Reluctant Witness

by Rachel Brimble

  Julia’s heart picked up speed and her hands turned clammy against Suzie’s shoulder. Once a cop, always a cop. She dropped her arm and pulled back her shoulders. “Fine. I’ll step back and let you question your only informant how you see fit.”

  His eyes locked with hers. “I appreciate your understanding of the situation.” He turned to Suzie. “Who told you about the loan shark?”

  “What? Oh, no, don’t make me tell you that,” she cried, grasping his forearm. “I promised. I absolutely promised I wouldn’t tell you.”

  “I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t have done that,” he said, flipping open his notepad. “I need a name.”

  “Inspector, please. Don’t make me betray one of my boys, please.”

  To see Suzie this way was more than Julia could bear. She was so stressed, so unlike her usual cheerful self—it was heartbreaking to watch. Unable to stop herself, Julia stepped in between them and took a deep breath. It was a sad thing to do and she was letting down the entire woman’s movement but maybe, just maybe, her feminine wiles were the only weapon she had left.

  She unashamedly gazed up at him through mascara-coated lashes. “Daniel, please. We have a possible lead. Do you really need to know the source in order to check it out?”

  “Yes, Julia. I do.” His tone was icy, but there was a new flush to his cheeks and now his jaw was clenching and unclenching. The man was faltering—well, at least Julia liked to think so.

  She lifted her shoulders. “Standing here like this is wasting time. Can’t we just leave for Kendlewood?”

  His eyes widened. “We? Let’s get one thing straight, we will not be going to Kendlewood, I will be going to Kendlewood.”

  Their eyes locked in battle. Damn it. Now, I’ve blown my chances of a ride-along. She threw her hands up in surrender. “Fine, but I still can’t see the point in upsetting Suzie any more.”

  “You’re unbelievable, do you know that?” he muttered.

  She shrugged. “So you keep telling me. Careful Inspector, you’re starting to sound like my number one fan.”

  Little by little, his face began to soften and Julia could have sworn she saw the corner of his mouth lift just a little. He turned back to Suzie.

  “Look, you’ve given me a lead and for that, I’m grateful, but I still need a name.”

  Suzie looked from Daniel to Julia. Julia nodded encouragingly. Suzie took a long shaky breath.

  “He lives on Cattlewell Avenue...”

  Daniel scribbled the details into his notebook before he looked up at Suzie and smiled kindly. “Thank-you. You did good, Suzie. You should be proud of yourself.”

  And with that Suzie rushed forward and pulled him into a suffocating embrace. Julia did nothing but stand to the side and hide her satisfied smile behind her hand. Suzie’s massive bosom pressed up against Daniel’s chest, threatening to crush his lungs.

  “Oh, thank you, Inspector, thank you. I just can’t cope with all this stress.”

  Straining to extract himself from her hysterical grip, Daniel consoled her, “It’s all right. I’ll tell you what, why don’t you shut up shop for the night and try to get a good night’s sleep?”

  “Sleep? Sleep? Good God, sleep is the last thing on my mind. What I need are a couple of bottles of wine and a handsome man to share them with,” said Suzie, her face serious.

  Julia grinned to see at least a glimpse of the real Suzie back. “Well, there’s sure to be quite a few down at the club tonight if you fancy going, Suze.”

  “Are you on tonight, Sweetie? ‘Cause there’s nothing like that smooth, velvety voice of yours to get a girl in the mood for some loving.”

  Julia laughed. “I’m afraid not, but Jacob’s sure to have someone playing. He always does.”

  “It won’t be the same but thanks for the tip. Let me lock up behind you guys and then I can head on home.”

  Chapter Six

  Daniel squeezed himself into the passenger seat of Julia’s VW Beetle. Why had he agreed that she drive? Those eyes of hers were like pools of hypnotic liquid. One look and you were caught in her spell—and then you lost your mind and said yes to all sorts of stupidity. His hand sought the release under the seat and pulled. The last person who had sat there must have been four foot nothing.

  “How you doing there?” Julia grinned.

  The seat slid back and Daniel stretched out his legs. “I’m better now.”

  She gunned the engine and pulled into traffic. Daniel tapped his fingers against his knee as he mulled over what Suzie had told him. It wasn’t much but at least he’d come away with a lead. An unsubstantiated lead, but still a lead. His mind was filled with the unrelenting pressure of catching Derek Palmer’s killer and figuring out what was really going on with the woman sitting beside him. The fact she did not want to press charges against Marcus Lowell was a twisting knife in his gut. It had been painful to let the son of a bitch walk out of the station a free man.

  He turned to look at her. To raise the subject again would no doubt result in her shutters slamming down but it was worth a try. “So what have you got planned for your night off?” he asked, trying to keep his tone amiable rather than interfering. “Going anywhere nice?”

  She glanced at him, her eyebrow raised. “Why do you ask?”

  He shrugged. “Just making conversation.”

  “Don’t you want to talk about what Suzie told us back there?”

  “There’s not much to say for now. I’ll head over to Kendlewood first thing in the morning.”

  “In the morning? Why not now?”

  “First I want to check how many loan and debt agencies there are in Kendlewood,” he said, glancing at his watch. “As it’s nearing seven o’clock, I doubt there will be anyone still working at this place Suzie mentioned, anyway.”

  “What’s your plan tomorrow? Go in and arrest whoever’s in charge?”

  “First I’ll go down there and get a feel for the place. Check it out a little.”

  “Alone?”

  The corners of his mouth twitched. “Yep. All alone.”

  “Don’t you think you ought to take someone with you? You know, as back-up?”

  “I’m a big boy, Julia. I’m sure I can handle this one on my own. I won’t storm in there and arrest a possible suspect without any evidence of him dealing with Derek.”

  They pulled up at a red light and she turned to look at him. “What do you mean you have no intention of arresting him? You could be face to face with Derek’s killer and you’re not going to take him in?”

  “I know what I’m doing. I have worked a few murder investigations in my time. Trust me, when I am positive I have found the killer, he will be arrested.”

  “As long as he hasn’t disappeared in the time it’s taken you to gather enough evidence, of course,” she retorted.

  His jaw tightened. “Despite your obvious lack of faith in me, I will find whoever did this. Sometimes you have to bide your time. If a suspect has no idea I’m on to him, he won’t disappear, which will give me time to get sufficient evidence to ensure he’s put away for the time he deserves.”

  “And if you’re wrong?”

  “I won’t be.”

  She sniffed. “Oh, right, because cops are never wrong, are they?”

  Shit. Here goes. Come on, Julia, tell me about your brother. His stomach rolled uncomfortably as he turned to look at her. “Meaning?”

  “Exactly what I said. Cops are always right and if it turns out they’re not, they never have to take responsibility for their actions because a judge will take their side anyway.”

  “You have personal experience of that happening?”

  “No.” Her eyes remained stubbornly on the road ahead.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, absolutely sure.”

  Before he could say more, the light turned green and she pressed down on hard on the gas. They pulled away with a squeal of rubber against tarmac and Daniel decided it probably wasn’t the best time to remind her
of the thirty mile an hour speed limit.

  “Julia?”

  “Leave it, Daniel. I’m not interested.”

  “Fine, but let me just say this. If you’re concerned about me messing up the task of finding Derek’s killer, why would you let someone like Lowell just walk free?”

  “Oh, my God. Are we going to go over that again?”

  “Answer my question.”

  “That’s totally different.”

  “I see,” Daniel said, dryly. “A cold-blooded killer should be kept behind bars without question, but a guy who puts his hands around a woman’s throat should be allowed to walk free, is that it?”

  The temperature in the car plummeted to freezing. Her head snapped around to look at him and the glare she shot him was hot enough to heat it right back up again.

  “Jerk.”

  “What did you call me?”

  Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel as she turned back to the windscreen. “You heard me.”

  “Explain it to me then,” he demanded, the final nuance of his patience forgotten. “Tell me why you refuse to press charges, because from where I’m sitting it makes no bloody sense.”

  “I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

  “Why has he got such a hold on you?”

  She let out a laugh. “You don’t know me at all, do you? No one has got a hold on me, not him, not you, nobody. I know my rights. I’m under no obligation to answer your questions.”

  He turned to look out the window, slowly and carefully counting to ten. He seethed with anger and frustration. Part of him wanted to grab the steering wheel, turn to the side of the road and demand answers. But another, more dangerous part wanted to turn to the side of the road, take her face in his hands and kiss her long and hard.

  He was mad about Lowell, but more concerned about the death of her younger brother and how her suppressed grief was going to manifest itself.

  When he turned to look at her, the set of her jaw told him the best thing to do was to keep a lid on the exasperation gathering momentum inside of him. The latter half of his wishes were likely to land him into a whole load of personal and professional trouble, but the other, the answers? He considered them absolutely necessary for both her safety and sanity.

  “I cannot stand by and let him hurt you again, Julia. Surely you understand that,” he said, quietly.

  “He won’t.”

  “How can you be so sure? The guy’s a ticking time-bomb.”

  “I know Marcus. He won’t hurt me.”

  Daniel inhaled a long, slow breath. “We’re not dealing with a run-of-the-mill guy here. He thinks you love him, for Christ’s sake.”

  She indicated left and pulled into the station parking lot. “There you go, Inspector, you can get out of the car now.”

  He looked deep into her eyes. She was beyond angry. The gold flecks shone bright against dark emerald green. Unable to resist it, or rather her, for a moment longer, he lifted a hand to her jaw, oblivious to anyone who might see him touching a witness so intimately. She stiffened, but he didn’t drop his hand.

  “I won’t let him hurt you, Julia. I can’t.” He swallowed.

  Her cheeks flushed red. “He won’t.”

  “You don’t understand what I’m saying. I became a police officer for reasons you know nothing about and there is no way Marcus Lowell is going to be the man to make me break a promise I made to myself twenty-two years ago.”

  “Promise? What promise?”

  He dropped his hand but could still feel the warmth of her skin against his palm.

  “Like I said, you don’t need to know.”

  Her eyes softened. “Daniel—”

  “Tell me why you won’t let me get this guy away from you.”

  She looked at him for a long, long time. Her teeth ground against her bottom lip as his own heart beat a steady rhythm against his chest. Julia. Tell me. Tell me what this is all about.

  Tears shone in her eyes when she reached over and covered his hand with her own. “Marcus no longer matters. I’m leaving in six days. I know it’s not necessarily the right thing to do, but I can’t cope with court cases and testimony. I’m sorry. I can tell this is driving you mad, but right now I’m carrying more than I can really cope with. Please, just let me do this my way.”

  “I can help you. You’re made of stronger stuff than you realize.”

  A faint smile pulled at her lips. “The human spirit can break eventually. I’ve seen it happen.”

  “To whom?”

  She shook her head. “Forget it. I’ve already said too much. Anyway, what about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “What was the promise you made to yourself?”

  “Oh, that. I shouldn’t have said anything. Maybe you’re right,” he said, softly, looking out the window. “We’ve all got things we want to keep to ourselves.”

  She sighed heavily. “I may be leaving to cope with my pain, Daniel, but it seems to me you’re fighting the world to deal with yours.”

  He turned to face her. “I am not...”

  But as her gaze softened, he was tempted. Not to kiss her, but to tell her about his father’s untimely death. To tell her about the violence that had occurred on the night that shaped him for the rest of his life.

  But his good sense kicked in and the moment was gone. He blew out a breath. “I’d better go.”

  With that, he slid his hand out from beneath hers, got out of the car, slamming the door firmly behind him.

  ****

  Julia’s breath caught against the sharp stab in her chest as she watched him march through the station doors. Damn him! Damn him and this spark he’d ignited deep in her heart. A sudden wave of nausea swept through her and she quickly circled her fingers at her temples. So what if he had a secret? So what if he’d made a promise to himself that mattered enough to cause such an explosion of emotion in his eyes?

  But the truth was, she wanted to go inside the station and drag him back out, demanding that he finish their conversation. She’d been foolish to let her emotions get the better of her and start ranting on about cop morality. She had a horrible, horrible feeling he already knew about Phil. The thought that he did and had failed to mention it made her feel sick—and disappointed. She wanted to believe Daniel was different than other cops, but if he knew about Phil and was withholding that information to test her...that didn’t say much for his integrity.

  The way he’d looked at her when he’d asked about Marcus left no doubt he was not going to let the subject drop. The same way she didn’t think she could rest now until he shared the secret he was hiding. She slapped her hand against the steering wheel before turning the ignition. Four days she’d known him. Only four days and he was so far underneath her skin, he was making her crazy with wanting him.

  She threw the car into first and headed home. She needed something chilled and alcoholic.

  A couple of hours later, after a ridiculously long bubble bath that did nothing to ease the tightness in her muscles, Julia collapsed onto the sofa and aimed the remote at the TV. She flicked through the various channels. It was a toss-up between Sex and the City re-runs or a psychological thriller. She hit the off button. Being reminded of her non-existent sex life or Marcus’ harassment was the last thing she needed at that moment. She rubbed a hand over her tired eyes and decided an early night would be for the best thing she could do for herself right now.

  She glanced at her watch and pushed herself to her feet. Nine-thirty. Maybe she’d give her mom a quick call in the hope that she had gone for that picnic today. God willing, she had actually managed to have some semblance of a mediocre time.

  “Hey, Mom. It’s me.”

  “Hello, darling. I’m so glad you called. I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For shouting at you earlier today. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  Julia gave a small smile. “That’s OK. It’s forgotten. You sound a lot better than you did
. Did you go for a picnic after all?”

  “No, no we didn’t, but I did sit out in the garden,” her mother said. “Mind you, Lord knows what the neighbours thought because your father insisted on having the picnic on the lawn. He even opened a bottle of wine.”

  Julia smiled. Her dad was a man of complete and utter determination. He would get her mother through this—even if Julia couldn’t. “Well, that sounds pretty romantic to me, Mom.”

  “Romantic? Oh, Julia.” Her mother sighed. “I think I’ll go to bed now.”

  “What’s wrong? What did I say?”

  “I’m trying with you, Julia. Really, I am, but sometimes I wonder if you have the slightest clue about real life. Your head is in the clouds, filled with daydreams and thoughts of being a singer.”

  “That’s not fair, Mom, and you know it.”

  “Do I? At least your brother—”

  Julia cut her off, tears threatening to fall. “I can’t handle this any more, Mom. Ever since Phil died, you seem to blame me, direct all your anger at me. Why? What the hell did I do?”

  “Don’t you raise your voice at me, young lady...”

  The door bell rang. “I’ve got to go, Mom. There’s somebody at the door.”

  “Well, isn’t that convenient.”

  “Mom, please, don’t do this.”

  “Bye, bye, then. I’ll see you when you can find the time to come round before you take off around the world.”

  The doorbell rang for a second time and Julia slowly hung up the phone. The doorbell’s shrill insistence made her hackles rise. Oh, yes, she was ready for a fight. Her mother had seen to that. She took a determined step toward the door, then stopped.

  Who could it be at this time of night? Marcus? Her shoulders tensed and her heart picked up speed.

  “Hello?” she demanded, forcing false bravado into her voice. “Who is it?”

  “Julia? It’s me.”

  Daniel.

  She looked down at her crumpled cotton pajamas. Great. Now he wants to talk. Cursing continually, she yanked the scrunchie from her hair and pulled the Homer Simpson slippers from her feet before throwing them behind the sofa. She touched a hand to her face, naked of make-up. Oh, for goodness sake. Get a grip. What does he expect when he turns up unannounced?