He blocked the memories that immediately tried to fracture his concentration. That she sat on that sofa—right where he’d made his last mistake with her—disturbed him.
No, that was wrong. It tugged at him. Made him want to repeat the same mistake again. But she would never let that happen. Not in this lifetime.
CJ crossed her jean-clad legs, then folded her hands in her lap. “First, have you discovered anything new in your investigation? Any word back from the lab on the evidence collected last night?” She glared at him with enough frost to chill an iceberg. “Anything at all?”
That she didn’t want to get straight to the point of her meeting with Banks surprised him. “The blood on your wall was not human.” He’d gotten the news on the way here. “Feline.” That the blood hadn’t been Shelley’s changed nothing for Braddock. This kind of warning was Nash’s MO. He was a freak who got off on instilling fear and torturing all manner of life-forms.
CJ shuddered visibly but quickly resumed deep-freeze mode. “Is that all?”
“We also discovered an additional piece of what may or may not be evidence at the scene.” He’d give her this one thing. She still wouldn’t like or respect him, particularly after last night. Maybe she’d at least see that he and his partner were actually attempting to solve this case. “What appears to be a name was carved into the tree branch used to secure the rope.”
Her eyes widened. “What name?”
“E. Noon. Ring any bells?”
She thought about that a moment, then shook her head. “You’re saying someone climbed into that tree and carved their name on the same branch my sister was ...”
He nodded, then briefly explained his partner’s discovery and the arborist’s assessment. The Noons who lived locally had been questioned. Following that lead had been a waste of time but necessary for covering all the bases. They were banking on the “no one” theory. That assumption played into the staging. The victim was “no one.” Insignificant.
No one messes with me.
And it tied to his niece’s murder.
At this point, he couldn’t share any of that with CJ.
“I can’t recall ever knowing anyone with that name.” CJ fixed her gaze on his, set his instincts on point. “But I’m well aware that Shelley had a number ofintimateacquaintances I didn’t know about.”
The statement hung in the air for a pulse-pounding second.
“Such as yourself,DetectiveBraddock.” Her voice grew more agitated with every word. “Just how intimate was your relationship with my sister?”
How the hell could she ask that? They had been over this issue before. “There was nothing intimate about my relationship with Shelley. You know that.” That she refused to give him even one iota of credit made his blood boil.
“The two of you first got acquainted after that break-in when the photographs were stolen.”
“That’s right. The photos of you and Shelley as kids.” Something else she knew as well as he did.
“I met you not long after that,” CJ said pointedly.
“Okay.” This had gone far enough. “Is there a reason we’re going over this?”
She kept going as if he hadn’t said a word. “I found you charming and intelligent. Seemingly trustworthy. A refreshing change from most of the cops I’ve known around here.”
He looked away. Resisted the urge to walk out the door. CJ was too pivotal to this case.
And too damned important to him, whether or not she ever trusted him again.
“Shelley adored you,” she said, twisting the knife she’d already buried deep in his back. “You were all she talked about whenever I called or visited.”
He swung his gaze back to hers, fury clawing at his ability to remain calm. “It was a mistake, CJ. One that I put the brakes on before it went too far. But you refuse to believe that.”
“That’s what she said.” Anger flared in her eyes. “I guess I’ll never know for sure.”
“You do know,” he reminded her, unable to keep his own anger from his tone. “Think about it. The same thing happened to you last night. Only I didn’t stop, because it wasyou.” He stood. Couldn’t sit there and pretend this was a civilized conversation. Goddammit.
She came off the sofa, went toe-to-toe with him. “Last night was ...” She blinked. Sucked in a breath. “My sister is dead. Someone broke in.” She flung her hand toward the stairs. “I was angry and ... scared.”
He wanted to reach out to her so badly it hurt, but he didn’t dare. “So was Shelley. Plenty of times.” Pain shimmered in CJ’s eyes and seeing that was like a sucker punch to his gut. “That particular night two guys roughed her up pretty bad. She was too wasted to pick herself up off the street where they’d dumped her, so she called me.” Braddock had patched her busted lip and iced her black eye. She’d clung to him and wept like a child. Then she’d kissed him, and for an instant ... one damned instant ... he’d kissed her back. Then he’d pushed her away and fought her drunken advances until she passed out. She’d been sorry the next day. They’d both been sorry. But sorry hadn’t been enough for CJ.
