Truth Be Told. Barbara McMahon

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СКАЧАТЬ are you from originally?”

      “New Orleans before here. Born in Baton Rouge.”

      “Quite a change of venue,” she said.

      “I worked in the Big Easy PD a number of years.”

      “Been here long?” she asked.

      “A little over two years now.”

      “And compared to New Orleans, this is satisfying?” she asked.

      “It suits me. I worked the narcotics detail. It’s a never-ending battle.”

      “But it’s a battle that has to be fought. I’m in drugs myself.”

      Sam knew what she meant. It even made sense, remembering the dossier he’d read on Jo Hunter. Her mother was an addict. Kids often became crusaders against drugs—if they didn’t start using themselves.

      “If you’re not going to the hospital, I’ll give you a ride home,” he said a few moments later. She seemed at a loss and Sam’s instincts rose. Part of the job of a cop was to help people, not only to catch criminals. He wanted to help this young woman, even though she probably didn’t feel she needed help. The attitude of hers would only cover so much.

      She slanted him a glance. “Won’t that look great, first night home and already riding in a cop car.” He caught the hint of amusement.

      “I’ll turn on the siren if you like,” he said.

      She laughed at that and his breath hitched. She was lovely when she wasn’t trying to look and act like a street punk.

      “Are you in disguise?” he asked.

      “Undercover detail. I infiltrate high schools. Classy, huh?” she asked in self-mockery.

      “You look young enough for it. Any luck?”

      “Oh, yeah. More than I want. Several busts in the past couple of years. So three high schools and a junior high are safe for a little while. Until the next slimeball starts up trafficking. It’s a never-ending war, but one I’m willing to wage forever to rid the world of such bastards.”

      “I felt that way.”

      “Burned out?” she guessed.

      Sam shrugged. Partially that, of course. But Patty’s death had been the final straw. He’d tried hard to make the world a better place, and lost his wife along the way. If he’d listened to her, they would have moved to a place like Maraville long ago, established comfortable lives, and Patty wouldn’t have been on that road the night the drunk careered into her.

      “I’ll take you up on that ride, then screw up my courage to see Maddie in the morning.”

      He rose. “Sounds like a plan.”

      She stood beside him, coming to his chin. She was slender, almost boyish in figure. But strong-looking. Her bare arms were toned and tanned, probably from spending time at the beach in Southern California. He wondered what her hair looked like when it wasn’t spiked. Shorter than he liked on a woman.

      He shook off the thought. He wasn’t interested in Jo Hunter as a woman. Was he?

      She climbed into the passenger’s side of the car while Sam got behind the wheel.

      “Was Jack over to dinner tonight?” he asked.

      “Yes. He and Cade both. I felt the odd man out.”

      “Yeah, I know that feeling. Eliza’s a great cook, and she’s always asking me over, but then it’s always the two couples and me.”

      “Well, if I’m here next time you’re invited, you know you won’t be the only odd man out.”

      “Staying long?” he asked again. She wasn’t coming on to him, was she?

      “I wasn’t sure how Maddie was. I thought she was at death’s door. So I planned a flying visit to say I’m sorry. Now they want me to stay for the fund-raiser and to tell anyone who asks that Maddie never beat me. Then for April’s wedding. Sheesh, I could end up staying more than two weeks.”

      “If you’re saying Maddie didn’t do it, who did?” Sam asked.

      Jo wasn’t surprised at the question. He’d want to know. Everyone else would, too. Not that they’d likely believe her. Maddie hadn’t twelve years ago, and she knew Jo better than anyone.

      “I have no problem telling everyone. But I want to talk with Maddie first. I wish the authorities had believed me twelve years ago. The bastard got away with criminal assault and I’m the one who got the shaft.”

      “From what I can tell about my predecessor, he had trouble finding the office every day. Not a sterling example of law enforcement. But you can set the record straight with a name.”

      She laughed softly. Sam liked hearing it.

      The trip to the house on Poppin Hill ended too soon. One place wasn’t far from any other in Maraville. He stopped near the front porch, still occupied by April and Jack.

      “Come up for a minute,” Jo invited.

      “I’ll see if Jack wants a ride home. He’s staying with me, you know.”

      “I didn’t know that.”

      “We go way back. When he was injured by a land mine a few months ago, in the Middle East, he came here to convalesce. Said his folks were driving him crazy.”

      “Funny how a Parisian model and a world-class journalist met in Maraville, Mississippi,” Jo said. “I wondered how he got that limp.”

      “Just goes to show if something is meant to be, it will be.” He tried to tell himself that whenever he thought about Patty’s death. It didn’t make things easier, but he kept hoping one day it would.

      “Thanks for the lift.”

      “Anytime, Detective.”

      She nodded and got out of the car.

      Sam stepped out and leaned on the door. “Jack, want a lift?”

      “Sure. Give me a few.”

      Sam watched Jo pass the couple on the porch and go into the house. He climbed back in the car and waited, trying not to watch as his friend kissed his fiancée. He remembered kissing Patty, the long, slow, hot kisses that inevitably led to making love. He envied Jack that pleasure. Patty had been dead for three years, but sometimes it felt as if she’d just stepped out of the room. Other times, he could hardly remember being married, being in love. Until the pain hit.

      God, he missed his wife.

      “RISE AND SHINE,” April said, coming into Jo’s room the next morning early with a steaming cup of coffee.

      “Is there a fire?” Jo grumbled, and rolled over, pulling the pillow over her head.

      “No, СКАЧАТЬ