The Pursuit of Lies (Book #4, Paradise Valley) (12 page)

Emily took his hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you smile.” She bent down and kissed him softly on the side of his mouth. She hated seeing him like this.

If only he had listened to me earlier.

She bit her tongue, now was not the time to scold him for being so bullheaded and not heeding her advice to see a doctor immediately.

Colin’s eyes drifted shut, telling her it was time for her and Ernie to duck out and let him sleep.

“I love you, Colin.” She kissed him on the forehead and loosened the grip on his hand.

He must have felt her start to let go, for he tightened his hold on her hand. “Love you too, Babe,” he drowsily muttered, eyes still closed, before letting go of her.

She and Ernie stepped out into the hall to talk.

“I’ll give Jim and Donna a call to bring them up to speed on what’s happening. Colin phoned them after we left the lawyer’s office, but circumstances have changed a bit.”

“I’m sure Colin would appreciate that.” Emily touched Ernie’s arm. “You’re a good friend.”

He smiled weakly at her, as if he felt a little guilty for not having insisted Colin go directly to see the doctor, too.

“It was Colin’s decision not to seek medical help, Ernie, not yours—and not mine.”

“Guess you’re right.” He nodded and his gaze fell to his feet.

“Chin up, big guy. He’s going to need us to stay strong if we’re going to solve Allison Laraway’s murder.”

Ernie pulled in a long breath. “I’d almost forgotten about that for a second, with all the talk of surgery. I’d better get my head screwed on straight.”

“Why don’t you give his folks a call, and I’ll phone Alex and Isabel to let them know what’s happening.” She counted on Isabel to call Maggie, who’d spread the word to Camille and Peter. Then the circle would be complete. “After that, we can meet up in the cafeteria, get a bite to eat. It’s going to be a long night.”

“I guess I’d better give my wife a call and tell her not to wait up for me.”

They each went their separate ways to make their calls. When Emily reached the cafeteria, Ernie was seated at a table and waved her over.

She glanced at the food line as she strolled over to his table. “Why don’t we get something to eat, then we can talk things over.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice.”

Once they got their food and beverages, they found a table in a quiet corner of the cafeteria to eat and talk.

“How did Jim and Donna take the news?” Emily ripped open a packet and poured sweetener into her coffee.

“About as well as could be expected, I suppose. They’d like to be here, but Jim isn’t up to traveling yet.”

“I’m sure they know he’s in good hands with you here, Ernie.”

“Donna said they’re anxious to meet you, now that you’re going to be part of the family.”

“Only if we can get Colin off. The trial starts in only four weeks.”

“I can’t believe that DA convinced the judge to push it up so much. It’s ridiculous.” Ernie took a bite of his burger.

“Did the two of you have a chance to talk about his past cases before you had to rush him to the emergency room?”

“Actually, we did. The list isn’t that long since he’s only worked in Paradise Valley for about six months. Besides, you worked some of those cases with him.”

“True, but of those that I didn’t, were there any good prospects? Or should I say
suspects
?”

“Just one. I don’t know if you recall this or not, but there was a woman, Amanda McDonald, that Colin investigated and arrested for embezzling thousands of dollars from her employer—you know that big construction company.”

“Oh, yeah, but I wasn’t part of that one.” Emily picked the wilted lettuce out of her turkey sandwich and laid it aside.

“Her husband was an absolute head case,” Ernie said. “When we went to her house to take her into custody, that man cussed Colin out from the house to the car, right in front of everybody—his wife, the neighbors, me and the other officer. That guy made a huge scene. We almost had to arrest him for assaulting an officer. He roared that Colin would pay.”

“Often it’s just talk, isn’t it?” Emily picked up half of her sandwich.

“Yeah, most of the time. But then there’s those times when someone snaps and tries to make good on their threat.”

“The woman’s in jail?”

“Yes, the judge sent her to the penitentiary for a number of years. I forget how many.”

“Colin had to testify?”

“Yep.”

“What does the husband do for a living?”

“He’s a software engineer at that computer chip company south of town, the Zigon Corporation. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him—doesn’t look the geeky type. He’s more buff like a construction worker.”

“It’s hard to tell these days. They don’t all wear tape on their glasses and pocket protectors anymore.” She took a bite of her turkey sandwich and grinned at him.

Ernie chuckled. He probably remembered when they did.

She swallowed and cleared her throat. “He sounds like a good prospect with his technological talents. If this guy is setting Colin up for payback like he threatened, and we can prove it, Colin would be exonerated and we can start planning our wedding.”

“I know he’d like that.” Ernie chomped down on his burger again.

“Can you talk to Mr. McDonald and find out where he was that Thursday night?”

“I could try, but it’d be tricky ‘cause I’m not working that murder case.” Ernie wiped his mouth with a napkin. “The Boise police would blow a gasket if they knew I was poking around in their business. I can’t ask that guy for an alibi in any official capacity. Maybe it would be better if you did it.”

“Yes, you have a point. Well, perhaps I can just happen to run into the man and use my feminine wiles to wrangle the information out of him—if we can check his credit card charges and banking info and find where he hangs out, that is.”

“Now, that I can do. The Chief hinted that he wouldn’t mind if I used the Paradise Valley resources to help find the real killer and prove Colin innocent. He couldn’t come right out and say it, but he did allude to the fact that having Colin found guilty would be bad for the department, not to mention the town. So, as long as I keep it on the down low—”

“That’s good to know.” Emily took a sip of coffee then set her cup down. Having police resources could come in very handy. She hoped Isabel might offer some federal help as well.

“What I can’t understand is how the Boise Police can claim they have Colin on tape at Allison’s place.” Ernie stuck a few fries in his mouth.

“I was going through the crime photos and watching the videos when you called.”

“Learn anything?”

“Not yet, but the truth has to be in there somewhere. We just have to keep pursuing it. If someone is framing Colin, he has to have slipped up somewhere—even if it’s just a little thing.”

“Why did you say
if
someone is framing Colin?”

“Did I say
if
?” Emily raised her coffee to her lips. “Just a poor choice of words, Ernie.” A stab of guilt sent a sharp pain shooting through her heart. She sipped the lukewarm beverage. Nothing would soothe that gnawing doubt except uncovering the whole truth.

Chapter 13

“Emily? Emily?” Maggie’s voiced called softly.

Emily had dozed off, slumped in one of the chairs in the hospital waiting room. She opened her eyes and Maggie was standing in front of her.

“Sorry.” She straightened and ran her fingers through her hair. “I must have fallen asleep for a minute.” Her neck felt stiff.

“The gal’s been out for about half an hour,” Ernie muttered to Maggie from the seat beside her.

Emily covered her mouth as she yawned. “Hey, give me a break—I’m tired.” She stood slowly and gave her girlfriends a hug.

Maggie, Camille, and Peter had shown up at the hospital about an hour after they were called, followed a few minutes later by Isabel and Alex. Camille apologized for Jonathan being out of town on another business trip.

“How’s Colin?” Camille asked, worry lines forming between her brows.

Emily glanced over her shoulder and lifted her chin toward the large swinging doors that read
Authorized Personnel Only
. “Still in surgery, I’m afraid. We haven’t heard anything. The surgeon promised she’d come out and let us know when they were finished.”

“We’ll sit right down next to you and wait.” Maggie draped an arm protectively around Emily’s shoulders. “No matter how long it takes.”

“That’s right, no matter how long,” Camille echoed.

“I appreciate the attention, girls, but I’m fine, really. No need to baby me.” Emily sat and pressed her back into the chair, crossing her legs and pulling her jacket loosely over her chest like a blanket against the chilly air.

Ernie rose from his seat, stretched, and moved to where Peter stood speaking with Alex and Isabel. Emily watched, trying to listen in on their conversation.

Peter turned and shook Ernie’s hand. “Hey, last time we saw you and Colin, he was going off with you to pore over his old cases. Did anything come of that before you had to rush him here?”

Ernie relayed what he had already discussed with Emily about the husband of a woman Colin had to arrest who had made threats to him. “Keep it under your hat, though. We’ll see if it comes to anything. Then tomorrow, when Colin is up to talking, we’ll start going over his San Francisco cases. I got an email earlier, from my friend at SFPD, with a list.”

Emily was relieved to hear that. Ernie hadn’t shared the news about receiving the list with her yet. If the angry husband didn’t pan out, they’d have a lot more suspects to investigate. Whatever it took to find the truth would be worth it—even if it meant a trip to San Francisco.

“We don’t have much time to work through this case.” Alex grimaced and shook his head.

“Perhaps with this surgery you could ask for a delay,” Peter suggested.

“Not likely, but at this point I’m not ruling anything out,” Alex replied.

“Maybe with Colin laid-up for a few days, Emily and I could actually accomplish more.” Ernie looked from face to face. “He’ll have to act in more of an advisory capacity than being hands on. It’s hard to be objective when the case is about you.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Isabel agreed. “I’m happy to do whatever I can to help.”

“Emily? Emily, are you listenin’?” Maggie asked.

Emily had been so focused on Isabel and the men’s conversation that she hadn’t realized Maggie and Camille were talking to her. “I’m sorry, girls—my mind was somewhere else. What did you say?”

“Well, Camille and I were just wonderin’ why the police thought Colin and Allison were havin’ an affair—’cause there’s no two people more in love than you guys.”

“They say they’ve found some evidence that makes it look like Colin had been to her condo, but we believe it was planted.”

“It would have to be, because there’s absolutely no way Colin would step out on you. No way.” Camille patted Emily’s knee. “He’s crazy in love with you, Em.”

“I know he is.” She reminded herself of that fact every time she saw a piece of evidence that spoke to the contrary.

“I think I’m going to make a coffee run.” Camille stood up, the glare from the fluorescent lights bouncing off her red hair. “You girls want anything?”

After taking Emily’s and Maggie’s orders, Camille made the rounds to the others before setting off in search of coffee.

“Maggie, if you have some time tomorrow evening, I have a little job for you.”

“Ooh, what kinda job?”

Emily explained about the threatening husband of the woman Colin had sent to prison and her plan to extract an alibi out of him for the night of the murder. How could any man resist two beautiful women?

Maggie assured her that she was all in.

~*~

Following two more hours of waiting, Dr. Barkley finally pushed through the double doors, pulling her disposable cap and surgical gown off as she walked. Emily jumped to her feet and dashed to meet her as she entered the waiting area, leaving most of the others asleep in the seats. Ernie lumbered out of the uncomfortable hospital chair and shuffled up behind Emily.

“The surgery went well.” The doctor’s voice was calm and confident. “Colin is in recovery right now. We were able to repair the spleen and stop the bleeding. The trauma to the spleen appears to be from the blows he took, rather than from the broken ribs. I’ll have a nurse come out and let you know when you can see him, after he’s been moved to a room. It might be awhile—he’s pretty sedated.”

“How long will he be in the hospital?” Emily asked.

“At least two or three days, depending on how well he’s recovering and can get off the pain meds. Does he have someone to take care of him when he goes home?” the doctor asked, looking from Emily to Ernie.

Emily hadn’t thought of that. As much as she would love to play nursemaid, she wondered how she could do that and work this case at the same time.

“Yes, Doc, my wife will take care of him.”

“Are you sure, Ernie?” Emily hoped he was.

“Don’t worry, I already talked to Marlene. We’ll move him into the guest room for a few days. She’s happy to help with whatever he needs. Unless you wanted to—”

“No, Ernie, that’s perfect. That’ll free me up to pursue the case.”

“Well, now that that’s settled,” the doctor said, “I’ll get back to work.” She pivoted and headed out.

“Thank you, Dr. Barkley,” Emily called after her as she disappeared behind the double doors.

After nearly an hour, a tall, sturdy nurse came out, her long dreadlocks swinging in the ponytail behind her head. She announced that Colin was back in his room and only two of those waiting could go in to see him. “The boy needs his rest,” she said.

Alex and Isabel had already left—they had to be at work early the next day. Now, Maggie, Camille, and Peter gathered up their belongings, said their good-byes, and sleepily wandered toward the elevators.

Emily and Ernie trailed behind the nurse as she led them down the hall to check on Colin.

~*~

“Are you sure the other guys were worse off?” Emily smiled as she took Colin’s hand. His eyes were sunken and half-shut, the bruises and cuts had not yet begun to heal.