She appreciated his typical kindness, but with the scent of his soap lingering on the fabric, memories assaulted her, and she didn’t want to go down memory lane. Didn’t want to remember the good times and the love they’d shared or how much he meant to her. She’d loved him so intensely it was a wonder she was ever able to walk away from him to pursue her dream.

  Riley unlocked the passenger door of his black SUV, and she shook her head as if she could knock the thoughts from her mind, but they stuck like Velcro to a fuzzy sweater. Since Carolyn had stolen Leah’s nest egg and her latest album didn’t generate the sales she needed, she’d been thinking a lot about her life, her career. She may have succeeded in becoming a professional musician with chart-topping hits, but with the theft, it didn’t bring the financial stability she desperately needed.

  She’d once believed her future was all set. She’d lived modestly and saved, saved, saved, but then Carolyn embezzled. Leah could never go back to the poverty of her childhood. Never.

  Angry at Carolyn all over again, Leah climbed into the vehicle and yanked hard on the seat belt.

  “You trying to kill that thing?” Riley asked, grinning at her. One of his charming features that she’d loved. Her anger dissipated, and she smiled.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I was thinking about something, and it made me mad.”

  “Like?”

  “Just stuff.”

  He eyed her for a moment, like he was dying to ask for additional details, but then closed the door and ran around the front of the SUV and climbed behind the wheel.

  The hotel was only a few miles away, but the tension in the confined space felt like a heavy blanket of fog, suffocating her as they drove. She didn’t want to bring up anything personal. She was still too raw from their discussion about Owen—though she had to admit Riley had taken the news better than she’d expected—and talking about Jill’s murder wasn’t something Leah wanted to do either.

  Riley didn’t seem to notice her turmoil but kept checking his rearview mirror as if he believed someone was following them. Maybe her stalker, but there was no indication that he’d come to Rugged Point.

  Riley suddenly glanced at her and caught her watching him. His eyebrow went up in a perfect arch, but then it fell as fast as it raised. “I scheduled an update with the team. I assume you’d like to freshen up at the hotel before that.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled at his consideration. “Also you should know that I need to make time this afternoon to meet with Kraig and my publicist. We decided to go ahead with the concert tonight. I’d rather we didn’t, but I won’t go into all of the logistics of cancelling a concert, which Kraig impressed on me before he left. We’re in danger of losing our promoter, and if that happens, it’s the end of my tour and the end…” She shrugged, as she couldn’t say the end of her career. It was bad enough to think about failing, much less speak it out loud.

  “I kind of figured with the way Kraig was acting that the concert would go on.”

  “We’ll dedicate it to Jill.” She folded her hands together and stared at them. “I feel like a hypocrite since we were on the outs, but I realize in hindsight that she did me a favor with Neil as it showed his true colors.”

  “About the concert.” He met her gaze and held it for a split second before facing the road again. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that it’s virtually impossible to protect you on stage. Not with the size of the crowd. The team will be there and your security will be the best anyone can provide, but your safety isn’t a given.”

  She could almost see her stalker in th
e audience, the same gun that killed Jill in his hand. Was she being foolish to do this concert? Maybe if it was just her she had to think about, but she had to think about Owen and her mom, too. And also all the people she employed. She couldn’t suddenly put them out of a job.

  “I have to keep going with the tour,” she said, then took a deep breath. “You know about my sales slipping and about Carolyn. I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but I’m…I’m nearly broke. I thought I had a nice nest egg for Owen, me, and Mom to fall back on if anything happened.”

  He sat, not responding, his gaze on the road. He tightened his fingers on the wheel then relaxed them. “I’m sorry things aren’t going as well as you hoped. Our team will do our very best for you so you can keep up with your tour and make some of that money back.”

  He’d sounded genuinely sorry, and she appreciated his compassion after she’d badly hurt him. She faced him again. “I know you will, and I appreciate that more than I can say.”

  He pulled under the hotel’s portico and glanced at her again, his expression unreadable. “Do you want to freshen up before or after you introduce me to Owen?”

  “Before,” she said and waited for him to complain at the delay in meeting Owen, but he simply nodded.

  He killed the engine and quickly jumped out to open her door. Ever the gentleman. Leah slid out and hurried inside the lobby. She took a good look around before proceeding to the front desk. Though she hadn’t seen her stalker in Rugged Point, it wasn’t hard to imagine him hiding behind the large potted plants. Or behind the coffee cart. Waiting for her to pass so he could pounce. If he was the killer, did he plan to shoot her, too?

  Did Jill know the shooter was behind her and had a gun and planned to use it? Was she running away or simply walking to the stage entrance?

  After years spent with Jill, Leah could vividly imagine her in the moment. Could put herself in Jill’s shoes.

  Wait. Jill wore similar clothing as Leah. Their hair, height, and build were very close. She wore Leah’s special ring. Could the killer have thought Leah had already left the stage and mistakenly killed Jill instead?