“Theo, don’t,” she breathed out heavily, closing her eyes and shaking her head.
“No, look at me, Olivia. You can’t avoid this.” He grasped her chin gently, tilting her face to his. “I do love you. I’ve always loved you, and I know you feel something for me too. I feel it every time you look at me, every time you touch me.”
“I can’t. Everyone I love lets me down…” Her heart thumped painfully in her chest, feeling ten times heavier. “And you’ll be no different.”
Tugging her face from his grasp, she turned away from him, not wanting to let him see the tears that felt like they were choking her.
23
“Mayor Burnett?” Audrey stuck her head around the door.
“Yes?” She lifted her eyes from the report she was reading, removing her dainty glasses, and tucking her glossy hair behind her ear.
“Chief Walcott is here to see you.”
Tammy glanced down at the slim gold watch at her wrist. “Well at least he’s on time,” she replied, straightening in her seat and tidying up the reports on her desk. “Please show him in.”
Chief Walcott did not look himself, although he had always been an austere looking man. His eyes were dark and narrowed with suspicion, his mouth was set in a tight, unforgiving line as he removed his hat. The man was obviously wound tighter than a spring.
“Please take a seat, Chief Walcott.” Tammy indicated the seat in front of her desk. There would be no cozy chats on the couch over tea this time.
He inclined his head in greeting as he sat down. “Mayor Burnett.”
“I seem to have received a great deal of complaints about your conduct lately.”
“From who?” he asked suspiciously.
“Why don’t we start with Morley Ridge,” Mayor Burnett answered coolly. “I received a phone call from their administrator telling me that you have been calling almost daily with regard to Charles Connell and his escape.”
Chief Walcott’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I believe he is not only involved in the recent murders, but directly responsible for them.”
“And your proof?” she asked expectantly, raising one slender brow, which folded into a frown when no answer was forth coming. “Let me be clear on this matter now. Unless Charles Connell is found on Mercy soil, he is not your concern. That case is out of your jurisdiction.” She folded her hands on the desk in front of her, linking her fingers. “Which brings me to my next point... Olivia West.”
Chief Walcott’s gaze hardened, and his jaw clenched so tightly she was surprised she didn’t hear it crack.
“Miss West is a legitimate suspect I’m pursuing in a multiple murder case.”
“No, she isn’t,” Tammy replied coolly. “You seem to forget, Chief Walcott, that I have access to all your files too, and I see nothing concrete to suggest that Olivia West is in any way involved with these killings.”
“Mayor Burnett,” he grated from between clenched teeth.
“Save your breath, Chief,” she answered in disdain. “It has also come to my attention that you had a personal involvement with one of the victims from the earlier murders. I’m not interested in the nature of that relationship, but I will tell you now, I will not have my chief of police on a personal vendetta. This is your one and only warning. Unless she is caught actually carving out someone’s internal organs with a bloodied knife clutched in her fist, stay the hell away from her. If I get even one sniff of misconduct, I will suspend you pending a full investigation into your handling of this case. Do I make myself clear?”
“As glass,” he replied, his eyes coldly calculating as he stood abruptly. “Is that all, Mayor Burnett?”
“I think that about covers it. Just do your job, Chief,” she remarked pointedly. “Or I will find someone else who can.”
He glared at her with barely concealed anger before stalking from the room.
She sighed as he slammed the door behind him, already able to tell he had absolutely no intention of toeing the line, which left her with a big problem on her hands. If she couldn’t trust her own chief of police, she needed to find someone she could.
She pressed the intercom. “Audrey, could you put me through to the Philadelphia PD, 39th precinct. I want to speak with Captain McCallister.”
“Sure thing, Mayor,” Audrey answered, and hit disconnect.
Tammy stood restlessly and paced across to the window, watching the dreary gray clouds burst open with spiteful slaps of rain, which began to hammer at the glass.
“Mayor Burnett.” Audrey’s voice came through. “I’m afraid Captain McCallister is currently on leave. Apparently, he was injured in the line of duty.”
