Crime & Passion (7 page)

“Brrr.” He shivered visibly. “It’s a bit cold
in here. I’m beginning to understand why a beautiful woman like you
is still single.”

She watched as he stepped past her into the
hallway. He couldn’t know her fiancé cheated on her, but attacking
her for her single status was more hurtful than anything else he
might have said.

“Have fun,” she shouted after him as he
walked down the hallway, blinking back her tears. “If you hurry,
you might get back to your dinner date before her bedtime.”

He turned to face her, and a look she didn’t
understand shadowed his eyes.

“Just keep that pepper spray handy, Madeline.
I hope you never need it.”

Madeline unlocked the door to Woofy Cuts,
stifling a yawn. The cheery bell Lindsey placed above the door
greeted her as she entered. Early morning sunlight barely
penetrated the gloom of the shop. She rushed to the alarm to turn
it off.

That’s strange.
The alarm wasn’t
beeping, and the green light shone steadily. Lindsey said she would
check on Brutus and walk him around eleven o’clock last night.
Madeline had a hard time believing she didn’t set the alarm.

Then again, Lindsey used her birthday as the
code—not exactly hard to crack. Madeline shuddered, wondering if
Donovan was right to worry about her safety.

A shuffling sound from the right-hand side of
the store caught her attention. Madeline cocked her head to the
side, holding her breath as she listened intently. Silence.

It’s just my imagination running wild
because of what Donovan said...I hope.

She gripped the pepper spray attached to her
car keys, pressing her back against the wall before flipping on the
light switch. When no one jumped out of the shadows, she allowed
herself to breathe again. Still, perhaps he wanted the element of
surprise and hid, waiting to attack her once she let her guard
down.

As quietly as possible, she crept past the
customer seating area toward the shelves holding pet supplies. The
middle row was the only place to hide. Madeline’s heart hammered in
her chest and her hands shook.

She tried to calm her erratic breathing. If
someone waited on the other side of the shelf, he likely heard her
ragged breaths. She’d have to surprise him by doing the
unexpected.

Madeline sent up a quick prayer she wouldn’t
drop the keychain and leapt forward to the row of shelves,
discharging a preemptive strike with the pepper spray. The foamy
substance flew through the air to land in the empty aisle.

“Great shot, Rambo.” She let out a shaky
laugh. “You killed the doggie treats.”

Madeline picked up the ruined package before
it could contaminate anything else. She took shallow breaths so the
pepper spray didn’t get in her lungs. It would be hard to explain
that to medical personnel.
It’s no big deal, a phantom killer
attacked me so I pepper sprayed myself.

Yeah right.

She threw the package in the trash bin and
walked toward the back room. “Brutus, time to get up,” she
called.

Madeline reached the doors but took one last
look around the shop, trying to shake the feeling that something
was wrong.
Lindsey forgot to set the alarm, and her and
Donovan’s paranoia is rubbing off on me, that’s all. Everything’s
fine.

She shook her head and walked through the
doorway, laughing at her own silliness. The only killer in the
building lived in her imagination.

The smell hit her first. Besides the
ever-present stench of wet dog, there was a coppery, hot odor. It
clung to the back of Madeline’s tongue, tainting the air. She
couldn’t quite place it.

“Brutus?”

She flipped on the light switch, at the same
time hearing the bell sound over the front door. Madeline started
to turn back to the front of the store to see who entered, but a
figure on the floor caught her attention.

“Shit!”

Madeline rushed to Brutus’ side, slipping in
the blood pooling around his body. A yellow and blue nylon rope
tied around his throat cut off his air, and Brutus struggled
weakly, thrashing his head from side to side. Blood oozed from a
gaping wound in the Great Dane’s side.

She kneeled next to him, trying to untie the
knot holding the rope in place. Brutus’ attempts to free himself
knocked Madeline’s hands away.

“It’s okay, baby. I’ll help you.” She tried
to keep her voice soothing, although fear threatened to overcome
her.

She finally worked the rope free, tossing it
away. Brutus heaved a huge sigh and laid his head on the ground. He
whined weakly and licked Madeline’s hand.

Blood leaked steadily from his side, and
Madeline stripped her hooded sweatshirt over her head, pressing it
against the wound. The blood saturated the material quickly,
coating Madeline’s hands in the sticky substance.

Her mind raced, uncertain what to do. She
remembered the bell ringing over the door. “Hello?” she yelled. “I
need some help back here!”

There were no sounds from the other room. A
sinking feeling descended on her. No one entered. The person
responsible for this
had
been in the store. The bell sounded
when he left.

Madeline pressed hard on Brutus’ side with
her right hand, fishing her smart phone out of her pocket with the
other. Brutus needed a vet. There was a list of emergency numbers
on the back wall, but she couldn’t risk leaving Brutus to find the
right one.

Blood smeared across the phone’s surface as
she pressed the 911 speed dial at the bottom of the phone. The
police force should be able to find help quickly, and speed was a
factor. With all the blood he lost, she didn’t know how much time
the dog had left.

As she waited for the call to connect, blood
on the wall caught her attention. Not random splatters, but a
message...to her.

Forget what you saw, Maddie, or you’re
next.

***

Donovan grabbed the cordless phone beside his
bed. “Andrews.”

“Why the hell didn’t you answer your cell
phone?”

“Chief?” Donovan swung his legs out of bed
and rubbed his eyes. “I lost the damn thing again. What’s going
on?”

“I need you to get down to Woofy Cuts. I’m at
the station alone until dispatch arrives so I can’t leave, and a
9-1-1 call came in.”

“Shit.” Donovan stood up and pulled on a pair
of pants. “Is Madeline Scott okay? She was going in by herself this
morning.”

“She sounded fine. She asked for a vet but
wouldn’t stay on the line.”

He tried to calm his racing pulse. “How long
ago did she call?”

“Three minutes. Billy Jeffries is on his
way,” Chief Stone replied.

“So am I.” Donovan ended the call and threw
the phone on the bed, pulling a shirt over his head.

He slipped his feet into socks and shoes and
ran a hand over his hair before rushing out the door to his car.
After popping in a few breath mints, he pulled the police cruiser
onto the road and flipped on the emergency lights as he sped to
Main Street.

Madeline might not be happy to see him after
the way he acted last night, but he’d been so frustrated. Why, out
of all the women in town, did he lust after the one who couldn’t
care less? Most women threw themselves at him. Look at
Christy—she’d begged for breakup sex. So why didn’t Maddie want
him?

What really mattered to him now, though, was
whether she was okay. If she asked for a vet, it sounded like a
problem with the dogs, but he’d feel a lot better once he knew for
sure she was safe.

He pulled into the parking lot at Woofy Cuts,
cutting off the lights and hopping out of the car just as Billy
Jeffries, the local veterinarian, disappeared through the front
door. Donovan entered on his heels, looking around the empty
storefront.

“Maddie?” he yelled. “Where are you?”

“In the back. Please hurry!”

Panic laced Madeline’s voice, and Donovan
raced for the back door. The blood-covered mess in the middle of
the room arrested the breath in his throat for a moment. He was no
stranger to bloody crime scenes, but seeing Maddie in a pool of
blood made Donovan’s heart tumble in an uncomfortable flip-flop.
The dog next to her whined, his tail thumping against the floor
when Maddie whispered something to him.

Billy bumped Donovan out of the way,
approaching Madeline. “What happened here?”

She turned to face them, a tear tracking down
her cheek and turning red as it crossed through smears of blood.
“Someone tried to choke Brutus, but I got the rope off his neck.
They stabbed him or something. Help him!”

“Keep the pressure on the wound,” Billy said.
“You’re doing the right thing, Madeline.” The vet pulled his phone
from his pocket and typed on the keypad. “I texted my team for more
help. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of him.”

Madeline nodded. “Thank you.”

Brutus whined again and moved his head
around. The movements seemed feeble, as though the loss of blood
had zapped his energy.

“Easy, Brutus. I know it hurts.” Billy
kneeled by the dog’s head, petting his sleek, black neck. “It’s
okay, boy.”

Donovan looked around the room, trying to
figure out how this happened. Had the intruder been in here with
Maddie? Dark spots on the wall drew Donovan’s attention. The blood
froze in his veins as he read the message left there.

At first, he’d thought this had to be some
sort of attack against Lindsey. She had a sharp tongue and plenty
of people didn’t like her. The message clearly ruled that theory
out.

This attack related to Frank’s murder, and
the killer was threatening Maddie. Donovan ground his teeth
together. This was all Brandon’s fault. By reporting that Madeline
saw the killer in the article he wrote, Brandon put her in danger.
How could he do that to her while claiming to like her and want to
date her?

“Donovan, my team should be here any minute,”
Billy said, drawing his attention from the message. “Take her into
the other room and send them back here, would you?”

Donovan pulled Madeline to her feet as Billy
took over the pressure against Brutus’ side. Madeline held her
bloody hands in front of her, seeming dazed. Donovan gathered her
against his side and led her through the doors.

He grabbed a towel off the styling station
and handed it to her. “Brutus is going to be okay. Try not to
worry.”

Madeline sniffled and nodded her head, wiping
the blood off her hands. “I sure hope so.”

The bell above the door made a tinkling sound
and Madeline gasped, huddling against Donovan’s side. Three people
walked in, their hands full of boxes and medical supplies.

Donovan nodded toward the back door. “Billy’s
through there.”

He steered Madeline to the front of the
store. Her body trembled against his, and he gently helped her into
a chair.

“Tell me what happened?”

Madeline let out a low sigh. “The alarm
wasn’t set. I used the pepper spray you gave me, thinking someone
waited in the aisle, but no one was there. I thought I was just
scared because of what you and Lindsey said. Then I found Brutus.”
She scrubbed her hands harder against the towel. “He’s going to
die, isn’t he?”

Donovan crouched in front of her, patting her
knee in an attempt to reassure her. “Billy’s a good doctor. He’ll
take care of Brutus, don’t worry.”

Madeline nodded. “I heard the bell above the
door and I thought someone came in, but I think whoever did this
hid in the coat closet and waited until I went to the back room
before leaving.” She shuddered. “Good thing I didn’t open the
closet before checking on Brutus.”

Donovan closed his eyes. What would the
killer have done, had she found him? He couldn’t think about that.
It hadn’t happened.

“You did a good job, Maddie. Many women would
have fallen apart, but you kept a calm head and probably saved
Brutus’ life.”

“I have to call Lindsey,” she said, seeming
not to hear him. “She’ll be so upset. She was going to Eureka
today.”

Donovan stood up. “Why don’t you call her,
and I’ll call the station to get more officers down here.”

Madeline nodded and pulled her phone from her
pocket. “You’re not leaving me, are you?” she asked before dialing
the number.

“No, Maddie. I’ll get someone else here to
process the scene. I’ll take your statement and then follow you
home. We can inspect your apartment and make sure...” Donovan broke
off. He wanted to make sure the killer didn’t wait for her there,
but he didn’t want to panic her further by saying that.

“I have to go to the police station at
nine-thirty to meet with a sketch artist.” She reached out to grab
his hand, the residual blood slightly tacky beneath Donovan’s
fingers. “Will you stay with me?” She bit her lip. “Look, I hate
admitting this, but I’m scared.”

He squeezed her hand. “I don’t actually work
until tonight. I’ll stay with you until then, and we’ll make sure
your apartment is as secure as we can make it before I leave.”

“Thank you.” She pressed on the screen of her
phone before holding it against her ear.

Donovan made his way to the store phone next
to the cash register. He threw the towel on the counter and then
called Chief Stone’s direct line, quickly explaining the situation.
“So, I’m going to take Miss Scott home and let her get cleaned up
before meeting with your sketch artist. Since she’s already coming
down, I figured we can get her formal statement at the police
station.”

“I’ll send someone else over to run her
around. I got a hold of Eric Sanders a few minutes ago. He can take
care of her. You process the scene.”

He couldn’t help the spark of jealous that
erupted within him when he thought about Eric being alone with
Maddie. The man was closer to her in age, and he had expressed an
attraction to her that night on the beach. “With all due respect,
sir, I’m not on duty yet. Besides, Miss Scott asked me to stay with
her.”