Crime & Passion (16 page)

She scooped another spoonful of chocolate
frosting from the container and ate it straight. No sense watching
her figure. The only man looking at it was Brandon. Madeline
shuddered and scooped up another bite.

She wondered if she should report to the
police that Brandon had knowledge about the murder he shouldn’t
have. All day she’d been bothered by the nagging feeling Brandon
lied when he said his source told him about the call. But if she
believed that, she was pretty much admitting she thought Brandon
placed the call himself, using Donovan’s phone. If he did, that
must make him the murderer. It seemed impossible Frank would get a
call and then twenty minutes later wind up dead in unrelated
circumstances.

A knock sounded on the door, and Madeline
popped the red lid back onto the frosting container and set her
spoon next to it. No one from the police station had been over
since this morning, and it was probably time for the gatekeepers to
check on her. Now, she had to decide whether to tell them or
not.

What if Brandon told the truth and a source
had leaked the information to him? The cop she reported it to might
be his source. That could be bad. It was all too confusing. If
Donovan had kept his pecker in his pants for five seconds, Madeline
could have asked his opinion.

She walked to the door and checked the
peephole.
Speaking of peckers, there’s the dick now
.

Madeline rested her forehead against the cool
door. “What do you want, Donovan?”

“We need to talk, Maddie—uh, Madeline. Open
up.”

Madeline looked out again. Great, flowers.
What was his game? She didn’t understand why he would show up with
flowers for her. His actions confused her so much. It was like he
sent mixed signals on purpose and delighted in her confusion. “Go
away. There’s nothing more to say,” she shouted.

“We have everything to say. Please, open the
door. Be reasonable.”

He dared to call her unreasonable after what
he’d been doing all morning? Madeline unlocked the door and yanked
it open, glaring at him. “Be reasonable? Me? Listen, Donovan, only
one of us is unreasonable here.” She put her hands on her hips.
“And it’s
not
me.”

Donovan made an abortive step forward, and
Madeline shook her head sharply.

“Don’t even think of entering my home.”

Donovan held the roses bunched in his hand
out to her. “I brought these to say I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to
hurt your feelings. It was a misunderstanding.”

Madeline glanced at the flowers, not moving
from the doorway or reaching to take them. “I didn’t misunderstand
your little playmate today. What do you want?”

“Now I don’t understand.” Donovan tilted his
head to the side. “What playmate?”

How dare he? He would really sit there and
pretend he hadn’t been playing strip tease with another woman this
morning!

His
friend
must not have mentioned
my call. Asshole was probably too breathless to talk to
her
.

“I don’t want to fight with you, Maddie.
Please. Let me explain everything, and we can get back on track.”
He held a tea canister in his other hand and thrust it toward her.
“I brought you a chocolate oolong tea. The kid at the store said it
was even better than the silver stuff.”

She sighed, wondering if he knew oolong was a
weight loss tea. Was that a dig at her weight, or did he truly just
take the clerk’s suggestion without any idea of what he bought?
Madeline guessed he’d likely been too busy today to take much time
studying teas. He probably thought it was a good idea because it
was chocolate flavored.

She took the canister from his hand. He acted
like the perfect gentleman now, and even though Madeline knew it
was a bad idea, she considered letting him in. After all, they did
need to talk about Brandon.

He waved the flowers around again. “Let’s put
these in water and make some tea. I want to talk about where we
stand. I know you’re mad, but I want to make things right.”

Why is he doing this to me? Maybe he thinks
he has to pretend to want me in order for me to help him.

He rubbed her arm lightly. “You’re important
to me. I want to be with you.”

What a joke. After sleeping with whoever
warmed his bed this morning, had he decided to sleep with her after
all? She didn’t want his pity sex. She snorted and moved her arm
out of his reach. “You have a peculiar way of doing things. I see
why everyone warned me about you. It’s no wonder half the town
hates you.”

Donovan fell back a step, a pained expression
on his face. “I don’t understand. You’re still that mad about what
happened yesterday? Let me explain why I stopped things.”

Madeline rolled her eyes. Even if the woman
in his apartment didn’t tell him she called, he should have figured
things out by now. Why did men always think women wouldn’t find out
when they slept with other people? Not that she had any claims on
Donovan or dictated who he slept with. Or even cared.

Keep telling yourself that,
Madeline
.

“Yesterday’s not even a blip on my radar.”
She infused her voice with ice and lifted her head proudly.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“I hurt you. I know that. I’m trying to be a
better man. Just let me—”

“A better man? I’m so sick of hearing that.”
Madeline balled her free hand into a fist. “It’s a goddamn lie, and
we both know it.”

Throughout the hallway, she heard her
neighbors’ doors opening as they stepped outside their apartments
to listen in. Apparently, she yelled too loudly. She didn’t even
care anymore.

Donovan’s face reddened. “How can you say
that? You don’t know me well enough to judge that, Madeline. And
I’m guessing you don’t want to. I thought you were someone special.
Do you leave all men who try to care for you so cold?”

“Right, Donovan. I’m the bad guy here.”
Madeline let out a short bark of laughter. “You’ve left a trail of
people battered and broken, while you screwed anything that
moved.”

The elevator dinged in the hallway. Madeline
didn’t care if the whole damn complex listened in.

“I’ve made mistakes,” Donovan shouted back at
her, not seeming to notice the crowd gathering. “I guess that makes
you better than me. Ask anyone—I’m a womanizer and a murderer. And
you’re small-minded enough to believe it.”

“It’s true though, isn’t it?” she asked,
lowering her voice. “If it wasn’t for you, Lori would still be
alive.”

“Lori?” Donovan closed his eyes and nodded.
“You talked to Brandon and believed every word he fed you about
what happened.”

The sound of a throat clearing drew her
attention down the hallway. Eric stood with one hand at his hip on
the handle of his gun. His eyes roved between Madeline and Donovan.
“Things are a bit heated out here. Everything okay, Madeline?”

Madeline took a deep breath and nodded. What
did Donovan mean? What possible spin could Brandon put on a story
like that? It was awful enough with no embellishments needed. Part
of her wondered about Donovan’s side of the story, but not enough
to ask about it right now.

“Donovan was just leaving,” Madeline said to
Eric, needing space away from him to think. “I’m fine and I
appreciate the police department continuing to check on me. It’d be
a big help to me if you’d escort Donovan downstairs when you
leave.”

She caught the door in her empty hand to
swing it shut.

Donovan’s arm shot out, stopping it from
closing. “Please, Maddie. Please don’t leave things like this. I’ll
explain everything. Let me in.”

“Just go home. I have nothing more to
say.”

Donovan hands curled into fists and his face
reddened. “Damn it, Maddie! What is wrong with you?”

He could ask that after claiming to want to
date her, seeming to encourage her, and then throwing her aside all
in less than a day? It was more than she could handle.

“Goodbye, Donovan.”

Donovan’s fist slammed against his thigh,
frustration rolling off him. “Be careful tomorrow at Woofy Cuts.”
He shook his head. “You’re going to be all alone, and there’s a
killer on the loose who has made it clear he’d have no problem
getting rid of you.”

Madeline swallowed hard, realizing he had a
point. If she made up with him, she knew he’d help look out for
her, even if he did have a girlfriend now. From what she’d seen so
far, Donovan wasn’t the type of man to turn his back on someone in
trouble.

She shook her head. She couldn’t—not right
now. It hurt too much. “Please go,” she whispered.

There was a sudden gleam of moisture in his
eyes as he turned away from her. “What the hell are you all looking
at?” he asked the people standing in the hallway. “This isn’t a
damn reality show.” He walked to the elevator and punched the call
button.

Eric shrugged one shoulder and gave her a
worried look. “You sure you’re okay?”

If she could control her pendulum of emotions
as far as Donovan was concerned she would be fine. Just fine.

She nodded, forced a smile, and closed the
door.

***

Madeline’s phone rang an hour later. She
leapt from the couch to answer it. A small part of her hoped it
would be Donovan. After cooling down, she hated the way she’d left
things with him.

Maybe he had good explanations for everything
that happened. Even if he didn’t, she should at least talk to him
calmly and let him know he didn’t need to pretend to like her. She
still couldn’t figure out why he was doing that.

She’d brewed a pot of chocolate tea after he
left and sat staring at the ocean, sipping it for the last hour as
it went cold, wondering if she had the courage to call him and try
to start a conversation. Mostly, she wondered what his side of the
story was concerning Lori Feldman.

Madeline glanced at the screen of her phone
and stifled her disappointment. “Hey, Lindsey. What can I do for
you?”

“I haven’t talked to you since all the
problems Friday with Brutus, and I was a bit scatter-brained that
day. I called to check on you.”

If Lindsey had never been engaged to Donovan,
Madeline would have talked to her about what happened yesterday and
also in the entryway of her apartment this evening. However,
Lindsey would likely have no sympathy for this predicament, since
she’d warned Madeline to stay away from Donovan in the first
place.

“Things have been okay,” she said instead.
“Though I’m not real pleased with the story Brandon wrote about me.
My dog walker clients all canceled.”

Lindsey gasped. “Oh, sweetie. That’s
horrible. As soon as Donovan’s arrested for killing Frank Johnson,
everything will get back to normal.”

Lindsey sounded so sure Donovan did it. Most
of the people Madeline knew seemed to hold the same opinion. Was
Madeline just blinded by her deep attraction to the man? Even after
fighting with him, trying to convince herself she hated him for
hurting her like he had and then having sex with someone else, she
still wanted to work things out with him.

“Brandon told me what happened to his wife,”
she said, curious about the older woman’s response. “He said you
really helped him back then.”

“It was a horrible time for Brandon. He can’t
forgive Donovan for what happened to her,” Lindsey said. “He can’t
forgive himself, either.”

“I figured as much. What I don’t understand
is why you forgave Donovan.”

Seconds ticked by and Lindsey didn’t respond.
Madeline had just decided she wasn’t going to when Lindsey cleared
her throat. “Donovan wasn’t entirely to blame, if I’m being fair.
Lori wanted him. When Donovan found out she was married, he broke
things off, but Lori pursued him.”

Madeline let out a breath, only realizing
she’d been holding it in when she started feeling lightheaded. She
was surprised Lindsey told her this, instead of backing up Brandon
the way she normally did.

“I wondered why you’d want to marry him after
what happened,” Madeline admitted. “I’m glad to know Donovan wasn’t
intentionally sleeping with another man’s wife.”

“No, he wasn’t. However, that doesn’t mean
he’s a good guy.” Lindsey sighed. “I thought I could change him,
but he won’t change, Madeline. I hear that sound in your voice, and
I know you want to be with him. I hope you’re keeping your
distance. He’ll only hurt you.”

“Too late for that,” she whispered. “Mostly
though, I hurt myself. I guess like Lori must have.”

“What happened, sweetie? Do you want me to
come over and we can talk about it?”

Madeline wondered exactly how that visit
would go.
‘Why, yes, Lindsey. I threw myself at your ex, and I’m
the only person in town he won’t have sex with. Don’t you feel
sorry for me?’

“I’m okay,” she replied. “I’m really tired
and think I’ll call it an early night. I have to open the shop in
the morning. At least, if I still have a job with you.”

“Of course you do.” Lindsey made a tisking
sound. “It’s a shame about the canceled walks. People will settle
down soon, and you’ll get the dogs back. Try not to worry.”

“I’ll try. Thanks for being such a good
friend.”

“You’re the sister I always wanted, Madeline.
We’re more than friends. You’ll get through this. And soon, Donovan
will be a distant bad memory. It happens that way for most of us
around here.”

Madeline snorted. “Ha. Thanks, sis. You’ve
given me
so
much to look forward to. I can hardly wait.”

“There’s the sarcastic girl I’ve come to
love. I’ll be in the store tomorrow around noon, okay? Chin
up.”

“Thanks, Lindsey.”

Madeline ended the call. It made her feel
better to know Donovan wasn’t entirely to blame in what happened to
Lori Feldman. For some reason, she was more inclined to forgive him
for his indiscretions, knowing he didn’t target married women.