by Darcy Burke
She heard the door again and was afraid to turn in case it was the police. She’d wanted more information from Luke. Reluctantly, she pivoted and her heart sank as she watched the two officers move inside. They made eye contact with Luke, whose jaw was stiff, his muscles clearly tense. At least to her.
Kelsey walked toward them, her legs like jelly.
“Good afternoon,” one of the officers said. “I’m Officer Hendricks and this is Officer Talbot.” He gestured to the other cop. “We’re here to talk with you about Noah Putnam.” Hendricks glanced toward Luke before returning his focus to Kelsey. “I take it you know he’s dead?”
Kelsey nodded. “Let’s go back here.” She led the officers behind her desk to get as far away from any of the patrons as possible. One of them had noticed the police coming in and was now watching the situation. Kelsey tried to ignore that.
“Yes, Luke told me about Noah.” It suddenly hit her—this man she’d known for almost eight years, a man she’d loved and at one time expected to spend her life with, this man who’d broken her heart and her trust in every way possible, was dead. Emotion overwhelmed her, and she began to cry, great heaving sobs. She turned away from the library and faced the back wall.
Someone—Luke, she realized—handed her a tissue. It took her a moment to pull herself together. She saw that the officers were watching her with sympathy. That was nice.
She blew her nose and reached for another tissue. “I’m sorry. I’m just so shocked.”
“Noah was your ex-boyfriend?” Hendricks asked.
Kelsey nodded. “Yes. You must also know that he abused me, that he recently got out of jail after serving a sentence for that abuse.”
“Yes, we’re aware of his criminal history,” Talbot said. “We’re also aware that he came to town looking for you last night and found you at The Arch and Vine.”
“Yes.” She glanced toward Luke, thinking of how he’d hit Noah. Luke had told her last night that they’d called the police to report Noah’s violation of his parole and the restraining order. They had to know he’d hit Noah, and that couldn’t look good. Wait, did she think Luke could’ve done more?
No, that wasn’t possible. Noah had been perfectly fine—although drunk—when she’d left him last night, and she’d gone directly to Luke’s house where they’d been together all night. Except she’d fallen into a hard, dreamless sleep. Could Luke have left?
She shook her head. This wasn’t helping matters.
Officer Talbot pulled out a small tablet and a stylus. “Can you tell us what happened after you left The Arch and Vine?”
She glanced toward Luke, but his gaze was inscrutable. What was he thinking? Why was she so nervous? She hadn’t done anything. “I drove around. I was upset about seeing Noah again.”
“What happened when you drove around?” Talbot asked.
The question seemed pointed. Like they already knew… And if they looked at Noah’s phone, they’d see his texts asking to meet her. “He followed me to the state park. We talked for a few minutes.”
Officer Hendricks tipped his head to the side. “I don’t suppose you own a silver bracelet with a book charm?”
She heard her intake of breath as if someone else had done it and instantly wished she could take it back. But what would be the point in lying? They’d figure out it was hers. “Yes.”
Her voice sounded so small, so frightened.
“Where did you find it?” Luke’s question was gruff. Kelsey still couldn’t read his eyes, but the pitch of his brows and the tight set of his features told her enough.
“With the body,” Hendricks answered.
Kelsey felt as if the floor beneath her was disintegrating and she was about to tumble into an abyss.
“Miss McDade, we still have some investigation to do, but it looks like Mr. Putnam was perhaps hit with a rock,” Talbot said.
She started to shake her head. Everything went fuzzy, like she was submerged in water. Even the sounds around her were muffled.
Until Luke spoke.
“I hit him at the pub because he’d grabbed Kelsey. He must’ve gotten her bracelet then,” Luke said, his voice deep and clear. “After Kelsey got back to my house, I went to the park to confront him. We argued and things got physical. I hit him with the rock in self-defense. You’ll find my fingerprints on it.”
Kelsey turned her head in shock. He had left last night? What had he hoped to accomplish?
Talbot frowned as he exchanged looks with Hendricks. “You’re saying you killed him?”
“I’m saying I hit him with the rock. And I left. Not my finest moment.” He didn’t look at Kelsey despite her silently begging him to do so. What was happening?
“Excuse me,” a feminine voice said from the counter. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to go, and we wanted to check out these Bad Kitty books.”
Kelsey stared at her for a moment before pulling herself from the nightmare unfolding before her. She looked at the officers. “Give me a minute.”
“Why don’t we go to the station,” Luke said, his voice flat. “I’ll answer your questions there.”
“Okay,” Hendricks said. He turned to Kelsey. “Can you join us there as soon as possible?”
She nodded. “I’ll close up as soon as I can.” Luke started for the door with the officers following behind him. “Wait,” Kelsey said. “Is he under arrest?”
Officer Talbot sent her a grim look. “Not yet.”
Yet. Which meant it was possible.
“Luke, I’ll bring Aubrey Archer,” she called after him, but Luke didn’t turn.
As she watched them leave, she felt the distinct fracture of her already battered heart.
Chapter Nineteen
At the police station, Luke sat in a small conference room that didn’t look anything like the interrogation rooms he saw on television. But then he hadn’t been arrested yet.
Yet.
Shit. What was he doing?
Protecting Kelsey. He didn’t think she’d done anything—he believed her when she said Noah had been fine when she’d left him at the park. But it didn’t look good with the texts and the bracelet. God, the bracelet. That was a damning piece of evidence. Circumstantial, yes, but they’d be able to put Kelsey at the scene—not just from the bracelet—and she certainly had motive.
What else could Luke do but protect her?
Officer Talbot, a balding guy in his late thirties, came into the room. “You may not know this, but there’s a weather camera at the park. Don’t know if it’ll show us anything from last night, but it might. With that in mind, can you walk us through what happened?” He sat down at the conference table.
Dread curled through Luke. He shifted in his chair. He needed to buy some time. He was sure Kelsey hadn’t done this, but he didn’t want her to be scrutinized by the police. Dammit, hadn’t Noah put her through enough? Still, Luke wondered what had happened. Who had killed him if it wasn’t Kelsey? And it sure as hell hadn’t been Luke, regardless of what he was trying to pull right now.
“I need to speak with my lawyer.” He cringed inwardly, certain this made the situation even worse, but not knowing what else to do.
Talbot exhaled. “Okay. You do realize you’re not under arrest at this point?”
“Yes.” Just as he knew his rights. “I still want to talk to my lawyer.”
Talbot stood. “You can make a call.”
Luke pulled his phone from his pocket. They hadn’t taken anything from him. Yet.
He was beginning to hate that word.
Talbot left, and Luke saw that he had several texts from Kelsey. His phone had been on vibrate, and he hadn’t felt it in the pocket of his sweatshirt. She was on her way to the station with Aubrey Archer.
No need to call an attorney, then.
He didn’t respond to Kelsey. What could he say? Anything he typed and sent would be used against them.
Against them? Did he really think it would come to that? He set the phone o
n the table and dropped his head into his hands. He didn’t know anything. And he didn’t know when he would.
After what felt like an eternity but was maybe a quarter hour, the door opened and Aubrey came into the room. She sat down next to Luke and gave him an encouraging smile. “Hey, Luke. Nice day to be at the police station.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, and she raised her hand, palm up. “Sorry,” she said. “Bad attempt at levity. Listen, I’m not a criminal defense attorney, but let’s see if you really need one. Can you tell me what happened?”
Luke had tried to come up with what he would say. If he told the truth, she’d know that he was innocent of anything—including using the rock in self-defense—and she’d simply relay that to the police. Wouldn’t she?
He tried to calm the storm raging through him. “Where’s Kelsey?”
“She’s out in the waiting room. We thought it best if I came in and talked to you first.”
Or did Kelsey just prefer not to see him because she thought he’d killed her ex? He supposed that was proof that she hadn’t done it. Wait, did he really think she had? He realized he kept going back and forth. Logically, rationally, he knew she hadn’t. But emotionally, he didn’t know. He could see how she would do whatever necessary to protect herself against Noah. Assuming it was self-defense.
Fuck, his head was doing a number on him. He needed to talk to her. Now.
“I need to talk to her first.”
Aubrey frowned. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. This is serious, Luke. You admitted to killing a man.”
“No, I admitted to hitting him in self-defense.” Which he hadn’t done either. “Please get Kelsey.” He stood abruptly. “Never mind. I’m not under arrest. I can do what I want.”
Aubrey rose. “No. I’ll get her.” She gave him a wary look before leaving the room.
Luke paced as he waited for Kelsey to arrive. She walked in and slowly closed the door behind her. They stared at each other across the length of the table with maybe six feet between them.
“Should we sit?” she asked. Her voice sounded distant, unfamiliar.
“Sure.” Luke sat down in the chair at the end of the table. She did the same. It was as if all the intimacy of last night had never happened.
“Luke…” She looked down briefly. When her gaze shot back up, he thought he saw moisture, and her cheeks started to flush. “Why would you go after Noah?”
“I didn’t.” He sounded harsh and didn’t mean to. Forcing himself to take a deep breath and push some of the anxiety away, he tried again. “I didn’t go after him. I just said that.”
“To protect me?”
He nodded.
“Do you think—do you think I killed him?”
“No.” But it was clear she’d believed that he had. And why wouldn’t she when he said he was trying to protect her? “At least not on purpose.”
“I told you he was fine when I left him.”
“You’ve told me all sorts of bits and pieces and not very willingly, I might add.” He ran his hand through his hair, feeling as though his control was completely slipping away. He grasped it tightly, as if his life depended on it. “I just want you to be honest with me. Please be honest with me.”
She said nothing for a moment. He watched her swallow, then rise slowly to her feet. She walked the length of the table and pulled out the chair next to his. He pivoted, resting his arm on the table, using that connection as some sort of lame way to ground himself despite feeling as though the wind of anguish might sweep him away.
Without words, she took his hands in hers. Her touch was cold, but her gaze was warm. “I’m so sorry. Noah has always done a number on me. Seeing him last night made me feel like I did when I was with him. Alone. Powerless. Scared.”
For a brief moment, Luke wished he had killed the bastard.
“After I left the pub, I couldn’t think. When you hit him, all I could see, all I could feel, was Noah hitting me.”
Luke’s heart cracked. “Oh my God, Kelsey.”
She squeezed his hands. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay, but it’s not you. I don’t blame you. It just is what it is, and, like everything else to do with that asshole, I have to work through it and figure it out. I understand why you hit him, and I’m not mad at you for that. Just like I wouldn’t be mad if you felt like you had to hit him with a rock in self-defense.”
Relief stole through him, but it was short-lived. “I didn’t. But someone did.”
“So it seems. But it wasn’t me. He followed me to the park and got out of his car to talk to me. I was sitting there with my window open just trying to deal with all the crap in my head. I listened to him for a minute or two, and I said I was leaving. That’s when he grabbed me.” She let go of Luke’s hands and encircled her left wrist with her right hand. “He must’ve got my bracelet. I didn’t even realize. Anyway, I left and I didn’t look back. I drove straight to your house, and I was there all night.” She took his hands again. “Just as I know you were there too. Which I will tell the police. There’s no way I’m letting you confess to something you didn’t do.”
He scooted to the edge of his chair and lifted her hand so he could press a kiss to the back. “I don’t want you to have to go through an investigation. What if they think they have enough evidence to arrest you?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. But the truth will come out. They’ll find out that neither one of our fingerprints are on that rock.”
Luke let out a humorless laugh. “Except mine are. I stupidly picked it up when I found Noah.”
She winced, and her eyes grew wide. “Oh no.”
“It’s still circumstantial. And there’s a video—Talbot told me—from a weather camera. Hopefully it will show that neither one of us did anything.”
She slumped, and he saw the relief flooding her gaze. “Then what happened to him?”
“I have no idea, and I honestly don’t care, so long as it doesn’t affect us.” He recalled her reaction at the library, her tears. “But I suppose it does,” he said softly. “You seemed pretty upset.”
Her lips curved up, not quite forming a smile. She let go of his hand and leaned forward as she touched his cheek. “I was. Noah was a big part of my life for a long time. I had to learn to grieve the loss of my hopes and dreams with him. And now that he’s truly out of my life forever, I can do that in a way that I couldn’t before. I think.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I need to call my therapist.”
“So you don’t miss him?”
She looked horrified. “God, no. I mourn the loss of the man I thought he was, the man I wanted him to be, the man I suppose I was hoping he could rehabilitate himself into. I do feel bad for his family. This whole ordeal has been awful, and for it to end this way is very sad.”
Luke could agree with that. “You have the kindest, most generous heart of anyone I know.”
She laughed again, but it was dark and hollow. “You might not think that when I tell you a part of me is glad he’s gone.”
He cupped the back of her head and kissed her. “Not at all. I think you’re human and amazing.”
She tipped her forehead against his. “I love you.”
He massaged her nape. “I love you too.”
The door opened, breaking them apart. Officers Talbot and Hendricks came inside and stood at the other end of the table.
“So what the heck are you both doing here?” Hendricks asked, looking bemused. “We looked at the video and saw quite a show.”
Luke let go of Kelsey’s neck and held her hand tight.
Talbot set his hands on his hips. “Miss McDade, the video shows Putnam talking to you at your car. We could see that he reached in through the car window. Then you backed up and left. He spent the next several minutes pacing around the parking lot and waving his hands. He looked quite agitated.”
“I’m fairly certain he was drunk,” Kelsey said.
“Good to know, though the toxicology report will
tell us for sure,” Hendricks said. “He started walking along the edge of the parking lot, at the top of that steep slope down to the river. Then he fell over the edge.”
Relief exploded inside Luke. “He fell on the rock?”
“That, or he fell and then you went and hit him with a rock. Are we really going to find your fingerprints on it?”
Some of Luke’s apprehension returned. “I’m afraid so. But only because I picked it up when I found him. I saw the blood and just touched it without thinking. Sorry for messing with your crime scene.”
The officers exchanged looks. “Well, we can’t see what happened after he fell, but once we process everything, we should be able to confirm what happened. In the meantime, we’d like it very much if neither one of you left town.”
“No problem, Officers,” Kelsey said. “Ribbon Ridge is my home. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
Luke sent her a sidelong glance, and she’d turned to smile at him. They looked at each other with love. “Same here,” he said.
Talbot inhaled sharply. “All right, then. You can both go whenever you’d like. But Westcott?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t pick up bloody rocks or go off hitting guys in bars, okay? It doesn’t look too good. Even when the guy’s a felon.”
Luke saluted. “Yes, sirs.”
The cops shook their heads at him, Hendricks with a faint smile, before they turned and left.
Luke stood, pulling Kelsey up with him. “Shall we go?”
“Yes, please.”
“Where? Do you want to go to your apartment?”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “To your house. Home.”
Emotions roiled through him, but he clung to the one he wanted to feel most—love. He kissed her again before escorting her out.
When they got home, Kelsey was beyond exhausted, but she asked Luke if they could invite her grandmother over. Kelsey had weathered so much on her own, and now that she had family close, she wanted to embrace it.
