Page 78 of Lead Me On
Finally the phone rang, and Jane answered it so quickly that she cracked her cheekbone with the phone. “Hello?”
“All right, here’s what I’ve arranged. Jessie will voluntarily meet with an Aspen detective tomorrow at ten. I’ll be there. Don’t worry. I’ve made clear that he has an alibi for the whole day, but he’s happy to offer questions if they feel it will help move the investigation along.”
“Okay.” Good. That sounded great.
“I already spoke with Mr. Chase and he’s going to get as much information as he can on his end. Tonight Jessie needs to stay sober and get to bed.Nothingelse.”
Jane nodded. “All right.”
“Let me speak to him for a moment.”
She happily handed the phone to her brother, and even more happily turned into Chase’s arms when he offered comfort.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re okay.”
In that moment Chase’s threat of falling in love felt more like peace than a complication.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
JANE STAREDat the familiar door of Greg Nunn’s apartment as if it was the entryway to hell itself. The evening sun belied any dark imaginings, but it didn’t make her feel better. She didn’t walk up the short sidewalk or knock on the door; she simply stared at it.
How could she do this? How could shenot?
She glanced over her shoulder to see Chase watching carefully from his truck where it was parked at the curb. He rolled down the window. “You okay?” he called.
“Yes,” she lied.
Her brother hadn’t been arrested, but the murder had made it to the paper, along with a note that a local man had been brought in for questioning. There’d also been one ominous line indicating that police were not yet ruling out the possibility that the murder could have been linked with the earlier death of Michelle Brown.
If her brother’s name was linked to a serial killing or, God forbid, if he was framed for those deaths…
She had to do this.
Jane walked the last few feet to the door and knocked.
At first there was no answer. If Greg wasn’t home, she was off the hook for a few hours, maybe for a whole day. But Jane knocked again and waited. Unfortunately, Greg answered the door a few seconds later. Her heart plummeted.
“Jane?” His eyes widened with what looked like pleasant surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“I’m glad! Come on in.”
“No! I just… I can’t come in.”
Eyes narrowing, he leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms. He was wearing a cardigan. An honest-to-God cashmere cardigan. Jane resisted the urge to look toward Chase to see the way his muscles bulged in his worn T-shirt, but her control didn’t matter. Greg’s gaze rose to look over her shoulder.
“Who the hell is that?”
“Nobody,” she said automatically, but the word sent a shock of painful guilt through her heart. Crud. Drawing a deep breath, Jane squared her shoulders and made herself stop wringing her hands. “I need to, um… I need to talk to you about Jessie MacKenzie.”
“Who?” he snapped.
“Jessie MacKenzie. The police suspect that he’s been involved somehow in those murders. I figured you might know something.”
“What the hell?” His groomed eyebrows drew together. “What does any of this have to do with you?”
Jane would’ve swallowed in nervousness, but her throat was too dry to manage it. If there was anything worse than the prospect of asking a bitter ex-boyfriend for help, it had to be this. Asking him for help while explaining that your life was a lie, and a messy one at that.
