Key Witness (6 page)

She looked up, noticing his close proximity, and her heart seemed to stutter out an extra beat. She quickly looked away and stepped back. “Of course.”

Denton scanned their surroundings—fairly simple since it was mostly cornfields and patches of trees—and then motioned toward the driver of the SUV. A moment later, the vehicle pulled up to the door and Denton ushered her inside.

As soon as they started down the road, Denton turned toward her. “Tell me about the photos.”

Elle pulled up her email on her phone and blanched when the picture popped onto her screen. The image was of her father seated on a park bench next to a pretty blonde woman not much older than Elle. They were both laughing, sitting close enough that people would ask questions, but far enough away that they’d be able to deny anything. Elle handed her phone to Denton.

He studied the picture a moment, his expression unchanging. “Who is she?”

“I have no idea.” Elle had never seen the woman before. But her dad had a separate apartment up in Washington, D.C., where he stayed when the senate was in session. She tried to stay as far away from that life as she could.

“Is your dad...?”

Elle swallowed, her throat suddenly achy. “Having an affair? I hope not. Rumors have been circulating for years, though. I guess I always assumed it was better if I didn’t know.”

He pointed to her phone, compassion warming his eyes. “There could be an explanation for that photo.”

She shrugged. “Could be. I won’t know until I talk to my dad. I have to say, family issues aside, this is one of the worst things that could happen for his reelection campaign.”

“How about for you?”

She grimaced. “Yeah, I’ll deal with how it affects me after I process how it affects everything else. I wonder if my mom has seen this yet.”

“Will she be devastated?”

Her mom flashed through her mind. “Sadly, probably not. Their marriage has seen better days. Sometimes I think staying together is a political move more than anything else.” Elle shook her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you all of that. I don’t know what got into me. I always try so hard to be careful what I say, to be ‘politically correct,’ I suppose. Sometimes it feels good just to be honest.”

“Whatever you say is safe with me.”

Something about his words caused her cheeks to flush. She believed him. And Elle hardly ever believed anyone. Broken promises seemed to be a theme in her life. Yet here she was being protected by a man she hardly knew, and somehow innately she felt certain she could trust him.

It had been a long time since she’d felt that way. The last time she’d let her guard down, she’d ended up devastated. Would it be the same with Denton?

It didn’t matter. Denton would be out of her life soon. Once these bank robbers were behind bars, she’d have her freedom back. And with the local police working the case, certainly an arrest would be made before long.

She prayed an arrest would be made before long.

In the meantime, it would be best not to get too close to Denton. His revelation that he’d been married had shocked her enough and showed her a different side of the man. She’d never, ever guessed him to be the family-man type. But maybe that first impression was wrong.

Her phone rang again. Her dad. She sighed before answering. This was one conversation she didn’t want to have.

SIX

D
enton tried to give Elle some privacy but that wasn’t the easiest thing to do in the confined quarters of a moving SUV. He at least had the decency to look out the window as Elle spoke into the phone.

“Dad, this is one of those times I wished I wasn’t working for you because I don’t want to ask you these hard questions. But I have to. Who is she, Dad?” Elle’s voice sounded sharp, tight.

As it should. His own parents had divorced when he was a teenager, and he remembered the agony of watching his family fall apart. No one—whatever the age—should have to experience that. It was one of the reasons he’d always vowed to make his marriage his priority.

Denton couldn’t hear her father’s response. The man did have a reputation for being a womanizer. Denton knew that much from the time he’d briefly been hired by the senator. It was a shame that so many men who had power abused it by treating those around them so poorly. He’d seen it time and time again.

“Why would you let yourself be alone with her, Dad? Even if nothing happened, you know how gossip can start. We’re going to have to do some major damage control. As soon as I get home, I’ll call all the TV stations—if they haven’t already called me on my office line. We’ll write up a statement and put you in front of the camera. I need to talk to this Nancy Green, also, before the press gets to her.”

Silence lingered as Senator Philips responded.

“I’ll talk to you about it back at the house.” A moment later, Elle snapped her phone shut and closed her eyes. “This just gets better and better. That woman in the picture? She lives in the apartment beside him up in D.C.”

Though Denton would never wish this situation on anyone, at least it provided Elle with a momentary distraction from her other problems. This wasn’t exactly the distraction that he’d hoped for, though.

“Who would do this?”

“One of your father’s political opponents?”

“They’d deny it if they did.” She sighed and looked out the window again.

As they pulled down the lane leading to her home, the driver braked. “Uh, boss, you’ll want to see this.”

“What is it?” Denton pushed himself between the seats in time to see the commotion at the end of the drive.

“We’ve got a welcoming committee.”

Sure enough, three news vans blocked the entry to Elle’s house. Reporters mingled. Camera crews waited to pounce. “Keep going. They’ll move out of our way. Elle, stay down.”

As they got closer, the news crews spotted them and surrounded the vehicle.

“Is it true that someone’s after you?”

“Is your father having an affair?”

“Why would someone want you dead?”

Elle glanced over at Denton. “Great. They already know. That didn’t take much time.” Her phone rang again. “It’s one of the local reporters.” She hit the end button. Her phone rang again and again until she turned it off.

Finally, they got through the crowd. The gate inched open and they pulled through, away from the craziness outside it.

“I’ve never seen it like that before,” Elle muttered, climbing back into her seat.

As soon as Elle was safely settled inside, Denton was going to start looking into the background of everyone who worked for Senator Philips. News like this didn’t leak on its own. He hated to think that someone close to the family might be behind it all, but he couldn’t rest until he knew Elle was safe.

That was the job he’d been hired to execute, and he planned to do just that.

* * *

As soon as Denton stepped into the Philips’ home, he felt the tension that filled the air. There were no smiles or warm greetings. No, everyone walked around with their back muscles pinched, with serious expressions straining their faces. Their words sounded terse, their glances were brief.

They were in panic mode, realizing that Senator Philips’s campaign may have just died a quick death.

Denton hoped that Elle’s father was more concerned with the survival of his daughter than he was with the survival of his reelection.

Elle charged forward, breaking through the crowd of advisors, assistants and interns. She seemed to have an internal radar as to where her father was. Denton kept her in sight while assessing the crowd.

Was someone behind these threats in the house right now? Had someone here broken the trust of the family? He’d look into that list Elle had given him of the campaign staff and volunteers. He’d even check into Elle’s ex-boyfriends if that would help. He didn’t want any stone to be left unturned.

He caught up with Elle just in time to hear her father say, “Bentley’s going up to talk to Nancy now.”

Elle’s hand went to her hip. “Bentley? You sent Bentley?”

Senator Philips shrugged. “I couldn’t send you, not with everything going on.”

“Dad, Bentley is a great strategist but he’s a terrible people person. That was a bad idea.”

“I couldn’t very well go up there to talk to her myself! The moment I did, a reporter would jump out and snap another picture. Besides, he has a degree in law. He should know how to get the job done.”

Elle shook her head, her jaw locking in place. “Where’s Mom? I need to check on her.”

“She’s in her room. She doesn’t want to talk to anyone right now.” There didn’t seem to be any sympathy in his voice. It remained crisp and tight. Was that the true mark of a politician? The ability to always appear plastic and unemotional?

Elle started toward the stairway. “She’ll talk to me.”

As soon as Elle stepped out of earshot, Senator Philips turned to Denton. He motioned for everyone else to leave the room and shut the doors. Then he pulled down the cuffs of his crisp white shirt. Worry showed in the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. “I’m not convinced that all of this isn’t connected.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, sir, when was that picture taken?”

“Last week.”

“Then it can’t be the same people. This has to be someone else who’s targeting your campaign.”

His shoulders sagged slightly, and he paced back toward his desk. “Well, that’s a relief, I suppose, at least in one sense. I just want to make sure my little girl is safe. That’s my biggest concern right now.” Denton was glad to hear it.

“Did you check in with the detectives on the case today? Are there any updates I should know about?”

“They’re tracking down a couple leads. They don’t know anything definitive yet.”

The senator paused, a hand going to his hip. “I heard about someone taking the picture of Emily from Elle’s place. What does that mean exactly?”

“I wish I knew. I think these guys are more calculating than we’re giving them credit for. They’re planning something, and I don’t like it.”

“I don’t understand why they’re coming after Elle. They did the crime. They should be running from the police right now, not trying to chase down my daughter.”

“Until we understand their motivation, we won’t know why they’re doing this. Is it just revenge? It could be. But you’re right, Elle isn’t the one to blame for what they did. The only thing she did was call 9–1–1.”

“But then that article ran and they figured out she was a politician’s daughter. People have tried to manipulate me by manipulating my family for years. Why they decided to target Jimmy in the middle of all of this, I don’t understand.”

“Coincidences are rarely that. There may be more at play here than we realize. I’m going to look into all of your staff and volunteers.”

The senator froze, his eyes going ice cold. “You think someone on my staff is behind these incidents?”

“I just want to check every lead.”

The senator’s gaze locked on his. “I trust you won’t let anything happen to Elle.”

“I’ll give up my life to protect her if I have to.”

* * *

Elle rapped on the door to her mother’s bedroom and heard “Go away” from the other side. She pushed open the door anyway. “It’s me.”

Her mother said nothing, so Elle stepped inside. She spotted her mother sitting in a chair by the window, staring absently outside. The room was dim and too large to feel comfortable. The only light came from the rays of the early afternoon sun that filtered in through the gauzy window shades. Elle crossed the room and lowered herself into the chair across from her mom.

Her mother’s face was absent of tears. Her eyes weren’t even red-rimmed. But her absence of emotions said far more than weeping would have.

Elle touched her mother’s hand, trying not to flinch when she noticed the coolness of her skin. “How are you?”

She continued looking out the window, not breaking her gaze for even a moment. “Another allegation.”

Most people didn’t see this side of her mother. She appeared so strong whenever she was in public, putting on the perfect facade for everyone watching. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Marriage isn’t all that it’s made out to be, Elle. I gave up years ago. I just hate the embarrassment this brings to the family.”

Elle’s heart lurched. Certainly marriage could be good, couldn’t it? Not all unions ended in heartbreak and brokenness. Sadly, Elle was beginning to believe her mom’s words more with each passing moment. Nearly all the marriages she’d seen had dissolved over time.
Dissolved
was probably too nice of a word. Most had ended with a tragic—but figurative—explosion.

“I hate that this hurts you, Mom.”

“He claims they’re just friends. It doesn’t even matter.”

What did Elle say? What were the right words, words that would bring healing and not pain? “Is it worth fighting for, Mom?”

Her mom jerked her gaze toward Elle. “Is what worth fighting for?”

“Your marriage.”

She stared at Elle a moment before scoffing. “I’m way past that, Elle. I gave up hope about my marriage a long time ago.”

Silence stretched between them. So maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say. Elle didn’t know what was, though. Everything that came to mind seemed like a platitude, and the last thing she wanted was to cause her mom any more pain. She’d had enough of that in her life already.

“What can I do?” Elle finally whispered.

Her mom shook her head. “Nothing. You should go help your dad with damage control.”

“He sent Bentley to do that.”

“Then go relax. Or try to, at least. All this stress is going to make your hair turn gray prematurely.”

Elle had bigger things to worry about than her hair turning gray. She tried to pull herself together as she dragged herself downstairs. Somehow, she’d always seemed to make herself the mediator, the one who tried to smooth things over. She tried to stuff her feelings down deep in order to address everyone else’s. But, at the moment, they all threatened to spill out. Maybe it was the allegation against her father or Jimmy’s murder or the bank robbery. Maybe a mix of all those things. For some reason, she just felt ready to break.

She sucked in a deep breath and forced a smile as she stepped into her father’s office. She felt everyone’s gaze on her, but the only person she dared to look at was Denton. His warm brown eyes studied her as they often did.

Was Mark Denton trying to figure her out? Good luck with that.

She cast aside her emotions, her questions, her fear and pulled herself up to full height. “We need to formulate what you’re going to say in your statement to the press, Dad.” She glanced at her father. “Has anyone heard from Bentley yet?”

Brianna stepped forward, clipboard in hand. “He just left to go up to Northern Virginia a couple hours ago. He should be there in another hour. We’re waiting to hear back from him before we proceed.”

“Smart thinking. Let’s go ahead and draft a statement that we can revise later.”

Damage control. Between her rocky family life and her sister’s murder, it was almost like she’d been training her entire life to do this job. Sad, but true.

“Brianna, how about if you and I go into my office to work on that. We’ll let the rest of the staff worry about how this happened. We’ll figure out how to handle it.”

They headed down the hall and began working on drafting a press release for the next two hours. Elle tried not to let her mind slip to the issues and worries that kept begging for her attention. She tried not to think about Jimmy and the threat on her life. She attempted to not think about the allegations against her father. But in between writing an official statement, her mind wandered there.

Denton made himself comfortable in a chair by the door, a laptop in front of him. He tapped away, doing something unknown to Elle. Every once in a while he’d scan the room. His gaze would focus outside the window. Still on the lookout for anyone planning an attack.

At quarter past six, her father stepped into the room. Good. Maybe he’d heard from Bentley. She stood from her seat at the paper-covered table, smoothing her outfit as she did so, and stepped toward him. “Do you have an update?”

Her father’s grim gaze made her tense. He stood rigid and his breaths seemed to come faster than normal. The news wasn’t good, Elle realized. Had the woman in the photo threatened to go to the media? Refused to sign a confidentiality agreement? Implied there had been more to their relationship?

Her dad rubbed his hands together and lowered his head. “Bentley went to Nancy’s apartment.”

“Okay...”

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “The door was open, but no one answered. When Bentley stepped inside, he saw Nancy on the kitchen floor. Dead. Murdered.”