“Millie—”
Heat flew up her neck to her face, probably turning her a bright pink. “I’m at the end of my cycle. Tampon, you know?” She coughed. “Besides the blood test, the hospital did perform a rape kit. The conclusion was no sexual activity.”
Did his shoulders visibly relax? “Did you touch the knife?” he asked.
“I don’t remember,” Millie whispered. “I must’ve been drugged. As soon as they took my clothes and gave me these and let me clean up, the chief took me to the hospital to have me checked out. The nurse drew blood.”
Scott rubbed his smoothly shaven jaw. The hard cut angle no doubt made jurors swoon. “Do you have any idea how much you drank last night?”
“No, but I usually don’t drink much. I would’ve just had a beer.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I can’t remember a thing.”
“Millie, we need to call in reinforcements for this.”
Her head jerked back. “No,” she said. “I’m already in enough trouble with the agency; it’ll be a miracle if I don’t get fired. Just forget all about this.” She grabbed his wrist.
He flipped it over and captured her hand. “I’m not leaving you to deal with this alone.”
Millie pulled her hand away, surprised at how much she’d wanted to leave it in Scott’s warm palm. “Chief?” She stood and walked out into the hallway.
“Yeah, you can go,” the chief yelled. “When you were being examined at the hospital, I drove your aunt home. You’d better make sure she rests.”
An outside door banged. “Wait a minute here,” a man bellowed.
Scott moved to partially block Millie with his body.
“Damn it,” the chief muttered, reappearing from his office.
“I got here as fast as I could,” Rupert Skinner yelled, his comb-over ruffled.
Scott’s back vibrated. “Who are you?”
The chief leaned against the doorframe. “Shalebrook County Prosecutor Rupert Skinner, please meet Scott Terentson, Ms. Frost’s attorney from the city. She has decided to remain silent.”
No, she hadn’t.
Rupert angled his head to look past Scott. “Millie? Can we talk?”
“No,” Scott said curtly.
Skinner’s beady brown eyes narrowed. “Talk to me, Mills. We go back a long ways, and I can help you here.”
Yeah. She knew exactly how Skinner would help. He’d graduated from high school with both her and Clay, and he’d never hidden his interest in her. His advances had gotten so blatant that she’d avoided him completely last time she’d been home for the holidays. “I’m fine. Thanks.”
His stringy brown hair stretched over the bald patch on his head, and he’d worn an impressive tailored brown suit. His gaze hardened even more. “Clay was one of my best friends. If you killed him, I will bury you.”
Scott took a step toward Skinner.
The chief straightened from his relaxed pose. “That’s enough.”
“No. I told you not to release her,” Skinner snapped. “I flew here from Charleston as soon as I could.”
The chief gestured toward the door. “She made bail. Go home and check on Mae, Millie. I’ll keep working the case.”
“Thanks.” She stood and brushed past Scott. His back vibrated like an animal’s about to pounce. Then she leaned up and hugged the chief before sidling by Skinner and down the hallway.
Scott followed her, pressing a hand to the small of her back as they walked outside into the cold air.
Millie wearily climbed up into his fancy SUV and sat, her mind roiling and her stomach hurting. The chief never should’ve called the hotshot from DC. She had to get rid of him. Soon.
