Page 7 of Fighting for Mallory

“Do you know to whom he spoke or the nature of the conversation?”

“No, I’m afraid not. I, foolishly, didn’t want to know anything about Bentley’s business. Do you think someone he had dealings with did this to him?”

“We’ll find out.” Cameron reached for his cell phone and pressed one of his contacts. “Hutch, it’s Cameron.” A pause. Mallory heard Hutch ask about her. “No, she’s not doing well at all. I need Bentley Hayes’ phone records. Landline and cell. Yeah, download them to my phone.” He ended the call and gazed at her. “Do you recall anything else leading up to the fundraiser at Senator Keane’s home?”

Mallory touched her throat. “Bentley gave me a ruby and diamond necklace. Was I wearing it when I was arrested? And a red evening gown?”

“Yes.”

“So, I allegedly stabbed my husband to death while wearing a figure-hugging evening gown? And then fell asleep in my clothes and jewelry with the murder weapon in my hand?”

“It would appear so. Luca said you called him from Ari Keane’s phone to say that you were afraid of your limo driver. Can you tell me about that? Why did you use Ari’s phone?”

Mallory swallowed the hard knot of fear forming in her throat. “I don’t remember doing that. But, if I used, you said Ari, Ari’s phone, it’s because Bentley took mine.”

“You mean he borrowed yours?”

Humiliation burned in her cheeks. “No. Bentley…he takes my phone away from me…”

Cameron’s amber eyes bored into hers. “Explain.”

CHAPTER THREE

“Where were you last night, Detective Martinelli?” Judd pinned Luca with an icy stare.

“At Chief of Police Justice McQuaid’s home.”

“Convenient. I hear the Laguna Beach Police Department is thicker than thieves.”

“Convenient or not, it’s the truth. I was babysitting the chief’s daughter, Noelle, because his wife, Lieutenant Brielle McQuaid, LA SWAT, you might have heard of her, is confined to bed rest with her second pregnancy, and Justice is out of town. Secretary of State Barbara Washburn summoned him to Washington.”

“Name dropping is not going to help you.” His irritation resonated in his tone.

“And rushing to judgment in this case isn’t going to help solve it.”

Judd tried a different tactic. “What’s your relationship to Mrs. Hayes?”

“We’re friends. And colleagues.”

“Friends and colleagues with benefits, you mean.”

Luca wanted to knock the smirk off Judd’s face. “No. I would never cheapen my relationship with Mallory by sleeping with her while she’s married to another man.”

“And there it is. Motive to get rid of her husband.” Judd’s eyes gleamed with triumph. “Want to hear my theory?”

“I’m sure it’s a doozy.”

“I think you and Mrs. Hayes cooked up a scheme to rid yourselves of her husband. You hid in their bedroom until they returned from the fundraiser at Senator Keane’s home and attacked Mr. Hayes with a butcher knife. Then, you pumped her full of Rohypnol and planted the knife on her. She can’t remember a thing, so it will be easy to pin the murder on someone else, and Mrs. Hayes gets off scot-free.”

Luca chuckled, resisting the urge to burst into unrestrained laughter. “I’ve always respected you, Judd, for being a straightshooter and avoiding the politics of your office. But this cockamamie theory of yours has more holes in it than a slice of Swiss cheese. A simple phone call to Chief McQuaid will confirm my alibi. Yes, I was there all night in case Brielle or Noelle needed me. And no, the McQuaids would never compromise their integrity by lying.”

Judd scowled. “Sit tight, Detective Martinelli.”

Worry for Mallory gnawed at Luca’s gut like flesh-eating bacteria. He chafed at not being able to be with her, though he knew she was in good hands with Cameron as her lawyer. He and Hutch had been secretly investigating Bentley for months now, and except for one questionable deal with a land developer, they hadn’t been able to find anything criminal. Maybe it wasn’t someone who wanted to even a score with Bentley. Maybe Mallory was the target.

Luca called Hutch. “Do you remember that case Mallory tried a few months back? The defendants killed an LAPD police captain, and they were ID’d through their fanged copperhead tattoos.”

“I remember. What about it? And how’s Mallory?”

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