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“I’m sorry to hear that.” Finn smiled, but it was lost on Cora.
She was so deep in her own thoughts, and visibly weary from the day, she ignored both of them for the rest of the ride home.
Liam tried to rack his brains to come up with a reason to invite Finn over for the weekend, but he was too tired to scheme. He’d play matchmaker tomorrow. If nothing else, the day ended on a high note for him because Magnus had just ruined any chance he’d had with Cora. She was visibly disturbed right now, and Liam could just imagine the fiery conversation she was going to have with Magnus—if she decided to speak to him again, that is. The very thought of her ripping into Magnus Blackwell put a spring in Liam’s step for the rest of the night.
22
On Tuesday Cora rubbed her bleary eyes and slapped the list of suspects on her desk. First thing yesterday morning Eli Shelton had surprised her by providing all the names and alibis of his club members. Some of the other detectives had spent the majority of the day verifying their stories and now they were once again at a standstill. Everyone had alibis that checked out.
She stared at Lindsey’s report for what felt like the hundred-thousandth time, willing the evidence to reveal itself. So far all they had was her dead body and a pile of Booze Dog money found in her locker. The fact that Eli had been so forthcoming with the information was a relief, even though she wished she could forget the man entirely. Just the thought of what he’d tried to pull in that back room made her want to pop him in the face. Friday night had proven useful for work, but it had been emotionally draining. She still couldn’t believe Finn had shown up to save them. Once again, he’d surprised her. She’d been uncomfortable seeing him again so soon. It wasn’t that she was mad at him anymore; she was just...unsettled. It was still hard to believe Finn was the same man the Booze Dogs called The Jackrabbit. When he surprised them at The Rolling Log, he was back to his usual designer clothes and pressed, crisp, collared shirts. How had he gotten involved in cage fighting, of all things? There was a story there, but he hadn’t been willing to talk about it. She shook her head, trying her best to put Finn out of her mind. He’d been nothing but kind and helpful on Friday night, just like he always was, but she saw him differently now. Not bad, but...not quite the same.
“Cora, Brady’s widow is on line one. She wants to know if there’s anything new on her husband’s case,” Rob Hopper called from across the room. “You want to take it, or should I?”
“Rob, if you handle her today, I’ll owe you huge,” Cora said wearily. Rob waved her away and took the call, reminding Cora how lucky she was to have her team. They were a motley crew, but they looked out for each other.
“Anything new?” Liam asked, rolling a chair up to her desk and straddling it backward.
“Not unless you count over fifty bikers vouching for each other in obviously contrived alibis for the night of her murder.” The problem was, she knew exactly where the bikers were that night—the fight at the barn. But before she brought that bit of information into the light, she needed a few more days to gather stronger evidence against the Booze Dogs regarding Lindsey. A gambling ring was one thing; a murder was another. As bothered as she was by Finn’s involvement in the fight ring, she wasn’t going to reveal to the Booze Dogs that she knew about their illegal operation. They might make a connection between her and Finn, and the last thing she wanted was Eli’s crowd thinking Finn was a snitch. There was no telling what they would do.
“Boyd thinks Eli’s behind Lindsey’s death,” Liam said. “All we have to do is find a way to prove it.”
“That’s the problem. My gut instinct tells me Eli Shelton had nothing to do with it. Why else would he admit how much money was really stolen? It would only give us reason to suspect him more. And I don’t believe he’s trying to cover for someone else, because he’s just as driven to find out who stole his money. He’s even stooping to work with the police.”
“It could all just be an act,” Liam suggested. “Maybe Eli wants you to believe he’s angry in order to deflect scrutiny.”
Cora sighed again, lowering her head to her desk. “Maybe. I’m just exhausted from all the subterfuge. I feel like everyone has things to hide.” She turned her head to peek up at him. “Not you, though. That’s why I’m grateful to have you on my side, Liam. I know we got off to a rocky start in the beginning, but I trust you to back me up now. Besides, you always tell me how you feel. Even when you know I’ll hate it.”
Liam’s smile was bittersweet, and she didn’t know why. Sometimes she felt like she knew him better than anyone else, and in other moments, like this one, he seemed a mystery to her.
“Like when you kept telling me Magnus was no good,” Cora said, knowing it would snap him back to her. He had very strong feelings about Magnus, and never missed a chance to tell her. “I didn’t want to hear it, but you were right.”
Liam raised a dark brow. “So you believe me now?”
“At first, I was so angry he took off and left us, I refused to take his phone calls all weekend. I was just so shocked he’d do that. It seemed so out of character for him.”
“Not at all,” Liam said flatly. “Abandoning us to the wolves last Friday was well in line with the type of man he is. He rolls the dice, plays the game and runs when things don’t go his way. And then it’s on to the next game without looking back.”
“Actually, he did,” Cora said, arranging the mess of pens and markers on her desk. “Look back, that is.” She knew this wasn’t going to go well, but it was time to rip off the Band-Aid. “I know you can’t stand him, and I agree that stunt he pulled was beyond the pale. He left yet another message last night, begging for a chance to explain.”
“Magnus doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as you, let alone speak to you.”
“Well, this morning when he called again...” She focused on arranging the blue and black pens in a cup on her desk. Then she gathered the highlighters for the top drawer. It was easier than having to face the look of condemnation on Liam’s face.
“Cora,” Liam said in a warning tone. “Tell me you didn’t talk to him.”
“I had to,” she said in exasperation, slamming her desk drawer. “He’d left so many voice mails, I decided to give him a chance to explain his side of it, that’s all. He said he ran to the nearest ATM and came right back. But we were gone by then, and when he tried to call me, I refused to answer—”
“God save us!” Liam threw his hands up. “He’s doing it again. He’s reeling you in like a mermaid caught in a net.”
Cora straightened her spine but wouldn’t make eye contact. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m in no danger of getting tangled up with him again. But I did agree to see him for dinner tonight.”
Liam looked like he was about to explode.
“Don’t.” Cora held up a hand. “Don’t say a word. I thought about hiding it from you, and pretending I was going off to see Suzette, but I decided to be open and honest about it, instead.”
“Aye, well, your honesty is killing me,” he said sardonically.
“I know what you’re thinking—that I’m going to let Magnus back into my life—but that’s not what this is about. I’ve already told him it wasn’t going to work out between us, and he understands how I feel. I’m going to let him explain his side of things, then we are going to part ways with no animosity between us.”
