Covert Exposure (7 page)

“What? What’s the matter?” he asked.

“You’re here to keep an eye on me aren’t you?
You and Detectives Marsh and Walker still think I had something to
do with the murders don’t you? They were my friends. How could you
even think that?”

“No, that’s not it at all. Just let me
explain,” Spinelli said as he took another step closer to her.

Shannon lifted her hand and placed it on his
chest, stopping him from stepping any closer to her. Her lips
quivered and the tears that flooded her eyes began to roll down her
pale cheeks. “Don’t.”

Shannon’s knees grew weak and she slowly slid
down the wall until her butt rested on the floor. She wrapped her
arms around her knees and buried her face between her chest and
knees smothering her sobs.

Spinelli dropped his duffel bag to the floor
and took a seat next to her. He slung his arm around her shoulders
and pulled her close to his side. He didn’t know what else to do.
Comforting crying women did not come easily to him.

After several minutes of uncontrollable
crying, she appeared to pull herself together. She lifted her head
and used her sleeve to wipe away the remaining tears that clung to
her cheeks.

Without a word, she rose to her feet and
began walking away from Spinelli. He sprang to his feet, slung his
duffel bag over his shoulder, and kept pace at her side. ”Let me
walk you to your car.”

“I didn’t drive here.” Her eyes focused
ahead, not on him.

“How did you get here?”

“Bus,” she replied coolly.

“The bus,” he repeated.

Shannon stopped in her tracks, perched her
hands on her hips, and stared at him. “Yes, the bus. You can never
get a parking spot in the ramp this time of year so it’s just
easier to take the bus to the front door. Is that okay with you,
Detective Spinelli? Are you finished with the inquisition? Can I go
in peace now?” Her tone was so sharp it made his blood run
cold.

Spinelli found himself stammering. He’d never
known a woman to push him to the state of mumbling before and he
didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit, yet though she appeared
to want nothing to do with him, he felt a compelling need to make
sure she got home safely. “You know what…can we just start over?
All I want to do is make sure you get home safely. Something is
going on here and until I get to the bottom of it I just…I just
want to make sure you’re safe so I’d like to drive you home,
okay?”

Shannon pressed her hand over her mouth. She
inhaled deeply and stared down at the floor. Then she lifted her
gaze to meet Spinelli’s, dropping her hand to her side. “I’m sorry
I was so rude. This whole thing is just a little more than I can
handle right now. I really liked Roland. He was such a kind and
sweet old man. I can’t think of any possible reason why someone
would kill him. It just doesn’t make sense. He was kind to
everyone.”

Spinelli absently pressed his fingers to his
chest as if trying to shield his heart from the stabbing pain
penetrating from Shannon’s grief filled eyes to his. “I’ll get to
the bottom of this. We’ll get the answers. But for now, please just
let me drive you home.”

Shannon nodded and walked along with him
toward the mall’s parking ramp. Silence and darkness filled the
mall. Only a few store attendants lingered about as they put the
closing touches on their stores. Spinelli eyed them all as he
walked by wondering if any of them knew anything about the murders
or if they themselves had anything to do with the murders of Hudson
and Reed.

From the second floor balcony, Spinelli
looked down toward the Greek restaurant on the first floor. A
Closed sign hung in the window. The two elves and two security
guards he talked to earlier appeared to be waiting by the
retractable metal security gate blocking the entrance to the
restaurant. He slowed his pace and watched the men and the entrance
to the restaurant. He took in every detail. After a moment, the
gate opened, exposing a heavy-set dark haired, dark skinned man.
Spinelli figured the man stood about five-foot-ten and weighed
about two-hundred and fifty pounds. He placed his age at about
fifty-five or so. A little muscle trailed the heavy-set dark haired
man. The muscle consisted of two tall well-built younger gentlemen
dressed all in black, maybe in their early thirties. Both men
appeared to be of the same descent as the older gentleman, perhaps
Mediterranean. The elves and security guards entered the restaurant
and the musclemen closed the gate behind them.

“That’s Loukas the Greek. He owns the
restaurant,” Shannon said as Spinelli continued to stare down at
the restaurant entrance.

Spinelli shifted his gaze to Shannon.
“What?”

“That guy you were staring at is Loukas the
Greek. He owns the restaurant,” she repeated.

“Oh. I wonder what they’re doing in there
after hours.”

Shannon glanced down toward the restaurant.
“They play cards.”

“Really?”

Shannon shrugged. “I’ve heard the security
guys talk about how they play poker in there after hours.”

“Hmm,” Spinelli replied as he continued to
walk toward the parking structure. He desperately wanted to check
out their game, their business, but he put that on hold to deal
with his immediate priority, Shannon, and getting her home
safely.

Chapter
Eleven

Spinelli parked his truck in the only vacant
stall in the parking lot of Shannon’s apartment complex. He cut the
engine and glanced about the area surrounding the two-story brick
building. When he deemed it safe, he turned his attention to
Shannon who sat silent in the passenger seat staring through the
windshield.

“Shannon,” Spinelli whispered.

The second he said her name her body flinched
and she gasped for air.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you but
you’re home.”

“It’s okay. Thanks for the ride,” she replied
as she nervously reached for the door handle.

Spinelli flung his door open and slid out of
the truck. He raced to the other side of the vehicle and reached
Shannon’s side just as she shut the passenger door. “I’ll walk you
to your door.”

“Thank you but you don’t need to. I’ll be
fine,” she replied.

Spinelli simply ignored her and continued to
walk with her. When they reached the front door Shannon ran her
fingers over the numeric touchpad and the door unlocked. He
followed her through the doorway and the common area, which housed
a wall of mailboxes. He continued to follow her, as she turned left
in the long narrow corridor. She paused and looked back at him.
“I’m fine. You don’t need to bother yourself any longer. I think I
can manage from here.”

He strapped on his lady-killer grin. “It’s no
bother.” He continued to follow her to her apartment door.

Shannon fumbled with her key. Her nervous
hands struggled even more as she tried to insert the key into the
slot.

Spinelli reached over and took the key from
her hand. “I’ll get that for you.”

The soft quick brush of her hand against his
caused the blood in his veins to heat up just short of boiling.

Spinelli turned toward the sound of a door
opening behind him to find a little old lady standing in the
doorway of the apartment directly across the hall from Shannon’s.
“Is that you dear?” the woman asked.

Shannon spun around to face the woman. “Yes,
Mrs. Finch, it’s me. We didn’t wake you did we?”

“Oh no dear, me and Sister are just watching
the news. Well Sister’s watching, and I’m listening. I heard you
come home so I thought I’d just give you my grocery list tonight
and see how your day was at the mall. Were there lots of children
visiting Santa today?”

Spinelli watched Shannon smile as she spoke
with Mrs. Finch. “Yes, the mall was packed and the line of children
was endless for a while.”

Mrs. Finch smiled. “Oh what fun, I love this
time of year.”

The conversation paused and Spinelli
continued to look at Mrs. Finch as she stood in the doorway in her
pink bathrobe belted at the waist. Small black curlers held her
steel gray hair in place. Mrs. Finch’s eyes widened and her face
lit up as if someone turned a light bulb on within her. She stepped
out of the doorway and into the hall and turned her head from
Shannon to Spinelli. “Did you say ‘we’ dear?”

Before Shannon could reply, Mrs. Finch turned
her head back in the direction of her apartment and yelled with her
fragile voice. “Sister, come quick. Shannon’s got company and he
smells like a hot one.”

Spinelli couldn’t help but smile at Mrs.
Finch’s comment and when he flashed his eyes in Shannon’s direction
he caught her eye roll. The shuffle of feet drew his attention back
toward Mrs. Finch’s apartment door. Another little old lady
surfaced in the doorway. Not only did she look just like the first
little old lady, she dressed the same as well.

The second little old lady flashed a smile in
his direction and then looked at Shannon. “Who’s your friend,
dear?”

Shannon gestured toward Mrs. Finch and her
sister and looked at Spinelli, “Nick Spinelli, these are my
neighbors, Sally Finch and Sarah Knight. Mrs. Finch and Mrs.
Knight, this is Nick Spinelli.”

Mrs. Finch reached toward Spinelli and he
took her small cold boney shriveled hand in his. “I’m pleased to
meet you, Mrs. Finch.”

Mrs. Finch’s smile grew, nearly stretching
from ear to ear. She let out a giggle and turned her head toward
her sister. “Large warm hands, smells good, does he look as hot as
he feels and smells?” she asked in a stage whisper.

Mrs. Knight flashed a wink in Spinelli’s
direction, smiled, leaned toward her sister and whispered, “Oh,
he’s a looker alright, tall, dark and handsome. Mysterious eyes,
the kind a woman can get lost in. Looks to be pretty fit too,
Sister. Too bad you can’t see this one, he’s a delight.”

Spinelli kept most of his attention focused
on the sisters but he took a glance at Shannon out of the corner of
his eye. A bright shade of red began consuming her pale colored
skin rising upward from her neck.

“Come on, Sister, let’s leave these kids
alone to go about their business.”

“We don’t have any business,” Shannon
immediately piped up. ”I mean Mr. Spinelli just gave me a ride home
from work. We’re not really…”

Mrs. Finch interrupted Shannon mid-sentence.
“Shannon, dear, why don’t you share some of those delicious
gingerbread cookies you baked with your friend? She’s an excellent
baker, Mr. Spinelli.”

He couldn’t help himself, “I’d love to try
them. Gingerbread cookies are my favorite.”

Spinelli wished the ladies a good night and
turned to follow Shannon into her apartment.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Shannon
asked him.

“I’m getting my cookies.”

He reached for the door behind him and heard
the sisters whispering.

“It’s about time that sweet girl gets a man
in her life.”

“You’re right, Sister, her clock is ticking.
Poor thing.”

The door clicked shut. Spinelli stifled his
chuckle and pressed on about the cookies.

Shannon rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Fine, I’ll give you some cookies and that’s all you’re getting.
Then will you please just leave?” she asked as she spun on her heel
and headed toward the kitchen shedding her coat along the way.

Spinelli easily sensed her discomfort and he
blamed it on her unwanted attraction to him. He couldn’t help but
want to add to her discomfort, tease her just a bit. “Are you
normally this rude to all the guests you invite in for
cookies?”

Shannon turned to face Spinelli. She flashed
him a scowl and took a moment to conjure up her response. “Excuse
me but I don’t recall inviting you in for cookies. What I recall is
you rudely inviting yourself in for cookies.”

Spinelli fought to keep from smiling. He
liked the way she tried to cover her nervousness as she spoke to
him. The conscious attempt made her voice deeper and even sexier
than normal. With a voice like that he thought for sure she could
double as a one nine-hundred operator.

Shannon quickly turned again and headed in
the direction of the kitchen. Spinelli followed with his eyes fixed
on her backside. She probably had no clue how sexy she looked in
her skimpy Santa helper outfit. Didn’t notice the elves ogling her
all night either; the thought of it stirred the jealous juices
inside him.

Spinelli shrugged off his coat and flung it
over the back of one of the two counter-height stools situated at
the kitchen island. He pulled the stool out and took a seat. He
figured he could get away with making himself comfortable and
staying for a while because he knew she would want to prove him
wrong about her being rude. And he knew she wouldn’t be able to
live with herself if someone thought of her as being rude.

Shannon turned to face him, a clear plastic
bag full of cookies gripped in her fist. She reached over the
counter and handed them to him. He took them from her and set them
on the counter. He undid the twist-tie and pulled one from the
bag.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Spinelli shifted his eyes from his bag of
cookies and looked up at Shannon. “I’m eating my cookies.”

She narrowed her gaze but said nothing. From
the look on her face, he knew he had her. She was just too nice to
kick him out and most important, he knew that deep down she felt an
attraction to him. He knew she didn’t want it to be so, but she
was.

After a brief moment of silence, Shannon
slipped into the mode Spinelli knew she would. “Would you like some
milk with your cookies?”

Spinelli smiled. “Yes, please.”

Shannon turned toward the refrigerator and
opened it. She bent over and reached into the fridge to grab the
jug of milk from the bottom shelf, exposing more of her shapely
legs. Excitement penetrated throughout Spinelli’s body, nearly
caused him to choke.
God, she doesn’t have a clue.