No One Left to Tell (16 page)

She regarded him warily. ‘Okay. But you’ll have to stay in the car with Peabody.’

He narrowed his eyes at her. ‘
Now
you’re bordering on stupid, Paige.’

‘I’m serious. If someone sees you, they’ll remember the trial. If they see us together, they’ll know something is afoot.’

‘Afoot? Really?’ Despite everything, his lips twitched and a moment later hers were twitching too.

‘I read too many detective stories,’ she confessed and he was charmed.

‘Well, be that as it may, I’m not staying in the car. We’ll have to find another explanation for our mutual presence.’

‘Oh, I can think of one,’ a woman drawled behind them. He and Paige turned to find Lisa watching them, the expression on her face putting him on instant alert. ‘Before you two go playing Holmes and Watson, you need to take a look at this. Follow me.’

Tuesday, April 5, 5.25
P.M
.

‘I won’t leave you. Don’t make me leave you.’

Jorge Delgado gathered his sobbing wife in his arms. ‘Only for a little while,’ he said softly, holding back his own anguish. ‘Only until it’s safe.’

‘I have waited, for
six years
. I thought that soon . . . that you could come home. That we could stop living this lie. Then Elena had to go and do what she did. Damn her soul.’

Jorge wiped the tears from her face. ‘Don’t ever say that. You can’t say that. If it had been me that was accused and rotting in prison, would you ever have given up?’

‘No. But she’s dead for nothing. And now he’s going to finally kill you too.’

‘No, because I’m going to hide. And you and CeCe are going away, where it’s safe.’ He took off the chain he wore around his neck and fastened it around hers. At the end of the chain was a key. ‘I’ve already mailed the account number for the safe deposit box to where you’re going. If anything happens to me, you open this box.’

Tina began to cry again. ‘Jorge, please, don’t make me go.’

He grasped her shoulders. ‘For CeCe, you’ll go. I’ll find a way to contact you. Make sure she knows I love her. Tell her every day. Tell her I did the best that I knew how.’

‘I will. I promise.’

‘Good. Now dry your eyes, my love. You’ve got one more performance and it’s got to be good enough to fool CeCe and the neighborhood.’

She straightened her back, pasted a disapproving frown on her face. ‘CeCe,’ she called impatiently. ‘We have to go. It’s getting late.’

CeCe came down the stairs, a sullen frown on her face. ‘I don’t wanna go to Grandma’s for dinner. There’s nothing to do there and she always makes me eat eggs.’

‘Listen to your mother,’ Jorge said, more sharply than he’d planned to. His heart was breaking and it was all he could do to hide his misery. His baby wasn’t going to Grandma’s. She wasn’t going for dinner. She was going far away, maybe forever, with only the clothes on her back. To keep her safe. Everything was to keep her safe.

Nobody could suspect that his wife and child were running for their lives.

Chastised, CeCe’s gaze lowered. ‘I wish you could come with us.’

Jorge dropped to his knee and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. ‘Cecilia, my baby. Remember that I love you always. Now you be good for your mama.’ He let her go and buckled her into her booster seat, then watched the only woman he’d ever loved get behind the wheel and drive away.

Tuesday, April 5, 5.30
P.M
.

Grayson at her side, Paige followed Lisa into the kitchen where delightful aromas filled the air. A lean man wearing a Ravens cap backward was icing a tall, three-tiered cake while Holly kneaded a large lump of what looked like white paste.

‘This is my husband, Brian,’ Lisa said.

Brian gave Paige a measuring glance. ‘Pleased to meet you, Paige.’

‘Likewise,’ Paige said slowly. ‘Thank you for the food. It was delicious.’

‘Hi, Paige,’ Holly sang. Then she grinned cagily. ‘Hi, Grayson,’ she added slyly.

‘Hi, Holly,’ Paige said, then turned to Grayson. ‘What is this?’ she whispered.

‘I don’t know,’ he whispered back. ‘But I don’t think it’s good.’

‘That would depend entirely on your point of view,’ Lisa said. ‘You’re not going to be happy, I imagine. Your mother, on the other hand, will be ecstatic.’ She turned on the TV. ‘I started recording as soon as they mentioned your names.’

‘Oh, no.’ Paige’s heart started to pound. There she was on the TV screen again, but this time in the parking garage. The shot was from far away and very off-center, but there was no mistaking that it was her. ‘No, no, no.’

‘Oh God,’ Grayson murmured.

Brian came to stand behind Lisa, resting his hands on her shoulders. ‘This isn’t the part that Grayson’s mother will like,’ he said to Paige, then bent to his wife’s ear, his tone chiding. ‘You make Judy sound like a sadist.’

Lisa’s reply was lost as Paige recoiled at the sight of a knife at her own throat, at her desperate struggle to get away. Her hand lifted to her bandage of its own accord.

‘Why? How can they do this?’ She looked up at Grayson, whose face was dark with fury, both on the TV and in real life. On screen, he’d just knocked the guy down. In real life he looked like he wanted to do the same to Radcliffe.

‘That’s why Radcliffe wanted a comment, outside the hospital,’ he said.

‘They were there in the garage the whole time.’

‘And they never called for help,’ Grayson said coldly. ‘And they don’t even get the bastard’s face.’ He shook his head in disgust as the attacker ran away.

‘At least they don’t show me bleeding.’ That had been edited, cutting to Grayson pressing his tie to her throat to stem the bloodflow. ‘That tie looks expensive.’

‘It was,’ he muttered. ‘Lisa, exactly which part of this will have my mother ecstatic?’

‘Wait for it . . .’ On screen Grayson lifted Paige’s head to his thigh. ‘Right about now.’

Paige heard him utter an oath, but she didn’t look away from the TV. His expression was ferocious as he tended her wound, but at the same time tender. She watched, knowing what was coming but still feeling a thrill when he bent to whisper in her ear. Then stroked her hair. Then her face.

There was something in his expression. Something sweet. Unexpected.

‘
That’s
what your mother will like,’ Lisa said, satisfied. ‘It’s about time.’

The clip ended and Phin Radcliffe was back on screen. ‘State’s Attorney Grayson Smith declined to comment other than to say he was in the right place at the right time. I’m sure Paige Holden agrees, and so do I. Miss Holden had no comment, but we here at the station wish her a speedy recovery. This is Phin Radcliffe reporting.’

Lisa turned off the TV and the only sound in the kitchen was Holly’s rhythmic kneading of the doughy paste on the table. The silence was charged. Awkward.

Paige chanced a glance up at Grayson. He stared straight ahead, not looking back at her. So she kept her tone light. ‘At least now you don’t have to stay in the car.’

‘That’s not funny,’ he ground out and she fought the urge to flinch. He was angry. Very angry. And horrified. The anger she could understand. The horror hurt.

Grayson pointed at Lisa. ‘And you stay the hell out of this.’

Lisa didn’t back down. ‘Pull that stick out of your ass. What is wrong with you?’

‘What is
wrong
is that now half the city has seen
that
.’ He gestured at the screen.

The little thrill Paige had felt at being touched so tenderly was long gone. His cheeks were red, his eyes blazing. He was furious.
And who can blame him?
He’d saved her life and what did he get? A demanding female wanting to play Sherlock and an asshole reporter who’d just splashed his face all over the TV.

He’d been dignified this morning. Now he was tabloid fodder.
Just like me
.

She couldn’t blame him for being angry.
If I were him, I’d wish I’d never met me
.

‘
I
thought it was sweet,’ Holly declared, but her lip quivered. ‘You’re a hero.’

Grayson went to the table and hugged Holly to him, not caring that she was covered in flour. ‘That you think so means a lot to me. What are you making?’

Holly settled against his side. ‘Fondant. For the cake Brian’s making.’

‘It’ll be delicious.’ Laying his head against Holly’s, he closed his eyes and Paige watched him grow calmer. Eyes still closed, he stretched out his other arm for Lisa and she joined the hug without hesitation, the three of them standing together. A unit. ‘I’m sorry,’ he murmured. ‘I shouldn’t have yelled at you.’

‘I’m sorry too,’ Lisa murmured back. ‘But I’m not sure for what.’

A wave of longing smacked Paige as she watched, a lump rising in her throat that she had to swallow hard to dislodge. Because she understood that the way he’d touched her face was not special or unique. It was just his way. His family’s way.

Quietly she backed out of the kitchen, her eyes stinging.
I need to get out of here
. But she didn’t have her car. Had she been in Minneapolis, she could have had any one of ten friends pick her up in as many minutes. But here, life was a little different. She’d made a few friends, like Clay and Alyssa, but they weren’t the friends she suddenly missed so much her chest ached. They certainly weren’t family.

She all but ran back to the Gingerbread House, shoved the trial transcript into her backpack. Peabody sat up, ready for her command.

I will not cry. Not here
. ‘How am I going to get you home?’

No cab in town would transport a ninety-pound dog and it was miles to the office where she’d left her truck. Too far to walk, especially as fatigue was beginning to pull at her mind. She’d have to ask Grayson to give her a lift.
Then I’ll drive to Delgado’s
.

Peabody came to attention, staring at the doorway. She didn’t have to look up to know Grayson was standing there. She could feel him watching her.

‘Are you ready to go?’ he asked.

Paige kept her eyes down. ‘I’ve had a long day. I was hoping you could drive me to my office so I can get my truck. I want to go home, take a hot bath, and call it a night.’

Hearing his footsteps cross the floor, she braced herself. Still she shivered when he cupped her cheek in his palm and tugged until she looked up. His eyes were very green in this light. And still angry. But his hand was as gentle as his tone when he spoke.

‘I’m sorry, Paige. You’ve had a hell of a day.’

Hot tears filled her eyes and she blinked, sending them down her cheeks as she turned her face away. After a moment’s hesitation he threaded his fingers through her hair, making her shiver again.

His palm was warm against her skull and it was then she realized just how long it had been since she’d been touched. The tears started anew. ‘I don’t cry, it’s—’

He’d pulled her against him, muffling her words. The hand in her hair urged her head to rest against him while his other hand stroked the hair down her back. ‘It’s okay.’

Just for a minute
. He felt so good. For a minute she let herself breathe him in. And cry. And pretend that this day had never happened, that she hadn’t seen a woman murdered before her eyes. That she hadn’t nearly been killed herself. That she’d never seen Elena’s pictures. That her throat didn’t hurt like a bitch.

That this man stroking her hair so gently was hers to keep. That he wasn’t just being kind to her out of duty or, even worse, pity. And that she couldn’t still feel the anger roiling beneath his outward calm.

The crying jag passed. ‘You have every right to be angry,’ she whispered, ‘and I don’t have any right to ask for more help. I’ll go home.’

He kept stroking her hair. ‘After you go see Jorge Delgado.’

She sighed. ‘Yes.’

‘I told you that I’d take you. Get your things. We’ll leave right now.’

‘No.’

‘Why the hell not?’ he asked, exasperated.

Her throat was closing again. ‘Because you’re mad at me and I don’t like that.’

He leaned back so that she could see his face. ‘I’m mad, but not at you, Paige. You didn’t ask for any of this. I’m mad at that sonofabitch Radcliffe because he’s getting ratings at your expense. I’m mad that anyone involved in this has already figured out that you came to me for help. If they weren’t sure if you knew anything, they sure as hell will be now.’ He swiped at her cheek with his thumb. ‘But I’m not mad at you. Okay?’

That he’d avoided the topic of his mother’s glee and his own horror hadn’t escaped her notice, and it hurt. Still she nodded. ‘Okay.’

‘I need to bring in the police. Now that I’ve seen the pictures, I have a responsibility to do the right thing.’

She closed her eyes. Her heart was pounding again. ‘I know. But it doesn’t make me any less terrified.’

‘I told Morton and Bashears that Elena came to see me last week asking for a new trial. I told them this morning, as soon as I confirmed she was the victim.’

She wasn’t sure if she was comforted by that or not. ‘So they really did know. Will you give them the copies of the pictures I made for you?’

‘No.’

She blinked up at him in surprise. ‘No?’

‘I’ve got a friend, another homicide detective. I’m going to give them to her. Her name is Stevie Mazzetti and I trust her with my life.’

‘That’s very good,’ Paige said slowly. ‘But I need to trust her with mine.’

‘I know. She wasn’t involved in the Muñoz investigation. She hadn’t even heard about it until today. She was on bereavement leave when Crystal was killed, followed by maternity leave. She was out for several months and not watching the news.’

That Paige hadn’t expected. ‘How can you know she wasn’t watching the news?’

‘Her husband and five-year-old son were murdered in a robbery when Stevie was pregnant. She focused on keeping her baby and her sanity. She refused to watch the news out of self-protection. Her husband and I worked together. He was a damn good prosecutor. He was also my friend. I’ve known Stevie for years. She’ll do the right thing.’