Susan Sleeman - Dead Wrong

“I’m fine.” Her shoulders went up a notch.

He regarded her for a moment and she held her rigid posture under his scrutiny. She was trying so hard to keep it together, but he saw the crack in her strong veneer ready to crumble with the least little blow. “I’m not sure you’re a good judge of how you’re doing right now.”

She raised a brow as if daring him to protest. “I appreciate your concern, really I do, but there’s no need to bother anyone else.” She gave him a tough-as-nails look, then walked into the family room almost aimlessly as if she had no idea what to do with herself. She paused staring ahead. Then, as if reaching a decision, she put her mug on a table and dropped onto the sofa.

He followed and decided to take a firmer stance as he sat next to her. “I’m going to call one of your brothers or your sister.”

“No! It’s late and they don’t need to get involved in this mess.”

“Truth time, Kat. What’s going on here?” he asked, expecting her to reinforce Tommy’s take on things, but hoping if she did, he’d find a hole in her logic.

“It’s nothing, it’s just—” She looked down and started frantically rubbing her wrists where the skin was angry and raw. “This is the first case I’ve headed up at the agency. Ethan and Cole have pretty much been in charge. Makes sense, I guess. They’re the oldest and have the most experience. But still, I begged for a case. Told them I was ready. Now I screwed up and...” Her voice faded away.

Not the answer Tommy had prepared him for. “And you don’t want them to know about it.”

“Yeah.” She kept picking at her wrist.

His mind flashed back to the moment he found her. Bound and helpless, a terrified glaze to her eyes. These very wrists strapped behind her. She seemed now as if she could hardly bear the memory. He took her hands, stopping her from damaging the skin even more. He held her icy fingers as he waited for her to look up at him. When she did, he smiled to help ease her anxiety, but she stared at him looking lost so he plunged ahead. “Your family will hear about this on the news by morning. Maybe you should tell them before that happens.”

“I just can’t handle facing them tonight. Tomorrow, but not tonight.”

He could feel the tension radiating off her. He wanted to do more than hold her hands—maybe give her a hug—but this wave of uncertainty would be gone by morning. Her feisty personality would return, and she wouldn’t remember the hug too fondly.

“I still don’t like the idea of you staying alone. Not with a killer on the loose.”

Fierce independence replaced the uncertainty in her eyes, and she jerked her hands free. “I was a cop, Mitch. I know how to protect myself.”

“I know you do, but you’re upset and not thinking straight.”

“You’re right. I’m upset. Of course, I’m upset. I lay right next to my friend’s body. But don’t think that means I’m falling apart. I’m thinking clearly, and I’ll be fine on my own.” Her shoulders jerked higher.

He wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. He had no choice but to back off. But he wouldn’t leave her unprotected. He’d arrange for an officer to sit outside all night.

“You’re tired. I should be going.” He started to rise.

“Wait.” She grabbed his arm stopping him. “We haven’t talked about the investigation.”

“What about it?”

“I want to be part of it.”

He should’ve known this was coming and prepared a way to say no without hurting her more. “You know I can’t do that. You’re a civilian now and the closest thing we have to a witness.”

“No one needs to know I’m helping.”

He opened his mouth to object but she jumped on it.

“You know Tommy will agree.” She crossed her arms as if she felt it necessary to defend herself from his questioning gaze. She didn’t, though.

He was the one who needed defending from these eyes imploring him to give in. Spending time with the one woman who’d gotten beyond his defenses and made him almost agree to date a coworker wasn’t a wise move.

“I can’t let you help, Kat, without jeopardizing my job.”

“What if you were me?” she asked, her eyes going wide. “What would you want?”

“Wouldn’t matter what I wanted, it’s what I’d make sure happened.”

“Exactly. You’d make sure you were included in the investigation. I’m just trying to do the same thing.” She put a hand on his arm and the warmth of her touch melted his resolve.

Having her by his side would be a good thing, right? If she wouldn’t let her family surround and protect her from this killer, if she worked with him, he’d be able to keep an eye on her.

“Please,” she said softly, and her big brown eyes pleaded with him.

Eyes he’d once looked into where he’d found the same longing he’d felt in his own heart before hurting her. He couldn’t do it again. He’d let her work on the case, but he’d lay down some ground rules. “You don’t call any of the shots. You’re just an observer. You got it?”

“I got it.” She squeezed his arm and smiled. “Thanks.”

He nodded, keeping his look neutral even though he liked the warmth of her hand on his arm.

“So where should we begin?” she asked.

Her sudden enthusiasm made him smile. “It’s late. We’ll start first thing in the morning.”

“No!” The word shot out like a bullet. “If I bring you up to speed on what I know about Nathan, we can hit the ground running in the morning.”

Staying for a few more minutes wouldn’t be a problem, right? “Tell me what you’ve done so far.”

“I started by investigating Nathan Bodig. Everything about the man checks out. He was an all-around good guy, and I couldn’t find any obvious reason why someone would want to kill him.”

“What’d he do for a living?” Mitch picked up his cup and took a long sip.

“Social worker for the Oregon Department of Human Services. He worked with kids at risk. Monitoring them at home and placing them in foster homes.”

“So he dealt with troubled families and might’ve made someone mad. Wouldn’t be the first time someone in a position like his was threatened.”

She nodded. “I was going to talk to his coworkers, but I hadn’t gotten that far yet. With your credentials we’ll have better access to them.”

She so desperately wanted to find Nancy’s killer that she was rushing ahead. As they worked the case, he’d need to keep an eye out for that and make sure they stayed on solid footing. “I’d like to hold off on that until we have evidence that proves the crash wasn’t an accident.”

“You doubt it?”

“Nancy’s death could have nothing to do with her brother’s, and I don’t want to jump to conclusions.” She appeared to get upset with his reluctance to embrace her theory so he moved on before she argued. “Where exactly did the accident occur?”

“On Highway 30 near Clatskanie. Nathan was dating a woman he met at a conference. She lives in Astoria and he was on the way to visit her.”

“And you checked her out, too?”

“She’s as squeaky clean as Nathan. She was the one who reported Nathan missing. When he didn’t show up as scheduled, she tried calling him. After a few tries with no answer, she contacted Nancy. Nancy set out, planning to retrace his route, but by that time, a trucker had spotted the car burning in the ravine and called it in.”

Good. At least Kat hadn’t let her emotions keep her from following strong investigative techniques. If Nathan really had been murdered, then the girlfriend would be a prime suspect and someone they’d need to scrutinize. He was glad Kat had already gotten the basic story—it was a place to start. “You talk with the officer who investigated the accident?”