Capturing Cleo. Linda Winstead Jones

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СКАЧАТЬ nodded wisely. She did not like that nod.

      “I see,” he mumbled.

      “How did Jack die?” she asked again, a terrible feeling creeping slowly through her body.

      “We’ll get to that—”

      “Tell me,” she interrupted.

      She knew he was waiting for her reaction. He was judging her, weighing her. “About two o’clock this morning, give or take an hour, your ex-husband went off the roof of the First Heritage Bank building that’s under construction four blocks from here.”

      Cleo felt suddenly dizzy, but she fought the weakness back. What a horrible way to die. Even for Jack.

      “It’s unclear at this time if he jumped, fell or was pushed, but since the death is suspicious, it’s under investigation as a homicide until something comes to light to prove otherwise.”

      “Jack would never commit suicide,” Cleo said softly. “He loved himself too much.”

      Malone nodded, as if he’d already come to this conclusion.

      “But I didn’t…” she began. “I hated his guts, that’s no secret, but I would never—” She shuddered. “But it is quite a coincidence, that I told that joke and then a few days later…” She hugged her arms, suddenly cold.

      “It was no coincidence, Ms. Tanner,” Malone said confidently. He stared at her thoughtfully. “You see, Mr. Tempest didn’t fall alone.”

      “What do you mean?” She held her breath. Was someone else she knew dead? Who else had gone off the roof of the tallest building in Huntsville?

      “A grapefruit was found beside the body,” he said, very matter-of-factly. “That detail has not been made public, so I’d appreciate it if you’d keep it to yourself, for the time being.”

      “A grapefruit,” Cleo said softly.

      Malone caught and held her gaze. “A grapefruit.”

      Chapter 2

      Cleo Tanner was no longer suspect number one, which left Luther nowhere. He positively hated being left nowhere. Her alibi was iffy, at best, but it was an alibi with two witnesses.

      The shaky alibi wasn’t the reason he thought she was innocent. He trusted his instincts, and his hunches were almost always right. Cleo had hated her ex-husband, and once the shock wore off she would not be sorry he was dead. But right now she was shaken. She tried to hide it, but her knees wobbled and her face had gone pale. She had expected something, some kind of trouble, when she’d seen him and recognized him as a cop, but she had not expected the news that her ex-husband was dead. There had been no tears in her fascinating amber eyes, but she hadn’t been able to disguise the shaking that had worked its way through her body. Unless she was a damn good actress….

      “I don’t want you to drive me home,” she protested, snatching her arm from his hand.

      “I can’t let you go off like this,” he said sensibly.

      “I’m fine,” she snapped, walking down the sidewalk and briskly away from him, reaching into her purse for her keys.

      For a moment he forgot that she was part of a murder investigation and just…watched. Cleo Tanner was not a slender woman. She had ample hips and breasts that were practically poured into that black dress, and wonderfully shaped long legs beneath the too-short hem. Those legs ended in high-heeled shoes that no human being should be able to walk gracefully in. She definitely shouldn’t be able to stalk away from him so confidently, that gentle sway of her hips tantalizing and teasing him this way.

      “Fine.” He surrendered. “I’ll follow you home and make sure you get there all right.”

      “You will not follow me home,” she said, glancing over her shoulder with an angry toss of her long black curls.

      She turned down a narrow alleyway that led to a small private parking lot. There were just four cars there—hers, Edgar’s, Eric’s and the barmaid’s, he imagined. Keys in hand, she headed for the ruby-red Corvette that was parked beneath a street lamp. It was several years old, but was in excellent shape…and it was, after all, a Corvette.

      “Nice car,” he said to her back.

      “Thanks,” she said tersely. “It was Jack’s, and it was the only thing I got out of our marriage that had any value to speak of. He hated me for leaving him, but he hated me more for getting custody of the car.”

      “It’ll be all right here overnight. I’ll have a patrol car drive by—”

      “Thank you, but it’s not going to be here overnight,” she insisted.

      He was tempted to toss the obstinate woman over his shoulder and carry her home that way, but he didn’t think she’d stand for it. Still, she was in no condition to drive herself home.

      Her hands trembled as she attempted to fit the key into the car door lock. She tried, but it wasn’t quite working for her. As the key finally slid into the slot, Luther reached around and placed his hand over hers. She jumped as if she’d been shocked, but he didn’t remove his hand. His fingers brushed the veins at her wrist; his body pressed close to hers kept her in place.

      “I need to ask you a few more questions, anyway,” he said softly. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her. “I’ll drive you home, then in the morning I’ll pick you up, take you to the station to answer a few questions and then bring you back to your car.” This close, he could feel her deep tremble. And more. The softness of her body, the fascinating curves that fit him, somehow. “You’re in no shape to drive, Ms. Tanner. It’s not safe.”

      “I’ll be fine,” she said again.

      He slipped his fingers into her palm and confiscated the keys, snaking them easily into his own grasp and lifting them away.

      “Hey!” she shouted, spinning on him as he took a step back. “Give me those keys!”

      “I’ll give them to you when we get to your house,” he said, turning his back on her and heading for the alley that would lead to the street and his car. He didn’t have to turn to see that she followed. He heard the tempting click of her high heels against the asphalt.

      “You have no right,” she began breathlessly.

      “So call a cop,” he mumbled, just loud enough for her to hear.

      She mumbled herself, something obscene and just short of threatening. Luther smiled. “I’ll drop you off, then pick you up in the morning at nine to take you to the station to complete my questioning.” Yeah, he still had plenty of questions about Jack Tempest and Cleo Tanner.

      Cleo stayed a distance behind him but kept pace, her step clacking on the walk in a rhythmic way that made him want to turn and watch. He didn’t. He led the way to his car and opened the passenger door for her, facing her at last. Man, she was pissed, big time.

      But she did slide into the passenger seat, giving him one last glimpse of those terrific legs in the light of a street lamp, as СКАЧАТЬ