Can't Take My Eyes Off You

by Kait Nolan

  Ethan didn’t look at her. Probably for the best. He pulled a notepad from his shirt pocket and flipped it open to a clean page. “Before we get started, there’s something I need to say to you.”

  Delaney’s gaze darted from him to Miranda and back again. “Okay.” The tone was measured and her shoulders were stiff, obviously bracing for a blow.

  He folded his hands. “I’m sorry.”

  The utter shock on her face was almost amusing. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m sorry for accusing and upsetting you. Given what you went through before, I’m sure all that was difficult. I never set out to do that. I won’t apologize for looking into you or asking the questions—that’s my job—but I wanted you to know that you’re no longer a person of interest in this case. At least not from the standpoint of being the perpetrator.”

  “I don’t understand. What changed your mind?”

  “Two things. One: You have a staunch champion.”

  Miranda smiled as his gaze turned to her, the corner of his mouth lifted in a rueful smile.

  “She didn’t doubt you. Not once. She made very convincing arguments that sent me looking elsewhere.”

  Delaney’s blue eyes were suspiciously shiny as they shifted to Miranda. “Thank you.”

  Miranda reached out to grasp her hand, wanting to comfort. “No need to thank me for telling the truth.”

  “You and I both know you’ve done more than that. I don’t know what I did to deserve that.”

  “You’ve been a solid employee, and you’ve worked your ass off to make up for what you did. I believe people can change, and you did. That’s it. I knew the woman you are now would never have done the things somebody’s done to me. All I did was tell him so.” Which, okay, was probably glossing over some of the realities. But in the end, that’s what she’d done.

  The girl’s throat worked. “You are so awesome.” She swallowed back tears and looked back to Ethan. “So…what was the other?”

  “Somebody told me about your interest in Sean Murphy.”

  At the mention of the firefighter’s name, Delaney’s cheeks went pink. “Oh God, is it that obvious?”

  “Well, let’s face it, Mama Pearl knows all. But no, I didn’t think it was, which is why it hadn’t occurred to me. Why didn’t you just say you were interested in him when we talked the other day?”

  She looked at Ethan as if he’d lost his mind. “You already had me pegged. If I’d admitted my interest in Sean, you’d have seen it as an excuse.”

  He ducked his head. “I deserve that. And again, I’m sorry. I hope we can move past it.”

  “I will if you will.”

  This girl had such a generous heart. Maybe that’s what had drawn Miranda to her in the first place.

  Ethan inclined his head. “Thank you.”

  “If you’re not looking at me anymore, what is it we’re getting started on?”

  “There’s a reason I suspected you. There is a possibility, however remote, that somebody may be setting you up to take the fall for this.”

  “What?”

  “The details of your case are fairly widely known. Except for the origins of the fire. That was something straight out of the crime scene report and not—as far as I’m aware—common knowledge. I don’t have any reason to suspect any of my officers, so who, other than yourself, would have known about that?”

  “I...” Delaney shook her head. “I don’t know. Bryce and Gina, certainly. The fire department would’ve told them about the oily rags they found under the porch. Anybody who was with them when they were told.” She straightened and fixed Ethan with a hard stare. “To be clear, I did not deliberately set that fire. I deliberately used oil-based stain to write my opinion of Bryce’s manhood all over his prized deck. But they got home sooner than I was expecting, and I stashed the rags under the porch so I could get out in a hurry. I had no idea they could spontaneously combust, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that they caught it before it spread to the house.”

  “Noted. Do you think either of them would target you?”

  “I don’t see why. Or at least, I don’t see why they’d try to get to me through Miranda.”

  Miranda had been thinking about this herself since Ethan mentioned the theory at breakfast. “Maybe because I gave you a hand in helping you get your life turned around? Is that something that would piss them off?”

  “Probably. Gina was never satisfied with the fact that I didn’t do actual time. But the idea that either of them could be behind this? I don’t see it. Frankly, neither of them seem that smart.”

  “Do you know what sort of work they do?”

  “Gina is a hostess out at Tosca, and Bryce has been commuting to Lawley for some job since the plant closed.”

  Ethan’s gaze sharpened. “Heirloom Home Furnishings?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did he associate with Harley Forbes?”

  Harley? Where was he going with this?

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “Did you ever hear him mention Harley?”

  Delaney frowned. “Maybe once or twice in a telling stories about work kinda way. Why?”

  “Maybe nothing. Maybe something.” He scribbled something on a notepad. “Is there anybody else you can think of who might want to get back at you for something? Was there anyone else you might have crossed or offended before your arrest?”

  “All my focus was on Bryce for cheating on me and Gina for being the other woman. I can’t think of anybody else who’d actively try to throw me under the bus like this.”

  “Keep thinking. If anybody or anything pops for you, I want you to let me know.”

  She promised she would, then hurried out to get started on the inventory.

  “You’re coming back to Harley with this?” Miranda asked. “I thought he had alibis for all the times in question.”

  “He does. Allegedly.”

  “So if he has alibis, how would he have pulled any of this off?”

  “He couldn’t have done the vandalism here. Too many people saw him drinking with Ralph Slocombe at The Mudcat that night. But I find it more than a little coincidental that a patient who had a beef with you is all buddy-buddy with Harley, who is pissed his wife left him and may rightly blame you or me both, and they both happened to work with the ex-boyfriend of the woman who’s prospectively being framed for harassing you.”

  “Heirloom was the primary employer in town before they closed a couple years ago,” Miranda interjected. “You’re going to find a whole lot of people who used to work there. It’s not exactly a smoking gun.”

  “No. And it may be nothing. But it’s another thread to pull. I think, after I get done questioning the rest of your staff, I’ll go track down Bryce Kelso and Gina Draper for a little chat.”

  Miranda pushed back from the table and crossed over to wrap her arms around his shoulders, loving the way he leaned into her. “It was good of you to apologize.”

  “I can admit when I’m wrong, Legs. I was wrong about her, and she deserved to know it. From what you’ve said, she had a pretty rough go of it, and I’d as soon she not be afraid of me just because I’m a cop.”

  Miranda cupped his jaw and bent to brush her lips to his. “You’re going to figure this out. I have faith in you.”

  His hand curled loosely around her wrist. “I intend to see that faith is justified. Go ahead and send Keisha in.”

  “Yes, sir, Chief.”

  Another dead end.

  Ethan ought to appreciate that. Those were threads he didn’t need to keep tugging. But Gina Draper and Bryce Kelso had been the best possible leads he’d come up with today. He’d even worked late so he could talk to Kelso once the guy got back from his job in Lawley. Both of them had alibis that weren’t each other for each of the different crimes. Kelso claimed he couldn’t stand Harley Forbes, calling the man a lazy son of a bitch who’d contributed to the company’s decision to up and move production to Mexico. Ethan was inclined to bel
ieve him. Which meant yet another night he had to go home to Miranda and admit failure.

  But at least he got to go home to her. That was the lone bright spot in all of this. They’d both had a long day. The clinic parking lot still hadn’t emptied when he’d driven back to the station half an hour ago, but surely she’d be finishing up soon. He ought to check and see what kind of take out she’d like for dinner. They could spend the evening relaxing. Maybe watch a movie before bed. Hopefully he’d be clearer in the morning after a good night’s sleep.

  Ethan was reaching for his phone when the perfunctory knock sounded on his door. Cleveland stuck his head in. “Chief, Chester Harkin is here to see you. He’s got the Forbes kid with him.”

  Ethan knew from the set of Chester’s jaw that he wasn’t gonna be going home any time soon. “Chester, Johnny. Why don’t we go on into the conference room?”

  The boy looked almost gray as he shuffled ahead and sat. He didn’t meet Ethan’s eyes. Chester looked as if he’d aged another ten years since Ethan saw him just days ago. He shut the door.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Show him,” Chester demanded.

  Johnny flinched at the harsh tone. Slowly, he pulled his hand out of his hoodie pocket and laid a box on the table. Celebrex. One of the drugs that had turned up missing from Miranda’s clinic.

  Shit. Maybe it wasn’t what he thought. “What’s that?”

  “Arthritis drugs,” Johnny mumbled.

  “Why?”

  “I thought Mr. Harkin could use them.”

  So Ethan hadn’t been the only one to notice Chester’s debilitating arthritis. “Where did you get them?” He knew there was no good answer to that question.

  Johnny’s shoulders rounded, and he muttered something.

  “Speak up, boy,” Chester ordered.

  “From Doc Campbell’s clinic.” The kid’s tone was edged with tears.

  Ethan shut his eyes for just a moment, wrestling with his own disappointment. He’d gone above and beyond to give this kid a chance. Now this. This is what he got for believing people could change. For going against his training, his experience. Accepting what he’d have to do, he sat. “You’re the one who broke in and trashed the place.”

  The dark head bobbed once.

  “Your friend who provided your alibi. Owen. Was he with you?”

  “No. I just used his truck.” If possible, Johnny’s voice got even smaller.

  “Tell him why, son.” Chester prodded.

  “Harley threatened me and my mother.” Tears spilled over as the boy looked up. “I didn’t want to do anything. I swear. But when he got out of jail, he came out to Monarch House. Snuck in and cornered me. He said I had to do what he told me. That I’d tried to kill him and he could press charges any time he wanted. He said that, on top of shooting Officer Raines, meant I’d be put away, and as soon as I was gone, he’d come after my mother. Show her what happened to women who leave their husbands. He’d already made it past the security system out there. What was to stop him?”

  The prowler Lily Mae had reported. It must’ve been Harley.

  Ethan struggled for patience. “Me, Johnny. That’s the entire point of my job. Why the hell didn’t you come to me with this?”

  “Because you said you’d put him away, and he just got out again. Like he always does.”

  It was a failure of the system. Ethan knew that. But he couldn’t quite shake the sense of personal failure. He’d made a promise to this boy, to his mother, that he’d protect them. “Let’s let that go for now. Tell me exactly what he wanted you to do.”

  Johnny sniffed and scrubbed the tears from his face. “The first time it was setting a fire. He wanted it to look like what Delaney Newell did to her ex.”

  “He said that?”

  “Yeah. He gave really specific instructions. ”

  “Why would Harley want to frame Delaney Newell? Do they know each other? Have any kind of history?”

  “I don’t know. I think its just ’cause everybody knew what she did. He thought it would take suspicion off of him.”

  And it had. If not for Miranda’s staunch refusal to believe it, Ethan probably would’ve charged Delaney.

  “What about the dead raccoon?”

  “What dead raccoon?”

  “Somebody left one all carved up on Dr. Campbell’s front porch.”

  The boy’s face went impossibly paler. “I didn’t have anything to do with that either. I didn’t do anything before the fire, and I haven’t done anything since the clinic.”

  “Okay let’s talk about the clinic. What exactly did he say?”

  “He demanded I break into the clinic and trash the place. I tried not to do too much damage. Just to make it messy. She’s a nice lady. I didn’t want to do anything against her. You have to believe me. I didn’t want to do anything. But he threatened my mother.”

  So Harley had blackmailed Johnny into acting on his behalf so that he had a couple of very public, very convenient alibis. Tried to throw suspicion elsewhere by framing Delaney. That was a helluva lot of planning for a guy who was allegedly just pissed off and acting out. What was he leading up to? What was Ethan missing?

  “Did Harley say why he wanted any of this done?”

  “He was pissed she finally convinced Mama to leave. He blames both of you. You especially.”

  “Why?”

  “He found your card in her purse when he was looking for money. It’s what set him off that last time I took her to the ER. He said—” The kid hiccuped. “He said how you’d taken his woman and he was going to make you pay. Show you what it feels like.”

  Ethan’s instincts began to jangle. Escalation. This whole thing had been an escalation, exactly as he’d thought. “When? When did he say that?”

  “After I called to tell him I’d finished with the clinic.”

  “Has he asked for anything else?”

  Johnny shook his head. “I told him I wouldn’t do any more and to leave us the hell alone.”

  Ethan yanked out his own phone and hit Miranda’s number. He had to warn her. He’d had Darius sitting on the clinic since he left this afternoon, but that wouldn’t be enough. She wasn’t going anywhere without a police escort until Harley was brought in for good.

  Chapter 21

  At 6:35, Miranda shut the front door of the clinic behind her last patient and locked it. Thank God. Her feet ached, she hadn’t had anything resembling lunch, and all she really wanted to do was fall face first into bed and check out for the next ten hours. Everything was almost back to normal. Cam had sent over new plants for the lobby this morning, bless him. The whole day had been accompanied by a soundtrack of Shelby’s muttered threats and curses against whoever had tossed the clinic, as she’d laboriously put files back together and back in order. That process would take another day or so, but at least they’d been able to open the doors to patients just after noon. Probably they’d all have been able to go home earlier had there not been a steady stream of Lookie Lous wanting to hear all about the break-in.

  Keisha slipped out of the last of the patient rooms, already having prepped for tomorrow. “Are they gone?”

  “They’re gone,” Miranda confirmed.

  Delaney popped out of the lab. “Truly? We’re done?”

  They all looked as exhausted as she felt. “We are done. Thank you all for sticking it out past closing time. Let’s go home.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.” Shelby was already shutting down the computer that had been moved from one of the patient rooms and pushing her chair under the desk.

  The four of them went out the back together, using the buddy system as Miranda locked up. Darius waved from the driver’s seat of the police cruiser parked across the street. Ethan had said he’d be keeping an officer posted on-site once he left, but she’d been so covered up with patients, she hadn’t noticed. Relaxing into the front seat of her Toyota, she pulled out of the lot, relieved not have to think for the rest of the day.


  Her stomach growled. Okay maybe she’d have to think long enough to figure out sustenance. Ethan hadn’t left work yet either. Was he done questioning Bryce Kelso? Had he found anything useful? The idea of the asshole doing anything to cause more trouble for Delaney had Miranda even more furious than the vandalism itself. She’d been working so hard to get her life back on track. Going after her felt like a cheap shot. The move of a bully. Miranda despised bullies.

  Ethan would sort it out. She knew it was wearing on him that he hadn’t been able to pin down the vandal. He’d taken a vow to protect this town, and he felt like he was falling down on the job. He had to be at least as tired as she was. They’d both feel better after a good night’s sleep. Maybe he could pick up some kind of takeout on the way home.

  It was another of those domestic thoughts that made her stupidly happy. She was beyond relieved that they’d worked out their differences and he’d be coming home. It didn’t feel like he was just staying with her. Hadn’t since the day he moved in. Should she bring up the idea of formalizing that arrangement? Or was it too soon? That probably wasn’t a discussion to be had while they were both sleep deprived.

  But he loved her.

  She hugged the knowledge close, knowing she wore a sappy grin. The police chief and the doctor. Who’d have thought they’d fall so hard and fast? Who’d have imagined he’d feel the sting of her temper and still think she was worth fighting for?

  Pulling into the garage, she exhaled a sigh of relief. Home. Grabbing her purse, she waved to Darius, who gave a friendly beep of acknowledgment as he pulled away from the curb, and hit the button for the garage door, watching it lower behind her. On her way into the house, she flipped on lights, her mind already turning to a glass of wine and a bath. Yeah, one of those nice, hot soaks that would leave her fingers and toes pruny as she dozed. Her legs were long enough that she wouldn’t slip below the water if she fell asleep. With that goal in mind, Miranda dumped her keys and purse on the little desk in the kitchen and opened a bottle of Cabernet. Maybe she could talk Ethan into pizza. Even the lousy delivery stuff would be good after a day like today. Or, even better, maybe she could talk him into joining her in the tub for a soak himself—and whatever consequences that might entail—before pizza. Yeah, that sounded like the ultimate way to relax.