Haunting Whispers (12 page)

“Do you know why we’re here, Ms. Everhart?” Greene asked.

“I assume it’s about Jeremy Sutton.”

“And why would you assume that?”

Was it a cop strategy to ask stupid questions or were they being purposely annoying to put her off guard? “I went to see Jeremy Sutton and now he’s dead. It makes sense you’d want to talk with me. You don’t have to be a police officer to figure that out.”

Brown asked the next question. “Why did you visit Mr. Sutton?”

Audrey recounted her assault and unsuccessful attempts to find her attacker. A police report had been filed, and Rae was following up. She was certain they already knew the answers to their questions. Her best and most expeditious course of action was complete honesty. A little contrition wouldn’t hurt either. “I realize now these things are best left to the professionals.”

Greene nodded in agreement. “Did you touch anything while you were there?”

“A bottle of Pellegrino. I was there only a few minutes. Mr. Sutton was very kind and understanding of my questions. It was a shock to learn that he’d been…murdered…and so soon after I left.”

For the next several minutes Brown and Greene batted questions back and forth, going over points she’d already covered, obviously searching for discrepancies in her story. When it felt she couldn’t answer one more redundant question, Mrs. Honeycutt announced over the intercom that the mayor was ready to see her. The detectives closed their notebooks and stood.

“I think we’ve got everything we need, Ms. Everhart. Thank you for your cooperation.” Detective Brown shook her hand. Greene merely nodded.

“Is that all? Am I, how do you say, cleared now?” Audrey felt tense and quite unnerved, even though she was totally innocent. She needed to hear that she was no longer a suspect.

“We have to cover all the bases.” Greene answered from the doorway, his retort swift and unresponsive. She was content to have that particular chore off her list so she gathered her folder and headed to the mayor’s office. She had more than enough drama in her life at the moment without adding a murder investigation to the mix.

Audrey stepped into Mayor Downing’s plush brown-leather-and-oak office and glanced over his event schedule again while she waited. The press conference at the community center started in an hour, and he hadn’t read his speech yet. Charles Downing’s charisma had kept him afloat in the political-hotbed town of Kramer for the past six years. Their bedroom community, which skirted the state capital, was home to most of the county’s wealthiest residents. They made many political demands.

Mayor Downing handled each challenge with tact and flair. He was tall and handsome, though not intimidating, well educated, and as honest as any politician. To his employees he was kind and generous, to his opponents ruthless but fair, and to his constituents loyal and obliging. When he spoke, people listened and wanted to believe his message.

Today he would unveil a plan to renovate the Grantham Homes public-housing development on the outskirts of town. He had secured a federal grant for the work, which pleased the Kramer taxpayers and garnered resounding support. The more public funds Downing saved on government projects, the more private money he received for his own extravagances like an armored car, an elite security force, and an unnecessary publicist.

Audrey didn’t know why Mayor Downing needed her or any of the other excessive perks of his position. In the past year she hadn’t seen any indication of corruption or malfeasance, so she accepted her good fortune. She glanced at her watch and gave him the windup signal to end his call. He needed to be shaking hands and kissing babies on site in fifteen minutes. When he hung up, Audrey followed him out. They would do the final briefing in the car.

The crowd of nearly fifty was impressive for a workday political gathering with no promise of food or beverages. She disliked this part of her job most—the throngs of people pushing and touching. At times she felt emotionally overwhelmed and often positioned herself along the sidelines, humming to block the external noise and remain internally focused.

Audrey left the mayor with his security team, effectively avoiding the handshaking, and checked the makeshift stage for last-minute changes. The city banner and state flag flanked the podium, attached to the platform of a flatbed pickup. Magnetic campaign stickers decorated the sides of the truck, confirming in bold print that it was an election year.

The small stage would barely provide enough room for the mayor, his security detail, a few well-placed benefactors, and her. Since last year when the spring breeze whipped his speech off the stand, Downing had insisted that Audrey accompany him onstage with an extra copy at the ready. She tried to delegate the task to one of his guards, but he wouldn’t relent. Audrey didn’t want the exposure that came with the local news coverage.

When the mayor and his entourage walked to the stage, she stepped between the broad-chested security officers and blended into the background. Downing began his speech and Audrey visualized herself by a quiet river humming the Lakmé Flower Duet. The cacophony around her slowly dulled.

Audrey relaxed with the steady rhythm in her head, but swept her gaze over the area surrounding the stage. Her assault here a week ago felt fresher, more recent. What if her attacker was in the crowd waiting for another chance? She dismissed the thought as paranoia. She’d been a victim of circumstance, nothing more. No one was brazen enough to risk an assault in front of so many people—no one but
him
.

The thought chilled her. He
was
here, at this moment, watching her. She felt his presence like a sickness, intrusive and malevolent. Why hadn’t she picked up on it before? As distasteful as it was, she followed his energy to the source. She concentrated, opening her mind, willing him to allow her entry.

Their connection was powerful and turbulently contradictory. He personified darkness and evil; she held the light. She struggled to see him, to spot the person who hid behind indistinguishable images and blank spaces. One whispered word floated to the surface over and over like a mantra,
unspoiled, unspoiled
. Her intense concentration made her dizzy, but she wouldn’t stop until she identified him. Her body weakened, and she swayed side to side.

One of the mayor’s security officers, John or Marc, grabbed her elbow and steadied her. She released the mental link with her attacker and regained her composure. The guard remained close until she indicated with a subtle nod that she was okay. She searched the crowd for him but locked eyes with Rae Butler instead. The concerned look on Rae’s face said she was wondering the same thing as Audrey—
what the hell just happened to her?

Audrey glanced across the table and tried not to grimace at Loretta Granger’s blatantly seductive stare. Even with her limited experience, she could see the intent in Loretta’s eyes. Perhaps lunch at the Thai Palace only three blocks from the municipal building wasn’t far enough away. She hoped the muted lighting didn’t scream
date
because that certainly wasn’t her objective. After she’d put Loretta in such a bad position with the homicide detectives, she had to clear the air.

“Lo, sorry it’s taken so long to get together. Thanks for meeting me.”

“You’ve been busy. I saw the mayor’s press conference a couple of days ago. There’s bound to have been calls, good and bad, with the announcement.”

“You have no idea.” Audrey appreciated Loretta’s understanding and was grateful her job once again provided a plausible explanation for her lack of communication.

“This is about that Sutton thing, isn’t it?”

“Not entirely. Can we have lunch first? I’d like to enjoy some time with a friend before we get into other stuff.” Audrey was being selfish. It wasn’t fair to let Loretta think she had a chance romantically, no matter how badly Audrey needed her help. Once the real purpose for this meeting came out, she doubted Loretta would consider them amiable acquaintances, much less share another meal with her. Still she hoped to salvage a casual friendship.

“Sure, whatever you want.” Loretta seemed happy to postpone the serious discussions while they exchanged city rumor-mill gossip and ate.

Halfway through the meal, Audrey saw Rae Butler enter the restaurant with an attractive, smartly dressed brunette. As they followed the hostess toward their table, Rae scanned the room and her eyes settled on Audrey. She almost smiled until she noticed Loretta. They exchanged a brief nod of recognition, and Rae headed in her direction. Audrey wanted to run.

“Nice to see you again, Loretta.” Rae’s greeting sounded formal. When she turned her attention to Audrey, her tone softened noticeably. “Are you okay?”

Audrey looked up at Rae’s statuesque figure looming over the table. Her auburn waves cascaded over the collar of a crisp pale-blue shirt and reminded Audrey of a sunrise over desert sky. Casual slacks supported by a wide leather belt rested low on Rae’s hips, and Audrey had an irrational urge to grab the restraint and yank it off her. She swallowed a sizable lump the image conjured in her throat. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You seemed a little rattled at the press conference the other day.”

Audrey didn’t want this conversation with Rae, especially in front of Loretta. “The heat probably got to me.” Audrey realized immediately she’d chosen the wrong excuse.

“It was forty degrees that day.”

She wanted the topic closed. “I’m fine. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m trying to have lunch with a
friend.
” She purposely emphasized the last word to dismiss Rae as quickly as possible. It worked.

“I’m sorry to have bothered you.” She nodded to Loretta and returned to her table.

“What was
that
about?” Loretta asked. “I could cut the tension between you with this dull butter knife.” She raised the utensil and slashed the air in a dramatic demonstration.

“Nothing.”

“It certainly seemed like something. I think Rae has a crush on you. She obviously wasn’t pleased to see us together.” Loretta nailed the situation.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I know women, and I know that look. You can tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell because nothing’s going on.” Audrey regretted acting like such a brat to Rae, but she refused to discuss private matters with a woman she was attracted to in front of a woman she wasn’t. Why was life so complicated?

Her concentration fluctuated during the rest of the meal as she gazed too often at Rae and her friend. For the first time, she tried to imagine the type of woman Rae would be attracted to. This one seemed to fit: slightly shorter, curvy, longish hair, open and attentive, definitely sexy. From the way Rae stretched across the table toward her, she agreed with Audrey’s assessment.

If that was Rae’s type, she didn’t stand a chance, hypothetically speaking. Audrey didn’t consider herself particularly attractive, maybe even a bit too short and not curvy enough, not at all sexy or appealing, and certainly not open and communicative. Based on the flashes of insight she’d picked up from Rae, she would not only need but also demand an honest relationship. Audrey couldn’t offer that openness, at least not right now. The limitation bothered her so she returned her attention to her own lunch companion.

She finished her meal and pushed her plate to the side. “Loretta, I wanted to thank you for your assistance since we got out of recruit class. I know some of my requests have put you in the middle. It means a lot that you’d help me.”

“You’re welcome. And I’m sorry for ratting on you about the Sutton info. The detectives were grilling me, and I had to tell the truth. I didn’t know it would get you in trouble. Somebody
killed
that guy.” She shook her head in disbelief.

Guilt and regret radiated from Loretta, and underneath another emotion struggled for expression. Audrey hated knowing other people’s feelings. She was the worst kind of voyeur: one who went beyond physical leering into the secret places intended to remain protected and secure. Her mother had taught her that unlimited knowledge came with great responsibility.

Silence was no longer an option. She’d let it go too long. Saying nothing would be another violation. “Lo…about us.”

Loretta’s face brightened as she scooted forward in her chair. “I’ve been waiting for this. I would’ve preferred a quieter place, perhaps a glass of wine.”

“Loretta, I like you—”

“Good, because I like you, a lot.”

Audrey started to take Loretta’s hand but the sensations would’ve prevented her from saying what she needed to. One of the great injustices of her knowing was the inability to freely touch. “Please listen. This is difficult.” Loretta’s expression changed as her words registered. “I
like
you, as a friend. We can’t have anything more.”

Loretta exhaled a deep breath and her fair skin paled as she sat back in her chair. She studied Audrey for several minutes, looking back and forth between her and Rae. “Is there someone else?”

Her inevitable assumption that there was another person didn’t surprise Audrey. Perhaps it was easier than not feeling good enough or blaming yourself. A concrete reason was a better scapegoat than some abstract concept. “No, there’s no one else.”

“It’s Rae Butler, isn’t it? I knew something was going on. I could see it.”