Page 41 of I'm Watching You

Ruby frowned but wasn’t in a position to argue.

Zack found Lindsay by the front door. ‘Do you have spare keys to your house?’

‘Yes. Hidden under a pot by the front door.’

He’d lectured her enough about safety when they’d been married. He’d always feared his undercover work would spill into his personal life and put her in danger. ‘That’s not too safe.’

Her face colored as if she remembered what he’d said. ‘It’s handy.’

As soon as they emerged from the house, the reporters who’d been on the front lawn lunged toward them. Zack shielded her from the cameras and hustled her to his car while Warwick ran interference with the press. Zack opened the backseat side door. She was half inside the car when Kendall darted around Warwick and caught up to them.

The reporter shoved a microphone toward Lindsay’s face. ‘Lindsay, can you tell me why you were so upset earlier? Why did the police return? Has someone else been killed?’

Zack waited until Lindsay was fully inside before he closed the car door. ‘No statements now, Ms Shaw.’

Kendall looked annoyed. ‘I’m just trying to do my job, detective. Lindsay, tell me what happened.’

Warwick moved beside Kendall, using height and size to intimidate her. ‘Talk to the department’s public relations guy.’

Kendall didn’t look threatened, but annoyed. ‘When I’m interested in the party line, I will. Right now I’m looking for real answers.’

Warwick frowned. Clearly he didn’t like the woman. ‘No comment.’ He slid in the front passenger seat.

Cameras rolled as Zack got behind the wheel and started the car. In silence, they drove through the neighborhood to the main road.

Lindsay stared out the window. From the rearview mirror, Zack could see her jaw was tight and her body tense. She needed a friend right now.

But Zack couldn’t be that for her. Not if he was going to figure out who killed Turner and who now harbored an obsession for her. He merged onto the interstate.

‘Tell me about that charity function and the Turners again,’ Zack said.

She fidgeted with the bracelets on her wrist. ‘Like I said, I didn’t kill Harold. And neither did Jordan.’

Warwick stared out the side window as if he were a million miles away, but he wasn’t missing a syllable.

Zack couldn’t let her off the hook. ‘There’s no need to protect Jordan. She’s got an attorney and an alibi for the time her husband was killed.’

Her lips flattened. ‘Like I said, I met them at a charity function two weeks ago. Jordan was on Harold’s arm, smiling radiantly. They looked like the perfect couple.’ She hesitated. ‘I should have known then that something was up.’

‘Why?’

‘No such thing as a perfect couple.’ She sighed and recapped the encounter with Jordan. ‘A half hour later, Harold approached me at the party. He told me to stay away from Jordan. I told him to stop hitting his wife. We got into a big fight. Then I left the party.’

‘Witnesses?’

‘No doubt. I noticed several people were staring, but I couldn’t tell you who.’

Zack tightened his hands on the wheel. ‘That’s it? You never saw Harold again? You never communicated with him?’

Disgust darkened her face. ‘Not Harold. But I did callJordan several times. I hoped I could help her. And I did call her this morning after I saw you.’

‘To tell her about Harold?’

She hesitated. ‘To try to figure out if she’d crossed the line.’ She dug fingers through her hair. ‘The last time I talked to Jordan, she told me not to worry about Harold. She said she could take care of him.’

‘And you figured that meant murder.’

‘Not at the time. A lot of women believe they can handle their abusive husbands. They think that if they always smile, that if the house is immaculate and sex is always available, everything will be fine. But no matter what they do, it’s never enough. Sooner or later the guy snaps again and hits her.’

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