Midnight Betrayal (Midnight #3)(83)

Jackson’s frown deepened the lines in his face. “Didn’t look good. You sure you didn’t stab him?” Jackson popped a piece of chewing gum into his mouth and chewed voraciously.

Conor stared, exasperated. “Why the hell would I try to save him if I stabbed him?”

“I’ve seen weirder.” Ianelli lifted his palms to the sky in a who knows gesture. “Maybe you just pretended to try and save him.”

“I called 911.” Conor gave up. “Whatever.”

Wait. Was that almost a smile on Jackson’s face?

“What’s going on?” Conor dropped into a chair, exhaustion flooding him. He was tired of all of this.

Jackson shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the floor. When he looked up, his eyes were gleaming. “Sorry. We were just f*cking with you.”

Conor looked from one cop to the other. In the middle of his stone-cold face, Ianelli’s eyes laughed.

“What?”

“Don’t you watch the news?” Jackson asked, shaking his head. “We arrested Professor English for the museum murder.”

“You did?” Conor would have jumped to his feet if his legs had been steadier.

“Can’t give you the deets, but we were on our way back to the station when this call came in. We thought you should know.” Jackson stepped toward the door. “Excuse us, we have to go nail his ass.”

“Good luck with that,” Conor said.

Jackson turned back. “Oh, and we’re bringing Blaine Delancey in. We think he might have been the one who pushed Dr. Hancock into the street.”

“You’ll let me know if the kid makes it, right?” Conor asked.

“Sure,” Jackson said.

The cops walked out the door, leaving Conor in a state of disbelief. Even though he’d found evidence the professor was a pervert, and he’d considered the possibility of Xavier being the killer, the cop’s confirmation of the professor’s guilt was still a shock.

Was it really over?

His phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen, hoping it was Louisa. The vet’s number popped onto the display.

He answered the call. “Hello?”

The vet didn’t waste any time. “You need to come down here immediately.”



Louisa checked her cell phone. Nothing from Conor. He’d promised to call her when he heard from the vet. Maybe the vet hadn’t finished the tests or he’d gotten tied up at work. The bar could get insanely busy at dinnertime. He’d call when he could. She needed to be patient.

Did he even know about Xavier’s arrest? She still couldn’t believe the professor was a sexual deviant and a killer.

She collected her purse, shimmied into her jacket, and locked her office. April slumped at her desk, not looking any more productive or less miserable than Louisa had been all afternoon.

She stopped in front of her desk. “I’m heading out.”

April sniffed. “Good idea.”

“Are you going to be all right?” Louisa hesitated, unsure of how to proceed with the closer relationship that had sprung up with her assistant.

“Yeah.” April gave her a watery smile. “We have to face one day at a time. That’s all we can do.”

Louisa took a deep breath. Her lungs ached with sadness, fighting tight ribs to expand. “I suppose you’re right.”

It was over, but it was going to take a long time for it to feel that way.

April wiped her nose and pulled her purse from her drawer. “I’ll walk out with you.”

Seeing April cry started Louisa all over again. She plucked a tissue from the box on her assistant’s desk and dried the tender skin around her eyes.

April changed into athletic shoes. They walked toward the exit in silence and swiped their badges at the security desk. Outside on the concrete apron in front of the museum, April turned toward the bus stop with a sad wave. Louisa scanned the curb for the Rittenhouse town car.

The museum murderer had been caught. She could just walk home, but she’d arranged for the pickup that morning, and her limbs felt as if they had tripled in weight since then. Every step was a supreme effort. She was going to take a hot bath, put on yoga pants, and climb into bed. But without Kirra, the apartment would be empty. How could she have gotten so attached to the dog in less than a week?

An even better idea occurred to her. She would change her clothes, then go see Conor at work tonight and have dinner at the bar. Perhaps the crowd and noise would be better than her silent apartment. So what if he hadn’t said he was falling for her too? Probably, she should have waited before springing that on him this soon. A week did not make a relationship.

Decision made, she suddenly craved his strong arms around her body. Just being with him would make her feel better. How could she have gotten so attached to him in such a short period of time? It suddenly seemed as if her life had started when she’d walked into his bar the week before. Prior to him, she’d been alive, but she hadn’t really been living.

Everything had changed since that day. Riki and Zoe were dead, probably Isa too.

The wind blurred her watery vision. She spotted the sleek black vehicle fifty yards ahead. As she approached, the uniformed driver got out and opened the door for her. Blinking away her tears, she rooted through her purse for another tissue. She was blotting her eyes and running nose as she stepped into the vehicle. A jolt of pain struck her in the shoulder and blazed through her body. She stiffened and fell forward onto the back seat. Her twitching legs were shoved roughly into the vehicle.