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“Yeah. He did it just to show me that he could. He also took Ash out of preschool early once and disappeared for three days. Even though he’s not her father or legal guardian, the cops wouldn’t take me seriously. He thought it was funny.”
“Asshole.” The more I learned about this guy, the more I wished I’d been the one to kill him. “None of this came up when I did a background check on you.”
“You did a background check?” Her eyes were wide and there was a note of anxiety in her voice.
I shrugged, “We needed to know who we’re helping. Anyway, nothing showed up.”
“Yeah well Dr. Edwards is very well-respected in the community. He puts on a good show.” The bitterness mixed with sadness was hard to ignore and dammit how I wished I had the right to hold her close and tell her it would be all right.
“You’re worried that this will make the cops focus on you?”
“Of course I am. Eventually his disappearance will become suspicious. Right?”
I could’ve lied to her, but I sensed a strength in her she didn’t even know she possessed. “Eventually, yes. But I’ll see what I can do.”
“Why? There’s no reason for you to put yourself out for me.”
It was a fair question. “Why did you call the number?” I remembered how shaken she was when we arrived at her house.
“Justin. He was always nice to me when I showed up at the community center for the domestic violence support meetings. He has kind eyes, and he always asked how I was doing. I tucked the card away and forgot about it until I needed it.”
That tracked. Justin was a good guy that you could trust with your kids and your woman. “He didn’t have a problem with you going to the community center?”
She gave me a weak smile. “I’d go there before I did our monthly grocery shop, the meetings were on Wednesday mornings which is when Alex’s department would hold their morbidity and mortality meetings. As the head of cardiology he had to be present, so I knew I had at least an hour where he wouldn’t be checking up on me.”
She wasn’t just beautiful, she was smart and resourceful too. And very likely in a whole lot of fucking trouble. I kept that to myself though because I was determined to find a way to help Emma. “How about we have a beer?”
Her shoulders relaxed just a fraction, and she nodded, offering up a grateful smile just for me. “That would be great, thanks. Something dark and full-bodied if you have it.”
Damn, just when I thought she couldn’t get any hotter. Or be bigger trouble. “Coming right up.” There was no need to give her more bad news at the moment, shit was hard enough for her as it was, so I grabbed two beers, and I let Emma relax with a smile while she watched her daughter get to be a kid for a few hours.
Chapter 8
Slate
“Why would you tell him that?” Emma was in panic mode since the sheriff was on his way to her home.
“Because he wanted to know why I was so interested in this case, and I had to tell him something.” Cross wasn’t an idiot, and he was right to be suspicious of the MC’s general interest in the wife of a missing doctor.
“So you told him that I’d called your club to help when Alex didn’t come home?” Her voice grew louder with each syllable until she could summon dogs from all over Steel City.
“Yeah. I told him his colleagues had never been helpful when he put his hands on you, and we were able to convince him that beating women is a shitty thing to do. He bought it.” It wasn’t all that unheard of for law enforcement to give preferential treatment to so-called important people.
Her shoulders fell and she nodded her head for a full minute. “Yeah. Okay. All right. I’ll remember that.”
“I’ll stay close for the first few minutes while keeping an eye on Ash. Promise.”
Her smile was stunning. “Thanks Slate. Truly.”
I got on my motorcycle and headed to her place well in time for Sheriff Cross’s visit. I kept my promise and stayed in the kitchen where I could listen to the sheriff and one ofhis detectives question her while I watched Ash play in the backyard.
“Did you have a fight?” Cross kept his voice calm and even, there wasn’t a hint of accusation in his tone even though I knew he was suspicious.
“We don’t really have fights, Sheriff. Alex gets mad and I take it, I learned early on in our marriage that it was easier that way. He was upset about the steak, which he tossed across the room and then left to find someplace where they know how to cook a damn steak.” Her emotions were real, and I had no doubt that was exactly what had happened that night.
“You didn’t have enough of his abuse and take him out yourself?”
She laughed bitterly. “The good doctor? Never. You people refused to believe anything bad about him, but you’re so willing to believe the absolute worst about me. The victim.” Her anger was palpable but under the circumstances it was understandable.
