Credible Alibi

How badly had she hated the woman?

Madi had gone over her afternoon and night several times before Jazz excused herself. Her brother Caleb never came in.

Declan, the sheriff and Madi’s eldest brother, eventually did and explained why.

“Caleb can’t work this case because he can’t get his emotions in check,” Declan had said. He hadn’t sat down across from her. His body was riddled with tension, his face pulled down in a frown. Madi didn’t need any triplet connection to know he was trying his best to keep his own emotions in check. “Him working this case is a big-time conflict of interest. Jazz will take over as well as a detective from the local PD in Kilwin down the road.”

“She’s teaming up with the police department?” Madi had been stunned at the news. The two only ever worked together on emergencies like high-speed chases that crossed the town limits or manhunts that spanned the county. Now they were doing the same with her?

It made her already-knotted stomach quake.

Declan had sighed.

“It was at Mayor Harding’s suggestion, and honestly, it took all I had to convince him to keep us on the case. You have two brothers on the force. Our family history doesn’t help. This is only going to rock the boat on public perception of us.”

“Family history? Do you mean the abduction?” she had nearly shrieked. “We were eight! How is that our fault?”

“I’m not blaming any of you for that, and you know that. I meant what happened with Caleb last year. I think the mayor would like the Nashes out of the spotlight for a while. Even though you know as well as I do that the town has never really let go of what happened when you were kids.”

Madi did know that Overlook was incapable of forgetting one of its biggest unsolved mysteries. It wasn’t every day that three children were attacked, abducted and held for three days before escaping on their own...and that, to this day, no one had ever been able to ID the man responsible. Never mind understanding his motive.

As far as what had happened with Caleb, talk had gotten out of hand quickly but had died down.

Or so Madi had thought.

“The mayor thinks it’s best for you, the department and the town if we’re extra careful with how we move forward,” he continued, as if his words were scripted.

“And that means what exactly?”

Declan let out another long sigh. This time Madi saw the defeat in it.

“That means that my chief deputy will run point on this case while I handle the rest of the department and try to keep this in-house as much as I can. Past that, Caleb and I will have nothing to do with this case. We can’t afford anyone blaming us for favoritism or being impartial.”

Madi felt the tears spring to her eyes before they ever fell down her cheeks. She was angry. She was scared. Caleb being taken off the case made sense. Declan stepping away hadn’t crossed her mind as a possibility.

Pain twisted his expression. His face softened.

“I know you didn’t do it, Madi,” he said, voice low. “But the evidence against you is pretty damning. I can’t dismiss it, even though I know you’re innocent. Hell, I think everyone in this department knows it, too. We just have to do our jobs and do them carefully, or we could end up hurting your cause instead of helping it.” He reached out and touched her hand. “Jazz is great at her job. So are the rest of my people.”

Madi wiped at her cheeks. She nodded.

“I understand.”

He smiled but then let go of her hand. Then his face went stony.

“Are you sure there’s no one who could corroborate your side of the story, though?”

Madi shook her head. She brought her hand down to her stomach.

“It was only the two of us.”

Declan left soon after. Another hour went by. Madi’s thoughts went between everything that had happened and the other surprise she’d gotten that night.

Julian Mercer.

In the flesh.

This might be too much for me to handle, Grandma, she thought ruefully.

The third person to visit her finally was Caleb. He moved into the room like they were teens again and sneaking out of the house to go to the barn loft to meet their friends. He hurried to her side and crouched down next to her. There was an undeniable excitement in his movements that she didn’t understand.

“Why did you lie to us, Madi?” he asked in a rush. “Pride be damned, you’re looking at murder charges!”

Madi felt her eyes widen. Did Caleb really think she killed Loraine?

“What are you—”

“You should have told us about your alibi the moment we showed up on scene!” Madi didn’t know what he was talking about. She said as much. Caleb looked exasperated. “I know you didn’t want to get him in trouble with his boss, but my God, Madi, this is serious.”

“His boss?”

“Julian Mercer. Your alibi.” He thumbed back to the door. “He just wrote his official statement about you two being together. I mean, yeah, I have some personal questions I’d like to ask—for instance, who the heck is this guy—but right now he could be that creep you dated in college and I’d be happy as punch.”

Madi didn’t have time to correct her brother before the door opened and in walked Declan and a man who must have been the lawyer.

They expressed the same sentiment.

Madi should have come clean about being with Julian during the afternoon and leading up to the discovery of Loraine’s body, instead of trying to cover for him so he didn’t get into any trouble with his boss. No one’s job was worth the risk of her being suspected of murder.

Now they couldn’t charge her. Which meant they couldn’t hold her there any longer.

The air in the interrogation room became lighter. Her brothers’ shoulders were no longer sagging. There was new life behind every word and movement. The entire mood had changed.

It made Madi realize how dire her situation had been before Julian’s lie.

And that was what it was—a lie.

Yet with one hand resting on her pregnant belly, Madi realized it was a lie she wouldn’t correct.

Not until Loraine’s real murderer was caught.

Chapter Four

“So I’ve been downgraded to lead suspect instead of a shoo-in for murder.”

Madi was as beautiful as Julian remembered but undoubtedly tired. Her eyes were red and swollen. She rubbed her hands together, fretting with nervous energy. They stood outside the Wildman County Sheriff’s Department. A hint of the sunrise colored the distance. The air was cool and seemed to add to her discomfort.

Julian wanted to reach out and take all of the concern and worry away, but truth be told, he was out on his own limb of uncertainty.

He’d just lied to the authorities. In a big way, too.

“They’re going to find the real person who did this,” he said, hands shoved into his pockets to curb the urge to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “Now that they aren’t focused on you they can do that.”

Madi shot a nervous look toward the front doors. They were standing next to the sheriff’s truck in the parking lot. Declan and Caleb were still inside. This time with the husband of the murdered woman. He’d been out-of-his-mind angry and had to be kept in a separate part of the building.

I don’t care if she’s pregnant! She killed my wife! She killed my Loraine! She needs to pay!

The man had been so certain of Madi’s guilt, so incensed by it, that he had spit as he’d yelled. His fervor had solidified Julian’s urge to help Madi.

He knew without a doubt that Madi was innocent. He’d felt it in his bones the moment she’d yelled out to him that she didn’t do it. He’d jumped into his SUV and flown to the station, ready to watch as the rest of the department believed her, too.

Yet it didn’t happen.

Or at least, the evidence forced their hands.

The looks across the local deputies’ faces changed as the hours wore on. Julian stayed in the lobby with the flimsy reasoning of being a friend of Madi’s. He waited to be questioned but no one ever came for him. In all the uproar he’d seemingly melted away into the scenery. He’d only had the chance to talk to Jenna to get the quick and short story of what had happened before she’d had to leave. The sheriff and Caleb could be seen, angry and whispering. The entire department’s mood went from determined to find the alternate story to souring. Then on edge. When Julian had seen the lawyer come in through the lobby, wearing a suit and an expression that meant he was in for a rough ride, the need to help Madi had punched through Julian’s gut until he was standing in front of her brother and lying through his teeth.

Now he was standing in front of Madi and telling the same lie.

“I sneaked in an hour before Jenna called you, parking my vehicle off the road and hiding in the trees so no one knew I was there. That’s why you didn’t want to eat dinner with the guests, which is unlike you,” he spelled out. “I was with you in the bathroom when Jenna called. You found the body, but I was next to you. Realizing the cops were going to be involved, I went out the window and made it to my car. Then I pretended to come in for the first time so no one would suspect I’d been there at all.”

Madi’s eyes were wide and blue. Oh so blue.

“And the reason I didn’t want to be caught up in an investigation was because I was worried that it would get me fired before I ever started my job next week.” Julian shrugged. “Not a noble story, but everyone in there knows you didn’t do it so it made sense to them.”

The innkeeper ran a hand over her belly. Her pregnant belly. Julian wanted to ask how far along she was but getting their story straight here, now, was the most important thing they could talk about. As she’d already said, it was a lie that had made the difference between murderer and lead suspect.

“Why?” she finally asked. “You... Well, you don’t know me. This could absolutely get you fired and jail time.” She lowered her voice and took a step closer. Julian could reach out and touch that baby bump between them if he were so inclined. “Why take that risk? Why lie?”

Julian gave her the honest truth.

“You said you didn’t do it and I believe you.”

A look he couldn’t interpret crossed the innkeeper’s expression. Then it transformed back into exhaustion.

“And am I to guess what we were doing together in secret last night?”

Julian felt the heat of their earlier intimate memories burn through him. Just as they had been throughout the last several months. Like lighter fluid thrown into a low flame. Hot, alarming and just a dangerous taste of what else could happen.

“The same thing we did last time I was here,” he answered. “Apparently, Caleb had no idea you and I had been romantic then. I had to tell him otherwise to give credence to my story now.”

Again, Julian wanted to search her expression to find the reason why she’d ended things, why she’d kept him a secret then and the time after he’d left, but he had to focus. Not that he could have gleaned the truth from the woman standing so close to him. Her expression was as guarded as her brothers’ had been when they’d brought her in. Maybe it was a Nash family trait.

“And why did you show up? Outside the fiction you’ve been spinning about our romantic encounter.”

Julian tried to smile, tried to downplay the eagerness he’d hidden from Chance when he’d decided to visit Hidden Hills. This time he lowered his voice.

“I just wanted to say hi before I went on to my new life.”

Madi was quick to comment. She wasn’t smiling.

“And now you’re my alibi in a murder investigation where I’m the lead suspect. If that’s not good—or bad—timing, I don’t know what is.”

Silence stretched between them for a few moments. Madi looked down at her hands on her stomach. Her expression was knotted in thought. When she met his eyes again there was a fire behind them. However, before she could speak, the door to the department swung open.

Caleb took the stairs down two at a time. When he got to them, he clapped Julian on the back and smiled for all he was worth.

“While I’m not exactly happy you waited so long to do it, I’m sure as hell glad you came forward,” he said, reiterating what he’d told Julian earlier. He gave his sister an equally enthusiastic smile. “I’m just glad we can all go home now.”

Madi didn’t share in his exuberance.

“My home is a crime scene,” she pointed out.

Caleb nodded, deflating slightly.

“Good thing that’s not the only home you have here.”

Madi looked like she wanted to say something else but Caleb wasn’t having it. The earlier stress had lifted. Now he was reveling in the lightness. Julian had been there before. He became reacquainted with the feeling at the end of every deployment.

Caleb motioned to his truck and addressed Julian directly.

“Why don’t you two follow me?” he said, already digging out his keys. “Mom and Nina have some beds made up and some breakfast going, depending on how you’re feeling.”

Julian’s eyebrow rose high.

“And where exactly are we going?”

The detective gave them both a grand smile.

“The Nash Family Ranch! Where else?”

* * *

THE SUNLIGHT MET them and followed them across town and right up to and through the entrance to the Nash Family Ranch. The last time she’d talked to Julian, Madi had been avoiding the ranch and her mother out of guilt.

Things hadn’t gotten much better. When she’d announced her pregnancy her mother had been happy, but also angry.

It had created a rift between them, one Madi’s brothers had tried to repair, but they found no easy way to soften either woman. Because even though her situation wasn’t ideal, Madi wouldn’t allow any negativity. No matter if it was a passive-aggressive comment or a wayward glance that held an edge.

Now, though, as the fields passed by on either side of Julian’s SUV and the ranch at the end of Winding Road became closer, Madi wanted to avoid her mother for an entirely new reason. Dorothy Nash had been through the wringer in the past three decades. She’d faced and dealt in heartache like she’d been cursed with bad luck. She’d seen needless violence and pain much more than any one person should have to bear.

And here Madi was, adding another heartache alongside the father of her child, who’d just committed a crime to keep her from being charged as a murderer.

Madi pressed her forehead against the cool of the window. It sounded like the plot to a movie where Harrison Ford would eventually be jumping out of an airplane or from one skyscraper rooftop to another to save the day.

“So, this is the famous family ranch?”

Julian’s eyes had been swiveling as he’d driven through the front gate that ended Winding Road. He was observant, that much Madi knew of the man. She had appreciated this skill during their week together. He’d noticed the shifts in her mood and thoughts with ease. He understood her.

Yet maybe that hadn’t been something special between them. Maybe that was just who Julian was. An observant man who had come into town, flashed his smile and then disappeared.

Then again, she’d been the one who said leaving was okay.

So what that Julian hadn’t reached out? He hadn’t picked up a phone, hadn’t sent an email, and the mailbox had remained free of any letter bearing his name.

That was what she had said she wanted, right?

Never to see him again?

Yet here he was.

It, along with everything else, filled Madi’s head like rising water. There wasn’t time to sort out what didn’t make sense. All she could hope to do was survive it. To keep swimming. To escape the flood.

So she held her tongue back from asking why Julian had gone silent and why he was back. Instead, she tried to answer him like she would a guest. Forced jubilance and pride. Polite but not overly expressive. A good middle ground.

“Yes, this is it. The Nash Family Ranch. Home to several generations of Nashes throughout the many years it’s been here.” She motioned to a road that forked off the straightaway. “That leads to the Wild Iris Retreat, the stables, several trails and Caleb and Nina’s new house.” She hesitated before detailing the rest of the ranch’s geography. The customer service lilt to her speech drained away. She couldn’t hide the weight of what had happened pressing her next words down. “You know, I don’t know if Mom has anyone staying at the retreat right now. If so, this could really hurt business. Maybe I shouldn’t be here.”

Julian shook his head. For a moment she thought he was going to reach out to her, but he kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel.

“I don’t know your family but I have a feeling, just by what I’ve seen in the last few hours, that there’s nowhere else they’d rather you be.” This time his gaze swept over to her.

And then down to her stomach.

Madi ran her hand over it, as if she could shield herself from his questions. For months she had tried to tell him the very same thing she was trying not to bring up right now.

What if he reacted poorly? What if he decided to recant his statement? Madi now knew how bad things had looked for her with Loraine’s murder. What if she was actually convicted?

She’d lose her daughter.

From there Madi’s thoughts of the future spiraled. Fear and uncertainty pricked at her eyes, blurring her vision. She didn’t realize they were at the main house until Julian cut the engine.

“Madi.” His voice had gone low, a sound that normally put the fire of longing beneath her skin. This time, however, it wasn’t the sound of lust she heard. It was severity. Like a moth to a flame, she met his stare. She was unable to look away as he continued. “There is nothing you can tell me that would make me take back the alibi. Okay?”

Madi shouldn’t have been surprised that once again, Julian Mercer had read her like a book. He had a knack for that sort of thing. She nodded. He kept on.

“There’s no ring on your finger. You’re not married or engaged,” he continued. “Are you seeing someone?”

“No.”

Julian nodded, more to himself than the conversation.

Caleb’s truck door slammed shut near them. The porch light flipped on, bathing the SUV’s cab in an eerie glow. Julian wasn’t done yet, but Madi wanted to finish what she’d been trying to do for months.

Because as ridiculous as it was, Madi realized she trusted that Julian would keep his word. That even if he didn’t like the news, he wouldn’t betray her.

At least, she really hoped he wouldn’t.

“Julian,” she said, cutting him off just before he could say anything more, “she’s yours.”

Madi might have trusted the man, but in that moment, it was startlingly clear to her that she didn’t have his gift of observation. She couldn’t read his book. Not a single word.

Julian was a mystery to her.

And Madi was afraid he always would be.

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