Dead Giveaway Read Online Free PDF Page B

station. Otherwise—”
    â€œAllie.”
    She blinked. She’d had no idea he knew her first name. “What?”
    â€œI’ve never struck a woman. Do you believe me when I say I didn’t hit her?”
    She stared up at him, weighing her instincts. She’dbeen trying not to make any judgments one way or the other, to simply do her job. But it was Beth Ann’s words that had rung false, not Clay’s. She thought maybe he needed to hear that from someone in uniform.
    â€œI do,” she admitted. Then she walked out.
    Â 
    Clay sat at his kitchen table, listening to the clock tick above the stove while telling himself that he didn’t need to go down to the police station. Beth Ann’s charges were completely unfounded. Allie McCormick had said she believed him. But he had little faith that she’d stick by her words if her father or anyone else read the facts differently. Why would she? Clay knew the night’s events couldn’t have reflected well on him. The hysterical woman calling from his house. The marks on his back. Beth Ann’s assertion that she was pregnant and that he’d demanded she get an abortion.
    It was humiliating. He was almost positive Beth Ann wasn’t pregnant, or she would’ve told him—to stop him from breaking off the relationship. She was manipulative enough to use that bargaining chip if she possessed it. But this scare convinced him that he wanted no more women in his life. He couldn’t even have casual relationships without regretting it.
    â€œShit,” he muttered and stood to collect his keys. He’d go down and let Officer McCormick take her damn photos. Stripping off his shirt and revealing Beth Ann’s nail marks couldn’t be any more demeaning the second time around. He owed it to his sisters and mother to clean up the mess he’d made.
    Anything to deflect interest. Anything to make Beth Ann’s accusations fade away so he wouldn’t draw any more unwanted attention.
    Anything to make up for the past.
    Â 
    Allie hadn’t expected Clay to show up, so she was more than a little surprised when he strode into the police station at nearly three o’clock in the morning. Beth Ann had left a few minutes earlier, and Hendricks had finally dragged his lazy butt out on patrol.
    Which meant that, once again, she was alone with Clay.
    â€œMr. Montgomery.” She assumed he’d tell her to call him by his first name. They were nearly the same age, had gone to school together. But he didn’t.
    â€œOfficer McCormick.”
    She’d been about to pour herself a cup of coffee, but set the pot aside instead. “I’m glad you’re here.”
    â€œYou got your camera ready?” he asked.
    â€œI do,” she said and retrieved it from her desk.
    â€œThen let’s get this over with.”
    She snapped photographs of his hands. Then he stripped off his T-shirt and she took several pictures of his face, chest and arms. When she purposely neglected to take pictures of his back, he raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”
    â€œThat’s it.”
    â€œSo…is this going to blow over?” he asked hopefully, pulling his T-shirt on over his head.
    Even with Beth Ann no longer on-site, Allie felt reluctant to discuss his alleged murder confession with him. Mostly because, regardless of what Beth Ann had said, she wasn’t prepared to point a finger at Clay or anyone else. She needed proof, forensic proof, not circumstances and hearsay. And she was good enough to find it. Eventually.
    But eventually wasn’t now, and it was only a matter of hours before he heard what Beth Ann had told her. Especially since Hendricks knew. The other officer had listenedavidly to every word Beth Ann had said. If Allie didn’t tell Clay herself, he’d probably feel as if she’d duped him in some way, and she saw no reason to alienate anyone involved in the case.