Forever Hers by Walters, Ednah (new ebook reader .TXT) 📗

“What are you doing out here?” he asked.

“The same thing you are doing, detective,” she said with exaggerated sweetness. “Hi, Sally. What’s going on?”

Sally smiled. “Detective Fitzgerald told me Nolan was here this evening. Then he found these cigarette filters under your tree. Looks like someone stood here and smoked for a very long time.”

“Leland’s yard had also been mowed, yet I don’t recall seeing anyone do yard work since I got here,” Eddie added.

“You didn’t tell me you found cigarette stubs when you came back inside the house.” Amy said calmly. Much too calm for his liking.

“I told him not to say anything until I processed the scene,” Sally said. “Does Nolan smoke?”

“Not when I knew him,” Amy said. “Sam’s father smokes.”

“It’s not his brand,” Eddie cut in. “I spoke with him earlier. According to him, his regular guy is down with the flu and two guys, total strangers, did his lawn late this evening and one of them smoked.”

“What else have you learned and decided not to tell me?” Amy asked with a hint of anger.

“That depends on how much you want to hear and share,” he retorted. It still rankled that she wasn’t ready to confide in him.

“Why don’t you two wait for me inside the house?” Sally cut in. “And please don’t kill each other. I have enough to process here without adding your case to it.” She chuckled as she walked away.

Eddie followed Amy inside the house, where she poured herself a fresh cup of coffee; added creamer then sat at the counter and ignored him. He loved silence, craved it most of the time because he strategized better when surrounded by it. Tonight it was oppressive. He couldn’t think straight let alone come up with a plan of action.

“If Nolan left those cigarette stubs, he just made his first mistake.”

Amy didn’t respond. Instead, she sipped her drink and stared into space.

“And stealing a truck from a local guy then impersonating him is just plain stupid,” he added.

Amy acted like she didn’t hear him.

“Damn it, Amy. Talk to me. I want to stop this bastard, but I can’t when I don’t know what I’m dealing with. I want to know everything about him, what he’s capable of.”

More silence.

Frustration ate at him. How the hell was he going to help her if she refused to trust him? A sound came from behind and he whipped around. It was Sally. He got up to open the door.

Amy became the perfect hostess and indicated the coffee maker. “Do you want something to drink, Sally? We have coffee in the pot.”

The police woman nodded. “Thanks, Amy. Coffee would be nice.” She waited until after Amy placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her before speaking. “Someone called Randal this afternoon and warned him against working with us. It wasn’t the guy who paid off your car repairs, he said.” She sipped her drink and glanced at Eddie and Amy. “Do you think it’s Nolan?”

Eddie shrugged. “It’s possible. Too bad Randal didn’t let the answering machine pick it up. A voice print is as unique as a fingerprint and we could have used it to ID him.”

“Nolan would never leave a message,” Amy piped in. “He wouldn’t do anything that could incriminate him.”

Eddie hated the way she believed her ex was invincible. Made him want to nail the bastard even more. “Everyone makes mistakes, Amy. We just need to find his.”

Sally’s worried gaze bounced between the two of them then stayed on Amy. “Did you get a proper look at the men who tried to break into the house?”

Amy shook her head. “They smashed the security lights on the patio, so I couldn’t see anything. They took off after I turned on the lights on the side of the house.”

“At least they didn’t make it inside the house. I heard you have a gun for protection.”

Amy grinned. “Yeah, a Glock. I’m taking self-defense lessons too, just in case.”

“That’s really good. I see too many victimized women scared of their own shadows when they could be empowering themselves.” She glanced at Eddie. “I’m happy she’s not one of them.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty amazing,” Eddie said. When Amy shot him a surprised look, he added, “And scary.”

Amy scowled.

“Scary is even better,” Sally added and chuckled. “However, if they ever come back, call us. It’s great not to be defenseless, but it’s our job to protect you.” She stood. “Thanks for the coffee. I got the phone number and the name of the company that does your neighbor’s yard and I plan on sending the filters to the DNA lab. I’ll call you when I get the results.”

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Eddie offered.

“Did you get the description of the men?” Amy asked, stopping Sally and Eddie from leaving.

“Mr. Lockwood didn’t get close enough to identify anything, but he noticed they were average in height and size, and he couldn’t tell the color of their hair because they wore baseball caps.”

“Did one of them wear red baseball cap, black leather jacket and cargo pants?” Amy asked again.

Sally frowned. “Just dungarees and regular T-shirts, but the smoker wore a red baseball cap. Why?”

“Nolan never goes anywhere without his red baseball cap and black leather jacket. He wore them when we saw him at the store, but he could easily have switched to blend in and spy on us.”

“Then he must be the smoker,” Sally said, grinning, “which is good news.”

“He just made his first mistake,” Eddie added.

Amy nodded, but her eyes gave her away. She didn’t think the evidence would amount to much. He couldn’t wait to prove her wrong. Outside, he slowed his gait to match Sally’s. “How long will it take to get a DNA report on the cigarette filters?”

“Depends on how busy Salt Lake City Field Office is, but I’ll call you as soon as we get the results.” Sally stopped beside her squad car and tugged at her ear, a gesture he now associated with nervousness. “Her ex