Hot Pursuit (15 page)

He hadn’t been gone long at all. But she’d
probably stood there alone, the night sounds and the eeriness of
the situation working on her mind, until she convinced herself she
had to investigate. Had to
save
him, God help him.

He could tell by watching her face when the
shock started to wear off and a different reality slammed into her.
Matt gripped her arms hard, held her to him when she tried to
wrench away.

“Mama,” she cried.

“She’s okay, Evie.”

She twisted like a tiger. “Let me go. I have
to see her!”

“It’s a crime scene,
chère
. You can’t
go in, but I promise you she’s okay. I promise you, Evie.”

A sob wracked her body, the first he’d heard
out of her tonight, and it damn near tore him up. She’d been
through a lot, but it was fear for her mama that finally wrenched
the tears from her.

She gripped his biceps in her hands, her
forehead dropping to his chest as she lost the control she’d been
holding on to so tightly.

She screamed and cried and he soothed her in
Cajun French, like his mama used to do when he’d had a nightmare.
When he realized what he was doing, he switched to English. Evie’s
mama was a Breaux, but Evie didn’t speak French. He knew that
because he used to make her mad when they were kids by talking to
her in a language she couldn’t understand.

“If she’s not okay, you can shoot me, yeah
ma petite
?” The cadence of the bayou was still thick on his
tongue, and he couldn’t control it just yet. He never could when he
let emotion get the best of him. Which was damn rare. “I swear to
you on my mama’s grave she gonna be fine, yeah.”

The sound of sirens split the night and Matt
gave a silent thank-you. The quicker the police and EMTs got here,
the quicker Evie would know he spoke the truth. He wrapped his arms
around her and held on tight as her sobs lessened along with her
grip.

The first patrol car rocketed into the
driveway, followed by two others. The ambulance shot between them
and skidded to a halt behind the Beemer.

Doors popped open in almost perfect unison.
Uniforms poured from the vehicles and spread around the scene. Matt
pulled Evie away from the steps and waited for the officer in
charge to start pelting him with questions.

It was gonna be one long-ass night.

EVIE HUDDLED ON A CHAIR in a small metal room
at the police station. How long had it been since she’d been
escorted to this room? Two hours? Three?

She couldn’t remember. She’d tried dozing,
but she was too wired to sleep—in spite of being so damn tired she
could barely keep her head up. And she was cold.

She hadn’t seen Matt since the police arrived
at her mother’s house. He’d left her sitting in the back seat of a
patrol car while he went to talk to someone. She didn’t know if he
was here too, if he was in another room, or if he’d gone home and
disappeared beneath a mountain of soft covers. If she were him,
she’d probably opt for the covers.

Especially after the way she’d bawled all
over him. God.

She closed her eyes, seeing again the body on
her mother’s porch. The blood that looked more like motor oil
because it was in shadow. She’d never seen a dead person before.
Obviously, Matt had. How did he deal with it, with the knowledge of
what death looked like?

It made her shiver, and she had to fight the
urge to retch.

David was dead. She still couldn’t believe
it, especially since she’d been talking to him on the phone only a
few minutes before. She replayed their conversation, but got
nothing new out of it. He’d said his life—and by extension hers and
her family’s—was in danger. But from whom? And why?

And Mama. Oh God, Mama. Evie swallowed
against a fresh wave of tears. Mama had a broken wrist from where
she’d fallen on her arm. Evie had learned from one of the officers
on the scene that, aside from the break, her mother would be okay.
Though Mama had been knocked out, her respiration and heart rate
were normal and that was a good sign.

Evie wanted to go to the hospital with Mama,
but the police chief arrived and denied the request. So here she
was, waiting for something that didn’t seem to be all that pressing
since no one had arrived to talk to her yet. She had no idea what
was happening with Mama now. Matt promised to find out for her, but
surely he’d gone home by now. As soon as she got out of here, no
matter what time it was, she was going to the hospital.

And then there was Sarah. A thread of panic
wound through Evie’s belly and squeezed her throat tight. Where was
her little sister? Matt didn’t seem to think she’d been there when
David had been killed, but how could he be sure?

Evie’s head was so heavy. She hadn’t been
sleeping all that well lately, and she’d been up since around three
a.m., when she’d finally given up on sleep and gotten out of bed.
Add in a full day at the salon, the evening at the lake, and
everything since, and she was feeling pretty worn out.

She laid her head on the table, clasped her
hands in her lap, and closed her eyes. If she could turn back the
clock on this day, what would she have done differently? If she’d
been in the house, she’d probably be in the hospital with Mama
right now.

Unless whoever had killed David decided to
kill her too. Evie shivered.

“Can you ID the victim, Miss Baker?”

Evie snapped upright. Two men stood inside
the room. She hadn’t even heard the door open.

She blinked. She didn’t know these guys at
all. The Rochambeau PD had grown a bit since she’d last lived here,
and they’d apparently hired officers who weren’t native to the
town. It was disconcerting. Or maybe it was just one more thing to
add to an already disturbing evening.

The one in a yellow polo shirt perched on the
edge of the desk and bent toward her. The gold badge clipped to his
belt disappeared into his spare tire when he leaned over. “You
okay?”

Evie threaded a hand through her hair and
nodded. “It’s been a long day.”

The man gave a snort of laughter. “Yes
indeed, I’d say so, young lady. I’m Detective Odell. This here is
Detective Proctor. We’d like to ask you a few questions.” He
twisted to the side and flipped open a folder he must have laid on
the table. “Can you tell me the victim’s name, Miss Baker?”

“David. David West.”

“And how did you know the deceased?”

“He was my ex-partner.”

“And your lover?”

Evie cleared her throat. “Yes,
occasionally.”

“For how long?”

“He was my partner for six months, but I knew
him for nearly a year. We were a couple, if you could call it that,
for only two months.”

“Why did he come here tonight?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him since
he stole my restaurant payroll about five months ago. He called and
asked to meet, but when we got there… Well, he was…” She closed her
eyes and swallowed. “Dead.”

Detective Odell crossed his arms. “Seems as
if you’ve had one very busy night. First Jimmy Thibodeaux and now
this little incident.”

A cold finger of dread slid over her at his
use of the word
incident
. He made it sound like she’d
tripped and skinned her knee. “I’m sorry, but can you tell me what
this is about? I’ve told you all I know. And I’m sure Matt Girard
said pretty much the same thing. We’ve been together since we left
the lake earlier.”

“West stole your money, right?”

Evie looked at Detective Proctor. It was the
first time he’d spoken. “Yes. I just said so.”

“Ran your business into the ground?”

She should be surprised they’d found that out
so fast. Instead, she was just weary and ready to be done with it.
“Yes, I lost my restaurant because David stole my money and I
couldn’t pay the bills.”

“Did that make you angry?”

“Of course.” The instant she said it, she
wished she could call it back. It was the truth, but the way they
now looked at her…

“Angry enough to kill him?”

Evie sat up straight. “And what would be the
point in that, Detective? It’s not like I’d get my restaurant back,
now is it?”

Odell smiled again. “Sorry, Evangeline—can I
call you Evangeline?”

“Evie.”

“Evie, then. We’re trying to figure out what
happened out there at your mama’s house. Detective Proctor’s just
doing his job.”

“I didn’t kill him. I didn’t even know he was
in town until he called me. You can check my phone records, and you
can verify where I was when you talk to Matt Girard.”

“Girard’s a trained soldier, Evie.” Detective
Proctor didn’t look up from the file he suddenly seemed so intent
on. “He disarmed a gunman bare-handed. He’s capable of violence.
Maybe if he thought you were in danger again…”

Anger and frustration boiled inside her at
the implication. “Today’s the first time in ten years I’ve seen
Matt. And Jimmy was holding me at knifepoint. If Matt hadn’t acted,
who knows what Jimmy might have done.” Evie shook her head. “Matt
had no reason to do anything to David. He was dead when we got
there.”

Proctor’s mouth opened, but the door swinging
behind them made both detectives turn around. A man in a plaid
shirt cocked his head. The detectives huddled with him for a
minute, Odell straightening first.

“Well, Evie, guess we’re done here for now.
Why don’t you go get some sleep, huh?”

Evie scraped herself to her feet. “That’s
it?”

Odell smiled. “For now. You weren’t planning
to leave town or anything, right?”

As if she had anywhere to go. “No.”

“Good.” Odell’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“We just need a bit of time to sort this out, is all.”

So friendly, as if they hadn’t insinuated she
might have killed David. Or that Matt might have.

“What about my sister?” She’d reported Sarah
missing when she’d given her statement earlier. The officer taking
the statement hadn’t seemed especially concerned.

Odell consulted his folder. “Sarah Jean
Savoie, right? We’re keeping an eye out for her, but she’s probably
just gone to a friend’s house.” He smiled again. “I’m sure you’ll
hear from her soon.”

Her throat was tight. “What if someone took
her? Whoever hit my mama and killed David is still out there.”

She fought to keep the frustration from her
tone, the utter helplessness. Her fists clenched at her sides as
she squeezed back another round of tears.

Odell put a hand on her shoulder. “We’re
working on it. Don’t worry.”

Evie couldn’t help but worry. Still, she
trudged out the door and followed the uniformed officer who led her
silently down the hall and out into a small waiting area. Matt
looked up as she emerged. He was leaning against one wall, knee
bent, foot and hands flat against the plaster, his expression hard
enough to pulverize diamonds.

Evie swallowed, both grateful to see him and
apprehensive at the same time. She’d certainly gotten him into a
mess tonight, hadn’t she? First Jimmy and now David. He had to be
regretting the impulse to help her by now, regardless of their past
or how obligated he felt. Whatever he’d done when they were
teenagers didn’t warrant this kind of hassle, she was sure.

“You waited.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you find out anything about my
mama?”

He nodded. “They’ve operated to repair the
damage. She’s in recovery now, but they’ll move her to a room
soon.”

“I need to go see her.”

“I figured as much.”

They walked out of the police station
together. Matt opened the passenger door for her. His expression
was carefully blank, as if he was fighting some emotion and trying
not to show it. When he settled into the driver’s seat, he turned
to her.

“Do you want to explain?” His blank
expression was now dark.

She felt as if someone had let the air out of
her tires. “Explain what, Matt? I’m too tired to guess, so just hit
me with it, ’kay?”

He leaned back against the seat, shoving a
hand through his hair. “Start with the part about organized
crime.”

So he’d found that out. She was too tired to
be surprised. She spread her hands, looking at her nails as if she
could find the answer there. “I don’t know anything about organized
crime. There was some speculation by the Tampa police that David
was involved in something, but they never told me what. And before
you tell me I should have asked, stop and think about it for a
second.”

He watched her evenly.

“I don’t have your connections and no one was
about to tell me just because I wanted to know. It was over, the
restaurant was gone, and I wasn’t looking back.”

“All right.”

“That’s it? Just all right? After you glared
at me for the past five minutes? God, I’m sick of people jumping to
conclusions about me.”

He blew out a breath. “Look, I just had my
ass chewed out by my commanding officer, and I had to wake Mrs.
Doucet—” He glanced at the dash clock. “—at nearly one in the
morning to lean on the Rochambeau PD.”

“You got me out of there just now?” She’d
been so relieved to be let go she hadn’t stopped to consider that
the whispered conversation was anything more than police talk. Now
she got it. The guy who came in had been telling the detectives to
lay off. Because Matt had unleashed a Girard-family lawyer on their
asses. If not for that, she’d still be there. Still tired and
confused and scared. And saying God only knows what just to get
Odell and Proctor to let her go.

Matt looked fierce. “Yeah,
mon ange
, I
did. You didn’t kill the guy.”

“I think they believe we did it
together.”

He snorted. “They wanted to scare you, Evie.
They’ve got no proof. And Mrs. Doucet is the best attorney money
can buy. She looks like somebody’s idea of a grandmother who knits
socks, but she’s a tiger. I’m not worried.”