“I live here. Well, my dad does, I’m helping him with some renovations. How ‘bout you?”
"Visiting my parents. Taking a break, I guess."
“Your parents live around here?” He steps back slightly.
“All their lives, and mine. I grew up here.”
"No way. So did I," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. He is seriously good looking. I would remember someone who looked like that.
“Yeah, my folks got a divorce when my brother and I were little. I chose to live with Mom, he chose to live with Dad.”
"That had to be tough for you kids."
"I guess it was, but we spent equal amounts of time with both of them. I went to a different school, though."
“That explains why I don’t remember you. And your brother?”
“Evan went to Park. That is, until he passed away.” He looks off into the distance.
" Evan. Evan Jameson was your brother? How did I not know that?" And it clicks. "Wow, we were friends. Good friends, actually. He never told me he had a brother."
"He hated that I took sides. Evan expected me to just stay with him and Dad, but I couldn't, not when my dad was the one who was at fault. Anyway, that was a long time ago." He brings the conversation to a halt.
"I should get going." I motion to the path. Creed makes me feel nervous. It's not just that he's the detective on my case, but because he looks at me in a way that makes me flush. It's not hard to miss him, sizing me up. The last thing I need is an admirer.
"I'll join you. On my way up there myself." And that is how Detective Jameson and I started running together.
Chapter 21
Creed
What am I doing? I cannot allow myself to forget that this woman could possibly be a killer. But why do I refuse to believe it? How am I supposed to do my job when I'm not convinced of her guilt? I go over the case files, and it is as clear as day. Her husband was cheating with her best friend, she finds out, gets into a jealous rage and kills the woman. That doesn't explain the absence of a body and a confession. The most unsettling part is the fact that we found a murder weapon with her prints on it, and bloody clothing the woman was last seen wearing with Chelsea's blood on it. These are things we will share with her lawyer this week. The trial is due to begin in seven days.
“You’re holed up here all day. What do you say, we take a drive down to the fair?”
I run my hands through my hair. “Can’t Pops, I have so much to cover.”
“Oh, come on, just an hour. We’ll get some corn dogs, beef jerky, and fried ice-cream.”
That seals the deal for me. I close my files and follow the old man outside. We take his truck. “The case got you in a twist, huh?”
“I don’t talk shop, Pops.” But maybe he could help me make sense of this. “There’s a woman I know.”
“It always starts with a woman.”
"It's not like that, Pops." I groan as I steer toward the exit that'll take us the right to the fair. "Anyway, she's about to be tried for a crime I’m convinced she didn't commit. She's just not that kind of person. I don't know her well enough, but I know people, Pops."
“That you do. You always told me your brother would get into trouble, long before we found out. It’s always been your thing.”
The mention of Evan reminds me of Sin. The way her ponytail bounces as she runs. The curve of her toned ass. The way the sun kisses her tanned shoulders.
“You like her, huh?”
I cough. “No, no way.”
“Yes, you just went off in your head there, smirking like a schoolboy.”
“She’s married.”
