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“I did something really bad, Jack,” her voice cracks and fear spirals inside me. I don’t have to ask anymore questions. The instincts I’ve honed from years of working in homicide drive my body forward, past Nora and to the parked car.
A sharp expletive bursts out of me as I take in the dead body splayed out in the passenger seat, a knitting needle jammed into his throat.
“I didn’t mean to!” Nora is behind me, fluttering around like a little butterfly. A murderous butterfly.
This last thought pulls me up short. Yes, there’s a dead body in front of me; and yes, I’m pretty certain Nora confessed to being responsible for said dead body; but I know Nora. If she killed this guy, he deserved it.
My hands form fists at my sides as the prospects of what exactly he may have done to her to deserve this run through my mind.
“Did he hurt you?” I say tightly, reminding myself that you can’t kill someone who’s already dead.
She lets out a humorless laugh, finally stopping her nervous prancing to stand next to me. “I bring a dead body to your house and confess that I killed him, and you’re worried about if I got hurt? You don’t want to— I don’t know— arrest me for murder?”
I turn to face her. “You didn’t answer my question….Did. He. Hurt you?”
Tears spark her eyes. “He tried,” she whispers. White hot rage blinds my vision, and I whirl away from her, placing both hands on the top of the car as I let out an almighty roar.
“Jack!” Nora’s voice is urgent in my ear as her hands wrap around my bicep. “Shhh!” she hisses. “What will the neighbors think?”
I barely hear her, too distracted by the feel of her soft palms on my bare skin. The contact calms me somewhat, and I let out a long slow breath, then lower my hands off the car and turn back to her.
“Are you okay?” My voice is hoarse as I let my gaze sweep over her body, checking for injury. There’s a faint bruise on her left wrist and, before I can remind myself that it’s not my right to touch her anymore, I’m lifting it gently to examine it more closely.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she murmurs.
“I’ll kill him,” I growl.
“He’s already dead.”
“Then I’ll find a way to resurrect the jerk so I can kill him again.”
“Jack.”
“Nora.”
She sighs, lifting her hand to her forehead and kneading circles over it.
“I need your help,” she finally says. “And I know given what happened between us three years ago it’s inappropriate for me to even ask, let alone expect you to say yes, but Jack…this is bad.”
“It was self-defense,” I say, but there’s no real force behind the statement. Self-defense is notoriously hard to prove in court. Not to mention the length a trial could take. The effect that could have on her career and personal life could be devastating. As for jail time…
I can’t complete the thought. The idea of Nora anywhere near a jail cell makes my blood boil…my chest burn with fury…my heart ache.
Nora stumbles back, away from me. “Of course. I’m sorry. I should never have come here.” She fumbles around the car, heading for the driver’s seat.
“Nora, wait.” Either she doesn’t hear me or she doesn’t care to listen, because she yanks the car door open and lowers herself inside. A second later the engine purrs to life.
I dash around the car before she can take off on me.
“Nora, wait!” I repeat, louder this time to compensate for the window between us. She finally looks my way, her eyes gutting me with their vulnerability. I blink, attempting to sever the hold she has on me. I should step away from the car and let her go. Why would I allow myself to get further entangled with this woman’s mess when she made it clear three years ago that she didn’t want me? Yes, I should just back away from the vehicle and go into my house. I can always advocate for her in court. Any rational, law-abiding citizen would consider that doing my part to help.
Instead I find myself motioning to her to roll down the window. She does so, and I place my hands on the car door, angling my body so that my head looks through the window at her.
“What’s your plan, Nora?” I ask incredulously. “You come here and ask me for my help, then, when I don’t jump at the opportunity to throw myself into the middle of a murder coverup you decide to bolt? What are you going to do, flee the state with a dead body in your front seat? For Pete’s sake, Nora!” I rake an agitated hand through my hair. “You do realize if I don’t come forward with the information you’ve given me, that makes me guilty by association. I’d be obstructing justice!” My voice rises. “Me, a homicide detective. I could lose my job! I could go to prison!”
“I’m sorry!” Nora shouts back. “Turn me in, then! I’d hate to offend your freaking principles with my problems.”
Her words are loud and angry, but all I see is the way her hands shake on the steering wheel and the quiver of her lips. I let out a long string of expletives.
