She arched a brow. “You trying to read my mind? I can promise it’s a dark and scary place.”
A shake of his head confirmed his agreement. “Wainwright, the idea of rambling around in your head scares me.”
“Good.” She cocked her head. “So if you’re not trying to read my mind why are you still looking at me?”
“We had a case a couple of nights ago. A homicide.”
She sipped her water. She’d seen enough crime scene photos to know that he’d witnessed the most grisly. She waited for him to decide what he wanted to share.
“The victim was a young singer. She’d been walking to her car.”
“I saw a mention of that in the paper, but didn’t have time to get past the headline.”
He hesitated as if measuring each word. “She was beaten to death. The medical examiner thinks with a long metal object.”
She straightened, making the pain in her shoulder throb all the harder. “Do you think there’s a connection to my case?”
He met her gaze. “I don’t know. Her killer’s first swing didn’t miss but landed on the side of her head. She wasn’t recognizable by the time the killer was finished.”
She set her water down and traced the rim of the glass. “Who was she?”
“A singer. Dixie Simmons. Popular at the honky-tonks and well-liked.”
“I don’t know her. Or the name. I don’t have much time for the honky-tonks these days.”
“I don’t know if there is a connection but you need to be extra careful.”
“Most women are killed by people they know. A spouse. Lover. Exes.”
“That’s what I thought. But all the men I’ve talked to have alibis. You have any exes that could be a threat to you?”
That made her smile. “I barely have time for a run in the evening. No time for men. No exes. Unless we go back to eighth grade and Jonny Danvers. He had a crush on me.” She frowned. “That sounded flip and I didn’t mean for it to. I know this Dixie woman wouldn’t be laughing.”
“Cops rely on dark humor to survive. We’d go insane if we didn’t joke.”
“Right.”
“When I received the call that you’d been attacked with a blunt object my first thought was Dixie. The similarities were too close for comfort.”
His assessment didn’t sit well.
“What about clients? Could one of your clients have done this to you?”
“It’s always possible. I do a lot of public defender work. See all kinds in that business, but I’ve not had much trouble.”
“You were visible on TV the other night.”
She grimaced. “The punch seen around Nashville. The station received unflattering emails about me.”
“That put you on a lot of radars.”
“Not my intent at all. I was trying to push you on the DNA testing.”
A smile quirked the edges of his lips. He wasn’t a handsome man. Too hard and too many rough edges. But when he smiled he had an appeal. “Really? That never occurred to me.”
“Sarcasm is the lowest form of humor.”
“I never said I was smart.”
He’d give a fox a run for its money. “Well, if you’d answered one of my calls, I’d not have been driven to organize the vigil.”
“I answered your first call.”
“And left me a voicemail message that you’d get back.”
“I meant that.”
“That was six weeks ago.”
“I don’t have an answer from the lab.” The slow deliberate clip of his words suggested she was being childish. “What do you want me to do, call each day and chat about the weather so we can connect?”
“No. That’s ridiculous. I want an answer for Jeb.”
He cocked a brow. “Do you really believe the guy is innocent? Really?”
“My gut tells me he is.”
“Your gut?”
“What, you’ve never relied on your gut?”
An exasperated sigh seeped over his lips.
Rachel traced the rim of her glass. “And there are a lot of unanswered questions.”
“Such as?”
The letters came to mind but she wasn’t ready to tell him or anyone else about them. Definitely, TMI. “The arresting officers didn’t allow him counsel.”
“You mean my father?”
“He was the arresting officer.”
“Jeb refused counsel at first and later when he asked for it, he got it.”
“After three days.”
“If he’d waived his rights no cop was going to beg him to call an attorney. All they cared about was closing their case.” No hint of apology softened dark eyes. “That was their job.”
“Their job was to serve justice.”
His gaze cut like shards of glass. “My father was a great cop. And from what I’ve read about Jeb he was an accident waiting to happen.”
Another cop had said the exact words about her brother once. Anger ripped at her good humor and she smacked her hand on the counter, regretting it the instant it triggered jolts of pain up her arm. For a moment, she struggled to catch her breath. “See it’s that kind of attitude I’m worried about. That kind of attitude will get my DNA tests delayed or lost.”
“You calling me a liar?” He was as calm as a hurricane’s eye.
“You are loyal to the job and your family. I think you’d protect them at all costs.”
“I don’t lie. Can you say the same?”
She ignored the barb. “When my brother was arrested he asked me to lie for him. I didn’t lie for him, and I’ve regretted it every day since.”
“You were right not to lie.”
Rachel traced her eyebrow. “Really? You make it sound black-and-white. Easy. One lie would have solved so much.”
“If you’d lied you’d not be here now. You’d have been arrested and you’d never have gotten that law degree.”
The oven dinged and he pulled out the cooked pizza, which he cut into four slices. He removed a white plate from the open shelving above the counter and served up her food.
She lifted her slice, pausing as it neared her lips. “You’re not eating.”
“No. Already ate supper. But you need to eat so I can give you your pill. I’ll lock up on my way out.”
Pill. She didn’t want to take meds or have her mind in a fog. Luke had lived that way for the last decade of his life. But the night would be long and she’d sleep little without help. And she needed to be sharp tomorrow.
She bit into the pizza, quickly realizing she was far hungrier than she first thought. He sipped his water as she ate the first slice and then half of the second. When
she pushed her plate away, he pulled the meds from his pocket and doled out two pink pills into her palm.
“You are taking them.”
She curled her fingers over the pills. “Is it always an order with you?”
“Is it always a major discussion with you?”
She shook her head. “Not this time. I can admit when I’m wrong. The nurse was right. Whatever she gave me at the hospital is wearing off fast.” She swallowed the pills and chased them with water. “Let me give you back your shirt before I pass out.”
“Keep it for now,” he said.
“No, that’s not right.” She eased off the stool and reached for the shirt buttons. Her good hand shook as she fumbled with the buttons.
He moved around the counter and brushed her hand away. “Send it along later.”
Pain throbbed and she glanced at the clock wondering when the meds would take effect. “Fine.”
In the main room he glanced toward the staircase that stretched to a darkened second floor. “Can you make it that far?”
Yeah. Sure. Maybe. “I’m a champ. I’ll be fine.” She moved toward the front door. “I’ll walk you out and set the alarm.”
He moved to the front door, opened it, and stopped. “You sure you’ll be all right here tonight?”
The space behind her felt vast and empty and suddenly filled with dark shadows. But it wasn’t her nature to borrow trouble when it filled her plate. “I’ll be fine. Really.”
“I’m going to have patrols stepped up in your area for a while. And I’m calling your partner.”
“Thanks.”
He stepped outside. “Glad to help.”
Feelings of gratitude triggered a vulnerability that left her brittle and wishing he’d stay. Sentiment wasn’t her style. Must be the drugs. “Don’t forget my DNA tests. I’ll be calling you soon.”
Detective Morgan laughed. “Be surprised if you didn’t.”
Lexis shrugged her shoulders working the kinked muscles free as she rose and moved to the coffeepot filled with black dregs.
She poured the sludge into the cup, sniffed it, and grimaced. As much as she liked to drink coffee and flaunted a cast-iron stomach, even she had standards. She took the glass carafe, rinsed it out at the sink, and refilled it with fresh water. After dumping and refilling coffee grounds, she clicked the machine on and moved to a small fridge. Inside, she found two slices of yesterday’s pizza.