Crime & Passion (19 page)

“Hello,” the woman said, waving her hand in
front of Madeline’s face. “I’m talking to you.”

“You must be Donovan’s friend.” Madeline
smiled sweetly, trying to pretend this knowledge didn’t bother her.
“I didn’t catch your name on the phone yesterday.”

The woman smiled. “I’m Suzie Stone.”

Madeline raised her eyebrows. “Any relation
to Chief Stone?”

“Yep. I’m his daughter.”

Madeline looked across the room to where Eric
quietly interrogated Brandon. Anywhere that would keep her from
studying Suzie and comparing herself to her.

Suzie was pretty enough, but Donovan’s
actions had been so odd the past few days. Maybe he wanted to be
with Suzie in hopes that would get him back on the police force.
She certainly didn’t seem any better than Lindsey, and Donovan
dumped Lindsey without regret. Donovan said he wanted a true life
partner—Madeline couldn’t believe Suzie was that woman. Something
about her seemed off. Then again, maybe it was her oddness that
attracted Donovan.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Madeline forced
herself to say.
I’m becoming a better liar every day.

“Yeah, sure. You too.” Suzie looked to Chief
Stone’s closed office door. “Are they keeping my baby all locked up
in that office? He must be having a horrible time of things. He
loved Maria so much.”

Before Madeline could respond, Kenneth Stone
walked through the front door, glancing around the station. His
eyes looked Madeline over, and a frown creased his mouth when he
saw Suzie. He crossed the room quickly.

“Suzie? What did I tell you yesterday about
hanging around here?”

Suzie turned in her chair with a ready pout
on her lips. “Dad, you can’t expect me to stay away when Donnie’s
in trouble. He’s important to me.”

Donnie? Madeline wondered how he felt about
that. It was as irritating a name as Maddie.

Stone’s face reddened, and the glare he
favored his daughter with could’ve stopped a raging bull in its
tracks. “What you tried to do yesterday is not acceptable. Don’t
force me to throw you in jail.”

“That was a misunderstanding, Dad.” Suzie
twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “You know I just want
to help my baby.”

Madeline thought she might vomit. Suzie
looked older than her, but the woman acted much younger. This was
the woman Donovan rejected her for. Really?

“You need to stay away from Donovan.” Stone’s
gaze flicked briefly to Madeline before he shook his head at his
daughter. “Get out of here now, Suz. I’m not asking again.” He
turned and stalked off, wrenching open the door to his office,
walking in, and slamming it behind him without looking back at
Suzie.

She made a disgusted sound in the back of her
throat. “Open a few files, eavesdrop on a conversation, and he acts
like I killed someone.” She stood from her chair. “I tell you,
Maddie, sometimes I wonder if marrying Donnie is worth all this
trouble. All I wanted was to find information that would help clear
his name. Then, Dad will have to give us his blessing instead of
saying Donnie’s not good enough for me.”

“You—you’re marrying him?” Madeline swallowed
hard, wondering when Donovan had time to pop the question with
everything going on. “I had no idea.”

She placed her red nails against her lips.
“Oops. That’s still a secret. We’re not telling anyone until Dad’s
okay with it. Don’t say anything, okay?” She winked. “I’d better
get out of here before Dad comes back.”

All Madeline could do was nod.

Suzie turned toward the doorway and took a
few steps before turning back. “Will you do me a favor,
Maddie?”

When hell freezes over.
“What do you
need?”

“Just tell Donnie I was here, and I’ll wait
for him at my place. Let him know clothing is optional when he gets
there, would you?”

***

Madeline held the hot Styrofoam cup in her
hands, watching the door to Stone’s office, praying they let
Donovan out soon. She didn’t know why she felt like she needed to
stay and wait for him. After all, he’d probably be in a hurry to
rush over to Suzie’s house. Clothing-optional establishments seemed
about his speed.

Still, she felt she owed it to him to stick
around and make sure he didn’t need anything from her. He did his
best to protect her this morning, and he had an absolutely
shattering day. Even if he’d been a cop for a long time, it
couldn’t be easy discovering the body of someone he loved.

Brandon had left the station about twenty
minutes ago, having spent a half hour in tense conversation with
Eric Sanders. He’d tried to catch Madeline’s eye on his way out,
but she avoided his gaze. She didn’t know if he actually killed
anyone, but she didn’t feel like giving him the benefit of the
doubt.

“How’s that coffee, Madeline?” Eric asked.
“You need a refill?”

She wasn’t actually drinking the coffee he
gave her, just held the warm cup. “I’m fine. Thanks.” She wondered
what Brandon said about his so-called police source, but she was
sure Eric wouldn’t tell her. “Do you think Donovan will be done
soon?” she asked instead.

Eric sighed. His hazel eyes held compassion,
but he shook his head. “Why don’t you go on home? I’ll tell Donovan
to call you as soon as he can.”

“No. It’s fine. I’ll wait for him.”

“You could call Lindsey Butters while you
wait. She told Officer Peterson she wanted to talk to you as soon
as possible.”

Madeline sipped the too-strong coffee to keep
from having to respond to that. She knew what Lindsey wanted to
talk about. Officer Peterson told Madeline when he arrived at the
station a while ago. Lindsey planned to shut Woofy Cuts down for a
while, which meant Madeline no longer had any jobs.

She knew she shouldn’t be so selfish. At
least she still had her life. Maria hadn’t been so lucky. But the
fear of running out of money was a real one. She only had enough
saved up for her rent. Now, she would have to use her savings for
all her living expenses. She might run out of funds before the
lease was up on her apartment.

Well, that was a problem for another day.
Maybe the police could solve the case quickly and Madeline could go
back to work at her mishmash of jobs.

The door to the office finally opened, and
Donovan walked out, Officer Brice Carter next to him. Donovan
looked around the room, spotted her, and said something to
Carter.

He crossed the space in a few steps, holding
his hand out to Madeline. “You stayed.”

She set her coffee on the desk and placed her
hand in his. He helped her up, and she searched his face for any
sign of his mental state. “I wouldn’t just leave you. Are you
okay?”

He blinked his eyes a few times, squeezed her
hand tightly, and gave her a half smile. But he shook his head.
“Can we get out of here?”

“I thought you’d never ask. Where do you want
to meet me?”

“Actually, I hoped you’d agree to taxi me
around,” he said.

Madeline walked toward the door, and he
followed along. “Is there a reason you can’t take your car?”

“They’re keeping it here to search it.”

So, they still believed he was guilty. “Where
do you want to go?”

“I need to get some clothes out of my
apartment. They said I could go back there now to do that. I guess
they’re done searching there.” He shrugged. “After that, I hoped we
could go to your house.”

“My house? What for?”

“I hoped you’d let me stay there tonight.
First, I don’t think you should be alone. Also, my apartment is
going to be in shambles right now.”

Madeline wondered at his game. “I think we
both know that’s not a good idea.”

“I’m throwing myself on your mercy here,”
Donovan said. His bright blue eyes froze her in place as they
pleaded silently with her. “I know we’ve not really gotten along
the past few days, and that’s my fault...I don’t want to be alone
right now.”

Madeline softened slightly. She knew he’d had
a tough day. Losing a loved one was never easy. “I don’t want you
to be alone either, but why stay with me?”

“Because you said we could try to be friends,
and I need a friend right now.”

Madeline shook her head. “I meant why not
stay with your fiancée? Wouldn’t that make more sense?”

Donovan’s mouth opened, closed, then opened
again. “My what?” he finally managed.

Boy, Donovan sure could be a jerk. She knew
they wanted to keep their relationship a secret, but she couldn’t
believe Suzie would think it was okay to extend that out to Donovan
spending the night with another woman to keep the secret. She sure
wouldn’t be okay with that if the situation were reversed.

“I said your fiancée,” she repeated,
enunciating clearly. “She and I had a chat while you were being
questioned. She asked me to let you know she’s waiting at home.”
Madeline lowered her voice, trying to keep the anger and
embarrassment out of it. “She said clothing is optional.”

“Damn. Suzie.”

“Oh, yeah, her.” Madeline rolled her eyes.
“Forgot about her already, did you?”

“Maddie, I promise this isn’t what you think
it is.” He glanced over his shoulder at Chief Stone’s open office
door. “But this isn’t the place to talk about it.”

Well, he did have a point. If they were
trying to keep the relationship secret from Stone, the police
station was hardly the appropriate location for this discussion.
“Fine. What should we do?”

“Take me to get my clothes, and then we’ll go
to your house to talk. If you don’t want me to stay with you after
that, I promise I’ll let you take me to a hotel or something.”

Madeline sighed. “Either that, or I can drive
you to Suzie’s house.” Although the woman got under Madeline’s
skin, there had to be something about her to admire.

There must be, if Donovan wanted to marry
her.

Donovan didn’t know how to convince Madeline
she was wrong about Suzie. He’d tried to start a conversation in
the car, but she turned the radio up loudly, drowning out his words
as they drove to his apartment. She’d waited outside while he
packed his clothes.

By the time he made it back down to the car,
she sang along with a country song. The look on her face was
anything but happy. At least she hadn’t left him there.

Without asking her permission, he brought his
duffle bag into her apartment building, gripping it in his hand as
they waited for the elevator door to open. No matter what she had
in mind, he would not be leaving her alone with a killer on the
loose.

The elevator opened and Madeline walked
inside first. She pressed the button for the seventh floor and
folded her arms across her chest. Her body language screamed anger,
and Donovan wished he knew exactly what Suzie told her.

“Can we talk now?” he asked softly.

She shook her head. “When we get inside my
house. We don’t need my neighbors to witness another yelling
match.”

Donovan looked up, watching the numbers light
up above the elevator door as they passed through the different
floors. If she intended to scream at him, this night might not go
quite like he’d planned.

Once on her floor, she unlocked the apartment
door and motioned for him to precede her into the room. He walked
into the living room and set his bag on the floor, wondering how
difficult she was going to make things.

Damn Suzie. That woman would not quit! At
least she’d only been with Maddie in the police station. Donovan
didn’t quite trust her or what she would do if she ever got Maddie
alone.

Madeline brushed past him and sat on the edge
of her chair. She faced him with an expectant look on her face.
“Alright. Explain. Why will your fiancée understand you staying at
my house instead of hers?”

“Suzie’s not my fiancée.” Donovan shifted on
the couch and tugged the collar of his shirt. He didn’t know why he
felt so nervous. Maybe because he wasn’t used to opening himself up
to people. “I’d consider her more of a stalker than anything.”

“A stalker?” Madeline rolled her eyes. “Look,
Donovan, you don’t have to pretend with me. I’m trying to
understand what’s going on, but you have to quit lying to me.”

“You think I’m lying?” Donovan felt his face
flush, and he tried to keep his voice calm. Why would she
automatically assume he was the one lying? If Madeline cared about
him, why believe Suzie’s word over his? “Suzie told you we were
engaged to cause problems for me. She’s jealous of you.”

“Jealous?” Madeline let out a short bark of
laughter. “What a joke. She’s the one playing slap and tickle with
you, not me!”

“What do you mean? I’ve never been with
Suzie. Well, we dated for a while.”

Madeline snorted. “Yeah, dated.”

“We only dated. I promise.” He sat on the
couch adjacent to her and took her hand in his. “I told you,
Maddie. I’m working on things. I’m trying to be a better m—”

“Oh, Donovan.
Shut up!
” She jerked her
hand out of his.

“What the hell is your problem?”

“I talked to Suzie yesterday,” she said, her
voice lowered to a terse whisper. “You were getting dressed when I
called. She told me how quickly you undressed, too.”

Donovan felt as though Maddie punched him in
the gut. All this time, he’d been pouring his heart out to her,
telling her his dreams of having true love and starting a family,
and she believed he slept with Suzie Stone?

“I never even knew you called my house
yesterday.” He took a few deep breaths. “I was asleep when she
showed up on my doorstep, that’s why I needed to get dressed. Not
because I had sex with her.”

“It was nearly noon when I called.”

“I slept in late because I was up until
five-thirty.” He studied his hands before continuing. “I couldn’t
quit thinking about you.”