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“Madam Mayor, I can’t help that. We all have jobs to do.”
“Harper, stay here and make sure Jason is respectful to the members, will you? And where’s the other detective? What was his name?”
“Lazlo?” Harper supplied.
“Yes, him. And Crawley. Why are you here alone?” she looked accusingly at Jason. “Harper, you must stay and help Jason.”
Merritt’s shoulders squared up. Like he was spoiling for a fight. “Harper is exhausted. She needs to go home. I’m going to do my job and that’s all I can promise. Lazlo will be here shortly.”
“I am sure Harper can speak for herself,” the mayor said. Turning she fixed her gaze on Harper. “Well?”
Harper opened her mouth and then closed it again.
Flynn had seen and heard enough. “I’m sure, we can accommodate the deputy mayor if she would like to stay. We have many spare rooms and of course we can make her very comfortable while she is here,” Flynn said as he crossed the foyer and came to a stop across from Harper.
Her eyes widened as he came into view.
Someone had tried to push her down the stairs earlier, likely to kill her. And now someone succeeded with Calli. He wanted her far away from here, but he also knew she was about to say yes because she wanted a chance to search the whole house for more green paint. It was better to place her under his protection than to let her wander on her own. Plus, the chance to have Harper under the same roof with him was too great to ignore.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Harper stayed silent. She’d wanted a chance to be at Everlasting Manor so she could look around but now that the poor girl was dead, it didn’t seem like such a good idea. It did, however, prove her point; Astrid’s death had to be connected to this place. There weren’t two murderers running around Cedar Bluff. The odds were just too great against it.
Susan just nodded at Flynn. “Good, glad that’s settled.” She turned to Harper. “I’ll call you in a bit and we can make some decisions on what we’re going to say about this. I want to think about it a bit, and loop in Denise.” Susan started toward the door.
There was no stopping Susan. A woman was killed and she was allbring me work clothes and my make-up. Of course, if she’d left earlier, like Harper had, they wouldn’t have to worry about what it looked like to have the Mayor in the house when a young woman died.
“I didn’t agree to this,” Jason interjected. He glared at Flynn. He redirected his attention to Susan. “And you’re not going anywhere, Madam Mayor.”
Susan whirled around and gave him a death stare. “Excuse me?”
Most men wilted under that look, but Jason held his ground. “You were present in the house when someone died. Until we know more, no one is leaving.”
Just then Alvin Clark, Chief of Police, walked into the foyer. The snaps of his police-issued windbreaker strained over his significant belly. “Jason. On me,” he ordered.
The detective joined him, and they moved over to where Calli’s body still lay. Their discussion was carried out in low tones that Harper couldn’t make out.
Susan came back to stand beside Harper. “Jason better watch himself. It’s ridiculous to make me stay. I’m the mayor for Christ’s sake.”
“He’s doing his job.” She didn’t know why, but she felt obligated to come to Jason’s defense.
“Let’s hope Alvin has more sense.”
Harper looked for Flynn but didn’t see him. Tension snapped over her shoulders The only way she was willing to stay was if he was with her. He made her feel secure. Like nothing could touch her. That attitude might be stupid, but someone had tried to push her down the stairs in this place. As long as Flynn was next to her, she knew she’d be okay. Well, at least safe from harm. Safe from Flynn was a different matter entirely. Her body still ached so good from their earlier escapades, not that she was complaining.
Harper sighed as she wrapped her arms around her middle. She’d panicked. It was silly and juvenile but the truth of the matter was she panicked about having Flynn stay the night. He made her feel safe and the sex was amazing but it was all so…much. It was like she was drowning in him. There was no escape from the tension between them. He was all-encompassing somehow and that scared the life out of her. The moment he’d left, she’d bitterly regretted kicking him out. The best course of action was to stay far, far away from him but, somehow, she just knew that wasn’t going to be possible.
She glanced over as a flash went off. A crime scene tech had arrived. God, if she hadn’t been caught by her oversize jacket, that could be her lying there dead right now instead of Calli. The whole thing was surreal. Two bodies in two days. She glanced at Susan. “Your presence here while a death occurred doesn’t look good. You’re going to have to be questioned like everyone else.”
“Ya think?” Susan snarled.
Harper had had enough. She whirled on her boss and hissed through gritted teeth. “Don’t you dare take this out on me. If you didn’t have to screw anything that walks you wouldn’t be in this mess and you wouldn’t have to drag me in to fix it.”
Susan’s eyes widened. Then she frowned. “I’m going to let that go because you’ve had a hard time lately but don’t—”
“Fuck right off,” Harper snarled back barely keeping her voice and her temper in check. “Take your attitude and shove it. You screwed the pooch on this one. You need me to smooth it over so don’t even try and play high and mighty with me. I know where all your skeletons are buried and I am fucking tired of carrying the shovel, so don’t fucking push me.”
Susan paled. She opened her mouth and then closed it again. She turned and stared at Jason and Clark in the foyer. “Are you going to help me?” she asked, her voice stilted.
