Dani Sinclair - The Silent Witness

“Dust bunnies?”

“A gun, smart guy. One with several rounds fired. One that is the same caliber as the one used to kill Thorton Biggs. Want to take bets this will turn out to be the murder weapon?”

Alex straightened. “Not unless you planted it yourself.”

“Turn around and put your hands on the wall,” Osher snapped, suddenly all business. “You know the drill by now, Coughlin.”

Slowly, Alex turned around. Nicki watched in horror as Thad Osher walked toward him. “But, Alex didn’t do anything!” she protested.

Osher shot her a look of scorn. “I’ll deal with you later, Ms. Michaels. Aiding and abetting is—”

In that moment, Alex erupted in a blur of action. He spun around so fast, Nicki barely saw the foot that caught Osher in the chest. She flattened herself against a shelving unit as the two men grappled. It was quickly apparent that Thad Osher was outmatched. Alex brought his hand down in a blow that sent the gun spinning across the floor, almost at Nicki’s feet. Without hesitation, she kicked the weapon under the shelving unit.

The fight was over in seconds. Osher lay doubled on her floor dry-heaving while Alex ran out the front door.

Nicki hesitated. Osher groaned. A trickle of blood ran from his nose. She ran to the back door and flung it open. Officer Jackstone was talking to the woman who ran the beauty shop two doors down. Nicki motioned him urgently.

“Ms. Michaels?”

“Alex just decked Sergeant Osher.”

“What?” He pushed past her. She followed more slowly, trying to get her emotions under control. She needed to be calm while she decided what to tell them.

Osher was pushing himself to his feet and cursing loudly when she got inside.

“The bastard took my gun,” he told Derek Jackstone.

“He did not!” Immediate anger pushed caution aside. “Your gun went under that shelf over there after you dropped it. And Alex wouldn’t have touched you in the first place if you hadn’t been threatening me.”

Officer Jackstone whipped around. “Thad threatened you?”

“He was leering at me. I warned him if he touched me I’d scream. That’s when Alex came to my rescue.”

“Why you lyin’ little—”

“Shut up, Thad,” Jackstone told him.

“He pulled out his gun and said Alex was under arrest. Then he threatened me so Alex hit him.”

“He threatened you?”

“I did not!”

She glared at Osher. “You said you’d take care of me later. I took that as a threat. So did Alex.” She turned to Jackstone. “I want to press charges of illegal harassment against Sergeant Osher. I’ve had enough of his threats and sexual innuendos.”

Osher swore and took a step in her direction. Derek Jack-stone stepped between them. “Cool it, Thad.”

“She’s lying!”

“Ms. Michaels, what was Alex Coughlin doing here?”

“He came to ask me if I saw or heard anything the night of the murder. He was under the correct impression that Sergeant Osher was trying to pin the crime on him. I think Alex planned to talk to all the shopkeepers along here.”

“Probably to find out who else saw him commit the murder,” Osher said.

Nicki scowled at him. “You appear to have some sort of grudge against Alex. Alex told me he was afraid of being railroaded into jail. The way you act, I can believe it.”

“Why you little tramp.”

“Be quiet, Thad.”

“You kept pushing me to identify him in that farce of a lineup. Don’t you dare deny it,” she insisted.

Derek looked like he wanted to curse. Osher did. Volubly. “Knock it off, Thad. This is a mess.”

“She’s lying. We’ll take her in and get her to tell the truth.”

“No. We won’t.”

Osher turned on him. “In case you forgot, I outrank you.”

“I haven’t forgotten anything, but I think you have. Let’s go outside and discuss this. Now!” Jackstone bent and fished Osher’s gun out from under the shelving unit.

“What about her?”

“Ms. Michaels, I have to ask that you remain here in town.”

“I have a business to run. I’m not going anywhere. But I meant what I said about pressing charges. I’m tired of being harassed by this man.”

Osher started to say something nasty, but Jackstone held up both hands. “Okay. Both of you calm down. I’ll return and take your statement later, Ms. Michaels. Let’s go outside, Thad.”

Thad did, cursing all the way. The glower he cast her way sent alarm racing through her. She’d just made a deadly enemy.

Nicki locked the door behind them, then collapsed in a chair, suddenly so cold she shivered. Maybe she’d made matters worse for herself, but at least she’d given Alex time to get away.

Was it the past, raging hormones, or sheer stupidity that made her want to believe Alex had nothing to do with the murder? Maybe it was just that she disliked Thad Osher so much she found it easy to believe the opposite of anything he said.

Osher could have planted the murder weapon in Alex’s car as Alex alleged, but that would make Osher the murderer. While Nicki could well believe the hotheaded officer might shoot someone, it seemed to her that if he did, he’d pretend it happened in the line of duty.

Still, there was a curious kind of logic if she assumed Thad Osher had killed Thorton Biggs for some reason known only to the two of them. Did she dare suggest this to Officer Jackstone?

No. She couldn’t. She’d told them that she’d seen the murder. Thad Osher was blond, not dark haired. To tell the truth now, she’d have to admit she lied earlier about witnessing the crime. That meant she’d have to tell Officer Jackstone about Ilona.

Oh, why had she agreed to cover for her friend? Stupid. Look where it had gotten her. Ilona was someplace hiding from her boyfriend and as a result, a murderer might go free.

Nicki suddenly sat up straighter. Ilona had said her boyfriend was a cop. A married cop. Thad Osher was married. And even though Nicki thought he was a creep, he wasn’t a bad-looking creep. What if he was Ilona’s cop? And what if Ilona had seen Thad Osher kill Thorton Biggs? That would explain her fear and her refusal to come forward with what she’d seen.

The more Nicki thought about the idea, the more she liked it. But that still left her with a major problem. How could she tell anyone what she suspected?

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