Sin With Cuffs (20 page)

Once she disappeared inside the house, he lowered his forehead to the steering wheel and closed his eyes. He was a bundle of chaos. Since tossing back a shot of whiskey wasn’t an option, he had to concentrate on priorities. He needed to get back on track. The murder investigation required his highest attention. How could he when Cleopatra resurrected in Holly. She could allure him like no other.

With a sigh, he opened his eyes and lifted his head, giving the house one more glance as he pulled onto the road.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“WHAT ARE YOU doing here?” Holly asked Jimbo. He stood on her porch, leaning against the doorframe like he held up the house. She wanted to kick herself, knowing better than to open the door without first looking. She’d broken Liam’s golden rule of safety. Now, as she looked at the scraggly, oaf of a man, she felt a sense of panic.

“I got a distinct feeling from our earlier chat that we had a lot in common,” he said with a crafty grin.

Holly swallowed back a bitter taste. “Is that so?” He stepped closer. His large frame seemed to choke the space between them. She took a step backward but kept her hand on the knob.

“A mutual attraction.” One corner of his mouth slid upward, showing off rotten teeth.

“Between?” Holly guessed he meant between them, but could he be clueless?

“You and me, darlin’”

Holly narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure how I gave you that impression—”

“It’s in the eyes. It’s okay, baby. I know you want me.”

She glanced around the front yard. Where were the cameras? “I think there’s been a mistake.”

“Come on, sweetheart. It’s okay to admit there’s heat.”

“Stop, Jimbo. I’m not your darlin’ or sweetheart, or anything else. If you continue speaking I think my ears will start bleeding,” she said through the disgust clogging her throat.

His smile faded. He stood straight. “Are you playing hard to get?”

“I’m not playing anything.” She pushed the door closed but he caught it with his foot. “Move your foot, Jimbo.” She stared at him, not showing any fear. It was the middle of the day. Would he be stupid enough to hurt her? She wouldn’t give him any credit when it came to brain substance.

His features turned harder and uglier than usual. Holly felt the temperature drop. “I know your type, Holly. You like to use your womanly ways to manipulate the opposite sex. You think you’re better than me, don’t you?” His words reeked of insecurity.

Pushing Jimbo’s buttons would have been like waving a red flag in front of a bull. She needed to tread carefully. “I think maybe you’re upset because I caught you disposing of something in the trashcan.”

He squinted. “You saw wrong, lady.”

“Well, maybe I did.” She had to rely on the fact that she was smarter. Growing up with a con as a mom, she knew how to handle him. How hard could it be to thwart a man like Jimbo? “I guess I’d hoped I’d figure out a link to Danielle’s murder.”

His body relaxed some. “I get what you’re saying. The whole murder thing is creepy. But you put your nose where it doesn’t belong and you may not like what you get in return.” He must have realized the implication in what he’d said because he closed his lips tight, like a child trying to hold back from telling the truth.

She tried smiling, but knew it probably looked as fake as it felt. “I didn’t know Danielle very well. Maybe you can explain what you mean.”

He ran a hand through his scraggly hair. “I’m just saying that she liked to help old people cross the street. She had a streak of a good girl in her. I always warned her she couldn’t help everyone.”

“But what does helping the elderly and being kind-hearted have to do with her murder?” Holly urged.

“Not a damn thing.”

She wondered if he danced around the truth? She had to step up her ante. “I think you have a sliver of goodness within you too, Jimbo.” If she couldn’t fake a smile then she could act like she cared.

He laughed. “Why do you say that, girly?”

“Because you’re here. I believe you knew better than to think I had a crush on you?” His brows scrunched and he shifted in his gigantic sized boots. She was getting somewhere.

“I think saying I have some good left in me is going a bit far, but thanks for trying to stroke my ego. You know, a man like me doesn’t get much appreciation from the lady folk. They all think I’m a bit weird. And once I tell them that I’ve been in prison they run away even faster.”

She was getting a brand new image of Jimbo. “Why don’t you come in and have a beer?” She pushed the door wide open with her heel. “Or, I bet you’re a whiskey man.”

* * * *

Liam was rubbing the sleep from his tired eyes when he heard his name. He looked up and Holly stood in front of his desk. Her hair was pulled back and her eyes were bright. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I could ask you the same thing, Mr. Chief.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I work here.”

“It’s midnight.” She wobbled slightly.

“Are you drunk?” He sniffed. “You’ve gotten into your grandma’s liquor cabinet, haven’t you?”

Her mouth turned crooked. “You say that like I’m a teenager sneaking a drink. I’m an adult you know.” She crossed her arms over her chest like anything but an adult.

“Yeah, I hear you. How did you get here?” The tip of her tongue came out and moistened her bottom lip. Damn libido awakened.

“I walked,” she said in an incoherent tone.

“You walked?” He shook his head.

“Did I slur?” She mirrored his headshake.

“Yes, you did.” He stood up and rounded his desk, and sat down on the corner. “Let me get this straight. You walked three blocks, drunk, to see me. That’s cautious. I’m glad you take heed in what I ask you to do for your own safety.” His head began to throb at his temples. He could feel his hair turning grayer by the second. “Where the hell was the officer I assigned to patrol the area?”

“You’re wrong.” She dropped her arms to her sides. “And Officer Reed was easy to dodge.”

“You just said you walked.”

“Not to see you, but to speak to you.”

Yeah, he’d prematurely gray at this rate. “Isn’t that the same?”

With a toss of her head, tendrils of hair came out of the messy bun and down along her cheeks. Reaching up, she used the backs of her knuckles to push them away. “Hardly. We need to talk about Jimbo.” She wobbled again.

“Yes, we do have to talk. After you sit down.” Better she sat than fall.

She turned up her chin as if she wanted to argue. With a long breath, she stepped back and plopped down into the wide based chair. She snuggled deeper into the cushions. “Wow, this is comfy.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard that before.” He couldn’t help but find a sliver of humor in her state of tipsiness.

“Now about Jimbo—”

“You were right, he did drop something into the trashcan. Drug paraphernalia. A pipe. I got it on tape. I’ll be paying him a visit first thing tomorrow.”

“No, you can’t do that,” she blurted.

Had he heard right? “Why can’t I?”

“He’s not a bad guy after all. Well, he is a bad guy, but not as bad as people think he is.” She exhaled deeply, as if it took all of her energy to complete the sentence.

He crossed his arms over his chest. He was beginning to think she hadn’t been drinking alone. “And how do you know?”

“Jimbo and I shared a few drinks tonight,” she said.

“And don’t you know everyone has angel wings and peacock feathers at the bottom of a shot glass.”

One corner of her mouth lifted. “Peacock feathers? My-oh-my. You sound like my grandma.”

“Okay. I’m listening.” What else could he do? He had a feeling she wouldn’t stop until she’d told him everything. He didn’t mind really. He needed a friendly diversion from his paperwork.

“He came by my house—”

“What?’ He stood up straight.

“He came by to talk to me. It seems he did know something after all in Danielle’s death,” she said.

“Holly, if he plays any role in her murder you need to tell me now.”

She huffed and shook her head. More hair escaped to her shoulders. “No, not in that way. He overheard her when she’d called me. He said she’d been acting erratic that day and he’d been curious what was wrong, so he’d eavesdropped. When she hung up he asked her who she was speaking to. She told him it didn’t matter. When he probed a bit more she finally told him she’d listened in on a conversation and knew private information. She thought she needed to warn someone.”

“Okay, let me get this straight.” He attempted to decode her erratic details. “The person she was talking to was you. Danielle told Jimbo she’d heard a conversation?” This would have been much easier a bottle of booze earlier.

“Yes.”

“But that makes him suddenly a good guy?” He wasn’t following her meaning. “Remember, he had drug paraphernalia and you suggested he was a creeper.”

She clasped her hands in her lap. “Actually, another thing, Jenny is pregnant. She was nervous because she thought we were coming to ask her questions about the father.”

“The father?”

She shrugged. One shoulder of her shirt slid down her arm. He swallowed. Why was it she was the sexiest when she wasn’t trying? “Jimbo said all  he knew was that the man is married.”

“Why would we ask questions about Jenny’s affair?” His headache was growing into a migraine.

“She’s young,” she said. She waved a hand through the air. “That’s neither here nor there. Back to Jimbo. I know he smokes pot and that’s illegal, but he’s admitted that he does. We can’t punish him for being honest.”

“We? There is no
we
in this. I have a duty to do my job. Do I need to point out that Jimbo is a manipulator?”

“I know you’re married to the badge, and that means you’re committed to doing the right thing. Isn’t there anything you can do besides penalize him?”

Her blue eyes seemed to turn into a saint’s plea. “I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime,” He grabbed his jacket from the coat rack. “I’m driving you home.”

“I can walk. It’s a nice cool evening.” She stood up.

“I don’t think so.” He gently tugged her elbow to keep her from heading to the door. “There are laws against drunks loitering the streets.”

“I’m not harming anything or anyone. Better than getting behind the wheel.”

“True, but I’m done for the night anyway.”

Together they walked to his SUV and he kept his hand on the small of her back until she was safely in the passenger seat.

A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of her house. Liam hurried around and helped Holly from the passenger side. He walked her to the porch, watched her unlock the door and open it. He didn’t follow her. She stopped and gave him a look of question. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’m going to say goodnight. I’m calling a patrol over to sit in front of the house. You’ll be safe.”

A frown took a remarkable place on her pink lips. “Oh, I thought you might like to come in.”