Cruel Grace: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 5) Read online

  Dammit all to hell. She’d really liked him. But this…she didn’t think she could deal with. She’d had enough of cops and detectives to last a lifetime. She was done.

  “I really need to get back to my place.” She turned quickly on her heel and moved toward the door. It would be rude to literally run out but the night was at its end. “Thank you for dinner and the company. And the candlelight. The food was great.”

  So was the conversation. Until…

  “You’re welcome.” He walked with her to the door where they both paused. “I had a good time tonight. Maybe—“

  “I really need to go,” Charlie said, her tone abrupt. And far louder than it needed to be. She was screwing this up. He wasn’t a bad person. Probably. “It’s getting late and I have a big day tomorrow.”

  Smooth, I am not.

  The excuse sounded lame even to her own ears. To his credit he didn’t bat an eye, simply thanking her for joining him again and walking the few feet to her own front door.

  “It was very nice finally meeting you,” Eli said with a smile. “I’m sure I’ll see you around the building.”

  That was true. They lived on the same floor, after all.

  She opened her own door and began to inch across the threshold. “It was really nice meeting you, too. Thanks again for dinner.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Good night.”

  “Good night, Charlie.”

  With that, she closed the door behind her, sliding the lock closed and then leaning back against it. She was exhausted. Not from anything she’d done but from pretending that his words didn’t affect her.

  Except that she hadn’t done that great of a job pretending. He had to be on the other side of this door wondering what in the hell had happened in the last three minutes.

  He was nice. And handsome.

  She just couldn’t…

  But that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it.

  Chapter Two

  Eli didn’t have a clue as to what the hell happened that night after the lights came back on, and he found himself wondering about it far too often over the next few weeks. It was a waste of time. After all, it wasn’t as if he was ever going to know the reason Charlie suddenly couldn’t stand being in his condo a single second more. She’d been so relaxed and friendly one minute and racing toward the door the next.

  Maybe when the lights came on she didn’t like how I looked?

  He’d seen Charlie a few times since then, but she’d just smile uncomfortably and duck into her apartment or hurry down the sidewalk in the opposite direction that he was going. She clearly didn’t want to talk to him. Okay, fine. He wasn’t the type to push when he wasn’t wanted.

  And I’m not wanted.

  I can take a damn hint.

  He rarely dated, preferring mostly to stay single and unencumbered. He worked a great deal and many women wouldn’t be all that understanding of the hours and travel requirements. When he’d moved here to Seattle, it had been for a fresh start and he had spent some time with a few ladies. A few had been nice and a few hadn’t. None of them had made him want to change his life in any material way. He’d liked them well enough, but there hadn’t been that…something. Hell, he couldn’t even name it, let alone have it. All he knew was that something was missing.

  He’d felt a spark that night with Charlie.

  Apparently, she hadn’t felt the same. It was disappointing but he was a big boy now. She’d made it clear that she wanted space, and he’d give it to her. They’d be friendly and wave to each other. Maybe they’d stop and chat about the weather every now and then. It would all be fine, and his ego would survive.

  His boss Jared Monroe stepped out of his office and headed straight for Eli’s desk. Between assignments he was doing research for a co-worker on a stalker case. But Jared had an armful of file folders so it might mean that Eli was getting his own investigation.

  “Are those for me?”

  Jared chuckled and dumped the stack on Eli’s desk. “Yes and no. Yes, they’re for you to go through, but no, they’re not for you to actually work on. I was hoping you might pick four to six cases that the two new hires could study. These are all interesting cold cases from around the country. I’d like to use them as case studies. Ask them how they would handle them, what they would do. You know…the usual stuff.”

  “We haven’t been contracted to work on any of these?”

  “No, although a few look fascinating. I admit that I was tempted to look into them just for fun.”

  Jared couldn’t stand an unsolved case. Come to think of it, none of them could.

  “How did you even find these then?”

  “I had one of the interns do some digging for cold cases that sounded like they might have an interesting twist or turn. These dozen or so are what they came up with.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Jared retreated into his office and Eli pulled the top folder from the stack and flipped it open. A triple homicide. Plenty of suspects but no real evidence. Only ten years old. This one might be a candidate. The trail had gone cold and it would be interesting to see how the new hires might try and heat it up. Eli had a few ideas of his own.

  An hour later he was halfway through the pile, and he poured himself a fresh cup of coffee before continuing. The next case was the murder of a young woman in a small midwestern college town. She’d been visiting a friend and had disappeared after a few days, telling her friend she was going to run to the mall to pick up some lipstick. She’d forgotten her favorite shade back at home. She’d borrowed her friend’s car and never returned. Her body was found several days later on the side of a country road near a cornfield. The vehicle had been recovered previously in the mall parking lot.

  There weren’t that many suspects. The young woman didn’t really know anyone in that town other than her friend. There were a few people she’d met while visiting but no one really had a big motive. The victim didn’t owe anyone money, and she seemed well-liked. The friend had an airtight alibi as she’d spent the day in her university classes, including a three-hour chemistry lab. The victim’s parents had gone on a publicity tour with all the local news reporters and pointed fingers at the friend, claiming that she knew more than she was telling the police. Eli’s first instinct after reading that was that if he were working the case, he’d want to talk to that friend.

  There were photographs at the back of the file and Eli found himself looking through them. Several of the victim herself, smiling at the camera. Apparently, she’d been a model so the pictures were of professional quality. There were some of the scene where the body was found, and a few of the found vehicle being stripped down to find any evidence that might have been left behind. There were two more showing the victim and her friend - happy, smiling, and confident. The victim looked different in these photos, less high-fashion and more lovely young woman. She was blonde, tanned, and confident. Her friend was completely different with long dark hair and dark eyes. There was something about her…something…familiar. He picked up the second photo that wasn’t as blurred with better lighting.

  Charlie. The friend was Charlie.

  Or at least it looked like her. A much younger version but still Charlie.

  He didn’t know how long he’d been staring at the photograph when his friend and co-worker Luke slapped him on the back and asked him what he was doing for lunch. Eli could barely drag his gaze away from the picture in front of him.

  “Lunch?”

  Luke chuckled, his brows raised. “Yeah, lunch. You know that meal between breakfast and dinner? Are you hungry? We’re all heading out to the barbecue place.”

  The barbecue place was one of Eli’s favorites. He realized that he hadn’t eaten since early this morning and then it had only been half of a toasted bagel.

  “I could eat.”

  Luke nodded at the picture in Eli’s hand. “A new case?”

  “Not exactly. These are case studies for the new hires
.”

  His friend wasn’t buying Eli’s nonchalance. They knew each other far too well.

  “You were staring a hole in that photo just a second ago.”

  Eli couldn’t deny it.

  “How about I tell you over lunch?”

  “Deal.”

  Maybe his friends could help him make this situation make sense. Clearly, there was more to Charlie than what he’d seen that night.

  “I don’t know what we’re going to do with you,” Dana said, exasperation in her tone. “You never go out, you never have any fun, you never do anything. Outdoors is good, Char. I promise you. It’s okay to leave your condo and breathe fresh air every now and then.”

  Dana Wilcox was one of Charlie’s oldest and dearest friends. They’d met as young and naive models back in New York City almost a lifetime ago. Now Dana owned a corporate training company and was Charlie’s biggest client. In fact, she’d been the one to encourage Charlie to open her own business.

  Dana was breathtakingly gorgeous and happily single, with only her toy poodle Winston as a companion and that seemed just fine with her. She had a busy social life and was always lamenting Charlie’s lack of one. It wasn’t surprising that they were having this conversation on one of their frequent phone calls. They usually talked several times a week, sometimes business and other times personal.

  “I leave the house almost every day,” Charlie replied. “I go to the gym at least four times a week.”

  Most of the time.

  “That’s not leaving the house. That’s going from one building to another.”

  Dana was a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker and loved to walk around the city no matter the weather.

  “I see the sky. I’m outdoors. The other day I went shopping. I bought a sweater. Cashmere.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t send me a picture of it. I’m hurt, Char. Really, really hurt.”

  “I’ll send you one when I actually wear it.”

  “You better. So you don’t have any plans for the weekend? What about the handsome neighbor of yours? Maybe he’s free.”

  Eli.

  Charlie had been thinking about him. Too much. She’d find herself staring into space instead of at her laptop, thinking about that night when the lights went out. She’d really liked him.

  “You know why I can’t go out with him.”

  There was a loud sigh on the other end of the phone. Apparently, she was testing Dana’s patience.

  “You can’t let one tragic incident color the rest of your life.”

  “One incident? Kendra’s death was more than an incident.”

  Unfortunately, it had become the defining moment in Charlie’s life, changing forever how she looked at everyone and everything.

  “Yes, it was terrible, an awful tragedy that shouldn’t have happened. But it wasn’t your fault. It never was, no matter what Kendra’s parents say or do.”

  “The police believed them, that I knew who the killer was, that I was protecting him.”

  “Because they were desperate for some sort of lead in the case. They had very little to go on so they glommed onto you hoping something would come out. Nothing ever did because you didn’t know anything.”

  That hadn’t stopped Bernard and Evelyn Taylor. They’d continued to come after Charlie until she’d eventually had to get a lawyer to threaten to sue. At first she’d put it down to grieving parents grasping at straws, but eventually it got so bad that she’d had to fight back. They were determined to ruin her reputation and ultimately, her life, if she’d given them the chance.

  After that they’d stopped, but they’d let her know in no uncertain terms that they blamed her for their daughter’s death. But in the meantime Charlie had been treated harshly by the local police, assuming she knew more than she was letting on. She’d needed her lawyer then, too.

  I didn’t know anything. It was all a shock to me.

  “All I’m saying is that from the way you described him, he sounds like a nice man. Maybe you should give him a chance. It sounds like you two had a spark.”

  “We might have.”

  They definitely had.

  “And when was the last time you even had a might-have spark? It’s been far too long, Char.”

  “I’d have to tell him. You know…eventually.”

  “So? Let me repeat this again. None of what happened was your fault. None of it. It was a terrible tragedy.”

  Deep inside, Charlie knew that but sometimes she wondered about the what-ifs.

  “Maybe if I had gone with her to the mall that day…”

  “You had classes,” Dana argued back. “And Kendra was a grown woman who had traveled the world on her own. Why would you babysit her on a trip to the damn mall? How about this? How about if you’d gone along, you might have ended up dead, too.”

  That had crossed Charlie’s mind more than once over the years.

  “That’s what the Taylors wanted.”

  She’d said the words out loud. It had taken her years to admit it to herself, even though the couple had been fairly outspoken about their wishes.

  “Honestly, Char? The Taylors aren’t that great of people. Think about that. They wished that you had died, too. What kind of person does that?”

  “They were grieving.”

  “It’s an excuse but not a good one.”

  “It was mostly Evelyn. Bernard wasn’t that bad.”

  Dana snorted. “Bernard enabled her.”

  It didn’t help thinking that the Taylors were awful people. Even if they were, they didn’t deserve to lose their daughter. No one deserved that.

  “So maybe just ask your neighbor over for a drink,” Dana urged. “You deserve to be happy.”

  “And if it doesn’t work out? I get to see him almost every day.”

  “You can always move. What if it does work out?”

  Charlie had to admit that it might be nice to have someone in her life. Someone that cared. She’d been alone for a long time, and most of the time she was fine with it, but every now and then she would feel the loneliness. There would be a feeling of…unease? As if something was missing but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

  “I could just get a cat. Then I wouldn’t be alone.”

  “Make it a dog. They love you unconditionally. Look at Winston. I’m his favorite person.”

  Winston was the cutest dog ever and incredibly pampered. He went to the spa more than Charlie did. Of course he loved Dana. She was his sugar mama.

  “I’ll think about it,” Charlie finally said.

  “About the guy or a pet?”

  “Both.”

  “That’s all I can ask for.”

  Eli Hammond. Did he even have any idea what turmoil he’d created in her life? One pizza and a little conversation and she couldn’t get him out of her head.

  Could she make the leap? Should she?

  One thing was for sure, she wasn’t going to be able to forget all about him any time in the near future. He’d definitely made an impression.

  The barbecue joint was always good. Eli ordered a brisket sandwich with a side of potato salad and garlic toast. He had worked through half of his meal when Luke brought up what had him distracted this morning. Eli filled them in on the case, omitting that his neighbor was a friend of the victim. They didn’t need to know Charlie’s business.

  “It does sound interesting,” Ryan said, stroking his chin. “No leads, few suspects. Were there any other murders that match the details?”

  Eli shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m not working this case. I only read the file. I’m sure they checked that, though.”

  “Don’t be too sure,” Chris warned. “If it was a small town they might not have the resources to do something like that.”

  “It appears that the family had money,” Eli replied. “They hired a private investigator at one point. I’m sure he did it even if the cops didn’t.”

  From the press clips in the file, the Taylors had spared no
expense to find the killer of their daughter. Sadly, they’d found nothing helpful.

  But they think Charlie knows more than she’s telling.

  Eli had really only talked to her that one evening. That was it. But…

  His gut was telling him that she wasn’t the type of person to keep secrets in a murder investigation. Not if she knew something that could help.

  “So this case got to you?” Knox asked. “Are you thinking about doing something about it?”

  “No,” Eli answered automatically. “No, it just had me wondering.”

  Chris snorted. “That’s the first step, my friend. By next week you’ll just be taking a few minutes to do some research. Then it’s a few hours. Next thing you know, it’s your main investigation. That’s how it snowballs.”

  He wasn’t sure how Charlie would feel about him sticking his nose into what basically was her past. It was…personal.

  He wasn’t even sure what to do with the information now that he had it. Should he pretend that he didn’t know? Should he tell her that he did? Hell, from the way she’d avoided him in the last two weeks, he’d never get a chance to talk to her anyway.

  Which was a shame. Because he liked her.

  Eli wouldn’t have minded getting to know Charlie better. And that was something that he hadn’t said about a woman in a long time. A very long time.

  Chapter Three

  Charlie kept playing Dana’s words over and over in her head. Her brain was filled with images of Eli, Kendra, and the years in between. Good times, and bad ones as well. She wasn’t unhappy, far from it. But was she happy? Or simply content? Was there more out there for her than she’d allowed herself to have?

  I do deserve to be happy.

  It was with those words ringing in her ear that she marched across the hall to Eli’s door and knocked. She’d showered, done her hair, and put on a little bit of makeup, too. She was planning to ask him over for a drink. It sounded casual and non-committal. It would just be a thank you for feeding her that other night. She could see if that spark was still there, if it was real. If it wasn’t, then she’d done her social duty. If it was…that was a whole new ballgame. Although she still wasn’t sure how wise it was to become involved with a person that lived across the hall.