a new nightmare.
The scenery sped past as Jace drove to the hospital. Melanie tried to ask a question or two. He only grunted in reply. He couldn’t talk now. His mind was busy analyzing what had happened. The scene at the house made him uneasy.
She seemed to get the message. The silence settled around them like a cloak.
Jace couldn’t accept that the events of the day were all coincidental. Too much had happened in less than two hours.
Melanie had been released from prison.
She had been verbally threatened by the man in front of the courthouse.
Sarah Swanson had been found comatose.
Someone had thrown a rock through the window.
Jace had found Melanie reading her Bible.
That had really thrown him for a loop. Against his better judgment, he found himself feeling sympathy for the pretty brunette. The distress in her brown eyes over her aunt’s condition was real, he was sure of it. He had gone searching for her, knowing she would need a ride to the hospital. He watched in disbelief as she leafed through the Bible. Not idly. Purposefully, as though she knew what she was looking for. When she had finally noticed him, the expression of peace on her face shook him.
“I don’t understand what happened to Aunt Sarah.” Melanie’s voice interrupted his musings. He threw her a confused frown.
“I assumed she was stung by a bee.”
She shook her head. “The only thing she’s allergic to is peanuts. She’s always been extremely careful. She would never eat or drink anything without reading its ingredient list.” Mel shifted her position and narrowed her eyes, looking as though she was speaking out loud to help her think. “She was so careful I used to tell her she went overboard. Nothing was ever in her house that had even been processed in the same factory with peanuts. If she needed to special-order items she would. No. I just can’t imagine her accidentally eating something with peanuts or peanut oil in it.”
He wasn’t sure why, but Jace believed her. Jace had learned long ago to trust his instincts. He was uneasy. If Sarah had not ingested something tainted by accident, then it had been placed there deliberately. The question reverberating around his mind was who would do such a thing.
He parked the car, and they strode into the hospital. Jace caught Melanie’s elbow as they crossed the wet parking lot. She gave him a startled glance.
“It’s slippery out here,” he explained defensively. Yeah, right.
She quirked her eyebrow but said nothing.
They hadn’t gone more than a dozen steps when a voice called out to them. Jace tried to ignore the speaker, but it was too late. Of course he would have to run into Senator Travis now. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Mrs. Travis had been in the hospital for over a week now. It was only natural that her husband would visit her. Still, the timing was lousy. Not that any time would be convenient. Senator Travis had rubbed him the wrong way since he had been elected to the state senate. He was rude and arrogant, and Jace had noted that he had broken many of his campaign promises within months of getting elected. In Jace’s mind, that showed a lack of integrity.
“Lieutenant Tucker! I need a moment of your time!”
Resigned, Jace motioned for Melanie to stop.
“Wait here. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
He made his way over to where Senator Joe Travis was waiting impatiently. The senator’s eyes slid past him and landed on Melanie. Jace’s spine stiffened in annoyance when the older man’s lips curled in a derisive sneer.
“Looks like you got short straw today, son, escorting the likes of her around town.”
Jace refused to comment. However he might feel about it, it was his duty, and he would do it without complaint.
“You wanted to talk with me, Senator Travis?”
The senator whipped his face back around to glare at Jace.
“I want to know when you’re going to get around to doing your duty. Someone broke into my house last night!” The senator seemed to swell with righteous anger.
“Was anything taken?”
The man hesitated. “Nothing really valuable. A few things here and there. Some pictures. Some of my wife’s jewels.”
“Not all of her jewels?”
“No. The thief left some of the older pieces that my wife inherited from her mother. Must not have known how valuable they are.”
“Okay, here’s what you need to do. Go to the station and file a report, listing the items stolen and their approximate value. Be as specific as you can.” Jace bit back a smile. Senator Travis practically vibrated with frustration.
“You can’t take my statement now? I’m a very busy man!” The senator narrowed his eyes, a sly expression creeping onto his face. “Or are you letting our local ex-con charm her way into your life? Be careful, she’s a clever one. Good thing my son came to his senses.”
Any thought Jace might have had of helping the man fled. The implication that he would be so easily manipulated, that he lacked the sense and the willpower to maintain control over himself, was more insulting than the senator could have realized. And it triggered painful memories that he did not care to revisit. Ever.
“Sorry, sir. No time today.” Before the senator could respond, he swiftly headed back to where Melanie was waiting with a wary expression. Without slowing, he grabbed her arm above the elbow and pulled her along with him.
“Don’t look back. Whatever you do, don’t look back. He might come after us.”
“Okay, I won’t look,” Melanie assured him, gasping as she was dragged to the hospital entrance.
Once inside, they were directed to the waiting room. Jace pretended to read the newspaper as he sat. In reality, he watched Melanie. She was staring out the window, her eyes slightly unfocused. The light coming in caught in her hair, giving off reddish highlights. There were still a few shards of glass there, glistening. He had the urge to walk over and pick them out. Her porcelain-smooth complexion was marred only by the pensive line on her brow. Until she turned her head slightly and the light fell on an inch-long cut. He remembered the rock that had been thrown at her earlier. It had been his duty to protect her. He had failed.
She hardly seemed aware of the cut. Every expression, every gesture, showed nothing but anxiety over her aunt. Gazing at her and seeing how worried she was, remembering how she had turned to the Bible for consolation, he found it incredible that she was capable of the crimes she had been accused of. Doubt slithered across his mind. He quickly shoved it aside. The evidence had been there. True, it was mostly circumstantial. There were no DNA matches, no incriminating fingerprints. But he knew from experience that an appealing face and charming manners could be deceptive.
Jace shook his head fiercely. He refused to second-guess himself. If he did, he would go insane. So she had been careful at the scene.
