ToServeAndProtect Read Online Free PDF Page A

nervously.
    “Not yet. I need to know what happened in your house.”
    A heavy sigh shuddered from her chest. “There was so
much blood.” Her eyes closed, but the horrific images filled her mind. “I—”
    “Wait”
    She lifted her gaze to his face.
    “If you’re going to make a confession, I need another
officer in here with us.”
    “Confession?” Her fingers stilled. “I think I need to
talk with an attorney.”
     
    Dustin slid his hands into his front pockets, keeping
his thumbs out. Damn. Aloof and playing it cool, McKenna was obviously familiar
with her rights. Now that she had asked for an attorney, anything he might have
coaxed out of her would be inadmissible. Attorneys only complicated a formal
interrogation, if that’s where they were headed.
    He hated to admit she looked guilty. Young,
attractive, her whole life ahead of her and she just might spend it
incarcerated…or worse. Capital crimes were eligible for the death penalty.
    Pausing, he let the heavy weight of intimidation
settle on the moment. Her uneasiness grew more acute. Avoiding eye contact,
nervously fidgeting with the blanket, and he couldn’t overlook the fact that
she was covered with injuries. All these led him to believe she was present for
whatever happened at 634 Mountain Ridge Drive.
    “You’re not under arrest, Ms. Porter.” He stepped away
from the wall. “I heard the hospital is going to keep you until tomorrow
morning. After you’re discharged, come down to the station and ask for me,
Detective Pearce. I’ll be working your case with my partner, Detective Jones.”
He handed her his card.
    McKenna rubbed a finger across the embossed lettering.
“Thank you.”
    Dustin turned to her before walking to the door.
“Don’t thank me. You’re a person of interest in the case. Don’t leave town, and
let us know where you’ll be. If you make me come looking for you, I’ll arrest
you.” As quietly as he entered her room, he left.
     
    McKenna could breathe now that the detective’s encompassing
presence had vacated. When he had come through the door, her room suddenly felt
warmer than the yoga studio. The heat from his eyes had not been remotely
friendly, but instead, had filled her with fear. She had seen that look before.
    There had been another night with a different
detective. The victim had been her high school boyfriend, the man she was to
marry someday. And just as surely as Scott’s parents had found her at fault,
Detective Pearce presumed she killed her father. Of that, she had no doubt.
    However, there was another emotion firing her blood.
The breadth of his chest, the sculpted biceps in his crossed arms, he probably
had a wife who took comfort in his imposing strength. Of course, he wouldn’t
stare at a wife with the stern narrowed eyes he’d laser beamed on her.
    McKenna picked up the telephone and dialed the one
person she knew she could count on. Although Dawn wouldn’t be very helpful, at
least she was a friendly voice that didn’t drip with accusation.
    As soon as she heard her on the other end, the dam
gave way and McKenna’s eyes flooded with tears. “Oh, god, they think Elliot’s
dead,” she cried. “And so do I.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Elliot’s dead. Oh, god, he’s dead.”
    “Mickey?”
    “Yes.”
    “Calm down.”
    McKenna gulped in air. “I can’t.”
    “Then just tell me what you’re talking about.”
    “Elliot was murdered, Dawn. I walked into the crime
scene. My father is dead!”
    “What?” McKenna heard Dawn’s exasperation. Hell, she
understood the frustration. All she really knew was that something horrible had
happened in her home and now she was in the hospital and a detective had told
her not to leave town. “What are you talking about? Where are you?”
    “At the hospital. A detective was here. I could tell
he thinks I killed my father.”
    “Oh, shit. What happened? Wait. You just need to stay
calm. Listen to me. Take deep breaths and pull