Page 63 of Necessary Evil

Chapter 14

Lucy was exhausted and she was stress-eating chips out of the bag. But Bobby was free. The detectives had no concrete evidence to charge him, since the so-called eyewitness was dead and Bobby had an alibi and proof he’d been in New York at the time of the murder. Thank God he had been with Jenny all weekend and they’d gone to the mall. She texted Evan twice, but either his phone was off or he was busy, because he hadn’t gotten back to her. She wanted nothing more than to get as far away from her brother as possible and spend the rest of her night drinking whiskey and doing the wild thing with her…boyfriend? Lover? What the hell should she call Evan anyway?

“I love you too, Jenny.”

Lucy’s head whipped to her brother, who was on the phone. They were in his dingy motel room. Lucy was sitting on the edge of his bed trying not to eavesdrop, but love? He and Jenny had been together only a short time. And after a nice weekend, something terrible like this happened. Kind of like her and Evan, only with more police and less fire. Lucy shook her head. She was staying out of it.

“I appreciate your standing by me. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“I’ll be outside,” Lucy said, grabbing her jacket. It was starting to get lovey-dovey.

It was a relief to step outside into the fresh air. The stale motel room smelled like mildew, and if she didn’t get away from the potato chips, her face would look like a pizza tomorrow. She leaned against the wall and resisted the urge to just get in her car and go home. But Bobby wanted to take her out to dinner to thank her and she didn’t have the heart to tell him no. He looked like he had aged ten years because of this ordeal. When she saw how gray and haggard he was, all her protective instincts surged forth. How dare they try to pin a double murder on her baby brother—who had been on the other coast, no less? It was obvious that his former girlfriend had been into some bad things that had caught up to her. At least Jenny was stable.

“Come on,” she muttered, looking back into the window.

A movement in the parking lot drew her attention. Lucy’s heart leapt into her throat when she made out the outline of a motorcycle parked in the darkness. The lights didn’t reach it, so all she could see was a person getting off the bike.

“Shit.” She fumbled for the door, but it had locked behind her.

What if this was a Pyro coming to finish the job they’d started yesterday? Lucy couldn’t even sprint for her rental car. The biker would be on her before she could get to it.

“Bobby!” She pounded on the door.

He flung open the door. “Can’t a man say a proper goodbye to his girlfriend?”

Pushing him inside, she closed the door and locked it. “We’ve got trouble.”

“What are you talking about?” Bobby tensed.

“Last night a biker threw a flaming bottle at my car. I think one of them is out there. He must have followed us or something.”

Bobby looked around the room. “What do we do?”

“Call the police,” she said.

“No.” He shook his head emphatically. “No more fucking cops.”

“I’ll try Evan again.”

This time he picked up. “Counselor.”

Did she imagine it or was he annoyed? “Where are you?” she asked.

“Where are you?”

“I’m in the Broadmore Motel and I think one of the Pyros is outside.”

“Why the fuck are you in a motel?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Is he jealous?“I’m meeting a client. Now, can you come and investigate it?”

“Give us fifteen minutes and you’ll be clear to get to your car and go home.”

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” she asked.

“No.”

“I’ve been trying to contact you all day.”

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