“You got anything good over there for breakfast?” he asked.
She laughed. “Well, I could. If I thought someone was coming. Selma spent the night at Naomi’s last night so I was just sitting here with my coffee and the newspaper.”
“Do you mind having company?”
“Since when are you considered company?” she teased.
“Actually, I’d like to bring someone with me, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Who?”
“A woman friend,” he said the words slowly, knowing that it was like waving a checkered flag in front of his mom.
“A woman friend?”
“It’s Mallory Myers,” he said quickly. “Maybe you’ve been reading about her in your newspaper. But just so you know, you can’t believe everything you read.”
There was a short silence and he wondered if he’d lost his connection. “I have been reading about her, Logan. Is she really with you?”
“I’ve been helping her, Mom. And, trust me, she’s not who they’re portraying her to be in the news. In fact, she’s been in a lot of danger. And maybe it’s not a good idea to bring her to—”
“You bring her right over here,” his mom insisted. “If you believe in her, I do, too. And Selma’s been saying the same thing. She thinks that the news has got it all wrong.”
“We can’t stay long,” he warned her. “And I have an ulterior motive.” Now he explained that his idea to switch cars with her. “If you don’t mind, I’ll leave my Jeep in the garage and take your Subaru. I think we’ll be safer since half the folks in town seem to drive a Subaru.”
“That’s just fine. I don’t plan on going anywhere today, anyway.”
When Mallory returned from her shower, in an amazingly short time, he told her they had an invitation to breakfast.
“You’re not going to tell me where we’re going?” she asked as he drove a circuitous route through town.
“Not yet.” He made another left turn. “Keep an eye on that gray pickup,” he told her as he continued in the opposite direction of his mom’s gated neighborhood. “See if you can read the plate. I think we’re being followed.” But after several more turns, the pickup disappeared and, with no other cars in sight, he made a beeline to his mom’s development, punching the security code into the gated entrance and quickly getting in.
With no one following him, he drove directly to his mom’s house, where she’d already parked her Subaru in the driveway, leaving the garage open for his Jeep.
“You’re certainly making yourself at home,” Mallory observed as they got out of the Jeep inside the garage. He grinned as he pushed the switch on the wall to close the door.
“It used to be home,” he said as he opened the back door and yelled, “Hello.”
He quickly introduced Mallory to his mom and, just as he expected, there was a nice little breakfast all ready for them. The three of them visited as they ate, and he was encouraged by how well Mallory and his mom seemed to hit it off. But when they finished he was antsy. Even though he knew no one followed him here, the idea of endangering his mother and sister was more than he could handle.
“Hate to eat and run, but I’d like to get over to the hospital,” he told his mom. “Check on things.”
“Thank you for the lovely breakfast,” Mallory said. “Best one I’ve had in days.”
His mom hugged them both, warned them to be careful, and after he checked out the window to be sure no one suspicious was lurking about, he hurried Mallory out to the Subaru and they headed for the hospital.
As he drove, Mallory seemed to relax, raving about how sweet his mother was. “Yeah,” he agreed. “She’s all right.”
“Do you think Winnie’s still in the hospital?” Mallory asked as they hurried across the parking lot.
“For a sprained ankle? I doubt it.” He glanced cautiously around as they walked through the lobby. Hopefully it wasn’t risky to come here like this. But he felt fairly certain that the security was high. From what he’d heard, Antonio Perez was being closely guarded. And judging by the cruisers in the parking lot, it appeared that even the state police had been called in. He stopped at the information desk to make an inquiry about Winnie—their pretense for coming here—but was surprised to learn she hadn’t been released yet.
When they found her in her room, she explained that her foot injury was worse than they’d thought. “It was broken in two places. They did surgery and put some pins in,” she told them. “But I get to go home this afternoon.”
“That’s good.” Logan smiled.
“Did you hear about Perez?” Winnie asked.
“What do you mean?”
“He died.”
“What?” Mallory’s eyes grew wide.
“When?” Logan demanded.
“Around five this morning.” Winnie nodded. “Yep. That’s the scuttlebutt.”
“But I thought he was only listed in serious condition,” Mallory said.
“That’s what Griggs told me last night,” Logan said. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Winnie said. “I guess it was worse than they thought.”
“That’s too bad...” Logan knew it was senseless to feel guilty...but he did.
“It’s not your fault,” Winnie told him. “You did what you had to do.”
“That’s right,” Mallory agreed. “Don’t blame yourself.”
“If you ask me, he got just what he deserved,” Winnie declared. “Think about it, Logan, if you hadn’t stopped him last night, he might’ve killed all of us.”
“Maybe...” Logan checked his watch.
“I wonder if the police got a chance to question him before he died,” Mallory said quietly.
“Trent was here last night,” Winnie told them. “He might know something.”
“Was he surprised about Perez?” Logan asked her. “I mean, since he’d been so certain that Mallory wasn’t in any kind of danger yesterday.”
“He was surprised that I got hurt running from Perez.” Winnie chuckled. “I told him I could’ve been shot. And it would’ve been his fault, since I’d come out there to bring him that pizza.”
“What’d he say about that?” Logan said absently.
“He wanted to know what happened to the pizza.”
“That sounds about right,” Mallory told her.
“Well, I’m glad to see you’re okay,” Logan told Winnie. “I’m guessing you won’t be ready to return to work for a while.”
“I’ve got to do some physical therapy,” she told them. “Not sure how long that will—” She stopped talking and waved toward the door. “Hey, Trent, good buddy,” she called out. “What’s up?”
Dressed in his deputy uniform, Trent entered the room with a serious expression. “Just checking to see how you’re doing,” he told Winnie. “Hello, Logan, Miss Myers. Sounds like you all had a pretty exciting time after I left last night. Sorry to miss out.”
“Why did you leave?” Logan asked Trent.
He shrugged. “Seemed pretty quiet to me. And there was a call about kids drag-racing over on Northridge Road. Thought I should go check it out.”
“Everyone okay?”
“Yeah. They were gone by the time I got there.”
“So, what are you doing here?” Logan asked.
“Working on the Perez investigation.” Trent pointed at Mallory. “I know Deputy Griggs questioned you last night, but I’d like to ask you a few more questions.” He looked at Logan. “You, too.”
“How about me?” Winnie asked in a little-girl voice.
“We already got your story last night,” Trent told her.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else,” Logan suggested to Trent. “Let Winnie get some rest.”
When the
y got settled in a small office that law enforcement was allowed to use, Logan studied Trent closely. What he wanted to know, but was hesitant to ask, was why was Trent doing this investigation. Instead, he hoped to appear cooperative and perhaps extract some information from Trent. “I was sorry to hear that Perez died,” Logan told him. “The last I heard it sounded like he was going to make it.”
Trent just nodded. “We were surprised by that, too.” He turned to Mallory. “Which brings me to the first question I have for you.”
“Yeah?”
“Where were you last night?”
“When?”
“From the time you left your house.” He glanced at his notes. “That was about ten-thirty.”
Mallory glanced nervously at Logan.
“I took her to the firehouse with me,” he said. “We felt she’d be safer there.”
“Yes. I was aware of that. But where did you spend the night, Mallory?” He narrowed his eyes. “I know for a fact you were not at the firehouse.”
“That’s true. I could tell that I was making one of the crew members nervous,” she explained. “So I walked over to the hotel. I stayed there.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes,” she answered in an irritated tone. “By myself.”
“And did you leave the hotel at any time during the night or early morning?”
“No, I was there the whole time. Asleep.” She frowned at him.
“And your car was at your parents’ house.”
“Yes. Unless it took itself for a spin without me.”
Trent glared at her. “Just answer the questions, please.”
“Why are you interrogating me like this?”
Ignoring her, Trent pointed to Logan. “And you spent the night at the firehouse, right? That’s what I was told.”
“Yes. I was there all night.”
“You never left in the early hours of the morning?”
“No. I just said I was there all night. I didn’t leave until around eight this morning.”
“And where did you go?”
“Looking for Mallory.”
“So you weren’t aware that she was staying at the hotel?”
“No. I thought she was in the women’s quarters.” Logan glanced at Mallory.
“And you believe her? That she went to the hotel and never left there?”
“Of course.” Logan frowned. “Why are you asking us this stuff, Trent? You’re obviously working on some half-cooked theory here. How about sharing it with us?”
“We have reason to believe that Antonio Perez didn’t die from the gunshot wound.”
Logan felt slightly relieved, but also curious. “How did he die?”
“We think it was suffocation.” Trent kept his eyes on Mallory. “The coroner will make a determination, but it appears that a pillow was held over his head. Because of his connection to the Portland crime, the state police are conducting an investigation right now.”
“But the way you’ve been questioning us? Do you think we’re suspects?” Logan asked.
“Not particularly you. It will be easy to establish you spent the night at the firehouse.”
“So are you suggesting that Mallory is a suspect? Because if she is, you probably should’ve read her her rights.”
“This isn’t an official investigation.” Trent gave them a creepy smile. “Just friends talking to friends.” He turned to Logan now. “By the way, I didn’t see your vehicle out there. What are you driving?”
“If this isn’t an official investigation, I probably don’t have to tell you.” Logan reached for Mallory’s hand. “We should go.”
“But why are you focusing on me?” Mallory asked Trent. “I was devastated to learn that Perez died. I wanted him to expose Brock for being behind all of this.”
“Oh, I’m sure you did.” Trent gave a knowing nod.
“I don’t know how you can possibly solve this thing if you’ve made up your mind that Mallory is guilty,” Logan said as he led Mallory to the door.
“Yeah.” Mallory shook her finger at him. “Why are you wasting time with me when you could be going after the real criminals?”
“And what about surveillance cameras?” Logan asked before they went out. “The hospital is probably loaded with them. Why aren’t you looking at that footage?”
“Be assured, we are. But the camera that would’ve picked up the perpetrator going into Perez’s room just happened to be covered.” Trent glared at Mallory. “With a woman’s T-shirt. Does that ring a bell with anyone?”
Logan felt Mallory’s hand tightening around his. “Let’s go,” he told her.
“Better watch your back, Logan.” Trent followed them to the door. “You might be hanging with a very dangerous woman.”
Mallory stopped to lock eyes with Trent. “If I’m that dangerous, why not just arrest me right now?”
Trent’s smile was dipped in smugness. “Don’t worry. It’s just a matter of time.”
“Come on,” Logan urged Mallory. “Let’s get out of here.” He tugged her out the door and down the hall toward the elevator. “Trent is certifiably nuts,” he said once they were alone in the elevator. “What makes him think you killed Perez?”
Mallory didn’t answer.
Logan punched the lobby button. “Seriously, why is he so focused on you? Why isn’t he out looking for the real killer? What motive could you possibly have for killing Perez?”
Mallory looked into his eyes. “Maybe they think I hired Perez,” she said quietly.
“But why?”
“To make it look like I was in danger.”
Logan stared at her. “That’s crazy.”
“Everything about this is crazy,” she whispered as the doors opened. “It is my never-ending nightmare.”
Still holding her hand, Logan guided her through the lobby. But his mind was occupied, trying to put together some kind of plan. He needed a way to keep her safe. Away from whatever force seemed intent on destroying her.
And, yes, a tiny part of him was suddenly questioning his involvement with her. What if Trent was right? What if Logan was completely wrong about her? What if she truly was a criminal? As they went outside, he glanced at her and, seeing a silent tear streaking down her flushed cheek, he felt certain he wasn’t wrong. But he knew that even if he was wrong, it was too late to turn back. His heart was already in—over-his-head in.
He paused under a tree. “We’re going to get through this,” he told her gently. “We’re going to prove your innocence.”
She looked hopefully up at him. “You believe in me?”
He leaned down close to her, soaking in her sweet smell, getting lost in her big brown eyes. “It’s more than just believing in you,” he assured her. And then he kissed her, holding her close for a few seconds. “Much more,” he said quietly.
EIGHTEEN
“I want to talk to Stan Griggs,” Mallory told Logan as he drove through the hospital parking lot. “I want to hear his take on what happened with Perez.”
“Good idea.” Logan nodded. “Why don’t you give him a call?”
Mallory pulled out her phone. “And I want to go home and do some more research on my dad’s computer today. I want to start putting together a news story.”
“A news story?”
“Yeah. An exposé on Brock and everything that’s gone down these past few days. If I can’t get Alex to push it at Channel Six, I’ll send it to another station.” She hit the speed dial for Griggs.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Logan sounded concerned. “What if Brock decides to sue you for libel?”
“Telling the truth is not libel. And I intend on getting the truth.” She heard Griggs say “Hello” and quickly explained her need to
talk to him. “If you’re not too busy.”
“It’s my day off, but I’d like to talk to you, Mallory. Come on by the house. I’m just raking pine needles.” She thanked him and hung up, taking a moment to check for messages. “I haven’t gotten any anonymous texts today,” she said as she dropped her phone in her bag. “I wonder what that means.”
“You don’t think they came from Perez?”
She considered this. “I wondered if some of them did. But then I got that last one after Perez was shot.”
“If they did come from Perez, the police should get to the bottom of it when they look into his phone.”
“Originally, I had assumed they were all from Brock but it makes sense that he’d want his hit man to do his dirty phone work. Harder to trace back to him.”
Logan was taking another circuitous route, but she suspected he was headed for his mom’s house. “You going to switch cars?” she asked.
“Yeah. Now that we’re done here in town.”
“Yeah, probably best to keep her out of this.” Mallory pursed her lips, trying to think of the right way to say what she knew needed to be said. “And after you drop me at my parents’ place...well, I’d like you to keep out of it too, Logan.”
“Huh?” He turned to look at her.
“I just don’t think you should be around me. Trent was right about something.”
“What?”
“I am dangerous.”
“What on earth are you saying?”
“It’s dangerous to be associated with me, Logan. It’s a risk I can’t ask you to take.”
“You don’t have to ask me. I’m already here, Mallory. I’m fully on board.”
“But after seeing your mom this morning. And thinking about Selma. And how much they need and depend on you. Well, I have to ask you to step aside. Besides, my dad should be here soon.” She checked her phone again for an update.
“Soon? The last text I got from him, he was hung up in Chicago with a standby ticket to Denver.”
“His last-minute trip has been a mess, but he’ll probably be here this afternoon.”
“Until then?”
Perfect Alibi Page 15
