Credible Alibi. Tyler Anne Snell

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       Chapter Four

      “So I’ve been downgraded to lead suspect instead of a shoo-in for murder.”

      Madi was as beautiful as Julian remembered but undoubtedly tired. Her eyes were red and swollen. She rubbed her hands together, fretting with nervous energy. They stood outside the Wildman County Sheriff’s Department. A hint of the sunrise colored the distance. The air was cool and seemed to add to her discomfort.

      Julian wanted to reach out and take all of the concern and worry away, but truth be told, he was out on his own limb of uncertainty.

      He’d just lied to the authorities. In a big way, too.

      “They’re going to find the real person who did this,” he said, hands shoved into his pockets to curb the urge to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “Now that they aren’t focused on you they can do that.”

      Madi shot a nervous look toward the front doors. They were standing next to the sheriff’s truck in the parking lot. Declan and Caleb were still inside. This time with the husband of the murdered woman. He’d been out-of-his-mind angry and had to be kept in a separate part of the building.

       I don’t care if she’s pregnant! She killed my wife! She killed my Loraine! She needs to pay!

      The man had been so certain of Madi’s guilt, so incensed by it, that he had spit as he’d yelled. His fervor had solidified Julian’s urge to help Madi.

      He knew without a doubt that Madi was innocent. He’d felt it in his bones the moment she’d yelled out to him that she didn’t do it. He’d jumped into his SUV and flown to the station, ready to watch as the rest of the department believed her, too.

      Yet it didn’t happen.

      Or at least, the evidence forced their hands.

      The looks across the local deputies’ faces changed as the hours wore on. Julian stayed in the lobby with the flimsy reasoning of being a friend of Madi’s. He waited to be questioned but no one ever came for him. In all the uproar he’d seemingly melted away into the scenery. He’d only had the chance to talk to Jenna to get the quick and short story of what had happened before she’d had to leave. The sheriff and Caleb could be seen, angry and whispering. The entire department’s mood went from determined to find the alternate story to souring. Then on edge. When Julian had seen the lawyer come in through the lobby, wearing a suit and an expression that meant he was in for a rough ride, the need to help Madi had punched through Julian’s gut until he was standing in front of her brother and lying through his teeth.

      Now he was standing in front of Madi and telling the same lie.

      “I sneaked in an hour before Jenna called you, parking my vehicle off the road and hiding in the trees so no one knew I was there. That’s why you didn’t want to eat dinner with the guests, which is unlike you,” he spelled out. “I was with you in the bathroom when Jenna called. You found the body, but I was next to you. Realizing the cops were going to be involved, I went out the window and made it to my car. Then I pretended to come in for the first time so no one would suspect I’d been there at all.”

      Madi’s eyes were wide and blue. Oh so blue.

      “And the reason I didn’t want to be caught up in an investigation was because I was worried that it would get me fired before I ever started my job next week.” Julian shrugged. “Not a noble story, but everyone in there knows you didn’t do it so it made sense to them.”

      The innkeeper ran a hand over her belly. Her pregnant belly. Julian wanted to ask how far along she was but getting their story straight here, now, was the most important thing they could talk about. As she’d already said, it was a lie that had made the difference between murderer and lead suspect.

      “Why?” she finally asked. “You... Well, you don’t know me. This could absolutely СКАЧАТЬ