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“Excuse me. We need to speak with Paula,” Sheriff Parker announced as he and Detective Louis entered the room.
Susanna began to get up, but Paula gripped her hand.
“Can I stay with her, Sheriff?” Susanna asked, and he nodded his head.
“We’re staying, too,” Tyler announced, and they all looked at him.
“Why is that?”
“Because we want to get to the bottom of this, and we care about her,” Matt offered. Susanna squeezed Paula’s hand. Paula felt her heart soar with their public announcement. Then the fear hit her belly. She didn’t know shit about men, and these men, as attracted to them as she was, represented so much that she feared because of Sal.
“Honey, we need to ask you some questions and you need to be honest with us. If you can’t do that in front of everyone, then Louis and I are going to ask them to leave the room.” The sheriff took a seat next to her. His green eyes held hers. He appeared sincere and very calming to her. She understood why Susanna was in love with him and Monte. They were both good men. Even now, Monte was helping to secure their home.
“Okay.”
“First, we need to know when you first received a letter.”
“A few months ago.”
She heard Matt make a low noise, and looking up toward Tyler, she could see the anger in his eyes. She should have made someone aware sooner, but she didn’t think it was a big deal.
“Honey, has anyone been asking you out or bothering you at the club?”
“Sheriff, I get asked out on a regular basis. It’s part of being one of the owners of Dixie Chix.”
Another noise came from Matt. The sheriff gave him a firm look, and Matt crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at her.
“Anyone bothering you or being persistent about asking you out?”
“Jimmy Couger grabbed her one night and kissed her,” Susanna stated.
“Yeah, and just the other night him and a few of his buddies, who were drinking, circled her and tried to harass her. Tyler and I intervened,” Matt offered, and Paula looked at both of them. They held her gaze and she recalled their words and the possessive way Tyler acted. She remembered how his hands felt on her skin and the way he promised things that made her aroused and interested.
“Jimmy wouldn’t do something like this. They had too much to drink, that’s all,” Paula whispered as Tyler gave her a look that she knew was him thinking she was stupid. She lowered her eyes and clasped her hands together.
“We’ll have a talk with them. I’ll have you make a list of the men who have been asking you out. We’ll start with that.”
“Do you really think that is necessary? Do you think it’s someone we know?” she asked.
“More than likely it is, Paula. They’ve been watching you and probably frequent the club, because that’s where you spend most of your time,” Detective Louis added.
“What about ex-boyfriends? Any bad breakups? Anyone in particular you think might be culpable?”
Before he could finish his sentence, she was shaking her head.
BJ looked at Susanna and Paula spoke.
“I can’t.” She looked up toward Matt and Tyler.
“You’re going to have to. If someone from your past has bothered you before, then we need to look there first. It’s part of the investigative process, Paula. This is serious,” Louis stated.
“I won’t.” She shook her head, and she heard Tyler and Matt release annoyed sighs. Then Susanna touched her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.
“What did this letter say?” she asked in an attempt to end the silence.
BJ exhaled then handed the letter over to her.
She read the words and covered her mouth with her hand. When she came to the line about obeying him and calling him Master, she felt the tears roll down her cheeks.
