Learning Newman was a liar.
Not being able to find him.
Sleeping with Stitch again.
Fighting again.
And now another murdered woman.
“Hey, Susan.”
Whipping her head a little too fast, she ignored the sharp pain in her neck. The pain almost felt nice. A reminder that she could still feel something. Because fighting with Stitch again was starting to make her numb. She couldn’t take the up and down battles. Why did it have to be so difficult dealing with him?
“Susan?”
Shaking her head from her wandering thoughts, she didn’t even attempt a smile for Ben. “Hi.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m…” Saying fine wouldn’t do anymore. She was far from fine. “I’m going to survive, but it hasn’t been a good day. What are you doing here?”
“Zeke and I have been trying to help Sauer find Newman.”
“And?”
“Nothing. Then this call came in. Sauer’s tense and very edgy with the slightest word against Newman.”
“Well, I don’t want to offend him, but it’s not looking good for Newman.”
Ben nodded. “I agree.” He held out a hand in front of him with a comforting smile. “After you.”
She finally offered a tiny smile in return and walked into the house first. Death swarmed her immediately. The sad, emptiness filled her senses and created a deep melancholy she wasn’t sure she could erase.
This poor woman. Why did she deserve to die? Why did this madman pick her? Did Newman kill her?
She took her time walking down the hallway to the woman’s bedroom where she found Sauer and Zeke. They stopped talking as soon as they saw her and Ben. Zeke smiled while Sauer barely managed a decent grin. She did neither.
Her eyes zoomed to the dead body, even as she wanted to turn away and walk out. She looked like the other women. Strangled, barely any evidence of a struggle.
This killer was strong. It didn’t take much effort to kill these women.
“I spoke to the victim’s sister, Wendy, and she said her sister’s husband is on a business trip right now. We won’t be able to speak to him right away,” Ben said quietly next to her.
She knew she should step forward and start doing her job, but she couldn’t seem to move. She couldn’t do anything but stand there and stare at the body.
“Well, we should split up. One start canvassing the neighborhood. One start digging into Julie’s background,” Zeke said as he glanced at the dead woman on the floor, “and one keep looking for Newman.”
“He didn’t do this,” Sauer said softly, yet laced with barely controlled anger.
“Figure it out somewhere else. I have work to do.” She took her time looking at each of them, conveying how much she didn’t want to hear the argument about whether Newman was guilty or not. “Please.”
“Call us if you need anything,” Ben said, and headed out of the room without any arguments.
Zeke followed, offering a small smile on his way out.
Sauer trailed behind them, but stopped in the doorway. “Did something happen with Stitch? Did he hurt you?”
Hurt could be defined in so many different ways. Did Stitch hurt her? In some ways, yes. In other ways, no.
“I’m fine.”
Sauer nodded gently. “You’re my friend, Susan. I know he’s Dee’s good friend, but you’re my friend. I don’t want him to hurt you.”
“Thank you, Sauer. It’ll be fine.”
He hesitated, then walked out. Would it be fine? How many times could they argue, make up, have sex, argue again, and everything turn out fine? She wasn’t made for this kind of stress. She liked things nice and quiet. Orderly. Smooth relationships.
Yeah, and where did those kind of relationships get her? Nowhere. Cheated on. Dumped. Boring. No zing in the relationship.
Maybe this chaotic relationship was what she needed. Liven her life up some. Put a little zing in it.
It didn’t mean she liked the fighting.
She had no idea how she felt about his confession. He beat a man and didn’t feel an ounce of remorse. Did the other man deserve it? She had to admit, maybe he did. Maybe he deserved to feel the kind of pain he had inflicted upon Clarissa. But did he have to beat him? Was Stitch right to take the law into his own hands? Absolutely not. That’s where she didn’t agree with him. Maybe the man did deserve to feel some pain, but it wasn’t up to Stitch to decide.
Could she date and fall in love with a man like that?
Well, correction, she already fell in love with him. The question now was could she date him? Could she see a future with him? Sometimes love just wasn’t enough.
As her eyes grazed over the dead woman, a woman who now had no choice to live her life, she knew.
Stitch might not be the perfect choice. The right choice. But he was her choice. She refused to hold his past against him. He paid the price for his crime. She could respect that. She wanted to make things work between them, and she knew he wouldn’t make a moment of it easy on her.
“Another terrible crime scene. I do believe I heard Captain Ganderson is on his way here.”
Startled, Susan jumped as she twisted toward the doorway of the bedroom. Placing a hand over her heart, a low chuckle escaped. “Quiet as a mouse, Dr. Everly. You have to stop sneaking up on me.”
Honestly, he did. She couldn’t count on her hands how many times that man walked into a crime scene, popping up out of nowhere. His footsteps, quiet as a ghost. His movements, light as a feather.
“My apologies. Any leads yet?” he asked as he stepped near the victim.
Well, if she didn’t count Newman, no. How did she want to answer a question that should be simple to answer?
“I believe Zeke and Ben are helping to find a good lead.”
“That’s good. This needs to stop.” He sighed as his eyes perused the body from head to toe. “Probably won’t find anything different from the last three victims.”
“I’ll let you do your thing and come back when you’re ready for me.”
She didn’t give him a chance to say anything, walking out of the room as if she were running a marathon. She couldn’t explain, even to herself, the need to be alone. To be free from others prying, knowing eyes. She saw the concern, the worry in his gaze. He probably wanted to ask her if she was okay, as everyone else had been doing lately. He wouldn’t. Dr. Everly usually stayed clear of all that ‘mushy’ stuff, as he put it. If someone wanted to share their problems with him, he’d listen, but he never initiated the conversation. That was his philosophy. That it wasn’t his business. It didn’t mean he didn’t hide his concern.
She wanted people to stop being so concerned about her. Maybe she wasn’t fine. Maybe she couldn’t hide the pain and hurt and confusion going on in her life recently, but she would be fine. She wouldn’t allow anything, or anyone, to bring her down. Not her style.
Besides, she wanted a relationship to work with Stitch. She wouldn’t allow his words to hurt, or his actions.
Boom!
The floor loomed before her. A strong hand grabbed her arm before she fell face first into the hardwood floor.
“I’m so sorry, Susan. Are you okay?”
Again.
Are you okay?
Such an innocent question. The more she heard it, the more she wanted to scream in frustration.
This time, everything had been her fault. Fleeing the room. Running as if that would solve her problems. Not watching where she was going.
She straightened, trying not to wince at the minor pain in her knee at the funny way she had twisted going down. Even though she didn’t want to smile, she offered one, anyway.
Captain Ganderson gently smiled back at her.
“I’m the one who is sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. I’m okay.”
He let her arm go, obviously satisfied with her answer.
“Dr. Everly is in the bedroom.”
“I was act
ually looking for Detective Sauer and Newman. Are they still here?”
She couldn’t stop the look of panic that entered her eyes. What did she say to that? Admit Newman didn’t show up? That they couldn’t even find him? That he could possibly be a suspect in these murders?
What would Sauer think of her? How upset would he be when he found out she told Captain Ganderson before he had a chance to find Newman?
“Susan?” His brows dipped low, confusion etched across his face.
Taking a deep breath, she let it all out. She did her job. Her duty to report the facts.
If Sauer hated her for that, well, then he did. She had no control over that.
She did her job.
♡
The door slammed harder than he intended, but he didn’t care at this point. The anger, the rage, the disappointment consumed him more than caring whether he slammed doors or not.
He couldn’t say he was angry or hurt or disappointed in Susan. He knew why she confessed everything to Captain Ganderson. He knew it wasn’t in her to lie to his face. He respected that about her. Being mad at her for doing her job wasn’t right. And he wasn’t.
He was pissed at himself.
Newman was his partner. His friend. He should’ve seen what was going on. He should’ve been able to find him without much problem.
Instead, he couldn’t locate his friend to find out the truth before the captain knew everything, and now that he did, nothing would help Newman.
He felt like a little boy as Captain Ganderson laid into him, Ben, and Zeke for keeping this information from him as long as they did. He tried to apologize to Ben and Zeke for getting them involved and in trouble. Of course, they blew him off, saying it was no big deal. But it was. This was his responsibility, and he should’ve never asked anyone else to step in and help.
He jerked at the sudden arms sliding around his waist and a soft head resting against his chest. So dazed, he didn’t realize he had stopped in the middle of the foyer, staring into space. Even with Dee’s warm embrace circling him, he felt miles away.
“What’s the matter?”
Where did he start? Did he even want to tell her what was going on? She was the last person he wanted to argue with. If he told her everything, she’d go right back on her kick that Newman was guilty and a douche. He couldn’t hear that right now. He loved his wife, but he couldn’t hear any of that from her.
“I won’t…I won’t say anything harsh. I promise.” She lifted her head and caressed his cheek. “I don’t like seeing you like this. I know he’s your friend. I’ll try to be more supportive.”
These moments. These rare, tender moments when she admitted she was wrong always took him by surprise. Because she never liked to admit she was wrong, considering she wasn’t wrong often. He had no problem admitting that.
What scared him was she might not be wrong. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t want to keep hearing it. He didn’t want her to be right.
Now he felt like an ass, hearing her apologize for something that maybe she shouldn’t be apologizing for.
“I can’t find him. Captain Ganderson knows. There’s another victim.” He sucked in a sharp breath. “And I can’t find him.”
“But you tried, and that counts for something. You’re a good friend.”
“Am I? I didn’t even know how serious his problems were. What kind of friend is that?”
She slapped his chest as she cocked a brow. “Don’t do that. Don’t blame yourself for his idiocy. He should’ve been honest with you about his relationship with Chrissy. He’s the liar. He’s the one who ruined your friendship, not you.”
“I feel like I should’ve seen this. I should’ve known something was wrong.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled. “Come on. No more of this. It’s not your fault.”
He let her drag him down the hallway, trying to accept her words and failing miserably. “Where are we going? I should probably go back out and look for him. Look for the killer. The real killer.”
Stopping in front of the doorway to their bedroom, she smiled softly. “First, I’m going to make my husband feel better.” Her eyes glided to the bed. “No arguments, mister. Get naked.”
He didn’t have time for this. There weren’t many times he denied sex. Well, actually, there never was a time he did that. But right now didn’t seem like the best of times. He should be focusing on finding Newman. On finding the killer.
She snagged a hand in his waistband and pulled him into the room. “You are not denying this pregnant woman, this horny, pregnant woman, what she wants.”
When she was naked two seconds later, she was right.
He couldn’t deny her anything.
Maybe this would help him relax.
Maybe this would help clear his head.
Then he’d track down his friend and find out if he was a murderer and why he lied.
♡
Susan took a deep breath, then forced herself to walk. No big deal. She didn’t know why she was making it into a big deal. She talked to these guys all the time. It shouldn’t be so difficult to put one foot in front of the other to talk to them like she always did.
Except, she had never ratted them out before.
How upset were they? Did they hate her? She hoped not. If they hated her, then Zoe, Rina, and Dee would hate her, and she’d have no friends. Before them, she worked too much to keep up with the few friends she made in college. And her high school friends, she didn’t know what any of those people were up to anymore.
“Hey, guys.”
She waited with bated breath for Zeke or Ben to speak as she stood near their desks. Both stared at her. She didn’t see anger, but they also weren’t jumping to speak.
“Hey, Susan,” Ben said softly, the corner of his eyes crinkling as a small smile appeared.
She could work with that. That had to mean he wasn’t too upset with her. Did she talk about the case? Apologize? She shouldn’t have to apologize for doing her job, but she didn’t like knowing they may have gotten into trouble for withholding information from Captain Ganderson.
“Find anything useful for us?”
A smile broke free at Zeke’s question. He didn’t say it with an attitude. Perhaps neither of them hated her as she feared. What did Sauer think about her?
“No. It’s the same as the other crime scenes. He—this killer knows what they’re doing.”
Saying he could imply Newman. Maybe it was a woman. Maybe a vengeful woman mad at other women.
As soon as that idiotic thought rolled through her mind, she wanted to slap herself silly. Of course it wasn’t a woman. Each victim had been raped, and not with an object or anything. Only a man could’ve done this.
Unless there were two of them. A man who raped the women, and a woman who killed them.
What the hell was she thinking? Creating ridiculous scenarios to try to lessen the fact it could be Newman as the killer.
“You look like you’re thinking hard there, Susan,” Zeke said, cracking a grin.
She chuckled. “Yeah, just silly things floating around. I wish I had more for you guys. I searched that house from top to bottom. I…” she paused, not able to keep going without saying it, “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, we know it’s not your fault you can’t find any evidence. If you couldn’t find any, then there’s none to be found,” Ben said.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m sorry about the thing with Captain Ganderson. I—”
“Don’t.” Zeke stood up. “Don’t apologize. You were doing your job.”
Relief flooded her, grateful they didn’t hate her. “Any word on Newman yet?”
Zeke shook his head no, then smiled warmly. “You know Sauer’s not mad either, right?”
That one she had a harder time believing. “I hope not. But I couldn’t lie to Captain Ganderson. Not to his face.”
“He knows that.” Ben also stood up, grabbing his jacket from behind his chair.
“We’r
e heading out. Sauer left a little bit ago. There isn’t much we can do right now. I think we all need a break. Ben and I already talked. We’ll be coming in tomorrow to help on the case and to find Newman.” Zeke sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t want to think he’s guilty, but the longer he’s missing, the worse it looks.”
“Maybe he has a good reason. Maybe he had a family emergency or something.” She knew that was a flimsy excuse, and she wasn’t even sure why she was giving him an excuse. What had Newman done recently to earn that from her? Nothing. He’d been nothing but a jerk.
“Yeah, maybe. Are you done for the day?” Zeke asked as he slung his coat on.
She nodded. “I just wanted to check in with you guys. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She didn’t normally work on weekends, unless a particular case brought her into work. These recent murders were definitely a good reason to come into work on her day off.
They said their goodbyes after Ben and Zeke graciously walked her to her car. She wasn’t afraid of walking alone to her car at night, but it was nice of them to see her safely to her vehicle.
The drive home was slow. She took her time, dreading the silence and emptiness. She figured she could stop in to see Stitch, pick up their conversation where they left it. But she wasn’t in the mood to fight again.
Would it ever stop between them?
Hitting the garage door button a few houses away, she didn’t notice the sleek red car in her driveway until she started to turn.
Stitch.
He came to her.
Was she prepared to see him so soon? Would they fight? All of her energy was slowly dwindling to nothing. She wanted to change into her comfy pajamas and lay in bed and forget about everything. Even the issues between them.
This day had been forever long. So much happened, it felt like an entire week had passed.
She drove by him, barely making eye contact as he stood leisurely outside his car, and parked in the garage. Before he could meet her at her car door, she hit the garage door button.
Perhaps that was a childish move, closing him out. Maybe it even made a statement. Would he still be in the driveway when she walked to her front door to check?
Why did she close the door on him?
One Taste of Sin (A One Taste Novel Book 4) Page 15
