Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1 (4 page)

She smiled. “Will you loan me Max?”

“Sorry, we're an inseparable team,” he said with a chuckle. “But a dog like Max would be perfect.”

Although she'd never had a pet, the idea interested her. “How would I get one trained and as well behaved as Max?”

“He's trained specifically for guarding, apprehending suspects and searching for bombs. You don't need that, but I can help you if you want.”

“Let me think about it. I don't want to get a dog if I can't give him the attention he needs.” If she accepted Nicholas's help, she would be spending a lot more time with him. That could be dangerous because she couldn't deny her attraction to him.

His dark brown eyes gleamed. “Not all pet owners feel that way. They buy an animal and then ignore it most of the time.”

Selena downed the last of her coffee. She could get used to his presence; she needed to end this. “I appreciate your concern last night, but I think I'll be all right today. The break-in was a shock, but it takes a lot to rattle me, so on second thought, I don't need your help cleaning up.” She rose. “I'll look into an alarm system since I'm off for a couple of days. But my main concern is righting my house and seeing if anything was stolen. At first glance, nothing is missing, but if that were the case, then why did someone risk breaking in?”

“Looking for something?” He pushed to his feet.

She frowned. “I don't keep anything related to my White House job here. That's why I often stay late at night. I try to leave my work at my office. When I come here, it's my downtime.”

“Good way to be. I need to do that more myself.”

She started for the back door. “It's probably harder because Max stays with you.”

“That's not it. I've never been a person who can just relax and do nothing.”

“So no vacations?”

“Not lately. Max and I have gone camping a few long weekends.”

“I work hard, but I play hard, too. Maybe I could teach you how if you help me get the right dog.” Here she went again. When was she going to learn? His help would come at a price.

“If you decide to have a pet, you've got yourself a deal. Are you sure about not needing any help cleaning up?”

“Yes, I'm sure you have work today. I hope you let me know if you find the person who drugged Tara Wilkins.”

“I will.” Nicholas turned toward Max. “Come.”

His dog trotted to Nicholas's side, and they trailed her into the house. She was again greeted with the chaos, and dreaded the day before her. She released a long breath and realized the only way the cleanup would get done was to start and keep going until she was finished. She wouldn't go to bed tonight until she'd righted her house.

Selena walked with Nicholas and Max to the front door. “Thank you for your help yesterday at my office during the Easter Egg Roll.”

He arched a brow. “So my help wasn't so bad, after all.”

“Okay. I was a little miffed at you for thinking I'm harboring a suspect.”

“A little? I'd hate to see your full-blown anger.”

“It isn't a pretty sight, so that's a warning to stay on my good side,” she said with a laugh.

“I'll remember that. Let me know if you're missing anything.” He gave her a business card with his cell number on it. “Call if you have any trouble—” he cocked a smile “—or if you just want to talk.”

“Just so you realize... If I can help my cousin, I will, but I don't know where she is. Erin didn't kill Michael.

He held up his hand before she could say anything else. “I'm leaving. I don't want to get into an argument about Erin's possible part in the murder.”

As Nicholas strode away with Max at his side, Selena unclenched her hands, noticing the fingernail indentations in her palms. That man could certainly infuriate her...but also intrigue her.
Lord, give me the patience and guidance to help Erin. Open Nicholas's eyes to the truth.

* * *

Nicholas spent the morning at Capitol K-9 Unit headquarters viewing security video from the morning that Selena was attacked. Next to him, Fiona Fargo, the team's tech wizard, studied video on hallways leading to General Meyer's office.

“Margaret Meyer is a busy lady,” Fiona said, pushing her rolling chair away from her desk and twisting toward Nicholas. “This is a list of suspects who could have broken into her office and read the Jeffries case file during your time frame.”

Nicholas stared at the fifteen names on the paper. “I want you to check into each one. Give me everything you can on them. Start with Vincent Geary—he's an aide to Congressman Jeffries. The initials on the cufflinks found in the general's office are
VG
. He's my top suspect at the moment. When I leave here, I'm going to pay Mr. Geary a visit.”

“Do you want me to investigate General Meyer's secretary, too?”

“Yes, everyone who was in the office during those hours. We have to include everyone. If you find anything suspicious, let me know right away.”

As Nicholas rose and stretched his stiff muscles, Fiona asked, “Where's Max?”

“In the training yard. I wanted to give him a little downtime. He's been working a lot lately.” Nicholas walked toward the doorway of Fiona's office. “But his playtime is over.”

“He's as driven as you are.”

“You know how dogs and their owners are.”

She shook her head. “Nope. I have cats.”

“Don't let Max know.”

Fiona smiled. “Oh, he knows. Why do you think he sniffs me every time he sees me?”

“How does Chris's K-9 deal with your cats?”

Fiona's cheeks flushed. “We're working that out.”

“Good. He's a good guy. Bye and thanks, Fiona.” Nicholas strolled down the hallway. When his cell rang, he expected it to be Dan, who'd been going over security video at the White House, with news about Miss Chick's assailant, but he noticed it was Selena. He quickly answered, “How's the cleaning going?”

“Tedious. I know what the intruder took yesterday at my house.”

FOUR

T
hirty minutes after calling Nicholas, Selena opened her front door to him and Max. “Come in. Did you break any speed limits getting here?”

“I'm a law-enforcement officer. I know better unless in pursuit of a criminal.” He flashed his dynamite smile.

And for a few seconds all the tension and weariness fled Selena as they stared at each other. When Max barked, as though he knew they needed to focus on what had brought Nicholas to her house in the first place, Selena broke eye contact and turned her attention to the dog. “It's good to see you, Max.” She petted him and rubbed him behind the ears.

“He isn't going to want to leave if you continue that too long,” Nicholas said with a laugh.

She peered up at Nicholas, grinning. “I doubt anyone could sway him from his duties with all his training. I've seen him at work at the White House.” She straightened, determined to get down to business. She didn't like the feelings of attraction Nicholas could generate in her. She had to remember he suspected her of helping Erin, and he had a job to do.

She stepped to the side and allowed him to enter, then shut the door. When she swung around, her messy living room, such an alien sight for her, chased away the lightness she'd felt at seeing Nicholas. He was here on business. “I've been working on righting the rooms upstairs. I haven't made my way down here yet.”

“Are you sure that your personal computer tablet is missing?”

“I keep it in my bedroom in the drawer of my nightstand on the right. You can't tell from all this chaos, but I'm highly organized and everything has a place.”

“The intruder took your tablet but not your laptop. Why? What was on the tablet that wasn't on your laptop?”

She picked her way through the shattered items on the floor, found the couch cushions and put them back where they belonged, then sat. She'd only been cleaning and straightening for a few hours, but after yesterday, she was tired. Usually she could keep going and push through the exhaustion, but not today.

Before Nicholas settled at the opposite end of the sofa, he fixed the two chairs. “For someone who is highly organized, this must be a disturbing sight.”

“Yes. Even as a child I kept everything straight. It gave me a sense of control.” The second she said that last sentence she gritted her teeth, afraid of what else she would spill about herself. She must be wearier than she realized. She had to remember Nicholas wanted to capture Erin; Selena wanted to free her.

“I wish it were that simple. The older I get, the more I realize we control little in our lives.”

“Yeah, I know. Only our attitude and how we respond to what happens around us. But I wish I could control more. Then I would wish this all away, and I wouldn't have to spend my days off cleaning up this mess.” As words poured from her, she sat back, amazed she was saying this to Nicholas. What was it about him that made her feel she could trust him? His own words had given her reason not to. She'd remembered what he'd said in the underground parking garage yesterday.

My team has looked into all the possibilities while searching for Erin, so being a friend and a family member, you would obviously be on that list. And if I was perfectly honest, at first that is why I initiated several conversations with you lately.

“I can stay and help. I want to make sure the tablet is the only thing missing.”

She bit down on her bottom lip. The temptation to accept his offer was strong.

“Everyone needs help from time to time. Let me help you, Selena.”

His calm countenance soothed her, and before she realized what she was doing, she nodded.

“Before we get to work, tell me what was on the tablet.”

He wouldn't be happy about what she was about to say, but if that was the reason behind the break-in, she wanted him to know. She drew in a deep, composing breath. “I've been looking into the cases Michael was working on right before he was killed. I think there could be a tie to one of them and his murder.”

“Which ones?” His mouth pulled into a thin, firm line.

“There were three that look promising, but one of them was a dead end.”

“The Capitol K-9 Unit has been delving into all of Michael's activities, and so far we have come up with nothing, so why do you think two cases are still viable leads?”

“One of them is the Huntington case.”

“The man convicted of selling intelligence secrets is guilty. All the evidence pointed to him.”

Selena nodded. “But Sid Huntington insists he's innocent, that someone set him up to be the fall guy, and Michael believed him.”

Nicholas shook his head. “Michael was wrong. I'm familiar with that case. I went through it when we looked at what Michael was working on at the time of his murder.”

“Michael's secretary told me that he was on the trail of a new piece of evidence. He'd been excited about the possible lead.”

“But she didn't know what it was?”

“No, and I haven't been able to find out what it was.”

“So other than that, Huntington looks guilty to you?”

“Yes.” She squeezed her hands into fists. Listening to herself made even her think she was grasping for an answer.

Frown lines grooved his forehead. “What's the other case?”

Selena hesitated. This one involved her uncle, and she'd been putting it off, delving into all the others first because she didn't want to make their precarious relationship any worse. Only in the past couple of weeks had she turned to the Littleton case. “It's another one that Michael was working on overturning the conviction.”

“The Littleton case?”

Selena nodded.

“I'm not that familiar with it. Another K-9 officer looked into that one.”

“Greg Littleton was sent to prison for murdering Saul Rather. Saul was a young intern for my uncle. He'd been with him only two months.”

“What was Littleton's connection to Rather?”

“He was the custodian at Saul's apartment complex.” Selena rose. “I fixed some coffee after talking to you on the phone. Do you want some?”

“Yes, please.”

She escaped into the kitchen, needing time to decide what to tell him. There was no way her uncle was involved. The intern on her uncle's staff hadn't been there that long. He ranked at the bottom of the office personnel, doing all the work no one else wanted to do. She doubted her uncle had had any dealings with the young man.

“What was Michael Jeffries doing for Littleton?”

The question took Selena by surprise. She spun around, her hand over her heart. “I didn't hear you come in here.”

“Sorry. I learned to be silent when I was a Navy SEAL.”

She leaned against the counter, the thump of her heartbeat calming. “Littleton had an appeal, and Michael took over the case from Greg's court-appointed attorney. His secretary told me Michael felt the guy botched the case from the beginning.”

“Is that why Michael thought Littleton was innocent?”

“The evidence was circumstantial. Greg found Saul Rather's body in the parking lot early in the morning. Minutes before, Greg heard what he thought was a car backfiring. When a tenant found them, Greg was kneeling next to Saul's body. Greg's prints were the only ones on the gun. Greg testified he moved it when he checked to see if Saul was alive.”

“That's what he was convicted on?”

“Greg isn't the smartest person. He was shocked at finding a body and wasn't thinking straight.”

“So what was his motive?”

“The night before, Saul and Greg had a fight near the apartment's pool. Some of the tenants witnessed it. Saul accused Greg of coming into his apartment and stealing from him. He was going to talk to the management office about firing Greg.”

Nicholas scowled. “No one else had a motive?”

“Not that the police could find, but I'm not so sure they looked too hard. With the murder of a senator's staff member, they wanted to close it quickly. I believe my uncle put some pressure on them, too. I don't think he wanted his name in the paper associated with a murder victim. He was up for reelection at that time. This all happened almost two years ago. Greg's been in jail since the crime.”

“Greg? You keep saying his first name as if you know him. Do you?”

She turned toward the counter and reached for a mug for Nicholas, filling it and topping off hers.

“Selena, are you avoiding my question?”

Her grip on the coffeepot handle tightened. She put the glass carafe down and passed him his mug. “I have met him.”

“When? How?”

“At the end of last week, I went to see him at the prison, and we talked for a while. I used the fact I was the niece of a US senator to have a quiet, extended time to interview Greg and determine if I agree with Michael.”

One of his eyebrows shot up. “And?”

“I think he's innocent.”

Nicholas took a sip of his coffee. “Why?”

“For one thing, the thief in the apartment complex was discovered not long after Greg was convicted. Michael followed up on that and discovered the items stolen from Saul's apartment were pawned by the man caught, so Littleton was innocent of stealing from Saul. No motive. But the assistant DA said that didn't really prove anything. The threat of being fired was enough of a motive. People have killed for less.”

“True.”

“There's only so much I can glean from the court records and Michael's secretary's memory. My thoughts and notes of the meeting were on the stolen computer tablet. I'm going back out to talk to Littleton. I know of a couple of witnesses who testified to the argument between the victim and Greg, but there were others who weren't at the trial. I'm thinking about talking to some of those people as well as the others and—”

“Hold it right there.” He put up his finger close to her mouth but not touching it. “You are
not
to investigate anything involved in Michael's case, especially now. Have you forgotten someone broke into your house?”

She squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at him. “I don't know if your team has really investigated Michael and the possible motives for his murder. If Erin isn't the killer, I think you all believe someone was after the congressman and Michael got in the way.”

Nicholas met her intense gaze with his own. “It's more likely that the congressman has made enemies more than his son. Remember he was a victim, too.”

“From what I know of the crime, the congressman came outside after his son was killed and he was shot then. That sounds like someone was after Michael, not Congressman Jeffries.”

“True. We have to look at all the possibilities.” Nicholas glanced away for a few seconds. “What did Greg tell you exactly?”

She frowned. “A lot of what I told you. He gave me some names, but I can't remember all of them. As I said earlier, I'd written them down along with other notes then transferred them to my tablet. That's one of the reasons I need to go back. That, and Greg was going to try to remember any encounters with the delivery boy who was the real thief at the apartment complex.”

“Is Littleton the one who told you about the pawnshop where the perpetrator was fencing the stolen goods?”

“No, I told him. He didn't know anything about it. Michael's secretary told me. It was something Michael discovered a few days before his death. Ask the officer who looked into the case if he even knew about the pawnshop. He might not have had all the information on the case at the time of Michael's murder.”

Nicholas stepped closer to her, invading her personal space. “I will. Does that satisfy you?”

She wouldn't move back as was her normal tendency when someone came too near. Holding her ground, she lifted her mug and took a long drink of her now-lukewarm coffee. “Until all my questions are answered, no. I'm concerned for Erin, so I will do what I must to prove her innocence.”

He thrust his face closer. “Do you want to end up dead like Michael?”

Selena sucked in a ragged breath and backed away. “I told Greg I would come see him again and I intend to. I also asked him to go over the time from right before the fight to when the police showed up. Including if he could remember seeing anyone who wasn't a tenant at the apartment complex.”

“I'm sure the cops already did that.”

“But now he has all the time in the world to go over it. When a person is afraid, he can suppress some thoughts.”

Nicholas placed his mug on the counter, putting more space between them while he kneaded his nape. “What if I help you? Will you not do anything without me?”

“Are you going to be open-minded or are you going to try at every turn to persuade me to drop my investigation?”

He paused for a long moment, his dark eyes fixed on her. “I'll be there to protect you and bounce ideas off of. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. Because I'm going to the prison on Thursday and you're welcome to come with me.” She wouldn't admit to him that she was concerned after someone had been in her office and her house, picking through her possessions. She kept her journal on her tablet, writing her personal thoughts as well as the developments and questions about Michael's murder and possible suspects. She felt violated all over again, thinking about a person reading through her private thoughts. She shuddered.

“Are you okay? Maybe you should rest. You do have a mild concussion.”

She smiled, trying not to think of her journal in someone else's hands. “Is that why my head is pounding? I'd hoped if I ignored it, the headache would go away.” She glanced at the kitchen clock. “Time for another pain reliever, and then I need to get back to work straightening up this place.”

“I have a suggestion. Why don't you lie down and rest while I at least put your furniture back and straighten some. It might make it easier for you to go through your belongings later.”