Heart Lies & Alibis (15 page)

The detectives exchanged quick looks and I knew my answer wasn't a good one. What did they know about my visit to the park? Did they know I was lying?

Davis began, his voice more stern than before, his eyes narrow and cold. "Mrs. McCallister, we recovered your husband's body from Riverside Park." And then the air was sucked from the room and my world as I had known it was gone.

Chapter 10

My breath returned in a deep inhale before my thoughts started processing again. I thought I might pass out at this new information but I maintained a stoic facade while I processed the information. You had to be kidding me, how the hell was his body found there? "Oh my goodness." I scrambled for words. "I was only there briefly like I said before. I went to the park for a run but decided it was too dark and creepy once I arrived so I turned around and came right back home. I was back at the house by 10:15, I'm sure. I can't believe I may have been in the same area where Thad was killed. This is so hard to understand." And suspicious to anyone hearing the story.

As proved when Perretti spoke again. "Yeah, that is a damn strange coincidence."

This time Davis didn't give her a reprimand with his eyes and I feared I may have lost his support. He clearly was developing his own suspicions of me and I was starting to panic. "Can anyone verify your arrival back home? Mr. O'Shea perhaps?" Davis asked his eyes sliding covertly to Declan and back to mine.

Yep. I was quickly becoming suspect number one for these two. Son of a bitch. "No. I was here alone. Mr. O'Shea was still at work." Which was true. Declan had been working and I didn't see him until nearly midnight when we met at his house. Shit, I forgot I also had driven to Declan's house last night. How was I going to explain that if they found out? I wouldn't say anything right now. It only mattered if they got a warrant. Or when they got a warrant I should say, the way things were going.

Davis simply nodded, scribbling more notes into his notepad. "I see. Well, I think those are all the questions we have for now. Here is my card. If you think of anything else, please don't hesitate to give me a call. We will be in touch Mrs. McCallister." Gone was the friendly use of Reagan. Davis had chosen his camp and it wasn't the one that said I was innocent.

They stood to walk to the door and Declan and I followed in silence. As they stepped out onto the porch, Perretti turned and looked at me. Her eyes were cold again and I could tell any sympathy I had gained when she learned Thad was cheating on me was gone now that they had learned I had been at the park. "It would be best if you didn't leave town either, Mrs. McCallister. We'll be in touch soon." She covered her hard stare with dark sunglasses before walking down the stairs behind Davis. Declan closed the door and then turned to look at me. The look on his face reflected what I was feeling – things were not good at all. He opened his arms and I walked into them. I laid my head against his chest and we stood silent for a long time, each trying to process all that had happened in the past few hours.

"Well she was a piece of work, wasn't she?" Declan finally said, breaking the deafening quiet that had filled the room after they left.

I sighed, pulling away so I could look at him. "Yeah, and I don't think she approved of the affair she suspected between us. Did you see those looks she gave us when they first arrived?" I shivered at the memory.

Declan nodded. "Yeah. She could freeze molten lava with that glare. And I agree. She definitely suspected something was going on between us and she did not like it one bit. She seemed ready to call us on it but Davis kept her quiet."

I nodded. "He seemed fine with it at first."

Declan grinned. "Must be a guy thing or something. You know, we all secretly have fantasies of being with a hot sexy older woman who can teach us a few things in bed." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at me. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but smile. He had a way of making every situation better and I appreciated it.

We took the coffee mugs to the kitchen and as I was loading the dishwasher Declan spoke. "Reagan, what were you doing going for a run so late last night? You hadn't told me you went out at all." His voice was casual but I could tell he was concerned as to why I hadn't told him what I had been doing.

I kept my back to him while my mind frantically searched for an answer that wouldn't raise any more questions. The truth was I had actually gone to Riverside Park to meet Thad. He had called earlier in the evening and left a message on my phone. He claimed he had some client business to discuss with me and insisted it was imperative I meet him. I was more than a little surprised his message said he wanted to meet at the park but went decided it probably was to keep the meeting private so I went anyway.

The client he mentioned in the message was one of the firm's biggest, their caseload spread between Thad and I evenly, and I felt an obligation to meet him and hear what he had to say. I drove to the park around ten just has I told the police. I waited for twenty minutes in the spot Thad indicated in the message but he never showed for the meeting. I tried calling him but it went straight to voicemail. Eventually, I got fed up with waiting and I was about to leave when I saw a dark car pull into the far end of the lot where I was waiting for Thad.

The car had extra dark tinted windows and sat idling but no one emerged and I couldn't see any movement inside. Something about it felt off and I didn't want to wait around to find out why. I wondered now if that car had something to do with Thad's murder. I should have told Detective Davis about it but I was afraid telling him would lead to more questions that would be hard to answer with the truth. I would have to decide later if I needed to tell him after all.

I couldn't tell Declan because I felt foolish for going to meet Thad in the first place. I had also lied to him when he asked what I had spent my evening doing when we met up later. I don't know why I had lied exactly, it had just seemed the right thing to do at the time. I think I hoped to avoid another confrontation between us over Thad, especially after the horrible interactions Thad and I had had earlier in the week at the office. I should at least tell him about the car I saw. Right now though, I had bigger problems to worry about.

"Earth to Reagan. Hey, you seem like you're a thousand miles away and you still haven't answered my question." He walked over putting his hands on my shoulders.

Snap out of it Reagan, I chastised myself. "What? Oh yeah sorry. What did you ask me?"

"I asked why were you going for a run so late last night and why did you forget to tell me?" At least he was giving me the benefit of the doubt on that issue.

I shrugged but couldn't meet his eyes. "I.. , uh, just thought a run sounded like a good idea. You know, help me kill some time waiting for you. But like I told the police, when I got to the park I chickened out. It looked pretty eerie last night. With what happened to Thad, I guess my instincts were right." I pulled away to dry my hands on a towel, turning to finally look at him. I smiled praying he would let the issue go.

He nodded in understanding but I could tell he didn't entirely believe my story. "Okay. Well I'm glad you changed your mind. I don't like the idea of you running alone at night. And I can't believe you were at the park only a short time before Thad was killed. That could have been a very scary situation."

My body shivered from head to toe. "I know. It gives me the willies just thinking about it." I started for the kitchen door. I had to get away from him so I could get my thoughts together and figure out what my next step would be. I stopped at the doorway, turning to look at him again. "Hey, can we talk about this later? I think I need to go lie down for a bit. It has been a long couple days." I smiled but knew it looked less than genuine. But I needed to get upstairs alone. There was one other question I needed an answer to.

His face softened but his eyes seemed suspicious as he watched me. "Of course, my love. I actually need to go run an errand. Will you be okay by yourself?"

I nodded in relief. "Yes. And thanks for being here today Declan. It really helped." I smiled softly.

He walked over pulling me into another hug before he stepped back to look me in the face. "Always,
a chroí
. Go rest, I will be back soon. I do need to borrow your car though, okay?" He kissed my head and turned to leave.

We had come straight to my house after brunch so Declan didn't have his motorcycle. "Of course. See you later." I blew him and kiss and watched until he stepped out the door. As soon as I heard the door close behind him, I bolted from the kitchen and up the stairs to my bedroom as fast as I could run.

Racing to my bedside table I ripped open the top drawer hoping against hope what I was looking for had suddenly returned and would be there. But it hadn't of course. I dropped onto the bed, my head in my hands because it was suddenly too heavy to hold up as the reality of my current situation hit me. A punch to the gut would have hurt less than the pain and the fear I was feeling right now.

Three days before, I had noticed my knife was missing. My 4-inch butterfly knife. I always kept it with me, in my purse when I was out and in this drawer when I slept. It was a habit I had started when I was about fifteen and one of my mom's dirtbag boyfriends, a loser named Eddie, followed me into my room one night. After I pushed him off me when he tried to get too friendly, I kicked him out of my room and locked my door. Leaning against the door, trying to calm my shaking body, I vowed I would never feel that defenseless again. I came up with a plan that night to ensure I would never fear Eddie again.

The day after I came up with my plan I approached a guy at school who everyone knew could get certain things for underage people, especially illegal things. Letting him have a bit of second-base action during our date and he was happy to get me what I needed.

The knife blade he delivered was satin stainless and looked wicked and cruel. The action was fast, just as Perretti said, and the blade snapped satisfyingly into a black handle with pale blue inlay. My first attempts with the blade were sloppy but I developed enough precision to know the next time Eddie came at me I would be prepared. It wasn't long before Eddie revisited wandered in my room again but this time I was ready and I didn't hesitate to act when I saw the look in his eyes.

One second he was sure he was going to get lucky, and the next second the click of the chilly steel snapping open paired with the fire in my voice let him know he had made a mistake. I can remember there was no doubt in my mind I was going to stab and slice him to ribbons if he didn't leave me alone. It was only after he left I realized how unprepared I actually was to handle the confrontation with the knife and I was glad Eddie didn't think to test me. All he could do was act pissed and yell some stuttering insults at me as he hauled ass out of my room. After that night, Eddie never stepped foot in there again.

Later, a boyfriend of questionable character and a good amount of criminal skill taught me how to handle the blade with precision and speed. After that, I always felt better with it around. I never showed it to Thad or explained its importance to me. Once he found it in my purse but acted like he wasn't sure what it was exactly. I lied, telling him it was only a fancy letter opener. He appeared to believe me or maybe didn't care enough to pursue the matter further because he never asked me about it again. I was always much more careful to keep it hidden from that day on.

At least until three days ago when I went to get it from my purse to open a box at the office and found it was gone. I hoped desperately I had simply forgotten it in the drawer at home but when I checked later that night I found it wasn't there either. I had no idea when it had gone missing exactly because I had been spending so much time with Declan I hadn't felt like I needed it as much recently and I had become careless about keeping track of it like an idiot.

I wracked my brain trying to recall exactly when I had last seen the knife. I sat up quickly on the bed when I suddenly remembered the last time I had it. On the Thursday I had gone to the office and had the run-in with Thad, I remember distinctly I used the knife to open a package. Just as I sliced through the tape, Thad called and asked me to come to his office to discuss a client. Without much thought, I laid the knife down next to the box and went to see him. When I returned later I was so upset I hadn't realized the knife was gone.

Could my knife somehow be the one used killed Thad? And if it was, who had stolen it and how had they gotten it in the first place? It must have been someone in the office, but who? I immediately thought of Amberley but almost immediately also dismissed her as the thief. That girl would not know the first thing about using a knife like that. Besides, Davis had said Thad was killed with a butterfly blade but he had not described the knife in detail. He had also mentioned the knife was a popular model with many people so the murder weapon could have belonged to anyone and was not necessarily mine. But deep down I knew it was my knife and my troubles had just begun. I flopped back on the bed, my head spinning as my life slowly unraveled before my eyes. Now I really did need a rest.

Declan didn't come back to my house until nearly 8pm. I was sitting on the back patio with a glass of wine, so lost in thought I didn't hear him until he was already walking out the French doors.

"Oh you startled me. I didn't hear you come in. I guess I was too lost in my thoughts." I smiled at him but he did not smile back. Okay, that was an unusual response. I watched him more closely for a moment.