Page 60 of Melody

Detective Newcomb’s raised his right eyebrow. “We’re familiar with Nogales.”

Oh.It would’ve been nice if he’d said something earlier, but she reminded herself that they probably already knew some of her background. “After hearing about its value so many times, my friend encouraged me to take it to one of the jewelers downtown to get it appraised. I was sure it was, like, cubic zirconia or something just made to look expensive. So I asked the jeweler if he could tell me the value of my ring and he asked ifI wanted to sell it. I told him I didn’t. My boyfriend had given me the ring and I just wanted to know what it was worth. When he told me an appraisal would take a day, I told him, ‘Never mind.’ So he said for twenty bucks, he could tell me quickly if the ring was cubic zirconia and give me an estimate of its approximate value. I handed it to him and he used a little machine on it. The first thing he said was that the stoneswerediamonds, and then he started turning the ring over, scrutinizing it. He started kind of mumbling about the unusual design and said something about the type of metal used in the band and, before I knew it, he gave me back my money and said he was keeping the ring and calling the police. I panicked and left.”

“You didn’t wait to talk to the police?”

“No. I was scared. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But Nogales might have.”

“I know. And that might be why I panicked. I don’t know. And when I got home and told him what had happened with the ring, he called me a stupid bitch and asked if I’d given the jeweler any information—which I hadn’t.” No way was she going to say shit about the murder investigation or her suspicions, because she didn’t know if that would make her an accessory or something. Should she have come forward before? Yes…but she was afraid of what Tommy would do to her. Andthatwas the part she was comfortable telling. “He threatened me and hurt me, and I knew he would kill me if I ever told you guys about this.”

“So why are you here now?”

Scarlett nodded. It was a logical question. Although she didn’t feel any less anxious now than she had when she’d first stepped in here, she was feeling lighter by releasing this burden she’d been carrying. “Tommy’s the kind of guy who’s going to get caught eventually. I never knew any specifics of anything he might have done, but I just knew he was involvedin questionable activities—and I knew that he’d eventually have to serve some real time. But to keep myself safe, I left, and I’d started building a new life here. After a few months, I started to think everything would be okay. Yesterday, though, he showed up at my job and tried to kidnap me.”

“Kidnapyou? Again, I’m curious why you didn’t call us.”

“Actually, my boss did—but I went to my apartment and started packing my bags. I was going to run again, because Tommy knows where I am now, and that means I’m not safe. Hewillkill me. I know it.”

“When and where did this take place—him coming to your place of employment?”

“It was yesterday around three o’clock. I work at Tequilaville.”

The detective turned to Officer Friendly. “Wanna get that report?”

“On it.” The officer got up and left the room.

“So tell me why you’re here today.”

Wasn’t it obvious? “I was going to leave Silver City yesterday, and…a friend talked me out of it. He said I should come to you to tell you what I know. And I guess I thought if you guys knew he was threatening me and trying to hurt me, you could…I don’t know—keep an eye out for him?”

She couldn’t read the cop’s expression, but he finally said, “I know all you citizens think our job is to protect you—and it is—but not like you think. We’re not your personal bodyguards.”

“I wasn’t—”

“And it’s not on us that you got mixed up with the wrong guy.”

“I know, but—”

“So we’ll give you a referral to the local women’s shelter here. They have the resources to deal with cases like yours and they can help you file a restraining order against Nogales.”

Melody felt her cheeks turn warm but that mixture of feelings in her belly quickly turned to anger against this man. He was minimizing her experience and blaming her for it.

Just then the officer returned, handing the detective a sheet of paper. As he looked it over, she made a decision. She wasnotgoing to sit here and be belittled by the so-called good guys. Maybe sheshouldhave gone to the cops in Pueblo when she’d still lived there, because at least they didn’t have the rap that Silver City police did. Across the state, there had always been rumors of corruption in Pike County and, although she’d seen no evidence of it, she figured where there was smoke, there was fire. Regardless, she wasn’t going to sit here and be made to feel small and stupid and ashamed of getting into a shitty relationship, and she didn’t feel like she had to explain it to these assholes. Had she made a bad call? Hell, yes, she had, and in retrospect, she knew why. She’d been in mourning and was vulnerable, and a guy like Tommy making her feel good about herself had blinded her to the kind of man he actually was.

Shewas not a bad person…and that was something these cops had seemed to miss.

“Do you need anything else from me?”

Detective Newcomb looked up from the sheet of paper. “I’d like to ask you more questions.”

“I don’t know anything other than what I’ve already told you. I don’t even know what kind of car Tommy drives anymore.” Standing up, she placed her purse on her shoulder. “I’d like to go now.”

“I said I have more questions.”

Where she found the courage to sass someone like this, she didn’t know—but she suspected it had to do with the feeling of being trapped, something she’d fought to escape with Tommy. She didn’t want to feel like that again. “Am I under arrest?”

“No.”

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